Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is an intervention used for children with autism. Research has shown that when consistently implemented, ABA successfully teaches skills, increases desired behaviors and eliminates maladaptive behaviors. ABA is grounded in the principle that behavior can be shaped by rewarding the desired response. While several different methods fall under the ABA umbrella, they all rely on repetition, reinforcement and the same basic technique: the new skill to be taught is broken into small parts, one step is taught at a time until it is mastered, prompts are used to direct the desired behavior and rewards are given for positive responses.
Instructions
1. Perform an assessment. Every ABA program should be unique for the individual. To develop an appropriate plan, the individual must first be thoroughly assessed and their skills analyzed. Strengths and weaknesses should be determined and specific behaviors targeted.
2. Perform a task analysis and define goals. Each skill must be broken down into small steps that can be taught one at a time to gradually build competence in the total task. Develop a goal for each task. Goals need to specifically describe what will be done in each step, detail how long or how many times the task should be attempted per session, state who will be responsible, define expectations and what constitutes success, and establish a plan for collecting data.
3. Implement the plan. Choose a suitable environment with few sensory distractions. Working one-on-one, prompt the child to perform the desired task and wait for their response. If non-compliant, prompt again and repeat until the task is performed. Then give a reward.
4. Provide reinforcement for desired response. Rewards based on the child's interests or desires are the most effective. A positive reward--whether verbal, a gesture (high five or clapping hands), tangible (small piece of candy or a sticker) or a token system--must be given immediately after an accurate response from the child. Rewards can also be "natural," for example after five correct responses, the child gets a five minute break. Or if the goal is to learn a color, different colored candies can be used and the child gets to eat the blue candy once they have successfully identified the color blue five times.
5. Repeat and practice each step, gradually reducing prompts, until it can be successfully completed without prompting.
6. Continue to teach the skills necessary for each step of the goal until the entire task has been learned and can be completed by the child.
7. Keep a record for every session indicating whether tasks were successfully accomplished and note any issues that arise during the session. Most importantly, analyze and review this information on a regular basis. This is a necessary step because it serves two purposes: First, it graphically shows whether or not the intervention is working and allows adjustments to be made for better progress. And second, it is tangible proof that all of the time and energy devoted to the program is paying off. Sometimes this is just the boost needed when remediating behaviors that may take years to change.
Tags: each step, Applied Behavior, , Behavior Analysis, child gets, desired response