IS ABA therapy covered by my insurance

What is Applied Behavior Analysis?

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is an evidence-based scientific technique used in treating individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities. In general, Applied Behavior Analysis therapy relies on respondent and operant conditioning to change or alter behaviors of social significance. ABA therapy differs from behavior modification in that ABA therapy changes behavior by first assessing the functional relationship between a particular or targeted behavior and the environment. The ultimate goal of Applied Behavior Analysis therapy is for the learner to gain independence by learning and developing new skills resulting in an increase in positive behavior while reducing the frequency of negative behaviors.


What is Applied Behavior Analysis?

An introduction to Applied Behavioral Analysis

Applied Behavior Analysis is the applied science of behavior formalized by B.F. Skinner. It is sometimes referred to as Behavior Modification, ABA, or Behavior Analysis. The theories, laws, and techniques have their foundations in years of basic research and describe some of the most fundamental things we know about behavior. Some early influences on the field of ABA include Watson, Thorndyke, Pavlov, and groups of psychologists, philosophers, and scientists in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that pursued empirical science.

Hallmarks of Applied Behavioral Analysis

Contemporary hallmarks of ABA include the Law of Reinforcement, functions of behavior, contextualism, and determinism. Let’s briefly look at these areas to get a better understanding of the field of Applied Behavior Analysis.

Law of Reinforcement

Simply put, the Law of Reinforcement states that behavior that is reinforced will continue to occur or will occur more often in the future. Conversely, a behavior that is not reinforced will not occur or will decrease in occurrence over time (though, sometimes we see a short increase after reinforcement is discontinued for a behavior that has been previously reinforced).Through a great deal of clinical experience, it has become apparent that one challenge with really applying this law and understanding its fundamental truth relates to a not having a good understanding of what reinforcement is or can be. Some general misunderstandings include the assumption that consequences most people would describe as positive or pleasant will function as reinforcers. For example, most people would assume that receiving a thank you note would be a reinforcer for a job well done. In practice, this is not the case. There are individuals that would have no interest in a thank you note, but would rather prefer a pay increase. There are, of course, some that would.

Oftentimes, people attribute what they would find reinforcing to another person. Life shows us, this is not the case. Conversely, when we talk about reinforcement, something that we think may be reinforcing may in fact be punishing (a consequence that causes a behavior not to occur or to decrease in the future). Similarly, reinforcers can vary in their magnitude or effectiveness depending on the environment and on what has happened in the time before the reinforcer is being used.

One final thought is that behavior is often under multiple schedules. Some of the schedules are reinforcing and some of them are punishing. The effects of the reinforcers and punishers that are a part of each schedule vary. This makes it challenging for all but only the most skilled Behavior Analysts to have a good understanding of reinforcement, reinforcers, and schedules of reinforcement. The field of Behavioral Economics is making strides in empirically describing these concerns. However, the law of reinforcement remains one of the important concepts in Applied Behavior Analysis.

Behavioral Function

One of the more recent (relatively speaking as it dates back to the very early ’80’s) concepts in Applied Behavior Analysis is behavioral function. Previous to this notion, the field was more commonly known as behavior modification and behavior was mainly changed by modifying consequences (e.g., reinforcers and punishers).

Research in the early 80’s demonstrated functional relationships between problem behavior and the conditions that reinforced it. This research led to the concept of behavioral function. Simply, a behavior must be analyzed in terms of what function (i.e., purpose) the behavior served for the individual performing it.

Nowadays, we commonly look at the inappropriate behavior that children with autism perform in these terms. We ask, “are they performing this behavior for attention? Are they performing it to escape or avoid something that they do not like? Are they performing the behavior to get access to something that they want? Are they doing it because it gives them some sort of pleasure?”

Additionally, there are two questionnaire-based assessments, the Questions About Behavior Function (QABF) and Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS), that assist users with determining the function of the behavior in question. The QABF was developed with adults who have developmental disabilities and the MAS was developed with children diagnosed with developmental disabilities.

Contextualism

Contextualism is a concept somewhat close to behavior function. In short, contextualism refers to analyzing behavior in terms of the context that it occurs. What are the characteristics of the environment? Is it loud? Quiet? Hot? Who is there when the behavior happens? What happens right before the behavior occurs? What happens earlier in the lead up to the occurrence of the behavior? What happens after?
All of these questions are things that we ask when we analyze behavior. Taking these things into consideration is why we refer to Applied Behavior Analysis as contextual.

Determinism

Our final hallmark of ABA is one of the more ephemeral concepts. It is complex and philosophical in nature and oftentimes needs to be reflected on to really get a grasp of it. This is the concept of determinism. This is also one of the more controversial concepts in ABA. Essentially, the concept of determinism says that our behavior is under the influence of our learning histories, the antecedents that occasion the behavior, and the consequences that reinforce or punish it. We are not operating under the umbrella of free will.

Like was said earlier, this is a controversial concept. Some say that our verbal behavior (i.e., thoughts) can control our behavior. In some cases, it may mitigate our behavior and, of course, it is behavior and therefore is under the same influences of antecedents, consequences and learning history. However, with the exception of the species-specific behavior with which we are born, we are products of our learning histories and present environmental factors.

ABA therapy and skill development goals

Looking beyond the foundations of applied behavior analysis

Applied Behavior Analysis is an elaborate science of behavior and it has been applied in many arenas (businesses, animal training, individuals with developmental disabilities, individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury, etc.,). There are many laws and principles and even more techniques based on these laws and principles. Some of the main hallmarks remain those referenced above (i.e., reinforcement, functions of behavior, contextualism, and determinism).

Applied Behavior Analysis therapy is effective in identifying and treating challenging behaviors. Effective ABA programs will identify challenging and undesirable behaviors at the onset of services. Once the challenging behavior(s) have been identified, a comprehensive Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) will be established. An effective BIP should include research-backed principles used to reduce the unwanted behavior and should also include replacement behaviors. Replacement behaviors are behaviors that achieve the same result as the challenging behavior but are considered to be socially appropriate, easy to engage in, and, generally speaking, more desirable than the challenging behavior. For example, if it is determined that a learner engages in aggressive behaviors to escape a difficult task, replacement behaviors which will be taught may include requesting a break or asking for help. Hence, one of the ways in which ABA therapy is effective is through the assessment and treatment of undesirable behaviors.

Challenging behaviors

A child or adult with autism spectrum disorder may have limited, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities, including any of these signs:

  • Performs repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning or hand flapping
  • Performs activities that could cause self-harm, such as biting or head-banging
  • Develops specific routines or rituals and becomes disturbed at the slightest change
  • Has problems with coordination or has odd movement patterns, such as clumsiness or walking on toes, and has odd, stiff or exaggerated body language
  • Is fascinated by details of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, but doesn’t understand the overall purpose or function of the object
  • Is unusually sensitive to light, sound or touch, yet may be indifferent to pain or temperature
  • Doesn’t engage in imitative or make-believe play
  • Fixates on an object or activity with abnormal intensity or focus
  • Has specific food preferences, such as eating only a few foods, or refusing foods with a certain texture

Applied Behavior Analysis therapy and skill development goals

Another way in which ABA therapy is effective is through the identification and targeting of skill development goals. Applied behavior analysis therapy will typically address skill deficits across several domains. These domains will vary and depend on the individual needs of the learner. For example, skill development goals may be targeted to address deficits in communication, self-help skills, motor skills, social skills, or play skills. Again, the specific skill development goals that are chosen by the family and ABA team will vary based on the current clinical needs of the learner. Ultimately, the goal of skill development programs is to improve the learner’s quality of life and promote more independence.

Frequently asked questions about ABA therapy

What is ABA Therapy used for?

ABA-based therapy can be used in a multitude of areas. Currently, these interventions are used primarily with individuals living with ASD; however, their applications can be used with individuals living with pervasive developmental disorders as well as other disorders. For ASD, it can be used in effectively teaching specific skills that may not be in a child’s repertoire of skills to help him/her function better in their environment whether that be at home, school, or out in the community.  In conjunction with skill acquisition programs, ABA-based interventions can also be used in addressing behavioral excesses (e.g., tantrum behaviors, aggressive behaviors, self-injurious behaviors). Lastly, it can also be utilized in parent/caregiver training.

In skill acquisition programs, a child’s repertoire of skills is assessed in the beginning phase of the services in key adaptive areas such as communication/language, self-help, social skills, and motor skills as well.  Once skills to be taught are identified, a goal for each skill is developed and then addressed/taught by using ABA-based techniques to teach those important skills. Ultimately, an ABA-based therapy will facilitate a degree of maintenance (i.e., the child can still perform the learned behaviors in the absence of training/intervention over time) and generalization (i.e., the learned behaviors are observed to occur in situations different from the instructional setting).  These two concepts are very important in any ABA-based intervention.

In behavior management, the challenging behaviors are assessed for their function in the beginning phase of the services. In this phase, the “why does this behavior happen in the first place?” is determined. Once known, an ABA-based therapy will be developed to not just decrease the occurrence of the behavior being addressed, but also teach the child a functionally-equivalent behavior that is socially-appropriate.  For example, if a child resorts to tantrum behaviors when she is told she cannot have a specific item, she may be taught to accept an alternative or find an alternative for herself. Of course, we can only do this up to a certain point—the offering of alternatives.  There comes a point when a ‘no’ means ‘no’ so the tantrum behavior will be left to run its course (i.e., to continue until it ceases).  This is never easy and will take some time for parents/caregivers to get used to, but research has shown that over time and consistent application of an ABA-based behavior management program, the challenging behavior will get better.

In parent training, individuals that provide care for a child may receive customized “curriculum” that best fit their situation.  A typical area covered in parent training is teaching responsible adults pertinent ABA-based concepts to help adults understand the rationale behind interventions that are being used in their child’s ABA-based services.  Another area covered in parent training is teaching adults specific skill acquisition programs and/or behavior management programs that they will implement during family time.  Other areas covered in parent training may be data collection, how to facilitate maintenance, how to facilitate generalization of learned skills to name a few.

There is no “one format” that will fit all children and their families’ needs. The ABA professionals you’re currently working with, with your participation,  will develop an ABA-based treatment package that will best fit your child’s and your family’s needs. For more information regarding this topic, we encourage you to speak with your BCBA or reach out to us at [email protected].

Who Can Benefit From ABA Therapy?

There is a common misconception that the principles of ABA are specific to Autism. This is not the case. The principles and methods of ABA are scientifically backed and can be applied to any individual. With that said, the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association consider ABA to be an evidence based practice. Forty years of extensive literature have documented ABA therapy as an effective and successful practice to reduce problem behavior and increase skills for individuals with intellectual disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Children, teenagers, and adults with ASD can benefit from ABA therapy. Especially when started early, ABA therapy can benefit individuals by targeting challenging behaviors, attention skills, play skills, communication, motor, social, and other skills. Individuals with other developmental challenges such as ADHD or intellectual disability can benefit from ABA therapy as well. While early intervention has been demonstrated to lead to more significant treatment outcomes, there is no specific age at which ABA therapy ceases to be helpful.

Additionally, parents and caregivers of individuals living with ASD can also benefit from the principles of ABA. Depending on the needs of your loved one, the use of specified ABA techniques in addition to 1:1 services, may help produce more desirable treatment outcomes. The term “caregiver training” is common in ABA services and refers to the individualized instruction that a BCBA or ABA Supervisor provides to parents and caregivers. This typically involves a combination of individualized ABA techniques and methods parents and caregivers can use outside of 1:1 sessions to facilitate ongoing progress in specified areas.

ABA therapy can help people living with ASD, intellectual disability, and other developmental challenges achieve their goals and live higher quality lives.

What does ABA Therapy look like?

Agencies that provide ABA-based services in the home-setting are more likely to implement ABA services similarly than doing the same exact protocols or procedures. Regardless, an ABA agency under the guidance of a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst follows the same research-based theories to guide treatment that all other acceptable ABA agencies use.

ABA-based services start with a functional behavior assessment (FBA). In a nutshell, a FBA assesses why the behaviors may be happening in the first place. From there, the FBA will also determine the best way to address the difficulties using tactics that have been proven effective over time with a focus on behavioral replacement versus simple elimination of a problem behavior. The FBA will also have recommendations for other relevant skills/behaviors to be taught and parent skills that can be taught in a parent training format to name a few. From there, the intensity of the ABA-based services is determined, again, based on the clinical needs of your child. The completed FBA is then submitted to the funding source for approval.

One-on-one sessions between a behavior technician and your child will start once services are approved. The duration per session and the frequency of these sessions per week/month will all depend on how many hours your child’s ABA services have been approved for—usually, this will be the number recommended in the FBA. The sessions are used to teach identified skills/behaviors via effective teaching procedures. Another aspect of ABA-based services in the home-setting is parent training. Parent training can take many forms depending on what goals have been established during the FBA process. The number of hours dedicated for parent training is also variable and solely depends on the clinical need for it. If a 1:1 session is between a behavior technician and your child, a parent training session or appointment is between you and the case supervisor and with and without your child present, depending on the parent goal(s) identified. Parent training service’s goal is for you to be able to have ample skills/knowledge in order for you to become more effective in addressing behavioral difficulties as they occur outside of scheduled ABA sessions. Depending on the goals established, you may be required to participate in your child’s 1:1 sessions. These participations are a good way for you to practice what you have learned from the case supervisor while at the same time, having the behavior technician available to you to give you feedback as you practice on those new skills.

As mentioned in the beginning, no two ABA agencies will do the same exact thing when it comes to providing ABA services; however, good agencies will always base their practice on the same empirically-proven procedures.

How do I start ABA Therapy?

In most cases, the first item required to start ABA therapy is the individual’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis report. This is typically conducted by a doctor such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, or a developmental pediatrician. Most ABA therapy agencies and insurance companies will ask for a copy of this diagnosis report during the intake process as it is required to request an ABA assessment authorization from the individual’s medical insurance provider.

The second item required to start ABA therapy is a funding source. In the United States, and in cases where Medi-Cal or Medicare insurances are involved, there is a legal requirement for ABA services to be covered when there is a medical necessity (ASD diagnosis). Medi-Cal and Medicare cover all medically necessary behavioral health treatment services for beneficiaries. This typically includes children diagnosed with ASD. Since Applied Behavior Analysis is an evidence based and effective treatment for individuals with ASD, it is considered a covered treatment when medically necessary. In many cases, private insurance will also cover ABA services when medically necessary, however in these cases, it is best to speak directly with your medical insurance provider to determine the specifics of the coverage and to ensure that ABA is in fact, a covered benefit. Additionally, some families opt to pay for ABA services out-of-pocket.

The next step to starting ABA therapy is to contact an ABA provider whom you are interested in working with. Depending on your geographic location, ABA agencies exist in many cities across the United States. Your insurance carrier, local support groups, and even a thorough online search can help you find reputable and properly credentialed ABA agencies near you. Our organization, LeafWing Center, is based in southern California and is recognized for aiding people with ASD achieve their goals with the research based on applied behavior analysis.

Once you have identified the ABA provider with whom you wish to work, they should help you facilitate the next steps. These will include facilitating paperwork and authorizations with your funding source. Once the assessment process begins, a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) or qualified Program Supervisor should get in contact with you to arrange times in which interviews with parents/caregivers and observations of your loved one can be conducted. This will help in the process of gathering important clinical information so that with your collaboration, the most effective treatment plans and goals can be established for your loved one. This process is referred to as the Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and is elaborated on in different blog posts on our website. With regard as to what can be expected once ABA therapy begins, please read our blog post titled: When You Start an ABA program, What Should You Reasonably Expect from Your Service Provider?

IS ABA therapy covered by my insurance

What is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)? An elaboration

Applied Behavior Analysis is the applied science of behavior formalized by B.F. Skinner. It is sometimes referred to as Behavior Modification, ABA, or Behavior Analysis. The theories, laws, and techniques have their foundations in years of basic research and describe some of the most fundamental things we know about behavior. Some early influences on the field of ABA include Watson, Thorndyke, Pavlov, and groups of psychologists, philosophers, and scientists in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that pursued empirical science.

Contemporary hallmarks of ABA include the Law of Reinforcement, functions of behavior, contextualism, and determinism. Let’s briefly look at these areas to get a better understanding of the field of applied behavior analysis.

Simply put, the Law of Reinforcement states that behavior that is reinforced will continue to occur or will occur more often in the future. Conversely, a behavior that is not reinforced will not occur or will decrease in occurrence over time (though, sometimes we see a short increase after reinforcement is discontinued for a behavior that has been previously reinforced).

Through a great deal of clinical experience, it has become apparent that one challenge with really applying this law and understanding its fundamental truth relates to a not having a good understanding of what reinforcement is or can be. Some general misunderstandings include the assumption that consequences most people would describe as positive or pleasant will function as reinforcers. For example, most people would assume that receiving a thank you note would be a reinforcer for a job well done. In practice, this is not the case. There are individuals that would have no interest in a thank you note, but would rather prefer a pay increase. There are, of course, some that would.

Often times, people attribute what they would find reinforcing to another person. Life shows us, this is not the case. Conversely, when we talk about reinforcement, something that we think may be reinforcing may in fact be punishing (a consequence that causes a behavior not to occur or to decrease in the future). Similarly, reinforcers can vary in their magnitude or effectiveness dependent on the environment and on what has happened in the time before the reinforcer is being used.

One final thought is that behavior is often under multiple schedules. Some of the schedules are reinforcing and some of them are punishing. The effects of the reinforcers and punishers that are a part of each schedule vary. This makes it challenging for all but only the most skilled Behavior Analysts to have a good understanding of reinforcement, reinforcers, and schedules of reinforcement. The field of Behavioral Economics is making strides in empirically describing these concerns. However, the law of reinforcement remains one of the important concepts in Applied Behavior Analysis.

One of the more recent (relatively speaking as it dates back to the very early ’80’s) concepts in Applied Behavior Analysis is behavioral function. Previous to this notion, the field was more commonly known as behavior modification and behavior was mainly changed by modifying consequences (e.g., reinforcers and punishers).

Research in the early 80’s demonstrated functional relationships between problem behavior and the conditions that reinforced it. This research led to the concept of behavioral function. Simply, a behavior must be analyzed in terms of what function (i.e., purpose) the behavior served for the individual performing it.

Nowadays, we commonly look at the inappropriate behavior that children with autism perform in these terms. We ask, “are they performing this behavior for attention? Are they performing it to escape or avoid something that they do not like? Are they performing the behavior to get access to something that they want? Are they doing it because it gives them some sort of pleasure?”

Additionally, there are two questionnaire-based assessments, the Questions About Behavior Function (QABF) and Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS), that assist users with determining the function of the behavior in question. The QABF was developed with adults with developmental disabilities and the MAS was developed on children with developmental disabilities.

Contextualism is a concept somewhat close to behavior function. In short, contextualism refers to analyzing behavior in terms of the context that it occurs. What are the characteristics of the environment? Is it loud? Quiet? Hot? Who is there when the behavior happens?  What happens right before the behavior occurs? What happens earlier in the lead up to the occurrence of the behavior? What happens after?

All of these questions are things that we ask when we analyze behavior. Taking these things into consideration is why we refer to Applied Behavior Analysis as contextual.

Our final hallmark of ABA is one of the more ephemeral concepts. It is complex and philosophical in nature and often times needs to be reflected on to really get a grasp of it. This is the concept of determinism. This is also one of the more controversial concepts in ABA. Essentially, the concept of determinism says that our behavior is under the influence of our learning histories, the antecedents that occasion the behavior, and the consequences that reinforce or punish it. We are not operating under the umbrella of free will.

Like was said earlier, this is a controversial concept. Some say that our verbal behavior (i.e., thoughts) can control our behavior. In some cases, it may mitigate our behavior and, of course, it is behavior and therefore is under the same influences of antecedents, consequences and learning history. However, with the exception of the species-specific behavior we are born with, we are products of our learning histories and present environmental factors.

Applied Behavior Analysis is an elaborate science of behavior and it has been applied in many arenas (businesses, animal training, individuals with developmental disabilities, individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury, etc.,). There are many laws and principles and even more techniques based on these laws and principles. Some of the main hallmarks remain those referenced above (i.e., reinforcement, functions of behavior, contextualism, and determinism).

IS ABA therapy covered by my insurance

What is ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis)?

Applied Behavior Analysis is a scientific approach to understanding behavior. Behavior Analysis is a theory with principles and laws that are derived from research. All of the practices in Applied Behavior Analysis are derived from basic research. ABA is considered an evidence-based practice, which means that ABA has passed scientific tests of its usefulness, quality, and effectiveness. When such principles and laws are put into practice, it is said that behavior analysis is being appliedbehavior analysis helps us to understand how behavior works, how behavior is affected by the environment and how learning takes place, thus the term APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS or ABA for short.

Simply put, applied behavior analysis is a science concerned with the behavior of people, what people do and say, and the behavior of animals. Behavior analysis attempts to understand, describe, and predict behavior – why is it we do what we do and how did we learn to do what we do? The goal is to increase behaviors that are helpful and decrease behaviors that are harmful or affect learning.

The years of basic research in Applied Behavior Analysis have given us many Laws of Human Behavior that we can apply to the treatment of children with autism.  ABA has its roots in behavior therapy since the 20th century. The earliest behavior analysis on children with autism spectrum appeared in the early 1960’s and 1970’s in the USA.  ABA requires implementation of established principals of learning, behavioral strategies and environmental modifications to improve and teach new behaviors. Applied Behavior Analysis is founded on 7 core dimensions.  This means that all interventions that are provided through ABA services should fall within these 7 categories.  The 7 dimensions are, Generalization, Effective, Technological, Applied, Conceptually Systematic, Analytic and Behavioral. Generalization is when skills and or behaviors occur in environments other than where they were taught. Effective interventions are monitored to evaluate the impact on the target behavior.  Technological procedures are described clearly and concisely so that others may implement accurately. Applied is when socially significant behaviors are selected. Conceptually Systematic interventions are consistent with principals demonstrated by literature.  Analytic decisions are data based. Behaviors targeted are observable ad measurable.

It is important to understand that Applied Behavior Analysis is not only limited to autism. There is a variety of populations and fields that ABA can be applied to. The interventions that have been developed based on ABA principals are used in every walk of life and every profession.  Different types of people use ABA in their jobs and in their lives. Parents, teachers, psychologists and these ABA principals can be used in education, weight loss, animal training, sports and within many other fields and activities.  The ultimate goal of Applied Behavior Analysis is to establish and enhance socially important behaviors!

The Advantages of Applied Behavior Analysis (Podcast Episode)

A team of knowledgeable professionals from The LeafWing Center share their expertise about applied behavior analysis. They discuss the basics of the technique, what a good ABA program entails, reasonable expectations and the many benefits to be gleaned from this type of treatment. This is an in-depth tour of what ABA is and how it works.

Listen to the Podcast Episode here:
The Advantages of Applied Behavior Analysis Podcast

 

 

When You Start an ABA program, What Should You Reasonably Expect from Your Service Provider?

ABA programThe following are things that you should expect as a parent when you begin treatment for your child with Autism.

You and your child have a right to a therapeutic environment.  This means that the teaching environment set up to help your child is one in which socially significant learning occurs.  As a client, your child also has the right to services from an agency in which their number one goal is the personal welfare of your child (e.g., safety, treatment efficacy, advocacy). This means that all energy put into the program is to help your child become more independent and lead a better life.

It is also your child’s right to have a treatment program supervised by a competent behavior analyst. Unfortunately, as the rates of autism have increased, so have the number of treatment programs allegedly providing assistance to children with autism.  Furthermore, in many locations, the demand presently outweighs the supply for trained, experienced behavior analysts. It is imperative that the credentials and qualifications of your service provider be credible.

Your child has a right to be provided with a program that teaches functional skills. Functional skills are skills that a child can use in their everyday life and that furthers their independence (tying shoes, initiating conversation, engaging in cooperative play, etc.). There is little benefit in taking the time and dedication to teach a child something that cannot be incorporated or used in their everyday life.

Assessment and ongoing evaluation are crucial components of any ABA program, and should be expected.  This includes setting up a program based on the individual needs of a child and continuing a program based on the ongoing needs of a child. These needs will continually change, therefore ongoing assessments and modifications are imperative, necessary, and a right.

Parent and caregiver trainings should be included in the ABA program. These typically include meetings between parents or caregivers and their service provider in which valuable ABA strategies are discussed, demonstrated, and implemented. The focus of these meetings is to educate parents about various but individualized ABA based techniques they can implement with their child to address challenging behaviors, reinforce desirable behaviors, and promote generalization of progress.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, a child with autism has the right to the most effective treatment procedures available. In this case – scientifically validated treatment programs which today have only been shown to be based on ABA principles and techniques.

What Kinds Of Behavior Are Behavior Analysts Interested In

Behavior analysts are interested in behaviors which are observable and measurable. Voluntary behavior, or what is known as Operant Behavior, is of particular interest to behavior analysts. This is the kind of behavior that we are primarily concerned with when it comes to helping children with autism as it is the type of behavior that can be influenced or learned as a consequence of environmental events. We can manipulate a person’s learning of operant or voluntary behaviors by manipulating environmental events. For example, parents often reward their children for cleaning up their room (an attempt to reinforce the behavior). Cleaning a room is a voluntary behavior and by rewarding such voluntary behavior, the parent has set up the environment to increase the likelihood that their child will clean up the room again to get rewarded again. For the purposes of this post, we will use the terms reward and reinforce interchangeably, though reinforce is the correct term.

The second type of behavior is involuntary behavior, or a reflex. Technically, it is referred to as a Respondent Behavior (as opposed to an operant behavior). Reflexes are automatic behaviors that are physiological and not usually influenced by consequences. You as a person have little or no control in the behavior occurring. This includes behaviors such as a sneeze, becoming startled when something jumps out at you, or blinking. Since reflexive behavior is automatic and cannot be changed by environmental events or consequences, this type of behavior is rarely the focus of an ABA program.

In general, behavior analyst have an interest in reducing maladaptive, undesirable, challenging behaviors while increasing desirable replacement behaviors. Replacement behaviors are alternative behaviors we would like to teach individuals to take the place of the challenging behaviors. These behaviors should serve the same purpose (function) of the challenging behavior, be socially appropriate, and easier to engage in than the challenging behavior.

Some Components Of A Good ABA Program For Children With Autism

An effective ABA program should have the following components:

A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who designs and supervises the ABA program. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) is a person who has met the educational and professional training requirements established by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB). Many autism special interest groups also recommend that the supervising BCBA have experience working in the field.

A second common characteristic of an effective ABA program is a detailed and thorough assessment of the learner’s behavioral and clinical needs. Before an ABA treatment program begins, it is imperative to assess the clinical needs of a child to formulate treatment goals and a highly individualized curriculum. A Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) typically includes direct observation of the client in their natural environments, interviews with parents and caregivers, record review, questionnaires, among other methods. In fact, assessment should not only occur before the onset of treatment but should be an ongoing process throughout treatment. This helps ensure that a child’s goals will remain individualized, and relevant to his or her needs at any given time.

From this detailed assessment comes the next common characteristic of an effective ABA program: meaningful and objectively defined skill development and behavioral goals. Goals in ABA typically fall under two general categories: Skill-development goals and behavioral goals.

  1. Skill-development goals are designed to address a child’s skill deficits and are based on their current needs, their developmental age, and their chronological age. A child’s developmental age is the age that represents their current abilities and adaptive levels, whether that be a year behind or two years behind their chronological age. Their chronological age is their actual age in years since they were born. Sometimes it is appropriate to teach a child skills that will match their developmental age. For example, when learning to speak, children will speak individual words before forming sentences. So, when teaching a child to speak, you begin at their developmental age for language and move forward from there. Other times, it makes more sense to teach a child skills according to their chronological age, as is the case much of the time when teaching toy play. You a teach a child to play with the same kinds of toys their friends play with so you can facilitate their friendships when they are around other children. Skill development goals should be highly individualized, socially valid, and address a child’s skill deficits across relevant domains (motor, academic, language, executive, play, adaptive, etc.) This is what is meant by meaningful goals, goals that are socially significant.
  2. Behavioral goals typically include reducing challenging, undesirable behaviors while simultaneously teaching desirable replacement behaviors. Identification of the function or “purpose” of the challenging behavior is an imperative first step in this process. An effective assessment will identify the function or functions of the challenging behavior(s). For example, after observation and data analysis, a BCBA may hypothesize that the function of a child’s tantrum behavior is “escape”. In other words, the hypothesis is that the child is engaging in tantrum behavior to escape or avoid a task, demand, or activity. From this point, a behavior intervention plan will be established to reduce the tantrum behavior and increase appropriate replacement behaviors such as asking for a break or requesting help. Replacement behaviors are alternative behaviors to the challenging behavior that should be functionally equivalent (serve the same purpose as the challenging behavior), socially appropriate, and easier to engage in. An effective behavior intervention plan should include proactive (before the challenging behavior occurs) and reactive (after the challenging behavior occurs) strategies.

Another part of goal setting in an ABA program is choosing objective goals. Objectively defined goals are important as it is a way of measuring an individual’s success and the appropriateness of how we are teaching an individual. When goals of the treatment program are defined in observable and quantifiable terms, a treatment program can make sure that a child is making progress towards the end goal. However, if the goal is vague, such as “teach social skills” rather than, “Billy will learn to initiate ball play games with his friends at school during recess time with 90% accuracy over a period of 4 consecutive weeks” it is difficult, or rather impossible to see if a child is making any progress. Therefore, goals have to be objective, observable, and quantifiable.

Measurement of the established goals is the next characteristic of an effective ABA program. Data collection and frequent review of progress are critical to effective ABA programs. When information on a child’s progress is collected while they are learning the task, their progress can be monitored to see if their learning rates are increasing, if their learning a new skill in an appropriate amount of time, or if progress is slow and the goal needs to be redefined or teaching techniques have to be altered. Without data collection, sound clinical decisions cannot be made.

Also, effective ABA programs will include numerous ABA techniques and principles into teaching a child to learn. ABA is more than just a discrete trial.

Further, an effective ABA program will promote independence across all areas of a child’s functioning. While initially a child may need help learning a new skill, once that skill is learned or ‘mastered’ a child will be expected to engage in that task all by themselves, or independently. The more independent a child becomes, the more they can navigate their surroundings without help.

The next two characteristics of an effective ABA program are that the program provides many learning opportunities for the child and that the intervention is consistent. When talking about learning opportunities it’s important to note that while a child is in an ABA therapy session, their mere presence alone is not enough to make sure that learning is occurring. It is up to the teacher to ensure that the child is absorbing the information provided and that the session is filled with such learning opportunities: in other words, ensure that the teaching session is productive. The goal is to get the most output or maximum learning in every session and to further the skill from where it was in the last session to a step closer in independence in the current session.

Consistency refers not only to  the number of treatment hours, but also to the notion that all team members are teaching a child using the same principles and techniques, and are working on the goals and instructions that were indicated to be effective when the assessment was undertaken or as directed by the leader of the team. So even though different people may work with a child across the span of a week, the child’s teaching will mimic that as if only one teacher was present the entire time.  For example, if teacher one is teaching a child the first step of brushing their teeth, which is to put the toothbrush in their mouth, teacher number two will continue where teacher number one finished, and teacher number three will continue where teacher number two left off.  This scenario actually shows one of the reasons why data collection is imperative. If the teachers did not take data on a child’s progress during their session, then the next teacher scheduled to work with a child would not be informed about what step to pick up from and/or which teaching techniques to use.

Another component of a good ABA program is the use of positive reinforcement.  While we will discuss positive reinforcement in more detail later in sessions, positive reinforcement basically means providing a reward for a behavior to increase the chances that the behavior will occur again. It is important that a child be in a positive learning environment, so that they are praised for their accomplishments and thus motivated to keep on learning. Children should be having fun during their sessions even though a lot is expected of them. Therefore, the use of positive reinforcement is essential.

Generalization is also a key component of an effective ABA program. Generalization refers to the concept that a child will demonstrate what they have learned in the ABA session outside of the ABA session; what they have learned to demonstrate with their ABA teacher with other people in their environment; and what they have learned to do using simple and concise language, to more complex language. Without generalization a child may only be
able to demonstrate a skill with a specific person, at a specific place, at a specific time. This is sometimes seen when a parent says, “oh he does it for me,” meaning that when a teacher asks a child to do something specific, say to clap, the child does not clap.  However, when the parent asks their child to ‘clap’ the child claps. This does not mean that a child does not know how to clap, it simply means that the child has not generalized clapping from his parents to another person. Generally speaking, it is more important for a child to do one thing with anyone and everyone asked, then a hundred things with only one person at one time and in one place.

Given this concept of generalization, good ABA programs will include parent training as a key part to the treatment program. Parents are key members of the ABA program and in a child’s life, they know their child best. As parents spend most waking hours with their child, it is important that they be educated and trained in continuing where the ABA session ended. An ABA therapy program is simply much more than the number of hours a professional agency works with a child – it should involve all environments in a child’s life. The principles of ABA should be incorporated into the child rearing practices in the families implementing this program so that there is consistency in a child’s environment and that as many learning opportunities during waking hours that can be captured, are in fact captured. That does not mean to say that parents become mini teachers outside of therapy and stop being parents, but it does mean that parents and other significant caregivers are an integral part of the treatment team.

Last but not least, an effective ABA program will hold regular meetings between all team members and the family to update a child’s curricula, targets, and goals, and will continually and consistently collaborate with other professionals working with a child in other domains.  This may include a child’s school teacher, speech therapist, medical doctor, psychiatrist, or anyone who has a say in helping a child. It is important that all members of a child’s team collaborate so that they are working together rather than unknowingly working in opposition to one another. And this is especially true when it comes to the area or domain of challenging behaviors. It is imperative for the welfare of a child that all persons interacting with a child are especially consistent in how they react when a child is engaging in an inappropriate behavior. So, by having consistent collaboration with other professionals on a child’s team, such consistency can be maintained.

Parent Tips To Determining Why Behavior Problems Happen

A helpful way to effectively tackle a child’s problem behavior is to figure out why it is happening in the first place.  To implement an intervention without this important information may produce no results or even make the challenging behavior far worse than it was before implementing the tactic you’ve chosen.

To figure out a behavior’s possible function, first we have to look at the antecedent—whatever it is that happened right before the behavior. And secondly, we also have to pay attention to the consequence that happens while or after the behavior happened.  This relationship between antecedent àbehavior ß consequence over time may contribute to why a child does the problem behavior.

There are four likely reason “why” a behavior may happen: for access, to escape/avoid, for attention, and for self-stimulation.

  1. Access

A problem behavior can be strengthened or reinforced when it produces a consequence that increases the chance of the problem behavior from happening again over time.

Example

A child is told he cannot have his tablet to play video games on which results in the child engaging in tantrum behaviors.  The parent does not want to deal with the tantrums so the child is given the tablet.  In this example, tantrums after being told “NO, you can’t have ____” resulted in the child getting what he cannot have.

A B C
Told no tablet/video games Tantrums Got tablet video games

 

  1. Escape/Avoidance

A problem behavior can be strengthened or reinforced when it produces a removal of something a person does not like (Escape).  The same strengthening of the behavior may also happen if the behavior prevents something that a person does not like from happening at all (Avoidance). Providing the behavior with either consequence may strengthen the behavior over time.

Example 1 (Escape)

A child is asked by his parent if there is homework for the day.  The child says yes and with her parent, starts working on the homework.  As the work becomes more difficult, the child starts complaining to the parent.  The parent instructs the child to continue working, but the child just continues complaining and eventually starts throwing pencils towards the wall. Unsure about what to do, the parent takes the homework off the table and tells the child that she doesn’t need to work on it anymore.

A B C
Instruction to continue with school-work Continual complaints, throwing pencil at wall School-work removed

 

Example 2 (Avoidance)

Upon getting home, the parent asks the child if there is homework for the day.  The child replies, “No homework today, yay!”  There is homework for that day.

A B C
Parent asks about homework Lies about having no homework Homework avoided
  1. Attention

A problem behavior can be strengthened or reinforced when it produces any response from another person that leads to the likelihood on the problem behavior from happening again over time.

Example

A family is having dinner at the table.  The elder child starts playing with her food and manages to flick a pea from her plate across the table with her fork.  The younger child starts laughing at his sibling being funny.  The elder child then repeats the behavior which makes the younger child laugh hysterically.  The parent asks the elder child to stop, but to no avail—peas scattered all over the dining table.

A B C
Other people at the table Flicking pea across the table (elder child) Younger child laughing

 

  1. Self-stimulatory

A problem behavior can also be reinforced automatically by the pleasant sensations the action produces. Parents can have an idea if a problem behavior may function for self-stimulation if the child performs the behavior regardless whether the child is around individuals or—and most especially—if the child is all alone.

Example

A child watching a video on her tablet “rewinds” the video to a specific scene, watches the clip for a few seconds, then rewinds the video once again to watch the same scene.  This chain of behaviors may repeat for an indefinite length of time.

A B C
End of favorite clip (and “desire” to watch again Rewinds video to the beginning of favorite scene Watching favorite scene again

Although there are now many tools that we can use to figure out the specific function of a behavior, parents and caregivers can still use A-B-C data analysis to help them find out the function(s) of a problem behavior to help determine the best tactic to use in addressing the behavioral difficulty.   For complex or intense problem behaviors that can pose a hazard to a child’s and others’ safety, it is highly advised that parents/caregiver seek assistance from a qualified behavior analyst.