ABA: The Science of Changing Lives One Behavior at a Time! JUAN - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

ABA: The Science of Changing Lives One Behavior at a Time!

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, PH.D., BCBA-D, LBS EPIC DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES MAY 12, 2017 CBH, PHILADELPHIA, PA

ABA: Seven Defining Characteristics

1. Applied 2. Behavioral 3. Analytic 4. Technological 5. Conceptually Systematic 6. Effective 7. Generality of results

• 1. APPLIED

Interventions have social significance:

• How important are the behaviors or environment to the person?
• Activities of daily living
• Eating
• Showering
• Toileting
• Academics
• Math
• Reading
• Behavior problems
• Aggression
• Self-injuries

• 2. Behavioral

Behaviors are defined and can be observed and measured by human observers

• Task analysis
• Behavior definition
• Object mouthing: placement of an inedible object past

the plane of the lips.

• Food consumption: placement of food past the plane of

the lips.

• From: The effects of noncontingent access to food on the rate of object mouthing across three settings.
• Henry S Roane, Markell L Kelly, Wayne W Fisher. J Appl Behav Anal. 2003 Winter; 36(4): 579–582

• 3. ANALYTICAL

It can be demonstrated that the procedures used are reliably responsible for behavior change.

• 4. Technological

Procedures are completely identified and described. Test: Can a trained person implement these interventions and

• btain the same results by simply reading the procedures?

For example: Provide… “continuous access to foods that had been previously identified to compete with the occurrence of object mouthing: chewing gum, marshmallows, and hard candy. Jason wore a fanny pack containing these items around his waist.”

• 5. CONCEPTUALLY SYSTEMATIC

Procedures use the scientific principles of behavior

• Reinforcement principles
• Stimulus control
• Verbal behavior
• For example:

“…continuous provision of food may result in satiation, which may recreate

the establishing operation for object mouthing (deprivation of oral stimulation)… the long-term use of leisure items may be more beneficial than the noncontingent provision of food.”

• 6. EFFECTIVE

The results obtained are large enough for practical value.

• 7. GENERALITY OF RESULTS

Do the results last over time? Do they occur in all desired environments? Do they spread to related behaviors? Not taken for granted: program for it

Whose lives have changed with ABA?

People with and without disabilities:

• Infants
• Toddlers
• School-age
• Adolescents
• Adults
• Elderly

Features of high quality ABA services for children with autism

“The responsibility of learning rests with the teacher (caregiver)”

The environment

• Space designed systematically
• Distractions minimized
• Materials within reach of adults, matched to child’s level, support goals
• Daily schedule – supports child-adult interactions many times over day,

followed regularly by adult as well

• Parents treated as valued team members
• Learner’s progress: Data collected, displayed, reviewed, and analyzed

regularly

Features of high quality ABA services for children with autism (cont.)

The instructors

• Caring and supportive
• Trained
• Use variety of validated assessments and curricular materials
• Teach replacement behaviors when problem behaviors occur
• Can communicate principles underlying change
• Specify treatment outcomes
• Change intervention timely if lack of progress

Features of high quality ABA services for children with autism (cont.)

The instruction

• Methods are ABA based
• When needed, methods are changed based on data
• Learners have multiple and ongoing opportunities to respond and learn skills
• Learners are taught to fluent levels
• Learners’ likes and dislikes are taken into consideration
• New behaviors are taught
• Problems behaviors are reduced or eliminated
• Assessments are used systematically to determine instructional priorities
• Taught skills are developmentally appropriate
• When possible, taught skills match the general curriculum

References

Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1, 91-97. Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied Behavior Analysis (2nd Ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall, NJ: Upper Saddle River. Hall, V. R., Lund, D., & Jackson, D. (1968). Effects of teacher attention on study

• behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1, 1-12.

How to know if your child’s program uses ABA. (2017, April 17). Retrieved from

http://abainpa.com/images/pdf/How%20Would%20I%20Know%20My%20Child%20Was%2

Roane, H. S., Kelly, M. L., & Fisher, W. W. (2003). The effects of noncontingent food on the rate of object mouthing across three settings. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 36, 579–582.