Applied Behaviour Analysis, ABA in Autism

Basic principles of ABA used at the clinic

All behaviours, whether they are being observed or taught, can be broken down into 3 parts;

• Antecedent (A) - what triggered a behaviour or what happens before the behaviour,
• Behaviour (B) - the behaviour itself, and
• Consequence (C) - what happens after the behaviour.

The consequence is whatever the behaviour accomplishes, for example it can be getting attention (negative or positive) or relief of stress. The consequence is not always obvious, especially in the case of stimming behaviour (odd behaviours the child does such as arm flapping or repetitive actions), which is why keeping data is helpful to identify what the function of the behaviours are, as well as what triggers them.

During ABA assessment, the Autistic child’s behaviors are carefully observed to assess:

• exactly what behaviours are performed by the child
• when  these behaviours are performed
• at what rate  the behaviours are occurring
• what happens before and after the behaviours.

Skills that are to be promoted are broken down into small sequential steps. The ABC principles of behaviour intervention are used to teach the child each step, :

• A  (antecedent) – Each instruction is given clearly, in as few words as possible. Assistance is provided; for example prompting through demonstration or physically guiding.
• B  (behaviour) –  An appropriate behaviour is observed,
• C  (consequence)– A consequence is an outcome that will reward the child and increase the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated again in the future, also called a positive reinforcer.

This "ABC" process is repeated frequently for each behaviour both in structured teaching situations and in the course of everyday activities.

1. Instructions are given to emphasise metacognition (learning how to learn). In this case learning how  to listen, to watch, to imitate, to ask and do.
2. As the child's learned behaviours improve, the structured guidance is systematically reduced and the prompts are used less frequently and eventually faded out. This so that the child learns to perform the trained behaviour independently.
3. It is also important to change the context of teaching (different people giving the antecedent, more people around, different situations, etc.) in order to generalise the learned behaviours.
4. When each behaviour consisting of single sequential steps are acquired, the person is taught to combine them to produce more complex behaviours.
5. Problematic behaviours are not reinforced, instead the child is consistently redirected to engage in appropriate behavior.
6. The child’s responses during each step is meticulously recorded. The information is later used to determine if the child is progressing at an acceptable rate. If progress is not satisfactory, the learning steps are analysed for possible flaws and the program modified.

The ABA Therapist

ABA therapy is highly intensive and requires the therapist to be pleasant, knowledgeable, consistent, patient and empathetic. In addition, the therapist must be capable of objectively observing and analysing the behaviours, design appropriate ABC steps and implement them effectively.

• The behaviour of the ABA therapists should also be observed continuously at first and then less frequently and as needed to ensure that ABC procedures are being applied correctly and safely.
• Recording the behaviours of both the child and the therapist is essential.
• There must be empirical observed evidence that the program is working.
• Even highly experienced behavior therapists need this form of feedback.
• Observing therapist behaviors tells us that the procedures are being followed correctly and consistently.
• The recorded data informs us about the effectiveness of the procedures applied, and how to improve the effectiveness of the intervention and allows the intervention to adapt as the child grows and changes.

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