What is ABA?

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA): “ABA is the science in which tactics derived from the
principles of behavior are applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior and
experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for behavior change”
- Principles of behavior -- science and facts
- Systematically -- process of how ABA is carried out
- Baseline to intervention to maintenance to generalization
- Improvement -- not just inc or dec skills
- Socially significant -- behavior of the client is meaningful for the client’s day to
day life
- Experimentation -- identify variables on what to manipulate for behavior change

History of BA
- 3 major branches
- Behaviorism -- the philosophy of the science of behavior
- John B Watson
- Observable behavior NOT mental processes
- Human Behavior studied as a natural science
- Directly Observable behavior and its relationship with the environment
- Experimental Analysis of Behavior -- basic research
- BF Skinner
- Technology of behavior
- Finding of the basic principles of behavior through lab experiments
- ABA -- developing a technology for improving behavior
- Formal beginning of ABA started in 1959 - “The Psychiatric Nurse as a
Behavioral Engineer”
- Contemporary ABA began in 1968 with the first publication of the first
issue of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA)
- Peer-reviewed and evidence-based
- Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) identified 7 dimensions of applied behavior
analysis
- Accountable, public, doable, empowering, and optimistic

Dr. Tarbox’s History of ABA

- Movement in psychology towards a more scientific approach
- Thorndike -- law of effect with cats -- consequences
- Watson -- treat human behavior as a scientifically observable process
- Skinner -- orderly relationship between behavior and consequence
- Extinction bust and gradual decrease
7 Dimensions
- Baer, Wolf, and Risley stated that a research study of behavior change program should
meet 7 defining dimensions to be considered ABA
1. Applied: investigates socially significant behaviors with immediate importance to the
subjects
2. Behavioral: entails precise measurement of the actual behavior in need of
improvement and documents that it was the subject’s behavior that changed
3. Analytic: demonstrates experimental control over the occurrence and nonoccurrence of
the behavior--that is, if a functional relation has been demonstrated
a. Functional relation: intervention caused behavior change and nothing else did
4. Technological: the written description of all procedure used in the study is sufficiently
complete and detailed to enable other to replicate it
a. Any one can read and do intervention
5. Effective: improves behavior sufficiently to produce practical results for the
participant/client
6. Conceptually systematic: behavior change interventions are derived from principles
of behavior
a. ABC
7. Generality: produces behavior changes that last over time, appear in other
environments, or spread to other behaviors

- GET A CAB
Defining Behavior
- “The behavior of an organism is that portion of an organism’s interaction with its
environment that is characterized by detectable displacement in space through time of
some part of the organism and that results in a measurable change in at least one
aspect of the environment.”
- Behavior is the activity of living organisms
- It is the organism’s interaction with the environment
- There must be a detectable displacement in space through time*
- Behavior results in a measurable change in some aspect of the environment
- Measurement Types
- Temporal locus
- Latency
- IRT
- Temporal extent
- Duration
- Repeatability
- Frequency
 - Rate

- Behavior can be:

- Operant (learned)
- ABCs
- Respondent (reflexive)

What Behavior is NOT

- If a dead man can do it, it aint behavior. And if a dead man can’t do it, then it is behavior”
- Behavior can only be accomplished by living organisms
- Getting knocked down by a strong wind (a dead man can do it)
- Getting wet when it’s raining (NOT bx)
- Receiving tokens (NOT bx)
- Independent states of the organisms (being hungry or being anxious) -- NOT a
bx
- Cannot measure

Defining Environment
- Refers to the full set of psychical circumstances in which the organism exists
- All behavior occurs within an environmental context
- Anything in the environment may be considered for their contribution to their behavior
- The environment is comprised of events that differ from instance to instance and is
continuous
- Stimulus: an energy change that affects an organism through its receptor cells

Using the 3 term contingency

- The 3-term contingency helps us identify what happened before and after the
occurrence of the behavior in the environment
- THe BCBA needs to know what happened before (Antecedent), what the behavior looks
like (behavior/response) and what happened after (consequence)
- For example, we are sitting in the play room with four other kids. Jacob starts to
cry and bangs his head on the ground. The first question will be, what happened
first? THe second question will be, what happened after he banged his head?
- Knowing the antecedent, behavior/response, and the consequence allows the BCBA to
identify the function of behavior or to identify why the behavior is occurring
- Should we change the antecedent
- Should we change the consequence
- Basic unit of analysis for ABA
- Antecedent -- an environmental condition or stimulus change existing or occurring prior
to a behavior of interest
- Behavior -- the activity of living organisms- results in in a measurable change in at least
one aspect of the environment
 - Consequence -- a stimulus change that follows a behavior of interest

Examples of the 3- term contingency

- A: running late to work
- B: speed in the vehicle
- C: get to work on time
- C: (environment change) speeding ticket

ABA and ASD

History of Autism
- Autism was not first named or described until 1943 by Leo Kanner
- Suggested a relationship between Autism and a lack of maternal warmth
- Dr. Hans Asperger identified Aspergers in 1944
- Bernard Rimland suggested that Autism was a biological disorder in 1965
- IDEA mandated a free and appropriate education for ALL children with disabilities in
public school in 1975
- The beginning of special education
- Added to the DSM in 1980, ABA treatments began in 1980s

Using ABA as an intervention for Autism

- Deficits
- Language
- Play
- Social skills
- Perspective taking
- Executive functioning
- Motor skills
- Adaptive living skills
- academic/pre-learning skills
- Excesses
- Stereotypy
- Problem Behaviors
- Tantrums
- Aggression
- Noncompliance
- Self-injury
Intro to ASD

Treat Others with Compassion, Respect, and Dignity

- Self determination means that one can make their own choices and have control over
their own life. One way to do this is to incorporate goals such as teaching
independence and communication skills.
- Personal choice is a human right. Whenever possible, provide opportunities
for your clients to make choices during their sessions.
- All people have the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Here are ways to treat
your clients with dignity:
- Consider your attitude
- Maintain privacy for those you are working with
- Communicate with your clients in a respectful and effective manner. Do not talk
down to them.
- Treat your clients how you want to be treated.
- Be aware of your client's feelings and experiences and show that you are trying
to help them
- ABA therapy is more than just teaching our clients to comply with our demands. We
should be supporting them to communicate their wants and needs and to have the
ability to self-advocate.

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

- ASD is diagnosed through a comprehensive evaluation by a child psychologist,
neurologist, or psychiatrist (medical diagnosis)
- Diagnosis is based on the DSM-V
- Criteria is based on two domains which include:
- Social interaction and social communication
- Restrictive, repetitive, and stereotypic behavior patterns

Social Interactions
- Failure to develop peer relationships
- Impairment in use of non-verbal behavior (ex: gestures, eye contact)
- Lack of seeking to share enjoyment
Communication
- Delay or lack of spoken language
- Deficient conversational skills
- Repetitive use of language
- Impaired make-believe play
Restrictive, repetitive, stereotypic behavior patterns
- Preoccupation with restricted patterns of interest
- Inflexible adherence to routine or rituals
- Repetitive motor mannerisms
- Persistent preoccupation with parts of objects
Level 1: Requiring support
- Social communication: without supports in place, deficits in social communication cause
noticeable impairments. Difficulty in initiating social interactions, and clear examples of
atypical or unsuccessful response to social overtures of others. May appear to have
increased interest in social interactions
- Restrictive, repetitive and stereotypic behaviors: inflexibility of behavior causes
significant interference with functioning in one or more contexts. Difficulty switching
between activities. Problems of organization and planning hamper independence
Level 2: Requiring Substantial support
- Social communication: marked deficits in verbal and non-verbal social communication
skills; social impairments apparent even with supports in place; limited initiation of social
interactions; and reduced or abnormal responses to social overtures from others
- Restrictive, repetitive and stereotypic behaviors: inflexibility of behavior, difficulty coping
with change, or other restrictive repetitive behavior appear frequently enough to be
obvious to the causal observer and interfere with functioning in a variety of contexts.
Distress and/or difficulty changing focus or action
Level 3: requiring very substantial support
- Social communication: severe deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communication
skills cause severe impairments in functioning, very limited initiation of social
interactions, and minimal response to social overtures from others
- Restrictive, repetitive and stereotypic behaviors: inflexibility of behavior, extreme
difficulty coping with change, or other restricted.repetitive behaviors markedly interfere
with functioning in all spheres. Great distress/difficult changing focus or action

Understanding Developmental Milestones

- CDC’s Developmental Milestones | CDC

ABA therapy and ASD

Behavior Deficits (to increase)

- Language
- Receptive and expressive
- Play
- Social skills
- Perspective taking
- Executive functions
- Motor skills
- Adaptive skills
- School skills
Behavior Excess (to decrease)
- Stereotypy
- Non-compliance
- Tantrums
 - Aggression
- Self injury

Vocal Stereotypy: non-contextual or nonfunctional speech, including singing, babbling, repetitive

grunts, squeals, and phrases unrelated to the present situation
- Noises made that are not for communication purposes
- Stimming
- Automatically reinforcing

History and Prevalence of ASD

Prevalence
- According to the CDC, in the most recent surveillance year conducted in 2018, about 1
in 44 children were diagnosed with ASD. In comparison, in 2000, the prevalence was
about 1 in 150 children.
- Boys are 4 times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ASD.
- ASD is reported to occur across all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.