Applied Behavior Analysis

(ABA)
• The children who participated in early and
intensive ABA programming learned many
new skills and substantially reduced their
problematic behavior
• Skills ranging from simple to complex are
broken down into small, measurable units
and systematically taught
 Causes of Behavior
• Genetic explanations
• Past experiences (sometimes called reinforcement
history or learning history) – Behavior analysts study
how behaviors are acquired and maintained through
reinforcement.
• Immediate environment – the events that are happening
during every moment of our lives. This includes the
setting, other people present and their behavior, objects,
activities, routines, resources, etc. Behavior analysts
collect very specific information about what happens
before and after a behavior. They then use this
information to make appropriate behavior more likely
and inappropriate behavior less likely.
 Functional Assessment/Analysis
ABCs of Behavior

A B C

• Antecedent: what comes before a specific

behavior
• Behavior: the behavior itself
• Consequence: what happens after a specific
behavior
• Example: Teaching Exchange
• Teacher says, “Get your lunchbox. It’s time to
eat.” (Antecedent)
• Student walks to cubby, gets lunchbox, walks
to seat at table, and sits down. (Behavior)
• Teacher says, “Terrific work, Johnny. You got
your lunchbox. You’re ready to eat.”
(Consequence)
• Example: Challenging Behavior
• Teacher says, “Let’s clean up. It is time for
circle.” (Antecedent)
• Student throws blocks, lies on floor, and
screams. (Behavior)
• Teacher says, “We need to clean up our toys,”
and helps child to put blocks in the box.
(Consequence)
 Reinforcement
• Positive reinforcement
• Negative reinforcement
• Differential reinforcement
 Prompts
• Prompts are defined as extra cues or hints
that help the learner to know what to do in a
particular situation or time. Prompts are
things we do to increase the likelihood that
learners will make the correct responses.
• Physical prompts
• Verbal prompts
• Gestural prompts
 Modeling
• Role playing
• Role reversal
 Verbal Behavior
Verbal Behavior Classifications:

• Echoic - imitating a sound, word, or phrase t Instructor

says, “Say, ba” as she looks at a ball. Learner says “ba.”
• Mand - making a request or demand t Learner reaches for
a toy train (gesture) and says “choo choo” (speech).
• Tact - labeling something in the environment t A teacher
holds up an eraser, and says, “What is it?” The learner
says, “eraser.”
• Intraverbal - back and forth conversational exchange;
talking about things or people not present t Joey says, “I
saw a movie last night.” Henry says, “What movie did you
see?” Joey says, “Finding Nemo. It’s about a fish.” Henry
says, “Cool. I saw that one, too. It was good.”
 Picture Exchange Communication
System

• The Picture Exchange Communication System

(PECS) is a picture-based system that was
developed for learners with social
communication deficits (Bondy & Frost,
2001). PECS is an alternative communication
system in which an individual independently
uses pictures to express his wants and needs.
 Shaping
• Gradually teaches a new behavior by reinforcing
closer and closer approximations to the desired
behavior. It’s useful when the behavior is new or
complex, and you need to build it step-by-step.

• For example, teaching a child to say "hello“.

First, reinforce any sound the child makes. Then,
only when they make a "h" sound, reinforce.
Next, only when they say "he," then "hel," and
finally "hello“.
 Chaining And Task Analysis
• Teaches a sequence of behaviors that happen in
a specific order. Each step (or link) in the chain is
trained separately and then linked together.

• For example, teaching a child to brush their

teeth:
• Pick up the toothbrush
• Put toothpaste on it
• Brush the teeth
• Rinse mouth
• Put toothbrush away
 Discrete Trial Training

• Discrete trial instruction (DTI) or discrete trial teaching (DTT) has

historically been the primary instructional method used in ABA
intervention for children with autism. It is a very systematic and
methodical way of teaching and is supported by a history of
success in teaching skills across all areas.

• Discrete trials are comprised of several components.

• a discriminative stimulus: SD (an instruction)
• a response (what the child does in response to the instruction)
• a consequence (feedback to the child about his/her response)
• Example:
• One trial
• Instruction: "Pick up your toothbrush."
• Response: Child picks up the toothbrush.
• Reinforcement: Praise or a token.

• Next trial
• SD: "Put toothpaste on your brush."
• Response: Child applies toothpaste properly.
• Reinforcement: Praise or token.
 Pivotal Response Training
• The PRT therapist targets “pivotal” areas of a child’s
development instead of working on one specific
behavior.

• PRT is based on four pivotal areas:

• Motivation: For example, if a child reaches for a
puzzle, the therapist reinforces that interest by
providing the puzzle, encouraging the child to initiate
communication.
• Initiation of social interactions: For example, a child
might be prompted to say “Hi” to a peer or say
“more” during play to request additional activity,
fostering more spontaneous social communication.
 Pivotal Response Training

• Responding to multiple cues: For example, The

therapist says, “Can you give me the big, blue ball?”
while holding a big, blue ball and a small, red ball.

• Self-management: For instance, if the child feels

overwhelmed by loud noises, they might be taught to
request an ear coverer.
 Token Economy
• A token economy is a behavior management system
where individuals earn tokens or points for displaying
desired behaviors, such as following instructions or
completing tasks.
• These tokens are symbolic and can be exchanged later for
preferred items, activities, or privileges, serving as a form
of reinforcement.
• This system helps increase positive behaviors by providing
immediate, tangible recognition for efforts, which is
particularly useful for children with autism or other
developmental differences.
• For example, a child might earn a star for brushing their
teeth or completing homework, and after collecting a
certain number of stars, they can trade them for a favorite
toy or extra playtime.
 Incidental Teaching

• Incidental teaching is a process to help

learners expand their verbal skills.
• It is defined as waiting for the learner to
initiate a request or a conversation and then
responding in ways that foster more
language.
• The procedure is broken down into the following
steps:

1. Child initiates for an item or activity. Initiation could

be in the form of verbal language, sign language,
picture exchange, gesturing, pointing, or leading.
2. Adult requests an elaboration in the form of a
a. Non-verbal cue, such as looking expectantly, or
pointing to the item.
b. Verbal cue, such as “What do you want?”
c. Verbal model, such as “Say, I want juice.”
3. Child responds with a slightly better response than
the first initiation. For example, attempting to name
an object is better than only pointing to it
4. Adult provides the child with the requested object.
• For example

• A desired toy train is out of reach on the

child’s dresser.
• The child stretches his arm over the dresser
but cannot reach the train.
• The parent says, “What do you want? Train?”
• The child says, “T’ain!” The parent gives the
train to the child.
• Example 2

• A child opens his lunchbox and finds that there

is no straw for his juicebox.
• The teacher notices the student’s predicament
and looks expectantly at him, waiting for him to
ask for help. The child says, “Uh. Oh.”
• The teacher says, “What do you need?”
• The child says, “Straw.”
• The teacher brings him a new straw.
 Activity Schedules
• An activity schedule is a set of pictures or
words that cues a sequence of activities.
• Typical materials for an activity schedule
include a photo album or three-ring binder,
stickers, activity photos, and a preferred item
that will serve as a reinforcer for
accomplishing the task.
 Generalization
• Generalization occurs when a person learns something in
one environment and can independently apply it in
another.
• Spontaneous generalization occurs when the learner can
do so without any additional training.
• Learners with autism often have a difficult time
generalizing skills to new environments. They may need
more intensive teaching to learn how to exhibit new
skills outside of the teaching situation. While it may be
important to teach new skills in a controlled manner, it is
also important to make sure that the person can use the
skill in a functional and meaningful way.
• For example

• Therapist have taught the child to ask, “Can I have a

turn?” when others have highly preferred toys at
home. At a family gathering at his aunt’s house, he
asks a cousin, “Can I have a turn?”

• Therapist have taught the child to request, “I want

banana.” when presented with a choice of snacks.
Then the child learns to say, “I want banana” to
different other people.
 Antecedent-Based Interventions
• This focus on changing the environment before a
behavior occurs is advantageous for several
reasons.
• First, in the situation of challenging behavior,
the goal is to prevent the behavior. We may
achieve prevention by using antecedent-based
strategies. Second, the search for effective
antecedent-based strategies can improve our
understanding of the learner’s experiences.
• Example 1

• suppose a learner tantrums when

transitioning from one teacher to another. It
is noted that the learner behaves more
appropriately for the teacher who speaks at a
slower pace. The other teacher then speaks
slowly and the learner’s tantrums stop.
• Example 2

• Prior to her teachers using an antecedent-based

strategy, Melissa screams when she is randomly
paired with Barbara (another student) to
complete a task. Melissa verbally and physically
protests throughout the task. Barbara does not
like listening to Melissa scream. Barbara says to
the teacher, “Maybe you should let her pick her
own partner next time.” The teacher does just
that. The next time Melissa does not protest!
The incorporation of choice-making improves
Melissa’s behavior and avoids a problematic
scene.
• Example 3
• Danny, a teenager with autism, was not able to
tell the difference between the men’s and
women’s restrooms. His father tried to teach
him this by typing the relevant words and
printing them in a large font. After a week of
instruction, his father realized that Danny was
not independently identifying these two signs.
He still needed his father’s help. His father
incorporated an antecedent-based strategy: he
changed the teaching materials. This time, his
father used stick figure drawings commonly
used on restroom doors to depict a man and a
woman. With a few days of teaching, Danny
could independently identify these signs.
Consequence-Based Interventions
• focus on providing immediate, meaningful
feedback to encourage positive behaviors
and reduce challenging ones. Here are some
specific examples:
• Reinforcement
• Token economy