Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis

What is ABA? “Applied Behavior Analysis is the science in which procedures derived from the principles of behavior are systemically applied to improve socially significant behavior to a meaningful degree and to demonstrate experimentally that the procedures employed were responsible for the improvement of behavior” Cooper, Heron, and Heward (1987). Which means ABA is a scientific approach for improving socially important behaviors Applied Behavior Analysis

Simply Put…  ABA has been used to help individuals acquire many different skills, such as language skills, self-help skills, and play skills.  In addition, these principles can help to decrease maladaptive behaviors such as aggression, self-stimulatory behaviors, and self-injury.  What can ABA be used for? The short answer is: almost anything. If it is a behavior, and it can be observed, ABA principles exist that can be used to either increase or decrease that behavior.

4 ABA can be found in AIDS prevention conservation of natural resources education gerontology health and exercise industrial safety language acquisition littering medical procedures parenting seatbelt use severe mental disorders And more ….

5 Key Elements of ABA Applied- behaviors targeted for change are socially significant (ABC) Behavior- Measurable and observable, quantifiable, socially significant Behavior- Analysis- data driven, a function between treatment and behavior is evident

Three-Term Contingency Antecedent →Behavior → Consequence In the presence of A, if B occurs, it will be followed by C

Antecedent (Setting, individual factors)  Any event that precedes the occurrence of the behavior of interest.  Antecedent events set the occasion for a response to occur. Behavior  All of the actions that living organisms make that are observable and measurable; the specific way the individual acts.  Behaviors are affected by both antecedents and consequences. Consequences  The event(s) that immediately follow the behavior of interest.  A stimulus that is added or removed that alters the future probability of the behavior. Three Term Contingency

ABA attempts to increase, maintain and generalize adaptive desirable behaviors and decrease the occurrence of maladaptive, undesirable behaviors How? Shaping, chaining, DTT, NET, Differential reinforcement..etc…etc Target behaviors are selected for study in ABA because of their importance to the people involved. You must be specific in what you are increasing or decreasing: not clean your room but pick up socks, shoes and make bed. Setting Criteria for Behavior Change

Reinforcement-INCREASES behavior, a behavior is more likely to occur in the future. Reinforcement Positive Reinforcement-adding/presenting something the student values to increase the likelihood of behavior. Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement-removing something from the student that is aversive to increase the likelihood of behavior. Negative Reinforcement A Basic Principle…

10 Changing behavior Increasing behaviors What kinds? Why? Reinforcement- environmental events that occur after a behavior increases the likelihood of that behavior occurring in the future. Must serve to increase the occurrences of a particular behavior A basic principle of behavior analysis, one of the most important! Reinforcement is in the eye of the beholder Must be used contingently to increase a behavior Must be used immediately to be most effective Typically used continuously when teaching a new behavior How do we know if something is a reinforcer? Continuous----Intermittent---- ExtinctionExtinction

11 Vocabulary Motivation-MO/EO When trying to teach a new skill to a child, we must establish his/her Motivating Operant/Establishing Operant The MO/EO is why the person will work for you Role of reinforcement Motivation can be social/physical/food/tangible

12 Common Vocabulary Maintenance - Extent to which a learner continues to perform the target behavior after a portion or all of the intervention is terminated AKA durability, behavioral persistence Generalization - performance and adaptation of a behavior under conditions different than the setting in which is was originally learned. the trained behavior occurs at other times or in other places without having to be retrained completely in those particular times or places, or if functionally related behaviors occur that were not trained directly. Huh? A ball is a ball is a ball

Preference Assessments: what motivates our students and how do we know? Interviews Ask significant others Observation Watch what the student moves toward most frequently Preference Assessments Free operant, multiple stimulus, paired stimulus It will depend upon the student’s level of functioning. VIDEO MSWO

Teaching New Behaviors: Translations of Basic Behavior Principles to Application An important aspect in teaching new behaviors is reinforcement. Applied behavior analysis has the potential to make wide-reaching, socially significant changes in behavior. Training in behavior analysis to teachers or administrators.

Teaching Basics Select target behavior- be very specific The behavior should produce reinforcement after formal contingencies of a behavior change program are terminated- i.e...., there should be long term benefit Keep in mind the child’s skill level/prerequisite skills Should be age appropriate Philosophy of normalization: select target’s that are as culturally normal as possible If behavior is selected for reduction, a desirable adaptive behavior should be selected to replace it

Best Practices to increase behavior we want and decrease inappropriate behaviors Catch the children being good and praise them using behavior specific praise. Use prompts for responses children do not know how to do. Redirect inappropriate behavior. Teach functional communication. Give choices. Differential reinforcement Reinforcing the behavior we want to increase Extinguishing (no longer reinforcing) the behavior we want to decrease. Ex: We reinforce a student when he is using his words to request a toy, but when he screams we ignore his request.