Applied Behavior Analysis ( ABA )
If you want to try some techniques at home , I would encourage you to explore and educate yourself with the different approaches , ideas , and teachings that are used in performing ABA therapy . Focus on :
� Prompting
� Shaping
� Task Analysis
� Functional Behavioral Analysis ( FBA )
� Functional Communication Training ( FCT )
Also , familiarize yourself with Operant Conditioning and Reinforcement .
This article has good information regarding online resources and training of ABA techniques .
The main area of focus for ABA is reinforcement . Positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement are both concepts that can be applied to your child at home .
Positive reinforcers are something that you like or want , which is given to you after you present a specific desired behavior . Negative reinforcers are something you don ’ t like or want which is taken away to reinforce a behavior .
Keep in mind positive reinforcement adds (+) something and negative reinforcement subtracts ( - ) something . ABA is performed by using the acronym ABC , otherwise known as the ABCs of ABA .
The main area of focus for ABA is reinforcement . Positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement are both concepts that can be applied to your child at home .
A : Antecedent — What is causing “ the behavior ”
B : behavior — What is done because of the antecedent , what the child does
C : consequence — What is causing the behavior to continue , what reinforces it
If you look at the antecedent and behavior ( A and B ) there is usually a link . Changing the consequence should change the way the behavior is linked to the antecedent .
I want to emphasize that ABA therapy is for working on one specific skill set . You take one thing , one behavior or skill you wish to see changed or learned , and that is the focus for your therapy . Yes , you can work on more than one skill or behavior at a time , but each behavior or skill will have its own plan / treatment . It is important to bear this in mind when trying home-based therapy .
Let ’ s break it down using this example : your schoolage child with autism has hit your other schoolaged child . We will be going down the list of the ABCs of ABA to try to set up a proper plan for when this happens .
A : The trigger or task that caused the behavior . Why was this ( behavior ) done ? For attention or out of anger / anxiety ?
�Here , let ’ s say it was out of anger / anxiety
B : In regards to their behavior , what do you want to change ?
�we would like to change their act of violence ( hitting ) by providing them an effective way to properly calm down
C : Choose a plan of attack : will you use positive or negative reinforcement ?
�How will you use the reinforcement ? I will provide the de-escalation tactic of counting