Proven Behavior Solutions Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Shannon Gilbert, outlines common myths and misconceptions surrounding Applied Behavior Analysis in this detailed article.
By: Shannon Gilbert M.S.,BCBA, LABA
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a treatment most commonly used to teach individuals with autism. The principles of ABA are used to increase socially significant behaviors and to decrease behaviors that interfere with learning. Socially significant behaviors refer to behaviors that allow the individual to be as successful and independent as possible in their natural environment (e.g., home, school, work, and on community outings).
ABA is seen as a “best” practice treatment for individuals with autism by the US Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association. The field of ABA is backed by decades of research and several thousand studies that show it’s effectiveness in teaching many different types of people including people with autism, traumatic brain injury, and addictions. Unfortunately, ABA is often misunderstood and misrepresented. As a result, parents may not be able to make informed decisions regarding if ABA treatment is appropriate for their child. This article will attempt to clarify some myths regarding ABA in order to aide parents in making more informed decisions.
#1 ABA aims to help individuals be more socially acceptable rather than accepting them for who they are.
The purpose of ABA is to teach the learner skills that will allow them to live happy and meaningful lives. Skills taught in ABA go beyond teaching the learner to meet social norms. Language, adaptive living, vocational, leisure/play, planning and organizing, self-advocacy, and managing money are all examples of skills that can be taught using ABA interventions. The skills that are taught are highly individualized and are prioritized based on the goals of the learner and/or the learner’s family. When prioritizing goals, the learner/ learner’s family will highlight long and short term goals and the skills needed to be taught in order to achieve these goals will be discussed. For instance, if the long term goal is to have play dates with friends the learner will need to be taught certain skills before having the play date (e.g., turn taking, sharing, and pretend play).
#2 All ABA is done at the table.
A typical ABA session will incorporate reinforcing and fun activities into sessions. Skills can and should be taught in various settings and environments (e.g., at the table, away from the table, in the backyard, and in the community) using the interests of the learner. There are some individuals who need less stimulating environments in order to learn. In these cases skills may be taught at the table, but the time spent at the table is short and should be intermixed with breaks or less structured teaching sessions. Sometimes skills are taught in a more structured fashion to teach “learner readiness” skills. These skills help the learner to be independent and successful in school or other teaching settings. For example, the long term goal may be for a child to sit quietly during circle time for 5 minutes. This goal can be targeted by requiring the learner to sit and listen to someone read a preferred story for a short amount of time. The time spent sitting quietly will be slowly increased as the learner tolerates sitting for longer periods of time. These teaching sessions should then be intermixed with breaks and less structured teaching sessions as well.
#3 ABA uses aversives and punishment.
Early researchers such as Dr. Lovaas implemented punishment procedures with the use of aversives to study the effects they had on behavior. In ABA, the term “punishment” refers to the removal or introduction of something into the environment that will decrease a behavior in the future. Aversives refers to unpleasant items, activities, or outcomes. Punishment or aversive treatments can include procedures such as time out, temporary removal of favorite items, or adding additional tasks. Currently, reinforcement based treatments are seen as “best” practice in the field of ABA. The Behavior Analyst Certification Board Code of Ethics emphasizes that reinforcement based treatments should be used over punishment based treatments and aversives. Punishment and aversives should only be used if necessary due to the severity or danger of the behavior (e.g., self-injury) or if reinforcement procedures have been proven to not be effective in decreasing the behavior. Reinforcement should always be included when implementing punishment procedures and aversives. An increased level of training, supervision, and oversight must be implemented when using aversives. The BCBA must monitor the effectiveness of the aversive procedure and modify the procedure it if it is not effective. Additionally, a plan must be written to discontinue the use of aversive treatments when no longer needed.
#4 ABA teaches kids to respond or sound like robots.
An important component of ABA is to teach learners to generalize skills across people, places, and things. Generalization refers to the ability to apply skills to natural contexts and settings. Naturalistic Teaching Approaches allow for the learner to be taught using natural contexts across many environments and people. This promotes responding that is more natural and that can be demonstrated in their everyday life. For example, if the leaner is being taught to respond to greetings the skill can be taught using a variety of greetings (e.g., “Hey,” “Hello,” and “Hi there”) with multiple people (e.g., mom, dad, teacher, and community helper) and in different settings (e.g., at home, at the park, and at school).
Some of the individuals we work with may learn best when taught in a highly structured and repetitive fashion. Discrete Trial Training (DTT) is a method of breaking down a complex skill into simplified and structured steps. This method of teaching can be highly beneficial, but it may promote scripted or robotic responses that are only demonstrated in contrived settings (e.g., the learner only replies to a greeting when sitting at the table). Once a skill has been mastered using DTT, the next phase is to use more naturalistic approaches to ensure that the skill can be used in a natural way and in every day contexts.
# 5 ABA makes learners overly dependent on reinforcement.
One of the core components of ABA is reinforcement. Reinforcement refers to when a consequence directly follows a behavior and increases that behavior in the future. Reinforcement is used in a variety of settings including schools, in the work place, and at home. For instance, many parents give their children money for completing chores around the house. Employees receive a paycheck for working. No matter how old we are or what our level of functioning is, we all need some sort of motivation for engaging in certain behaviors. Although reinforcement is necessary to teach skills, an effective ABA program will work to systematically decrease the amount of reinforcement that is being used with the learner. Some learners may only be motivated by more contrived reinforcement (e.g., toys or food). In this case, to more natural reinforcement (e.g., social praise, high fives, money) is paired with more contrived reinforcement over time. This teaches the learner to be motivated by natural reinforcers and reinforcement that will be delivered in their everyday life (e.g., getting a high five from a friend). Once this is done, more contrived reinforcement can be discontinued.
Anderson, S. R., & Romanczyk, R.G. (1999). Early Intervention for Young Children with Autism: Continuum‐Based Behavioral Models, 24 (3), 162‐ 173.
Cooper J.O, Heron T.E, Heward W.L. Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson; 2007.
“Myths and Misconceptions about ABA.” Priorities ABA. Accessed September 22, 2017. http://www.prioritiesaba.com/resources-links/myths-and-misconceptions-about-aba.
Top 10 Myths About Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). National Autism Network. Accessed September 22, 2017. http://nationalautismnetwork.com/about-autism/autism-treatments/top-10-myths-about-applied-behavior-analysis.html.
Shannon Gilbert is the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer of Proven Behavior Solutions. In this role, she is responsible for cross-domain Clinical Quality Assurance, oversight of business & clinical practices to ensure ethical compliance with national agencies and regulators, and HIPAA compliance, among other duties. She is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP), awarded by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE), the national multi-industry association and certification board for compliance and ethics professionals.
As a BCBA, Shannon brings over 14 years of experience working with children, including 12 years of experience working with young children & adolescents diagnosed with ASD, as well as adults with Traumatic Brain Injuries. She has provided direct ABA services and supervised clinical teams across various settings in Massachusetts, to include multiple schools and private companies. Shannon also has experience consulting educators and other professionals in the fields of OT and SLP. She holds a Massachusetts state license as an Applied Behavior Analyst and meets the BACB Standards for Supervision Requirements to supervise BCaBAs, RBTs, and trainees seeking BCBA certification.
Education:
BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Emerson College
MS in Applied Behavior Analysis & Autism, Sage College
Proven Behavior Solutions is a group of specialized professionals committed to improving the lives of children and adolescents affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the South Shore and Upper Cape Cod regions of Massachusetts.
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