Three Fantastic Insights from Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is a controversial therapy approach. Some parents and therapists love it because of the positive outcomes they have seen on behaviour, but others don’t want anything to do with it (to put it nicely!) because of its structure and ridgidity.

But over the years, the more I work with children who have Autism, each of them so unique, the more I crave filling my therapy toolbox with a range of different therapy approaches. There is no such thing as a child who “does not respond to therapy”- it is more likely that the child is just not responding to the therapy approach being used at that time. So, earlier this year, I decided to add another therapy approach to my toolbox by completing training in ABA. I was pleasantly surprised that there were so many great insights.
​
Here are three of them:

1. How we can understand children's behaviour
A good start to addressing a ‘problem’ behaviour is to understand its function or why it is happening. For example, a child might seem to be screaming constantly for no apparent reason, but when looking at the situation in more detail (by identifying what happens just before the child screams, what happens right after they scream), the reason will become clearer. This type of assessment is called a ‘Functional Behaviour Analysis’. Once we understand the function of the behaviour (i.e. why the child is doing something), we can teach them more ‘appropriate’ behaviours that can still achieve the same function.
 
For example, I worked with a child who would scream whenever he was given a toy car. After looking into this further, it became apparent that this child dislikes toy cars, and was screaming to avoid the toy car. This child was then taught to say “no” every time he wanted to refuse the toy car. Eventually, the child started saying “no” to refuse unwanted toys, instead of screaming.
 
2. How we can teach children complex tasks
Children with special learning needs can have difficulty with activities which are important for everyday life. These activities are often complex, involving several steps, and can be quite overwhelming for a child with Autism.

For example, in the case of washing hands, this involves:
1.turning the tap on
2. putting hands under the water
3. putting soap on the hands
4. rubbing the hands together
5. rinsing the soap off the hands
6. turning the tap off
7. drying the hands

ABA gives insight into how to teach these complex tasks by breaking them down into simple, separate steps and giving positive reinforcement (e.g. praise) after each step is completed. The positive reinforcement is gradually faded, as the child can complete each step independently. Children with Autism tend to respond well to this systematic approach.
 
3. How our response can shape a child’s behaviour
Children are so clever. From a really young age, they learn that a behaviour will either get them what they want, or lead to an unwanted outcome. ABA highlights how to respond to behaviours so that they are repeated (if appropriate) or faded (if unwanted).
 
For example, when a child cries because they want candy and then they receive candy. In this case, giving the child the candy will stop them from crying in the moment, but it will also encourage the crying behaviour every time they want candy!
 
On the other hand, if a child does their homework and gets iPad time as a reward, this iPad time is likely to motivate the child to do their homework again in the future.
 
I now appreciate having ABA as another therapy approach in my toolbox and can already see the positive impact it is having on some of the children I work with. A therapist should always choose the therapy approach that a child responds to best. I believe that every child can make progress when the right therapy approach for them is used. 

Speak soon,
The Expat Speechie
​