What is ABA?

Posted by Hiroe, Special Educator

I’ve been working at an agency that provides services through the Early Intervention Program (EIP) as a teacher and behavior analyst for the last several years.  Before I became a teacher, I worked as a service coordinator for the EIP.  As service coordinator I met many parents who opted against Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services for their children.  In my experience, parents often made this decision because they were misinformed by people who did not fully understand ABA.  Unfortunately this is very common in the field!  ABA is arguably the most misunderstood science.  I hope that this post, and this blog as a whole, will help to clear up some of those misconceptions.  Before discussing what ABA is, I think it might be helpful to discuss what ABA is not.

What is NOT ABA?

• ABA is NOT only for individuals with autism.   ABA is a treatment that has been scientifically proven to be effective in teaching individuals with autism.  This does not mean that it is only effective for individuals with autism.  ABA is based upon learning principles that apply to all humans (and animals), whether they be old or young, typically-developing or with special needs, or high or low functioning.  The principles of ABA apply to everyone, including you and me!      
• Learning principles were NOT developed by ABA professionals.  Learning principles are there whether you recognize them or not.  Behavior analysts are just very aware of those principles and are skilled in manipulating environmental variables to teach desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviors.  ABA professionals did not make up these principles, they simply observe, analyze, and apply them.  Regardless of the type of program you are in, if what you are doing is working, then you are using principles of ABA (you just may not know it!)
• ABA is NOT Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT).  Many people believe ABA and DTT are synonymous.  This is not the case.  Although DTT is a proven effective teaching method, it is just one of the many methods used in ABA.  There is much, much more to ABA than discrete trial training!
• ABA does NOT make children robotic.  Yes, some of the children who receive ABA services may sound or appear unnatural at times.  Opponents of ABA choose to blame this on the model.  But, to be clear, those characteristics are not caused by ABA.  Rather, these characteristics are generally caused by the nature of the child's diagnosis, or by therapists who are misapplying behavioral strategies.
• ABA is NOT cold.  ABA is all about reinforcement.  In early childhood education, one of the most important jobs a therapist has is to be silly and fun!  We do this so that we ourselves can become reinforcers!
• ABA is NOT a belief system.  ABA is a science, not a belief system.  Saying “I don’t believe in ABA” is like saying “I don’t believe in physics.” 
• ABA does NOT claim to cure autism.  Currently, there is no treatment that has been scientifically proven to cure autism.  To deny ABA because it does not cure autism is absurd.  To date, ABA is the only treatment that has scientifically been proven to teach and benefit individuals with autism.  Although ABA cannot cure autism, there is research supporting that intensive and appropriate ABA services can (in some cases) significantly reduce the symptoms of autism.  In the best case scenario, ABA services have been able to make children with autism indistinguishable from their typically-developing peers (i.e. observers could not tell that the child had autism).   

This list could go on and on.

So what IS ABA? 

ABA stands for Applied Behavior Analysis.  ABA is the science of modifying to socially significant human behavior.  Although I have already mentioned this, it is so important that I will mention it again: The core of ABA is learning principles, which apply to all humans (and animals) regardless of age or the presence or absence of special needs.  I cannot stress this enough.  Learning principles apply to everyone, including you and me!

What do ABA Therapists do?

Behavior analysts address socially significant, observable behavior, collect data on behavior, make decisions based on the data, reinforce appropriate behavior, individualize programming to suite the client, conduct functional analyses, and look for variables affecting behavior.

Why choose ABA?

I understand why ABA has a less-than-glowing reputation.  Focusing only on observable behavior and stressing data collection makes ABA sound very cold.  But, those are the same characteristics that make ABA a science (which none of the competing methodologies can claim to be)!  There are so many treatments out there that claim to be effective, or even to cure autism, without any scientific proof.  It is extremely important to use a treatment method that is scientifically proven to be effective for several reasons:

• Non-effective treatment takes resources away from truly effective treatment.
• Non-effective treatment takes advantage of those who are in desperate need for effective treatment.
• Non-effective treatment may result in harm to the child.
• Non-effective treatment takes away time and opportunities to receive truly effective treatment.
• Non-effective treatment will prevent clients from progressing.

What does the research say?

In 1987, Lovaas published an article titled, "Behavioral Treatment and Normal Educational and Intellectual Functioning in Young Autistic Children."  In this study, almost half of the children (47%) who received intensive behavioral treatment were able to functional normally in the 1st Grade.  On the other hand, only a small percentage (2%) of children who were in the control group (i.e. did not receive intensive behavioral services) were able to function at the same level.

The National Autism Center produced the National Standards Report in 2009, which is the result of reviewing more than 700 research articles.  This report indicates the effects of the following ten treatments as scientifically established: 1. Antecedent Package, 2. Behavioral Package, 3. Comprehensive Behavioral Treatment for Young Children, 4. Joint Attention Intervention, 5. Modeling, 6. Naturalistic Teaching Strategies, 7. Peer Training Package, 8. Pivotal Response Treatment, 9. Schedules, 10. Self-Management, 10. Story-Based Intervention Package.  These are all procedures utilized in ABA and have all been proven effective.

As professionals, we are obligated to provide children and their families with the most current and effective treatments.  ABA represents exactly that.  I hope this post, along with our others, will help to clear up the misconceptions about ABA and help others to recognize its value as the only scientifically proven method of altering behavior.