What is ABA Therapy?
At its core, ABA is the science of learning. As a therapy approach, ABA focuses on studying and understanding the behaviors that lead to learning of new skills. A BCBA (Board-Certified Behavior Analyst) can use a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), which involves a thorough understanding of targeted behaviors. A Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) or a Board-Certified assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) carefully designs assessments to determine the functions of individual behaviors. By analyzing those behaviors, the clinician can develop plans of care that teach new skills, increase behaviors that promote learning and independence, and reduce behaviors that may be dangerous or create barriers to progress. Our clinicians create programs that are individualized to each child’s unique needs, targeting specific areas of skill development that are important to the child, their family, and their community.
As part of ABA therapy, our clinicians use techniques such as shaping and chaining, paired with positive reinforcement based upon a child’s authentic interests. This breaks down complex tasks into smaller, manageable steps, allowing children to build on their current abilities and acquire new skills.
How Does ABA Therapy Work?
ABA therapy incorporates a range of techniques to address specific behaviors, tailoring interventions to meet individual needs. These comprehensive and personalized strategies can be implemented in diverse settings, including the home, school, or other community environments.
Who Provides ABA Therapy?
ABA professionals are categorized into three levels:
- RBT (Registered Behavior Technician): A paraprofessional with certification who provides treatment under the supervision of a BCBA or BCaBA. An RBT implements a plan of care with oversight and feedback from the clinician who developed the plan.
- BCaBA (Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst): Holds an undergraduate-level certification in behavior analysis (or a related field with coursework in behavior analysis) and works under the guidance of a BCBA. With that ongoing guidance, a BCaBA may provide clinical oversight for a client’s case, including assessment, plan development, and supervision of RBTs.
- BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst): Possesses a master’s or doctoral degree in behavior analysis (or a related field with coursework in behavior analysis). BCBAs supervise both RBTs and BCaBAs and function independently as clinicians who oversee client care.
Together, the ABA care team ensures that all aspects of the child’s needs are addressed, providing a cohesive and supportive approach to their progress.
Understanding ABA Therapy Interventions
ABCs of ABA
The Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) model is crucial for understanding behavior. It helps BCBAs and BCaBAs analyze and interpret behavior patterns. In this model, “A” stands for Antecedent, which refers to what happens before a behavior. “B” represents Behavior, the individual’s response to the antecedent. Finally, “C” stands for Consequence, which is what occurs after the behavior.
In practice, clinicians often use ABC charts to map out specific behaviors and examine their functions. By analyzing the entire behavior cycle, they can develop a comprehensive treatment plan. This method enables members of the care team to work with a child to build positive behaviors and functional skills while reducing behaviors that may hinder the child’s progress.
Behavior Interventions
Positive Reinforcement: This technique involves adding something desirable after a behavior occurs to increase the likelihood of that behavior being repeated. Once the target behavior or skill has been identified, the child can receive positive reinforcement each time they successfully demonstrate the behavior. Reinforcers may include praise, access to the playground, watching a video game, or other motivating incentives. At CAN, our clinicians identify the types of items, activities, or attention that are most meaningful to each child to ensure that positive reinforcement is delivered without coercion and in ways that are naturalistic and authentic.
Negative Reinforcement involves removing an unpleasant stimulus to encourage a desired behavior. For instance, if a child finishes their homework on time, a parent might remove an additional chore from their list. By eliminating an undesirable task, the parent reinforces the behavior of completing the homework.
Extinction involves gradually reducing and ultimately eliminating an undesirable behavior by no longer reinforcing it. When the problematic behavior ceases to occur, it is considered to be extinguished. However, it’s important to be aware of an extinction burst, which is a temporary increase in the frequency, intensity, or duration of the undesired behavior when reinforcement is first withheld. Extinction bursts can last for several days or even weeks, so it’s crucial to follow the ABA therapist’s recommendations and remain consistent in withholding the reinforcer. Common examples of extinction bursts include tantrums, aggression, or attention-seeking behaviors. For instance, if a toddler who typically cries to get out of the crib finds that crying no longer gets them what they want, they might escalate to tantrums in an attempt to obtain the desired reinforcement.
Schedules of Reinforcement: There are four main types of reinforcement schedules: fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval.
- Fixed-Interval Schedule: Reinforcement is given after a specific amount of time has passed. For example, receiving a paycheck weekly is based on a fixed-interval schedule.
- Variable-Interval Schedule: Reinforcement occurs after a varying amount of time has elapsed. An example is checking your email, where you might receive a new message at unpredictable intervals.
- Fixed-Ratio Schedule: Reinforcement is provided after a set number of responses. For instance, getting a free meal after purchasing three meals follows a fixed-ratio schedule.
- Variable-Ratio Schedule: Reinforcement is delivered after an unpredictable number of responses. An example of this is playing the lottery, where winning depends on a random number of attempts.
Each type of schedule of reinforcement may be used for different reasons. Fixed-ratio schedules are particularly effective for teaching new behaviors, while variable-ratio schedules are better suited for maintaining and strengthening behaviors. Behaviors reinforced on a variable-ratio schedule are more resistant to extinction because the individual cannot predict when reinforcement will occur, making them less likely to give up.
Family Guidance
Family Guidance sessions are key to the success of any ABA therapy program. Family Guidance is conducted by a BCBA or BCaBA to teach important protocols to parents, guardians, and other caregivers. This promotes generalization, which means applying new skills across various settings like school, home, and beyond. Clinicians will teach parents strategies to encourage this generalization, as well as to support skill maintenance and retention.
Social Skills Training
ABA social skills training involves breaking down complex social skills into smaller, manageable components. For instance, if the complex skill is taking turns, the individual must first understand facial expressions, the concept of taking turns, and using an appropriate voice tone, among other aspects.
Task Analysis
A task analysis breaks down complex tasks into smaller, manageable steps to help the learner succeed. For instance, the task of “washing your hands” may be broken down into 5 – 10 individual steps depending on a child’s skill set. Examples of task analysis methods include:
- Forward Chaining: Teaching the sequence of steps starting from the first step and moving forward.
- Backward Chaining: Teaching the sequence of steps starting from the last step and working backward.
- Total Task Teaching: Guiding the learner through the entire sequence while breaking down only the problematic steps into simpler components.
ABA Prompts
Other strategies a clinician may use include various types of prompting, such as vocal, physical, modeling, gestural, positional, and visual, as appropriate. A vocal prompt involves giving a client spoken vocal cues, such as starting the sound of a word. A physical prompt requires guiding the client physically, such as providing hand-over-hand assistance. At CAN, our clinical team minimizes the use of this approach as a matter of promoting each client’s autonomy and assent. Modeling prompt involves the ABA therapist demonstrating the task first, then asking the learner to replicate it. A gestural prompt includes any gestures, such as nodding, tapping on the desk, or pointing. A positional prompt involves placing the correct response near the learner. A visual prompt uses pictures or other visual aids, such as placing a hand-washing sequence picture in the bathroom to guide the learner through the steps.
Prompt fading is an important component of ABA therapy, as it involves gradually reducing assistance to help the child perform the task independently. The goal of prompting is to eventually fade it, enabling the individual to succeed autonomously in natural settings.
ABA Duration
The duration of ABA therapy varies for each child because each program is tailored to their individual needs. On average, children typically participate in ABA programs for 3 to 5 years. Sessions can occur anywhere from 2 to 5 times per week, with each session lasting between 3 to 7 hours.
ABA Therapy Sessions
Daily ABA therapy sessions typically involve the implementation of a child’s individualized plan of care by an RBT. That RBT, as directed by the supervising BCBA or BCaBA, will present specific activities that address the goals and targets that have been prioritized for the child’s services. The RBT collects data, which the clinician uses to assess if goals are being met or if adjustments are needed. Throughout each session, reinforcement is used to increase new behaviors. Based upon the progress in daily therapy sessions, the clinician will provide feedback to parents and caregivers to promote generalization of new skills outside of the therapy setting.
What is the Success Rate of ABA Therapy?
CAN conceptualizes success at the level of each unique client. For one client, success might be best measured by reducing their behaviors of eloping from their home. For another client, success might be a matter of learning how to participate in group activities, opening the door for a transition into a school setting. For yet another client, skills related to independent living might be the most impactful measure of their success. While research has, historically, shown that early, intensive intervention is the most effective model for ABA, the team at CAN does not take a one-size-fits-all approach to our services.
Our Locations
Center for Autism Nurturing operates two in-center locations in Charlotte, NC, and Alpharetta, GA. We provide in-center, in-home, and in-school services throughout the greater Charlotte and Atlanta metro areas.
Additionally, we offer in-home and community-based services in the Greenville region of South Carolina.
Learn more about our individual service areas:
