The Techniques Used in Applied Behavior Analysis

Applied behavioral analysis (ABA) is a form of therapy that uses positive reinforcement to improve communication, social, and learning skills for your child with autism. You should remember that a child with autism can sometimes not know how they need to respond in certain situations. 

So properly trained professionals can use positive reinforcement when they do something correctly to encourage this positive behavior. ABA also uses other important techniques to help your child with autism. This page explains some of the techniques used in applied behavior analysis.

Prompts refer to verbal or visual cues designed to encourage a behavior. While verbal cues are usually gentle reminders, visual cues are less direct and can be a gesture or even a look of your eyes.

Therefore, your child with autism will notice this cue and be reminded to behave in a specific way. For example, a trained professional can tell your child to take off their shoes when they walk into the home or wash their hands before taking a meal. Ideally, the intention is to fade out the prompts once your child doesn’t need them any longer. These prompts are usually accusatory or intimidating, so they tend to work perfectly. 

This technique uses a model to help your child with autism learn about the specific child instead of correcting or reinforcing a behavior. Hence, a trained professional can give your child a task to complete and watch how they perform it. Read this article to understand more about ABA therapy.

The analysis is based on physical actions, repetition, cognitive actions, allocation, and the environment. When a professional analyzes how your child performs the tasks at hand, they usually use this information to create other easier tasks for your child. 

This is also a model that intends to help your child with autism learn. So a professional can take what your child learned in a previous setting and apply it to another setting. 

For example, if your child knows to sing the alphabet, then the professional can use their knowledge of the alphabet and attempt to utilize it to other things like teaching your child how to spell their name. 

In most cases, applied behavioral analysis experts use behavioral contracts to teach kids appropriate behaviors. Behavioral contracts refer to short, three-part plans that are agreed between your child and the therapist.

Behavioral contracts can begin by writing the positive behavior that the health professional would like to see. For instance, your child may need to complete a task or show compassion to a friend. Then a contract will indicate what the therapist will do once your child does the behavior. 

A therapist can give your child a token or any other reward for doing a specific behavior. A behavior contract completes by creating long-term goals, such as 10 tokens may equal a new toy. When your child and the therapist agree on the terms of the contract, both parties can sign the contract. Putting in writing behavioral expectations with attractive rewards can usually motivate your child. 

Video modeling has been used for years and has many benefits. This technique involves letting your child learn the appropriate behavior by watching video footage of others. This is suitable for video learners who can benefit from video modeling exercises.

Video modeling will show your child how they can complete a task and behave. As a result, it can improve your child’s communication, social, and play skills. For example, a video can show some children sharing toys respectfully, so your child can watch the video footage to see the appropriate behavior in action. 

Then the therapist can recreate the scene and ask your child to show what they have watched. The idea is for your child to mimic others and do the desired actions. The good news is that children with autism are great at imitating other people’s behavior. 

Children with autism, especially young ones find it challenging to express what they want and their desires. So ABA therapy uses a picture exchange communication system technique that involves cards and graphics to convey everyday terms.

Picture exchange communication systems are communication aids to help your child to point to. This is ideal for children who have limited or nonverbal speaking abilities. A therapist can gradually build communication skills in your child with the picture exchange communication systems. Over time, your child can expand their vocabulary through repeating words, and they can later learn how to put sentences together. 

In most cases, children usually learn most of their social skills from their peers who are of the same age group. This is the reason why ABA therapists utilize peer-mediated social skills techniques.

This training can help your child with autism learn how to engage in social settings. It’s quite similar to video modeling, though it’s done in person. The peer-mediated social skills technique involves other children who are supposed to show appropriate behavior. 

Therefore, peers can model the desired activity or action with their verbal and nonverbal cues. Small groups of children are ideal to use this training to coach your child with autism proper social skills. For example, peers can show your child with autism how to play a game or even help your child who is in need. 

Your child with autism can watch these peers performing before they model it themselves. If your child does it correctly, peers can reward them and reinforce the behavior by praising them. There is enough evidence showing that peer-mediated social skills techniques can change how your child with autism interacts with other people.  

Keep in mind that there are many other techniques utilized in applied behavior analysis that can be used to correct challenging behaviors. Another popular one is called discrete trial instruction which involves a one-to-one interaction. A therapist intends to direct likely responses to new stimuli.

There is also a pivotal response which is a play-based ABA therapy. This one targets reinforcing development in specific important areas of social behaviors and language.