What is ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis?)
What is Applied Behavior Analysis?
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the science of understanding behavior. This method was created by B.F. Skinner in the 1920’s. The purpose of the field of ABA is to create significant change for individuals who may be struggling to create positive change. This is done by taking data, observing, and analyzing the environment to address the root issues. Once data is collected and all variables are considered, this is used to create personalized interventions to assist the individual or animal. The ultimate goal of teaching any skills utilizing ABA is to generalize any skills being taught. This means a skill that might be taught at home or with parents, should be able to be implemented with other people and in other public settings. Delivery of the strategies may look different depending on the practitioner's purpose, values and training.
In the field there are currently 3 roles you can take on: a registered behavior technician (RBT), board certified behavior analyst (BCBA), or a BcABA (assistants to BCBA’s).
An RBT’s training typically requires a bachelor's degree and a minimum of 40 hours of online course training and a competency exam. A BCBA’s training requires a minimum of a master's degree, a competency exam, along with 2,000 hours of fieldwork supervision by another BCBA.
The application of ABA is a tool widely used in therapy for children, animal training, organization behavior management for corporate companies, environmental science, physical fitness training, life coaching, teaching, nutrition, marketing, and more.
What is ABA Therapy?
The term “ABA therapy” started in the 1950’s by a clinical psychologist Ivar Lovaas, who expanded on Skinner’s ABA concepts as a way to help the lives of autistic children. The method of ABA became more widely known when in 2014 the Affordable Care Act required insurance to cover medically necessary treatment of children with Autism.
In today’s society, there are many ABA clinics companies who operate under insurance and offer ABA therapy for children with autism. The purpose of these clinics are to teach autistic individuals socially significant skills based on a comprehensive assessment.
In an ABA therapy company, you will typically have two professionals you come in contact with. An RBT (the direct therapist who works with the child) and a BCBA/BcABA (a program manager who runs the assessments, creates the programs, supervises the RBT’s training, and provides parent training).
Where does ABA therapy take place?
ABA therapy can take place in the home of the family, in an ABA clinic, schools, and within community outings such as going to the playground or going grocery shopping. The location will depend on what each individual ABA company offers.
How do ABA companies determine the number of hours my child gets?
Once insurance has approved a family, a company BCBA will run a specific assessment on the individual. Once the assessment is completed, a report will be written to submit to insurance, including a requested number of hours. These hours should be based on the level of support an individual needs and what the assessment results show.
It is important to note that while ABA companies will give a recommended number of hours to caregivers, caregivers have the right to decline or request a different number of therapy hours. Discuss this with your BCBA to understand why those hours are recommended.
What is the difference between ABA therapy and other types of therapies such as speech or OT?
ABA training focuses on understanding root causes of behaviors (why we do what we do), analyzing behaviors, and understanding how to modify the environment and break down behaviors into smaller steps to help an individual succeed when feeling overwhelmed. This tool can technically be applied to any type of therapy or goal, and most therapists from different fields already utilize ABA strategies without realizing it. However, ABA is most often referred to for those who struggle with challenging behaviors or habits and need assistance with how to respond.
In an ABA clinic, they will work on a variety of life skill goals based on the assessment they run. This may look like increasing engagement, trying new foods, toileting, or communicating needs. If the child has additional therapies such as occupational therapy or speech, your ABA therapist should be collaborating and requesting goals from their other therapies to ensure goals are being incorporated and generalized into their sessions.
Are all ABA Therapy Companies the same?
No. Just like there are different teaching methods or different philosophies on health, there are a variety of approaches and delivery methods that an ABA company can use. Approaches will depend on the training and values of the company so it is always helpful to ask questions on what those are. Goals may also vary based on the type of assessment the BCBA utilizes.
Additional differences may include differences in behavioral philosophy such as:
Methodological Behaviorism: Believes only in providing interventions based on what we can observe on the outside.
Radical Behaviorism: Believes in considering internal behaviors as well as external behaviors such as thoughts and feelings when providing interventions.
Methods and deliveries of how programs are run may also vary from company to company such as using:
Natural Environment Training (NET), Skills Based Training (SBT), Joint Attention Symbolic Play Engagement and Regulation (JASPER), Precision Teaching & Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Discrete Trial Training (DTT), and more.
It is important to recognize that ABA teaching methods are not used just in ABA but in many fields by doctors, teachers/professors, nurses, speech therapists, play therapists, and more—but it may not be called “ABA”.