Applied Behavior Analysis and Its Effect on Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Introduction

In the previous years, the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has increased significantly. Currently, 1 out of every 59 children is diagnosed with ASD (Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). This increase in ASD has significant implications for teachers and special education teachers. It is very probable for a teacher nowadays to have at least one student or more with ASD throughout their careers, which is why it is essential to research the most effective strategies to improve students with ASD both academically and behaviorally.  One of the common evidenced based practiced used today is applied behavior analysis (ABA). When practiced correctly ABA can be beneficial for students with ASD. Discrete trial teaching, task analysis, and incidental teaching are some of the elements that formulate ABA. This discipline has shown to improve “cognitive functioning, language and communication skills, social skills, repetitive behaviors, and academic performance”(Dillenburger, 2012). However, the subjects of these tests were toddlers. Nonetheless, the methods of ABA are commonly used on school-aged students with ASD although more research is required on its effectiveness. This paper will discuss what Applied Behavior Analysis and its components are, how it affects toddlers vs. school age students, and how it is beneficial for a school setting.

What is Applied Behavior Analysis?

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a science “in which tactics derived from the principles of behavior are applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior, and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for behavior change” (Cooper, Heron, and Heward, 2007, p. 20). ABA is commonly used to teach new skills, and replace behaviors for more functional ones in our society today.  ABA has been used successfully to treat children with ASD during the past 40 years (Dillenburger, 2012). According to Steege, Mace, Perry, and Longenecker ABA supports children with autism in five different ways, which are the following: it helps teach new skills, reinforce and maintain the new abilities, generalize the skills to different environment, manipulation of antecedents to reduce specific behavior, and manipulation of reinforcers to minimize particular behavior and increase a replacement behavior by reinforcing it (2007). ABA programs are individualized towards each student, allowing the students to acquire skills that are more pertinent to them.

The different components of Applied Behavior Analysis

A comprehensive ABA program has various elements, which allows the teachers to use the component or components that best suit their students. One common component of ABA is discrete trial teaching (DTT). DTT is “an educational practice distinguished by a rapid pace and repetitive delivery that allow for intense instruction in a short amount of time” (Gongola and Sweeney, 2012). In DTT the students are given a plethora of trials to master a skill. Gongola and Sweeney compare DTT to an athlete practicing a specific sport for many hours to master it (2012).   Steege et al. describe DTT as one of the most powerful tools available to teach children in the autism spectrum (2007). In addition, to DTT another component is task analysis and prompting procedure. Task analysis is used to teach students with ASD a task that requires several behavior or steps. The steps are thought one at a time until mastered through chaining, and prompting (Steege et al., 2007). Task analysis is useful in many different contexts such as leisure, living skills, and vocational skills.

Applied Behavior Analysis in Toddlers

Applied behavior Analysis gained more attention in the late 1980’s with the study of Ivaar Lovaas (1993).  The participants in this study were four years and younger. The results of this study demonstrated that 47% of children that received early behavioral intervention when on to mainstream education compared with 2% from the control group. This study is said to have methodological flaws (Dillenburger, 2007). However, replicas of this study yield similar results. Howard, Stanislaw, Green, Sparkman, and Cohen did a similar study, where they compared intensive behavioral treatment (IBT) with other eclectic treatments.  This study shows that IBT improves the development of children in the autism spectrum. Howard et al. state “if children with autism are to have any chance to close the gap between their skills and those of their typically developing peers, their developmental trajectories must be increased sharply while they are young before the gap widens even further”(2005).  ABA has demonstrated to be a powerful tool for toddlers in multiple studies.

Applied Behavior Analysis and School Age Children

Although many studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of ABA as an early intervention program, there is not much research on how ABA affects school-age children. Some children with ASD attend school programs that are ABA-based. Steege et al. (2007) discuss one particular elementary school in Bath, Maine called The MerryMeeting Center for Child Development. This program is known to

  consider the full range of ABA interventions and data-collection procedures and match the methods to individual target behaviors, the goals of instruction, and the expected outcomes. In most cases, this involves the use of a dynamic blend of DTT, behavioral support interventions, incidental teaching, task analysis and prompting procedures, and a host of other behavior analytic and evidence-based interventions.

When all the different components of ABA are taken into account and used appropriately many find that ABA school-based programs are an excellent fit for students with ASD. Research suggests that combinations of all the approaches of an ABA program that makes it highly effective for children with autism (Steege et al., 2007). Furthermore, parents whose children attend an ABA-based program are “highly satisfied with the social validity of their child’s education” (Dillenburger, 2012).  Despite the lack of studies demonstrating the effectiveness of ABA in school-aged children parents and teachers tend to find ABA as a useful tool.

Applied Behavior Analysis beyond ASD

Applied behavior analysis is a tool that is useful not only to teach students with ASD, or to use in ABA-based schools, but it can also be beneficial for inclusive classrooms (Dillenburger, 2012). Due to all the tools under the umbrella of ABA many of these tools can be used to improve overall classroom behavior. Other ways that ABA can be useful are to reduce bullying, disruption, off-task behavior, and more. Also, ABA can be used to teach skills in an inclusive classroom such as, social skills, safety skills, and improving different skill in specific subject areas (Trump, Pennington, Travers, Ringdahl, Whiteside, and Ayres, 2018). Applied behavior analysis has many tools that can be helpful to students with and without ASD making it a crucial tool for teachers.                                                                                                                                     

Conclusion

Applied Behavior Analysis has been used for many years to teach students with Autism spectrum disorder. In addition, it is used to reduce or increase specific behavior is children with ASD (Dillenburger, 2012). This paper went over what is consider applied behavior analysis and what are the components of it. Also, it reviewed the different studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of ABA as an early intervention. Moreover, it discussed the effectiveness of ABA in school-aged children, and the effectiveness of ABA not only to teach students with ASD but also to improve the overall performance of an inclusive classroom.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2018). Developmental disabilities. Retrieved September 4, 2018, from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/index.html

Cooper, J.O., Heron, T.E., & Heward, W.L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Dillenburger, K. (2012). Why reinvent the wheel? A behaviour analyst’s reflections on pedagogy for inclusion for students with intellectual and developmental disability. Journal Of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 37(2), 169-180. doi:10.3109/13668250.2012.685705

Gongola, L., & Sweeney, J. (2012). Discrete Trial Teaching: Getting Started. Intervention In School & Clinic, 47(3), 183-190. doi:10.1177/1053451211423813

Howard, J. S., Stanislaw, H., Green, G., Sparkman, C. R., & Cohen, H. G. (2014). Comparison of behavior analytic and eclectic early interventions for young children with autism after three years. Research In Developmental Disabilities, 35(12), 3326-3344. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.08.021

Lovaas, O. I. (1993). The development of a treatment-research project for developmentally disabled and autistic children. Journal Of Applied Behavior Analysis, 26(4), 617.

Steege, M. W., Mace, F. C., Perry, L., & Longenecker, H. (2007). Applied behavior analysis: Beyond discrete trial teaching. Psychology In The Schools, 44(1), 91-99. doi:10.1002/pits.20208

Trump, C. E., Pennington, R. C., Travers, J. C., Ringdahl, J. E., Whiteside, E. E., & Ayres, K. M. (2018). Applied Behavior Analysis in Special Education: Misconceptions and Guidelines for Use. Teaching Exceptional Children, 50(6), 381-393. doi:10.1177/0040059918775020

About the Author

Lymairy Checo is a New York City born Dominican. Though her birthplace was in the frigid north, her upbringing was in the warm tropics of Santiago de Los Caballeros in the DR. Growing up, her curiosities leaned toward the study of the mind; more specifically, human behavior. In college, at the University of Miami, this interest evolved into one focused on child development. Having graduated with double majors in Psychology & Criminology, her enthusiasm and commitment to research, paved the way to her young professional career as a certified Exceptional Students’ Education Teacher. The scope of her profession has led her to collaborate with multiple Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) -based schools. At the moment she is pursuing her Master’s in Special Education with specialization in ABA at Florida International University.

The topic of interest for this paper is: Applied Behavior Analysis, Learning, and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Titles of main articles being reviewed:

• Why reinvent the wheel? A behaviour analyst’s reflections on pedagogy for inclusion for students with intellectual and developmental disability
• Applied Behavior Analysis in Special Education: Misconceptions and Guidelines for Use
• Applied behavior analysis: Beyond discrete trial teaching
• Discrete Trial Teaching: Getting Started
• Comparison of behavior analytic and eclectic early interventions for young children with autism after three years

I accessed these articles through the FIU libraries online. Once I was logged in EBSCO host I accessed the database Academic Search Complete.

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