Why Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)?

 

If you are reading this, you are likely the parent of a child with Autism or Asperger’s syndrome. Hopefully, you were lucky enough to get your diagnosis early, without too much delay. However, if you were like most families in Germany you probably knew there was something wrong long before the Doctors did. The problem with most Doctors is that they are either unable or unwilling to diagnose a child with Autism until all other possibilities have been ruled out. Maybe they do it to soften the blow. Maybe it is out of fear of being wrong. More likely it is because they know that there is nothing they can do to cure Autism. Unfortunately, every day a family waits for a diagnosis is another day they are unable to find effective help for their child. Some families can end up wasting years getting a diagnosis of Autism when that time could have been better spent actually treating Autism.

Since you are here, I can assume that you have gotten your diagnosis and are now on a determined journey to find help. I’m guessing that you found us on a tip from a friend or through a web search for the word “Autismus”. However you got here, one thing is certain. You want answers! You want someone who can tell you what is the best road to take with your child and you want to know if there really is a way to recover from Autism. You want to know what the Science of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is and you want to know why you should give up any more of your valuable time reading about it.

At this point you probably have heard about many different “treatments” that are talked about for helping people with Autism. I have personally been working with Children with Autism in Europe and the US since 1997 and in that time I have had the chance to work with or study most of the treatments that are currently available. Some of these treatments serve to help prepare a child for learning. Others are merely Autism management systems. In the next few paragraphs I will detail my thoughts on some of the available treatment methods and in the end, answer the question you want answered most of all… Why ABA?

Medical treatments: There are currently no pills known to man that cure Autism. There are certainly no drugs that help a child with Autism to learn. There are some available drug treatments that are used to slow a child’s metabolism making them less aggressive. These treatments do not fix behaviors however, they just hide them. They only serve to make the child less active and more lethargic. Although in situations where aggression and self injurious behaviors are dangerous this may be a useful treatment, they do not teach the child any better more appropriate skills. In many cases these drugs can make learning even more difficult for the child.

Dolphin Therapy: I consider Dolphin therapy one of the “I heard it helped someone else so I thought I’d try it” therapies. I have no doubt that some children with Autism have shown improvement in alertness and frustration levels after swimming with Dolphins. Many Parents report this to be the case. However, I also believe that similar results can come from riding horses, swinging, swimming in deep water, or watching a stage show filled with loud music and bright lights. As a scientist, I need to see independent verification of scientific research that shows that there are any lasting affects from Dolphin Therapy. At this point I have seen no such studies that indicate that Dolphin therapy is anything more than something that many autistic kids enjoy. I’m not saying that it isn’t beneficial. I just need to see some long-term independent research in order to recommend it.

TEACCH: I have had the chance to study the TEACCH method and still use some of what I learned in my ABA programs today. TEACCH is a scheduling system that helps a child with autism to better understand their environment. When used appropriately, TEACCH can help take the confusion out of the ever changing world we live in and give it some order. However, much of the “success” of TEACCH comes from a reduced stress and frustration level that comes when a child has set routines and clear expectations. It is a good Autism management and scheduling system but unfortunately, it doesn’t serve to teach the child new skills.

PECS: The Picture Exchange Communication System was an extremely important tool for Autism Intervention. At a time when many people believed that Children with severe autism could not learn to communicate. PECS (which is best taught through ABA) proved that just about any child with Autism can learn at least some form of communication. In a PECS system verbal language is replaced with the use of picture cards for communication. The problem is that PECS without ABA only teaches a child what communication is. It takes a firm understanding of the ABA principles for PECS (and sign language) to be useful as a step towards effective verbal communication.

Bio-medical Treatments: I know of several families who have found much success using Bio-medical treatments to help put their children in the best possible state for learning. I know of others who have seen little to no effect. With intestinal problems, food allergies and other dietary concerns being more common for children with autism I can understand how systematically designing a proper diet with appropriate supplements can help a child. Once again the problem remains that the best Bio-Medical treatments in the world can help a child be alert and ready to learn but, it can teach them absolutely nothing.

Sensory Integration: I use some Sensory integration in my ABA programs. With the writings of Temple Grandin and other Adults with Autism, it appears that children with Autism have a difficult time understanding their bodies. Their senses can be overloaded or just shut down. Many children with autism can look at you or listen to you but don’t have the ability to do both at the same time. Taking into consideration these deficits I use Sensory Integration techniques like “Deep Pressure”, “Joint Compression”, and “Brushing”, to help a child to be calm, alert and grounded to their bodies. As much as I find Sensory Integration beneficial and useful as a tool in an ABA program, it is similar to Bio-meds in that it is not a curriculum and the child doesn’t learn any necessary skills from it.

Play Therapy (Floortime): There is some research that indicates that play therapy is good for children with Autism. It allows for the child to see the therapist as a giver of good things. When a child sees people as good they are more likely to pay attention to people making the child appear less “Autistic”. With the child leading the play, they are allowed to follow their motivation. In ABA motivation is considered the secret to learning. The problem with Play therapy is that it is very limited. It can teach socialization skills but not much in the way of communication or other important skills your child will need. In ABA we teach a concept called “Pairing”. Pairing is performed almost exactly the same as play therapy with the only difference being that it just one small part of a much larger teaching curriculum.

Now back to the main question… Why ABA?

ABA is the Science of good teaching. It studies how people learn to behave and applies those studies to helping children with Autism live better lives. It is based on over 50 years of scientific research and its strategies have been changed and improved over time. As newer techniques are discovered and tested they replace older less effective ones. In ABA the concept is simple; we systematically break down learning into its smallest parts and teach it to the child piece by piece. In effect, we teach the child how to learn. The more skills a child begins to acquire the better they become at learning new skills.

Here is how it works. If I want a child to demonstrate a new behavior, I can manipulate the environment so that the easiest way for the child to get what they want is to exhibit that behavior. Once they do, I can reinforce that behavior with positive rewards. In a good ABA program everybody wins. The child learns more effective ways to get what they want and the family gets a child with more appropriate social and communication behaviors. Many kids can make the kind of progress with ABA that they begin to graduate out of their diagnosis.

The exciting thing about ABA is that much of it is common sense and can be used by anyone. All you need to do is teach yourself the basic principles of Behavior and practice applying them to your child. Any skill can be taught with ABA. It is just a matter of learning the best strategy to use for the skill you are trying to teach. Thanks to over 50 years of scientific research, those methods are now available for you without the need for trial and error.

The only problem with ABA is that it isn’t just a program or a treatment you apply to your kids. It is already how your child is learning from their environment. Whether or not you understand how to use ABA, your child is learning from their environment every minute of every day. The question then becomes, “what is the environment already teaching your child.” The answer to that question is every behavior you are now wishing you knew how to change.

Why Applied Behavior Analysis... because, ABA teaches you how to teach your child.