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Definition and characteristics of applied behavior analysis chapter 1
Definition and characteristics of applied behavior analysis chapter 1
Behavior analysis and its chracteristics
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Children, who suffer from autism, and other related developmental disabilities, require effective treatment that is child guided, strength-based, and goal specific. The desired skills and interventions for this population mandate the interventions, in most cases remain generalized to daily activities of life. The purpose of having a generalized approach to behavioral interventions and change is to promote the subject’s ability to port the acquired skills learned into daily life activities, to reach the subjects maximum level of autonomy. According to Eldevik et.al., (2009) there is significant evidence that supports the use of ABA interventions with children that suffer from ASD. Furthermore, Eldevik et.al., (2009) states that “children with ASD that receive Applied …show more content…
Behavioral Analysis interventions as part of their educational curriculum make greater gains on social, language and cognitive measures than children who receive mainstream level interventions.” The purpose of this paper is to provide a peer review on a scholarly article where behavior analytic methods were used to maintain a behavior change over time. The purpose article for this paper discusses how ABA interventions can effectively improve behavioral outcomes for ASD children at maintained special needs schools in the United Kingdom. The article addresses the reasons why ABA techniques are historically not the preferred method for behavior modifications within the United Kingdom educational system based solely on ABA’s elevated cost standards. The article review will qualify the effectiveness of a cost efficient/cost saving ABA intervention alternative for the special needs United Kingdom education system. Brief Description of the Training and Generalization Environment(s) Participants: 6-boys 1-girl Note: A case study was done on two of the children from the population listed above. Profiles of the participants: (1) Five of the participants have an ASD diagnosis (2) Two of the participants exhibited ASD characteristics, but does not have a formalized ASD diagnosis Note: A case study was done on two of the children from the population listed above Average age of participants: Five years old Intervention: All participants received ABA teaching instruction for an entire year.
Functional Analysis was used to identify the function of the challenge behaviors, along with the antecedents, behavior, and consequences.
Setting: The school is called the Ysgol Gogarth School located in the United Kingdom. There is a total of 190 students total at the school (ages between 3-19 years old). The general population in the article included a total 6-boys & 1-girl, all of whom received ABA intervention. The case study included two of the seven kids (one male and one female). The classroom and interventions took place in an enclosed and dedicated special needs classroom. The participants received 30-hours per week of instructional aides. Each participant had his/her specific individualized plan, per their assessments conducted through the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale.
A Clear Description of the Target Behaviors
As mentioned the participants included a total of 7 participants, and because an Individualized Functional Assessment was done on each child represented in the two case studies.
Case Study #1
Participant (1): Cain
Age: 10 years old
(male) Challenge behaviors: (Aggression and property damage). During both independent and group instruction, Cain becomes aggressive with others which include yelling and hitting, when he does not get his way, and his aggressive actions can lead to property damage within the classroom by breaking and throwing equipment. Target behaviors: During the 20-minute period where “hard work” is disseminated, Cain will remain seated and complete his work, while refraining from hitting, yelling and breaking school equipment for the entire 20 minutes of “hard work” instructional period. Case Study #2 Participant: Lucy Age: 6 years old (female) Challenge behaviors: (Throwing, hitting, pinching and spitting). During independent and instruction, Lucy seeks attention seeking behaviors, when she does not want to complete her work, and when she does not receive attention from her peers, Lucy’s negative behaviors include throwing, hitting, pinching and spitting at her peers, when she does not get her way. Target behaviors: During the 20-minute period independent work, Lucy will remain on task, and not engage in negative attention seeking behaviors (throwing things, hitting others, pinching or spitting) and remain seated and complete her work. The Subject Used and any Important Ethical, Social or Cultural Considerations According to Griffith et.al.,(2012) despite the evidence-based studies that confirm the ABA high level of effectiveness in the ASD population, the United Kingdom infrequently utilizes ABA in their maintained special needs school settings. The reason for the lack of increased usage of the ABA model is primarily due to the cost factor associated with the ABA modality. The ethical and cultural implications regarding the United Kingdom’s lack of fervor towards providing the best level of care towards a disabled and often disenfranchised population can strongly suggest the disparate treatment that the ASD community receives in other segments of the society. The article clearly addresses the high expenditures associated with implementing ABA principles, by providing other cost saving alternatives to defray cost while ensuring that the children receive the best quality of interventions needed to mitigate and improve upon many of their daily life-sustaining activities. The Methods of Behavior Change that was used Described in Analytical Terms The methods of behavior change that were used include the following: Reinforcement: Reinforcement occurs when a stimulus is made available contingent on the occurrence of a specific behavior, and as a result that behavior is likely to replicate in the future (Cooper et.al., 2007). Prompting: Prompting was used to increase the likelihood that a child would respond correctly and therefore allow for correct responses to be reinforced (Kodak et.al., 2011). Error Correction: Is when a child replies to a question incorrectly, and the teach in turn coaches and models the correct answer for the child by repeating the same question, and prompted the child to respond correctly. Task Analysis: Is when you decompress complex task into smaller components by delineating each individualized step. DTT (Discrete Trail Training): Each task has a specific target, and the goal is for the student to develop a level of mastery across each of the targets How the Researcher planned for the Maintenance of the Behavior Change Over Time When Designing Their Plan According to Peters et.al,(2010) the research supports the view that children who suffer from ASD can make noteworthy behavioral changes when ABA interventions are implemented. Because ABA is an evidence-based practice that is already supported via research and literature, the researcher for this study did not necessarily need to prove the effectiveness of ABA with the ASD community. The researcher’s goal was to show how the utilization of a cost effective ABA intervention could benefit the self-maintains schools in the United Kingdom. The strategies implored with both case study rendered favorable and long-lasting results. Whether or Not the Intervention was Effective in Maintaining the Behavioral Change The goal of the study was to show within the two case studies of Cain and Lucy, if after the ABA interventions were applied, did it improve their likelihood of (1) Acquiring effective replacement behaviors in lieu of the challenge behaviors through the usage of the ABA Principles (2) Able to show significant behavioral improvements for the continued maintenance in the current class setting or for advancement consideration into a mainstream educational curriculum. In both case studies, Cain and Lucy met these objectives, as Lucy was transitioned into a mainstream classroom the following year and Cain challenge behavior decreased and remained at zero percent (except two isolated incidents during the school year). Weakness in the Plan with Maintenance of Behavioral Changes as your Focus One of the main weaknesses with the plan, based on the data collected is that the early intervention group was extremely small, and lacked the presence of a control group. At Least Three Suggestions for Improvements Using Behavior Analytic Terms from Your Readings This Week Self Recruiting: By teaching students that suffer from ASD, self-recruiting techniques, it will allow them to maintain a level of self-sufficiency. Self-recruiting will ensure these students can gauge and monitor their internal temperament by self-soliciting praise opportunities when needed as a means to keep them on task. Modeling: By modeling the appropriate behavior for the student, they can visualize what the preferred behaviors are, with visual contextual examples. Teach Self: One of the highest levels of self-efficacy involves a person’s ability to review, critique his/her work before submission to look for errors and ways to improve upon the finished product.
As Applied Behavior Analyst, we seek to modify a behavior social significant behavior. Our effectiveness can only be measured how much the behavior we set out to modify is changed to a degree in which it makes a difference in the social situations the behavior occurs in. Baer said that this was not a scientific measurement, but a practical one: "its power in altering behavior enough to be socially important, is the essential criterion” (Cooper 17-18). The effectiveness of the research of an ABA effect both the clinical and educational applications of ABA because these cases are the bases of how ABA grows and changes. They are the way we learn and master our field. Even if modifications are later made to older experiments, without them we would not know where to
Incidental teaching focuses on child-initiated interactions. (Hall, 2013) Incidental teaching is used to increase skills of individuals with autism spectrum disorders. (Hall, 2013) A study done by Hart and Risley (1975) looked at the incidental teaching process used at the preschool age to aide in teaching language. Incidental teaching has been the most frequent strategy that has been used to teach language. When using incidental teaching a child’s request may be verbal or nonverbal. Examples include reaching for an object that is out of one’s reach, requesting food or a toy or calling an adult’s name. There is a series of decisions that an adult can use to respond to the child’s request. These choices include: if the occasion should be used for incidental teaching: if so then a choice regarding the language behavior that is obtained from the child, and then a choice has to be made concerning the cue that will be used to initiate instruction, the cur could be focus of attention by itself, or in addition to the focused attention a verbal cue as well. If the individual does not respond to the cue, then a choice concerning the degree of prompt to be used, the “fullest degree: a request for imitation; medium degree: a request for partial imitation, or minimal degree: a request for the terminal language behavior.” (Hart & Risley, 1975) This study was performed on boys and girls between the ages of four years old to five years old. The baseline procedures ensured that the children had a variety of vocabulary for use in sentences. The sentences that they were taught was “I want x so I can y.” The second step of the procedure was the use of incidental teaching of compound sentences directed to teachers. After thirty-six days of school, the incidental teaching began to occur when the children needed assistance in trying to get different preschool materials.
The most typical component of ABA used is positive reinforcement, which studies have shown to be an effective technique within a variety of settings and circumstances. Ferguson and Rosales-Ruiz (2001) conducted a study in which they utilized positive reinforcement in order to modify the behavior of horses. Prior to the study, the five horses observed were demonstrating inappropriate behaviors while loading into a trailer, which can be dangerous for both caregivers and the animals (p. 409). In order to deter these behaviors, the researchers provided the mares with preferred foods as positive reinforcement as the behavior was gradually shaped. They began by reinforcing approximate behaviors until the desirable behavior was achieved. At first, the horses were reinforced with food for several trials if they simply stepped near the entryway and touched their noses to a towel (the distance marker) without maladaptive behaviors. Over the series of eight steps, the target was pushed farther back into the trailer and the horses were reinforced for each successive approximation (p. 412). After all of the trials, each horse ended up completing the tasks and the inappropriate behaviors thereafter fell to zero. This was completed simply through the use of shaping and positively reinforcing the successive approximations of the behavior without the use of punishment or negative reinforcement (p. 421).
...c Observation Schedule, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, and McArthur Communication Development Inventory to measure the communication and aversive behavior frequency of the participants. After the procedures were complete, results demonstrated that advances were made in both of the dependent measures that utilized ABA with NET and DTT combined (Matson & Konst, 2013, p. 476). Comparable results were also found by Zachor and Ben-Itzchak (2010) who conducted a similar study with more dependent measures including communication, language, comprehension, daily living skills, motor skills, visual perception, and social behaviors (as cited in Matson & Konst, 2013). Thus, this research demonstrates that comprehensive ABA programs can be an ideal method of treatment not only for school-aged children and adults with ASD, but for EI individuals as well (Matson & Konst, 2013).
Discrete trial teaching is a teaching method classified by the fast pace delivery and shortened period of instructions (5-20 seconds) and incorporation of prompts, which is also referred to as errorless learning. DTT is under the umbrella of ABA and it is a method used to teach new skills and behaviors to children on the autism spectrum. As well DTT uses a unique style of teaching, errorless learning. Which unlike the normal teaching of trial and error. This style of teaching has been shown to be very effective with children with autism. Furthermore, Applied Behavior analysis seeks to address the antecedent and consequences of behavior ( Hunter class). There is over 60 years of research to support the effectiveness of ABA to address the behavior or children with development disabilities. Furthermore we discussed in lecture that punishment and reinforcement are the driving principle behind changing behavior. DTT uses carefully timed reinforcement to support newly learned behaviors and skills. This research indicates that the use of ABA leads to very effective results in children. (Hunter, 2015)
“Your child has autism spectrum disorder” are words no parent wants to hear. They are words that will instill fear, worry, and sadness. When parents hear this for the first time, they will have many questions. “Is there anything I can do to help my child? If so, what can be done?” Early intervention services; such as applied behavior analysis therapy, occupational therapy, sensory integration therapy, and speech therapy before the age of three; can help improve the development of children with autism spectrum disorder. As an educator, early intervention is a subject teachers should be well educated in. It would be beneficial to the educator and the student, for a teacher to know and understand early intervention strategies.
Completed Studies involving ABA therapy have shown improvements in communication, social relationship’s, and school for children who suffer from Autism Spectrum Disorder. Results also showed that ABA also increased participation in family and community activities. MY theory involves creating individual customized intervention plans that will addresses the specific need of the participant, while also teaching the parent. Logically parents are our first teachers, and with that being said if parents are trained the progress would be more significant than without their participation.
Grandpeesheh, D, Tarbox, J, & Dixon, D. (2009). Applied behavior analytic interventions for children with autism: a description and review of treatment research. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 21(3), 63-173.
A student will respond differently depending upon the actions and reactions of the individuals around him. Behaviors that occur repeatedly are often serving a useful function for the student. Positive behavioral support strategies make problem behavior irrelevant by redesigning the environment. Positive behavioral support strategies teach students new skills that are meant to replace the problem behavior with a socially-acceptable alternative. Addressing the larger social context surrounding a student can reduce the amount of time spent implementing intensive positive behavioral support plans. Functional assessment gathers information regarding the events that both immediately precede problem behavior and the situations where a student is successful.
... is behavior modification, which is the most wide spread therapy used. Behavior modification uses rewards to shape positive behaviors and eliminate negative ones. Another type of treatment is holding therapy. It is based on the premise that children with autism did not receive adequate comfort from their parents as infants and need extra holding now (Autism Fact Sheet). Even though all we have now to treat autism is therapies much improvement is being made in this area of study. In the meantime it is important for those working with and caring for autistic individuals to be well informed and understanding in dealing with autism.
The main subset of Applied Behavior Analysis is “Stimulus, Operant conditioning, positive reinforcement and punishment and consequences” Stimulus is events and the relationship it has on the Individual Behavior. The relationship of stimulus can be revealed through a method behavior analyst call the ABCs analysis. The more formal term for this method is called “Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence” analysis. The stimulus is represented by the antecedent (events prior to the occurred, behavior) and the Consequence. (Events that precedes a behavior). Behavior Analysis believes these are imperative to understanding behavior and the influence of events. Furthermore, the term operant conditioning behavior corresponds to the stimuli of the consequence. Moreover, the Consequence that precedes a behavior can be positive or negative. The significance of these stimuli is the ability to influence and affect the contingency of the individual target behavior.
...n between the ages 1-5 showed some initial gains in cognitive and language functioning, which includes but not limited to communication, self-care, imitation, and play skills, and were placed in regular classroom settings. Although many strives have been made, some results suggest significant racial and ethnic disparities in the identification of children with ASD. There have been studies comparing behavioral approaches to general electric approached have found them to be lacking, but some of the programs were community based. When it comes to making treatment plans, some think that specific behavioral profiles may be useful in identifying which children are likely to respond to a particular treatment. While positive results have been made towards treatment, there are no ASD treatments that currently meet criteria for well-established empirical supported treatment.
Difficulty with independent functioning impacts overall outcomes for individuals with developmental disabilities. The National Research Council identified the development of independent skills for students with disabilities as one of the six recommended areas for intervention and instruction (Hume & Reynolds, 2010). Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and other developmental disabilities often rely on the presence of an adult to remain engaged or to complete activities, (Stamer and Schreibman, 1992). Hume, Loftin and Lantz, (2009), indicated that adults with ASD, despite IQ scores above 50, rely heavily on others for support in employment, daily living, and relationships. Promoting independent engagement and performance of classroom activities and decreasing dependence on adults is an important objective when teaching students with disabilities (Hall, McClannahan, & Krantz, 1995). Some of the most successful interventions targeting increased independent skills in students with developmental disabilities emphasize a shift in stimulus control from continuous adult management during instruction to an alternative stimulus. Stimulus control refers to a verbal, physical or gestural prompt from another individual. This shift in stimulus control is vital in increasing student independence across settings (Hume, Loftin, Lantz, 2009). This shift increases their independence by transferring reliance on an individual to an alternative stimulus such as a visual support. This alternative support can then transition across environments and grows with the student as they progress through their education. One method of shifting this stimulus is structured teaching. The Treatment and Education of Autistic and r...
Dempsey, I. & Foreman, P. ( 2001). A Review of Educational Approaches for Individuals with Autism. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 48 (1), 105-116.
Ospina, MB., Krebs, SJ., Clark, B., Karkhaneh, M., Hartling, L., et al. (2008). Behavioural and Developmental Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Clinical Systematic Review. PLoS ONE, 3(11). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19015734