Applied Behaviour Analysis
Principles of ABA
-
Individual program - Each student
must have a program
that matches
his/her strengths and needs.
-
Task analysis – Analyze skill or task
that needs to be taught, then
break it down into small components or
steps that it would take to do
the task.
-
Discrete trial and prompting
– Teach each step separately.
-
Reinforcement – Plan to reinforce each step with something that is
highly motivating for the student.
-
Repetition and prompt fading – Prac
tice each step repeatedly until
the student can carry out that
component of the skill with no
prompting.
-
Skill development – Build each st
ep systematically until the whole
task can be completed in
dependently by the student.
-
Data collection – Frequently coll
ect data in order to monitor the
student’s acquisition of the skill an
d the effectiveness of the program.
-
Generalization – Teach the student to
complete the task in different
settings, with different people and at different times.
-
Developmental skill building – Build
skills developmenta
lly in order to
build a strong foundation that will s
erve to inspire self initiated life
long learning.
ABA tells HOW to teach, not WHAT to teach
Program Policy Memorandum 140
The components of this policy
consist of five parts:
A.
Individual Programming
i.
Curriculum
ii.
Teaching Methods
B.
Positive Reinforcement
C.
Data Collection and Analysis
D.
Generalization of Skills
E.
Transition Planning
A.
Individual Programming
i.
Curriculum
Students with an ASD diagnosis
would likely have needs
in the following areas:
- communication
- language development
-independent functioning
-leisure and play skills
-difficult behaviours
-social interaction and emotional development
-life skills
These areas of needs will become
the modified program areas as found
in the student IEP
.
ii.
Teaching Methods/ABA Methods
-
task analysis
-
discrete trail training
-
pivotal response training
-
prompting
-
fading
-
shaping and chaining
-
modelling
-
video instruction
-
social scripting/script fading
-
incidental teaching
-
priming
-
structured peer-play interaction
These teaching methods become
the teaching strategies on the
modification pages of the IEP.
B.
Reinforcement
Reinforcement in ABA involves far more that just hand out a reward once in
awhile in order to motivate a child.
It is a systematic consequence that is
used to increase the frequency or a desirable behaviour.
For the purposes
of delivering ABA methods, reinforcement
needs to be linked directly to
what the student values and it must
be planned and closely monitored.
1.
First decide what behaviour you want to increase.
2.
Second, select the most
potent reinforces that will change this behaviour.
3.
Make reinforcement immediate and cert
ain if the behaviour occurs. The more
closely a reinforcer follows a behaviour,
the more likely it will be effective in
increasing that behaviour.
4.
Collect data on the behaviour before, dur
ing and after an intervention or teaching
strategy is put in place to
monitor the student
’s progress.
C.
Data Collection and Analysis
Collection of data is a critical co
mponent of ABA implementation. By
recording what we observe about a s
pecific skill or behaviour, we can
decide what needs to be taught
and what goals should be set.
ABA data collection tools may be mo
re useful than common assessment
methods. In collecting data we can measure :
-
Anecdotal notes record materials used, what worked and did not and how the
student progressed
-
Frequency that at skills is
demonstrated can be recorded
-
Frequency/Rate, how many correct in a specific time
-
Correct/incorrect response
-
Duration of time that a skill is demonstrated
-
Prompt level is critical to data collect
ion. Since independence for any skill is a
goal, it is necessary to measure how much prompting is being used in skill
development.
When data is collected:
Before teaching
: To establish a baseline of skill
development
During teaching:
To probe the effectiveness of
teaching strategies and materials and the
progress of skill acquisition
After teaching:
To assess the acquisition of
skills/concepts and the maintenance of the skill.
Can the student demonstrate the skill months
after it has been taught.
Various methods can be used to co
llect data as well as record data.
What to do with recorded Data:
A.
Troubleshooting: What to do if
progress is not
happening or is very
slow.
-
Look for patterns in various aspec
ts of programming and the school
environment
-
Start making systematic changes
B. Use the data to help make decisions about what skills to work on
next.
D.
Generalization
Generalization does not occur natural
ly with students with autism.
Educators need to change
the materials so that the student develops a
broader concept of what is
being taught. The general
rule is that for a skill
to be generalized it must be demonstrat
ed or performed in at least three
different settings, with three different
people, at 3 different times using a
variety of teaching materials. When
the student can demonstrate the skill
90% of the time, the skill is cons
idered mastered and generalized. The
student has taken a step
toward independence.
Eg.
Skill
Settings
Time
People
Following
directions
Follow step by step
instructions (preferably in
visual form)
1.
In the gym
2.
In the cafeteria
3.
In the classroom
4.
In the lab
5.
On the school yard
Following step by
step instructions
(and increasing the
number of steps in
small increments)
needs to be
practiced at many
times during the
day.
Parents, teachers,
coaches,
educational
assistants, support
staff, custodians,
secretaries, bus
drivers etc.
E.
Plan for Transitions
An effective plan to support transitions should consist of identifying a
student’s transition challenges, sett
ing clear goals and teaching strategies
to address these challenges.
-
Transitions into the school setting
-
Transitions between grade levels
-
Transitions between activities and settings
-
Transitions from Secondary School to Adult Life
-
Life Transitions in General
It is critical to use ABA methods
for teaching a student how to manage
transitions:
1.
Decide on a target goal (eg.
Use locker and move to class
independently_
2.
Use prompts to teach the transition skill
3.
Model the expected behaviours and
use visual schedules to teach the
steps required
4.
Fade the prompts if the student is acquiring the skill
5.
If not, use a video model
6.
If the student is still not achiev
ing break the skill down into component
steps and teach each step one at
a time using forward chaining or
backward chaining.
7.
Reinforce each success so that it
worth the student’s while to follow
directions.
8.
Record data so the student’s progress is documented
9.
The skill still needs
to be generalized
Completing the IEP
Learning Expectations
ABA must be applied when developin
g goals and objectives and setting up
the program and assessment for th
e student. The following must be
included when developing ABA specific learning objectives:
-
Choose one skill at a time
-
The level of support that is goi
ng to be provided (prompt levels)
-
Written to reflect the incremental st
eps towards independent functioning of the
skill
-
Context and setting the skill will be learned in
-
Criteria that will be used to measure success
-
Expectation for generalization of the skill
-
Time frame, remembering that a skill ma
y take more than one term or semester
Teaching Strategies
Strategies that will be em
ployed to teach the skill
-
discrete trail training
-
pivotal response training
-
prompting
-
fading
-
shaping and chaining
-
modelling
-
video instruction
-
social scripting/script fading
-
incidental teaching
-
priming
-
structured peer-play interaction
-
generalization
-
data collection
-
reinforcement
-
functional behaviour assessment
-
incidental teaching
-
task analysis
-
forward chaining/backward chaining
Assessment Methods
Assessment methods should match the te
aching strategy and the individual
students learning style.
-
data collection and graphing
-
checklists
-
benchmarks
-
running records
-
rubrics
-
video recording
-
anecdotal records
Example of an IEP
Modified curriculum area: Language
Term 1
Annual Program Goal:
Writing- Student will i
ndependently write sentences
to share the events of his/her day.
Learning Expectations
Teaching
Strategies
Assessment
Given a 5 word sentence
with the last work blank,
given verbal prompts, the
student will complete the
sentence by choosing the
word that describes an
activity that was completed
that day. The student will
choose the correct word 4
out of 5 times.
Given the same 5 words
sentences with the last two
words missing and given
verbal prompt
s, the student
will complete by choosing
the last two words of the
sentence. The student will
choose the correct words 4
out of 5 times.
Backward chaining
Positive Reinforcement
Repetition
Prompt fading
Data Collection
-
correct/incorrect
response
Given the same 5 words
sentences with the last
three words missing and
given verbal prompts, the
student will complete by
choosing the last three
words of the sentence. The
student will choose the
correct words 4 out of 5
times.
Given the same 5 words
sentences with the last four
words missing and given
verbal prompt
s, the student
will complete by choosing
the last four words of the
sentence. The student will
choose the correct words 4
out of 5 times.
Given the same 5 words
randomly, the student will
independently complete the
sentence correctly 4 out of
5 times.
Given the same 5 words
Randomly, the student will
independently complete the
sentence 4 out of 5 times in
3 different settings under
the direction of 3 different
people.
Generalization
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