What is Applied Behavior Analysis? (ABA)
Behavior Analysis is the scientific study of behavior. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the application of the principles of learning and motivation. From Behavior Analysis and the procedures and technology derived from those principles, to the solution of problems of social significance, many decades of research have validated treatments based on ABA (Autism Speaks & Center for Autism).
Behavior analysis is a scientific approach to understanding behavior and how it is affected by the environment. ‘Behavior’ refers to all kinds of actions and skills (not just misbehavior), and ‘environment’ includes all sorts of physical and social events that might change or be changed by one's behavior. The science of behavior analysis focuses on principles (that is, general laws) about how behavior works, or how learning takes place. For example, one principle of behavior analysis is positive reinforcement: When a behavior is followed by something that is valued (a ‘reward’), that behavior is likely to be repeated. Through decades of research, the field of behavior analysis has developed many techniques for increasing useful behaviors and reducing those that may be harmful or that interfere with learning. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the use of those techniques and principles to address socially important problems and to bring about meaningful behavior change (Autism Speaks & Center for Autism).
Who Can Benefit from ABA?
ABA methods have been used successfully with many kinds of learners of all ages, with and without disabilities, in many different settings. In the early 1960s, behavior analysts began working with young children with Autism and related disorders. Those pioneers used techniques in which adults directed most of the instruction as well as some in which children took the lead. Since that time, a wide variety of ABA techniques have been developed for building useful skills in learners with Autism of all ages. Those techniques are used in both structured situations (such as formal instruction in classrooms) and in more ‘natural’ everyday situations (such as during play or mealtime at home), and in 1-to-1 as well as group instruction. They are used to develop basic skills like looking, listening, and imitating, as well as complex skills like reading, conversing, and taking the perspective of others (Autism Speaks & Center for Autism).
The use of ABA principles and techniques to help persons with Autism live happy and productive lives has expanded rapidly in recent years. Today, ABA is widely recognized as a safe and effective treatment for Autism. It has been endorsed by a number of state and federal agencies, including the U. S. Surgeon General and the New York State Department of Health (Autism Speaks & Center for Autism).
For general information about behavior analysis and ABA, see the links below:
The Association for Behavior Analysis International
Behavior Analyst Certification Board
Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies