Applied Behavior Analysis
In 2007, the Ontario Ministry of Education created a policy memorandum, PPM 140, that requires teachers of students with autism to use applied behaviour analysis in the classroom, if applicable. According to Alberto and Troutman (2009), Applied Behaviour Analysis is a more rigorously defined version of behaviour modification because it includes the requirement to record data as evidence of the effect of the treatment.
Alberto and Troutman (2009) define applied behaviour analysis by stating that “human behaviour, both adaptive and maladaptive, is learned. Learning occurs as a result of the consequences of behaviour”. Consequences following a behaviour that increase the behaviour, such as getting free time for completing a task, is considered positive reinforcement. Reinforcement is the key behind applied behaviour analysis. Antecedents, or events that come before a behaviour, also have an impact on behaviour.
All behaviours occur for one of four reasons: avoidance, attention, tangible acquisition (such as getting a toy), and sensory (usually the pleasure of the behaviour itself). In applied behaviour analysis, programs are not based on the behaviour, but on the motivation for the behaviour. Behaviours are also replaced with another, more acceptable means of communication, like using picture card communication. For example, if a student is screaming for a toy, they will not get the toy. Instead, they will be prompted to ask for the toy with a verbal or picture card. When they do, they will get the toy. Eventually, the student will learn to ask for the toy and will unlearn screaming. Anything that is measurable and observable is a behaviour, so this does not only include undesired behaviours, but also desired behaviours, such as reading.
Discrete trial training (DTT) is one of the better known strategies in applied behaviour analysis. It is a form of one-to-one teaching frequently done in a cubicle setting using repeated trials of prompting and reinforcement to teach students new skills. Prompting is the help given to a student to complete a task once the request has been given. Prompts include full physical prompts (picking up the student’s hand and putting it on the required letter card), partial physical prompts (gently touching the elbow and leading it toward the correct card), gestural (pointing to the right card), positional (putting the right card closer to the student), visual (showing a picture of the desired card), and various levels of verbal (full, partial, and indirect). These prompts are different levels of support, and they should be faded until the task is acquired independently (using less intrusive prompts until the student is independent). Other strategies of applied behaviour analysis are task analysis and chaining (the act of breaking down tasks into smaller steps and teaching those steps in order one at a time), reinforcement thinning (requiring more trials before a reinforcer is given), shaping (accepting responses that are closer and closer to the desired response), and generalization (teaching an acquired skill in other areas, with other people, and with other resources).
Bibliography
Alberto, Paul A and Troutman, Anne C. (2009.) Applied Behaviour Analysis for Teachers. 8th Ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
Ministry of Education. (2007). Policy Program Memorandum No. 140: Incorporating Methods of Applied Behavior Analysis into Programs for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Ontario. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/extra/eng/ppm/140.html