Applied behavior analysis
[16][17][2] The successful results from this study led researchers at the University of Kansas to start the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) in 1968.
[18][19] A group of researchers at the University of Washington, including Donald Baer, Sidney W. Bijou, Bill Hopkins, Jay Birnbrauer, Todd Risley, and Montrose Wolf,[20][21] applied the principles of behavior analysis to treat autism, manage the behavior of children and adolescents in juvenile detention centers, and organize employees who required proper structure and management in businesses.
In 1968, Baer, Bijou, Risley, Birnbrauer, Wolf, and James Sherman joined the Department of Human Development and Family Life at the University of Kansas, where they founded the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
While Lovaas's work was instrumental in establishing ABA as an effective treatment for autism, his early use of aversives (including slapping and electric shocks) has considerable ethical concerns, and the practice has been condemned by the Association for Behavior Analysis International.
[35] RBTs deliver direct therapy to clients, while BCBAs oversee clinical decisions, manage cases, and provide supervision to staff at all credential levels.
[38] In 1965, early development of discrete trial training (DTT) techniques, which was also known as the Lovaas method, involved the use of electric shocks, scolding, and the withholding of food.
[39][40] Ivar Lovaas published a series of articles that described a pioneering investigation of the antecedents and consequences that maintained a problem behavior,[41] including aversives, such as slapping and electric shocks, to suppress stereotypic body movements and emotional outbursts.
[42] Lovaas described how to use social (secondary) reinforcers, teach children to imitate, and what interventions may be used to reduce aggression and life-threatening self-injury.
[18] The experimental group in this study received an average of 40 hours per week in a 1:1 teaching setting at a table using errorless DTT with a trained therapist.
[18] The outcome of this study indicated 47% of the experimental group (9/19) went on to lose their autism diagnosis and were described as indistinguishable from their typically developing adolescent peers.
These gains were maintained as reported in the 1993 study, "Long-term outcome for children with autism who received early intensive behavioral treatment".
Lovaas' work went on to be recognized by the US Surgeon General and New York State Department of Health in 1999, and his research were replicated in university and private settings.
Pivotal response treatment (PRT) is a naturalistic ABA-based intervention which targets skills that, when mastered, "can elicit more widespread positive clinical gains in the child’s other domains of functioning.
"[47] PRT's primary focus is increasing the learner's motivation by self-initiated requesting and to engage them socially through play within a behavioral framework.
Recent notable areas of research in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis include autism,[5] classroom instruction with typically developing students, pediatric feeding therapy,[4][5][49] and substance use disorders.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a clinical approach based on behavior analytic principles with the theoretical framework of relational frame theory.
This is important in behavioral research because it quantifies how quickly an individual may respond to external stimuli, providing insights into their perceptual and cognitive processing rates.
Trials-to-criterion, another ABA derivative measure, tracks the number of response opportunities needed to achieve a set level of performance.
This metric aids behavior analysts in assessing skill acquisition and mastery, influencing decisions on program adjustments and teaching methods.
Therefore, precise measurement and assessment play a pivotal role in ABA practice, guiding practitioners to enhance behavioral outcomes and drive significant change.
[98] In order to minimize errors and ensure a high level of success during learning, prompts are given in a most-to-least sequence and faded systematically.
[103] Schedule thinning is often an important and neglected issue in contingency management and token economy systems, especially when these are developed by unqualified practitioners (see professional practice of behavior analysis).
[107] One teaching technique found to be effective with some students, particularly children, is the use of video modeling (the use of taped sequences as exemplars of behavior).
This interactive evaluation includes gathering data about the ecological circumstances that occur prior to an identified conduct issue and the resulting rewards that reinforce the behavior.
[120][121] Instead, these critics advocate for increased social acceptance of harmless and sometimes adaptive autistic traits and interventions focused on improving well being and quality of life.
[123][124] The European Council of Autistic People (EUCAP) published a 2024 position statement expressing deep concern about the harm caused by ABA being overlooked.
[128][129] A 2019 meta-analysis noted that "methodological rigor remains a pressing concern" in research into ABA's use as therapy for autism; while the authors found some evidence in favour of behavioral interventions, the effects disappeared when they limited the scope of their review to randomized controlled trial designs and outcomes for which there was no risk of detection bias.
[126][132][135][136][137] Some bioethicists argue that employing ABA violates the principles of justice and nonmaleficence and infringes on the autonomy of both autistic children and their parents.
[135] Lovaas incorporated aversives into some of the ABA practices he developed, including employing electric shocks, slapping, and shouting to modify undesirable behavior.
[144] In addition, some forms of ABA interventions have been reforming to address these criticisms and mitigate the potential risks of harm, informed by neurodiversity approaches, related findings, and lived experiences of autistic people.
