ABA autism Flashcards
What is ABA based on?
Operant conditioning
The A in ‘ABC’ stands for
Antecedant, the behaviour such as the question which prompts the autistic child
The B in ‘ABC’ stands for
Behaviour, what the autistic child does e.g. responding to the question or instruction
The C in ‘ABC’ stands for
Consequence, wor not by the therapisthether they are rewarded
What behaviours does ABA focus on?
Socially significant behaviours e.g. communication, food refusal
What happens when we see ‘positive’ behaviours we want to see i.e. eye contact
They are positively reinforced with a reward
What happens when we see ‘negative’ behaviours we do not want to see i.e. food refusal
Nothing, they are ignored. We restate original request/prompt
Why do we ignore negative behaviours shown by autistic children?
So they go extinct without reinforcement, thus reducing them
Why do we reward the ‘positive’ behaviours?
To increase their occurrence
How is the therapy conducted?
one to one with a therapist over many intensive hours and it is individualised to that specitic autistic child
What is discrete trial training?
Breaking down complicated behaviours into simpler steps which can be rewarded to build behaviour through shaping
What did Lovaas find?
47% of children undergoing ABA were able to achieve ‘normal’ school functioing vs only 2% in control
What does Gale find about ABA?
It was effective in reducing food refusal behaviour
What did Warren find?
The research into ABA has not shown consistent enough results to make claims about its effectiveness
Why is ABA better than CBT?
ABA is accessible/effective for most levels of the autism spectrum as it doesn’t require specific skills from the children
What did Gale find?
ABA increased food acceptance from the children involved
What did Cebula find?
ABA improves the interactions between the autistic child and their siblings
Why is ABA being individualised good?
It makes it more effective because it is individually tailored to the behaviours the child needs to work on and the rewards they will respond to
What are arguments ABA long lasting or not?
It has been shown to work for a long while after the therapy however if you aren’t rewarding them consistently then the behaviours might stop
What is a major issue many have with autism?
It is socially controlling as it alters children’s behaviour to what we see as important but might not be what they want
What is an ethical issue with ABA?
It is said to have ethical issues as the therapy can be distressing for the child
What sort of abilities can CBT not help with?
It might struggle with things like increasing perspective taking and understanding emotions
