Applied Behavior Analysis: Methods Of Measuring Behavior

How Is Behavior Measured?

ABA involves measuring behavior in a number of ways. Verbal communication is measured by a classification system that includes:

• Tact – responding in an appropriate manner
• Mand – response reinforced by characteristic consequence
• Intraverbals – response to questions
• Autoclitic – quantification, grammar and qualifying statements

Behavior is also divided into four subcategories as follows:

• Repeatability – how many times the behavior occurs
• Temporal extent – duration the behavior lasts
• Temporal locus – when the behavior occurs
• Derivative measures – percentage ratio and number or response opportunities required

How Quickly Does This Benefit Autistic Children?

The speed at which effectiveness is gained through ABA depends largely on the child in question. Some skills can be picked up very quickly, whereas others may take a lot longer depending on the complexity of the skill, and the child’s ability to learn. Often, intensive and long-term instruction is needed as the process involves achieving goals step by step. Those that do learn skills quickly, will often pick up one skill rapidly, but take much longer to learn the others.

 All autistic children have some aspect of difficulty with social interaction, and some are completely incommunicable. Others may be able to communicate in a way that seems excellent, but there will still be an issue with either what they are saying, how they listen to others, who they talk to, or how they read other people’s body language. Many people think that communication is just the ability to talk, but there is so much more than that involved in effective communication and interaction.

Research Studies

Research is ongoing to continue monitoring the effectiveness of ABA and to further develop the techniques associated with the treatment. However, studies that have already been done that include participants from toddler through to adult, have all shown great improvements in the skill sets ABA is developed to work with. Improvements have been shown in the areas of communication, play, social relationships, school, employment and self-care. The use of ABA also demonstrated an increase in family and community activity participation.

Studies have also shown that many autistic children who participate in ABA programs have a significant improvement in the areas of reasoning, learning, communication and adaptability. This enables these children to be a part of the mainstream world, particularly in the school environment, instead of having to be enrolled in special schools.

However, studies have also indicated that not every child responds to ABA as positively, and may continue to struggle with learning. This is a small percentage of the children studied, and research is ongoing to find out why some children respond so well to ABA and others don’t. Unfortunately it is still difficult to predict how a child will respond to ABA until the process is initiated.

ABA is also beneficial to adults and teens with autism, and this has been validated by recent studies. ABA techniques have been shown to help with the transition into independent living and employment opportunities. However, research is still being undertaken to fully analyze the benefits of ABA in adults.