Behavior change procedures are essential in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) as they provide effective strategies to modify and shape behaviors. These procedures help individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) acquire new skills, improve communication, reduce problem behaviors, and enhance their overall quality of life. ABA utilizes evidence-based techniques such as positive reinforcement, prompting, shaping, and systematic desensitization to promote behavior change. By systematically analyzing behavior, setting clear goals, and implementing targeted interventions, ABA practitioners can customize programs to meet the unique needs of each individual. Behavior change procedures in ABA are vital tools that empower individuals with ASD to achieve their full potential and foster meaningful social integration.
These posts, courses and guides will help you dive deeper into behavior change procedures to get the best results for your clients!
Antecedent Interventions: Complete Guide
Collecting ABC data helps us understand behavior in context. Reinforcement and other consequence interventions are a cornerstone of ABA (see Understanding Consequence Interventions: Punishment vs Reinforcement). Here we dive a little deeper into using the first part of the 3 term contingency – Antecedent interventions. This post includes the following interventions:
- Visuals
- Behavioral Momentum
- Shared Control
- Errorless Learning
- Environmental Modifications
- Priming
- Task Interspersal
- Noncontingent Reinforcement
Understanding Consequence Interventions: Punishment vs Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is a cornerstone intervention in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), but many people outside ABA including parents, caregivers and teachers believe that it’s nothing more than bribery. This post will help you explain the critical differences between reinforcement and bribery.
Functions of Behavior in ABA: Complete Guide
ABA uses the functions of behavior to understand behavior and why it occurs. When you accurately identify the function of a behavior, you answer the question: What does this person “get” out of engaging in this behavior. This answer allows you to select function-based interventions to address the behavior.
Competing Behavior Pathway: The path from function to intervention
Throughout your training, you have heard experts in the field of ABA stress the importance of utilizing function-based interventions. The question is:
how do you actually choose interventions based on the function of the challenging behavior?
The answer is: use the competing behavior pathway!
The competing behavior pathway provides:
- A visual depicting the maintaining variables for the challenging behavior and a prototype for the context for the desired behavior
- A concrete way to document functionally-equivalent replacement behaviors
- A clear way to go from function to intervention
Understanding Assent and Assent Withdrawal in ABA
We all know that we must get informed consent from parents or caregivers to provide treatment, but are you getting assent from the learner as well? In the BACB’s Code of Ethics updated for 2022, the BACB requires BCBAs to obtain assent as a part of obtaining informed consent (2.11 Obtaining Informed Consent)
Compliance Training: Teach Cooperation While Preserving Individual Rights
This post covers a valuable strategy, but let’s make sure we are all on the same page first. Compliance Training sometimes gets a bad reputation from people who are trying to preserve the dignity and rights of individuals with autism (for more on the debate about ABA read our post Understanding the Debate About ABA). When done carelessly, Compliance Training can appear degrading and controlling. It’s critical to be aware of this before getting started so you ensure to carefully implement the strategies we are going to talk about.
Behavioral Momentum for Children with Autism
Children with autism often exhibit challenging behavior, including refusal. Behavioral momentum allows you to turn potentially negative interactions with your learner into positive ones. By eliciting a series of positive responses from your learner you are essentially warming him up and preparing him to respond positively to requests that follow. Once he completes a series of easy tasks he is much more likely to complete a more challenging one. Here’s how!
Matching Law: Practical Applications in ABA
The Matching Law is a behavioral principle that states that behavior occurs in proportion to reinforcement available for each behavior. By intentionally applying this law, you are able to manipulate concurrent schedules to influence behavior. This strategy is an especially effective alternative to extinction. Learn more.
Differential Reinforcement: A Complete Guide
Differential reinforcement (DR) is an effective ABA intervention when used correctly. With this strategy, therapists reinforce one topography of behavior while putting all other responses on extinction. Five main varieties offer options for behaviors to reinforce:
- DRO-Differential reinforcement of other behavior
- DRA-Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior
- DRI-Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior
- DRL-Differential reinforcement of lower rates of behavior
- DRH-Differential reinforcement of higher rates of behavior
This complete guide will help you understand each DR strategy, how to implement them and when to use each one.
Differential Reinforcement: A Practical Guide to DR
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has many tools in the behavior toolbox but one of the most important is reinforcement, including differential reinforcement. Differential reinforcement (DR) is an intervention that reinforces one topography of behavior while putting all other responses on extinction. The intervention strengthens the desired behavior while simultaneously weakening challenging behavior.
This easy-to-follow guide explains how you can use these strategies to help teach a child with autism.
Data Collection Methods: Continuous vs Discontinuous Measurement in ABA
Applied Behavior Analysis is a science-driven approach to behavior that depends significantly on the accurate collection of data. When collecting data you can choose from a continuous data collection method (frequency, rate, duration, or latency) or a discontinuous data collection method (partial interval, whole interval, or momentary time sampling). How do you know which method is best? This post will tell you!
Operational Definitions: Clearly Define the Behavior
Operational definitions are an important part of your plan. A clear operational definition allows for consistency in data collection and prevents confusion about whether a child has engaged in a behavior. This post will help you understand the key components of an effective definition and provides 9 examples of common behaviors.
Course: Writing Operational Definitions
This free course provides even more information than our post Operational Definitions: Clearly Define the Behavior and includes sample definitions for the following behaviors:
- Escape or Avoidance Behaviors
- Access to Tangible Behaviors
- Access to Attention Behaviors
- Aggression
- Self-Injurious Behavior
- Non-Compliance
- Flopping
- Eloping
- Tantrum
- Crying/Screaming
- Swearing
- Throwing
The Ultimate Guide to the Effective Use of Reinforcers, Reinforcer Assessments and Preference Assessments
Selecting reinforcers that are sufficiently motivating for your learner is critical to the success of your reinforcement strategy. Preference for a reinforcer is often fluid. These assessments will help you determine what will be most effective with your client.
Premack Principle: A Guide to Using the First/Then Rule
The Premack Principle, or First/Then, states that a behavior an individual chooses to do on his own will reinforce a less preferred behavior. While this intervention is commonly used to reduce demand refusal, this post explains 5 other ways you can use this strategy to help your learner.
Token Economy: Examples and Applications in ABA
Token economy is a reinforcement strategy where generalized reinforcers (tokens) are exchanged for backup reinforcers (something the learner wants). Research shows that this intervention is effective across environments including home, school, and in-patient programs. Due to its versatility, it’s important to consider how you might include a token economy in your plan. This post includes examples to give you ideas.
Prompt Hierarchy: A New Perspective
Using prompts is an effective approach for teaching new skills and reducing challenging behaviors. However, fading prompts is a critical piece of using this intervention effectively. Although professionals often refer to this prompt hierarchy as one sequence of prompts that can be followed in ascending or descending order of intrusiveness, in reality, there are 3 distinct hierarchies. Prompts from one hierarchy may naturally be included during prompt fading when using one of the other hierarchies. This post explains more.
FCT: 7 Things You Need to Know about Functional Communication Training
Functional Communication Training (FCT) is one of the most important interventions within the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). It aims to teach learners how to use communication as a means of getting their needs met. To effectively work in the field of ABA, especially if you work with autistic learners or other learners with communication delays, you have to understand how to use this powerful tool. If you’re not using this intervention, your learners are missing life-changing opportunities.
ABC Data: The Key to Understanding Behavior
The term “ABC” refers to the context of a behavioral event, describing events that occur before and after a behavior you want to learn more about (antecedent, behavior and consequence). While this concept is often thought of in conjunction with reducing challenging behaviors, it is equally effective when teaching new skills. Here’s what you need to know about the ABCs of ABA!
Generalization: The Key to Meaningful Programming in ABA
Generalization is a critical aspect of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), particularly for BCBAs working with autistic learners as these learners may not generalize skills without an intentional plan. Ensuring long-term success and positive outcomes for these learners relies on their ability to apply acquired skills and behaviors in various settings and situations beyond the teaching environment (i.e. clinic or home).
Generality is one of the 7 dimensions of ABA and is a vital component of your ABA program. If your learner fails to use skills across different settings and with different people, what you taught them is of no real value.
Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP): The Complete Guide to Writing a Comprehensive Plan
A Behavior Intervention Plan provides a roadmap for reducing interfering behaviors. It guides treatment and ensures a consistent response when a child engages in a behavior. The plan includes select ABA interventions based on the function of the behavior, and specifies a plan to teach functionally-equivalent replacement behaviors. But writing an effective plan takes practice. This post will walk you through each component so nothing is missed.
How to Create A Behavior Intervention Plan – A Complete Guide
The Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is a critical tool for children who engage in challenging behavior. The BIP ensures that interventionists, teachers, parents and others involved in the care of the child are all on the same page when addressing challenging behavior. Often the success of the child depends heavily on the effectiveness of the BIP.
Writing an effective BIP takes practice. This guide takes you step-by-step through the process. None of us have the time we need to get good at writing these plans on our own. This guide provides practical tips and resources to help you become more efficient in your writing.
CEU Course: BIPs for the Real World: A Guide for BCBAs in the Field
This course, only available through the Master ABA Dojo membership takes your Behavior Intervention Plans to the next level. Providing detailed instructions, you’ll learn:
- Parts of a BIP
- Common Antecedent, Skill Development and Consequence Interventions
- Writing a Statement of Hypothesized Function
- BIP Structure and Formatting
- Increasing Efficiency in Your Writing
But you’ll also uncover how to ensure your plan meets the needs of each individual.
Course: Understanding Medical Necessity
Understanding medical necessity is critical when working with insurance companies to provide ABA services. This course provides an overview of what medical necessity is and how to use language the reviewers at the insurance companies understand to justify your services. Learn how to get your plan approved!
How to Conduct and Document an Initial Assessment for ABA Services
You passed the exam and secured your dream job. Then the doubt sets in. You don’t know how to actually do anything you learned in school. If this sounds like you, you’re not alone.
Despite fieldwork experience, many new BCBAs feel unprepared to perform the duties of a BCBA. Some agencies offer mentorship for new BCBAs but the reality of clinical work, especially for insurance-funded services, is there just isn’t enough time or resources to offer the support they actually need.
Course: Conducting and Documenting a Skills Assessment
A key responsibility for any BCBA is conducting and documenting skills assessments to identify skill deficits that lead to maladaptive behavior. Although you studied the process in school and even had some supervised experience during your fieldwork, completing this process on your own feels daunting. You know the mechanics and understand the fundamentals, but real life is nothing like you imagined. This course takes you from concept to application. It walks you step-by-step through the process of conducting a skills assessment and provides detailed examples of each component.
This course gives you access to:
- Skills Assessment Questionnaire
- Skills Assessment Workflow
- Skills Assessment Checklist
- Skills Assessment Workbook
- Sample Treatment Plan
- Treatment Plan Template
This course is only available through our Master ABA Dojo membership.
Course: Conducting and Documenting a Behavioral Assessment
A key responsibility for any BCBA is conducting and documenting a behavioral assessment. Although you studied the process in school and even had some supervised experience during your fieldwork, completing this process on your own feels daunting. You know the mechanics and understand the fundamentals, but real life is nothing like you imagined. This course takes you from concept to application. It walks you step-by-step through the process of conducting a behavioral assessment and provides detailed examples of each component.
This course gives you access to:
- A sample document of a completed FBA
- An FBA template
- FBA workflow
- FBA checklist
- ABC data sheets
- The Problem Behavior Pathway
- The Competing Behavior Pathway
This course is only available through our Master ABA Dojo membership.
