Triveni Goswami Vernal
(Registered Special Educator A64010)

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is almost synonymous with interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but it has come into a lot of criticism lately.   So, what is ABA and why has it been criticized?

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is an approach that utilizes behavioural intervention at its core, while working with individuals with Autism. ABA is primarily based on Behaviour analyst, B.F.Skinner’s principles of Operant Conditioning. So, operant conditioning uses the principles of Reinforcement (both positive and negative) to increase the chances of a “desirable” behaviour occurring.

Positive Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behaviour/response occurring by providing a stimulus after the behaviour/response (such as offering something tangible like a food item, a toy or a non-tangible like praise etc). Negative Reinforcement also increases the likelihood of a behaviour/response occurring by removing an unwanted stimulus after the behaviour/response (For example, removing a chore, that the child does not like doing—eg., watering the plants, if he/she cleans the room). Negative Reinforcement is not the same as punishment.

While working with challenging behaviours, Behaviour Therapists often use the A-B-C Model, to understand what may have happened.  In this model, A is an Antecedent (the trigger) that led to the Behaviour; B is the challenging Behaviour and C is the Consequence of the Behaviour. So, in order to understand, why a child may be engaging in challenging behaviour, the behaviour therapist would consult with the parents, teachers, caregivers of the individual to understand what the trigger may have been, leading to the challenging behaviour and also what the consequence of that behaviour may be (as in how do people around the individual react or respond to the behaviour….do they get angry and scold the individual, or do they keep calm or they lash out physically/verbally etc).

CRITICISM
ABA has been mostly criticised by individuals on the Autism spectrum, who say that the approach tends to demean the authentic, lived experience of an autistic individual, by focusing on certain aspects and negating the individual experiences that truly define an autistic individual. For example, the focus on maintaining eye contact, or the focus on reducing stimming or even negating stimming, altogether, or even things like using reinforcers to teach/impart a skill, is often seen as being too mechanistic in its approach.

IS THERE ANY REDEEMING ASPECT OF ABA?
In my work as a parent as well as an educator, now, I feel that while the approach used in ABA can be very problematic and it comes with its own constraints, a lot of the principles that are used to teach Communication and Expressive Language, are in fact based on Skinner’s Verbal Behaviour Theory: 

Echoic: Imitation
Mands: Requests /Demand
Tact: Labelling /naming objects, actions or events in the environment
Intraverbals: Responding to others, engaging in self-talk, back and forth conversations etc

CONCLUSION:
In my personal opinion, ABA as an approach is problematic and while working with individuals on the autism spectrum, we must be constantly aware of not straitjacketing all individuals with a tunnel vision, curbing their individualities into what is considered “desirable” or “acceptable”. But I also recognize that ABA has certain aspects that can be very useful, especially while working on language and communication, or while defining goals regarding skills to be imparted.

Therefore, the key is to be moderate in our approach—borrow concepts/techniques that you think align with your beliefs and also helps the individual in the long run, and create an individualized approach of intervention for each individual.

In my next blog, I will be writing about the TEACCH approach.

REFERENCES:
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_986-3
https://www.adinaaba.com/post/skinner-verbal-behavior
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbal_Behavior
https://www.autismspeaks.org/applied-behavior-analysis
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Author Dr.Triveni Goswami Vernal

Dr.Triveni Goswami Vernal is a Registered Special Educator (CRR: A64010), a Psychologist and an Expressive Arts Therapy Practitioner in training (UNESCO-CID). She is an Avaz Certified Educator and Certified in Dyslexia Teacher Training. She is also an art educator for children with additional needs.

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“Blooms”
Acrylic Painting on Ivory paper
Kabir Vernal