Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism: Another Fad, or a Scientifically Valid Treatment?
The prevalence of autism in society has reached a new high. It is estimated that 1 in every 88 children have been identified as having an autism spectrum disorder (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008). The following are the five specific disorders characterized under the umbrella of ASD:
As the occurrence of autism increases, so do the efforts to cure or ameliorate the characteristics of the disorder. With all of the available options that exist as treatment options for individuals with autism, there are few that meet the scientific standard for established treatments. In 2009 the National Autism Center set out to identify the level of research support available for interventions for children and adolescents with ASD. This endeavor was called the National Standards Project and it identified 11 treatments that qualify as 'established' treatments - those that have been sufficiently researched and have sufficient evidence to state their effectiveness. Of those 11 treatments, as many as eight are based on the principles of the applied behavior analysis.
Now that we know how important applied behavior analysis is to the effective treatment of individuals with autism, we can formulate some questions to dig deeper into the subject.
Using these questions to guide our thinking about ABA we can discover how it can be a useful treatment option for individuals with autism. We will also broaden our thinking about how the environment has an influence on behavior, and how we as practitioners can adapt, modify, and reinvent our instructional environments to see improvements in socially significant behavior.
- Autistic disorder
- Rett's disorder
- Childhood disintegrative disorder
- Asperger's disorder
- Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified
As the occurrence of autism increases, so do the efforts to cure or ameliorate the characteristics of the disorder. With all of the available options that exist as treatment options for individuals with autism, there are few that meet the scientific standard for established treatments. In 2009 the National Autism Center set out to identify the level of research support available for interventions for children and adolescents with ASD. This endeavor was called the National Standards Project and it identified 11 treatments that qualify as 'established' treatments - those that have been sufficiently researched and have sufficient evidence to state their effectiveness. Of those 11 treatments, as many as eight are based on the principles of the applied behavior analysis.
Now that we know how important applied behavior analysis is to the effective treatment of individuals with autism, we can formulate some questions to dig deeper into the subject.
- What are the principles of the analysis of behavior?
- What makes ABA an effective treatment for individuals with autism?
- What are some of the treatments associated with ABA?
Using these questions to guide our thinking about ABA we can discover how it can be a useful treatment option for individuals with autism. We will also broaden our thinking about how the environment has an influence on behavior, and how we as practitioners can adapt, modify, and reinvent our instructional environments to see improvements in socially significant behavior.