ABA and Aspergers: The Three Step Plan You Can Use
2019-07-02
The main use of ABA for individuals on the autism spectrum is to decrease challenging behaviors and increase appropriate skills.
Here are the three steps for utilizing ABA to decrease challenging behaviors and increase appropriate skills:
Step 1: Assessment
The first step in decreasing problem behavior is to conduct a functional behavior assessment, which determines the function of challenging behavior.
Appropriate skills including academic, language, and daily living skills are assessed in a similar way. The founding father of ABA, B.F. Skinner, wrote the book Verbal Behavior in 1957. In the book, language is analyzed based on the function. Assessments like the Verbal Behavior-Milestones and Assessment Program (VB-MAPP; Sundberg, 2008) are utilized to assess the persons’ language skills, as well as other appropriate skills like academic and daily living skills.
Other assessments utilized in ABA are the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills-Revised (ABBLS-R; Partington, 2006) and the Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS; Partington & Mueller, 2013).
Step 2: Developing a Plan and Treatment Goals
Providing the weekly Medical Blogs are the team of professionals, doctors, occupational and behavioral therapists at San Antonio’s premiere Autism Diagnostic Clinic, the Autism Community Network.
Contributors include:
Executive Director Dr. Loree Primeau
Medical Director Dr. A Patricia Del Angel
Training and Research Director Dr. Berenice de la Cruz
Carrie Alvarado, OTR, PhD©, DIR/Floortime-Certified
Lupe Castaneda, MS, BCBA
Adriana Sanchez, MA, BCBA
Dr. Gayla Aguilar, OTR, OTD, C-SIPT
Megan Kunze, MA, BCBA
The ACN teams works to maximize the potential of children with autism through their administrative, clinic, training and development departments. Their expertise on Aspergers Syndrome is offered to you through aspergers101.com.