Applied Behavior Analysis

ABA focuses on teaching behavior systematically in a highly structured environment. Students work on everything from simple responses, such as looking at others, to more complex actions such as spontaneous communication and social interaction. Students are taught how to appropriately engage in and participate in social interactions using positive reinforcement. The function of problematic behavior such as tantrums, non-contextual noise, self-injury and withdrawal, is analyzed to determine what in the child’s environment is reinforcing that behavior. Students are taught replacement behaviors to help reduce and or eliminate problematic behaviors. Children are given many opportunities to practice new and emerging skills until desired responses are performed readily, easily and independently. Data is collected on a quarterly basis to help monitor students progress.
As a child progresses, skills are also practiced and reinforced in less structured situations, and instruction may be delivered not only in one-on-one settings, but also in group instruction. Emphasis is given to teaching children to generalize learning and skill demonstration from one environment to another, from school to home, from one instructor to another, and ultimately to community settings.