What is ABA?
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
ABA is an evidence-based approach of improving socially significant behaviors and increasing independence. It is a child-centered therapy that is dedicated to improving quality of life. ABA utilizes behavioral principles based on reinforcement to increase target behaviors and skills. It can help explain how and why behavior occurs. Behavior is everything we do: speaking, listening, learning, and interacting with others.
ABA breaks down behaviors into smaller parts by identifying and setting achievable goals towards a desirable behavior or task. ABA focuses on motivation and how to arrange the surroundings; this increases learning and appropriate behaviors by replacing interfering behaviors through positive reinforcement. ABA includes a mix of naturalistic teaching and discrete trial training.
Verbal Behavior (VB)
Based on the principles of ABA, Verbal Behavior’s research-based protocols and interventions induce and expand verbal behavioral development (cusps and capabilities) for children who don’t show certain milestones. VB programs focus on receptive (listening) and expressive (speaking) skills for children with language delays and limited communication repertoires. By increasing a child’s verbal behavior repertoire, the child’s independence is increased and the child can learn in new ways he/she could not before. Frankfurt Behavior Consulting uses evidence-based VB assessments, interventions, and curricula including the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP), the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills Revised (ABLLS-R), and Verbal Behavior Analysis assessments, protocols, interventions developed by Columbia University’s CABAS® graduate program.
ABA and VB Programs may target:
Functional communication (requesting, labeling, answering, and asking questions)
Appropriate play and social skills with peers and siblings
Increasing desired behaviors, while replacing interfering behaviors (tantrums, aggression, etc.)
Daily living skills (dressing, hand washing, tooth brushing, toilet training)
Following directions, transitions, and schedules
Academic skills (reading, writing, math) and school readiness
Imitation and visual performance skills (scanning, matching, sorting)
Personalized Approach
ABA is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach; each child receives initial skills and behavioral assessments by a BCBA. Functional analyses are conducted to determine the function, to answer why behaviors may occur. Based on observations, interviews, and rating scales, individualized programing and treatment plans are developed. Throughout treatment, data are collected and continuously analyzed to determine treatment effectiveness and progress. Programs and goals are updated regularly to meet your child’s needs.
Why ABA?
Decades of research have concluded that ABA therapies are evidence based practices “increasing communication, learning, and appropriate social behavior” (US Surgeon General David Satcher, 1999). It has been recognized by the Centers for Disease Control as a “notable treatment approach”. ABA has also been endorsed by many psychological, academic, and health organizations.
Although ABA has been a popular approach in the United States for many years, it is still an emerging field Europe. For more information about ABA in Europe, please visit The European Association for Behavior Analysis. For more information about ABA in Germany, please visit the Association for Behavior Analysis Deutschland
In order to ensure your child receives high quality ABA services, it is critical that they are supervised by a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA). BCBAs must complete rigorous verified coursework, receive a graduate degree, complete a minimum of 1,500 hours supervised independent hours working in a behavior analytic field, and pass a board certification exam. For more information about the qualifications of BCBAs and ABA, please visit the Behavior Analysis Certification Board.
