ASSIGNMENT 3

REPLY 1

Behavioral Innovations in Houston, Texas offers Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which is a tailored treatment program for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  They will create an individualized treatment plan specifically to meet children’s specific autistic needs. Once the individualized treatment plan is in place then they will focus on the best approach for therapy. From there they are able to focus on learning how to answer simple questions, playing nicely with others, and other interactions that children will face in a public setting and how to appropriately handle those situations. 

ABA focuses on WHY a behavior is occurring.  Research has shown that with intensive ABA therapy, 90% of participants substantially improved, some even to normal intellectual functioning compared to the control group (Lovaas, 1987).  By approaching behaviors in this way, they are able to use the principals of reinforcements to increase appropriate actions and focus on teaching new skills and replacement behaviors for any challenging conduct. Autism Speaks (2015) states that positive reinforcement is one of the main strategies used in ABA therapy.  When a behavior is followed by a reward, the hope is that the child will repeat the positive behavior.  Over time, this continued reward/behavior approach encourages positive behavioral change.  The therapist first identifies a goal behavior.  Each time the child uses the behavior, they get rewarded.  Positive rewards encourage the child to continue using the skill along with praise.  Over time, this will lead to meaningful behavioral change.

Learning is maximized by utilizing both one-to-one and small-group settings. One-to-one offers an opportunity to break down abilities into smaller teachable skills and the small-group settings offer opportunities to promote generalization and practice with those skills in a more natural environment. This means that children receive attention from one of their therapists to develop and work on a specific skill and then will put these newly learned skills to use in a small group environment.

Many of their treatment centers provide certified Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) and Occupational Therapists working together, allowing children to receive a collaborative and integrative treatment model. Their clinicians work together to ensure all areas of need are identified and targeted through comprehensive treatment planning.

References

Autism Speaks. (2015). Home | Autism Speaks. [online] Available at: http://autismspeaks.org [Accessed 11 Nov. 2019].