Applied Behaviour Analysis 1.

Applied behavior analysis is the science in which procedures derived from the principles of behavior are systematically applied to improve socially significan t behavior to a meaningful degree and to demonstrate experimentally that the pro cedures employed were responsible for the improvement in behavior. 2.Autism is a developmental disorder that causes difficulty in communication, so cial relations and atypical behaviour sometimes characterized in the form of rep etitive movements, and insistence on routine or sameness. These three characteri stics are often known as the triad of symptoms . In order to receive a diagnosis of autism an individual must possess all three symptoms. 3.Characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis. 1. Applied- In behavioral application, the behavior under study are chosen be cause of their importance to society. 2. Behavioral- ABA is concerned with and directly measures behavior of socia l importance. 3. Analytic- in order for results to be credible, the experimenter must demon strate control of the behavior of interest. 4. Technological- procedural description and study techniques must be thoroug hly identified and well described. 5. Conceptually Systematic- it is important to relate the results of successf ul analyses to basic principles of behavior. 6. Effective- the change in behavior attributed to ABA must be perceived as s ignificant by the student, family or teachers. 7. Generality- a behavior is said to have generalized when the behavior chang e is long lasting, when the behavior appears in new settings and in new ways eit her without teaching or with very little teaching. 4. Principles of Behavior Analysis -REINFORCEMENT -CHAINING -PROMPTING -FADING -SHAPING -MODELLING 5.Implementing an ABA intervention. -Interventions that decrease, terminate or eliminate the behavior -Interventions that increase current frequency of behavior or that build new ski lls or behavior ABA methods are used to support persons with autism in at least six ways: 1. to increase behaviors (eg reinforcement procedures increase on-task beha vior, or social interactions); 2. to teach new skills (eg, systematic instruction and reinforcement proced ures teach functional life skills, communication skills, or social skills); 3. to maintain behaviors (eg, teaching self control and self-monitoring pro cedures to maintain and generalize job-related social skills); 4. to generalize or to transfer behavior from one situation or response to another (eg, from completing assignments in the resource room to performing as w ell in the mainstream classroom); 5. to restrict or narrow conditions under which interfering behaviors occur (eg, modifying the learning environment); and 6. to reduce interfering behaviors (eg, self injury or stereotypy).