what is aba

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the science of changing socially significant behaviors in order to increase an individual’s quality of life. This is done through the application of evidence-based practices. The seven pillars of ABA are: Analytical, Behavioral, Applied, Effective, Conceptually Systematic, Technological, and Generalization.

ABA is behavior therapy that targets behaviors that impede an individual from participating in everyday activities or to be independent. Behaviors that ABA works with are but not limited to tantrums, elopement, aggression, self-stimulatory behaviors (e.g., spinning, flapping, etc.), self-injurious behaviors, etc. in addition, ABA targets behaviors to increase independence such as but not limited to toileting, brushing teeth, dressing, crossing streets, etc. Lastly, ABA targets behaviors to increase social behaviors such as playing games, having conversations, etc.  

 These are behaviors that affect the individual’s quality of life. These behaviors are important to the individual’s way of life in respects to creating relationships and able to live independently. 

When a behavior is being target, such as aggression, ABA seeks to replace it with functionally equivalent behaviors. What did the target behavior, such as aggression, function? Was it to tell someone to stop feeding them? Or was it to get someone’s attention? Or maybe, it was simply to keep access of their tablet, because they do not want to get it taken away? As behavior analyst, it is our job to find the function of that behavior and find an appropriate behavior to replace it with. 

• Where can ABA take place: ABA can take place in the home, community, school, or clinic.
• A typical session would look like a behavior interventionist (BI) or registered behavior technician (RBT) coming to your house. Once they are in, they are to set up for session. That may look a variety of ways depending on the child’s need; there may be visuals involved (e.g., visual schedule, expectation board, token economy), setting up activities all around the house, getting material ready for activities. Once session is started, the BI/RBT will engage with the child in a variety of games, books, activities by narrating what is happening the whole time. BI/RBT will get family involved in activities to help generalize behaviors across people and environments. A walk around the neighborhood or an outing to the community is highly recommended during sessions and parents and staff can coordinate these activities. Throughout the whole session, staff will provide the child with opportunities to communicate, engage, socialize and most importantly engage in appropriate behaviors.