DISCUSING ABA
Özem is the only institution in the USA that is approved to apply the ABA method in Ankara, the application of which is inspected by ASAI, and whose accreditation has been renewed with a permanent super visa.. Full time at ABA Özem, It is applied half day and in sessions..
In the last few decades, Applied Behavior Analysis or ABA, with autism has evolved into a broad set of approaches and techniques designed to help children . behavioral therapy principles – positive reinforcement of desired behaviors – often intensely, It is used to help autistic children develop skills they do not acquire naturally and to reduce self-harming behaviors such as self-mutilation..
Are There Different Aba Approaches??
One for your child autism diagnosis to take , can overwhelm any parent. There appear to be a multitude of treatments available, from aggressive dietary restrictions to music therapy. It's hard to know what will help your child and what will be a huge waste of time and money.. But the most widely accepted evidence-based therapy , Applied Behavior Analysis, better known as ABA.
ABA helps autistic children develop necessary skills and self harm It has been shown to help children minimize undesirable behaviors, such as giving, and is successful for children across the autism spectrum, from mild to severe.. Its effectiveness is supported by hundreds of studies.
The Evolution of Applied Behavior Analysis
But ABA itself is confusing because it can take many forms.. Susan Epstein, a clinical neuropsychologist, What they have in common, he explains, is that they are “based on a simple concept.”: Reinforced behaviors will increase; Behaviors that are not reinforced will decrease and eventually disappear.”
Discrete Trial Training (DTT) The oldest form of ABA, called, 1960in the 's. O. It was the work of Ivaar Lovaas. The skills and behaviors that children want to learn are small, “separate” It was highly structured by breaking it down into components. a child, are guided through an activity designed to teach each component, repeats the activity in exactly the same way many times, earns a reward for each successful completion and, in some cases, a penalty for undesirable behavior. Per week 40 hours of training was given.
Newer approaches to ABA
In next years, DTT has been updated and other forms of ABA that include “incidental teaching” have been developed – helps children learn in the context of play or other activities that would normally be part of their day.
"Thought, Sit the child at a table and flatten his feet on the floor, instead of asking him to put his hands in his lap and place a triangle-shaped piece, still taking advantage of something he does. Catherine Lord, professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and Senior Research Scientist at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, in a puzzle” says. “If you are playing, "They're more likely to keep learning it and remember it and want to do it again."
With newer approaches, not every learning activity needs to be pre-planned by the clinician. Lord Lord gives an example: “If we went to the toilet and the child stepped on a towel rail and the towel came out and he got excited, You can encourage him to press again to get the towel next time and he learns to take the towel to himself. this teaching, Actually, go to the toilet and step on it and do this 20 "It's a coincidence because I didn't plan for it to happen so many times."
ABA practitioners now have a range of techniques to choose from or combine in their work with children. Here's a breakdown of the major teaching strategies that fall under the ABA umbrella.
Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
Discrete Trial Training, ABA's original "brand" designed for young children on the spectrum, It remains the most structured form of ABA. It is always done one on one. The child sits at a table and the therapist places the materials in front of the child. The child is given a task to perform with the material – for example, choosing the triangle or saying the “ba” sound – and when you get it right, rewarded with what is called “primary reinforcement”: M&M or Frito , tickling, sticker, access to favorite toy etc.. Punishment is no longer considered an acceptable tool in DTT.
These discrete trials are repeated a certain number of times. Dr. Lord, “Every time we first do this 20 was, "No matter what we do," he recalls.. And from the child, was expected to do what was asked within three seconds of being presented with the material, he adds. If he didn't, would be presented again or asked again to complete the task and receive the reward.
“It's very repetitive,” he adds, “but a lot, very clearly defined and all identified by the examiner, so you can get absolutely accurate data through DTT.”
Basic Response Treatment (PRT)
Developed by psychologists Laura Schreibman and Robert and Lynn Koegel at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Pivotal Response Treatment , goes beyond strict task-focused instruction. Dr. Epstein, “PRT is intended to be more child-directed rather than structured by the therapist” says. “Instead of focusing on individual behavior, PRT ‘important’ developmental tries to target functions. A m&Emphasis is placed on natural forms of reinforcement related to behavior rather than unrelated tangible rewards such as M.
Concept, if you place these learning modules in a more natural environment, the child is more likely to generalize these, says dr.. Lord. And the focus, Teaching behavior is very important: Well, they can lead to other breakthrough behaviors.
Lord Lord, “Look at me, You can work on behaviors like imitating or giving something to someone or something more fun or socially relevant” he adds. “These behaviors may cause something else to happen – start a waterfall.”
therapist with PRT, the child should not start the activity until he or she is occupied with something, Must follow the child's lead. However, the therapist still has in mind the skills he wants the child to learn..
Dr. The Lord explains: “If I am doing PRT with a child who will go to kindergarten next year, I want this child to learn his letters I might be thinking . For this reason, I think you might be interested, I can place things around the room, like blocks with letters in them or animals that represent different letters. And I place them to look fun. And then to him, ‘Hey, what would you like to do??’ I say. Or even 'Do you want to make blocks or animals??’ I can say. Or I could release it. So I give him a choice and unless I'm pretty sure I got his attention, "I'm basically not trying to teach him."
A reward related to behavior rather than food, if he likes, can let the child knock down the blocks.
Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)
Early Start Denver Model, is a newer form of ABA that can be done in individual or group sessions. Developed by psychologists Sally Rogers and Geraldine Dawson, Includes creating game-based activities such as PRT, but the therapist also includes more traditional ABA if necessary. Dr. Lord, “When the child is so unfocused that he cannot focus, "You can sit it in a chair and really make it more structured," he says..
In ESDM you have multiple goals within an activity. Take the example of placing the triangle in the puzzle. “The DTT,” he explains, “I would have a puzzle and have the child place the triangle and I would teach that triangle with just a puzzle. PRT does this until I can do it with different puzzles. ESDM'de, there may still be a goal for the child to learn the triangle. But also, I may also have goals for this child to have the motor coordination to form one piece of the puzzle and the patience to finish something that consists of three pieces.. another purpose, Might make him want me to give him something he can't reach. And then another purpose, "It may be possible to differentiate the dimensions of the pieces."
Having different goals in one activity can be quite difficult for the therapist, says dr.. Lord, “But if you are good at it, you can do so much more. And you start to realize, Get a loan, I can think about many things when I do this; I don't have to think about getting that triangle into the puzzle.
However, as ABA expands and becomes more widespread,, It has also received criticism from parents and autism advocates who take issue with its methods and the way they are used by some practitioners.
A source of criticism, 1960in the 's. O. Discrete Trial Training developed by Ivaar Lovaas for autistic children (DTT) the oldest called applied behavior analysis of the form , This is due to the fact that it is not entirely based on positive reinforcement for desired behaviors.. “Dr. Lovaas, used principles of both positive reinforcement and punishment to reduce self-injurious behavior in residential settings and treated severely disabled people,” explains clinical neuropsychologist Susan Epstein. The use of aversive reinforcement methods, including electric shock, is not considered acceptable today..
Is it too harsh for kids??
Although the use of aversive reinforcers has generally disappeared, There is a complaint that ABA therapy is difficult for children, as it can involve a lot of repetition and the skills they learn do not necessarily generalize to other situations.
Stereotypes, therapists demand task managers. But D., PhD, a leading autism researcher and clinician now at UCLA, Catherine Lord, notes that most therapists who do traditional ABA are trained to be super active and fun. “If there is anything," says, “they are on top. Sometimes you just see someone with no humor. But that's just bad teaching, Not ABA.”
And most ABA therapists and programs no longer use the DTT format where the child sits at the table, game based. Board certified behavior analyst or BCBA – Sara Germansky, the highest certification awarded to trainees by the ABA professional organization, gives this example:
“I might set up a place where we play with cars, and if I'm working on colors with a child I might have two cars in front of me. – one is red, the other one is yellow. And 'Can I buy a car??’ will say. Am the 'Ah, Do you want the red car or the yellow car??’ I will say. Then I said 'I want the red car'’ He will have to expand his language by saying. And then I'll say, 'Which one is red??’ And he will need to define the color. Therefore, “There are ways to manipulate the environment so that children learn these skills more naturally.”
And he adds, kids skills learned in a naturalistic situation can generalize more beyond therapy sessions and take them out into the world with them.
ABA also Dr.. per week, as Lovaas first suggested. 40 the clock is almost never applied. Germansky, who works one-on-one with young children in New York, “For most children, at least once a week 10 per hour or per week 20 time is given” says. “The more severe the behavior or delays, the more hours given. “I will usually see the children for about two hours every weekday.”
Are you too focused on eliminating behaviors??
Another criticism of ABA, This is due to the fact that some practitioners try to reduce or eliminate problem behaviors but fail to focus on developing skills.. Tameika Meadows, a BCBA based in Atlanta, He says he saw this problem when he visited some schools to consult about the ABA procedures they had in place.
One of the first things he noticed, says the focus is on whether to get rid of the behavior. “What do students learn to do?? Having a nervous breakdown during the day of to escape from the building What should they do instead of working? ?”
Ari Ne’eman, a prominent autistic self-advocate, opposes ABA on the grounds that it focuses on portraying autistic people as “indistinguishable from their peers” – Dr. A statement he received from Lovaas. Because, argues that it discourages behaviors without acknowledging their emotional content.
“Emphasis on things like eye contact or sitting still or no stimulation ” – i.e. self-stimulation such as hand clapping – "It's geared towards creating a typical child's ornaments," he says, “without accepting the fact that he is different. children have different needs. "It can be actively harmful if we teach people from a very early age that the way they act and behave is fundamentally wrong."
Ne'eman, president and co-founder of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, does not object to structured early intervention for autistic children and acknowledges that self-harming behavior, one of the things ABA is designed to reduce, is a problem. serious problem. However, other structured interventions for speech and language may not be effective for the child., argues that it may be especially valuable for non-verbal children whose behavior is a form of communication.
Because some states and insurance companies accept and reimburse only ABA therapy, would benefit from working with a speech-language pathologist, says some children don't get as much attention, which could give them access to another alternative form of communication. “Sometimes we leave children more controllable but worse off than before,” he says.
Are you trying to eliminate differences??
ABA advocates, This is not about eliminating the neurodiversity of autistic children., They argue that it aims to ensure independence.
Germansky, “ABA, “It is based on the premise of manipulating environmental variables to bring about behavioral change,” he says., “so don't change the person we are not working , to change how they think we are not working , we are not trying to change . change how you feel.”
Stephanie Kenniburg now 6 This is her experience with her year-old son Holden and ABA therapy. “What I like, "They're trying to help him live as independently as possible, but they're not trying to eliminate his autism," he says.. “It's like he has certain parts of autism – the way your brain works, way of thinking – and they don't look at it as a negative thing that needs to go. 'This is how he thinks about it', That's how we'll teach him how to live in the world’ They look like. ”
Kenniburg, says the whole family learned how to help Holden develop his skills through ABA. “I love that they acknowledge her neurodiversity and accept her as a person,” she says. “As a family, they really helped us teach him how to be more independent.”
Helping children have more choices and more joy
Dr. Lord, He acknowledges that ABA initially focused on the goal of children conforming to a typical ideal. “ABA , It was created with some kind of model where there is a perfect existence and we know what that is and we will teach you how to be perfect.”
But now the approach has become much more individualized., but notes that there are always goals. “One of the difficult aspects of working with children, is that you always have to make assumptions about what will be best for this child.”
Dr. Lord, agrees with Ari Ne'eman when he notes that the most important thing for a young child on the spectrum is intensive early intervention. Dr. Lord, For children less affected by autism, it matters less whether the program is ABA or something else, he adds. But children at risk of being non-verbal have a better chance of speaking with ABA, he says.
With or without ABA, a good your therapist what he did, “based on a child's strengths, using interests, but that allows them to participate in society and provides them with many options. We want this too. We don't just want the best behaved person, as much as possible able and we want a person who enjoys the world as much as possible.”
