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What is ABA?
42 Plays1 year ago
This episode is all about ABA! What it is, how it works, and most importantly why it works.
You will leave this episode with a higher understanding of the field and what it means to apply and use Behavior Analytic strategies. I will also be discussing a bit of my own journey from working as a paraprofessional in a classroom, why I left the field and how I happily found my way back through Behavior Analysis.
Instagram: @uncomplicatebehavior
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Transcript
Introduction to Crystal and Behavior Analysis
00:00:17
Speaker
Hey there, I'm Crystal. I'm a behavior analyst and I'm here to help you uncomplicate the complicated world of behavior. We are going to get into all things behavior here. Strategies, interventions, support, data, assessments, the good, the frustrating, and especially the complicated. I'm a behavior analyst who loves to educate, be positive, and most importantly, be proactive.
00:00:40
Speaker
This podcast is your place to learn more about behavior analysis and the beautiful benefits that come with being positive and proactive. This is your uninterrupted time to talk behavior with your bestie. So grab your headphones, your walking shoes, or pull up that comfy chair and get ready to learn.
00:01:01
Speaker
Hey everybody, I'm really happy you're here listening.
What is Applied Behavior Analysis?
00:01:05
Speaker
Today we are talking ABA, Applied Behavior Analysis. What is ABA and how can it possibly help you? I may be biased, but the world of applied behavior analysis is fascinating, powerful and more importantly,
00:01:19
Speaker
It's positive change when it's used correctly. I want to jump in here and let everybody know that this episode was definitely not in the original plan. This episode is most definitely a positive byproduct of my attempts to delay, which is a form of escape, the launch of this very podcast in the midst of my delay tactics and basically pretending to be the perfectionist that I am not.
00:01:42
Speaker
I was on the phone with one of my best friends and we were talking about some positive changes her son had just made with food. And I said, wow, you understood the power of your attention and you used it correctly to get a more positive outcome for him. That's, you know, that's basically ABA. And she said, she didn't know what I was talking about. And I thought, Oh my goodness, I have all of these episodes ready to launch that just jump right into behavior analysis without really telling my listeners what ABA is.
00:02:12
Speaker
So this episode is a result of my delaying, but also I think a very critical episode to understanding and uncomplicating behavior. Let's dive on in.
Defining and Experimenting with ABA
00:02:23
Speaker
Behavior analysis, put simply, is the scientific study of behavior. In more complex terms, in the book of applied behavior analysis, ABA is defined as the science in which tactics derived from the principles of behavior are applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior
00:02:42
Speaker
and experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for behavior change. Let's break that down. Tactics or strategies are applied systematically. So what we do can be tracked, it can be replicated, and we want to ensure that what we do can be repeated systematically so that positive change can take place and that others can apply what we did. Now, this is done for the purpose of improving socially significant behaviors.
00:03:09
Speaker
We're not trying to just change annoying quirks or habits. This means that what we do in applied behavior analysis is tested and true. Behavior analysts make sure that interventions and strategies can hold up to the scrutiny of testing and replication. Behavior analysis is an evidence-based field that has over 60 years of research behind it. Now, I'm not sure of any other behavior change field that has that many years of evidence behind it.
00:03:40
Speaker
We don't say we can change or help a behavior unless we have the data to back that statement up. I mean, the black and white evidence to prove that what we did actually helped.
Environmental Interactions and Interventions
00:03:52
Speaker
As a behavior analyst, I focus and study an individual's interactions with the environment, analyzing different variables that proceed and follow behaviors to determine function, or again, simply put the worth to that individual.
00:04:07
Speaker
Understanding those variables helps us determine a function and the appropriate and positive interventions to help that individual. I want you to leave this episode with a higher understanding of what applied behavior analysis is and how understanding behavior helps us have a more positive effect on behavior change.
Crystal's Journey and Ineffective Interventions
00:04:28
Speaker
If you've been able to visit the podcast website uncomplicatebehavior.com, I started with a long bio on my journey toward applied behavior analysis.
00:04:37
Speaker
And then I went back and I took it out and I tried to make it more simple, more straightforward because I know that I can talk a lot about behavior. Again, maybe another form of delay, but we will get into that in a later episode. But I think it's relevant to talk about it here because this was the driving force behind it all. I started working in the world of special education when I was 18. So freshly graduated from high school. I worked in a special education classroom as an instructional aide.
00:05:06
Speaker
And honestly, I loved every second of it. The kids were great and every day was different from the last. I loved the kids, the teaching, the classroom environment, but I did start to notice a lot of patterns that didn't quite sit well with me. For example, after lunch, one of my favorite kids, and I think actually at this time they were all my favorite kids. It was such a small class, but this kid was exceptionally silly and just really good hearted.
00:05:33
Speaker
Every day he would come back from lunch and he would hide underneath the table. Every day he would stay there for 15 minutes plus. And everyone would have a go at convincing him to get out until eventually the teacher came in with a Reese's peanut butter cup. And the student would smile, that great smile of his, take the candy and go back to a seat. And I would think, well, he has us so trained. We should just give him the candy before he goes under the table and avoid all this rehearsing. Get back into the teaching.
00:06:03
Speaker
But this did really trigger me to notice other similar behavior patterns that didn't quite solve the behavioral problems that were occurring. That honestly, it frustrated me and I ended up transferring out to an adult program. But recognizing these patterns in the interventions that we were doing really led me to leaving the field altogether. I saw over and over again that we weren't really doing anything to help long term. We were more just
00:06:29
Speaker
putting band-aids on the situations and then those behaviors would occur again. The tools I was given to help were basically back to giving that candy to solve the problem. And I didn't feel like I was effectively changing anything for the better. And that really frustrated me. So I ended up leaving the field altogether.
00:06:48
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but I never forgot how much I loved working in the classroom and I loved working with the kids.
Rekindling Passion through ABA
00:06:54
Speaker
It wasn't until years later that I got back into the field of education and discovered the world of applied behavior analysis. I took a job as a para-educator working privately directly under a board-certified behavior analysis. And at that time, I didn't know how cool that was. And I was just amazed at all the positive change I saw. I saw kids learning new skills in a fascinating way
00:07:18
Speaker
And most importantly, it was positive. The kids were happy. The adults were happy. And the kids were learning these new skills. And of course, that clinic that I worked at was doing such amazing things at the time. And they still are. I saw positive behavior change every day. No coercing, no bragging, no negotiations. I was immersed into the world of data of positive change, and I fell in love with the field.
00:07:46
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I jumped in head first. I got my degrees in special education, my postgraduate work in applied behavior analysis, and I have honestly been hooked ever since. Now that you know my story, let's get back into ABA.
The Evidence-Based and Ethical Nature of ABA
00:07:59
Speaker
So when I think about how I would describe ABA to someone, the first words that come to my mind are some of the most important, evidence-based. It's an evidence-based field. It's researched. It's empowering. It's doable.
00:08:13
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other people can do it. This is not just a skill that one of us has. It can be taught, so it's doable, it's ethical, it's practiced, pragmatic, it has generality, it's true, it's accountable, and what we do is public. There's no hiding what we do, so we take a lot of data in this field to show that we started this, and this is the change we saw, and this is the data we have to prove it.
00:08:40
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I found this really great quote by John Bailey in a paper titled, A Futuristic Perspective for Applied Behavior Analysis. Now keep in mind that this was written in the year 2000. He stated, it seems to me that applied behavior analysis is more relevant than ever before and that it offers our citizens, parents, teachers, and corporate and government leaders advantages that cannot be matched by any other psychological approach.
00:09:06
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I know of no other approach in psychology that can boast state of the art solutions to the most troubling social ills of the day. Now that was back in the year 2000 and I don't believe much has changed on the relevance of a need for a practice that is truly evidence-based approach to finding observable variables that reliably influence behavior that help us positively intervene on behaviors that need change.
Teamwork and Therapeutic Integration in ABA
00:09:31
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Now, please don't think ABA is a one and all.
00:09:33
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I truly believe in a group approach and a team approach to supporting kids and working with behaviors. I have worked with some of the most amazing speech pathologists, occupational therapists and psychologists. And what I found is that we get the best outcome when we all work together, when we all value each other's different approaches and we can work together as a team.
00:10:00
Speaker
Finding a way to simply sum up behavior analysis honestly had me a little stressed and a little flustered. It's a big field to put in a tiny box or even, you know, this tiny episode. But I said I was going to uncomplicate things, so here we go. ABA at the basics, so you can understand why we do what we do and understand the commitment of positively affecting change for the good of those who need it.
Components of ABA: Applied, Behavior, Analytic
00:10:27
Speaker
The A in ABA stands for applied.
00:10:30
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This means that behavior analysts are committed to affecting change in behavior that will increase or enhance that individual's lives. Behaviors that are being targeted for change, they must meet a certain criteria. In other words, we aren't going to change a behavior that is just annoying or unpleasant to someone if it doesn't negatively affect that individual's life. So some people just have annoying habits or quirks.
00:10:57
Speaker
Behaviors targeted for change must be socially significant, meaning that they must affect an individual's access to reinforcement, such as their use of language, daily living skills, self-care, or vocational. The B in ABA stands for behavior. That is really obvious, right? This is three-pronged according to the book of Applied Behavior Analysis. The study of behavior must be the behavior.
00:11:24
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that specific behavior that needs improvement and nothing else. The behavior must be measurable in a natural setting. And third, the behavior must be analyzed to determine if the behavior changed or the behavior of those around it changed. Meaning as a behavior analyst, we must closely watch why the behavior did change. Was it us that changed our presence or the way we approach the behavior or was it the variables that we have introduced?
00:11:53
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The second A in ABA stands for analytic. To determine if a reliable change has occurred, we have to prove we can control for the occurrence and non-occurrence of the behavior. Here is where we are looking to show that the ways in which we have manipulated the environment
00:12:10
Speaker
can reliably and effectively control the behavior. Basically, here is where we demonstrate if we were effective. Applied behavior analysis is a field that is continuously monitoring, testing, and evaluating its methodologies. Our approaches to the study of behavior to positively affect it are systematic, technical, measured, and they must be proven effective. ABA is effective because it is systematic and because it's doable.
00:12:39
Speaker
As a practitioner in the field, I used to go in homes and provide ABA service.
Impact on Family Dynamics through ABA
00:12:43
Speaker
The best part of my job at that time was, yes, to work one-on-one with the kids, but to teach parents how to work on specific behaviors that they were trying to decrease and how to positively reinforce and teach the behaviors we want to see. I mean, this was amazing. It was amazing to see this positive in teaching approach that is so doable once it's understood. Sometimes it's these small changes that
00:13:08
Speaker
make so much of a difference in a child's learning and a family's life. I remember working with a parent that couldn't take her child to the grocery store. That is all she wanted. When we did the intake and we are asking her, what do you want to see? What is going on right now? And she said, I just want to be able to take my child to the grocery store to have her be okay with going with me. I remember working with her and thinking we, yeah, we can do that.
00:13:39
Speaker
Being able to help that situation and teach that parent how to be proactive and positive still brings me so much joy because it changed the dynamic of their everyday life. The quality of their life was improved by learning that skill, by learning that set of strategies to help her child cope and come up with those replacement behaviors to help her get through that grocery store experience.
00:14:02
Speaker
Since then, there have been so many moments that I have used ABA to help students, clients, and parents understand behavior so that they are empowered to make decisions to positively affect change. And it has been amazing.
Conducting Assessments and Enhancing Parent Understanding
00:14:15
Speaker
Since transitioning away from home services and working back with schools, I have been conducting functional behavior assessments for the past seven years. There are so many wonderful things that come from a functional behavior assessment, and we will definitely be getting into that in another episode. But the reason I bring this up is because one thing that I love to do more than anything is talk to parents and help them understand
00:14:38
Speaker
not just the assessment and the interventions, but the reason why they work and give them some foundational knowledge. Just the other day, I was on the phone with a parent for a little over an hour and this parent had some great questions, not about the recommendations or the interventions on the report,
00:14:57
Speaker
but about behavior and talking behavior is one of my favorite things to do. So of course we stayed on the phone forever. But that was just another nudge for me to get this podcast off the ground. My hope is that knowing about ABA and understanding it at its basic level will help you ask the right questions to your provider. Learn how to recognize functions and how to be more proactive with the way behavior change is approached. These first couple of episodes
00:15:23
Speaker
are really about understanding some of the basics and the foundational knowledge you need to understand what I'm talking about as we move through different series on the podcast. I remember speaking to a parent on the phone last summer, but the conversation stuck with me and she said to me, I just want to understand a little bit more about behavior so I can come to the table with some good questions. And by the table, she's meeting the IEP meeting, right? So she wants to come to the table with some good things to say or some
00:15:53
Speaker
relevant comments about behavior. She wanted to understand what the behaviorist was talking about and have challenging questions for them. And she wanted to be able to make suggestions in a way that would be taken seriously by her team. And I was like, yeah, I want that for you too. And again, we ended up staying on the phone for a long time just discussing
00:16:15
Speaker
what that would look like and what kind of questions she should ask and what kind of things she should look for. It was just a great conversation, but it really did inspire me to move forward with this podcast because I want that for everyone. I want everybody to feel like they know a little bit about behavior. They know enough to ask the right questions.
00:16:35
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to question the things that need to be questioned on their assessment or on their behavior plan and how to work with different providers. I think it's really important.
Podcast as a Resource for Behavior Analysis
00:16:45
Speaker
So I hope that this podcast can be a tool and a resource for you to get that knowledge. In the next episode, we're going to be talking about the functions of behavior.
00:16:55
Speaker
It's gonna be fun and you're gonna learn the first steps to thinking objectively about behavior. I'm so excited to get started on this journey with you to uncomplicate behavior.
00:17:07
Speaker
Well, you did it! Another step closer to uncomplicating behavior. I'm so proud of you for taking the time to learn more about behavior analysis. Still interested in learning more? Or have a question or topic that you'd love some answers to? Head over to uncomplicatebehaviorpodcast.com for today's show notes, submit a question or topic you would love to hear about, and subscribe to my email and podcast so you never miss a new episode.
00:17:32
Speaker
I created this podcast for you and I want it to serve you well, so don't be afraid to reach out to me directly.