Jamie Kennedy
TODAY’S GOALS
Define ABA
Review important principles
Highlight the use of ABA
Outline
 Myths and misconceptions about ABA
 What is ABA?
 What does ABA investigate?
 ALL BEHAVIOUR IS FUNCTIONAL
 How do we find the function
 Managing Consequences
 Reinforcement (V.E.R.M.I.)
 Punishment
 Summary
Some ABA myths and
misconceptions
 ABA only uses punishment techniques and
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
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aversive controls.
ABA is only for animal trainers. Its like training
a dog
ABA is only token reinforcement
ABA is just giving sweets to children
ABA is when you ignore a child’s misbehaviour
and reward good behaviour.
ABA is like bribery
What is ABA?
 ABA is both a philosophy and a science.
 Behaviourism = The philosophy of the
science of behaviour in other words what
people do can be understood.
 ABA= Is the technology(science) used to
change behaviour.
IN OTHER WORDS
ABA IS A BLEND OF PHILOSOPHY AND
SCIENCE THAT BELIEVES IN
SUPPORTING PEOPLE;
IMPROVING LIVES IN WAYS THAT THE
INDIVIDUAL FINDS MEANINGFUL.
What does ABA investigate?
 Antecedent (or environment)
- internal or external facts that may cause or
influence behaviour.
 Behaviour
-What someone says or does
 Consequence
-What happens after the behaviour
-Planned and unplanned consequences
How does ABA investigate?
 Determine a functional relationship between
antecedent-behaviour-consequence
This information is used to arrange/re-arrange
parts of the environment to strengthen or
weaken behavioural repertoires.
All behaviour is functional
 Behaviours are ‘tools’ people use to get their
needs met.
 Repeated actions satisfy a need-from the
person’s point of view
 Behaviours often have more than one
function and the function sometimes changes
over time
Two main functions of behaviour
To gain
To escape (avoid)
 Attention (people or specific
 Attention (People or specific
interactions)
 Things activities or Places
 Input from sensory
experiences
interactions) that are
unpleasant
 Things, Activities or Places
(that are unpleasant)
 Input from (unpleasant)
sensory experiences
Example
Mia is a new student to primary 5 and her second language is English.
When another student approaches her and says something to her in
English, Mia turns away. The other student walks away. This happens
several times during the day.
Setting
Event
New
student
Antecedent
Behaviour
Student
approaches
and speaks in
English
Mia turns
away
Consequence
Function
Other
student
walks
away
Escapes
peer
attention
Example
During a lesson at school John starts to refuse to take part in
some of the activities.
Setting
Event
None
Antecedent
Teacher
presents
multiple
step
demands
Behaviour
Consequence
John starts
to protest
verbally,
stomps his
foot and is
noncompliant.
Teacher
represent
request five
times and
threatens to
keep John
in at break
time.
Function
GETS
ADULT
ATTENTION
Example
When Mary misses her medication at lunch time and teachers present lots
of task and demands after lunch, Mary makes negative statements and
use inappropriate language. The teacher sends her to the office to speak
to principal.
Setting
Event
Misses
medication
at lunch
Antecedent
Teacher
makes
multiple
demands
Behaviour
Consequence
Function
Mary starts
to make
negative
statements
and use
inappropriate
language
Teacher
sends
Mary to
the office
to speak to
principal
AVOID
TASKS
First Step
 Name and describe the target behaviour
 Use a single word or phrase consistently
 Describe an action(s) of the person
 Prioritise multiple behaviours
Second Step
Be a behavioural detective
 Observe
 Ask
 Read, review, analyse
Third Step
Form a hypothesis
 The likely cause of behaviour
 What the behaviour produces for the person
 The motivation for a person to act in a certain way
 The reason why the person acts the way they do
 The purpose of the behaviour
Fourth Step
Build Skills
 Establishing/Strengthening Skills that the person
can use to satisfy their own needs
 Teach new ways to satisfy personal needs
 Target DESIREABLE alternatives to undesirable
behaviour
Make adjustments to
“set the person up” to succeed
 Control the form and frequency of known
“triggers”
 Reduce interfering conditions
 Maximise reinforcement for a desired
behaviour
Managing Consequences
Two basic categories : Consequences that establish/strengthen
behaviour
 Consequences that weaken behaviour
Reinforcement
 Reinforcers are generally things that people have
high preference for
 We deliver reinforcers following student responses
and this causes the response to increase.
Examples
 You are more likely to say hello to someone if they return
your greeting
 You are more likely to cook someone's favourite meal if you
see how much they like it and how excited they get
Example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olNir
vVzYFc&feature=player_detailpage#t=0
Reinforcement and
Reinforcers
 Individual – own preferences
 Change
- related to motivation
-motivation level can change and so can
the reinforcer we want.
 Rules- they can be remembered through the
following acronym V.E.R.M.I
VERMI
 VALUE- should be high
 EFFORT- the effort put forward should be equal
to the reinforcement
 RATE-
should maintain high level of accurate
responding
 MAGNITUDE- ensure that it is not too big or too
small
 IMMEDIACY-
delivery should be within half a
second to ensure they know what is being
reinforced.
Positive and negative
reinforcement
•Positive Reinforcement-
presentation of
an item/activity following a behaviour that
increases the likelihood of that behaviour
occurring again.
•Negative Reinforcement-
termination of
an item/activity following a behaviour that
increases the likelihood of that behaviour
occurring again.
Punishment
 Not a dirty word only means to weaken behaviour
 Does not mean corporal punishment or retribution
or vengeance
 Understanding the principle is key
 A consequence that decreases the frequency of
behaviour occurring under similar conditions in the
future
 Examples - you are less likely to say hello to
someone, if they do not return your greeting
 You are less likely to cook a dinner if they suggest
how you could have made it better
Negative reinforcement and
punishment
 Negative Reinforcement increases behaviour
 A baby’s cry is heard... We get up..feed/change/hold the
baby...The baby stops crying (Negative Reinforcement)
 Punishment decreases behaviour
 You are late to work...You speed... You get caught, pay a fine
(Punishment)
Summary: Guiding principles
APPLIED- Behaviour is socially significant and will
improve ones life.
BEHAVIOURAL- targets the behaviour to be changed
ANALYTIC- demonstrate that it was the intervention
that produced the change.
CONCEPTUALLY SYSTEMATIC- described in technical
terms e.g. Prompt
TECHNOLOGICAL- described in enough detail so
someone can replicate it
EFFECTIVE- amount of behaviour change should be
effective
GENERALITY- occur across settings.
Thank You
&
Questions