Terminology

Evidence-based science of behavior that focuses on effecting change in socially significant behavior: meaning there are thousands of studies that back the science behind ABA, but we target behaviors that are actually meaningful to the learner (e.g. communication, life skills, etc)

Description of behavior in terms of what is happening immediately before, during, and immediately after an event occurs. This information allows a BCBA to determine what might be causing and maintaining a behavior and it can be collected when observing behaviors for increase or decrease. 

All forms of communication other than vocal/oral speech, this can include sign language, modified signs, high tech or low tech speech devices, or picture exchange. AAC is a great tool for learners to communicate and reduce frustration when they are learning to use vocal speech or when their vocal speech will not always get their point across!

The events that occur in the environment immediately before the behavior occurs, if an antecedent reliably occurs before a given behavior then we might say that antecedent 'causes behavior'. For example when you tell your child tech time is over, do they stall or have a tantrum most times? If yes, then we would say ending tech time is and antecedent for tantrums.  

The 'applied' part of ABA simply means the focus of treatment must be on socially significant behaviors, meaning behaviors that are important to the learner and their family. This might look like teaching a teenager how to access the internet safely, teaching a toddler how to fasten their clothes, or teaching an adult how to navigate public transportation.

The expression of approval or agreement from the learner.  Most of our learners don't have the ability to consent to treatment, but we can still measure and observe is they are agreeing with treatment and make necessary adjustment. Behaviors to look out for when assent has been withdrawn can include tantrums, decrease in language, trying to leave the instructional area and more. 

In short, this is anything we do! We tend to think of behavior as 'bad behavior', but in ABA we look at everything as behavior. Having a conversation? Behavior! Tying your shoes? Behavior! Breathing? Behavior! We typically categorize behavior as behavior for increase and behavior for decrease to differentiate between behavior we want to see happen and behavior that is unsafe, dangerous, or interfering with a persons ability to learn or socialize. 

This is a special type of behavior, that when learned and performed by an individual opens their world to new consequences (which can be reinforcing or punishing).  These include learning to walk or crawl, learning to read, learning to navigate public transportation.  

Sometimes used interchangeably with High-Probability Request Sequence, this actually just describes what we are seeing in those request sequences. Meaning that with a change in the frequency or rate of reinforcement, a change in the resistance to engage in a behavior will occur! So if your child's room is a disaster and you want them to clean it, you will be less likely to see resistance if you start with small easy task then build up to harder tasks (e.g. let's put all your toys with wheels away first, GREAT! Now lets put anything away that is blue, AMAZING! Next up all the animals need to hibernate, WOW! Okay last, let's make the bed! 

This plan is generated after a functional behavior assessment has been conducted and includes strategies to change the environment behavior before an interfering behavior occurs and after it occurs. Behaviors for decrease and replacement behaviors for increase are both targeted with outlined plans on how to use reinforcement, extinction or punishment to reach our goal.  

This is a person who has obtained a masters degree and the necessary course credits and clinical experience required by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.  BCBAs typically spend two years completing their coursework and field experience which is supervised by at least one BCBA.  BCBA's must pass a written exam at the end of their course and fieldwork before working as a BCBA. In order to maintain their certification, they must complete 32 continuing education credits during a two-year cycle that consists of ethics, supervision, and general credits. 

This is a method of teaching a complex or multiple step behavior, you'll typically hear this term used in conjunction with Task Analysis.  When using chaining techniques we typical teach the behavior one of three ways: 1. one step at a time starting with the FIRST behavior in the chaining (forward chaining) 2. we might teach the behavior one step at a time starting with the LAST behavior in the chain (backward chaining) 3. or we might teach the ENTIRE behavior chain at the same time (total task chaining). This is a great tool to reduce a learners frustration and deal with stamina challenges when we are teaching a really long complex task (e.g. learning to do laundry, washing hands, or even tying shoes). 

This is anything that occurs immediately following a behavior which can make a behavior more or less likely to happen again in the future. Consequence is another word that is usually associated with something negative, but in ABA a consequences can be reinforcing, punishing, or extinction (we'll get to these). We want to shift our perspective on consequences from the consequence itself to the effect it has on behavior.  

The conditions or 'terms' under which a behavior would produce a specific consequence. For example if we tell our kiddos when you clean your room you can play with mom, then getting to play with mom is 'contingent' on the child cleaning their room first. Simply put, some behavior needs to happen before a given consequence will occur. 

Reinforcement is provided when a behavior targeted for increase occurs (e.g. asking for help) and is withheld when it does not occur. There are six types of differential reinforcement procedures, an intervention may include one or more and is determined based on why the behavior is occuring and if its best to completely eliminate it, increase it or decrease it. 

A highly structured, fast paced teaching method with a discrete beginning and end for each teaching trial. ABA is most often associated with DTT, however this is just one of many evidence-based teaching methods, and while it can be highly effective for some learners, it can be extremely ineffective for others. DTT consists of the presentation of an instruction, the learners response, and a consequence. Within DTT, prompts may be used to help the participant learn a skills while reducing errors and frustration. 

A form of verbal behavior in which the learner repeats the same sound or word spoken by another, think of it as an 'echo'. If I say 'apple' and my learner repeats 'apple', this is an example of an echoic. 

A behavior in which a learner wanders or runs away from an instructional area, home or safety of an adult or guardian without permission.  This is a common behavior targeted for decrease due to the unsafe nature of the behavior. 

Language output, this is what the learner says via vocal/spoken language, AAC devices, or sign.  You can think of this as 'talking' - it consists of our ability to ask for things, label things, comment on the world around us, ask questions or make choices. 

A consequence in which reinforcement is no longer delivered when a behavior occurs.  For example, if your child knocks over their siblings block tower and each time you rush over and say 'be nice, don't do that' we would guess that your child knocking their siblings tower over is to gain your attention.  Placing this behavior on extinction would mean that when your child knocks the tower over, we simply do not respond by giving attention. Disclaimer: extinction is typically paired with other interventions that aim to teach a new skill. Your provider should not utilize extinction as a sole intervention. 

If anyone has ever said to you "it's going to get worse before it gets better" in regards to your child's behavior, they were probably describing an extinction burst. This is a consequence of extinction in which the behavior does in fact become much more intense or frequent before we start to observe a decrease. Extinction bursts can be very hard on parents and the learner and you should be honest with your provider if it is not something you can work through or you feel comfortable using with your child!

This refers to the reason or reasons why a behavior continues to persist.  Typically we find that behavior persists either for 1. attention (this may be positive or negative attention) 2. escape (from a demand or some aversive situation) 3. access (typically to physical objects or activities) 4. automatic (the behavior reinforces itself - think scratching a bug bite or twirling your hair).  Behaviors may have multiple functions as well and in order to determine the function of a behavior a number of assessments and observations must be conducted. 

FCT is used to teach a learner a word or simple phrase they can use to replace an interfering behavior while still accessing the same reinforcer. If we go back to our block tower example from before, we can teach the child to gain mom's attention through some simple word or phrase (mom! mom look! mom I need you!) so that they can gain mom's attention without knocking over their siblings block tower.  Things to remember with FCT is that you want your replacement behavior to be 'easier' than interfering behavior!

FBAs are conducted when a behavior has been targeted for decrease, it is the first step in determining what is causing the behavior (what antecedents are at play) and what is maintaining the behavior (the function).  FBAs consist of interviews, different assessments, collecting data on the behavior(s), ABC data, scatterplots, and when appropriate a functional analysis (this involves actually causing the behavior to occurring by systematically manipulating the environment).  The FBA is the basis for a BIP!

This describes how well a learner can demonstrate a newly acquired skill in untrained contexts including: 1. new environments (home bathroom, but also the school or community bathrooms) 2. across different people (with mom and dad, but also teachers and therapists) 3. in the presence of new stimuli (can your learner wash their hands in 3 different kids of sinks). Practitioners need to plan and program for generalization as this is a common challenge for many learners.  

Sometimes referred to as behavioral momentum, high probability request sequences are a strategy when we ask our learners to complete a series of 'easy' tasks or behaviors before introducing a more challenging behavior. This might look like having your learner clap their hands, point to something in the room, follow an instruction before you ask them to write their name. 

Incidental teaching provides structured learning opportunities in the natural environment by using the child’s interests and natural motivation without contriving or 'triggering' the behavior. The goal is to expand on or improve language that the child is exhibiting.  Incidental teaching tends to yield skills that are more easily generalized. 

Modifications made in the environment either before or after a behavior occurs which results in behaviors no longer occurring, the decrease of interfering behaviors, or an increase in replacement behaviors.

A form of verbal behavior in which a learner might respond to a question, fill in a blank or make an associated statement.  For example, if I say banana, orange, strawberry and the learner says 'apple' that would be an example of an intraverbal association.  Another example would answering the question, "What did you do on your winter vacation?" Intraverbal behavior can be challenging for learners with significant language delays. 

A form of verbal behavior in which a learner asks for something (could be an object, activity, information). Mands require a motivating operation to be in place (ex: they need what they are asking for because they are hungry, sick, etc or need some information to be able to complete a task). For example, if I am working with a child and she is hungry and says "apple", it's safe to assume she is requesting an apple because the motivating operation of 'hunger' is in place. 

NET is an evidence-based teaching method which incorporates familiar activities, toys or games into learning exercises that take place in an individual’s natural settings. NET allows a learner to generalize skills more easily and feels more like play for the learner. 

Pairing is the process of building rapport between a therapist and client, this is typically done by "pairing" the therapist with reinforcing activities. New therapists should always take the time the learner needs to pair before increasing demands and pairing should be an ongoing aspect of therapy. A good therapist will always look for opportunities to pair throughout sessions, it helps to build a strong therapeutic relationship and improves treatment outcomes. 

PECS is a form of AAC which allows a learner to exchange picture as a form of communication. A leaner is taught to approach a communication partner and hand them a single icon or sentence strip as their 'communication exchange'. Individuals can learn to make simple requests, form sentences, answer questions or comment.

This strategy uses high-probability behavior ("easy" or "preferred" behavior) to reinforce low-probability behavior ("harder" or "less-preferred" behavior). For example, if we tell our kiddos that first they must complete their homework (low probability behavior), then they can play video games (high probability behavior) - we've used Premack Principle!

Probes are quick tests for behavior. These are typically used to quickly assess if a learner has acquired a new skills without directly testing it, but instead through exposure. For example if we are teaching a child to make a sandwich, but we are only teaching the first step of getting a plate, we might 'probe' or test to see if the child has acquire any other skills in that behavior chain simply from being exposed to the therapist performing the skills in front of them.

Prompts are used to help a learner acquire a new skill while reducing the number of errors they might make. Prompts can take many forms and should be individualized to each learner and should always be faded! 

Punishment is another one of those ABA terms that comes with some negative baggage, however it is defined as a change immediately following behavior that results in the decrease of that behavior in the future. Punishment should only be used when reinforcement strategies have been exhausted or a behavior is extremely dangerous for the learner or other individuals in the environment. It's also important to remember that if the learner is engaging in a behavior we want to see less and less, there may be some punishing consequence present in the environment. 

Shaping is a method of reinforcing closer steps to a target behavior. Shaping can be used when teaching children to speak or even trying to teach a child to ride a bike. We may have a child that says 'mmmm' for 'mom', we can use shaping to first increase the frequency of saying 'mmm', then only reinforcing when the child says 'ma', and finally only reinforcing when the child says 'mom'. 

Social significance is a corner stone of ABA, however, determining what is considered socially significant is unique to each learner. Socially significant behaviors are those that have immediate and long term benefits for those engaging in them. So while learning to make small talk might be socially significant to one learner, it may not be for another.  

Motor or vocal behaviors that occur in a highly repetitive and restrictive manner and may include forms such as rocking, humming, hand-flapping, or repeating words or phrases. Stereotypic behavior can be harmful or dangerous, however, it can also be a means of reducing frustration or anxiety levels in a learner and may be an important coping mechanism.

A change in an environment which may result in the triggering of a behavior, an example could include pollen (a stimulus) filtering through a window and causing a person to sneeze (behavior) or grandma comes into the house (stimulus) which triggers your child to say 'grandma' and reach for a hug (behavior). 

A form of verbal behavior in which a learner 'labels' objects, people, smells, etc in their environment. For example if I am holding up an apple and my learner points to the apple and says 'apple' this would be an example of a tact. 

The process of breaking down a complex or multi-step behavior into smaller, easier to teach steps.  Various chaining procedures are then used to teach the task analysis. For example I can break the behavior of brushing teeth into 25 or so smaller behaviors then determine which chaining procedure I will use to teach my learner to brush their teeth. 

The units of language as described by Behavior Analysts. In ABA we typically use echoic, mand, tact and intraverbal to describe the different forms of a child's language. There are other verbal operants, however these are the four most common discussed during treatment.