Behavioral therapists commonly work with children with autism, as well as children with other developmental disabilities or special educational needs. A major strand of contemporary behavioral therapy is known as Applied Behavioral Analysis or ABA therapy. Behavioral therapy is most effective when implemented as an "early intervention," with structured therapy sessions and data collection commencing in the pre-kindergarten years.
Autism Symptoms and Diagnosis
Autism is a developmental disorder with no known causes or cure at the time of publication. Diagnosis is typically made between the ages of 6-months and 3-years. A child with autism typically struggles with communication and social interaction. Avoidance of eye contact, for example, is common in children with autism. Many children with autism experience some degree of language delay, and some never learn to communicate verbally. Social interaction is more difficult for children with autism than for typically developing children.
History of Behavioral Therapy
The start of 20th-century behavioral therapy was in 1913, when psychologist John Watson stated that our human behavior is controlled by events in our environment. Watson believed that the consequence of any behavior controls the occurrence of that behavior in future. For example, if you get paid as a consequence of a day's work, you are likely to continue the behavior of going to work each day. In the latter half of the 20th century, Dr. Ivan Lovaas and other behavioral therapists developed applied behavioral analysis techniques for use with children with autism.
ABA For Autism
Applied behavioral analysis for children with autism works by positive reinforcement of desired behaviors, with learning of a new skill broken down into multiple steps. Behaviors and learning targets might be broken into categories such as gross motor skills, fine motor skills, speech, sorting, turn-taking or computer skills. An individual skill or task is mastered through a series of repeated trials -- success is rewarded with a "reinforcer" such as a preferred candy. When introducing new skills to be learned, a therapist may start by prompting the desired response, then gradually giving smaller prompts until the child is successful without prompting.
Typical Scheduling
Behavioral therapy can take place at a child's home, school, or a combination of locations. The number of hours of therapy per week varies from case to case, but intensive ABA therapy typically involves 20 to 40 hours weekly. This may be in addition to regular schoolwork. A single ABA session may last between 30 minutes and three hours, depending on the child's attention span. Typically, a team of several therapists will work with an individual child, with each therapist completing regular shifts throughout the week. Some states will provide funding for ABA therapy provision.
