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Why Applied Behaviour Analysis / Intensive Behavioural Intervention?
Dr. Ivar Lovaas
was a pioneer on using Applied Behaviour Analysis
to treat children with autism. He is a scientist who developed
the premier early intervention autism treatment model sought
today by parents of recently diagnosed ASD children.
He published his study in 1987 at the University of California
in Los Angeles. The treatment he used is called Intensive
Behavioural Intervention, which is a form of Applied
Behaviour Analysis, utilizing a defined Discrete
Trial Training (ABA-DTT) format. In his study he found that
children who began treatment before the age of four and who
received forty hours a week of IBI had a
good chance of higher scores on intelligence tests. His test
group showed that fifty percent of the students achieved average
or above average scores and were able to maintain their skills
six years after the treatment.
The goal in using IBI with children with
autism is to increase their developmental growth so that it
is closer to that of a typically developing child.
IBI uses discrete trial training which
is when a task is broken down into a series of smaller steps.
Each step is taught by using the following concepts:
- Antecedent stimulus (cue or instruction)
- The child's response
- A consequence delivered immediately after
This is the same as the ABC's of Applied Behaviour Analysis
which is antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence.
We use a most to least model (also known as the errorless
approach) because research has shown that least to most prompting
produces more errors and children have a higher rate of becoming
prompt dependent.
It is very important to collect data in ABA/IBI.
We start with a baseline to see where the child is at before
we teach a new skill. This way we can measure their progress
accurately and make appropriate changes to the program.
At LMSA we only use positive reinforcements
(no aversives), and we follow a probe data model. If the child
is slow in improving skills, a discrete trial data may be
implemented and revisions to programming will be made.
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