It is the most effective method for producing recovery in children with Autism & PDD-NOS and the only method, which has been shown to produce recovery under strict experimental conditions with large numbers of children.

It is the most highly recommended method of producing positive changes in children with a variety of other childhood disorders including, Aspergers and Cerebral Palsy by both professionals and support organizations.

General behavioral procedures have been shown to be effective through research since 1903. That’s over 100 years of research that has relied on behavioral principles to demonstrate effective teaching.

Applied Behavioral Analysis has clearly defined goals and procedures, which can be used by both professionals and non-professionals alike.

Applied Behavioral Analysis has a large body of reference materials available to guide and help the practitioner.

Applied Behavioral Analysis is focused on producing solutions rather then on making exceptions.

Applied Behavioral Analysis follows everyday rules that most people inherently understand and use, many of us use these rules without even being aware of them formally.

Misconceptions about Applied Behavior Analysis:

ABA is not an approach, which uses punishment or aversive procedures to motivate and teach children new skills. Although punishment is a behavioral concept, it is used only when the child is at risk for injury or a danger to himself or herself, and only after all other possible solutions have been attempted. B.F. Skinner did not advocate the use of punishment as a learning tool.

ABA is not an approach, which is rigid and confined to a “Therapy Room”. Although typical ABA programs begin in a therapy room to minimize distractions and improve behavior management, a good ABA program plans for generalization by systematically introducing new environments and distractions.

ABA is not an approach that locks all children into responding to specific sets of instructions for the rest of his/her life. Many ABA programs do begin with specific forms of instruction to speed learning and minimize confusion, but a good ABA program will attempt to generalize the language. Since not every child recovers many of these children learn only to respond to simpler instructions, but this is not a result of ABA so much as the child reaching a plateau. Many of the children who do learn to respond to certain forms of instructions may have never learned any instructions without ABA.

Can you really recover from Autism?

That depends on what you mean by recovery.
When professionals speak of recovery they are referring to the child being able to meet three key characteristics:

1. The child demonstrates normal intellectual functioning by scoring within average or better range on psychological & academic test batteries
2. The child has achieved a normal academic school placement by the end of third grade.
3. The child is able to maintain peer relationships and appears indistinguishable from peers to a trained outside observer.

This generally means that a child who has recovered from Autism has all the same opportunities as if they did not have Autism. This does not necessarily mean they won’t still have some odd quirks or needs, but those that peculiarities that remain would not be in excess of those peculiarities seen in the population as a whole.

It does not necessarily mean that the person who has recovered from Autism has changed their thinking styles; rather they may be using compensatory procedures to arrive at correct answers and to fit in.

Recovery also does not generally make a person who is naturally an introvert into an extrovert, nor will in change someone who is naturally uncoordinated into an all-state sports star. Each child’s personality and genetics guide a child’s potential. ABA can only help children maximize their own potential.

Major Research Summary

How can I trust the results of the research?

All of the research had very good research design.

1. The original Lovaas studies and replication studies had treatment groups and control groups (non or alternative treatment assignment).
2. Assignment to each group was random.
3. None of the children in the experimental group received alternative treatments.
4. Other experimenters have replicated the results.
5. Each child was received an independent assessment & evaluation.

What exactly did the research show?

Lovaas, O. I. (1987)

47% of children in the experimental group which received an average of 40 hours a week achieved normal functioning and were placed in normal first grade (by age 7).

Group Recovered Aphasic Autistic
Experimental
40 or more hours N= 9
IQ: 107 N= 8
IQ: 70 N= 2
IQ: 30
Control 1
10 hours N=0 N= 8
IQ: 74 N= 11
IQ: 36
Control 2
Community Treatment N=1
IQ: 99 N= 10
IQ: 67 N= 10
IQ: 44

McEachin, J., Smith, T., Lovaas, O. I. (1993)

Follow up Study

At age thirteen, 8/9 of the children from the recovery group in the Lovaas, O. I. 1987 study, were indistinguishable from other children their age and had maintained or improved their level of functioning and IQ (On average their IQ was 30 points higher then that of the control groups)

Wisconsin Young Autism Project (1999)

Replicating Lovaas’ Treatment and findings: Preliminary Results

42% of children in the intensive treatment group achieved normal IQ (90-110) with one year of treatment.

47% of children in the intensive treatment group achieved normal IQ (90-110) with two years of treatment.

71% of the children in the intensive treatment group spoke in 3 word phrases after 1 year of treatment.

0% of the children who were in the alternative treatment only group recovered, additionally the children in the alternative treatment only group lost an average of 8 IQ points during the course of the study. Two children did show an increase in IQ of 11 and 16 points.

What was the alternative treatment?

The alternative treatment group took place in an early childhood program and typically received 10 hours per week of special education. Most children received approximately 2-3 sessions of speech therapy and occupational therapy per week. Some also received additional speech and occupational therapy from professionals in the community.

O.K. So what exactly is ABA?

Definitions: Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) is a major branch of the field of psychology. ABA use Behavioral Theory to understand learning and analyze behaviors in a clinical setting. ABA as we will define it is the techniques and procedures of ABA applied to individuals with special needs, although this does not encompass the entire field of ABA.
A curriculum is an individualized plan to teach the child a wide variety of appropriate behaviours, skills, and knowledge. The curriculum may include modifying undesirable behaviour, and development of skills in language, personal care, play, social, motor, academics, and so on. It is made up of many programs, each teaching one specific behaviour, skill or information. The curriculum, which has been validated through research, is the Lovaas curriculum and it should be the basis of any ABA program for young children.
Required: ABA relies on behavioral principles. ABA is used to educate the child in many areas, not just to control undesirable behaviours.
Positive reinforcement and informative feedback are used. Physical aversive are generally not be used.
Each program must have a curriculum recommended by a rigorously trained ABA consultant detailing the skills that will be taught to the child. The curriculum should reflect the child's abilities and needs. The curriculum should be based on normal child development, as interpreted by the ABA consultant.
Although ABA therapy is currently the best therapy for all individuals with autism, it is most effective for children when treatment begins before age 5.
Structured one-on-one therapy is usually necessary for children in the first two to three years of therapy, but as a child progresses, therapy should be delivered in a more natural way.