Name of the Strategy or Intervention
Applied Behavior Analysis in Family Therapy
Synonyms
ABA
Introduction
Founded upon the major principles of behaviorists such as Watson and Skinner, applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a therapeutic approach that specifically focuses on increasing quality of life through meaningful and socially relevant behavioral modification. Proponents of ABA posit that problematic behaviors can be changed via a mixture of reinforcement and repetition. ABA is used to treat multiple age groups within a variety of contexts such as education, healthcare, and business management. Due to a considerable body of literature demonstrating its efficacy, ABA is most commonly known as the gold standard approach to working with children with autism (Baer et al. 1968).
ABA has been researched extensively since its inception in the 1960s, with the majority of studies being published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. The journal currently presents the most recent...
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References
Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 91–97. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1968.1-91.
Koegel, R. L., O’ Deil, M. C., & Koegel, L. K. (1987). A natural language teaching paradigm for nonverbal autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 17, 187–200.
Lovaas, O. I. (1987). Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55(1), 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-006x.55.1.3.
Lovaas, O. I., Koegel, R., Simmons, J. Q., & Long, J. S. (1973). Some generalization and follow-up measures on autistic children in behavior therapy. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6(1), 131–165. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1973.6-131.
McEachin, J. J., Smith, T., & Lovaas, O. I. (1993). Long-term outcome for children with autism who received early intensive behavioral treatment. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 97(4), 359–372.
Smith, T. (2001). Discrete trial training in the treatment of autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 16(2), 86–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/108835760101600204.
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Santowski, A., Earl, R.M. (2019). Applied Behavior Analysis in Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_102
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_102
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