How Do Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapists Motivate Children with Autism?

Question: How Do Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapists Motivate Children with Autism?

Answer: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapists give children with autism small rewards for appropriate responses. Those rewards, called reinforcers, should be based on the interests and preferences of the individual child. More importantly, those rewards should be so interesting to the child that they are worth the hard work of responding to the therapist.

All too often, behavioral therapists have little experience in real-life interaction with children with autism. As a result, they may have too few ideas for motivating their students (many use various types of food as the only options for reinforcement). The outcome: children who don't, and won't, respond to treatment.

Dr. Jim Partington, PhD, owner and director of Behavior Analysts in California, describes his approach to reinforcement, and explains that it's all about the relationship between the therapist and the child :

The idea is to get them to pay attention so you can reward them. Why should my facial expression, tone of voice, be a reinforcer? It's only because they've been paired with other existing reinforcers. If you like to be tickled right now, I can use that as a reinforcer right now. If you look at me, I tickle you. Now you're looking at me, seeing changes in my face, and that tells you I'm going to be tickling. Pretty soon, changes in my face become the reinforcers. Now you're looking at my face to see what good things might follow.

One of the most important pieces of working with the child is - they've got to like you. You have to be someone they want to interact with. When you start from that perspective, you can teach. If kids don't want to be with the therapist, don't come along readily, you probably won't get good focused attention. They may do their trials -- they may learn a bit -- but if the reinforcer is getting away, it's not a useful way to teach. What you're really looking for is kids who want to be with you.

The bottom line, says Partington, is that therapy should be fun for the child. From a parent's perspective, this is not only good news: It's also a tool for judging the quality of a therapist. If your child must be dragged into therapy and is clearly uncomfortable or unhappy during therapy sessions, it may be time to intervene.

_Sources:

Bibby P., et al. 2002. "Progress and outcomes for children with autism receiving parent-managed intensive interventions." Res Dev Disabil. 23(1):81-104.

Interview with Dr. Jim Partington, owner and director of Behavior Analysts Inc. in California. Ph.D. and BCBA. February, 2008.

Mace FC, Mauro BC, Boyajian AE, Eckert TL.Effects of reinforcer quality on behavioral momentum: coordinated applied and basic research.J Appl Behav Anal. 1997 Spring;30(1):1-20.

Simpson, R.L. 2001. "ABA and Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Issues and Considerations for Effective Practice." Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities 16(2):68-71.