When it comes to helping children with autism and autistic tendencies in Utah, you may have heard the term Applied Behavioral Analysis in Salt Lake City at a meeting with your child’s teachers or mentors. This term (also called ABA) gets thrown around a lot in the special education community. It’s a method that teachers and therapists use to help change behaviors by using certain calculated interventions. What Is the Process? First, a behavior is observed that has a negative impact on the child’s ability to learn or socialize. When a specific behavior has been flagged, a specialist will observe the child in different environments to try to determine what causes the behavior or what function the behavior plays within the environment. Once the behavior has been observed in a specific setting or across several settings and the function of the behavior has been identified, the teacher or therapist will attempt to modify the targeted behavior by teaching replacement behaviors that fulfill the same function for the child. An Example If a child frequently flaps his hands at his desk during class, this could be distracting for other students and potentially hurt this student socially. If it has been observed that the main function of this behavior is that the child simply needs to be doing something with his hands as a self-stimulus or a release of extra energy, then that same function might be achieved in a less noticeable way. Having a small, fuzzy ball to hold in his hand and rub with his thumb while he’s sitting in class could prove to replace the original behavior. In the event that this doesn’t work, the specialist team will try other replacement behaviors until one is found that both serves the same purpose for the child and creates a positive behavior. This is what Applied Behavioral Analysis in Salt Lake City looks like.
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