The ABC's of ABA and the Functions of Behavior

The ABC's of ABA

and the Functions of Behavior

INDEX

Antecedent Behavior Consequence ABC Timeline Sensory Escape, Attention, Tangible

What are the ABC's? Video Review Functions of Behavior (SEAT) (Optional) Functions of Behavior VIdeo Review

What are the ABC's?

O1

Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence

What are the abc's of behavior? why is abc data important?

While watching the video, please note the following

• The role data plays in understanding behavior.
• What stage of behavior analysis ABC data is taken.
• How a setting event impacts behavior and how it differs from an antecedent.

Antecedent

The event or action that occured immediately before a behavior. Examples of an Antecedent include:

• A direction/instruction, including a discriminative stimulus (SD) and prompt.
• People and/or events, including a parent leaving or returning home.
• Internal states such as feeling tired, anxious, or hungry.

Behavior

Behaviors are what someone does in response to the presence of, or following the presentation of, a particular antecedent stimulus. To fully understand a behavior, we must first define it. The operational definition of a behavior is written so that anyone who reads it will easily be able to identify if the behavior is occurring or not. In other words, we describe what is visible to the observer.Operational definitions meet three criteria. They are observable, measurable, and objective. The language used should not include any judgements or assumptions made by the observer.

What's in a behavior?

The Dead Person’s Test is a guiding principle used when defining behavior. In ABA, this simple rule states that anything a dead person can do is not a behavior. Non-behaviors include being quiet, staying in seat, laying down, not eating, falling, and remaining still.

Consequence

The action, event, or response that occurs immediately following a behavior. Depending on whether the consequence is preferred or non-preferred, the behavior will be either reinforced or punished. Reinforcement likely results in an increase in the observed behavior while punishment is likely to decrease occurrences over time.* *Extinction Burst: Initially, when the observable behavior is no longer reinforced, occurrences and intensity may increase temporarily. This is an attempt by the subject to try to obtain the motivational operant after typical effort are not reinforced. Ex. When no one answers a door after the first knock, you may begin to knock harder and louder so increase the odds of the door being opened.

TIMELINE

Behavior

Consequence

Antecedent

Event or Action

Response to Event or Action

Result of Response

functions of behavior

O2

What is the purpose behind a behavior, and what do we get out of it?

Take a SEAT and think about behavior

• Sensory

• Escape
• Attention
• Tangible

Sensory

Also known as automatic, or self-stimulatory, sensory maintained behaviors are those that are reinforcing on their own. These are behaviors the subject is likely to engage in regardless of the presence of others, reinforcers, or instructions, and is usually identified as the function after the others have been ruled out.

• Chewing on objects
• Leg shaking
• Standing under the hot water in the shower

Gallery

Escape/Avoidance

Attention

Tangible/Access

These behaviors intend to gain the learner access to a preferred item or activity.

• Cutting in line
• Boxing out for a rebound
• Buying a ticket to enter

These behaviors will likely result in some form of social contract, regardless of the context. "Any press is good press."

• Hair Pulling
• Waving
• Calling someone’s name

These are behaviors intended to delay, avoid, or end anyaversive or unwanted tasks.

• Throwing Homework
• Eloping
• Shouting over someone

video review

Watch the video "Identifying the 4 Functions of Behavior in ABA" for a more indepth understanding of each.

Antecedent modification

O3

Why and How

Introduction

To fully understand antecedent strategies, it’s important to first understand the concept of antecedent-behavior-consequence, or the ABCs. The antecedent occurs directly before the behavior, then the behavior, and then the consequence occurs directly after the behavior.

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Antecedent-based interventions are built on the concept that because behaviors are often influenced by the environment, modifying the environment in which the undesirable behavior occurs can then eliminate the undesirable behavior.

Taking the road less traveled

Antecendent strategies involve manipulating the environment to reduce undesirable behaviors among learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other developmental disorders. Through antecedent strategies, we are looking to prevent the undesirable behavior from occurring by changing the antecedent – what’s happening immediately before the behavior Antecedent-based interventions are built on the concept that because behaviors are often influenced by the environment, modifying the environment in which the undesirable behavior occurs can then eliminate the undesirable behavior. . .

Benefits of Using Antecedent Strategies

Many individuals with ASD often have difficulty understanding what is expected of them. This sometimes causes challenging behavior to occur due to feeling uncomfortable or unfamiliar in their environment. Antecedent strategies allow learners to feel more in control, reducing anxiety and stress that causes challenging behavior. Various strategies can be implemented to help learners navigate their daily routines, transitioning between activities, time management, and many other tasks.

Selecting the intervention

Before implementing an antecedent strategies, the learner undergoes completing a functional behavior assessment, which involves identifying the factor or factors that are reinforcing the undesirable behavior and then modifying the environment so that the undesirable behavior is no longer reinforced. In other words, the goal of the antecedent strategy is to identify the factors that are reinforcing behaviors considered inappropriate, unwanted, or even detrimental and then to apply antecedent-based interventions that work to remove the reinforcement of undesirable behaviors.

Info

Types of Strategies

Before deciding which strateies to use, remember, these strategies are used in combination with eachother to best fit the individuals needs. No single strategy is a guarenteed solution. (ie. A structured schedule is a visual support that can be used to aid structured time.) While there are many strategies, the most common ones include using one or more of the following:

• Finding items or activities that attract the learner’s interest
• Changing the learner’s schedule or routine
• Offering choices to the learner
• Changing how the teacher provides the instructions to the learner
• Alerting the learner that a change in activity/schedule will take place

Examples of Antecedent Strategies

Highly Prefered Items

Offering Choices

Change the Instruction

Functional Communication Training

VIsual Supports

Environmentl Modification

Structured Time

Changing the Schedule

Premack Principal

Offering Choices

• Offering choices allow clients to have some control over their own lives. Which in turn can help you avoid a power struggle.

• Offering choices to the learner – what to do, how many, this or that, etc..

• Changing how the teacher provides the instructions to the learner.

Visual Schedule

Visual schedules allow learners to be more independent and have decreased anxiety about unknown events. It also can increase flexibility, communication and language. This visual schedule product provides you with a large variety of unique symbols, as well as a selection of schedule boards to choose from.

Functional COmmunication Training (FCT)

• When a learner engages in challenging behaviour, it is typically not because they want to give you a hard time, rather it is because they are having a hard time communicating their needs. Learners may be missing essential skills to express their needs and wants in ways that can be understood by others or in ways that are unsafe.
• Functional Communication Training (FCT) is an antecedent intervention, which can be used with all types and levels of communication. An appropriate replacement behaviour would be to functionally communicate needs and wants, which will gain the learner access to the reinforcer.

Environmental modifications

• The physical environment can either support positive behavior or exacerbate challenging ones. Some modifications include:
• Reducing excessive stimulation: Bright lights, loud noises, or crowded spaces can be overwhelming and lead to agitated behaviors. Ensure the environment is calm and soothing.
• Organizing spaces: Labeling shelves, using color-coded systems, or having designated areas for specific activities can reduce confusion and frustration.
• Safety measures: Installing locks on cabinets with dangerous items or using soft furnishings can prevent accidents and ensure resident safety.

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. Walt Disney

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. Walt Disney

What's in a behavior?

To understand how our Antecedent modification strategies, we must first identify a functionally equivalent replacement behavior. Let's take a look at implementing one of our strategies...

Implementing FCT

Functional Communication Training is taught using a variety of modalities. ie. Verbal, Gestural, Sign, PECS, and AAC. Click on each step to see how we might expect the behavior to change.

Sources (needs to be finalized)

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Antecedent Mod

Knowing what we learned from our previous occurence of walking into the kitchen, we now recognize Bruce's precursor behavior of staring at the cookies. We know it is now time to implement our strategy of FCT. We prompt Bruce to use his words and mand/request for a cookie.

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Altered Consequence

After Bruce successfully and appropriately mands for a cookie, he is imediately rewarded with one. Bruce is still happy to have a cookie, and now we have many more left for others to enjoy and possibly more manding opportunites in the future.

Initial Consequence

Having pulled the plate of cookies towards the edge of the counter, the plate, along with all of the cookies, fall to the floor. Bruce is happy to enjoy the one he managed to grab before the others are throw away.

Initial Antecedent

Little Bruce Wayne walks into the kitchen where there is a big pile of cookies on the counter. We know cookies are highly motivating for Bruce and are once of his favorite treats. Bruce's eyes grow bigger as he stares at the tempting treat.

Initial Behavior

Bruce decides to get the cookie the only way he currently knows how; by reaching for the plate and pulling it toward him.

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Behavior Change

Now that Bruce has been prompted to mand for a cookie, he does so. "I want cookies," says Bruce.

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