What is ABA?
The field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has an unwavering commitment to improving the human experience for individuals through the study and adaptation of socially significant behaviors by a behavior analyst. What does this mean? ABA seeks to understand why certain behaviors occur, and once it is understood why they occur, it provides the opportunity to change the behavior by offering alternatives. Socially significant behavior can take on many forms but is oftentimes linked to an individual’s inability to appropriately express their needs. Through working with a behavior analyst, the individual has the opportunity to learn new ways of communicating their needs.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a relatively new discipline and is constantly evolving. In this post, we will explore a noteworthy researcher.
Great Minds in ABA
This month, we will focus on Gregory P. Hanley, Ph.D., BCBA-D, as one of the current intellectuals in the field of ABA through an examination of a couple of his perspective articles. Dr. Hanley’s contributions to the science of ABA are extensive, and it would take more than one blog post to truly touch on his expertise. However, for this post, we will be focusing on two journal articles by Dr. Hanley that are prominent in ABA. Hanley (2010), in a perspective piece in Behavior Analysis in Practice, questions the perspective in which behavior analysts view the effectiveness of their interventions. Are we listening to our stakeholders, who have the inside scoop on our client’s wants and needs? Are we only looking at it through the eyes of the stakeholders, who often are very communicative and helpful in providing information regarding problem behaviors but might not truly understand why the behavior is occurring or how the intervention affects the client? Or are we doing our best to understand the function of the behavior and whether our intervention is giving the client his/her own voice? Hanley (2010) calls for the inclusion of the recipients of the behavior change interventions into the process by which we determine whether this treatment is truly necessary and beneficial to the client.
This idea is expounded upon many years later in a perspective piece by Hanley in Behavior Analysis in Practice. In his later article, Hanley (2017) calls for the same inclusion of the client’s insight into conducting functional assessments. During the functional assessment process, the behavior analyst is able to identify the conditions that influence problem behavior. Is the client engaging in throwing items in order to escape from an undesirable demand that has been placed on him/her? Or is the client throwing items in order to get attention? The method of treatment for these two possibilities is quite different, so the behavior analyst is tasked with ensuring that he/she truly understands why the client is engaging in problem behavior. The next dilemma is finding a treatment that is tailored to the client’s needs. Hanley (2017) puts it into perspective by having you imagine that you are a patient who is experiencing a temporary illness that leaves you unable to talk, write, or even perform controlled motor movements. While in the care of the hospital staff, you are placed on a medication that gives you a bad case of cotton mouth. Your big hospital-provided water pitcher is on your bedside table, filled with ice water; however, with your limited dexterity, you are unable to reach it. You are able to bang the back of your hand on the rails of the hospital bed and have found that if you are sufficiently loud and persistent, a nurse or care tech will eventually come to see what you need. This method is, in fact, so successful, and you use it so often that you have caused bruising on the backs of your hands and effectively angered the staff. The hospital adopts a behavior modification program in which you are to wear mitts on your hands for your safety. You are given access to music and candy when you are not engaging in the behavior of banging, and eventually, with the limited effectiveness of the mitts on the railings, you begin to engage in this behavior less and less. Problem solved, right?… Is it? Your hands might be less bruised, and the hospital staff might be able to give a sigh of relief, but you still have a horrible case of cotton mouth and less access to the water you need to relieve it (Hanley 2017).
Scenarios like this occur frequently when we do not allow the patient to have input into their own treatment. This is why it is so important for us to continue to grow in this new science and why we are thankful for such great minds like that of Gregory P. Hanley, PhD, BCBA-D.
More Information
Learn more about Gregory P. Hanley, Ph.D., BCBA-D.
Looking for more resources? Autism Speaks has a wonderfully informative page about ABA.
References:
Hanley, G. P. (2010). Toward effective and preferred programming: A case for the objective measurement of social validity with recipients of behavior-change programs. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 3, 13-21.
Hanley, G. P. (2017). Functional Assessment of Problem Behavior: Dispelling Myths, Overcoming Implementation Obstacles, and Developing New Lore. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 5(1), 54–72
