BAYADA’s ABA specialists use a variety of proven teaching principles and methods to fully customize the best learning experience for each child.
ABC Learning Principles
By understanding ABA’s ABC learning principles, therapists encourage meaningful behavior change:
Antecedent – What comes before the behavior.
Behavior – An observable and measurable action.
Consequence – What happens after a behavior and affects the likelihood of that behavior occurring again in the future.
Errorless Teaching
Errorless teaching prevents children from making mistakes as they learn a new skill by prompting (and thus ensuring) children make the correct response immediately. Through play-based repetition, prompts slowly fade to promote learning accuracy with the least frustration and errors.
Visual Supports
Visual supports can be photographs, drawings, objects, written words, or lists, and may be used to communicate with a child who has difficulty understanding or using language.
Verbal Behavior Therapy
Verbal behavior therapy helps children connect verbal words to their purpose and demonstrates how words can help get desired objects or results. Through verbal behavior therapy, children learn language skills and develop their communication abilities.
Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT)
Discrete trial teaching is a method of teaching in simplified and structured steps. Instead of teaching an entire skill in one go, the skill is broken down and built up using discrete trials that teach each step one at a time.
Natural Environment Teaching (NET)
Natural environment teaching focuses on naturalistic learning through play or learning in the natural setting. (This means teaching isn’t just occurring at a desk or table located in a therapy room, but in a variety of environmental settings.)
Pivotal Response Treatment
Instead of working on one specific behavior, pivotal response treatment is a play-based therapy intervention that holistically targets pivotal areas of a child’s development. Pivotal areas include motivation, response to multiple cues, self-management, and initiation of social interactions.
Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) and Skill-Based Treatment (SBT)
While some problematic behavior is normal for children, caregivers are understandably concerned when challenging behaviors involve self-injury, aggression, or property destruction. In such instances, a Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) is used to inform a Skill-Based Treatment (SBT) plan. Skill-Based Treatment consists of progressively teaching communication, tolerance for frustration, and a range of Contextually Appropriate Behaviors (CAB). Skill-Based Treatment has two primary objectives. First, to teach children how to behave safely and productively despite the common ambiguities, unpredictability, and disappointments in everyday life. Second, to establish strong, trusting relationships between the child and their parental caregivers.
