ABA: A New Way Forward

In recent years, there has been a dramatic shift in ABA toward a trauma-informed approach to treatment. The goal has shifted from outcomes of service to one based on compassion and care, creating a learning environment that identifies the needs and preferential activities of the client. It utilizes that to develop socially significant skills in which anyone can see value (Hanley, 2020). The goal is to help ABA be appreciated beyond those diagnosed with Autism and demonstrate how ABA can be used for all learners in every facet of life (Hanley, 2020). Dr. Hanley is a well-known leader in Behavior Analysis, and he is working to change how we practice ABA worldwide.

In his famous article “A Perspective on Today’s ABA,” Dr. Hanley calls everyone in ABA to rethink how the ABA community has approached ABA because it has come under scrutiny for some of its past practices. To accomplish this, he established four principles for ABA. First, he calls on those in ABA to listen (Hanley, 2020). We must hear what the individual with Autism is communicating to understand why they have likes and dislikes and how we can teach them with those things in mind. Why should we force clients to do something if they hate that activity?

We should do everything in our power to enrich our clients’ environment. With that in mind, he calls on ABA practitioners to create an environment that evokes Joy (Hanley, 2020). When the client is in our care, sessions should be enjoyable, exciting, and fun for them. Not everything we do in life embodies those aspects. But if practitioners take their jobs seriously, we can figure out how to teach skills in such a way that helps the client want to learn the skills being taught. Third, we must empower our clients (Hanley, 2020). We accomplish this by doing our utmost to establish a safe environment that does not intend to evoke the challenging behaviors we are trying to reduce. Instead, we determine how to establish rapport, which leads to trust and, in turn, shows the client that we will never push them beyond what they are capable of or wish to participate in. We must learn to find creative ways to teach them and build them toward those aversive activities if we want to help them grow. Finally, we as practitioners must learn while teaching (Hanley, 2020.) Hanley states that we must embody the “themes of I see you, I hear you, I understand you, and I am here for you” (Hanley, 2020). By doing this, we take a Trauma-informed approach to ABA, which will ultimately put the client first and help ABA move toward a holistic approach that enriches the learning environment and leads to better outcomes (Hanley, 2020).

At Faces Behavioral Services, we are learning how to integrate this methodology into our everyday practices to ensure our clients have meaningful sessions that support overall happiness and development while working to provide excellent clinical outcomes. After all, better outcomes are what Hanley is proposing, which is what ABA was about from the start, and we are ready to embrace that path.

Resources:

A Perspective on Today’s ABA from Dr. Hanley | Practical Functional Assessment