06/25/2022
How does ABA work?
ABA uses the knowledge of the natural laws of behavior in addition to knowledge about neuroplasticity to create behavior change. Sounds pretty simple, but it’s not. It’s not easy. Our brains make connections (synapses) over time. The more we are rewarded for our behavior, the stronger the connection becomes. If we behave a certain way and rewarded for our behavior multiple times over time, our synapses become thicker, stronger, ensuring that the information is there for us when we need it. If we are not rewarded for our behavior repeatedly, the synapses are thinner and weaker. Stronger connections are harder to break, while weaker ones are easier to break. This is why when a child behaves a certain way repeatedly over time and is rewarded, the behavior becomes ‘second nature.’ It takes more work to change the behavior. What ABA professionals first do is establish why a person is behaving a certain way, what function the behavior is serving. Is the behavior such that it has always been rewarded with the person getting what they want in the end? In order to change the behavior, one must replace the behavior with one that is more rewarding but just as effective (if not more effective) at obtaining the same outcome. The old wires and connections must be weakened and broken, and new wires must be established and supported. For instance, simply telling someone not to behave a certain way any longer does not work to rewire the brain. The person does not simply say to themselves, “Oh, you don’t want me to do that anymore? Okay. No problem. I won’t do that anymore. I won’t throw a fit when you tell me I can’t have what I want.” The brain does not work this way. If the person is engaging in the undesirable behavior to get your attention, simply telling the person not to engage in the behavior will not work. An ABA professional would establish a new behavior, a more effective and socially significant behavior, and teach the person to use the new behavior to get your attention instead of using the old undesirable behavior. That’s just the way the brain works. Our brains require new pathways to get our needs and wants met. Our brains ‘say,’ “if you don’t want me to take this old road, you must give me a new one.”
Focusing on OCD compulsive behaviors, ABA professionals can identify an antecedent stimulus, a behavior, and a consequence (ABC) to develop a treatment plan for specific compulsive behaviors. Using behavioral activation (BA), applied behavioral analysts can assist those diagnosed with OCD to set goals to moderate their compulsive behaviors.
The rate of addiction relapse is high. Merely removing the client from the drug does nothing to stop the cravings or to teach the addict how to deal with life situations apart from drugs. Like teaching a starving man to fish solves hunger, teaching him to examine the behaviors that lead to his addiction through ABA therapy produces sobriety.
Applied behavior analysis in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been shown to increase the ability to manage trauma-related emotions, thereby allowing individuals to achieve more confidence in their ability to cope, control emotions and avoid lashing out and engaging in self-destructive behaviors. The fact that PTSD is often recognized as a reaction to some event that triggers a painful memory followed by a response that may range from explosive anger to substance abuse as a means of escape or avoidance, makes OCD a perfect candidate for the application of the so-called ABCs of applied behavior analysis: Antecedent, behavior, and consequence.
