ABA Therapy

Applied Behaviour Analysis Therapy or ABA Therapy is based on the science of learning and behavior. ABA techniques are used for autism treatment for autistic children and other developmental conditions. However, it is sometimes used in the treatment of other conditions as well, including:

  • Dementia
  • Cognitive impairment after brain injury
  • Eating disorders
  • Anxiety and related conditions such as panic disorder, OCD, and phobia
  • Borderline personality disorder

With behavior analysis, you can understand: 

  1. How behavior works
  2. How behavior is affected by the environment
  3. How learning takes place

This therapy aims to allow a deep understanding of how behavior works and what we can do to increase the chances of the desired behavior and reduce undesirable behaviors. 

ABA therapy is traditionally used to help children with autism. ABA therapists use this ABA program as it teaches skills such as social skills and enhances personal development. This includes:

  1. Verbal skills Improving language and communication skills.
  2. Mental skills: Improving attention, memory and academics 
  3. Physical skills: Decrease problematic behaviors.

How does ABA therapy work?

Traditional ABA therapy uses the integrity of positive reinforcement and the theory of operant conditioning. 

1. Positive Reinforcement

This is a method that rewards good behavior. This is the practice where positive behavior equals a reward. With a reward each time, it is predicted that the reactions become more intuitive and regular each time, eventually becoming a natural habit. This encourages positive behavioral change for people with autism. 

2. ABC

ABCs primarily use the theory of operant conditioning as it is one of the many board-certified behavioral therapies to aid in treating autism. Research shows that it uses the process of observation and consequence to either reinforce wanted behaviors or discourage unwanted behavior. 

  1. An antecedent is what happens right before the targetted behavior. It may come from another person, internal (such as a thought or feeling)  and external environments. It can be both verbal and physical, such as a request, command, toy, object or sound. 
  2. The resulting behavior is the response or lack of response to the antecedent. It can be a verbal response or action.
  3. A consequence is what follows after the behavior. It can include positive behavior or negative reaction for an incorrect response.

Our therapists here at Lazarus Centre possess certification received by the Behaviour Analyst Certification Board (BACB) to be helping children with such needs in paving their positive behavior. We implement behavior-analytic interventions to ensure all our patients have benefited from our programme and any amends we can make to the programmes for them. 

ABA therapies can be used as speech therapy to teach languages to older children who have developed a little later. 

If you wish to find out more about the ABA therapy programme here at Lazarus Centre, please contact us at +65 9176 4837.