We all know there are no universal answers to questions about autism. Families who have a loved one with autism understand the challenges that come with it. For children with autism spectrum disorder or ASD, the first signs may show up in their social skills. In autism, Los Angeles and all Southern California is a worldwide leader in awareness and education. Autism therapists and support services professionals understand that knowing your ABCs when it comes to autism is anything but simple.
In this case, when someone is talking about their ABCs, they aren’t talking about the alphabet. In the world of autism, ABC stands for Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence. The ABC model is a specific kind of Applied Behavioral Analysis or ABA therapy that has been shown to be effective at helping people with autism. It is especially useful for children as it is a great fit for both home and school.
To understand these terms better, let’s take each one of the ABCs and examine them in depth:
1. A is for Antecedent. An antecedent is understood
to be the events that happened right before a specific behavior. They can be
either positive or negative. An antecedent could be a verbal order or request
from a parent or teacher. It could also be something physical, a sound, a light
or even something like a favorite toy that is present in the environment. An
antecedent can be external, but it can also be internal, like a person’s
thoughts or feelings. This is why it can be a challenge to identify antecedents
and why antecedent intervention is the crux of this model of ABA therapy.
2. B is for Behavior. The resulting behavior to the antecedent can also be positive or negative. There could be a response, or in many cases with someone living with autism there might not be. If there is one, it could be physical, verbal, or something else entirely. ABA therapy seeks to help parents, caregivers, teachers, and the therapist gain insight into why these behaviors occur. The theory is that altering the antecedent could alter the behavior. In turn, it would change the consequences.
3. C is for Consequence. The consequence is what happens immediately after the behavior. It can be in the form of positive reinforcement for a desired behavior. It could also be either a neutral response or something punitive for an interfering behavior or undesired behaviors. The idea of the ABC method is to help change interfering behaviors specifically by deploying antecedent interventions. ABA Los Angeles therapists strive to make sure everyone involved in a person’s autism support team understands the ABCs of autism.
Now that you know what these particular type of ABCs are, you can better understand why the antecedent intervention portion of the program is so crucial. You now know that antecedents can be both positive and negative. An example of a positive antecedent could be a child receiving an unexpected gift. Hopefully, the behavior and consequence that follows next is positive. At this point, there shouldn’t be a need for antecedent interventions ABA Los Angeles therapists strive for these positive responses all the time.
The opposite is what an antecedent intervention is designed to address.
Antecedent interventions are where an ABA therapy plan can be put into action.
Negative antecedents can trigger interfering behaviors in children with autism.
Antecedent interventions as part of an ABA therapy plan are designed to modify
the environment around your child. The desired outcome is fewer occurrences of
interfering behaviors by mitigating environmental issues ahead of time.
The ABCs help us understand why a behavior might be occurring and how antecedent interventions might affect consequences. A good example of an antecedent intervention may be something like this:
Antecedent = A parent tells their child that playtime is over and it’s time to clean up their toys.
Behavior = The child says, No! And proceeds to throw a tantrum.
Consequence = The parent removes the toys and reinforces that this kind of behavior is unacceptable.
Through antecedent intervention in an ABA setting, you might be able to achieve an exchange like this:
Antecedent = A parent tells their child that playtime is over and it’s time to clean up.
Behavior = The child is reminded that it is OK to ask nicely for ten more minutes. They indeed ask nicely for ten more minutes.
Consequence = The parent rewards the child with more playtime.
There isn’t one single solution to the challenges that come with autism. The ABC method of ABA therapy is just one of many tools that an ABA clinic might use to help your loved one with their social skills in autism Los Angeles is one of the best places for finding the right combinations of therapies that make life easier for you and your children.
