Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the application of behavioral laws to change socially significant behavior to a meaningful degree. ABA is based on the science of learning and behavior. ABA helps us to understand:
- how behavior works,
- how behavior is impacted by the environment, and
- how learning takes place.
The principles of ABA form the basis for many behavioral treatments including discrete trial learning, incidental teaching (or natural environment training), verbal behavior, pivotal response training, and the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), what our intervention is based on at YMC. All of these techniques focus on antecedents (what happens before a behavior occurs), the behavior emitted, and the consequences (what happens after the behavior).