What is Applied Behavior Analysis?

Behavior Analysis is a scientific approach to evaluate, design, and implement behavior interventions into the environment to create social improvements in the behavior of individuals. Once evaluated, the environment is systematically manipulated to ensure the successful integration of our clients into desired social situations. Behavioral interventions are treatments that are empirically based, been published in peer-reviewed journals and replicated in multiple studies.

We Achieve Results

Failure to base the intervention on the specific cause (function) very often results in ineffective and unnecessarily restrictive procedures. The intervention must be based on the behavior. To determine the cause of the behavior we conduct a functional behavioral assessment.

Functional Behavioral Assessment

A functional behavioral assessment looks beyond the behavior itself. The focus when conducting a functional behavioral assessment is on identifying significant, client-specific socially affective, cognitive, and/or environmental factors associated with the occurrence of specific behaviors.

The assessment or analysis is used to determine the cause, i.e. the function of the behavior, before developing an intervention. Without an adequate functional assessment, treatment is often subject to ill-conceived or arbitrary interventions.

The Evaluation Process

There are four primary ways to determine the function of the behavior:

•  Interviews with family members, school, day program, or job staff.
• Rating scales developed to address the function of behavior.  Direct and systematic observation of the clients’ behavior in his or hers’ natural environmental events immediately preceding the problem behavior and the consequences in the events immediately following the problem behavior.
• Systematically manipulating various environmental events to see how behavior changes.

BehaviorIntervention Plan

After a functional behavioral assessment is completed, a behavior intervention plan is developed to specifically address the identified problematic behaviors. With the information gathered from the functional assessment, recommendations can be made to alter the individual’s environment. The environmental modification, along with teaching socially appropriate replacement behaviors, produces positive behavioral outcomes.

Behavioral Health Therapies responds to individual and community needs by enhancing people’s abilities to lead healthy lives through education and comprehensive mental services.

Expected Progress

Specifically we:

• Improve Social Skills
• Improve Self Help Skills
• Improve Communication Skills
• Reduce Maladaptive Behaviors