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More Contributions of Applied Behavior Analysis to the Education of People with Autism

This is Part 2 of a two-part special series on contemporary behavioral contributions to helping people with autism and their families (see Behavior Modification, October 2001). As the approach to autism with the most comprehensive and extensive research (Matson, Benavidez, Compton, Paclwaskyj, & Baglio, 1996), applied behavior analysis (ABA) has branched beyond the now classic longitudinal study by Ivar Lovaas and his colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles (Lovaas, 1987). The researchers demonstrated that early, intensive, and language-focused behavioral education led to profound differences in IQ and degree of inclusion in mainstream educational settings as compared with two control groups. Subsequent investigation has focused on specific strategies for improving language and social skill acquisition, successfully mainstreaming children with autism, working with teens and adults, and vocational preparation, as well as curriculum sequencing, staff training, cost-effectiveness, and the dimensions of service delivery such as frequency and duration. As a whole, ABA has the best documented outcome data supporting their approach as compared with other methods (Jacobson, 2000). In addition, ABA has emerged with widespread recognition beyond the limited community of academic and behavioral psychologists and special educators. For example, ABA was recently recognized by the Surgeon General of the United States as the treatment of choice for autism in his mental health report for children (Department of Health and Human Services, 1999).