Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

Introduction

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a form of therapy that seeks to improve particular behaviors such as communication, social skills, and adaptive learning skills such as domestic capabilities and fine motor dexterity. ABA is effective in adults and children because it improves skills and behaviors. It follows a research approach to the treatment that is centered on the proven models and theories of behavior and learning. Therapists using this approach comprehend how human behaviors are adopted and changed over time (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). The case study provided details an account of a 14-year-old girl, Sara with severe developmental days exhibiting self-injuries behavior working with a behavior analyst, Martin. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate behavior change in the patient after the implementation of an intervention program comprising of differential reinforcement of other (DRO) desired behavior. Red: Baseline occurrences

Blue: DRO occurrences

This research design concentrates on the behavior of a single subject and has two phases, an intervention and a baseline (Miltenberger, 2012). The benefit of using this research design is that it facilitates the determination of whether there is a behavior change after an intervention or not. Also, it is easy to use because of the simplicity experienced during the data recording. However, the main disadvantage is that it cannot be relied upon to develop a confident assumption of a functional relationship. The absence of a functional relationship is attributed to the lack of the design to provide for replication. This research design employed is effective in demonstrating whether there is a behavior change after the administration of an intervention to the patient. However, the result of behavior change can be influenced by other variables in the