Tag: Research


How To Pick The Right Autism Therapy: 8 Questions

Read time: 4 minutes

Thanks to the internet, information on autism therapy is unlimited.  Some of it is very valid and helpful.  Some of it is not.  Use common sense when picking interventions or treatments to try.  If it sounds too good to be true, it just might be.

As of now, there is no cure for autism. There are lots of treatments that can teach skills and there are some medications that can improve some physical symptoms but there is no cure. That’s hard to hear as a parent and hard for me to say as a therapist.  I believe that every child is capable of learning and becoming a better version of themselves.

The interventions you choose should fit with your values and be evidence-based. Evidence-based means that different groups of researchers studied them and have repeated the results many times.  However, there are many autism therapy interventions that are not evidence-based. 

One of the problems with choosing an intervention that is not evidence-based is that it takes valuable time, energy and resources away from interventions that are shown to work. Very few families have unlimited funds for therapy. Therefore it’s important to try and get the most value out of the things you can do.

Parents interviewing team for autism therapy.

Ask these 8 Questions when choosing an autism therapy or provider:

1. What research is there that supports this intervention?

Look for studies that have been peer reviewed (that means that other experts in the field have reviewed the study and can vouch for the way the study was designed). 

Anyone can write a blog or publish an article on the internet.  That is to say you want to be sure that the information you’re using comes from reputable sources like Universities (and not just your aunt’s best friend’s cousin who had the same problem as you). 

At Side by Side Therapy, we only utilize evidence-based practices in our autism therapy. 

2. What training do you and your staff have?

In Canada, there is no standard credential for behaviour therapists.  In Ontario, in order to use your provincial funding on behavioural services, the program must be supervised by a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst or a Clinical Psychologist with experience in ABA. To be an Instructor Therapist (IT), most agencies require that the candidate have a post-grad diploma or certificate in Autism and Behaviour Sciences. It is slowly becoming the standard that ITs are Registered Behaviour Technicians (RBT) but it’s not mandatory. 

At Side by Side Therapy, all of our clinicians are encouraged to maintain the highest standard for their discipline. We are actively training the next generation of behaviour analysts. 

3. How will this intervention be individualized for my child? 

There’s an expression in the autism world: “If you know one person with autism… you know one person with autism”. Each child is an individual and learns differently.  In other words how they are taught, which reinforcers and prompting procedures are used and how success is measured should all be individualized.  It is impossible to pick up a textbook or curriculum and have an ideal autism therapy program. 

4. How do you measure progress?

Some clinicians are focused on the end goal – total independence.  Some children will never achieve total independence. It’s important that the way progress is measured is meaningful to the client and family. There are different dimensions that can be used to measure progress: frequency, intensity, duration and more! 

5. How will we work as a team? 

You want to ask about how frequently team meetings are held, how to contact the clinical supervisor if you need them (phone, email, text?) and how frequently parent training sessions are held. 

Parents should be involved in every aspect of their child’s autism therapy program. 

6. What are the goals of this autism therapy – in general and for my child? 

You want to ensure that the goals of the intervention align with your goals for your child. Some programs focus on language, while others focus on challenging behaviour reduction. You want to ensure that the goals reflect your child’s needs and your beliefs about education and will be in line with your thinking. 

7. What are your feelings on stim behaviours? Should we be trying to stop them?

For many years it was believed that therapists should stop children from engaging in self-stimulating behaviours (stimming).  Many autistic advocates have expressed how damaging suppressing stims was for them. A new belief is taking hold –  as long as the stim is not hurting anyone, destroying property or stopping the child from participating in activities, it should not be addressed. No one stops typically developing people from engaging in stims as long as they’re not hurting anyone or destroying property – why should it be any different for autistics?

8. What is the process for terminating services if I do not wish to continue? 

You should never be locked into a service.  If it is not working for your child or family you should be able to openly discuss this with the team.  In Ontario, specifically, you should not be pressured to sign over your entire Childhood budget or Interim One Time Funding Cheque to a provider. 

Connect with Side by Side Therapy to schedule a no-charge/no obligation consultation to discuss our autism therapy solutions for your child.

IBI and ABA: What’s the difference?

Read time: 3 minutes

When your child receives an autism diagnosis you are introduced to an alphabet soup of acronyms. IBI, ABA, OAP, FA, IEP, IPRC; the list is endless.  In this post you’ll learn the differences between two of the most used and often confused: IBI and ABA. 

Boy working with therapist in an IBI session for autism treatment.

What is ABA?

ABA stands for applied behaviour analysis and it is the science of learning and behaviour. There are a few laws of behaviour, very much like the laws of gravity. These rules are reliable, observable and measurable. The focus of ABA is to change socially significant or meaningful behaviour.  That  means that the goal is to improve people’ lives by helping them achieve more independence and access to the things that matter to them.

What is IBI?

IBI stands for intensive behaviour intervention. IBI is the intensive application of the science of ABA. For a program to be considered IBI, it has to occur more than 20 hours per week.  Because of the intensity, IBI programs are usually comprehensive. This means that they cover many domains of learning.  IBI programs are often recommended for children with level 2 or 3 autism (previously known as lower functioning children).

What are socially significant behaviours?

Socially significant or meaningful behaviours are the behaviours that matter to you and your family. Some examples are: communication, self-care (toileting, hygiene, self-feeding) and reducing challenging behaviour. Independence in these areas will allow your child to participate more fully in life.

Neither IBI nor ABA is better than the other. Some children learn best in a very structured environment (like IBI) while others learn best in a naturalistic setting (like school). Your child will make progress in both. There is a lot of research that shows that early intensive behaviour intervention has the best outcomes for young children

In an IBI program, your child will learn communication and language, social skills, play skills, pre-academic or academic skills, self-help skills, motor skills and much more.

In an ABA program, the therapy will focus on one or two specific goals that you want to address. Some parents choose to focus on challenging behaviour when doing a focused program. Also, some families find it helpful to focus on ‘high impact’ behaviours like toileting or feeding.

How do I decide which program my child needs?

Choosing which program is best for your child is a difficult decision. There are many factors that will play a role: your child’s needs, their other programs/therapies, location, finances, waitlists and your beliefs about education. You know your child best and it’s important that the therapy you choose fits your lifestyle and beliefs.  Therapy plays a big part of your life and it needs to make sense for your family. 

Working with a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) that you can trust is really important. The BCBA will do an assessment to figure out what skills and needs your child has. Some common assessments are: the Assessment of Basic Learning and Language Skills – revised (ABLLS-r), the Verbal Behaviour Milestones and Placement Program (VB MAPP) and PEAK Relational Training System. These are curriculum assessments that determine current skills and areas of need. They do not provide a new diagnosis. The BCBA might also do a Functional Analysis (FA) to determine the function of a challenging behaviour. Based on the results of the assessments your BCBA will make a recommendation that is specific to your child.

You should be fully aware of and give permission for each part of your child’s program. The clinical team must explain how the skills will be taught. Behaviour does not happen in isolation, so you will need to implement the same strategies outside of therapy.

Who is on an IBI/ABA team?

There are 3 levels of clinicians on an IBI team: instructor therapists, Senior Therapists and the BCBA or Clinical Supervisor. The instructors are delivering the therapy on a daily basis.  The Senior Therapist does the assessment and follows the programming to ensure that it is being properly executed and that the child is making progress. The BCBA works with the Senior Therapist to do the assessment and determine what the goals should be.  They will work together with the Senior Therapist to write the programs and train the instructors.

How much does IBI/ABA cost?

Each centre is different and ABA is not regulated in Ontario (yet!) but you can expect to pay roughly $55/hour for the Instructor Therapist, $75/hour for a Senior Therapist and $150/hour for the BCBA.  At Side by Side Therapy, we use a 10% supervision model. That means that for every 10 hours of therapy your child  will have 1 hour with either the Senior Therapist or the BCBA.

The Side by Side Therapy Process

At Side by Side Therapy we determine which of our 4 streams of ABA service (IBI/Comprehensive ABA, Focused ABA, Parent Coaching or Behaviour Consultation) will meet your child and family’s needs. We write programs specifically for each client. Each program is different.

You are able to use your Ontario Autism Program (OAP) funding with Side by Side Therapy. We will help you navigate the process and will ensure that our services fall within the OAP guidelines.

Connect with Side by Side today to schedule your free no obligation consultation.

New diagnosis of autism? The most powerful things to do now.

Read time: 4 minutes

When your child get a diagnosis of autism, your world seems to dramatically change in the seconds before and after the words have been said. I have spoken with many parents who were simply not expecting the diagnosis when they went in for the assessment.  They had an image in their mind of a severely disabled person and that simply wasn’t the case for their child. 

What is the autism spectrum? 

Autism is a neurological (meaning it has to do with the brain) developmental disorder.  It affects how a child learns and develops in 3 main areas: social skills, communication skills and restrictive or repetitive behaviours.

Many people use the language ‘high functioning’ vs ‘low functioning’.  This can be very misleading. Many people think of the autism spectrum as being a linear spectrum. This representation doesn’t quite fit the autism spectrum, because there are three core symptoms of autism. There’s a newer way of conceptualizing it, that was created by Michael of 1autismdad.com in 2012. 

Imagine a blank sheet of paper with a dot in the middle.  This dot represents neurotypical development (non-asd). Near the top of the page in the middle imagine the words “communication deficits”, near the bottom left of the page imagine “social skills deficits” and on the bottom right corner imagine Stereotypic and repetitive behaviours. Each person with autism will develop needs in each of these areas differently.  You can visualize a person’s needs by how long the path is from the middle (neurotypical) to the core symptom. Some might be very impacted in the communication and social skills areas while they show very few (or none) stereotypic and repetitive behaviours. 

Autism triangle: a new way of thinking about the autism spectrum by asddad.com
Retrieved from: https://www.1autismdad.com/home/2012/03/14/visualizing-the-autism-spectrum on August 1, 2020

Top 5 things to do when your child get a diagnosis of autism: 

There are a number of resources that you can access when your child is first diagnosed.  Here are my to 5 recommendations of things to do: 

  1. Notice the small things – Your child might have difficulty with a lot of things, but try and pick out the things that your child excels at. You might need to be creative here, but it’s a good reframing exercise and will help you to focus on something positive instead of only the negative. 
  2. Reach out to others from the autism community.  There are a number of support groups on Facebook and other social media platforms.  You’ll find many people who understand exactly what you’re going through and who have been through it and survived.  It might take you a while to find your village, but once you do you’ll be so glad you spent the time to reach out. 
  3. Celebrate every victory. Learning something new might be very challenging for your child.  When they achieve a new milestone you should celebrate it loud and proud! 
  4. Create a self-care routine for yourself and your partner. You will feel compelled to spend every moment focused on your child’s therapy/friends/development. You must keep yourself healthy so you can be the best possible advocate for your child. Remember the flight attendant’s advice: always put your own oxygen mask on first.  You have to take care of yourself if you want to take care of others. 
  5. Create a team for your child.  There will be a lot of people in your child’s life: doctors, therapists, teachers, support workers and more.  You will need help to coordinate everything that needs to happen in order to set your child up for success. Find people you trust and who have values that align with your own.  

Don’t forget…

Your child is the same lovable, adorable, smart, deserving little person they were before they got a diagnosis of autism. There are times when the label is important and there are times when it is irrelevant. Try to think of the diagnosis as a path, that will lead you to treatments and strategies that will help your child. Also, having a diagnosis opens up doors for funding, supports and specialized programs.

Connect with Side by Side Therapy to discuss your options and what interventions would be best for your child and family. We offer no-charge and no obligation consultations to help guide you in making the right decisions for your child’s future.

2 Necessary Social Skills you should teach your child!

It is often said that a parent is a child’s first teacher, playing an important role where development and learning are concerned. A diagnosis of autism only reinforces this belief, in the sense that the parent will work harder to help his/her child develop strengths and overcome challenges. Social skills, specifically self-awareness and self-determination are vital to your child’s future.

You can teach social skills

Self-awareness is a difficult concept for almost all autistic children, but nonetheless, it is a social skill that they must learn and use every day. As parents, you bear the responsibility of “equipping” your children with such skills, preparing them for becoming their own advocates in adolescence and adulthood.

Parent talking to her son about his social skills.  They're both smiling.

We can empower autistic children from an early age, helping them become more aware of their own self and also to discover self-determination. Our efforts will allow them to express themselves in an capable manner, to better understand those around them and engage in suitable behavior in response. 

What are the factors affecting self-awareness in autistic children?

Autistic children might battle language and communication impairment, as well as social difficulties and sensory differences. They might exhibit stereotypical behaviors or intense interests. It goes without saying that all of these impairments will affect self-awareness. 

Imagine your child as being equipped with the wrong skills. He/she does not know how to express how he/she is feeling, and they have serious difficulty understanding others. An autistic child might not know the expected behaviors and emotions, and he/she will rarely consider how others are feeling or what they are thinking. 

Main factors affecting self-awareness are:

  • Difficulty with transitions/changes 
  • Deficits in understanding emotional exchange
  • Lack of attention to others
  • Language and social communication impairments 
  • Impaired ability to take another’s perspective

Empowering your child to develop self-awareness 

Your child has both strengths and weaknesses. As mentioned in the beginning, you can empower your child by working together on developing his/her strengths. 

Parents have an amazing power, in the sense that they can help their children understand not only how the world functions but also how they should function in that world. Self-regulation will appear as a natural result, allowing the child to advocate for himself/herself, especially in difficult situations.

Activities/solutions for improved self-awareness from study.com

  • Drawing a bug on paper and adding pictures of things that “bug” him/her – encourage the child to be as specific as possible, adding foods, animals, etc. 
  • Glue a photograph of your child to a piece of paper and ask them to draw things he/she is good at; images might be used for non-verbal children. Encourage the child to reflect on his/her strengths. 
  • Yes/no – read your child simple sentences, waiting for his/her answer. If non-verbal, use gestures to signify approval or negation. Examples: “I like to eat…”, “I prefer (toys)”, “My favorite activity is…” The goal of this activity is to help your child be able to identify their preferences and communicate them to others. 
  • Mirror self-awareness – working in the mirror, together with your child, to develop self-recognition; the more you work, the more aware the child will become of his/her body and its position in space. Work on gestures and making eye contact as well. 


This is also a critical skill to achieve, as it will guarantee independence in adolescence and adulthood. Research has confirmed that it plays an important part in academic success, as well as in personal life. Social skills can predict the capacity for self-determination – as a parent, you need to work on these every day. 

How to help your child achieve self-determination 

  • Provide your child with opportunities to make decisions and then follow through with them even if you know the outcome might not be ideal.
  • Teach your child the specific behaviours for specific situations, and do not make the assumption that an autistic child will know the correct behaviour without being taught.
  • Be patient and offer concrete examples of the behaviour you expect to see. Tell your child what to do, not only what not to do. Give your child plenty of opportunities to observe adequate behaviour.
  • Practice, practice and practice. Do not expect for your child to learn social skills automatically, but rather keep in mind that learning requires both observation and practice. Offer your child the support he/she needs, and plenty of encouragement. 
Parent and child working on sharing as a social skills.  They are sharing some building blocks.

While it is true that applied behaviour analysis can help autistic children develop a lot of valuable skills, you have to remember that in many autistic children, skills don’t automatically generalize. The skills learned in therapy must be practiced at home in order to be solidified and maintained. The earlier you teach self-awareness and self-determination, the easier it will be for your child to advocate for himself/herself later in life.


Read time: 4 minutes



Working Memory and the Brain: from Understanding Working Memory






Working Memory is linked to AUTISM






Cover of a book written by Tracy Alloway about a child with autism









Autism Spectrum Disorder and Sleep Problems

Read time: 4 minutes

If reading’s not your thing, watch this YouTube video instead!






Young girl sleeping





Some examples of good sleep hygiene for autism spectrum disorder are:

  • Avoiding daytime naps
  • Making sure the sleep environment is comfortable
  • Getting regular exercise
  • Avoiding blue light producing screens for an hour before bedtime


Autism Home Safety: 11 Useful Strategies

Read time: 5 minutes



Safety first road sign for children with autism.

Safety within the Home for Children with Autism


  • Some safety measures include:
    • Fences with self-closing latches

Wandering in Autism






The checklist below will provide you with a practical starting point.  

Safety Plan Checklist:


Remember, if your child should wander:

  1. Stay calm
  2. Call 911
  3. Search nearby water first
  4. Implement your emergency safety plan



Read Time: 5 minutes








2. Find Help through Technology



3. Get Intervention as Soon as Possible



4. Ensure your Child’s Treatment is a Family Affair



5. Trust your BCBA, Treatment Team and the Process



6. Celebrate the Successes


7. Make Safety a Top Priority



8. Work on Establishing a Good Sleep Routine




To register for the Ontario Autism Program, your child must:

  • be under age 18
  • currently live in Ontario
  • have a written diagnosis of autism for a qualified professional

Your child’s written diagnosis must include:

  • your child’s full name and date of birth
  • the date of your child’s assessment
  • the qualified professional’s name and credentials


Ontario Autism Program
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
P.O. Box 193, Toronto, Ontario M7A 1N3
1-888-444-4530 [email protected]





Applied Behaviour Analysis: 59 Terms and phrases translated for easy understanding

Read time: 7 minutes

Therapist and child doing applied behaviour analysis.

There are so many terms and acronyms that you’ll be encountering when you enter the world of applied behaviour analysis. It can be very confusing, especially because some of the words that are commonly used in ABA are used with another meaning in common language. I’m going to give the definitions in terms of children but they can be applied to anyone (adult or child).

Applied Behaviour Analysis Definitions of Common Words/Phrases:

ABA Therapy: Applied Behaviour Analysis is the application of the sciences of learning and behaviour to teach, increase or decrease behaviours that are meaningful to the client and their family. 

ABLLS-r (The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills – revised): This is a tool that is used as an assessment, curriculum guide and skill tracker when doing applied behaviour analysis. It was created by Dr. James Partington. Similar to the VB MAPP, it tests whether the child has specific language skills. The skills that are measured are sequenced from easiest to most difficult.  There are 25 domains, some of which include: expressive language, receptive language, writing, imitation, fine and gross motor skills. 

Accuracy: How close to the target something is or how correct it is. 

Acquisition Target: A target that is currently being taught.  This is a behaviour or skill that has not been learned yet. 

Adjusted Age: This refers to the age of your child based on their due date. For example, if your child was born 6 months ago but was 2 months early, they would have an adjusted age of 4 months. Doctors or therapists will sometimes use adjusted age when speaking about the development of your child.  People usually stop referring to adjusted age when the child is around 2 years old. 

Antecedent: In applied behaviour analysis an antecedent is what happens before a behaviour. Think of it like the trigger for the behaviour.  

Aversive: A stimulus that your child finds unpleasant or bothersome.  Aversives can be used as a punisher to decrease behaviour or the removal of an aversive can be used as a reinforcer to increase behaviour.  Your therapists should not be using aversives in your child’s programming without having a discussion with you and gaining your consent.

Behaviour: This is what the child does. Behaviours have to be measurable and observable. 

Behaviour Intervention Plan (BIP): This is a plan that will target the reduction of challenging behaviour for your child. They should always include: a specific definition of the behaviour, antecedent strategies, reactive strategies, a replacement behaviour and a mastery criteria.

Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA): This is a masters or PhD level therapist who has completed the requirements (specific courses, over 1500 hours of work experience and passed a credentialing exam) of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.  

Chaining:  In applied behaviour analysis chaining is when a skill is broken down into steps and then the steps are taught in isolation then brought together to form a longer sequence (or a chain). You can forwards chain (teach the first step then the second and so on), backwards chain (prompt all steps except the last, then prompt all steps except the last two and so on) or you can teach the whole chain (fade prompting across each step of the chain at one time). 

Chronological Age:  This refers to the amount of time your child has been alive. Even if they were born prematurely, this is the number of days/months/years that they’ve been on the planet. 

Clinical Supervisor (CS): In Ontario, a CS is the BCBA who is responsible for overseeing your child’s ABA program.  They make clinical decisions (decisions about what and how to teach) and collaborate with you and the rest of your child’s team in supporting your child as much as required. 

Consequence: In applied behaviour analysis, this is what happens immediately after a behaviour.  Consequences are neither good nor bad, they simply follow a behaviour. 

Deprivation: When your motivation for something is really high because you haven’t been exposed to it in a long time.  When you stop using or consuming something your desire, your need for that item grows. 

Developmental Age: This is the age at which your child demonstrating most of their skills. Doctors and researchers have set all of the developmental milestones to specific age windows.  For example, most children learn to speak in two-word sentences at around 18-24 months. Your child’s developmental age is the age at which they’re functioning emotionally, physically, cognitively or socially. Developmental age is not always correlated to chronological age.

Discrete Trial Training: This is a method of presenting the child with small segments of learning that are repeated, known as trials. Often the skill is presented in 5 or 10 trial blocks.  The blocks are repeated a few times a day until the child can demonstrate the skill without prompting. 

Discriminative Stimulus (SD): In applied behaviour analysis this is the demand, request or question that elicits a specific response.  The presence of an SD signals the availability of reinforcement.  

Duration: The length of a behaviour.  

Echoic: A verbal operant meaning repeating.  When the speaker repeats what they heard from someone else.  For example, when a father says “bedtime” and the child repeats “bedtime”. In applied behaviour analysis programs, echoics are usually one of the first language goals targeted.

Expressive Language: This describes our ability to use language, gestures and writing to express ourselves. 

Extinction Burst: A rapid escalation in the frequency, intensity and/or duration of a behaviour once the reinforcement for this behaviour has been removed.  Usually, the pattern during extinction is that there is a small reduction in the behaviour, a big spike and then the behaviour disappears completely. There is something known as spontaneous recovery, which can happen after extinction is used.  The child will test the waters and re-engage in the challenging behaviour that has previously been extinguished. By sticking to the plan and not reinforcing the behaviour, spontaneous recovery is usually short lived. 

Extinction: When you intentionally stop reinforcing a behaviour with the goal of reducing that behaviour. For example, if you don’t answer the phone when someone calls, they will eventually stop calling you.  Often leads to an extinction burst.

Fine Motor Skills: These are the skills that require movement and coordination of the small muscles of the body, specifically the muscles of the hands.  Cutting, writing and pointing are all fine motor skills. 

Functional Analysis or FA: This is a highly specialized process that BCBAs use to determine the function of the behaviour targeted for intervention.  By manipulating reinforcement the BCBA will see if they can influence the behaviour. By controlling the reinforcement for a behaviour, you’re able to determine the function of the behaviour and can create function based replacement behaviours. One specific type of FA is called IISCA (Interview Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis), it was created by Dr. Greg Hanley. 

Functional Behaviour Assessment or FBA: This is a process for hypothesizing the function of a behaviour that is being targeted for intervention. In an FBA the BCBA does some or all of the following: observes the behaviour, completes interview style questionnaires and takes data. 

Generalization: When your child is able to demonstrate a skill using novel materials, with novel people and in novel environments. All ABA skill acquisition programs should have generalization steps built into the program because generalization does not always happen automatically. 

Gross Motor Skills: These are the skills that require movement or coordination of the large muscles of the body, specifically the muscles of the arms, legs and trunk. Walking, running and sitting are all gross motor movements. 

Intervention: This the strategy that will be used by the team to change a behaviour or teach a skill. Intervention is another word for program. 

Intraverbal: A verbal operant meaning conversation.  When the speaker responds to another person’s language in a conversational way. For example, if someone asks you “What’s your favourite colour?” your response “Red” would be an intraverbal. 

Latency: In applied behaviour analysis, this is the time between when an instruction is given and the beginning of the behaviour.  

Maintenance: When a skill or behaviour is able to be demonstrated long after it was originally taught and with less reinforcement than was used during teaching.  Sometimes a skill will be ‘moved to maintenance’ this means that the child will be asked to demonstrate the skill on a regular basis to avoid losing it.  Often there is a maintenance schedule that the applied behaviour analysis team will use to practice the learned skills so that they are not forgotten. 

Mand: A verbal operant meaning request.  When the speaker uses a word to make their needs known.  For example, saying “apple” when you want to eat an apple. Mands can be requests for objects, people or attention.  Mands can also be requests for the removal of something you don’t like. 

Mastery: The requirement for something to be considered learned.  Mastery criteria are always set before the behaviour is taught.  Often in applied behaviour analysis programs mastery criteria is 80% correct (or above) over 3 consecutive days with different instructors and novel stimuli. 

Natural Environment Teaching (NET): A form of applied behaviour analysis where learning occurs naturally or incidentally in the child’s typical environment.  Examples of programs that are best run in the NET are tooth brushing or feeding programs run at a family table during meal times. 

Negative Reinforcement: When something is removed from the environment that makes a behaviour more likely to happen again in the future. In applied behaviour analysis, negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment.

Neutral Stimulus:  Something in our environment that does not affect our behaviour.  We have not associated that object or event with anything else. 

Positive Reinforcement:  When something is added to the environment that makes a behaviour more likely to happen again in the future. 

Program: The specific strategies that will be used to change a behaviour or teach a skills. Each skill should have it’s own program description. Program is another word for intervention. 

Prompt Hierarchy: These are the graduated steps that a therapist will use to methodically remove support for a child to be able to perform a skill independently. Having a prompt hierarchy in place is important in order to ensure that all team members are using the least intrusive prompt required. An example of a most to least prompt hierarchy is: full physical, partial physical, verbal, gestual, modeling, pointing, gaze and no prompt (independent). 

Prompting: These are the strategies that are used to help a child learn a new skill. Generally, BCBAs will put a prompt hierarchy in place to guide the therapists in how to support the child. 

Punisher: Anything that makes a behaviour less likely to happen again in the future. 

Punishment:  A procedure that is used to decrease the likelihood that a behaviour will happen again in the future.  Punishment weakens behaviour. Your child’s therapy team must gain your consent before implementing punishment procedures in their applied behaviour analysis programming.

Rate: This is how many times a behaviour is displayed within a specific time frame.  Rate is always described in relation to time. For example, 7 incidents per day or 2 incidents per minute. 

Ratio: This is the number of responses required before a reinforcer will be delivered. It is possible to have either a fixed ratio (for every 5 responses reinforcement will be delivered) or a variable ratio (on average reinforcement will be delivered every 5 responses – sometimes it is delivered after one response and other times it is delivered after 9 responses). 

Receptive Language: This describes our ability to understand the words that are spoken to us. 

Registered Behaviour Technician (RBT): This is a credential offered by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.  An RBT is a person who practices applied behaviour analysis under the close and ongoing supervision of a BCBA. RBTs are not allowed to practice independently (without supervision) because they have not met the standards set by the BACB for that level of work. 

Reinforcement: A procedure that is used to increase the likelihood that a behaviour will happen again in the future.  Reinforcement strengthens behaviour. 

Reinforcer: Anything that makes a behaviour more likely to happen again.  

Response: An observable and measurable behaviour.  Often applied behaviour analysis folks talk about response classes, or groups of behaviour that fit into a category. 

S-Delta: A stimulus whose presence indicates that a behaviour will not be reinforced.  For example, an “out of order” sign on an elevator will decrease the likelihood that you’ll push the elevator call button. 

Satiation: When your motivation for something is really low because you’ve been exposed to it too much.  This happens when you use a reinforcer too frequently or in amounts that are too big. 

Schedules of Reinforcement: The frequency that reinforcement is delivered. There are fixed and variable schedules as well as ratio and interval schedules. Fixed Interval (FI) schedules provide reinforcement for the first example of the target behaviour after a predetermined amount of time has expired. Fixed Ratio (FR) schedules provide reinforcement after a specific number of correct responses (think of a token board). Variable Interval (VI) schedules provide reinforcement after an unpredictable amount of time has passed. Variable Ratio (VR) schedules provide reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses have been given.

Scrolling: Rotating through a set of answers when you don’t know the specific answer. For example, if you showed your child an apple and asked “what’s this?” If your child was scrolling they would say “Orange, ball, tomato, apple”.  This happens if the prompting procedure is not applied correctly. Scrolling can happen with any of the verbal operants, not only tacting/labeling.

Self-Injurious Behaviour (SIB): Actions that the child does that cause injury to themself. Hitting oneself, biting oneself and headbanging are examples of self-injurious behaviour. 

Stims/Stimming: Self-stimulatory behaviour. These are some of the repetitive or stereotypic behaviours that a person with autism might engage in. For example, hand flapping, rocking and repeating movie scripts are all stims. Some people with autism report that they engage in stimming because they’re either under or over responsive to sensory stimuli and it helps to balance them. 

Tact: In applied behaviour analysis this means a label.  When the speaker names what they see or perceive in the environment. For example, smelling pie and saying “pie” or hearing a dog barking and saying “dog”. 

VB MAPP (Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program): This is a curriculum assessment that is based on Skinner’s Verbal Behaviour. It was created by Dr. Mark Sundberg.  Similar to the ABLLS-r it tests whether the child has specific language skills. The sections or domains of the assessment are based on Skinner’s verbal Operants. The assessment is divided into 5 parts: Milestones Assessment, Barriers Assessment, Transition Assessment, Task Analysis & Supporting Skills and Placement & IEP Goals. 

Verbal Behaviour: A branch of applied behaviour analysis based on the work of B.F. Skinner.  Skinner identified verbal operants or different parts of our language, each serving a different purpose or function.  There are many verbal operants but the basic ones are: mands, tacts, echoics and intraverbals. 

If you’re embarking on your applied behaviour analysis adventure and would like to discuss anything with us, please contact us for a no-charge 30 minute consultation.

Functions of Behaviour: Luckily it’s always one of these 4

Info graphic listing the 4 functions of behaviour: attention, escape, access to tangibles and sensory

Read time: 3 minutes

When developing behaviour intervention plans, behaviour analysts investigate the environmental conditions that create opportunities for challenging behaviours to happen.  We look at the functions of behaviour.

In other words, we look at the antecedents (or what is happening before a behaviour) and the consequences (or what is happening after a behaviour) to determine how the behaviour is maintained.

Behaviour analytic researchers have shown that there are 4 main functions of behaviour that perpetuate every behaviour. Sometimes a behaviour will serve one function but more often it can serve many.  Functions of behaviours can also change over time. The 4 functions of behaviours are: access to tangibles, access to social attention, escape or avoidance of undesired situations and automatic reinforcement (sensory).  

The functions of behaviour don’t always equal their topographies

Sometimes it can be easy to confuse the function of a behaviour with it’s topography. Topography is the description of what the behaviour looks like not why it is occurring. For example, to say that someone is chewing is describing the topography of their behaviour not the function.

Once the functions of a behaviour have been discovered the behaviour analyst will develop a replacement behaviour that meets the same need, is easier and is 100% effective. Another important aspect of changing behaviour is to stop reinforcing the target behaviour.

If your child is engaging in an attention seeking behaviour, say calling out in class without raising their hand, the replacement behaviour could potentially be teaching the child to raise their hand to have the teacher call on them. In order for this replacement behaviour to take hold, the teacher has to be committed to always call on the child when they raise their hand and to ignore all instances of calling out. If the teacher continues to reinforce the calling out behaviour, there will be no reason for the child to stop.  

It’s important to remember that reinforcing doesn’t only mean being positive about something.  In applied behaviour analysis, when you reinforce something you’re simply making it more likely to happen again. If a child is engaging in a behaviour that is maintained by escape and you put them in a time out you are reinforcing their escape maintained behaviour, even though being in a time out is not fun.

If a child doesn’t like to eat their vegetables and swears at the dinner table and is sent to their room as a consequence the child’s swearing behaviour is being reinforced because they were allowed to escape or avoid eating their vegetables.  The child has learned that by swearing they will be sent away from the table and will not have to eat their vegetables.

Often the way to change behaviour is to do the opposite of the function while replacing the target behaviour with an alternative.  If the behaviour serves the function of escape or avoidance you would not allow the child to escape or avoid the situation. If the child is gaining attention from the behaviour you would want to limit attention (ignore the behaviour, not the child). If the behaviour allows the child to gain access to something tangible you would want to not allow access.

There are many ethical debates about whether it is okay to intervene in self-stimulatory behaviours (flapping, pacing, jumping etc). I believe that we should not stop someone from doing something simply because of how it looks to others.  Typically developing people engage in self-stimulatory behaviours (humming, playing with their hair, fidgeting) and no one is putting a behaviour interventions in place to stop them. If a sensory maintained behaviour is dangerous (self-injury) or disruptive then there needs to be intervention and a replacement behaviour should be established. 

 Click here to read about the elements of a behaviour intervention plan.

If you would like some help determining the functions of your child’s challenging behaviour contact Lindsey by phone at 1.877.797.0437 or by email.

Applied Behaviour Analysis

What is Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)? 

What is Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)?

The overall goal of applied behaviour analysis is to make meaningful changes in a person’s life by increasing desired behaviours and decreasing interfering behaviours.  Applied behaviour analysis can be used to remove barriers that are limiting a client by allowing them to lead more independent lives. Applied behaviour analysis is one of the most effective interventions for treating Autism Spectrum Disorder. Using a variety of strategies, the applied behaviour analysis team utilizes reinforcement to increase the likelihood that the client will engage in desired behaviours. 

Who is on an Applied Behaviour Analysis Team?

Clinical Supervisor (a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst or a psychologist)
Supervising Therapist (depending on the size of your team)
Registered Behaviour Technicians/Instructor Therapists

It is important for all therapists working with a client to be in contact to align practices and goals. Consider including S-LP, OT and teachers to the applied behaviour analysis team for meetings and troubleshooting.

What does Applied Behaviour Analysis Therapy Look Like?

Autism Applied Behaviour Analysis Therapy Lindsey Malc Side by Side Therapy boy and therapist

There are a number of different approaches that might be utilized when doing applied behaviour analysis therapy.

Some examples are:

  • Discrete Trial Teaching/Training
    • Each step of a skill is isolated and taught in a series of trials.
    • Situations are contrived to maximize the opportunities for specific targets to be addressed.
  • Natural Environment Teaching
    • Teaching takes place in the natural environment (in the kitchen, on the playground etc).
    • Fosters generalization.
  • Verbal Behaviour Intervention
    • Focuses on teaching effective communication skills
    • Based on Skinner’s Analysis of Verbal Behaviour

How the intervention looks will depend on the goals of the program. In discrete trial training programs, the child and therapist will likely be sitting at a desk or table. While in a natural environment teaching session the child and therapist might be at the park.

How does applied behaviour analysis work?

Applied behaviour analysis is based on the sciences of learning and behaviour. Specific ‘laws’ of behaviour have been identified through scientific research that allow Behaviour Analysts to predict how a person will behave. Behaviour Analysts use this knowledge to facilitate learning.


 autism Applied Behaviour Analysis therapy lindsey malc side by side therapy two girls playing on a tablet for reinforcement.

In behavioural terms, reinforcement is anything that will make a behaviour more likely to occur again in the future.  Reinforcement can be accomplished by adding something to the environment (positive reinforcement) or by removing something from the environment (negative reinforcement). 

* People sometimes confuse negative reinforcement with punishment but they are two separate behavioural principles.  

Some examples of positive and negative reinforcers are:


  • Getting a high five after finishing a difficult math problem
  • Having an ice cream after eating all the veggies on your plate
  • Getting an email with praise after making a big presentation at work


  • Drying wet hands (the water is removed from your hands and you’re likely to dry them again when they get wet in the future)
  • A loud alarm turns off after you buckle your seat belt (the alarm is annoying and you are likely to buckle up again in the future)
  • Removing an undesired food item from a child’s plate when they cry (the child is likely to cry again at the next presentation of that food item)


In applied behaviour analysis a punishment is anything that makes a behaviour less likely to occur. Similar to reinforcement, there is positive punishment (adding something undesirable to the environment) and negative punishment (removing something desirable from the environment). While punishment is effective in behaviour change, much research has shown that reinforcement is longer lasting and more effective in changing behaviour.

Watch this clip from the Big Bang Theory which describes the difference between reinforcement and punishment.


Shaping a behaviour occurs when we reinforce successive approximations of a behaviour. In order to be able to change behaviour opportunities for reinforcement have to be present. In shaping, you are making it more likely that an opportunity will present itself.

For example: Your minimally verbal child has recently begun to say an /m/ sound when they want milk. If you waited until they said the entire word ‘milk’ you would not have the opportunity to reinforce them. By shaping their response (and reinforcing each time they say ‘mmmm’) you are creating many occasions for reinforcement and learning.


Chaining occurs when you string shorter behaviours together to form a longer continuous behaviour. There are 3 types of chains: forward, backward and total task.

The first step when chaining a skill is to do a task analysis. A task analysis is a procedure used to break down a complex task into it’s smaller parts.

For example: A Task Analysis for Making the Bed:

  1. Gather clean linens.
  2. Remove dirty linens from bed and pillows.
  3. Put clean pillow cases onto pillows and put aside.
  4. Put fitted sheet onto mattress.
  5. Put flat sheet on top of fitted sheet, on mattress. Pull up to align with top of the bed.
  6. Put blanket on top of flat sheet. Pull up to align with top of the bed.
  7. Place pillows on bed.
  8. Put dirty linens in the laundry.

Forward Chains: you teach the first step in the chain to independence before moving onto the second step. You would prompt the rest of the chain.

Backward Chains: you prompt all of the steps until the last step, which is the target. You teach the last step to independence before moving the target to be the second last step.

Whole Chains: you teach each step of the behaviour chain at once. This type of chaining procedure is effective when the child has a number of the skills required but is not yet completely independent.

Types of applied behaviour analysis interventions

There are 3 main types of interventions in applied behaviour analysis:

Antecedent Strategies (Prevention)

By changing the environment, we can avoid behaviours from happening altogether.

For example: You know that you always get hungry and distracted at 3pm, resulting in overeating at dinner time. You might prepare a snack to eat at 2:45 to avoid these behaviours. By changing the environment you have reduced the likelihood that the behaviour will occur.

Consequence Strategies (Intervention)

These strategies lay out how people will react when the targeted behaviour occurs.  Having a formal intervention plan will create consistency among staff or family members and will help change to happen quickly.  Having a formal intervention plan also removes any ambiguity about when to reinforce behaviour.

For example: You want to address your child’s pencil throwing behaviour during table work. After some discussion, you and the behaviour analyst hypothesize that your child is throwing to escape an undesired task demand. Together, you agree that when your child throws his pencil during table work you will respond by giving him another pencil. You will redirect him to continue his work and he will not be allowed to escape the task demand. You will also know when to reinforce his non-throwing behaviours.

Skill Building (Intervention)

These protocols are developed to teach new skills or to make existing skills more complex. 

For example: You want to teach your son to do the laundry. You would create a task analysis of doing laundry and decide if you wanted to use forward, backward or whole chaining. You would assess whether your son has the prerequisite skills to be successful before beginning the laundry instruction.

Data Collection

Data collection is an integral part of every applied behaviour analysis program. There are many kinds of data that might be tracked:

  • Frequency: how often a behaviour occurs
  • Duration: how long a behaviour lasts
  • Latency: how long it takes to start a behaviour
  • Rate: how many times something happens within a predetermined time frame
  • Antecedent-Behaviour-Consequence: what are the contingencies that are maintaining a behaviour

Data is used to make decisions in applied behaviour analysis. Each applied behaviour analysis program will have a specific data collection procedure with stated mastery criteria. Behaviour analysts take data to track success but also to be alerted when a program is not effective.

11 Essential practice elements of applied behaviour analysis

As stated by the Behaviour Analysis Certification Board (page 11) the following are 11 essential practices that should be present in every applied behaviour analysis program.

  1. Comprehensive assessment
  2. Focus on current relevance and future relevance of behaviour targets
  3. Isolating small units of behaviour to change to build towards substantial behaviour change
  4. Analysis of data specific to behaviour targets
  5. Purposeful intervention to manage the social and learning environment to maximize learning and minimize challenging behaviours
  6. Use of function based interventions
  7. Use of treatment plans that are individualized, specific and based in behaviour analytic theory
  8. Consistent application of treatment protocols across time and implementers
  9. Frequent re-assessment, evaluation and adjustment of treatment plan
  10. Direct support, modeling and training for family members and other team members
  11. Supervision by a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst

To read the definitions of a list of frequently used terms in applied behaviour analysis click here.

What is Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)?


Who is on an Applied Behaviour Analysis Team?

Clinical Supervisor (a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst or a psychologist) Supervising Therapist (depending on the size of your team) Registered Behaviour Technicians/Instructor Therapists Parents It is important for all therapists working with a client to be in contact to align practices and goals. Consider including S-LP, OT and teachers to the applied behaviour analysis team for meetings and troubleshooting.

What does Applied Behaviour Analysis Therapy Look Like?

There are a number of different approaches that might be utilized when doing applied behaviour analysis therapy. Some examples are: Discrete Trial Teaching/Training Each step of a skill is isolated and taught in a series of trials. Situations are contrived to maximize the opportunities for specific targets to be addressed. Natural Environment Teaching Teaching takes place in the natural environment (in the kitchen, on the playground etc). Fosters generalization. Verbal Behaviour Intervention Focuses on teaching effective communication skills Based on Skinner’s Analysis of Verbal Behaviour How the intervention looks will depend on the goals of the program. In discrete trial training programs, the child and therapist will likely be sitting at a desk or table. While in a natural environment teaching session the child and therapist might be at the park.

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