Applied Behavior Analysis is a discipline devoted to the understanding and improvement of human behavior. It is a science of behavior and learning that began with the work of B.F. Skinner over 70 years ago. Skinner taught us that learning can be accelerated by arranging the learning environment and consequences of behavior in classrooms.

Research applying the principles and techniques of ABA to the treatment of children with autism began in the 1960's with studies by Todd Risley, Montrose Wolf, Ivar Lovaas, Robert Koegel, and many others. Numerous studies have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals documenting early and intensive ABA based intervention as the most effective treatment for children with autism and other related disabilities.

ABA views autism as a syndrome of behavioral deficits and excesses, which can be changed with careful programming. ABA treatment focuses on breaking down behaviors into small steps, and then teaching each step in succession, providing guidance in the form or prompts, and providing positive reinforcement for correct responding.

It is important to understand that ABA is a framework for the practice of a science and not a specific program. ABA is a set of principles and guidelines upon which interventon programs are based and shouldn't be used synonymously with a specific program. You will find a number of terms for ABA-based interventions: Lovaas model, Intensive Behavior Intervention (IBI), Applied Verbal Behavior (AVB), Discrete-Trial Training (DTT), Pivotal Response Training, and Natural Environment Training (NET). Each may use a unique system of instruction, each may identify different behaviors of focus, but each is based on the science of ABA.

In one of the seminal works on applied behavior analysis, Baer, Wolf, and Risely (1967) outlined seven essential elements of an ABA-based program:

• The program must be applied. The behaviors that one chooses to focus upon should have some social significance.
• The program must be behavioral. The environment and physical events should be recorded with precision.
• The program must be analytic. There should be clear and convincing evidence, through carefully collected data, that the intervention is responsible for a change in a behavior.
• The program must be technological. The techniques that one uses should be described completely enough to allow for duplication by another individual.
• The program must be conceptually systematic. There should be relevance to established and accepted principles (for example, the principle of operant conditioning).
• The program must be effective. The program should seek to change the targeted behavior to a meaningful degree.
• The program should display some generality. A change in behavior should be seen in a wide variety of environments, or should spread to a wide variety of related or similar behaviors.