Applied Behavior Analysis Technician (ABAT) 40 Hour Training Flashcards

Instructor Introduction and Credentials

• Robin Vergara, M.A., BCaBA, IBA, QBA
  • Experience: Over $14$ years in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
  • Education:
    • Bachelor of Science (BS) in Nursing from Manila Central University.
    • Master of Arts (MA) in Education.
  • Certifications:
    • Philippine Registered Nurse.
    • Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) since $2015$.
    • Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) since $2017$.
    • Qualified Behavior Analyst (QBA) since $2020$.
    • International Behavior Analyst (IBA) since $2021$.
  • Positions:
    • Teaches Behavior Technician Courses.
    • Previous Head of Department (HOD) of ABLE UK ABA Department.
    • Current Clinic Manager and Medical Director of ABLE UK.
    • Founder of The Behaviour Essentials FZE, LLC.

The Qualified Applied Behavior Analysis Credentialing Board (QABA)

• Definition: An internationally accredited agency dedicated to ensuring high standards of care providing ABA services.
• Key Features:
  • Dedicated to evidence-based best practices.
  • Internationally accredited through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
  • Validated professionals in ABA and autism knowledge.
  • Offers $3$ tiers of credentialing.
  • Provides $24/7$ online proctored exams with immediate results.
• QABA Tiers of Credentialing:
  • Applied Behavior Analysis Technician (ABAT): An entry-level interventionist serving as a direct $1$-to-$1$ instructor. Operates under supervision by a QASP-S or QBA.
  • Qualified Autism Services Practitioner – Supervisor (QASP-S): A mid-tier interventionist. Serves as an experienced instructor, provides staff/family training, monitors goals, and supervises entry-level staff. Operates under QBA supervision.
  • Qualified Behavior Analyst (QBA): A mastery-level interventionist providing program oversight, supervision, assessment, data analysis, and ethical integrity.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Definitions and Etiology

• DSM-5 Definition: A neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by varying degrees of difficulty in social interaction, verbal/nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors.
• Etiological Research and Causes:
  • Vaccinations: Research does not support a link; the original study was found to be fraudulent.
  • Diet: No relationship with Celiac’s disease was found, though some sensitivity to gluten was noted in research.
  • Neurology: Differences in brain development are labeled "neuroatypical." Brain scans show physical differences in shape and structure.
  • Genetics: Risk increases if a parent or sibling has ASD.
• Three Major Changes in DSM-V:
  • $1$. Subtypes (Autistic Disorder, Asperger syndrome, PDD-NOS) are now a single broad category: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
  • $2$. Symptoms reduced from $3$ categories to $2$: Social-communication impairment and Repetitive/restricted behaviors.
  • $3$. A new diagnosis, Social Communication Disorder (SCD), was created for those with social-communication impairments lacking repetitive/restricted behaviors.

DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for ASD

• Criterion A: Persistent Deficits in Social Communication and Interaction: Manifested by $3$ of $3$ symptoms across contexts:
  • A1: Social-Emotional Reciprocity: Issues with social initiation/response. Examples: abnormal social approach, failure of back-and-forth conversation, one-sided monologues, reduced sharing of emotions, indifference to physical contact/praise.
  • A2: Nonverbal Communicative Behaviors: Eye contact impairments, abnormal posture, lack of understanding gestures, abnormal speech rhythm/volume, inability to recognize others' expressions, or lack of coordinated verbal/nonverbal cues.
  • A3: Developing and Maintaining Relationships: Lack of "theory of mind" (inability to take perspective, expected at age $\geq 4$), inability to adjust behavior to social contexts, lack of imaginative play with peers, and limited interest in peers or group activities.
• Criterion B: Restricted, Repetitive Patterns of Behavior (RRBs): Manifested by at least $2$ of $4$ symptoms:
  • B1: Stereotyped/Repetitive Speech, Movements, or Object Use: Includes echolalia (immediate/delayed), pedantic "little professor" speech, idiosyncratic jargon, repetitive humming, motor stereotypies (clapping, flapping, spinning), and nonfunctional object lining/waving.
  • B2: Adherence to Routines and Resistance to Change: Includes motoric rituals, insistence on specific routes or foods, and extreme distress at minor changes.
  • B3: Restricted, Fixated Interests: Abnormal intensity or focus. Examples: numbers, symbols, timetables, or attachment to unusual objects (e.g., rubber bands).
  • B4: Sensory Input Reactivity: Hyper- or hypo-reactivity. Examples: indifference to pain/cold, aversion to specific textures (tactile defensiveness), fascination with spinning objects or lights, and excessive smelling/licking.
• Specifiers C and D:
  • C: Symptoms must be present in early childhood (approx. age $8$ and younger).
  • D: Symptoms impair everyday functioning.

ASD Severity Levels and Statistics

• Severity Ratings:
  • Level 3: "Requiring very substantial support." Severe communication deficits and RRBs that markedly interfere with functioning in all spheres.
  • Level 2: "Requiring substantial support." Marked deficits apparent even with supports; distress when rituals are interrupted.
  • Level 1: "Requiring support." Noticeable impairments without supports; difficulty initiating social interactions.
• Prevalence Data (CDC ADDM Network):
  • Approximately $1$ in $31$ children has been identified with ASD.
  • Occurs across all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.
  • Nearly $4$ times more common in boys than girls.
  • $1$ in $6$ ($17\%$) children aged $3$ to $17$ were diagnosed with a developmental disability during $2009$-$2017$.

Treatment and Intervention Categories

• General Approach: Focus on reducing symptoms that interfere with quality of life. Plans must be catered to unique individual strengths and challenges.
• Behavioral Approaches: Focus on understanding what happens before and after behavior. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the most evidence-based approach.
• Developmental Approaches: Focus on skill building (e.g., Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy for independence, Physical Therapy).
• Social-Relational Approaches: Improving social bonds. Includes:
  • Floor time (DIR model).
  • Relationship Development Intervention (RDI).
  • Social Stories.
  • Social Skills Groups.
• Pharmacological: No medication treats core ASD symptoms, but some manage co-occurring conditions (high energy, self-harm, anxiety, seizures).
• Psychological: Includes Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) to connect thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Complementary and Alternative: Diets, herbal supplements, animal therapy, and mindfulness.

Screening and Diagnosis Process

• Developmental Monitoring: Ongoing process for parents and providers to track milestones in growing, learning, and moving.
• Developmental Screening: Formal part of well-child visits. AAP recommends screening at $9$, $18$, and $30$ months. Specific ASD screening is recommended at $18$ and $24$ months.
• Developmental Diagnosis: Formal evaluation by specialists (e.g., developmental pediatricians, child psychologists) following a red flag in screening. Reliable diagnosis is possible by age $2$.

Fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

• Definition: The science of systematically applying interventions based on behavior principles to improve socially significant behaviors to a meaningful degree.
• Social Significance: Focusing on skills that maximize an individual's life (e.g., manding/requesting, dressing self).
  • Ethical Note: Importance is determined for the child, not just to reduce parents' annoyance.
• Function of Behavior: The "Why." Nothing happens randomly.
  • Mnemonic: EATS or SEAT.
  • $1$. Escape: Maintained by removing a demand (e.g., flopping to avoid chores).
  • $2$. Attention: Mediated by access to others (e.g., crying to get mom to attend).
  • $3$. Tangible: Maintained by access to items (e.g., punching for an iPad).
  • $4$. Sensory: Maintained by automatic reinforcement/feeling good (e.g., spinning, humming, pen clicking).

Principles of Behavior (B.F. Skinner)

• $1$. Stimulus Control: When behaviors are reinforced in the presence of specific stimuli.
  • $SD$ (Discriminative Stimulus): Signals that reinforcement is available.
  • $SΔ$ (S-Delta): Signals no reinforcement is available.
  • $SDP$: Signals that punishment is available.
• $2$. Motivation (Motivating Operations - MO): Environmental conditions that change the value of a reinforcer. These are temporary/momentary.
  • Establishing Operation (EO): Increases the effectiveness of a consequence (e.g., food deprivation increases value of food) and evokes behavior.
  • Abolishing Operation (AO): Decreases the effectiveness of a consequence (e.g., being full decreases the value of food) and abates behavior.
• $3$. Reinforcement: Action following behavior that increases the future frequency of that behavior.
  • Positive Reinforcement: Adding a stimulus (e.g., giving candy).
  • Negative Reinforcement: Removing an aversive stimulus (e.g., stopping a loud noise).
• $4$. Punishment: Action following behavior that decreases the future frequency of that behavior.
  • Positive Punishment: Adding an aversive stimulus (e.g., a ticket for speeding).
  • Negative Punishment: Removing a desired stimulus (e.g., taking away a toy).
• $5$. Extinction: A previously reinforced behavior no longer produces reinforcement.
  • Extinction Burst: An immediate, temporary increase in frequency or intensity when reinforcement is first withheld.
  • Spontaneous Recovery: The recurrence of the behavior after it has diminished, despite continued lack of reinforcement.

Content Area A: Measurement

• Preparation: Ensure timers, golf counters, and paper/pencil are ready before a session.
• Continuous Measurement Procedures: Detects every instance of behavior.
  • Count (Frequency): Total number of behaviors.
  • Rate: Count divided by time ($\text{Count/Time}$). This is the most popular method in ABA.
  • Duration: Total time a behavior persists.
• Discontinuous Measurement Procedures: Detects only some instances of behavior; usually record based on intervals.
  • Partial Interval Recording: Record if behavior occurs at any point in the interval. Tends to overestimate behavior; used for reduction.
  • Whole Interval Recording: Record only if behavior persists through the entire interval. Tends to underestimate behavior; used for increasing skills.
  • Momentary Time Sampling: Record if behavior occurs at the exact moment the interval ends. Often used in classrooms.
• Permanent Product: Recording data by observing the result of behavior (e.g., tests completed, computers thrown, baseball batting average).
• Accuracy vs. Reliability vs. Validity:
  • Accuracy: Does the data reflect the "true value"? (Avoids human error).
  • Reliability: Does the same procedure yield the same result consistently?
  • Validity: Was the intended behavior actually measured?
• Interobserver Agreement (IOA): The degree to which two independent observers agree on observed values. High IOA verifies clear definitions and change due to behavior rather than collection methods.

Content Area B: Assessment

• Defining Behavior: Must be specific, objective, and observable.
  • Dead Persons Test: If a dead person can do it, it is not behavior (e.g., "not moving" is not behavior).
• Preference Assessments: Identifying preferred items that may serve as reinforcers.
  • Ask the Person: Direct inquiry.
  • Free Operant: Watching engagement in a natural array.
  • Trial-Based - Single Stimulus: Presenting one item at a time.
  • Trial-Based - Force Choice (Paired Stimulus): Presenting two items, learner chooses one.
  • Trial-Based - Multiple Stimulus with Replacement (MSW): Item chosen stays in the array for the next round.
  • Trial-Based - Multiple Stimulus without Replacement (MSWO): Item chosen is removed, narrowing choices for the next round.
• Functional Assessment: Direct observation (narrative) and ABC data collection.
  • Antecedent (A): What happens before.
  • Behavior (B): The action emitted.
  • Consequence (C): what happens after.

Content Area C: Skill Acquisition

• Schedules of Reinforcement:
  • Continuous (CRF/FR1): Every response reinforced. Used for new skills.
  • Fixed Ratio (FR): Reinforced after a constant number of responses (e.g., $FR3$).
  • Fixed Interval (FI): Reinforced for the first response after a set time.
  • Variable Ratio (VR): Reinforced after an average number of responses. Most resistant to extinction.
  • Variable Interval (VI): Reinforced after an average time period.
• Teaching Procedures:
  • Discrete Trial Training (DTT): Teacher-led, precise sequences of instructions and feedback at a fast pace (High-P requests build momentum).
  • Naturalistic/Incidental Teaching: Contriving motivation in natural settings.
  • Chaining: Teaching sequential tasks via Task Analysis.
    • Forward Chaining: Teach step $1$ first.
    • Backward Chaining: Teacher does all steps but the last; learner finishes to access immediate reinforcement.
    • Total Task Chaining: All steps taught at once using graduated guidance.
• Generalization and Maintenance: Ensuring skills occur in different environments, with different people, and persist over time.

Content Area D & E: Behavior Reduction and Documentation

• Differential Reinforcement:
  • DRA (Alternative): Reinforce an alternative communication skill for the same function (e.g., saying "cookie" instead of hitting).
  • DRO (Other): Reinforce for the absence of behavior for a period of time.
  • DRI (Incompatible): Reinforce a behavior that cannot occur at the same time as problem behavior (e.g., hands in pockets to prevent hitting).
  • DRH/DRL: Reinforce high or low rates specifically.
• Reporting: ABTs must generate objective notes (descriptions, not emotions) and report variables like medication changes or illness to supervisors.

Content Area F: Professional Conduct

• Boundaries: Avoid dual relationships (e.g., being friends with parents) and conflicts of interest. Do not accept friend requests from parents on social media.
• Ethics and Legal Compliance:
  • HIPAA: Standards for protecting Sensitive Patient Data (Protected Health Information - PHI).
  • IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act): US law ensuring children with disabilities receive Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).
  • Mandated Reporting: ABTs are required to report any instances of abuse or neglect.