Humans are social animals. Our well-being depends on robust relationships and interactions with other people. And the foundation of robust relationships and interactions is communication. We express our feelings and thoughts through communication, both verbal and nonverbal, every day to interact with people in our community.
Developing Communication Skills in People with Autism: An ABA Approach
By Blaine Hockridge
But for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the communication that most of us take for granted can be incredibly challenging. This challenge robs them of an crucial, enriching part of the human experience. Fortunately, applied behavior analysis (ABA) has developed a number of empirically validated techniques to aid people with autism communicate more effectively.
Verbal Behavioral Training
Verbal Behavioral Training involves connecting a person’s words with their purpose or “function.” It was developed by the behaviorist B.F. Skinner, who classified language into individual skills or “operants.” The main operants include mands, echoes, and tacts.
Manding, or requesting, is the first skill taught in Verbal Behavior programs and one of the most crucial. The function of manding is to get something the student wants, such as food or toys. The therapist or caregiver will devise opportunities for the student to apply voice or gestures (e.g., pointing) to indicate what they want and then provide the item to the student. Manding is a fundamental skill because it allows the student to indicate to others what they want.
Echoic is simply the act of vocal imitation. Teaching it involves providing reinforcement for successfully repeating a sound or word that the teacher emits. This is a key skill for the student to acquire, since imitating others is how we learn modern sounds and words. Teaching echoic is often used in conjunction with teaching mands, by having the student successfully repeat a word (such as “toy”) and then rewarding them when they say the word in the presence of an object that represents the word; in this case, by giving them a toy.
Tacticism involves a student tagging something in their environment to get the attention of a caregiver or peer. Tacticism is typically taught by showing pictures or providing objects to students in their natural setting and then praising them for successfully tagging the object.
Functional communication training
In relation to verbal behavior training, there is a method of teaching communication called Functional Communication Training (FCT)It involves replacing undesirable student behaviors, such as aggression, with functional communication skills in order to provide the student with positive tools to fulfill his or her desires and needs.
This is primarily done through a tactic called differential reinforcement, which involves the teacher ignoring or redirecting the student’s undesirable behavior and then encouraging a functionally equivalent communication skill. This can aid reduce the frustration that can occur when the student cannot communicate what they want. The communication skill can be verbal or involve augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Augmentative and alternative communication simply refers to different modes of communication that do not involve vocal speech. AAC may be “no-tech,” “low-tech,” or “high-tech.” “No-tech” AAC may involve gesturing, signing, or facial expressions. These behaviors are “shaped” to reinforce successive approximations of the desired behavior. For example, a fist movement toward a desired object may be reinforced initially until a full finger pointing is required to obtain the object.
“Low-tech” AAC may apply Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). PECS involves using a book or board with pictures of objects that the student must hand to the teacher or caregiver to obtain the desired item. “High-tech” AAC may be a tablet that the student can apply to vocalize the desired speech by pressing a button.
A whole world of possibilities opens up when we first learn to communicate. Suddenly, we have more control over our environment and no longer rely on others to determine what we want. While typically functioning people may take this skill for granted, for millions of people with autism, communication can be a real struggle. Fortunately, with the aid of Applied Behavior Analysis, increased autism awareness, and caring psychologists and caregivers can acquire crucial communication skills that will provide them with better and richer lives.