The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

This session will describe Play-Based Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) techniques for very young children with autism spectrum disorders. Participants will learn types of play expected for various age levels (birth-3), elements of play impacted by autism, specific ABA techniques, and how to design an effective play-based program based on the principles of ABA. Case study research will also be presented, along with video of actual Play-Based ABA sessions. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is widely accepted as effective evidence-based treatment for autism (Scheuermann & Webber, 2002; Simpson, 2005). For very young children, however, traditional ABA procedures such as “table time” and discrete trials may not be as effective due to maturity and age-related issues. This paper presents a model of play-based ABA instruction for very young children (<3) with autism. Historically not identified until at least age three, today, many children are identified with autism by their second birthday, making the need for evidence-based intervention for toddlers a necessity. Currently, research for autism fails to support a specific approach for teaching children under three. Infants and toddlers, with or without autism, have very different abilities and needs than preschoolers, thus traditional ABA approaches are often difficult to employ or unsuccessful. Toddlers (children aged 1-3 years) require more frequent breaks and activity changes, less direct instruction, and more choice in the activities than older children. Preschoolers and older children can understand or be taught principles of “if-then”; they understand that sitting at a table and completing the task will earn them a reward or a break. Toddlers may not have the ability to grasp this concept, nor the patience to wait for the reward. The egocentric nature of typical toddlers combined with the aloofness of children with autism make instruction in specific skills challenging. Milieu instruction is common for very young children, however may not include the necessary structure for a child with autism to learn. A combination traditional ABA and incidental teaching model may be appropriate for teaching communication, social interaction, typical play, and other skills to young children with autism (Boutot, Guenther, & Crozier, 2005). This model focuses on instruction in a natural play setting, with age-typical toys and activities. Thus, the term play-based ABA is used to describe this model of instruction. While similar to Floor Time, the focus on Play Based ABA is skill acquisition rather than on relationship development. In addition to an overview of typical and atypical play development, the presenter will provide the following information to participants. Play-based ABA is derived from the following theoretical bases: Learning key skills in isolation decreases generalizations; Typically developing children learn key skills naturally through play, thus increases in play behaviors may lead to increased learning of key skills; Teaching through play may increase the natural motivation to play. Key components of play-based ABA are: • Use of age-appropriate settings, materials, and activities • Use of natural consequences and reinforcers • Use of ABA strategies of errorless learning, precision teaching, prompting, fading, shaping, cueing, ongoing assessment, and data-based instruction • Use of incidental teaching strategies of environmental sabotage and child-lead interaction • Therapist encourages and rewards engagement with play things, activities, and people; rewards successive approximations to skill acquisition; and redirects as necessary There are seven central features of a play-based ABA approach: (1) therapy is child-centered, family-focused and is based on a comprehensive assessment of strength and need; (2) therapy is aimed at developing functional, meaningful, age and culturally appropriate skills; (3) materials must be age and culturally appropriate; (4) therapy occurs within the context of natural play settings and activities; (5) appropriate play is guided through ABA techniques; (6) when possible, parents or caregivers serve as co-therapists; (7) systematic data collection must be on-going. There are three steps to beginning a play-based ABA program: 1. Planning 2. Identifying Materials 3. Identifying Setting Following this presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe typical and atypical play development including the impact of autism on play development; (2) describe the pros and cons of traditional DTT for young children with autism; (3) describe the benefits of a Play-Based ABA program for very young children with autism; (4) describe the components of and begin to develop a preliminary play for a Play-Based ABA program for a very young child with whom the live or work.

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