Enhancing Communication Skills in Individuals with Autism: An ABA Approach

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA): Humans are an innately social species. We crave and seek out other people for affection, access to nourishment, solve problems, and to relieve boredom. The way humans most effectively engage in social interactions with others is through communication. As infants, we cry as a form of communicating to our caregivers that we desire something. As young toddlers, we may point out or gesture to indicate our need for nourishment or affection. Once we achieve the ability to speak a language, though, our ability to interact with the people around us expands dramatically. We can then very clearly communicate to others what it is we want or if we simply have an observation we’d like to share.

For many individuals on the autism spectrum, however, things are not quite so simple. The ability to vocally communicate through speech or even to simply gesture to indicate what they want may not have developed through typical learning processes. Luckily, though, there is a field dedicated to helping these individuals acquire the necessary communication skills required for navigating the world around them: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA has been utilized for decades all over the world to teach people with developmental disabilities different ways of communicating their wants and needs. Here are some of the approaches used in ABA to enhance communication skills in people with autism.

Discrete Trial Training (DTT): Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

Discrete Trial Training involves simplifying skills into manageable, ‘discrete’ parts and reinforcing small improvements in those skills with praise, edibles (candy, chips, etc.) or something else the individual with autism enjoys. One of the benefits of DTT is that the environment can be highly controlled to focus only on the very specific communication skill that is being taught. This can, however, sometimes lead to programmed, rote responses that sound rehearsed, so there is usually a plan for generalizing the skill to different people and environments.

Pivotal Response Training (PRT)

Pivotal Response Training focuses on reinforcing and targeting pivotal behaviors, such as motivation and self-initiation, to enhance overall communication in individuals on the autism spectrum. Because these skills are generally taught in a more naturalistic environment, such as a playroom in a child’s house, the communication skill will usually be immediately applicable to the individual’s typical environment.

Verbal Behavior Intervention

Verbal Behavior Intervention involves a functional analysis of the attainment of language in an individual’s skillset. Its focus is on determining the specific deficits in an individual’s language skills and targeting those to create a more functional set of communication skills. Tailoring the lessons to how the words function for a person creates motivation for them to use the words more frequently and in their proper context. This motivation helps bind the meaning of the word with the word itself. Verbal Behavior Intervention utilizes the four distinct types of language (i.e., mands, tacts, echoics, and intraverbals) based on B.F. Skinner’s analysis of language acquisition.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) describes different methods of teaching speech that don’t involve typical vocal speech. The simplest version of an AAC skill could be a point or gesture to indicate that an item is desired by the individual. This behavior may be shaped beginning with an individual simply looking at an item, to then moving their arm in the direction of the item, to finally pointing the index finger at the desired item-with each small improvement reinforced with a reward or vocal praise.

A Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a slightly more advanced version of AAC that usually involves teaching the child to hand small pictures of items that they enjoy (like a favorite food or toy) to the parent or therapist to indicate that they want that item. This can be taught in place of, or in tandem with, attempts to teach the individual vocal communication.

Assistive technology can also be used as AAC to teach individuals who struggle with speech to communicate. Assistive technology refers to the use of devices, tools, or software designed to support individuals with disabilities in acquiring new communication skills. This can often take the form of a tablet that has an application where the individual can press an icon and the tablet will say the name of the icon for the person.

Conclusion

The ability to voice our wants, needs and feelings plays a huge part in what makes us who we are. It is heartbreaking to realize that many people with autism struggle with that very basic form of human dignity. With the help of ABA and qualified professionals like Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), Speech Pathologists (SLPs), and School Psychologists, a whole new world of opportunity can open up for people who struggle to communicate.