A couple quotes from the professors link...

[Guest guest]

" There are many who say that they " don't like ABA. " I think what

those people mean is that they actually dislike Lovaas's application

(or whichever they've seen) of the science of behavior, not the

science of behavior itself. There's very little to argue with the

ideas that we do things more often when they have positive

consequences (reinforcement), that when we don't know how to do

something we need help to learn how (prompting), that such help

needs to be eventually removed if we are to do the skill on our own

(fading), and that we get better and better at things as we practice

them more (shaping). Those, in a nutshell, are the most common

principles of behavior. There's more to argue with putting a young

child in a chair for 40 hours a week, requiring eye contact and

sitting still. That, in a nutshell, is one overgeneralized (mis)

interpretation of a strict Lovaas application of the science of

behavior. "

Another is:

The science is solid; it's certain applications of it that need

tweaking. The tweaking should be done based on the students and no

one else, and THAT, believe it or not, is what the data are for.

They, along with our personal, experiential knowledge of the

student, tell us what's effective and what's not. Applied behavior

analysis is not evil; it's not anti-person, nor is it cold and

heartless. Does ABA intend to change behavior? Yes, that's the whole

point. However, the behavior that's targeted for change is always

chosen such that the life of the student will be improved. Is that a

value judgment by teachers? Yes, but no more than those made by

anyone who ever attempts to teach anyone anything (as all of us who

write to various lists, write books, have conversations, and

interact with others in any way do). I think that the important

piece is that the teaching is respectful to the student, that the

application of the science of behavior that's implemented makes

sense and is effective and positive for the student. I think any of

us who can say that we believe ourselves to be doing that at least

agree on one thing. "

[Guest guest]

Didn't proof my own work. I meant to add:

" The reason that people who don't know this get confused about what

ABA is stems from the difference between the pure and applied

science. The science is one thing, made up of these principles of

behavior. The applied science is another, made up of strategies

based on those principles. The reason that people say there are

different " kinds " of ABA -- which is an incorrect statement and I'll

explain why -- is because people hear

about " Lovaas, " " DTT " " NET, " " AVB, " etc. What those distinctions

actually describe are different APPLICATIONS of the SAME science.

Here's how that came to pass. "

Here's the link for anyone interested:

http://www.christinaburkaba.com/index.htm

>

> " There are many who say that they " don't like ABA. " I think what

> those people mean is that they actually dislike Lovaas's

application

> (or whichever they've seen) of the science of behavior, not the

> science of behavior itself. There's very little to argue with the

> ideas that we do things more often when they have positive

> consequences (reinforcement), that when we don't know how to do

> something we need help to learn how (prompting), that such help

> needs to be eventually removed if we are to do the skill on our

own

> (fading), and that we get better and better at things as we

practice

> them more (shaping). Those, in a nutshell, are the most common

> principles of behavior. There's more to argue with putting a young

> child in a chair for 40 hours a week, requiring eye contact and

> sitting still. That, in a nutshell, is one overgeneralized (mis)

> interpretation of a strict Lovaas application of the science of

> behavior. "

>

> Another is:

>

> The science is solid; it's certain applications of it that need

> tweaking. The tweaking should be done based on the students and no

> one else, and THAT, believe it or not, is what the data are for.

> They, along with our personal, experiential knowledge of the

> student, tell us what's effective and what's not. Applied behavior

> analysis is not evil; it's not anti-person, nor is it cold and

> heartless. Does ABA intend to change behavior? Yes, that's the

whole

> point. However, the behavior that's targeted for change is always

> chosen such that the life of the student will be improved. Is that

a

> value judgment by teachers? Yes, but no more than those made by

> anyone who ever attempts to teach anyone anything (as all of us

who

> write to various lists, write books, have conversations, and

> interact with others in any way do). I think that the important

> piece is that the teaching is respectful to the student, that the

> application of the science of behavior that's implemented makes

> sense and is effective and positive for the student. I think any

of

> us who can say that we believe ourselves to be doing that at least

> agree on one thing. "

>