Rohini Knudson
SPED Professional Portfolio
The Science of Behavior - Musings of a Student
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that behavioral approaches have the most evidence for treating symptoms of ASD. Particularly, Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) is considered the gold standard for autism treatment in the United States. ABA and other behavioral approaches are based on B.F. Skinner's theory of operant conditioning which describes how behavior is shaped by the consequences that follow it (Kansas University, 2024). Thus,
an entity that is in control of the consequences that follow another entity's behavior can in turn control the latter's behavior in the future by increasing or decreasing the cost or reward for performing the behavior.
Behavioral approaches have been widely accepted and used by schools and treatment clinics, according to the CDC. Parents grappling with the challenges they face in finding educational and social environments accepting of their autistic child perhaps also see the effectiveness of behavior modification approaches as desirable in making their child seem more normal, hence assimilable. But not much (if any) research has been conducted on the short- or long-term effects of receiving such intervention on the mental health of the recipient. Not much is known on the effects that these interventions, that begin by teaching imitation and compliance (Lovaas, 1987), have on the self-determination (the ability and attitude needed to make decisions, or control actions that affects one's own life) of these individuals either. Finally, the tool of behavior modification can be used indiscriminately to 'promote' or 'extinguish' any behavior or skill as the entity in control deems appropriate. This is especially concerning when applied to very young children who are only beginning to develop their concept of self, and their ideas about 'others' and their relationships with them. Besides, intensive intervention is likely to interfere with the natural development of interests that are known to be important to this segment of the population.
In conclusion, while the science of behavior might accurately capture how humans, and all animals perhaps, can be motivated by rewards and punishment to behave in certain ways, the exploitation of this vulnerability in children, especially in a programmed and systematic way, by parents, educators or clinicians who are in a relative position of power with respect to them needs deeper thought and research.
Learning readiness and school placement
One of the primary outcome measures in Lovaas' seminal paper (Lovaas, 1987) on the application of behavior science to the field of autism was school placement, with subjects in mainstream preschool classes at the end of the intervention being assigned the highest score on this measure (Lovaas, 1987). If behavior approaches are the only practices with sufficient scientific support to enable the inclusion of autistic children in mainstream schools, then merely opposing such practices does not solve the problem of educating this segment of the population.
An alternate approach to molding these children to fit into the system, of course, would be to mold the system to enable these children to derive the benefits of an education such as socialization, exposure to the world and development of skills without having to mask who they are. There has been limited research into what such an education would look like, but it is certainly a worthy pursuit.