What is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is a set of scientifically proven effective analysis methods to help people understand people's behavior and the impact of the environment on behavior. ABA intervention combines different methods and principles to make behaviors and skills more positive and meaningful. Intervention targets include all age groups from infants to adults. The goal of ABA intervention is to increase positive and useful behaviors and skills while reducing negative behaviors and skills that may cause harm or affect learning. One of the main purposes of ABA is to improve people's quality of life, which is to reduce problem behaviors while teaching appropriate behaviors and skills. ABA is the most widely used and most effective in the treatment of special education and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Understand Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
First of all, good behavior therapy is personalized, and each student's rehabilitation treatment plan is different. Therefore, a good behavioral therapy requires a comprehensive evaluation. Qualified behavior analysts must systematically and continuously assess children’s current skills and needs, even including their family’s preferences and environment, and further design effective intervention plans accordingly.
Good behavior therapy requires data to speak. Whether it is to intervene in problem behaviors or teach new skills, it is necessary to use data to record the objective performance of children, so as to continuously adjust the implementation plan to achieve the best results.
In addition to receiving the continuous supervision of a licensed behavior analyst, an effective ABA program also uses a variety of different behavioral procedures to teach children correct and appropriate skills and reduce problem behaviors. When using behavioral interventions to teach new skills, the target skills are usually broken down into small and controllable steps. Starting with child-friendly and easy-to-follow steps, behavior analysts use different techniques to teach these new skills. As children gradually master each step, more complex skills or steps will be introduced until the target skills are finally mastered.
Applied behavior analysis-characteristics of ABA
When introducing applied behavior analysis, we mentioned two characteristics of ABA, breaking down skill items into small steps and using hints to help. Here we also want to emphasize the other two characteristics of ABA, that is, the importance of strengthening and repeated practice.
ABA emphasizes that any kind of behavior change is related to its own results. When training children with ASD, they can often use only primary reinforcements, which include food and beverages. When using primary reinforcements (food and beverages), praise should also be used to gradually guide children to accept secondary reinforcements. Reinforcement methods-such as praise, appreciation, hugs, etc. The purpose of strengthening is to make children more willing to cooperate and prefer training. When you use praise, in addition to saying "very good" and "awesome", you should also clearly indicate what behavior you are strengthening and complimenting.
Repeated practice is an important feature of ABA method. Because of the use of reinforcement and prompts, children are willing to practice repeatedly. Because of repeated practice, children can master new skills faster and better.
The impact of art healing on special children
According to the definition of the American Art Therapy Association, “Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy, which refers to the use of art media, the art creation process, and the client’s response to the created artwork to achieve personal development, ability, personality, interest, and The service of reflection on inner concerns and conflicts. Art therapy provides opportunities for nonverbal expression and communication."
One of the characteristics of autism is language and social difficulties. Children with special needs may have difficulty reading facial and body language.
However, painting can reflect people's internal and subconscious information, is a process of visualizing the content of the subconscious, and is a necessary way and form to understand the soul and the communication of the soul.
People's awareness of defensiveness in painting is relatively weak, and it is easy to express their deep inner motives, emotions, values ​​and desires when creating, and to release and rebuild the hidden and suppressed content in early memories. In the process of painting, the individual further clarifies his thoughts and makes them tangible and specific. Provide reliable information to the therapist for analysis and treatment.
Painting is a very good form of expression for special children. It can open the door of communication without language interaction.
Painting healing can bring many benefits to children, such as reducing stress, providing visual communication, expressing the heart, cultivating imagination, thinking, and observation.
For parents, it is challenging to accompany special children to a full day of activities. Is it a burden for the children to add painting art to the original curriculum or therapy?
The answer is just the opposite. The ultimate orientation of art healing is intervention training. Art healing is to help children build self-confidence, learn to express emotions, and gradually improve the normalization of behavior.
ASD children will show interest or talent in different things, sometimes math, music, sometimes painting, and handicraft. When you find that children have a tendency to pay special attention to and explore things in color or any form of artistic expression, you can seize this opportunity to benefit children through the field of art.
What are the benefits of painting art healing?
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The use of drawing techniques in children with autism can help children with autism stabilize their emotions and express their emotions.
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Improve the social skills and social adaptability of children with autism through group counseling, and build social awareness and sense of responsibility.
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Promote language development and cognitive improvement of children with autism through the process of drawing creation.
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Painting and art therapy can improve the self-awareness of children with autism and stimulate creativity and imagination.
The content of painting therapy intervention:
Require children with autism to draw straight lines first, draw shapes on the basis of mastery, and draw shapes with various colors, from easy to difficult, step by step to cultivate the attention adjustment, problem solving and self-expression of children with autism.
Instruct children with autism to dip their fingers in different colors on the drawing paper, and try the effects of palm and finger smearing, or smear with the palm and embellish it with fingers to enrich the picture and cultivate interest in painting.
Encourage them to tear or cut and paste on the tissue paper at will. The design style is not limited. Through the experience of different materials, children with autism will be cultivated in their observation ability and creativity, and their interest in new things will be stimulated.
Ask children with autism to create a three-dimensional model, draw up a theme, and use different materials to create a real scene. Through group collaboration, train group members to coordinate their work. Cultivate creative thinking and problem-solving skills, strengthen communication and exchanges with others through cooperation, and cultivate social awareness.
Encourage children with autism to choose different materials for creation. Appreciate each other's completed works, and then each wrap their own works in the colored paper made before, and give each other as gifts. Finally, we appreciate the works posted on the wall together and review the process of growing up together.
Reference：
特殊儿童ABA教程. (2020, June 20). 范文大全. https://www.590168.com/content/Mx1mGq59i26F1MGDof27Ah0i4.html
自é—症艺术疗愈——绘画对自é—症儿童的益处. (2020, July 15). 2017 Sohu.Com Inc. https://www.sohu.com/a/407836806_758902
