THE EFFECT OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS (ABA) THERAPY ON SHOUTING AND HITTING BEHAVIORS IN CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES IN A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Children with Intellectual Disabilities sometimes show problematic behaviors in class, like yelling or hitting others. These actions can hinders their ability to learn and make friends at school. Applied Behavior Analysis that focuses on changing behavior through reward systems. Basically they try to encourage desirable behaviors  by giving positive feedback. A recent study was done with  five children aged 8 to 12 with Intellectual Disability who had issues with shouting and hitting. The ABA therapy were used for two months in a school setting. The techniques like breaking tasks into small steps, using picture cards for communication, and token reward charts were used in the intervention phase to alternate the behaviors. Before starting treatment, the behavior were measured how often the behaviors happened. After eight weeks of consistent therapy sessions, the post intervention was done in which the reduction in behaviors and efficacy of the therapy was checked. The results showed yelling incidents decrease by about 55 percent on average. Physical outbursts decreased by similar numbers according to teacher reports and observation logs. The team noted that the improvements came from structured routines and the immediate reinforcement for good behavior. Some kids responded better to visual tools while others needed more physical activity breaks built into their day. Teachers reported fewer classroom disruptions overall by the program's end. Shows ABA could be a good option for schools dealing with challenging behaviors in special needs students. Though the sample size was small, the consistency across participants suggests the other study in the future with the bigger sample size as well as for a long time as longer term studies would help confirm if changes remain consistent for the long time.

Keywords: Applied Behavior Analysis, intellectual disability, challenging behavior, ABA therapy, school environment, discrete trial training, PECS, token economy