Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that may hinder an individual’s ability to interact with others, comprehend and complete simple tasks, and regulate emotions and responses. Autism is a common disorder that affects 1 in 54 people in the USA (according to the CDC) and has been the focus of multiple therapies and management techniques.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Occupational Therapy (OT) are two of the many therapies empirically shown to help autistic people learn skills and behaviors that can empower them to lead normal, independent lives. Both approaches can be right for an individual depending on what symptoms it is necessary to ameliorate.
Autism is not a one-size-fits-all type of disorder. It uniquely impacts each individual who is on the spectrum to varying extents. Therefore, any therapy selected has to be customized to suit the individual’s development level and the skills targeted. The effectiveness of an evidence-based therapy greatly depends on how it is administered, to whom it is administered, and who is providing the therapy, among other environmental concerns.
This is why it is important to recruit a professional’s help. Therapists can assess the initial or existing skill level of the autistic person to create a customized therapy plan that will be effective for them. They can also explain the difference between the various approaches present to help improve the lives of autistic people.
ABA and OT are both prominent therapies for autism management; to understand how each can benefit your child or loved one’s autistic needs, let’s look at their similarities and differences.
What is ABA Therapy?
Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the application of the science of behavior designed to improve the life of the individual. As many autistic individuals exhibit behaviors that are either harmful to themselves or others, or impede them from living their best lives, ABA works to improve or change the surroundings to help the autistic person improve their interaction with their environment.
For example, ABA can be used to teach a person how to greet someone with a handshake and say “hello” or ride a bus to get to a job.
What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapy focuses on improving the social, emotional, motor, or communication skills of people on the autism spectrum. The primary method of occupational therapy is to use “play” or games to help individuals learn these skills.
For example, occupational therapy can teach an individual to tie their shoelaces or take deep breaths to calm themselves down when they are anxious or agitated.
Similarities Between ABA and OT
Both ABA and OT empower autistic individuals to become independent; they focus on developing basic life skills such as self-care habits, hygiene, social interaction, communication skills, and many more, to help individuals lead their lives without constant supervision of their parents or caregivers, and be successful at doing so.
Both ABA and OT break down complex tasks into smaller components that are more manageable and less intimidating than the overall task. Autistic people learn new skills or tasks step-by-step rather than all at once.
Differences Between ABA and OT
The main difference between these two therapies lies in their area of focus. In ABA, autistic people learn to have positive interactions with the environment and focus on developing skills, making associations between objects, and generalizing one learned skill to various situations. Data are collected to help the therapist make decisions about which interventions are the most efficacious.
On the other hand, occupational therapy also focuses on teaching skills that people need in their day-to-day lives but teaches them using different techniques. While ABA is focused on the environment, OT is often focused on the individual's body sensations and performance.
Techniques used in ABA
ABA uses multiple techniques that are different approaches but focus on getting the desired response from the individual. Some of these strategies are:
Positive Reinforcement
In this approach, autistic individuals are rewarded for successfully completing a task. The goal is to motivate them to associate their response with the provided stimulus.
For example, rather than focusing on what the child is doing wrong, be sure to point out what they do right. If a child always whines when he doesn’t get a cookie, teach him to request the cookie in an appropriate manner and then provide the cookie as a reward. This might replace the practice of giving the child a cookie to get him to stop tantruming.
Errorless learning
In this technique, prompts are used to ensure the autistic person always gives the correct response to a stimulus. It focuses on the prevention of errors rather than correction. The logic behind this technique is that autistic individuals may not respond well to mistakes or failures.
Failures may trigger negative behaviors such as aggression or self-injury, but with positive outcomes, individuals learn to associate their response with the stimulus and successfully perform the required skill.
For example, a therapist can place red balls in a basket and ask the child to pick out a red ball. He will get it right every time, and thus his confidence will increase. Eventually, the therapist will use different colored balls.
Techniques used in OT
Occupational therapy focuses on specific skills to enhance the overall lives of autistic individuals. Some of the methods used in OT are:
Sensory-integration therapy
Autistic people tend to get overwhelmed easily, this means an environment with lots of colors, objects, and loud noise, can easily agitate them, and reduce their ability to focus. Sensory integration therapy uses activities that involve the use of all five senses - sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch - all at once. This allows autistic people to regulate the sensory information in their surroundings.
For example, using a box full of materials with different textures, such as stones, cotton balls, clay, or flowers, and asking the autistic child to pick out one item.
Fine-motor Skills Training
The purpose of this method is to improve the use of small muscles such as those in the fingers and toes. It aims to enhance hand-eye coordination and dexterity so autistic people can perform small, physical tasks successfully.
For example, learning how to close the buttons of a shirt or using a scissor to cut out shapes from paper.
Conclusion
ABA and OT are both effective techniques used to teach skills that can help individuals with autism become independent. Both can be used in tandem by targeting different skills and using different techniques to improve the quality of the individual’s life overall.
