What is behavior Therapy? How is it effective for individuals with Special Needs?

Why is it called behavior therapy? Is it an effective therapy for individuals with special needs?

Behavior therapy is rooted in behaviorism, a school of psychology. The idea of behavior can be learned or changed is the chore of behavioral therapy. Individuals with special needs often lack skills and problem behaviors hinder their social as well as the functional living.

Research-based practices of behavior interventions help these individuals to learn skills that they lack and change or reduce problem behaviors to live better.

Can behavior therapy change behaviors? Can it cure autism and other developmental disorders? Is it child counseling?

The chore of behavior therapy lies in teaching functional skills and reducing or eliminating problem behaviors by the effective use of evidence-based behavior techniques. Functional living skills in simple terms are the most basic needs of an individual. Daily living skills and communication are some examples.

Autism or developmental delays are conditions, they are not disorders that can be completely fixed. It does not mean that these individuals can never learn anything or improve their skills. If an individual does not know how to do something, just teach them how to do it. It's never easy if you don't know how to teach, how much to teach, where to teach when to teach etc.

The biggest contribution of behaviorism to the field of psychology and modern education was its learning theories like observational learning, operant learning, classical conditioning, etc. But the mere knowledge of these learning techniques is not just enough for training an individual with special needs. A consistent, intensive, and data-based analyzing approach of a professional is required for it. And that’s why it is called therapy rather than teaching or training.

It is not child counseling, child counseling is a different profession altogether. The behavior or ABA therapist will be mindful to build a positive professional relationship (rapport) with the client, but the objectives of the program would be on building skills and minimize problem behaviors.

In short, behavior or ABA therapy is focused on improving people's lives using evidence-based interventions. Much research supports that this therapy is an effective practice to reduce problem behaviors and increase skills in individuals with special needs.

Is ABA therapy or Behavior therapy the same? Well, let's discuss it in the next chapter.

What is your experience in behavior Therapy? Share your thoughts.