Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has gained traction within the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) field in recent years–And for good reason. ACT helps ABA clinicians foster psychological flexibility in their learners, leading to improved behaviors and enhanced quality of life. Incorporating ACT into ABA therapy sessions offers a whole-person approach to care for children with autism and other neurodevelopmental differences. CentralReach is dedicated to integrating innovative therapeutic strategies into autism and IDD care to guide learners toward the best possible outcomes.
Understanding ACT
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Also known as Acceptance and Commitment Training) is a model of care focused on increasing psychological flexibility to promote a more fulfilled life. Children with autism tend to experience challenges with rigid behaviors that interfere with their ability to acquire skills and engage with others. Integrating ACT into therapy sessions helps them reduce that rigidity safely and comfortably. Additionally, parents of children receiving care can significantly benefit from incorporating ACT in caregiver training.
There are six core principles of ACT, which make up the ACT Hexaflex.
- Acceptance–Actively acknowledging and embracing private events (e.g., thoughts, feelings) rather than engaging in avoidance or escape behaviors by ignoring or attempting to change them.
- Cognitive Defusion–Recognizing that private events are simply stimuli in one’s environment and not factors that control behavior.
- Present moment attention–Attending to environmental stimuli in the present moment and shifting attention away from thoughts and feelings about past or future experiences. This is also known as mindfulness.
- Self-as-context–Observing oneself from a wider lens and recognizing that they are more than their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
- Values–Identifying the values that give meaning to one’s life and guide their behaviors.
- Committed actions–Actively choosing to engage in behaviors aligned with one’s values and goals.
Behavior analysts, psychologists, and other professionals who use ACT integrate these six components into their learner’s goals and programming. ACT strategies guide learners in managing their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. ACT is also useful for caregivers to learn effective ways of coping with their own challenges. Parents of children with special needs experience higher rates of stress and mental health challenges (Gould et al., 2017). Therefore, by incorporating ACT in caregiver training, behavior analysts can better support families in developing the skills and psychological flexibility needed to work through challenging behaviors and teach skills.
CentralReach’s suite of autism and IDD care solutions supports the seamless implementation of ACT, enhancing the delivery and effectiveness of care.
Exploring ABA Therapy
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is an approach to care using principles of learning and behavior to teach skills and modify behavior. ABA therapy has an extensive body of research demonstrating its efficacy with children with autism. As such, it is often known as the gold standard of care.
Behavior analysts systematically analyze behaviors, assess skills, and implement behavior analytic strategies to teach socially significant skills while reducing interfering behaviors. ABA therapists employ many different techniques and strategies. As a highly individualized treatment, ABA procedures vary based on the learner’s unique needs. Some of the most common ABA techniques and methods include:
- Functional Communication Training (FCT)–A procedure for teaching communication skills while reducing harmful or interfering behaviors by teaching communication skills that are functionally equivalent to the harmful behavior.
- Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT)–A structured method of teaching skills that isolates each learning opportunity with a clear beginning and end. DTT entails providing an SD, followed by a prompt (if needed). The learner then responds. If correct, the therapist immediately reinforces the skill. If incorrect, they employ error correction.
- Natural Environment Training (NET)--Teaching skills in the learner’s everyday environment, prioritizing learning through naturally occurring opportunities.
- Positive reinforcement–At the heart of ABA is positive reinforcement, which is the process of increasing behaviors by adding a desirable stimulus right after the behavior occurs.
- Shaping–A systematic process of reinforcing successive behaviors that gradually progress toward a desired behavior until the end goal is reached.
- Chaining–Teaching complex skills by breaking them down into small steps and teaching the skill one step at a time.
- ABC Analysis–Analyzing the ABCs of behavior is vital for ABA professionals to identify the potential function or the “why” behind the behavior. An ABC analysis entails analyzing the variables that occur before and after the behavior.
CentralReach’s ABA and multidisciplinary software for autism and IDD care simplify data collection, progress monitoring, and intervention planning. An all-in-one solution for assessments, data collection, parent training, learning management, and more supports providers in making ABA therapy more efficient and effective.
Enhancing Autism Patients' Outcomes
As a spectrum disorder, individuals with autism have a vast range of needs. Research finds they are at a higher risk of having unmet healthcare and educational needs, highlighting the need for comprehensive care that targets behavioral and psychological needs (Strunk et al., 2017). Combining ACT with ABA therapy can lead to improved autism patient outcomes by addressing both overt and covert behaviors and taking into account the impact private events have on overt behaviors.
The integration of ACT and ABA can improve emotional regulation, reduce anxiety, and enhance social and communication skills. For example, by combining ACT with ABA interventions, learners can be taught to recognize when they are experiencing difficult or uncomfortable emotions. The therapist can guide the learner in observing their internal events and accepting their thoughts and feelings without engaging in harmful behaviors to escape or avoid them. The therapist can help them recognize the antecedents to those thoughts and feelings and support them in developing antecedent and consequent strategies, such as breathing exercises and self-advocacy skills, to communicate their needs effectively.
Gain valuable insights on ACT and explore actionable strategies in this webinar: Ready to ACT? Incorporating Acceptance and Commitment Training into Your Clinical Practice
Integrating ACT and ABA with CentralReach
CentralReach is committed to advancing the autism and IDD care community through cutting-edge technology and a culture devoted to serving the neurodivergent population. CentralReach’s innovative platform facilitates the integration of ACT and ABA therapies, offering comprehensive solutions to support clinicians and elevate outcomes.
- Treatment Planning–Therapists can create customizable treatment plan templates that incorporate the six core processes involved in ACT.
- Real-time Data Collection–Clinicians can choose from several data collection types to track real-time data on their learner’s behaviors. A rating scale can also be used with learners to gain insight into their internal events that the therapist cannot objectively observe.
- Multidisciplinary collaboration–With shared access to client data and a secure messaging platform, CentralReach promotes effective collaboration among multidisciplinary teams for improved quality and consistency of care.
Posted in Clinical, Practice Management
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