The ABC's of Behavior
The ABC's is a way of thinking about behavior that is frequently used in ABA therapy, and other therapies commonly used with children with autism. A leads to B, which leads to C. I will outline these components further now.
A is for...
Antecedent.
An antecedent is defined as, "a preceding event, condition, or cause" (Merriam-Webster). In other words, it is what happen right before the behavior. It is the catalyst for the way the child reacted.
B is for...
Behavior.
The behavior is how the child reacted. What did they do after the antecedent happened?
C is for...
Consequence.
What happened directly after behavior? Remember: consequence is not synonymous with punishment. There can be positive or negative consequences.
Now let's look at the following scenarios.
Johnny takes Bryan's toy, and Bryan hits him for it. Bryan then gets a time out.
A: The antecedent was Johnny taking Bryan's toy.
B: The behavior was Bryan hitting Johnny.
C: Because Bryan hit Johnny, his consequence was getting a time out.
Sara's mom tells her to put her toys away. Sara complies with this request, and her mom tells her "Good job" and gives her a high-five.
A: The antecedent in this situation was Sara's mother's request.
B: The behavior was Sara putting away her toys.
C: The verbal praise and high-five Sara received were the consequence.
Maria got distracted during individual work time at school, so she has to stay in at recess to finish her assignment.
A: Individual work time is the antecedent. It is what made the behavior happen.
B: Maria got distracted, and did not complete her work is the behavior.
C: Her consequence was losing recess to finish her work.
As you can imagine, for every behavior (B) that occurs, there was an antecedent (A) as its predecessor, and a consequence (C), as a follow-up. Being able to identify the A, B and C can help you to further understand your child's motive behind a certain behavior. Realizing how the A and the B are related can also help you individualize what kind of C occurs, so that each moment can be a learning experience. Below is a link to an ABC collection form that may be helpful in learning about patterns that your child's behavior has formed. Click here for the ABC collection form.
References:
Kelly, A. (2008). ABCs of ABA: Antecedents - Behaviors - Consequences. Abama. July 2, 2012. Retrieved from: http://abama.webs.com/abcsofaba.htm.
Webster, J. (n.d.). ABC - Antecedent, Behavior and Consequence. About Special Education. July 2, 2012.Retrieved from: http://specialed.about.com /od/specialedacronyms/g/ABC.htm.
No Author. (2002). The ABC's of Behavior Management. Georgia State Government. July 2, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.decal.ga.gov/documents/attachments/ABCBehaviorManagement.pdf.
No Author. (n.d.) The ABC's of Behavior Management. Down Syndrome Society of Mobile County. July 2, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.dssmc.com/Articles/Positive%20Parenting.pdf.
No author. (n.d.). Antecedent. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. July 2, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antecedent.
A is for...
Antecedent.
An antecedent is defined as, "a preceding event, condition, or cause" (Merriam-Webster). In other words, it is what happen right before the behavior. It is the catalyst for the way the child reacted.
B is for...
Behavior.
The behavior is how the child reacted. What did they do after the antecedent happened?
C is for...
Consequence.
What happened directly after behavior? Remember: consequence is not synonymous with punishment. There can be positive or negative consequences.
Now let's look at the following scenarios.
Johnny takes Bryan's toy, and Bryan hits him for it. Bryan then gets a time out.
A: The antecedent was Johnny taking Bryan's toy.
B: The behavior was Bryan hitting Johnny.
C: Because Bryan hit Johnny, his consequence was getting a time out.
Sara's mom tells her to put her toys away. Sara complies with this request, and her mom tells her "Good job" and gives her a high-five.
A: The antecedent in this situation was Sara's mother's request.
B: The behavior was Sara putting away her toys.
C: The verbal praise and high-five Sara received were the consequence.
Maria got distracted during individual work time at school, so she has to stay in at recess to finish her assignment.
A: Individual work time is the antecedent. It is what made the behavior happen.
B: Maria got distracted, and did not complete her work is the behavior.
C: Her consequence was losing recess to finish her work.
As you can imagine, for every behavior (B) that occurs, there was an antecedent (A) as its predecessor, and a consequence (C), as a follow-up. Being able to identify the A, B and C can help you to further understand your child's motive behind a certain behavior. Realizing how the A and the B are related can also help you individualize what kind of C occurs, so that each moment can be a learning experience. Below is a link to an ABC collection form that may be helpful in learning about patterns that your child's behavior has formed. Click here for the ABC collection form.
References:
Kelly, A. (2008). ABCs of ABA: Antecedents - Behaviors - Consequences. Abama. July 2, 2012. Retrieved from: http://abama.webs.com/abcsofaba.htm.
Webster, J. (n.d.). ABC - Antecedent, Behavior and Consequence. About Special Education. July 2, 2012.Retrieved from: http://specialed.about.com /od/specialedacronyms/g/ABC.htm.
No Author. (2002). The ABC's of Behavior Management. Georgia State Government. July 2, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.decal.ga.gov/documents/attachments/ABCBehaviorManagement.pdf.
No Author. (n.d.) The ABC's of Behavior Management. Down Syndrome Society of Mobile County. July 2, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.dssmc.com/Articles/Positive%20Parenting.pdf.
No author. (n.d.). Antecedent. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. July 2, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antecedent.