Glossary

Glossary

Antecedent

Any event, condition, or stimulus that occurs immediately before a behavior. In the ABC (Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence) model of behavior analysis, modifying antecedents is a proactive strategy for preventing problem behaviors. Antecedent strategies include providing choices, visual schedules, transition warnings, and environmental modifications.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

A scientific discipline that applies principles of learning and behavior to improve socially significant behaviors. ABA uses systematic observation, measurement, and evidence-based interventions. In autism services, ABA is the most widely researched and insurance-funded intervention approach, delivered by Board Certified Behavior Analysts and their supervised staff.

Assent-Based Practice

An ethical framework in ABA that prioritizes obtaining the learner's ongoing agreement (assent) to participate in intervention activities. Assent goes beyond informed consent (which is given by parents or guardians) by respecting the learner's autonomy, preferences, and communication — including nonverbal signals of distress or withdrawal. It is a core principle of modern, ethical ABA practice.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

Communication methods and tools used to supplement or replace spoken language for individuals who cannot meet their daily communication needs through speech alone. AAC ranges from low-tech options (picture exchange, communication boards) to high-tech devices (speech-generating apps on tablets). AAC does not inhibit speech development — research shows it often facilitates spoken language.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

A neurodevelopmental condition characterized by differences in social communication and interaction, along with restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. The DSM-5 classifies ASD as a spectrum, recognizing that it presents differently across individuals in terms of support needs, strengths, and challenges.

Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)

The nonprofit organization that credentials behavior analysts worldwide. The BACB establishes standards for education, supervised experience, and examination for the BCBA, BCaBA, and RBT certifications. It also maintains a professional and ethical compliance code and a registry of certified practitioners.

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)

A written plan based on a functional behavior assessment that describes the target behavior, its identified function, and specific intervention strategies. A BIP includes antecedent modifications (preventing the behavior), replacement behavior teaching, reinforcement procedures, and crisis protocols. It is a required component of special education services when behavior impedes learning.

Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)

A graduate-level professional certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) to practice applied behavior analysis. BCBAs hold at least a master's degree, complete supervised fieldwork hours, and pass a national certification exam. They design and oversee behavior-analytic intervention programs, including programs for individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Continuing Education Unit (CEU)

A unit of credit required for maintaining professional certifications. BCBAs must complete continuing education requirements set by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) to maintain their certification. CEU activities include approved courses, workshops, conferences, and peer-reviewed publications covering ethics, supervision, and evidence-based practice.

Developmental Milestones

Skills and behaviors that most children demonstrate by certain ages, organized across domains: gross motor, fine motor, language/communication, cognitive, and social-emotional. Milestone charts from the CDC and AAP provide reference points for tracking development. Missing multiple milestones or losing previously acquired skills (regression) may indicate the need for developmental evaluation.

Discrete Trial Training (DTT)

A structured ABA teaching method that breaks skills into small, distinct steps taught through repeated practice. Each trial has three parts: a clear instruction (discriminative stimulus), the learner's response, and a consequence (reinforcement for correct responses or a correction procedure). DTT is effective for teaching foundational skills but is typically combined with naturalistic approaches.

Early Intervention

Therapeutic services and supports provided to children from birth through age three (or through age five in some contexts) who have developmental delays or disabilities. Research consistently shows that early intervention during periods of high brain plasticity leads to significantly better outcomes in communication, social skills, and adaptive behavior for children with autism.

Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)

An evidence-based early intervention approach for children with autism aged 12 to 48 months. ESDM blends developmental and behavioral techniques within play-based, relationship-focused activities. It can be delivered by therapists and trained parents in natural settings, targeting cognitive, language, social, and motor development simultaneously.

Echolalia

The repetition of words, phrases, or sentences spoken by others. Immediate echolalia repeats what was just heard; delayed echolalia repeats language heard previously, sometimes hours or days later. Echolalia is common in autism and is increasingly understood as functional communication rather than meaningless repetition — it often serves communicative purposes such as requesting, protesting, or self-regulation.

Executive Function

A set of cognitive processes that enable planning, organization, flexible thinking, working memory, impulse control, and self-monitoring. Many autistic individuals experience executive function differences that affect task initiation, transitioning between activities, organizing multi-step tasks, and managing time. These differences are distinct from intelligence and can be supported through environmental modifications and explicit instruction.

Extinction

A behavioral procedure in which reinforcement that previously maintained a behavior is withheld, leading to a gradual decrease in that behavior. In practice, extinction often involves no longer providing attention or access to items following a problem behavior. An extinction burst — a temporary increase in the behavior before it decreases — is a predictable and expected part of the process.

Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

A systematic process for identifying the environmental variables that maintain a problem behavior. An FBA determines the function (purpose) a behavior serves for the individual — commonly attention, escape, access to tangibles, or sensory input. The results guide the development of a behavior intervention plan that teaches replacement behaviors serving the same function.

Generalization

The ability to use a learned skill across different settings, people, materials, and situations beyond the original teaching context. A child who learns to request 'juice' at the therapy table but also requests it at home, at school, and from different people has generalized the skill. Programming for generalization is a core principle of effective ABA intervention.

IEP

An Individualized Education Program: a written plan, agreed with a school district, setting out the services and supports a child receives at school.

Incidental Teaching

A naturalistic teaching strategy that uses the child's own interests and initiations as opportunities for learning. When a child reaches for a toy, for example, the adult uses that moment to prompt a communicative response before providing access. Incidental teaching embeds instruction in natural contexts, increasing motivation and generalization.

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

A legally binding document developed for each child eligible for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IEP specifies the child's present levels of performance, measurable annual goals, services and supports, placement, and accommodations. Parents are equal members of the IEP team.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

A U.S. federal law that guarantees children with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment. IDEA requires schools to provide early intervention services (Part C, birth to age 3) and special education services (Part B, ages 3 to 21) through individualized plans developed with parent participation.

Joint Attention

The shared focus of two people on an object or event, achieved when one person alerts another to something through gaze, pointing, or other communicative acts. Joint attention is a critical developmental milestone that typically emerges between 9 and 14 months. Differences in joint attention are among the earliest observable signs of autism and are a frequent target in early intervention.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

A principle under IDEA requiring that children with disabilities be educated alongside their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate. The IEP team determines placement on a continuum from full inclusion in general education classrooms to specialized settings, based on the individual child's needs and the supports required for meaningful access to education.

Manding

A verbal behavior term coined by B.F. Skinner for a verbal operant in which the speaker requests or demands something they want. A mand is controlled by the speaker's motivation — they ask because they need or want something specific. Teaching manding is often the first priority in communication training because it gives the learner direct control over their environment.

Natural Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs)

A class of evidence-based autism interventions that combine behavioral teaching strategies with developmental and relationship-based approaches. NDBIs embed learning opportunities in natural routines, follow the child's lead, and use natural reinforcers. Examples include Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), and JASPER.

Neurodiversity

A perspective that recognizes neurological differences — including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other conditions — as natural variations of the human brain rather than deficits to be fixed. The neurodiversity framework emphasizes accommodation, acceptance, and support for individual strengths while still addressing challenges that affect quality of life.

Parent-Led Intervention

An approach to early intervention in which parents are coached to implement evidence-based strategies during everyday routines and interactions with their child. Research shows that parent-implemented intervention increases the dosage of learning opportunities beyond scheduled therapy sessions and empowers families to support their child's development consistently across settings.

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)

A structured AAC protocol developed by Andrew Bondy and Lori Frost that teaches individuals to communicate by exchanging picture cards. PECS progresses through six phases, from basic requesting to commenting, and does not require prerequisite skills such as eye contact or imitation. It is widely used in early intervention programs for children with limited or no spoken language.

Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT)

A naturalistic, play-based behavioral intervention derived from ABA principles that targets pivotal areas of development — motivation, self-management, responsivity to multiple cues, and self-initiations. Changes in these pivotal areas produce widespread improvements across communication, social, and behavioral domains without needing to target each skill individually.

Prompting

An instructional strategy in which a helper provides assistance to guide a learner toward the correct response. Prompt types range from most to least intrusive: physical guidance, modeling, gestural, positional, and verbal prompts. Systematic prompt fading is essential — the goal is for the learner to perform the skill independently without continued prompting.

Registered Behavior Technician (RBT)

A paraprofessional certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board who implements behavior-analytic services under the close supervision of a BCBA or BCaBA. RBTs complete a 40-hour training curriculum, pass a competency assessment, and pass a national exam. They are the primary direct-service providers in most ABA therapy programs.

Reinforcement

A fundamental principle of behavior analysis in which a consequence following a behavior increases the likelihood that the behavior will occur again. Positive reinforcement adds something desirable (praise, a preferred item); negative reinforcement removes something aversive. Effective reinforcement is individualized — what functions as a reinforcer varies from person to person.

Sensory Diet

A personalized plan of sensory activities scheduled throughout the day to help an individual maintain an optimal level of alertness and regulation. A sensory diet is typically designed by an occupational therapist and may include movement breaks, deep pressure input, fidget tools, or calming activities. It is a proactive strategy for managing sensory processing differences.

Sensory Processing

The neurological process of receiving, organizing, and interpreting sensory information from the body and environment. Many autistic individuals experience sensory processing differences — hypersensitivity (over-responsiveness), hyposensitivity (under-responsiveness), or sensory seeking. These differences can affect daily functioning, learning, social participation, and emotional regulation.

Social Reinforcement

Reinforcement delivered through social interaction — praise, attention, smiles, high-fives, or shared enthusiasm. Many autistic children initially find social reinforcers less motivating than tangible or sensory reinforcers. A key goal of early intervention is building the reinforcing value of social interaction so that learning from the social environment becomes more natural over time.

Social Story

A short, individualized narrative developed by Carol Gray that describes a social situation, skill, or concept in terms of relevant social cues and appropriate responses. Social Stories use a specific ratio of descriptive, perspective, and directive sentences. They are used to prepare autistic individuals for new experiences, explain social expectations, and reduce anxiety.

Stimming (Self-Stimulatory Behavior)

Repetitive movements, sounds, or actions that serve a self-regulatory function. Examples include hand flapping, rocking, spinning, vocal repetitions, or visual fixation on patterns. Stimming is common in autism and often helps with sensory processing, emotional regulation, or focus. Modern practice respects stimming as functional unless it causes harm or significantly interferes with learning.

Tacting

A verbal behavior term for labeling or naming things in the environment — objects, actions, properties, or events. A tact is controlled by a nonverbal stimulus (the person sees a dog and says 'dog'). Tacting builds vocabulary and shared understanding and is a core target in language intervention programs for children with autism.

Token Economy

A reinforcement system in which tokens (stickers, points, check marks) are earned for demonstrating target behaviors and later exchanged for backup reinforcers (preferred activities, items, or privileges). Token economies teach delayed gratification, build motivation for less-preferred tasks, and can be gradually faded as intrinsic motivation develops.

Verbal Behavior (VB)

An approach to language intervention based on B.F. Skinner's analysis of language as learned behavior shaped by its consequences. VB classifies language by its function rather than its form — mands (requests), tacts (labels), echoics (imitation), and intraverbals (conversational responses). This functional classification guides teaching priorities and intervention strategies.

Visual Schedule

A visual representation of activities or steps in a sequence, using pictures, symbols, photographs, or written words. Visual schedules support predictability, reduce anxiety about transitions, and promote independence. They are widely used for autistic individuals because they leverage visual processing strengths and reduce reliance on verbal instructions.