The Deep Impact of Applied Behavior Analysis for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

If applied behavior analysis (ABA) works as claimed by Furman and Tuminello (2015), then both Schlinger (2015) and Potter (2015) agree that ABA could, in principle, be an aid for solving many more problems than just those associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Does ABA work for children with ASD as Furman and Tuminello claim? Schlinger believes that ABA can, in fact, solve developmental and behavioral problems associated with ASD for some children to the point that those children might flourish in the Aristotelian sense. On the other hand, Potter does not believe that ABA can, in fact, elevate children with ASD to the level of Aristotelian flourishing.

Schlinger may be predisposed to agree with Furman and Tuminello because he is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst and has probably seen the results that ABA can produce not just for children with ASD, but also for a wide range of people afflicted with developmental and behavioral problems. Because preaching to the choir wins no new converts, Potter’s doubts and criticism are the focus here.

Before responding to Potter’s objections, some self-disclosure is in order. The genesis for Furman and Tuminello (2015) was not to show a connection between Aristotle’s concept of flourishing, Autism, and ABA per se. Rather, the prime motivation was to shed light on the fact that ABA can facilitate tremendous results for a sizable percentage of children with ASD—results that would count as a good life by most any metric.

Instead of proposing a new metric for a good life, and having to defend it as well, Furman and Tuminello used the somewhat familiar and strenuous notion of a good life as offered by Aristotle. The choice of Aristotle’s rubric was somewhat capricious then. Hence, a full defense against Potter’s objections will not be mounted, except for where she has underestimated the deep impact that ABA can have on children with ASD—where the accomplishments of children with ASD that have been treated with ABA are on par with those of normally developing children.

Being Prudent: A State of Mind

Potter believes that the key element of Aristotelian flourishing is the virtue of prudence (phronesis) (Potter 2015, 265). Prudence is the ability to reason correctly about what sort of actions and goods lead to human flourishing. But prudence is not contained in just the ability to reason correctly about what sort of actions and goods that lead to human flourishing. The prudent person must internalize the goodness of said judgment and actions—she must feel the rightness of the prudent goods and acts and these feelings must factor into her motivation to act as such; otherwise there is just the appearance of prudence but no true prudence.

The problem Potter has with Furman and Tuminello’s (2015) claims of children with ASD flourishing as a result of an early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) with ABA is this. She believes that ABA may allow children with ASD to model appropriate (i.e., prudent) behaviors but not feel them in the appropriate way (Potter, 264). For example, a child might go through all of the appropriate external motions of friendship toward another child, but if she does not feel the friendship, there is no real friendship; there is no virtue of friendship in place. Hence, Potter asks, Is there anything more to ABA training than developing a skill set by which people with ASD can cope better in the world? Do persons with ASD ever achieve a normal emotional life? The answer to both questions is an emphatic yes.

Evidence for the Deep Impact of ABA

The Studies

Furman and Tuminello (2015) pointed to research (Cohen, Amerine-Dickens, Smith 2006; Lovaas 1987; Sallows and Graupner 2005) that showed that children with ASD that receive an EIBI using ABA may achieve normal levels of functioning. What may not have been...