ABA Term of the Month – “Antecedent”

By Francisco Prieto, MA, MS

Welcome to ABA Term of the Month! Here we will explore various terms used in Applied Behavioral Analysis practice, break down what they mean and some best practice strategies associated with either the behaviors or practices!

July 2019’s ABA Term: “Antecedent”

In ABA, the antecedent is the environmental or internal factor that occurs before a behavior is exhibited by an individual.

We attempt to find the antecedents to target behaviors in order to:

• Understand the function of the target behavior.
• Antecedent Control: Manipulating the environment to usually decrease the frequency of the target behavior.
  • Changing the room temperature.
  • Allowing access to preferred tangibles.
  • Priming the individual about the antecedent that may become present.
    • Examples: Alarms, changes in routines, classwork or non-preferred activities.
• Prepare for target behaviors that may pose safety concerns to the individual or individuals in the environment.
• Find appropriate replacement behaviors when the antecedent is present.

The above example may or may not apply with your client, so please discuss strategies with your supervisor for your assigned client before applying them in practice.