Customer Reviews

Graduated Applied Behavior Analysis

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A Review of Graduated Applied Behavior Analysis

An excellent book from the prolific Bobby Newman. This is Bobby's third book on the application of behavior analysis to helping children with autism. All three books, are excellent reads--warm, humanistic, humorous, informal, and anecdotal (case-studyish), easy, fun, but not condescending, written for parents, trainers, tutors, and teachers of autistic children. Not only are these books easy reads, but they are also valuable reads; each book makes serious points, and the books are not redundant with each other, nor are they redundant with any other autism books. I recommend them to my undergrad and grad students working with autistic children.

Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down until I'd finished it--rare for me.

In addition to the case studies, this book also gives how-to-apply-behavior-analysis details and an excellent outcome study empirically demonstrating the power of applied behavior analysis to improve the quality of the student lives.

Other contributors to this book are Sarah Birch, Frederica Blausten, and Dana Reinecke.

Richard Malott, Ph.D.
Behavior Analysis Program
Department of Psychology
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI 49008

This book could not have come at a better time. I am a parent of a PDD child currently battling a school that thinks ABA is discrete trial teaching. I'm giving them a copy so that they know what ABA really is. I have taken many ABA workshops, both with and without a focus on verbal behavior, and my child's teachers are not the only ones who need this book. At the 2002 ABA convention, I went to a talk by a consultant who said that she supervised a program that used to be ABA but now was verbal behavior. When asked for the difference, she couldn't say. This is a person selling training to parents and schools and speaking at conferences! Newman's description of a united science that includes discrete trial, positive support, verbal behavior is a welcome relief for confused parents. He did forget precision teaching and direct instruction.

This book provides additional information that is essential for developing behavioral programs. It provides an excellent description with examples to use.

The explanations provided in Dr. Newman's book have assisted us in the implementation of an intensive home ABA program. After much misunderstanding of what ABA truly is, we have come to the realization that employing behavioral science will give our child the opportunity to reach his full potential. More importantly, we have seen the positive results. Using a data-based methodology as described in Dr. Newman's book enables us to objectively assess in a timely manner whether or not our child is making progress and learning.

To put it simply, this gives us the tools and measures we need to ensure that we are maximizing our child's opportunities to learn. When we first started on our journey with our child almost 2 years ago, the majority of the information we were given about ABA was incorrect. As Dr. Newman points out in his book, ABA is not just discrete trial teaching (which is only ONE of many tools available in the world of ABA). ABA is an all encompassing philosophy that is positively influencing our child's life.

For parents like us, reading "Graduated ABA" includes straight-forward explanations, rather than academic dissertations. What do I need to know to move ahead promptly and help my child? This is the type of question that can be addressed by reading this book. Dr. Newman's book has helped us establish the foundation on which to build a solid home program. I highly recommend this book to all parents who are eager to educate themselves in order to educate their child.

Bravo to Dr. Newman for advocating for the science and not for the person behind it. This book will be extremely valuable to interventionists and parents alike. Its "stream of consciousness" style makes the most scientific concepts reader friendly. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in using applied behavior analysis.

Once again, Bobby Newman has created a fresh, clear, comprehensive way to view applied behavior analysis. Like all of Dr. Newman's books, "Graduated Applied Behavior Analysis" is elegantly organized and written so logically that even the most counterintuitive details of ABA slide effortlessly into place. I recommend this book to everyone I work with, and they all say the same thing: Thanks!