Autism and Behaviorism: Research, Readings, and Affirming Alternatives

This episode from Affect Autism explains the "Rubber Band Metaphor" and how it is used within a DIR Floortime approach. One of the concepts discussed is the issue of compliance-based approaches, due its emphasis on discrete surface-level behaviors and skills and practicing those over and over in the "right way", rather than promoting the development of thinking which is a necessary pre-requisite to higher-level thinking, learning, and generalization, rather than rote memorization. 

"Evidence is showing that learning does not happen based on compliance; learning happens through curiosity, connection, and co-regulation."

Our goals for our children should not be based on compliance and their ability to comply on demand, but based on their social/emotional development through a developmental, individual difference-based, and relational approach, as THIS is the foundation for long-term learning, thinking, and independence. 

PBIS and other incentive-based systems are NOT trauma-informed. Here is a paper which critically examines PBIS, which is based in behaviorism.