Teaching Self-Advocacy Skills in Individuals with Autism

Part 2: Teaching Self-Advocacy Using ABA Principles

ABA provides a robust set of tools for teaching self-advocacy skills, with a heavy emphasis on individualisation, data-driven decision making, and reinforcement. The key components include:

A) Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

Before teaching self-advocacy, behavior analysts conduct an FBA to:

• Identify the functions of challenging behaviours.

• Understand what the individual is currently doing to get their needs met.

• Determine the communication gaps or skill deficits.

This helps ensure the self-advocacy skill being taught serves the same function as the challenging behaviour it aims to replace.

B) Task Analysis and Shaping

More complex self-advocacy behaviors (e.g., negotiating or stating one’s opinion) may be broken into smaller teachable steps. This allows for shaping — reinforcing successive approximations toward the full behavior. Example:

• Step 1: Say “Break please” (simple mand)

• Step 2: “I’m tired. Can I have a break?”

• Step 3: “I need 5 minutes to rest so I can continue.”

C) Prompting and Fading

To build independence, instructors may initially provide prompts (verbal, visual, gestural, or physical) and gradually fade them. Example:

• A visual cue card for “help” is used during a task.

• Over time, the individual is taught to request assistance without the card.

D) Reinforcement

Reinforcing self-advocacy behavior is crucial. Reinforcement should be:

• Immediate and consistent in early teaching.

• Functionally matched to the behaviour (e.g., if someone learns to ask for a break, they are allowed a break without delay).

• Faded naturally over time to increase generalisation.

E) Generalisation Across Contexts

Self-advocacy must be functional across people and settings. Therefore:

• Skills are practiced in natural environments — classrooms, homes, community.

• Teaching involves multiple communication partners, not just therapists.

• Caregivers and teachers are trained to respond appropriately.

F) Using AAC and Alternative Modalities

For individuals with limited vocal speech, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems like PECS, communication apps, or sign language may be used to teach self-advocacy. Example:

• A non-speaking child uses a communication app to say “No” or “I want a break.”

Practitioner Skills for Teaching Self-Advocacy

There are important prerequisite skills to ensure we can effectively identify and teach selfadvocacy skills in individuals with autism. A strong grounding in functional communication, including manding, tacting, and protest responses, as well as the ability to conduct and interpret functional behavior assessments to recognise when behaviours of concern may be attempts at advocacy. We must be sensitive to dignity, autonomy, and rights, acknowledging that refusal, requesting breaks, and expressing preferences are essential life skills rather than problem behaviours. Equally important is the ability to observe and interpret subtle cues that signal advocacy needs, understand motivating operations and environmental demands, and differentiate between barriers to cooperation and genuine advocacy. We should also bring cultural and developmental awareness to programming, ensuring goals are meaningful within the learner’s context, while having the technical expertise to design replacement skill programs, use prompting and fading, and plan for generalisation across settings. Finally, we must be skilled collaborators, working together to consistently honor advocacy attempts. Together, these competencies allow us to tune in to moments where learners’ behaviours reflect unmet advocacy needs and translate them into opportunities for teaching functional, socially valid self-advocacy skills.

Practical Examples of ABA-Based Programs for Self-Advocacy

• Teaching refusal: Reinforce the use of “No” or “I don’t like that” before escalation of behaviours.

• Break cards: Individuals learn to exchange a visual card to request a break during work.

• Choice-making programs: Teach individuals to choose between two or more options, thereby increasing control and preference expression.

• Help-seeking routines: Embedding “This is difficult, help me please” responses during difficult tasks and reinforcing problem-solving attempts.

Conclusion

Teaching self-advocacy skills is essential for promoting autonomy, dignity, and inclusion for individuals with developmental disabilities such as autism. While manding is a foundational skill in ABA, it is only a subset of the broader range of communicative behaviours that constitute self-advocacy. The Positive Behaviour Support framework positions self-advocacy as a proactive and empowering approach to reduce challenging behaviour and improve quality of life. Through evidence-based ABA strategies like verbal behaviour training, reinforcement, prompting, and generalisation, individuals can be supported to effectively advocate for their needs – a skill that they carry with them through their lifespan.

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Written by: Alexa Goh

Edited by: Raja Nishah