Incorporating trauma-informed care (TIC), or trauma-assumed care, into ABA practices can reshape how we approach behavior intervention. By shifting focus to account for the effects of trauma on an individual’s behavior, emotional state, and overall well-being, we create a supportive environment conducive to growth and healing.
What is Trauma-Informed Care?
Trauma can stem from a single event or ongoing experiences – such as abuse, neglect, or instability. These experiences significantly shape how an individual interacts with the world, influencing behavior and emotional responses.
Trauma can arise from a single major event or a series of smaller, repeated experiences. While “big T trauma” is life-altering, “little t trauma,” such as ongoing instability or repeated negative interactions, can build up over time and have a significant impact.
It’s also important to note that trauma can be real or perceived; even if an event isn’t outwardly visible, its emotional impact on the individual is valid and profound. Recognizing these nuances helps us approach each learner with care, empathy, and understanding.
For individuals with a trauma history, traditional behavior interventions may unintentionally cause distress or heighten challenging behaviors. Trauma-informed care provides a framework that prioritizes safety, empowerment, and respect, enabling practitioners to meet learners where they are.
When integrating TIC into ABA practices, it’s essential to adopt a mindset of compassion and understanding. This involves looking at the bigger picture – how trauma might influence behavior – while focusing on fostering trust and supporting skill development.
4 Key Components of Using Trauma-Informed Care in ABA
In 2022, Rajaraman and colleagues outlined four key components for incorporating TIC into ABA1: acknowledgment, ensuring safety and trust, promoting choice, and emphasizing skill building. Let’s explore these principles in depth.
1. Acknowledge Trauma
Acknowledging trauma doesn’t mean we need to uncover or discuss the details of past experiences. Instead, it means recognizing that trauma may have occurred and understanding how it might affect behavior. This perspective helps ABA professionals remain sensitive to the potential impacts of trauma without placing unnecessary focus on the specifics.
For example, consider a child who becomes highly distressed during transitions. Instead of assuming non-compliance, a trauma-informed approach would explore whether transitions are triggering a sense of instability rooted in past experiences. This shifts the focus to understanding and addressing the underlying cause.
2. Ensure Safety & Trust
Building a strong, trusting relationship is foundational in TIC. Clients need to feel physically and emotionally safe in their environments. As practitioners, we can achieve this by being consistent, predictable, and empathetic.
Safety extends beyond physical environments. It also involves creating emotional security by using calm and supportive communication, respecting boundaries, and avoiding practices that might inadvertently cause stress. For example, harsh tones or angry facial expressions can undermine trust, whereas a warm and patient demeanor helps foster connection.
To help you implement a TIC approach, get our applying universal protocol cheat sheet!
3. Promote Choice & Autonomy
Choice empowers individuals, fostering a sense of control. For those with trauma histories, providing opportunities to make decisions – even small ones – can increase their sense of agency.
In ABA, this could involve offering choices during therapy sessions or daily routines. For instance, allowing a child to select their preferred activity or choose their reinforcer demonstrates respect for their voice and preferences. Collaborative decision-making strengthens the relationship and reinforces the idea that both practitioner and client are active participants. Ultimately, learners should be able to truly choose and be able to opt out of interventions too.
4. Emphasize Skill Building
While the reduction of challenging behaviors is often a goal in ABA, TIC emphasizes replacing challenging behaviors with functional skills. Without teaching replacement behaviors, challenging behaviors are likely to persist or manifest in other ways.
Skill-building is about more than behavior modification; it’s about giving individuals the tools to navigate their world successfully. For example, instead of focusing solely on eliminating aggression, practitioners can teach communication skills that allow the individual to express their needs effectively.
A Process-Focused Approach
Trauma-informed care encourages practitioners to think about the process as well as the outcome. While achieving goals is important, how those goals are reached matters just as much. Is the process safe? Is it empowering? Does it promote skill development?
For example, consider the use of reinforcement strategies. Are reinforcers delivered in a way that builds trust and respect? The goal is to create a positive learning experience that fosters growth without triggering past trauma.
Actionable Steps for ABA Practitioners
Supporting individuals with past trauma (including both big T trauma and little T trauma) requires a thoughtful, trauma-informed approach in your ABA practice.
- Adopt a Trauma-Informed Mindset: Approach every client interaction with empathy, understanding that behavior is often shaped by past experiences.
- Foster Predictability: Use clear expectations and routines to create a sense of stability and security.
- Be Flexible: Tailor interventions to the individual’s needs, considering how trauma may influence their responses.
- Provide Choices: Look for opportunities to involve clients in decision-making, reinforcing their autonomy.
- Focus on Replacement Skills: Ensure that skill-building is at the core of your interventions, addressing the underlying functions of behavior.
To help you implement a TIC approach, get our applying universal protocol cheat sheet!
The Role of Reflection
Incorporating trauma-informed care into ABA practices also requires self-awareness. Practitioners should regularly reflect on their strategies and interactions, considering whether they align with TIC principles.
Are we building trust? Are we empowering our clients? These questions help ensure that our practices remain client-centered and compassionate.
Trauma-informed care offers ABA professionals a framework for creating supportive, respectful, and empowering environments. By acknowledging trauma, prioritizing safety and trust, promoting choice, and emphasizing skill building, we can better meet the needs of individuals with trauma histories.
This approach reduces stress and fosters resilience and growth, ultimately strengthening the effectiveness of our interventions. By adopting these principles, we can ensure that our practices address behaviors and contribute to the overall well-being of the individuals we serve.
1 Rajaraman, A., Austin, J. L., Gover, H. C., Cammilleri, A. P., Donnelly, D. R., & Hanley, G. P. (2022). Toward trauma-informed applications of behavior analysis. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 55(1), 40–61. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.881
