Work is Child’s Play for Marjorie

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is a branch of psychology. The science of behaviour studies how anyone learns a new behaviour or skill and unlearns known behaviours. ABA has many practical applications including changing public health behaviour and changing workforce behaviour through the use of Organisational Business Management (OBM). By Marjorie Whinfield (03-05)

Applied Behaviour Analysis is also a scientifically validated therapy for children with autism that has resulted in significant improvements in a wide range of skill areas. I provide ABA therapy to children with a diagnosis of autism and other developmental delays. I work on a variety of skill areas including academic skills, social skills, language development, and functional living skills as well as reducing challenging behaviours.

Behaviour analysis is unfortunately not a wellknown branch of Psychology in the UK, particularly in the North East of England. Like many people in the field, I stumbled upon ABA while gaining work experience after my undergraduate Psychology degree. I spent some time working with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in supported living, and

it was there I met a consultant behaviour analyst. I was immediately fascinated by ABA when he was able to rapidly reduce the frequent, severe and dangerous levels of self-harm and physical aggression that the person engaged in. This not only reduced the risk that person posed to themselves and others, he also increased their access to things that I often take for granted (such as being able to go to the supermarket, visit my friends and eat out) and therefore greatly improved their quality of life.

After spending time researching ABA I was impressed with the focus on evidence-based practice, ethics and the way in which ABA therapy is tailored to each individual. I decided to pursue ABA as a career and applied for a Masters in ABA at the University of Kent. I also began working with children with autism and other developmental delays as a self-employed ABA therapist at home with their families and in schools. In 2011 in the North East there were very few families receiving ABA therapy so I moved to Yorkshire in order to gain work experience while studying part-time at Kent.

I originally planned to return to working with adults on completion of my Masters, however after a few months of working with young children and their families I realised this was the age group I wanted to work with. I work with children of many different ages, although most are between two and six years of age. This means that I have to keep learning fun and embed tasks into playbased activities – I have a lot of fun at work! Every day is different due to each child and family’s unique strengths, preferences and needs. One of my favourite parts of working as an ABA therapist has been teaching non-verbal children to speak. Hearing a four-year-old child’s voice for the first time and knowing that they will now be able to communicate basic wants and needs with their family is one of the most rewarding things I’ve experienced. I also enjoy working with schools to help teach a child social skills and watching that child begin to show an interest and make friends with their peers.

After completing my Masters I decided to return to live in the North East in 2016. I am in the process of completing my supervised fieldwork hours in order to obtain my professional certification, which I hope to have next summer. My supervisor, Corine van Staalduinen, is a board certified behaviour analyst and is a wonderful teacher and mentor with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Corine moved from Canada to the North East in 2015 and set up Little Talks Austim Consulting. Since then the number of families accessing ABA therapy to help their children with developmental delays has increased. She now has three supervisees, including myself, and we provide consultation to

Marjorie’s Masters Graduation Ceremony in 2015

“Although the rules that govern our behaviour are fairly simple, the environment is anything but!”

families under her supervision. I hope that in time ABA will become more well known in the area and that more families will be able to access the much-needed support it provides to help their children learn the skills they need to navigate school and beyond.

ABA has taught me that all behaviour is functional for a person and that no one ever does something without reason. I found learning the rules that govern our behaviour a little like learning the rules for organic chemistry (thanks Mrs Syers (97-05) for all your help with that). Initially it was like learning a foreign language, however with practice and the right teacher it became easy and logical. Now that I provide consultancy services, I enjoy the detective work involved in figuring out why a child is engaging in challenging behaviours. Although the rules that govern our behaviour are fairly simple, the environment is anything but! Each child has a unique set of preferences, learning history and environment. Figuring out how each of these factors interact allows me to learn why that person engages in that behaviour and allows me to teach them alternative ways to meet the same need. Seeing the improvements in a child’s quality of life when they stop hurting themselves and others always reminds me of what drew me to this as a career. I feel incredibly lucky to have found a job that is so interesting, rewarding and fun.