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Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the most prevalent early childhood intervention recommended by clinicians after a child receives a diagnosis of autism (CDC, 2015). Behaviorists conceptualize autism as a disorder characterized by both behavioral deficits in communication and social skills, as well as excesses such as ritualistic behavior and tantrums (Green, 1996). ABA therapists enforce behavior modification with a rewards-based model and systematically encourage social behaviors that have been deemed appropriate by the caregivers and the intervention team. ABA is behaviorally focused where the client is motivated by the reward to modify a behavior by completing a task without behavioral aberrations predetermined in the treatment goal (e.g. no eye contact, hand flapping, hitting therapist or self) or risk the delay of receiving a reward such as taking a break or computer time. An example of reinforcement during repeated exposure is with ongoing task-based sessions where, “the child then responds correctly, and the therapist responds by giving the child a reinforcer. If the child responds incorrectly, a reinforcer is not delivered and the therapist typically presents some kind of correction procedure, such as modeling the correct response and then initiating another discrete trial” (Granpeesheh et al., 2009, p. 164). Thus, the intervention quantifies the individual characteristics of the client and the therapist modifies the treatment in line with the client’s response to the intervention.
Exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) is often associated with significant psychological and emotional distress, causing posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Per the DSM-5, a specific cluster of PTSS can be diagnosed as a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and with moderate, severe, or extreme levels. Autistic people have a sensitivity to the way any situation is initially appraised, and a benign situation which was perceived as harmful or threatening to the individual can become a PTE which could trigger PTSS due to their underlying vulnerability (Ashley-Koch et al., 2006; Ma et al., 2005; Fatemi et al., 2009).
PTSD is based on neurochemical response patterns to acute stress and the neural mechanisms mediating reward, fear conditioning and extinction, and social behavior. Only a small percentage of individuals develop PTSD in the aftermath of a trauma, and highly specific genetic factors contribute to PTSD susceptibility and resilience “at both the behavioural...