Which statement correctly defines maintenance in ABA and how it is promoted?

Which statement correctly defines maintenance in ABA and how it is promoted?

• A. Maintenance concerns only the initial learning phase.
• B. Maintenance is the persistence of a behavior after intervention and is promoted by booster sessions and fading prompts.
• C. Maintenance refers to generalization only.
• D. Maintenance is the rapid acquisition of new skills during intervention.

Answer: (B)

Maintenance in ABA is about the persistence of a learned behavior after the intervention ends. It asks: will this behavior keep occurring once formal teaching or reinforcement stops? Promoting maintenance involves using strategies that help the skill endure over time without continuous coaching. Booster sessions re-expose the learner to the skill after a break, which helps counteract decay in performance. Fading prompts gradually reduces the level of assistance, promoting independence so the behavior stays in use even when prompts aren’t available. Together, these approaches support the durability of the skill beyond the teaching period and across time, settings, and people. It’s helpful to separate this from generalization, which is about applying the skill in new contexts; maintenance specifically focuses on keeping the behavior after training ends.

Maintenance in ABA is about the persistence of a learned behavior after the intervention ends. It asks: will this behavior keep occurring once formal teaching or reinforcement stops? Promoting maintenance involves using strategies that help the skill endure over time without continuous coaching. Booster sessions re-expose the learner to the skill after a break, which helps counteract decay in performance. Fading prompts gradually reduces the level of assistance, promoting independence so the behavior stays in use even when prompts aren’t available. Together, these approaches support the durability of the skill beyond the teaching period and across time, settings, and people. It’s helpful to separate this from generalization, which is about applying the skill in new contexts; maintenance specifically focuses on keeping the behavior after training ends.