"Applied behavior analysis (ABA), previously known as behavior modification,[1] is the application of operant and classical conditioning to modify human behaviors as part of a learning or treatment process. "
Thanks, I suppose I should have been a little less terse. I suspect the downvoters didn't really get what I was saying. (Or dare I say, their reaction was... pavlovian).
So yes, the approach described in the article is exactly the approach used when training an animal. And no, that doesn't mean the poor autistic kid isn't a human being... it means the principles of reinforcement learning are universal.
Perhaps in this case the approach worked because it was a way to teach the child without the use of language.
Not that I disagree with there being operant conditioning going on, but "tldr operant conditioning" does not sum up that article at all. Also, not that I agree that with the downvotes, but I do think that "how you train a puppy" isn't really adding anything to the conversation.
