How is maintenance defined in ABA practice?

• A. Continuing performance after training ends
• B. Acquiring a new skill
• C. Increasing performance during training
• D. Inhibiting all behavior

Answer: (A)

Maintenance in ABA practice refers to the continued performance of a skill after instruction has ended or reinforcement has been reduced. It focuses on whether the learner can still perform the target behavior over time, without ongoing teaching or frequent prompts. In practice, you’d assess maintenance with probes at later intervals to see if the skill remains above a chosen criterion without reinforcement or direct instruction.

Understanding this helps distinguish it from acquisition, which is about learning a skill for the first time, and from increasing performance during training, which reflects progress while you are still teaching. Inhibiting all behavior is not a goal or concept related to maintaining a trained skill. For example, after teaching a child to request a break, maintenance would mean they can continue to request a break days or weeks later without being re-taught.