Association for Behavior Analysis International

The Autism Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) at Children's Medical Center provides a multidisciplinary treatment and support program for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and their families. The IOP provides families with psychiatryand psychology oversight and consultation, therapeutic family support group with a licensed professional counselor, and individualized behavioral treatment in a peer setting. This individualized 15-week program is designed for young children and incorporates empirically-proven behavioral techniques, parent training, and care coordination. The program empowers parents to effectively guide and interact with their children, specifically focusing on motivation, reinforcement, shaping, and prompting in the areas of communication, attending, play skills, and managing behavior. As behavior analysts are now entering the more traditional medical arena, collaborative efforts are necessary and the importance of understanding the strengths of other sciences as related to the target population is imperative. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the efficacy of treatment provided in the parent training components of this initiative and the treatment outcomes for the patient.

Early intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a topic that has gained attention in politics, education, science, and the media. Earlier detection and treatment has led to an increase in demands for the provision of effective early intervention services. Many treatment approaches to ASD have emerged and a number of them have been shown to be effective in research settings with some children, while other methods lack evidence of effectiveness. Behavioral, developmental, model-based approaches, and structured strategies that address specific domains (i.e., language, social, play skills, etc.) have reported varying levels of success. Clinicians and researchers have expressed concern about the divide between evidence-based methods and the techniques that providers and parents choose to utilize. This study examined the accuracy of parents' and providers' knowledge of the existing research support for popular autism interventions. The results of the investigation demonstrate that neither the parent group nor the provider group correctly rated the efficacy of any of the treatments. The provider rankings were consistently more correct than the parent ratings. A notable trend was displayed by the parents' tendency to rank less-efficacious treatments more highly than the treatments with demonstrated efficacy.

This poster summarizes the final report of the OPWDD/FAR Fund Collaboration, a person-centered planning (PCP) alliance representing state government, private foundation support, and seven voluntary service provider organizations in the New York City area. The project began in 2003 with three voluntary developmental services agencies and 30 individuals with autism who experienced PCP. After 3 years of assistance and a one-year hiatus, four more agencies and 35 more individuals with autism were added in 2007. The latter four agencies developed formal PCP goals. Two-hundred seventeen goals were established in 13 goal areas, and 143 goals, or 66%, were met. We used the Person-Centered Planning Quality of Life Indicators questionnaire to measure aspects of an individuals life that might be affected by PCP. In the five agencies that permitted comparisons to a contrast group, we found no difference in QOL for any of the five agencies. A number of organizational practices arose during the project to support PCP.

This study investigated integrating functional analysis and sensory profile results into an intervention for aberrant behavior within two different sensory profile categories (i.e. sensory seeking and sensory avoiding). Our participants were a two-year-old boy with pervasive developmental disorder and a six-year-old boy with autism. This study attempted to extend the previous literature which supports the use of stimulus substitutability to relieve problem behaviors maintained by sensory reinforcement. We hoped to expand the selection of substitutable stimuli by combining sensory integrative therapies commonly used for treatment of children with sensory processing disorders and autism with functional analysis outcomes. Using the Sensory Profile, the two participants were assessed for sensory processing deficits and a treatment was matched to the results of a functional analysis. Treatment was implemented for both sensory seeking behaviors (Phase B) and sensory avoiding behaviors (Phase C). The study utilized an ABCBCB reversal design to evaluate the effectiveness of matching intervention to the participants sensory profile and functional analysis results. The results demonstrated that treatment, which matched functional analysis to a sensory profile, successfully decreased aberrant behavior.

This poster reviews a successful data management system and accompanying behavior intervention plan that were implemented by parents. The data collection system consisted of a partial interval per activity mood rating system. The child's moods were operationally defined based upon observable behaviors that were associated with the following moods: (1) happy, (2) anxious, (3) threatening, and (4) unsafe. The parents rated each activity of the day by the highest mood. Goals for the child included increasing participation in family activities, increasing independence in homework completion and decrease of unsafe behaviors. Results indicate that parents were able to take accurate and consistent data, demonstrate mastery of targets by prescribed criteria and, in combination with training in deescalation and coaching techniques, reduce unsafe behavior. This program demonstrates a simplified manner of collecting data which was successful in achieving and demonstrating goals of the home program. Further studies include replication with additional families to demonstrate further effectiveness.

This study assessed the effectiveness of teaching abduction prevention skills to children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). A multiple baseline design methodology was used to compare the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) plus in-situ training (IST) versus IST alone when presented with a lure by an abductor. Once a child in either condition demonstrated 100% accuracy of the target behavior across three consecutive in-situ assessments, their training was terminated. Follow-up maintenance probes were conducted at six and twelve weeks following intervention. This study attempted to extend previous findings of Miltenberger et al., (2009) and Gunby et al. (2010). Results will be important for identifying effective training procedures to decrease the risk of abduction for children with autism.

Parent adherence with behavioral strategies is widely researched. Problems with adherence are often the result of a prior history of lack of success and the social stigma of managing behaviors in the community (Allan Warzak, 2000). Parent education has been shown to increase generalization and maintenance of treatment gains (Feldman, Case, Garrick, MacIntyre-Grande, Carnwell, & Sparks, 1992) so the implications of overcoming these challenges to adherence are significant. Research on the use of technology to facilitate independence in individuals with disabilities has been conducted by Satriale, Nepo, Genter, and Glickman (2010); however, little research has been conducted on the use of technology to promote parent independence with behavioral strategies and interventions. The present study presents the findings of the use of Bluetooth technology to increase parent adherence of behavioral strategies. A multiple baseline across settings design was used to evaluate whether (a) Bluetooth technology allowed instructors to fade their proximity to the parent; (b) Bluetooth technology was effective in increasing parent adherence with treatment recommendations; (c) generalization of parent teaching skills occurred from trained settings to novel settings; and (d) changes in parent's acquisition of skills were accompanied by decreases in child's maladaptive behaviors.

Using the Buddy Skills Program, this study implemented a peer-mediated social skills program in a child care center and junior kindergarten classroom. The peers were taught methods to interact with their peers with autism spectrum disorder, and adults prompted peers in using these skills in naturally occurring situations. Social interactions with peers and adults were measured for 3 children with ASD in both a classroom and child care center. Results demonstrated the greatest improvement in social skills in structured settings, with less improvement during free time. Educators also reported changes in various areas on a social skills questionnaire.

In many developing countries, individuals with autism and related disabilities are still often stigmatized (possessed, and/or black magic.) Because of limited knowledge of autism and effective treatments, unsubstantiated approaches often prevail. The importance of disseminating evidence-based treatments is intensifying as the number of autism diagnoses grows. Four organizations came together to increase sustainable evidence-based interventions in Kenya, and to develop a model useful in other countries. Global Autism Project, an International NGO with partners in Africa and Asia provided the initial consultation to Kaizora and conducted training that increased competencies. As the lead agency, it coordinates these collaborative efforts. Kaizora Consultants provides one-on-one ABA services for children with autism and other developmental disorders, and consults to families, caregivers and teachers/schools. The founder is invited to speak to schools, parent groups and disability-related organizations as an emerging leader within Kenya. UMassBoston provides BCBA-approved coursework to Kenya through a scholarship to Kaizoras Director to meet the BCBA training requirements. Collaborating with a Kenyan university will create a sustainable way for other Kenyans to achieve the BCBA certification. A BCBA is providing the required supervision leading towards certification of the first BCBA in Kenya, who will eventually provide supervision to others directly.

Children with autism are known to have difficulty in "reading other's minds." The basis of "reading other's mind" behavior contains equivalent relations among social stimuli, such as other's facial expressions, emotion-words, prosody, and contexts. We developed an integrated program for establishing equivalent relations among social stimuli and enhancing "reading other's mind," Face Expression Expert Program (FEEP) (Matsuda, Yamamoto, 2011). Based on FEEP framework, the present research examined the conceptualization of emotion-word (spoken name) and facial expression (picture), and the condition for forming equivalent relation in children with autism. In the training, we presented emotion-word (spoken name) and the corresponding facial expression (in vivo) as a paired sample stimuli. The participants were required to choose a picture of facial expression corresponding to a given sample stimuli. After the training, we evaluated both the conceptualization (arbitrary matching-to-sample) and the equivalent relations (naming facial expressions). The results showed that both the conceptualization and the equivalent relations emerged through the training.

In previous generations it was imperative that children learn to tie their shoes before kindergarten. These days there is a wide variation in shoe design (i.e., velcro shoes, zip up shoes, slip on shoes, flip flops), making mastering the skill of shoe tying at a young age less important. The authors aim to teach an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with autism to tie his shoelaces. Methodologies taken from earlier studies (Matson, Taras, Sevin, Love & Fridley, 1990) with some adaptations will be used to teach the child to tie his laces in fewer sessions than those previously required (84 sessions). Treatment procedures will include a total task presentation consisting of modeling and imitation, the use of within-stimulus prompts, and reinforcement of each successive step within the chain. Training will consist of: (a) modeling and verbally describing the target behaviour of each step in the whole chain; (b) modeling each step in the chain while the child imitates each step; (c) the child instructed to tie his shoe independently.

Rumination is the effortless regurgitation of food or drink. Christy, a 33-year-old female diagnosed with autism, 64 tall and weighing 86.8 lbs (BMI 14.2) was admitted to a crisis stabilization unit for the assessment and treatment of persistent vomiting and dehydration. Functional analysis suggested a socially mediated escape/avoidance function. Christy was taught to discriminate between 2 conditions: a yellow card was paired with Christys mands being reinforced (i.e., Christys Way), and a red card was paired with mands being denied but contingent delivery of flavor spray was provided for compliance with directives (i.e., Staffs Way). Timers and structured routine were used to help transition between conditions. Planned ignoring of rumination occurred across conditions. An interdisciplinary approach was used to develop a dining plan to further reduce the likelihood of rumination. Following treatment rates of regurgitation dropped nearly 81% from baseline. Christys weight increased to 129.8 lbs (BMI 22.1), and Christy was reintegrated back into the community.

Discrimination among visual stimuli is a common variable that interferes with the acquisition and use of visually-based communication systems (e.g., PECS). As response effort increases when arrays of visual stimuli become larger, acquisition of functional communication may be adversely affected. In the current investigation, a 10 year old boy was referred for the assessment and treatment of aggression and self-injury. The functional analysis revealed that problem behavior was maintained by restricted access to tangibles. The treatment package consisted of teaching a general access response (touching a please card) that resulted in access to a variety of reinforcers. Following the acquisition of the please response, the student was then taught to discriminate among three different types of preferred items: music, food, and toys. The intervention resulted in a 95.5% decrease in maladaptive behavior and maintained high levels of communication.

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT; Eyberg & Robinson,1982) is an evidence-based treatment (EBT) for young children with disruptive behavior disorders (Zisser & Eyberg, 2008/2010). The effectiveness of PCIT has also been demonstrated with families of children with Autism, intellectual disabilities, and a range of clinically significant behavior problems (e.g., Bagner & Eyberg, 2007; McDiarmid & Bagner, 2005; Solomon, Ono, Timmer, & Goodlin-Jones, 2008). Following baseline toy play observations which yielded data demonstrating the absence of appropriate and positive parent initiated interactions and the presence of certain behaviors considered to be negative interactions, parent training sessions were conducted which targeted discrete behaviors modeled from those targeted in PCIT. Using a multiple baseline design across target skills, the following parent behaviors were targeted using role-play and in-vivo training: praise, behavior descriptions and reflections, imitations and reciprocal play, positive physical interaction, and planned ignoring of problem behavior. Results demonstrated the rapid acquisition of each skill and increases in skills correlated with decreases in negative interactions. This study demonstrated the utility of focused and programmatic parent training based upon discrete skills similar to those targeted during PCIT to increase appropriate and positive parent behaviors for a parent with a child with severe intellectual disabilities.

In the present study, we replicated Hanley, Iwata, Thompson, and Lindberg (2000) treatment component analysis with an adolescent diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, and extended this research by (a) conducting comparative analyses of differing ways to implement the contingent access to stereotypy, (b) by progressively increasing the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the response requirement to earn access to stereotypy in order to increase the developmental appropriateness of the resultant activity interaction (c) by arranging for objective measures of client preference for using stereotypy as reinforcement versus other relevant treatments for their automatically-reinforced stereotypy. It was demonstrated for this participant, that it is possible to use stereotypy as a reinforcer for more desirable, alternative behavior. Results of Hanley et al. (2000) were replicated by showing that the presence of activities, prompting by the therapist, restriction of the reinforcer while in session, and providing access to that reinforcer contingent on another behavior can be used as an effective treatment for automatically-maintained stereotypy. In addition, the results were extended with this participant by demonstrating that by implementing the treatment package an alternative behavior can be increased by amount and then shaped by complexity.

Although noncontingent music has been shown to reduce engagement in vocal stereotypy, researchers have generally used parental reports of preference or arbitrarily-selected music to reduce engagement in the behavior. However, whether experimentally identified preferred music would be more or less effective than nonpreferred music at reducing vocal stereotypy remains unclear. To examine the effects of musical preference on engagement in vocal stereotypy, we used a multielement design to expose four children with autism spectrum disorders to preferred and nonpreferred music as identified by a stimulus preference assessment (see Horrocks & Higbee, 2008). The results suggest that preference may alter the effects of music on vocal stereotypy. For3 participants, preferred music produced stronger abative effects on vocal stereotypy than nonpreferred music whereas the converse was observed for1 participant. The clinical implications of the results will be discussed in terms of improving the use of noncontingent music in the treatment of vocal stereotypy in applied settings.

Noncompliance defined as an incorrect response or a failure to respond to a request is one of the most common problems reported by parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. The two currently dominant approaches to increase rates of compliance are the high-probability request sequences approach and Errorless Compliance Training. Both approaches are associated with problems with treatment fidelity and poor social acceptability. Alternative effective procedures to manage noncompliance and teach compliance are required. This study examined the effects of (i) effective instruction delivery and (ii) a self management intervention (self monitoring) on compliance. The two participants were seven and five-year-old boys both diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, who exhibited low rates of compliance. A multiple baseline across settings design was used. Improvement rate difference analyses revealed medium effect sizes for effective instruction delivery with both participants and large effects for the self-management intervention, increasing compliance to a level that was not clinically significant in both training and generalization settings. Social validity was high and treatment integrity data indicated that the self-management intervention could be readily implemented by parents. Significant changes on pre- and post measures of parenting stress were observed.

The purpose of this study was indentify an activity that participant talked a lot, increase functional verbal behavior by using time-delay and model prompt procedure, and examine that frequency of verbal behavior was maintained without intervention. A participant was first grade boy with autism and moderately intellectual disabilities. He was able to talk a few words at one sentence. In the assessment sessions, we identified that he talked a lot during making his favorite dish in home setting. Therefore, following task analysis of cooking, we conducted time-delay and model prompt procedure as the intervention for each steps. As a result, percentage of interval that functional verbal behavior occurred was increased by intervention. The percentage of probe condition also showed higher level than baseline. We discussed that assessment of natural home setting was very important. Direct intervention in his home setting was effective to improve functional verbal behaviors in his everyday life situation.

Research suggests that treatment integrity errors impact student acquisition. The purpose of the present study was to replicate and extend these findings by examining the impact of errors of commission (i.e., reinforcement for incorrect responses) on student acquisition of nonsense shapes both in the short and long term. We altered errors of commission during reinforcement procedures as part of discrete-trial training for two children with autism. Participants were instructed to point to shapes, each of which was associated with a different level of integrity (0%, 50%, and 100% commission errors) during the consequence manipulation condition. The conditions were intended to simulate situations during which teachers would make various amounts of errors during instruction. Next, errors of commission were removed and the long-term impact on acquisition was examined during the high integrity condition, in which we examined the degree to which previous instructional errors impacted acquisition when integrity errors were no longer committed. During baseline, participant performance was within chance levels and was not well differentiated. During consequence manipulation, one participant showed decrements in performance under the 100% errors condition, which replicates previous findings. In addition, he continued to show delayed acquisition when the errors were removed; he required 26 sessions to reach mastery criterion within the high integrity condition. The other participant's performance did not appear to be impacted by errors in instruction and reached mastery criterion within 6 sessions. These findings suggest idiosyncratic variables may moderate the impact of treatment integrity errors on student outcomes.

Pervasive social deficits are a defining characteristic of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000). As such, children with an ASD are less likely to display pro-social behavior and more likely to display maladaptive behavior than typically developing children in social settings (Cohen& Sudhalter, 2005). Researchers have demonstrated that enriching a child's environment with structured group activities can increase the display of pro-social behavior (DeKlyen & Odom, 1989; Taubman, Leaf, & McEachin, 2011). However, most of the literature demonstrating these benefits has been conducted in integrated settings with typically developing peers (Dunlap & Powell, 2009). The purpose of this poster is to present a demonstration of the benefits of making structured games available to a group of children comprised exclusively of children with pervasive developmental disorders. An ABA withdrawal design was used to demonstrate the causal relation between the availability of structured games and increases in pro-social behavior and decreases in maladaptive behavior across the group. Additionally, replications across time and individuals are planned. Discussion will focus on results of the intervention as well as considerations when developing and utilizing group-based structured activities in a school setting.

Bruxism, the grinding or gnashing of teeth, is a serious challenging behavior. Persistent bruxism may lead to abnormal wear on teeth, oral–facial pain, headaches, and potentially tooth loss. Individuals with developmental disabilities experience a higher prevalence of oral health concerns than the general population, and the assessment and treatment of bruxism is a major priority. A systematic review of11 bruxism intervention studies found that an analogue functional analysis has never identified a case of bruxism maintained by a socially mediated function (Lang 2008). Although previous intervention research has involved behavioral modification, researchers used only indirect functional assessments methods and always concluded that function was self-stimulatory or automatic reinforcement. This case study is a description of a functional analysis on a 4-year-old boy with autism who engaged in bruxism. The functional analysis demonstrates that the behavior was reinforced and maintained by adult attention. A function-based intervention involving the manipulation of attention was then evaluated in a multiple baseline design across caregivers.

A 10-year-old-boy with a diagnosis of autism was taught to tell time from an analog clock, using a Fluency Based Instruction teaching arrangement. The goal was for him to develop the fluent time-telling skill for ultimate benefit in time management and organization at home and at school. The targeted frequency aim was set at 20-30 answers per minute, but empirical validation of that frequency aim was planned to be measured according to the methods of Fabrizio & Moors (2003). Instruction was designed using two learning channels: See/Say and Hear/Do. In the See/Say condition, the student was shown the clock and asked to vocally name the time. During the Hear/Do condition, the student was given a time and expected to move the hands on the Judy Clock to produce the correct hour and minute on the clock. Additional critical features of instruction included: (1) duration of timing intervals and (2) slices of instruction (e.g. quarter, half, whole hours). Instruction occurred in his home one-two nights per week. Session data were collected and charted on a Timing Chart and the daily best was charted on a Standard Celeration Daily per minute Chart. A daily improvement goal was identified each time the skill was practiced. Using 30-second timings, successive timings were completed until the daily improvement goal was met or 10 minutes had elapsed. The poster will display two Daily Charts of charted student progress toward achieving a fluent performance as well as data displaying empirical validation of the frequency aim.

Children with autism have difficulty talking about complex pictures, especially generating pragmatic statements about the interactions between people. This poster will show charted data on teaching a 4-year-old boy with an autism diagnosis to make statements about the interactions in pictures occurring between characters. Instruction was designed controlling such critical features of instruction as the number of agents in the photo, the familiarity of social situations, and the complexity of statements the student was expected to say. Fluency Based Instruction was utilized to ensure efficient instruction with respect to the students progress per unit of instructional time. Student performance data were charted on the Standard Celeration Chart and session data were charted on the Timing Chart. Daily improvement goals along with differential reinforcement of higher rates of behavior were employed as part of the independent variables. Discussion of results will include the students success in reaching predicted frequency aims as well as demonstrating agility across instructional sets. Charted data will further show empirical validation of the frequency aim as evidenced by passes on retention, endurance, stability, application checks (RESA) (Fabrizio & Moors, 2003).

The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the effects of Peer Networks Interventions for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Kindergarten and first graders with ASD participated (n=31 in years 1-2 and an additional 15 in the current year). School staff in over 40 elementary schools in Kansas, Missouri, and Washington State implemented the networks. Social Peer Networks occurred for 20-30 minutes, 3 times per week. Communications between children with ASD and their peers increased during Social Peer Network treatment sessions, averaging 25 initiations and responses per 10-min (n=215 probes), compared to baseline observations (mean, 13.6, n= 96 probes). Specific behaviors included: asking for and sharing items, showing interest by commenting on what a peer is doing, complimenting and using social pleasantries, and taking turns. Figures represent probes for two kindergarten participants (see Figure). Literacy Peer Networks occurred for 30 minutes 4 times per week. In kindergarten, students who were beginning readers enrolled in the Reading Peer Networks showed gains in known vocabulary words from the Reading Mastery curriculum, from fall (mean, 16.7 words) to spring assessments (mean, 116.1 words). Data for students in peer networks intervention will be compared to students not enrolled in intervention.

We are a new center in Perth, Australia with a mission to provide evidence based instruction to children with Autism. We use assessment of behavior to drive therapy and data to drive decision making. As part of our initial assessment, we administer the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment (VB-MAPP) to determine a starting place for designing an individualized program. The method for designing instruction to meet goals from this assessment tool are typically straight forward. However, a subset of our children use assistive technology, with varying degrees of success, to communicate. This has caused us to have to think outside the box when designing effective strategies. This is particularly true for programs meant to teach Tacts, Intraverbals, and Mands. In the process of designing instruction to incorporate the use of assistive technology, we have found that teaching other verbal operants, such as Listener Responding related to feature, function, and class, through assistive technology has resulted in more fluent use of the technology. This poster will include examples of how assistive technology was used in conjunction with goals derived from the VB-MAPP at our small, but growing center in Perth, Australia.

Children with disabilities have fewer opportunities to engage in quality literacy experiences that can support the development of critical early literacy skills than their typically developing siblings and peers. When implemented in a consistent manner, dialogic reading intervention strategies improve early literacy skills in children with language delays and those from at-risk populations. There is, however, a dearth of information exploring the potential utility of dialogic reading strategies for students with more significant disabilities, including young children with autism. The present study employed a multiple baseline design across participants with a wait list control to examine the effect of dialogic reading on early literacy and language outcomes for young students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The research design allowed researchers to compare the effectiveness of dialogic reading strategies to standard reading on standardized measures of oral language development and print knowledge. Furthermore, weekly measures were conducted on participants' verbal participation during book readings, as well as performance on vocabulary tests created for targeted books.

The purpose of this study was to teach kindergarten students with autism dressing/undressing for the winter outdoor recess in their clothing. Using a forward chaining task analysis pictorial sequence in a structured learning classroom in a public school, students were taught the dressing skills. Using the prompting hierarchy, the objective was to move from the highest level of prompting to the least level of prompting. The NAC National Standards (10/09) report lists structured learning teaching and visuals supports) as emerging treatments for students with autism. For the study, baseline data was taken on four students. A sequence of dressing steps was created visually for each student. Data was recorded twice a day for dressing and undressing during natural times of the day. Natural environmental cues and classroom materials were implemented as reinforcers. The results of this study concluded students, using visuals, dressed/undressed in a decreased amount of time and their overall independence for dressing increased while the verbal prompts decreased. Data will begin again for maintenance and generalization to a different environment in this upcoming winter.

This study was replicated after a previous study by the author that demonstrated that the implementation of a reverse demand fading protocol may reduce the occurrence of maladaptive behaviors while increasing the rate of skill acquisition. This poster examines the effects of a reverse demand fading protocol on the occurrence of the target behaviors of physical aggression toward others and self-injurious behavior as well as the rate of skill acquisition for a 15-year-old boy with autism. After initial baseline recording of the occurrence target behaviors and baseline testing of the subject's skill set, goals and objectives for behavior reduction and skill acquisition were determined for one school year following the implementation of the demand fading protocol. Demand sets were determined through a hierarchical ranking of the projected yearly goals and objectives. Criteria for subsequent demand set implementation was determined to be3 consecutive days of target behavior occurrence within a range of 0% to 10% below average baseline percent per target behavior. Rate of skill acquisition was determined by the number of newly mastered targets per week across all skill acquisition programs.

A large proportion of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit circumscribed interests (CI) (Danovitch, Paul, Volkmar, & Klin, 2009). Despite the prevalence of CI in this population, the phenomenon remains poorly understood (Atwood, 2003; Klin, Danovitch, Merz, & Volkmar, 2007). Furthermore, the majority of studies in this area have focused on the topography of CI speech, rather than the function of this behavior (e.g., Bashe & Kirby, 2001; Danovitch et al., 2009; Klin et al., 2007; South, Ozonoff, & McMahon, 2005). The present study aimed to assess the function of CI speech in 5 children with ASD. A brief functional analysis was conducted with all 5 participants. Four of the 5 participants exhibited the greatest levels of CI speech during a modified attention condition. The CI speech of the other participant appeared to serve an automatic function. Additional brief assessments were conducted to further identify the controlling variables of CI speech and develop hypotheses for possible intervention strategies. Thus, modifying functional analysis methodology appeared to be useful in assessing the functions of CI speech and in generating potential treatment recommendations for the reduction of problematic levels of CI speech. Limitations and future directions will be presented.

Functional analysis methodology has been useful for identifying the functions of a range of problem behaviors. More recently, functional analysis procedures have been applied to analyze the functions of appropriate verbal behavior (Lerman, Parten, Addison, Vorndran, Volkert, & Kodak, 2005). In the current study, the functions of the repetitive vocal responses that appeared to be mands were assessed using functional analysis methodology for 3 children with autism. Results indicated that responses were maintained by access to adult attention and not by the reinforcement specified by the mand response. A functional communication training treatment package with extinction was effective in teaching an alternative, appropriate response to access attention and reduce repetitive verbal responses.

Individuals with autism can often struggle with different components of their daily lives. A particularly difficult area can be in the area of medical procedures. Various types of avoidant or aggressive behavior can be seen throughout a variety of medical procedures, especially around injections or other procedures involving the use of needles. This study involved a 20-year-old young man diagnosed with autism who displayed severe aggressive behaviors when encountering medical procedures involving needles. Due to an extreme case of psoriasis, it was medically necessary for subject to undergo treatment via weekly injections. Additionally, the medication required blood to be drawn quarterly to monitor the levels. A plan for desensitization involved differential reinforcement of appropriate behaviors and graduated exposure to the medical procedures. The participant participated in a number of sessions designed to closely resemble the actual procedure. Reinforcement and graduated exposure to medical procedures was effective in increasing the participants tolerance to medical procedures involving needles.

Children with autism have deficits in joint attention, specifically they are more likely to engage in reaching, pointing, and eye gaze shifts to get things that they want (i.e., to mand) than engage in these same behaviors to label or comment on an item (i.e., to tact; Goodhart & Baron-Cohen, 1993; Loveland & Landry, 1986). This study uses the same technology as a functional analysis of challenging behavior to assess the purpose of joint attention behaviors (Iwata, et al., 1982/ 1994). Three young children with autism were exposed to multiple 5-minute sessions of each of three social conditions: mand condition, tact condition, and play/ control condition. In the mand and tact conditions, joint attention topographies were reinforced with access to preferred items and access to a verbal description of the item, respectively. The play condition served as a control, in which the children had free access to both types of reinforcement. The levels of joint attention behavior between conditions were compared using a multielement design in order to determine the purpose/ function of joint attention behavior. This type of assessment can be used to more precisely determine deficits in joint attention and ensure that joint attention behaviors serve a tacting or commenting function following intervention. Goodhart, F., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1993). How many ways can the point be made? Evidence from children with and without autism. First Language, 13, 225 233. Iwata, B. A., Dorsey, M., Slifer, K., Bauman, K., & Richman, G. (1994). Toward a functional analysis of self-injury. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 197209. (Reprinted from Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 2, pp. 320, 1982) Loveland, K. A., & Landrey, S. H. (1986). Joint attention and language in autism and developmental language delay. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 16, 335 349.

Children with autism often have difficulty making appropriate social initiations, which severely limits their opportunities for social interactions. While many individuals with autism do acquire functional language, much of this language is restricted to requesting desired items and answering questions. Previous studies have shown script-fading to be an effective method of teaching social language to individuals with autism. Several studies have used typically developing peers as conversation partners for children with autism during script-fading interventions. However, a very important subset of peers has not been included in any of these studies: siblings of the children with autism. This study seeks to examine the effects of having typically developing siblings implement a script-fading procedure with their sibling with autism.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit significant deficits in imitation skills. About imitation skills, adults contingent imitation was effective for facilitating social behavior in children with ASD, such as eye contact, proximity and touching to adult. However, few studies examined the effect of adult contingent vocal imitation on children with ASD. In the present study, we examined whether contingent vocal imitation increased childrens vocal imitation, spontaneous vocal response, and social interaction. We used A-B-A-B reversal design across typically developing children and children with ASD. Each session consisted of baseline phase and intervention phase. In baseline, the experimenter didnt imitate but responded with contingent response for childrens vocal response. In intervention phase, the experimenter did imitate and extended the childrens vocal response. The results demonstrated that adult contingent vocal imitation increased the rate of childs vocal imitation rather than non-imitative contingent response. Furthermore, adult contingent extended vocal imitation changed the childs prosody. These findings suggest that contingent vocal imitation become important intervention method for language acquisition in children with ASD.

One important component of early language training is the development of a mand repertoire. A variety of intervention strategies have been used with children diagnosed with developmental delays to increase mands. The current investigation evaluated the effects of extinction and prompts on training and generalization of peer-directed mands for preferred items with two non-vocal children diagnosed with autism. Teaching peer-directed mands may provide opportunities for children with developmental delays to engage in positive interactions with peers and could assist in establishing friendships. Participants engaged in peer-directed mands using a picture exchange communication system (PECS). Participants completed PECS training prior to beginning the evaluation. Results showed that peer-directed mands increased during treatment for both participants. In addition, peer-directed mands generalized to a novel peer and maintained in a more naturalistic setting that simulated a free-play activity in a classroom. Interobserver agreement was calculated on a trial-by-trial basis and exceeded 80% for all dependent measures.

As the prevalence rates and interest in autism increase, there has been a corresponding increase in treatment options presented to parents of children with autism. Unfortunately, many treatments options have gained popularity in practice before gaining empirical evidence of effectiveness. This purpose of this study is to systematically review the use of chelation as a treatment for autism spectrum disorders. Each study was analyzed and summarized in terms of participant characteristics, specifics of the chelation intervention, and results in terms of effects on the three core symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorders. Results suggest a lack of evidence to support the use of chelation to treat symptoms associated with autism.

Point-of-view video modeling has been used to teach social and functional skills to individuals on the autism spectrum. The purpose of the current study is to explore the use of point-of-view video to teach street crossing skills to2 teenaged young men diagnosed with ASD. Using a controlled crosswalk area, the 2 young men were evaluated for current street crossing skills. They were then shown point-of-view videos of crossing the street at that crosswalk. Two separate videos of each of the critical street crossing actions at the crosswalk were made. In the first video there is no vehicle moving toward the crosswalk. In the second a vehicle is shown driving toward the cross walk and stopping at the edge of the crosswalk. These videos were shot from the point of view of the person crossing the street and included approaching the street and stopping at the curb, panning left then right to mimic a person "looking" left and then right. A third video showed an approach to a playground on the other side of the street mimicking how it would look from the point of view of the person crossing the street. When there was no vehicle the student could cross at their leisure. When the vehicle is in sight the video showed the vehicle coming to a complete stop and then the view would show the approach to the playground. Results using the first and second video have shown no change in student behavior. The next phase of the study will include a change to the videos; the videos will include a model. The model will demonstrate safe pedestrian skills. The model will be used to determine whether this addition improves acquisition of the pedestrian skills. If the student's performance improves, the inclusion of a model demonstrating the correct skills may be a factor that determines the success of using a video as a teaching tool.

Shaping procedures have been used in the treatment of avoidance behaviors for children with autism (Riccardi et al., 2006). The effectiveness of choice as an intervention has also recently received attention in the behavioral literature (Ulke-Kurkcuolgu & Kircaali-Iftar, 2010). However, the combined effect of shaping and choice to treat avoidance behaviors in children with autism has not yet been studied. A changing-criterion design was used to assess the added benefit of choice into a shaping procedure for a 6-year-old boy with autism who displayed extreme avoidance of toe nail trimming. The shaping procedure included positive reinforcement for calm behavior while successively trimming more toe nails. The choice procedure allowed the boy to choose which toe-nails would be trimmed. By the end of the intervention, the boy was able to stay calm while all10 of his toe nails were trimmed by either his mother or the school nurse. Although the results only show the effectiveness of this intervention for one individual, the data are encouraging and highlight the need for future research in this area. Discussion will focus on the development of effective procedures for the treatment of avoidance behaviors for children with autism.

Applied Behavior analytic treatment (usually people think DTT) has been named the gold standard for treating those with autism. Although a DTT approach has been extremely successful at training a wide variety of skills to learners with ASD, there are some potential problems with the approach prompt dependency and lack of generalization. Another behavior analytic approach to teaching is based on a free operant model, fluency training (Lindsley,1992; Binder,1996). Most of the research on fluency based instruction has included several other variables and has been conducted under the moniker precision teaching (Holding, Brae, and Kehle,2010) . The current study aimed to compare modern DTT practices against FT in regards to teaching learners with ASD to receptively identify colors and shapes. The results of the study will be discussed in relation to practice for behavior analysts and a brief discussion will be presented on free operant versus discrete trial formats.