Association for Behavior Analysis International

The operant functions of self-injurious behavior (SIB) are well-documented. However, additional research is needed on organism variables that may interact with environmental variables and affect occurrences of SIB. A recent study by Oliver et al. (in press)suggests motor inhibition control (i.e., impulsivity) may be one organism variable that may serve as a risk factor for some cases of SIB in individuals with autism. The current study replicated and extended the findings of Oliver et al., by employing a larger and more diverse sample. A heterogeneous sample of 617 individuals (average age was 11.21 years old; SD = 6.78) with autism spectrum disorder diagnoses was derived from the National Database of Autism Research (NDAR). Created to facilitate research advances through data sharing, NDAR is a repository for previously funded research by the National Institutes of Health. Latent constructs were estimated from items of the community version (Marshburn & Aman, 1992) of the Aberrant Behavioral Checklist (Aman, Singh, Stewart, & Field, 1985a). Impulsivity (ß = .46 ), followed by stereotypy (ß = .23), were the variables most highly related with increased SIB. Implications for identifying relevant treatment options that combine assessment of organism and environmental variables will be discussed.

A child with autism who has developed strong conversational and play skills may still be lacking the understanding of how to initiate interactions with their peers, preventing the child from practicing their other social skills. There are long term benefits to teaching initiations, ranging from short term peer inclusion on the playground, to long term peer inclusion in peer groups and developing long term friendships. Children should develop independent spontaneous vocalizations and approaches to novel peers in natural settings. Initiating play with peers requires component skills: play narration, differentiating between what to do or say with a peer to join play, hearing statements with emotions and saying what one could say in those situations, learning to make multiple statements in different situations, as well as identifying the main idea. Precision Teaching and Natural Environment Teaching were used to teach a high functioning child with Autism to narrate play actions and what to say or do to join his peers play actions. Curriculum Based Measurement was developed to probe for generalization across novel settings.

Individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities often need intensive instruction to expand beyond pre-linguistic communicative responses and efficiently use a communication modality that reaches a broad listening audience. Many studies have demonstrated the utility of functional communication training in the treatment of challenging behavior. Although one previous study has investigated the role of efficiency with modalities of communication during functional communication training with challenging behavior with a single function (Ringdahl et al. 2009), no studies have assessed modality efficiency across functions when challenging behavior is multiply controlled. In the present study we conducted communicative modality assessments with five children who exhibited challenging behavior with multiple functions. Results suggested that with some individuals, modality efficiency was consistent across functions; while efficiency varied with modalities across functions with other individuals. The current results extend previous results by evaluating efficiency with different modalities across functions in individuals with multiply controlled challenging behavior. These results suggest that care should be taken when selecting specific modalities of communication to be used during functional communication training with multiply controlled challenging behavior. Specifically, at times multiple modalities should be targeted with multiply controlled challenging behavior; at other times, a common modality should be targeted.

Motor stereotypy is a common behavioral concern in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Research has focused on the suppression of motor stereotypy with differential reinforcement and noncontingent reinforcement procedures. However, when such interventions are ineffective or provide only temporary reduction, punishment procedures (e.g., response blocking) are sometimes applied or combined with reinforcement-based procedures. In the current investigation, a treatment package consisting of varied punishers in the forms of verbal reprimands, response interruption and redirection with motor demands, and hands-down procedures was applied to motor stereotypy in a nine-year-old girl with ASD. Treatment effects were evaluated within a reversal design. Motor stereotypy was comprised of multiple topographies, including hand clapping, hand waving, hair twirling, shoulder shrugging, non-contextual gesturing, and head rocking. All sessions were conducted in a workroom at an early intervention center. Results indicated that the treatment package was effective in decreasing motor stereotypy to levels near zero; in addition, concomitant reductions were noted in vocal stereotypy responses. Methods for generalization and combining punishment with reinforcement procedures will also be discussed.

Children with autism spectrum disorders are characterized by deficits in expressive language. Matrix training is a procedure that has been used to teach expressive language as well as evaluate recombinitive generalization of targets (i.e. novel recombination of previously taught behavior). In the current investigation, a child with autism was taught to tact play behaviors. These tacts consisted of correctly labeling the item and action displayed. The matrix consisted of 5 nouns on the first axis and 5 verbs on the second axis. This matrix produced 25 noun/verb pairs. No correct noun/verb labels for these 25 pairs were observed during a pre-treatment baseline. Five noun/verb pairs were trained using a progressive time delay procedure. A post-treatment baseline showed emergence of untrained noun/verb tacts for all remaining pairs in the matrix. This treatment procedure will be evaluated with additional participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. IOA for all dependent measures exceeded 87.5%.

Treatment integrity refers to the degree to which an intervention is implemented with precision. Low levels of treatment integrity with the implementation of academic programs may adversely affect skill acquisition. The current study assessed the effects of immediate and delayed reinforcement on skill acquisition during discrete-trial training for a participant diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. We used an adapted alternating treatments design to compare the number of trials necessary to reach a pre-specified mastery criterion. Specifically, skill acquisition was compared across conditions where a reinforcer was delivered immediately after a correct response, and when the reinforcer was delivered following a fixed interval (FI) 10-s delay with and without immediate praise for correct responses. Results indicated that the participant acquired the target skills in fewer trials during the immediate reinforcement condition when compared to both the FI delay with immediate praise and FI delay without immediate praise. In addition, the participant acquired the target skills in fewer trials during the FI delay with immediate praise condition when compared to the FI delay condition without praise. These results are discussed relative to implications for treatment integrity failures during discrete-trial training in an academic setting.

Treatments for the reduction or problem behavior are most effective when they address the function of problem behavior, identified through an experimental functional analysis (FA). However, experimental FAs may not be practical in settings where time and resources are limited. A discrete-trial approach to an FA is one alternative to a typical experimental FA. Discrete-trial FAs reduce the amount of time necessary to conduct an FA because they require only one person to conduct the sessions and collect data. The current investigation used a discrete-trial approach to an FA for the problem behavior of four young children with autism. Sessions were conducted in an early intervention clinic and consisted of 20 brief trials. Trials rotated between a control condition and the test condition (i.e. attention, tangible, and demand). Results for three of the four participants demonstrated a clear function of each childs problem behavior and suggested logical treatment strategies. Results for one of the participants were undifferentiated. The discrete-trial FA is a practical and economical method for evaluating the function of problem behavior.

Behavioral characteristics of kids with autism (aggression, property destruction) have clear implications for the physical environments in which they learn. Classrooms should be designed based on those behavioral characteristics. Principles of classroom design should include: proximity; habituation; decreased distraction; elicitation of behavior; lockable cupboards; a token economy; observation areas; a time-out room; and "boredom" rooms. Specific newly-designed work and play stations will be illustrated, showing how severe behavior problems can be addressed safely and effectively.

Social skills deficits are a defining feature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). These deficits greatly impair adolescents ability to make and sustain quality friendships. Although deficits in social skills are one of the most common behavioral concerns in teens with ASDs, few empirically validated treatment packages exist. The Program for the Evaluation and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) is a promising manualized social skills curriculum for persons with ASDs between the ages of 13 and 18. PEERS includes parent participation as an integral component of the intervention. Indeed, parental involvement provides teens with a resource for practicing and implementing newly learned social skills. However, the level of parent participation needed to significantly improve the social skills of teens with ASDs is unknown. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the PEERS treatment package and the level of parental participation needed to significantly improve the social skills of teens with ASDs. Group comparisons among minimal participation, enhanced participation, and control conditions are reviewed. The varying levels of parental involvement in the application and practice of PEERS are discussed.

This poster presents the results of intensive clinical applied behavior analysis therapy on the functioning level and adaptive behaviors of young children with autism across a variety of domains. Each participant received an average of 16 hours of one-on-one ABA therapy each week, for approximately six months. While the therapeutic goals and objectives were individually tailored to each participant, general emphasis was placed on shaping a more extensive verbal repertoire by reinforcing functional communication and punishing challenging behaviors. The Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) was used throughout the program as a primary tool to select appropriate objectives and track participants' growth. Pre- and post-measures on the Psychoeducational Profile (3rd Ed) and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Behavior Inventory will be presented in relation to participant scores on the VB-MAPP and daily observational data. Statistical measures will be used to analyze the relationship between summative and formative assessments. Discussion will focus on pivotal behaviors related to the measures employed and participant outcomes assessed throughout the course of this research.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) may have difficulty maintaining conversation partners because of a tendency to dwell on certain topics in conversation. The purpose of this study was to increase on-topic conversing of an individual with an ASD. The intervention was based on assessment results that showed that differential attention provided by the conversation partner was insufficient to maintain high levels of on-topic conversation and suggested that access to preferred topics of conversation would serve as a reinforcer. During treatment, on-topic conversation resulted in a period during which the conversation topic was selected by the participant. We signaled the contingency using a 2-sided color card and gradually thinned the schedule of reinforcement. Treatment produced desirable levels of on-topic conversation across a variety of topics. This study demonstrates improvement in conversation skills by manipulating choice of topic, a naturally occurring aspect of the conversation.

Readiness services is a new initiative that prepares children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and their families for entry into intensive behavioral intervention programs. Conducting behavior assessments and curriculum assessments allow readiness services staff to place children in the appropriate learning environment. Applying the principles of behavior to prerequisite skills such as sleeping, eating, and toileting allow staff to "ready" a child for his or her first day in Intensive Behavior Intervention (IBI). Readiness services also prepares families for the commitment to IBI by offering parent education sessions and individual coaching sessions. This presentation will provide an overview of readiness services and introduce a framework for program evaluation and dissemination.

The food refusal of a 3-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was treated with a texture shaping and escape extinction treatment package. Two interventionists in a center-based setting systematically shaped increasing amounts of texture into the foods the child consumed. In addition, bites were presented with escape extinction and a response cost system that removed access to preferred play materials contingent upon food refusal. An AB design with intermittent generalization probes across novel interventionists was conducted. During baseline, the child consumed 5 spoon foods (all baby food Stage 2) when fed to him as well as independently self-fed 3 finger foods. Two months into intervention, the child is independently feeding himself 10 additional novel spoon foods with age-appropriate texture as well as 2 additional finger foods with minimal food refusal. Thus, the variety of foods consumed by the child increased from 8 to 21 food items. The child currently shows generalization of a majority of the mastered foods when consuming foods with novel interventionist. Results support existing research on texture shaping, escape extinction, and response cost.

The primary goal of the proposed research is to investigate the correlation between environmental stimuli (e.g., barometric pressure, temperature, light levels, sound levels, and humidity) and overt behaviors in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Specifically, the researchers will measure the environmental stimuli with a data logging instrument (created and designed by the primary researcher) in two primary settings: (a) classrooms containing children with ASD with matched controls in the classroom and (b) clinical settings that work with adults with ASD who exhibit behavioral excesses. Signal analysis methodology as well as basic correlations, and conventional linear regressions will be used in the process of analyzing the information. This research is intended to examine and test existing notions of the relationship between these factors, but does not specifically target or test existing theories. More so, this is meant to restart the discussion from a data-based and deterministic perspective so that genuine scientific facts and methods may be established for examining this topic.

Recombinative generalization refers to differential responses to novel combinations of stimulus components that have been included previously in other stimulus contexts (Goldstein, 1983). Matching to sample (MTS) and constructed-response matching to sample (CRMTS) procedures have been effective for producing within-word recombinative generalization. The methodology takes advantage of certain characteristics of Japanese. Many Japanese words are composed of2 syllables (e.g., " ? " (su) + " ? "(shi)= " ??" [sushi], " ?" (ha) + " ?" (na) = " ?? "(hana) [flower]), and these syllabic units are recombined to form new words (e.g., " ?" (su) + " ?" (na)= " ??"(suna) [sand], " ?" (ha) + " ?" (shi)= " ??" (hashi) [chopstick]). In this study,3 children with intellectual disabilities participated in a reading and spelling program in which they constructed printed words to printed words, dictated words and pictures. They demonstrated emergent matching printed words to dictated words or pictures, and pictures to printed words. Furthermore,2 children showed emergent matching and constructing printed words to dictated words or pictures for new words that included recombinations of syllables from words presented during training sessions. The results demonstrate vocabulary expansion based on recombinations of syllable-units in children with intellectual disabilities.

Eye contact is an important skill for social interaction and communication. However, many people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) do not make eye contact as often as people without ASD. To date, eye contact has seldom been targeted as the primary dependent variable. More commonly, eye contact has been analyzed as an ancillary variable when training skills such as joint attention or social-emotional understanding. The current study analyzes the efficacy of extinction and differential reinforcement on increasing eye contact during manding in a 4-year-old boy with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified. A multiple-baseline design will be used to evaluate the effect of intervention across 3 instructors in a clinical setting. Five preferred activities are to be rotated to observe if eye contact when manding has been conditioned under the stimulus control of specific activities or specific people. These activities were chosen as targets for the intervention based upon2 criteria: a relatively low percentage of eye contact in baseline and a high variety and number of opportunities to mand. Direct and indirect assessments will be conducted prior to and after the intervention to assess generalization in the home and school. Of interest is if increases in eye contact maintain in the absence of an intervention and what stimulus is under the control of eye contact.

Although several researchers have shown that mands and tacts are functionally independent, research has demonstrated that mands may emerge following tact training. However, this research has not clarified the influence of establishing operations on the emergence of pure mands following tact training. The present study investigated the effects of tact training on the acquisition of impure and pure mands in children with autism when conditioned establishing operations (CEOs) were manipulated during mand probes. We taught three children with autism to tact the utensils needed to consume their preferred edibles and then assessed mands for those utensils during CEO absent versus CEO present pure mand probes using a multiple baseline design across participants. It was hypothesized that children would mand for the missing utensils needed to consume their preferred edibles only when the food items were present (CEO present), but not when they were absent (CEO absent). Results showed that responses taught as tacts failed to transfer to mand responses until direct training was implemented for2 of the3 participants. However, once a mand response was learned, all participants exhibited the mand in the CEO present condition but not in the CEO absent condition.

The iPad with the Proloquo2Go application has taken the world of autism by storm, and given individuals that do not have a voice, a voice. This study looked at the effectiveness of the iPad with the Proloquo2Go application to enhance the manding repertoire for children with autism. Participants included three children (2 girls and 1 boy) diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, or exhibiting characteristics of an autism spectrum disorder, between the ages of 3 and 5. A multiple probe design across participants was used to assess the effectiveness of the iPad. Methods included completing the Reinforcer Assessment for Individuals with Severe Disabilities (RAISD) with the parents and/or teachers of each participant and running a six stimuli preference assessment before implementing each Phase. Pretest probes were conducted before implementing Phases 1 through 4. These phases were comparable to Phases 1 through 4 of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) (Bondy & Frost, 1994). Results of the study support that children with autism can acquire the skills needed to mand using the iPad with the Proloquo2Go application with training comparable to that of the Picture Exchange Communication System (Bondy & Frost, 1994). In addition, vocal requesting increased for the participants during the training phases in comparison to pretest probes.

Three children with autism spectrum disorder, attending an early intensive behavioral intervention program for autism participated in a study to increase vocal variability. All3 children exhibited infrequent and highly repetitive speech sounds, limiting their ability to communicate effectively with the people around them. The following study was a replication of previous research conducted by John W. Esch and Barbara E. Esch (Esch, 2009), which looked at increasing vocal variability in children with autism using lag schedules of reinforcement. Previous studies have demonstrated successful use of such schedules of reinforcement for increasing speech sound production, which is positive for the field of applied behavior analysis as it may have a place in increasing vocal verbal behavior among children with autism. The results of this study, however, did not yield the same positive results. Results of this study indicate the need for further research, perhaps focusing on a more in-depth analysis of participant characteristics which would indicate that the use of lag schedules may lead to more favorable outcomes. Future research may wish to look at the difference between the type of reinforcement used during the baseline and treatment phase and its effect on the outcome of variability as well as the type of intertrial task required of the participant following a nonresponse.

The purpose of this study was to increase the lunch-time mand repertoire of three classrooms of children in a special needs school. The special needs school is located in a large metropolitan area and it serves children from three to 14 years of age. We selected three classrooms with six students, six teachers and one head teacher. The students in all three classroom had demonstrated the ability to emit some mands and tacts. We used a multiple baseline experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of the procedure. The procedure consisted of teaching the instructors to provide conditions where establishing operations were created artificially during lunch time to elicit mands in the children (e.g., removing the spoon and fork and ask the child to eat his food). The dependent variable was the total number of mands emitted in each classroom. The results indicated that the procedure was effective at increasing a Mand repertoire in all children. There were maintenance effects in the behavior of both instructors and children.

Recent increases in communication specific technology have provided more opportunity for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) as these devices are more affordable and easily accessible when compared to traditional AAC devices. This research compared verbal behavior programming, in particular mand training, using true and/or modified American Sign Language (ASL) to an iDevice and iPod with AAC applications. The participant of this research is a four-year-old boy diagnosed with autism receiving intensive behavior analytic services in a center based program. The participant originally communicated using true and/or modified ASL signs and then was introduced to AAC, via the applications of iCommunicate and later Proloquo2Go on an iDevice and iPod. In the present research, programming using the AAC device yielded a significant increase in rate of manding as well as an increase in the variety of items the participant was able to request compared to ASL. Also, the participants academic skills have increased since beginning use of the AAC device.

Individuals receiving intensive behavior analytic programming predominantly includes direct instruction. When instructions were provided to an entire group, the participant in this study failed to respond. The lack of responding significantly limited his ability to benefit from group-based instruction. The focus of this research was to explore an intervention that increases responding to group-based instructions. The participant was an 11-year-old male receiving intensive center-based behavior analytic programming. The intervention involved a stimulus control transfer procedure. The participant was presented with instructions to complete known skills and acquisition targets, but the discriminative stimulus included the word "everyone". Individualized programming typically occurred outside of the group environment. During individualized programming with the presence of "everyone," the participant responded successfully a high percentage of the time. The next phase of this intervention will include fading in additional adults and then children to the individualized programming area. Once mastery requirements are met, steps will be made to transfer stimulus control to the group setting. Preliminary data indicate initial stimulus control interventions successfully increased responding to discriminative stimuli that include "everyone."

The experimenters conducted a modified version of the multielement functional analysis (Iwata & et al., 1994) to assess the consequence maintaining perseverative speech in a 14-year-old boy diagnosed with autism. The participant was exposed to 2 different consequences in the natural environment based upon interviews with caregivers. One of the caregivers indicated they provided information and discussion following each request and the other provided social disapproval. The attention condition described by Iwata et. al. evaluated only social disapproval (p. 201). Rehfeldt & Chambers, 2003 evaluated perseverative requests, but provided both approval and social disapproval (p. 260). The results of this study support modifying the attention condition with some individuals sensitive to attention. The participant did show differentiated responding in the attention condition in which information and attention followed each request.

A behavior plan was implemented for a young boy with Aspergers who engaged in aggressive, noncompliant, and challenging behaviors. A mother was trained in her home on how to apply a time-out procedure and methods of restraint for aggressive behaviors. Frequency and duration of tantrums and aggression decreased. Compliance increased as a result.

Students with autism spectrum disorder have difficulty implicitly learning behaviors important for academic and social success. The current presentation involves the use of behavior modification techniques in the school setting to teach and modify behavior. The student was an 8-year-old, male identified as having autism spectrum disorder with a high frequency of verbal outbursts, and low frequency of hand raising. Additionally, the student had a high frequency of inappropriate nose cleaning. The student was explicitly taught to appropriately raise his hand, appropriate hand raising was differentially reinforced, and inappropriate hand raising was simultaneously penalized via a token system. The student was explicitly taught to appropriately clean his nose, and inappropriate nose cleaning was punished via a positive practice overcorrection procedure. Data indicated frequency of appropriate hand raising was greater during intervention and return to intervention phases. Data indicated frequency of inappropriate nose cleaning was significantly less during intervention phase. During the presentation the process of conducting a research based behavioral intervention in the schools will be demonstrated. Participants will understand how to apply behavior modification techniques including differential reinforcement, penalty, and overcorrection punishment procedures to adjust unique behaviors in the school setting.

Toileting skills are among the most desired self-care skills to teach children with developmental disabilities and it usually is a very challenging skill to master. Toilet training using a combination of positive reinforcement and punishment based interventions has demonstrated to be the most effective teaching strategy; however, researchers have questioned the use of a punishment component within the toileting training literature. In the present study the authors sought to replicate the reinforcement-based toilet training procedure by Cicero & Pfadt (2002) and extend the current literature by expanding the teaching procedure of the picture exchange to request the toilet. The participant was a 6-year-old with a dual diagnosis of autism and Down syndrome and attended a full time centre-based Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) Program. Procedures include the use of positive reinforcement, forward physical prompting and graduated guidance from behind. The preliminary results of this study are depicted in Figure 1. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

A five-year-old female with Rett syndrome was taught to use eye gaze to request using a low-tech device. The device consisted of a binder, a table of contents page with PECS symbols in a field of four, and category specific pages (e.g. food page, book page) that corresponded to symbols on the table of contents page. The first stage of teaching involved a 1 step request in which the child was required to look at one picture on a page. The second stage of teaching involved a 2 step request, where the child would choose an icon on the table of contents page, and then choose a more specific icon on the corresponding page. The behavior analysts used a time delay procedure to prompt the child to make requests. After a five second response interval, if the child did not make a choice, the behavior analyst would deliver a verbal prompt (e.g.look at what you want). Continued absence of response terminated the trial and was not counted in the data, as there was no perceived motivating operation. Errors consisted of the child looking at an icon but then refusing the item/activity when delivered, or engaging in negative affect when the chosen item was given. Prompted correct responses consisted of choices made after the prompt, and unprompted correct responses were made before the prompt. Mastery criteria consisted of 3 consecutive sessions of 90% unprompted correct requesting.

This study examined the effectiveness of instructional strategy of applied procedure of PECS (the Picture Exchange Communication System) about enhancement of sentence structure in an autistic child with limited functional communication behavior and speech. The child had accomplished phase 1in PECS and he could request something using color, number, and modifier before beginning of this study. In baseline period, the child couldn't use verb or related object/events cards in description context about demonstrations. In intervention period, he was trained to construct sentences using verb or related object/events cards. The data was collected for correct constructions and correct verb-selections. The result indicated that he learn to construct particular sentences, but in increasing verbs phase, he couldn't construct correctly. For the purpose of increasing the learning opportunities, it was changed from real demonstration to pictures shown on display. In this phase, gradually he became to select verb or related objects/events cards correctly. And correct responses of correct sentence construction also increased in similar trend. In the future research, we should correct generalization data in the daily settings, and examine the effect on change of communication skills.

This case study highlights the methods by which self- injurious behavior (SIB) was reduced through a four (4) step systematic fading design in a non-verbal adult with severe autism. SIB, defined as any hitting of the face, head or neck, was found to be maintained by escape. The individuals behavior intervention plan included DRA, sensory extinction (EXT), and functional communication training (FCT). This presentation will outline the EXT design which involved the application of protective equipment, thereby reducing opportunities for task interruption as much as possible. The presentation will highlight the unique fading design that followed the application of protective equipment over an eight (8) month period, through to suspension of the individuals behavior intervention plan and subsequent maintenance of adaptive behavior. The systematic fading design provided opportunity for generalization of desired behavior into a variety of vocational and community based settings. Video illustration of both the target behavior and the individuals independent use of replacement behavior will be provided.

The present study assessed the effectiveness of parent training programs aimed at teaching parents of children with autism behavior analytic skills. In the absence of comprehensive assessments of effectiveness clinician effort and client resources may be spent in ineffective training programs. Assessment of effectiveness in the present review involved: assessment of social significance of programmed changes (cf. Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1987), measures of acquisition and generalization of parent skills, assessment of degree and type of changes affected in child behavior, and assessment of parental adherence to target procedures. The review revealed that behavior analysts conducting parent training are best at measuring and demonstrating parent acquisition and generalization of skills (100% measured acquisition and generalization of skills) and they are successful in selecting and producing important changes in child behavior (i.e. cusps; 70% of the studies targeted child behavior that qualified as a cusp); behavior analysts are, however, rarely assessing the degree to which parents adhere to treatment recommendations (25% of the studies measured correct and frequent application of target procedures) and are rarely measuring the social validity of the goals, procedures, and/or outcomes of their programs (20% of the reviewed studies included social validity measures).

Numerous studies have shown that self-injurious behaviors occur more often in people suffering from pervasive developmental disorders, e.g. autism and Aspergers syndrome, and people with intellectual disability. The aim of our study was to find effective methods which could be used to reduce self-injurious behavior in a three-year-old girl with autism. To analyze our results we used the ABC research model (Bailey, 2002), in which stage A means the baseline measurements, whereas the measurements conducted at stages B and C show the behavioral changes that result from our therapeutic activities. The results of our research show that a set of properly selected behavior analysis techniques are very effective in eliminating self-injurious behaviors. Working with children with self-injurious behaviors we have to build the motivational system, teach children new skills, which let them engage in appropriate activities. We have to teach them to use the activity schedules, develop verbal behaviors and leisure skills. This is necessary to develop proper social interactions and never reinforce inappropriate behaviors. The results of our research show also that a very effective method in the process of reducing self-injurious behaviors is the introduction of a clear structure in childs therapy room at the kindergarten and in her room at home.

The development of shared joint attention and the emergence of intentional communication have its roots in infancy, often observed in the special dance between mother and child. Learning the power of eye gaze typically begins within the context of playful socio-communicative routines including tickles, toe-nibbling, and peek-a-boo. In early stages of joint attention, the adult takes responsibility and follows a childs lead. The adult shifts their gaze direction as the childs focus changes. Research suggests word learning during shared joint attention is the most efficient teaching context. Intentional communication is also learned within this context and is a precursor to functional word use. It requires gaze to the partner plus additional behaviors to communicate a range of functions. For example, eye gaze plus reaching signals a request. Research suggests intentional communicative behaviors reach an expected rate prior to the onset of consistent word use. Simple manipulations within a childs natural context can create opportunities to practice these skills. Examples include placing desired objects in site but out of reach, withholding preferred choices, and providing limited quantities of snacks. This presenter will share facilitative strategies borrowed from early intervention, typical development of joint attention, and the emergence of social communicative behavior.

A multiple baseline across participants design was used to examine the impact of a peer-implemented behaviorally-based naturalistic teaching strategy, milieu teaching, on the communication skills of preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) attending an early childhood program. Six participants were selected from a single classroom which served both children with an Individual Education Program (IEP) and children without an IEP who participated in a state-funded preschool program. Three children without an IEP were taught the milieu teaching prompting strategies over four training sessions. Based on teacher recommendation, the researchers paired these three children with a child from the classroom with ASD. A single communication target was selected for each child with ASD based on the childs IEP. The dyads were observed in a therapy room while playing with toys over three months. Maintenance effects were also determined. All children with ASD increased the spontaneous use of communication targets. These results were maintained four weeks following the completion of the intervention.

Children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate the ability to tact and often discuss items or events that they are able to experience. With proper program planning and teaching, children with autism can master intraverbal skills in relation to recalling past events and discussing these events with peers and family. One area that children with autism demonstrate significant delays in is the ability to infer and make predictions about pictures, events, feelings, and during reading comprehension in text. To develop these skills, it is necessary to teach many examples of situations and stories in which one would infer or predict an outcome. Using tact to intraverbal transfers, recall of experiences and emotions, and direct teaching during reading comprehension activities, students with ASD can begin to infer future events. Intervention programs that develop these skills can improve a childs ability to predict outcomes in everyday experiences as well as with stories. This paper will discuss different strategies to task analyze and teach decoding along with comprehension techniques for students using advanced language skills. Attendees will also learn how to develop more advanced language programs that include inference training, prediction of outcomes, and conversation skills. Specific strategies will be presented that professionals and educators can use to develop these advanced skills.

The results of a behavioral feeding program evaluation for young children with autism will be presented. Feeding services were comprised of assessment, intervention, and parent training. Outcomes were compared for children who received therapy in clinical settings versus their homes. All parents received training and demonstrated competency implementing intervention strategies.

Vocal stereotypy is a behavior exhibited at high rates by individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This behavior can significantly interfere with learning and social opportunities. Response interruption/redirection and differential reinforcement of other behaviors can provide effective interventions for vocal stereotypy. This paper/presentation will provide a model for tailoring these procedures into an intervention for decreasing vocal stereotypy, increasing appropriate vocalizations, and fading intervention procedures for individuals with ASD who exhibit high rates of vocal stereotypy. The researchers will give a brief overview of vocal stereotypy, most current literature on response interruption and redirection and DRO study procedures, outcomes, and conclusions. Research questions were: What are the effects of response interruption, redirection, and DRO on (1) reduced rates of vocal stereotypy, (2) increased rates of contextually appropriate vocalizations, (3) maintenance/generalization of appropriate vocalizations. Study participants are individuals ages 6-12 with ASD with high rates of vocal stereotypy, based on teacher recommendations and screening measures. A researcher developed intervention script to teach the identification and discrimination of vocal stereotypy followed by an intervention which consisted of eliciting pupil responses and then systematically interrupting and redirecting when vocal stereotypy occurred. Pupils were reinforced for not engaging in stereotypy. Students were taught individually. Sessions were videotaped and direct observations made of vocalizations. A multiple baseline design is used to assess effects on vocalizations. This is an intensive intervention and data collection show significant decreases in vocal stereotypy, minimal increases in appropriate vocalizations, high rates of inter-observer agreement, along with positive teacher and student satisfaction.