Association for Behavior Analysis International

Children with Autism often do not provide enough detail and information when engaged in conversation. Narrating private events, or describing situations and topics in detail so that others understand them is often challenging. Teaching a child to provide more information to his listener improves conversation skills and decreases the strain on the conversation partner. We used Fluency Based Instruction to increase the level of detail the learner provided to his teacher when describing a picture for his teacher to draw, while systematically increasing the level of detail he needed to provide to his teacher. This poster illustrates both the process and the outcomes.

Since the passage of NCLB mandating the use of evidence-based practices for individuals with disabilities, teachers are in need of effective interventions to teach students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this presentation will be to discuss whether or not activity schedules can be considered an evidence-based practice for teaching on-task and transition behaviors to students with ASD. For the purposes of this review, the authors considered activity schedules to be any sequence of visual cues used with a student. Overall, 27 articles retained for analysis that met the inclusion criteria (e.g., used a single subject design; published in a peer reviewed journal between the years of 1975 and 2011). Individual articles were coded according to (a) quality indicators according to Horner et al. (2005); (b) descriptive characteristics of the study (e.g., independent variable); and (c) evaluation of the composition of studies as providing an EBP according to Horner et al. Twelve of the original 27 studies met criteria for quality (Horner et al., 2005; NSTTAC, 2010). Presenters will discuss how these studies provide a moderate level of evidence. The impact of this presentation will be to provide recommendations for using activity schedules to teach students with ASD.

Symptoms of social impairment typically persist into adulthood for individuals with ASD (Wilkins & Matson, 2009). For two decades, video self-modeling (VSM) has been used to address a number of social skill deficits for individuals with ASD. However, research on social skills training using VSM for older individuals is limited. The demonstrated success of VSM in social skills training suggests that the model may hold promise for adolescents and adults diagnosed with ASD. This review provides a literature base for utilizing a VSM intervention in postsecondary educational setting for higher functioning individuals with ASD and explores the efficacy of such practice.

Social skills instruction is inherently difficult for children with autism, given the nature of the disorder. The ability to make significant gains with social skills in a group format adds additional challenge. Social skills groups must have clearly identified goals and well established methods to ensure successful skill acquisition for all of the group members (Stichter, et al., 2010). Effective social skills group instruction relies on the consistent delivery of planned instruction within a predictable group structure. This presentation describes several key components of a new social skills program. These components were developed on findings from the behavioral literature. Specifically there were four key assumptions. The first is the importance of establishing the purpose of the group. A clearly defined curriculum ensures that the group is adequately focused with measurable goals. Secondly, group formation is critical. Members of the group should have similar needs and abilities. A third factor is the group having well established methodologies. This ensures that those serving as instructors have a clear understanding of what instructional methods will be used during each session. Fourth, there should be a predictable structure to the group. Specifically, the group should have established themes and predictable sequence. These discriminative stimuli help to ensure that there is an expectation for learning. This promotes social skills learning versus unfocused social interactions such as those seen in simple experiential groups. This presentation describes each of the above components in detail. The ABA methods used in this new program are outlined, including clinical examples of programs. Outcomes are addressed, with detail on how data were collected and evaluated for each participant.

This poster will outline a single subject case study examining the effects of using an auditory trainer, the HearIt, on a five year old non-verbal girl diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, verbal apraxia, recurring otitis media, and symptoms of auditory processing disorder, which were exacerbated during a time of identified conductive hearing loss. Performance on standardized language measures and the rate of skill acquisition for receptive language targets with and without the use of the system over a four month period will be presented. At the time of the study, the subject had been receiving intensive behavioral intervention in the Early Childhood program at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism for two years. This poster will demonstrate the positive effects of using the HearIt in the classroom setting during times of identified conductive hearing loss and when hearing was determined to be within normal limits as identified by an audiologist. Clinical implications will be discussed.

Pacific Child and Family Associates is an agency which provides Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services to clients with autism and related disorders. One part of the quality assurance procedures which are in place, are the conducting of Teacher Performance Rate and Accuracy (TPRA) observations on therapists providing direct ABA services to clients. The TPRA observations are conducted by supervisors on therapists, to ensure that programing is being implemented correctly. During the TPRA observations direct feedback is provided to the observed therapist on the quality of his or her antecedents and consequences surrounding interlocking three-term contingencies between the therapist and the client. These observations are also used to collect inter-observer agreement (IOA) data and identify areas in need of change in current programing. In this study, an intervention was put in place using individual goal setting and immediate feedback to increase the number of TPRA observations conducted monthly by supervisors. The study utilized a multiple baseline design across participants, to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. The value of goal setting interventions, the creation of contingency specifying stimuli, and the general application of behavior change strategies in an agency setting are all discussed.

Approximately 40% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have limited to no verbal behavior. Of the 60% who do speak, they may demonstrate behavior which interferes with their ability to learn language, limiting acquisition of new skills. One example of an interfering behavior is echolalia. Echolalia is the mechanical repetition of words and/or phrases uttered by another individual and can be immediate or delayed. It is often a symptom of a neurological or developmental disorder such as Autism. In the present study the effectiveness of response blocking and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) on immediate echolalia was assessed using a multiple baseline design across subjects. Response blocking and DRA were assessed with two children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Each child was taught to make an alternative, non-echolalic verbal response (i,e., I don't know) to an echoed statement or question. Preliminary analysis of data shows an 89% decrease in frequency of immediate echolalia with Participant 1 after implementation of the intervention. This procedure is efficient in that it produced rapid results and can be easily implemented across various environments.