Association for Behavior Analysis International

The Association for Behavior Analysis International® (ABAI) is a nonprofit membership organization with the mission to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.

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43rd Annual Convention; Denver, CO; 2017

Event Details


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Symposium #466
CE Offered: BACB/QABA
Methods to Address Errors and Response Bias During Skill Acquisition for Learners With Autism
Monday, May 29, 2017
3:00 PM–3:50 PM
Convention Center Mile High Ballroom 3B
Area: AUT/EDC; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Kimberly Sloman (Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University)
CE Instructor: Kimberly Sloman, Ph.D.
Abstract:

Individuals with autism may exhibit persistent errors and biased responding during academic tasks, which may slow the skill acquisition progress. The proposed symposium will present data from three research studies on the evaluation of procedures improve skills acquisition in learners with autism. In the first study, Audrey Toricelli will present a study that used functional communication to decrease biased responding in learners with autism during receptive identification tasks. In the second study, Stacy Lauderdale-Litton will present a study evaluating three error correction procedures in the acquisition of response chains in learners with autism. In the third study, Douglas Stracquadanio will present an evaluation of different error correction procedures during sight word reading and generalization of effects to naturalistic instructional contexts for individuals with autism.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): Chaining, Error Correction, Functional Communication, Response Bias
 

Using Functional Communication Training to Decrease Biased Responding During Receptive Identification Tasks in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder

AUDREY TORRICELLI (Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University ), Robert W. Isenhower (Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University), Lara M. Delmolino Gatley Gatley (Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University), Kimberly Sloman (Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University), Stacy Lauderdale-Littin (Monmouth University)
Abstract:

Biased responding is a common problem observed during academic instruction for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These learners may develop response patterns controlled by a different stimulus or an aspect of a stimulus rather than respond based upon programmed stimuli and contingencies. For example, when selecting from an array, the individual may always select the stimulus on the left. This faulty stimulus control often leads to stagnated progress during skill acquisition programming. Biased responding may be likely to occur during novel tasks because individuals with autism lack the means to effectively request help or additional information. The purpose of the present study is to a) demonstrate that biased responding can be a function of novel (unknown) stimuli and b) use functional communication training (FCT) to teach two learners diagnosed with ASD, who have demonstrated response biases, an expressive I dont know response when presented with novel instructional stimuli. Results indicate that responses biases emerge during presentation of novel instructional materials. In addition, FCT can be an effective tool to teach individuals with ASD a socially appropriate response to unknown instructional stimuli. Implications for generalizing FCT to natural settings will be discussed.

 

Evaluation of Error-Correction Procedures During Chained Tasks for Learners With Autism

STACY LAUDERDALE-LITTIN (Monmouth University ), Melanie Erwinski (Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University ), Jennifer Stracquadanio (Rutgers University, Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center), Rachel Davis (Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University ), Kimberly Sloman (Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University), Douglas Stracquadanio (Rutgers University, Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center)
Abstract:

Many socially significant behaviors are taught to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by breaking a complex chain of responses into smaller, manageable steps. When teaching chained responses, various instructional strategies are used to promote independence. Past research suggests that the effectiveness of procedures may be idiosyncratic across learners (McGhan & Lerman, 2013). Therefore, individualized assessment is essential to determine the least intrusive, most effective strategy. Joe, a 14-year-old classified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and Zander, a 17-year-old with ASD, participated in an error-correction assessment. The assessment compared acquisition of chaining tasks across three error-correction conditions: error feedback (i.e., instructor stated, No thats no right when error occurred and reset materials), overcorrection (i.e., error in chain was interrupted, materials were reset, and student was prompted through the entire chain 3 consecutive times) and reset (error in chain was interrupted, materials were reset, and student was prompted through the chain 1 time) using an alternating treatments design. When examining trials to acquisition, results indicated that error feedback resulted in the first chaining task being acquired more quickly for both learners. Implications for future generalization of these results in each students classroom programming will be discussed.

 

Evaluation of Error-Correction Procedures During Sight Word Reading for Learners With Autism

DOUGLAS STRACQUADANIO (Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University), Kimberly Sloman (Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University), Stacy Lauderdale-Littin (Monmouth University ), Audrey Torricelli (Rutgers University, Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center), Kyung Mo Nam (Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University)
Abstract:

Various error-correction procedures are used when teaching learners with autism. Procedures may involve providing feedback to the learner, prompting the correct response, or having the learner practice the response numerous times. Past research suggests that the effectiveness of the procedures may be idiosyncratic across learners. Therefore individualized assessment is paramount to find the least intrusive, most effective error-correction procedure. Two adolescents with autism participated in an adapted error-correction assessment (McGhan & Lerman, 2013). Baseline probes were conducted to identify three sets of three novel sight words for inclusion in the study. We compared acquisition of sight-word reading lists across two error-correction conditions: error-feedback (i.e., instructor stated correct response) and repeating trials until independent (i.e., student was prompted to say correct response and trials at independent were presented until student engaged in correct response) and a control condition (no reinforcement and no error correction) using an alternating treatments design. Results revealed that error-feedback resulted in higher rates of skill acquisition whereas no sight words were acquired during the repeat until independent or control condition. These results were replicated with the set of words that were previously trained using the repeat until independent condition. Implications for future generalization of these results to classroom programming will be discussed.

 

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