Association for Behavior Analysis International

Social communication deficits are a core characteristic of Autism and many children with Autism Spectrum Disorders are faced with a variety of challenges related to early skill acquisition. Without treatment, these deficits in skill acquisition often lead to significant delays and challenges as students with ASD advance in age. This symposium examines four papers aimed at addressing skill deficits observed within Level 1 of the VB-MAPP. Delfs, Yosick, Walton, Kansal, and Shillingsburg examined mand training via a telehealth approach. Gayman et al. examined a teaching approach aimed at comparing the efficiency of teaching mands through modified sign language versus a picture exchange system. Conine, Vollmer, and Bolivar evaluates procedures for training children with ASD to respond to their name and the conditions under which responding maintains. Finally, Deshais, Phillips, Wiskow, Donaldson, and Vollmer evaluated the acquisition of imitation skills with and without permanent products. Findings from these studies have implications for clinical programming and future directions for research on early skill acquisition. Results and common themes will be discussed by Dr. Tina Sidner.

Interventions aimed at improving functional communication, such as mand training (MT), are often a core component of behavioral interventions for children with autism. MT can be implemented through direct services or delivered as a caregiver-mediated intervention (Loughrey et al., 2014). Several barriers to accessing evidence-based treatment for children with autism are common, including lengthy time commitment and geographical restrictions (Thomas et al., 2007). Prior studies have provided promising evidence of the utility of telehealth technology to address these barriers to access and deliver behavioral services to children with autism (e.g., Wacker et al., 2013; Vismara et al., 2012 and 2013); however, research is limited. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of MT via telehealth in 15, non-vocal, early learners with autism. Feasibility was measured by the percentage of pre- and post- measures collected, drop-out rates, treatment fidelity, and social acceptability by caregivers and therapists. Results indicate that the majority of enrolled participants completed the entire study, attended most sessions, reported satisfaction, and reported willingness to participate in telehealth services again. In addition, gains in requesting and commenting were reported across the majority of participants who completed the study.

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have limited speech abilities and often use alternative communication systems in order to effectively communicate with others. A few studies have compared different communication modalities in an effort to determine which form of communication may be most effective when teaching requesting skills (Tincani, 2004; Barlow, Tiger, Slocum, & Miller, 2013). The current study used a multiple probe design across behaviors (mands) with an embedded alternating treatments design to replicate and extend the comparison study conducted by Barlow and colleagues. In this study, experimenters simultaneously taught the modified sign and picture touch or picture exchange for one preferred item while two additional items remained in baseline. Once mastery criteria were met for a mand item, a post-test consisting of correspondence checks between the indicating response (i.e., pointing to preferred item), mand, and item consumed was conducted for all three mand items. Data for all three participants suggest mands taught using picture touch or exchange may be acquired more rapidly than modified sign and are discriminated from other mands. These data and their clinical implications will be discussed.

Responding to name is a critical deficit and diagnostic criterion for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and appears as a target for intervention in many early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) curricula. However, little research evaluating procedures for training response to name currently exists for this population. The current study evaluates procedures for training this response, and the conditions under which responding maintains, in four children with ASD. Procedures included the delivery of social interaction with and without preferred tangible items contingent on responding to name, response prompts, prompt-fading, and differential reinforcement of independent responding. Procedures were evaluated using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across subjects with an embedded multielement design. Generalization was assessed using a multiple probe design across settings. Results indicated that social interaction was not sufficient to establish or maintain responding, and some form of programmed tangible reinforcement was necessary to produce meaningful increases. Following acquisition, responding maintained at relatively thin schedules of tangible reinforcement, and generalization to non-treatment contexts was observed. Implications for clinical practice and future research will be discussed in this presentation.