Association for Behavior Analysis International

Most individuals who are providing behavioral services are likely to receive more of their training in their agencies than they received in pre-service training. In some instances, agency-based training is the only training that the service providers will receive. In spite of this state of affairs, there is precious little attention given to how that training is delivered. There are often significant constraints on training that result in poorly designed training. If we accept that training is a method for skill acquisition then the training should be designed in ways that increase the probability of skill acquisition. This symposium will address the various issues associated with staff training as it is commonly practiced, propose a template for guiding training decisions, and provide an example of staff training done well.

While there is general consensus among Precision Teachers regarding the desired outcomes these procedures for building behavior frequency, standard practice varies with regard to certain procedural aspects. Very little published comparative evidence exists to guide instructors when making such methodological decisions. While a description, analysis and comparison of all these variations in clinical practice of Precision Teaching is beyond the scope of this symposium, an attempt will be made to continue to address a few of these procedural questions.

Functional assessment procedures are the gold standard used to assess the causes of a wide range of maladaptive behaviors. Over the past several years, researchers have assessed the influence of a myriad of variables that could influence functional analysis results. By doing so, client treatment has improved in quality. This symposium reports the results of several extensions of functional analysis methodology and suggests clinical implications of the findings.

Behavioral interventions have proven to be effective in reducing problem behaviors exhibited by individuals with developmental disabilities. Despite the efficacy of this technology, there continue to be barriers to long-term treatment success. One such barrier is effective parent and staff or teacher training. The purpose of this symposium is to present research in recent advances in parent/staff training. The goal is to facilitate a meaningful discussion of training, which we hope will promote a growth of research in this area.

Teaching parent to be effective behavior change agents can be a difficult process. This sysmposium will further the current literature on parent training in a number of ways. The first paper successfully demonstrated that they were able to teach 14 parents of preschool children with autism to conduct paired stimulus preference assessments within a 90 min training session. The second paper evaluated the effect of training parents on principles of Applied Behavior Analysis with respect to their treatment integrity as well as their level of acceptablity of the behavior plan. The third paper assessed the efficacy of various parent training components in an addivitve fashion in an effort to identify the most necessary training component. Finally, the papers will be synthesized with respect to their collection implications for training parents as behavior change agents, the merits of each of the research projects, and with respect to future directions.

This symposium will present three papers dealing with suicidal behavior in adults with developmental disabilities. The first paper is an overview of the prevalance of suicidal behavior in adults with developmental disabilities. The second paper is a case study of an adult male with Developmental Disabilities, and a lengthy history of suicidal behavior. Treatment approaches are reviewed along with data from the interventions. The third paper is a case study of an adult female with developmental disabilities and a lengthy history of suicidal behavior. Treatment approaches are reviewed along with analysis of the data from the interventions.

The VB-MAPP is designed to assess the verbal and social repertoires of a child with autism or other developmental disabilities in a brief and efficient manner. This assessment tool is based on Skinners analysis of verbal behavior, typical language developmental milestones, and field-test data from over 60 typically developing children and over 100 children with autism. The VB-MAPP contains 150 verbal behavior milestones across 3 levels and 14 different skill areas, as well as a more detailed task analysis and progress scoring system for each verbal operant. The results from the VB-MAPP assessment will suggest specific IEP goals, where to place a child in the verbal behavior curriculum, and will correspond with the specific intervention procedures designed to teach the absent or defective repertoires. The current symposium will present the basic components of the VB-MAPP as well as field-data from typical children, and children with autism.

The identification of potent reinforcers is a critical component of any behavior change program. Systematic investigations of the variables that affect preference and reinforcer assessment outcomes continue to be an active area research, and a topic of interest to many practiceners of applied behavior analysis. The papers in this symposium assess the effects of several procedures on the outcome of preference and reinforcer assessments. These variables include delayed selection, characteristics of reinforcers (quality, magitude and delay), time since preference assessment, and the combination of preference and reinforcer assessments. The papers utilize a variety of participants including individuals with developmental disabilities, preschoolers, and individuals with Prader-Willi Syndrome. These studies serve to highlight the range of variables, within several populations, that can affect the outcome of preference and reinforcer assessments.

Although behavioral treatment methods have been established as efficacious for children with autism in laboratory settings, research examining their translation into service systems is virtually nonexistent. This symposium will present current research on how evidence-based interventions are used in education programs for children with autism. First, we will present an examination of the use of behavioral techniques by 80 early intervention providers. Their understanding of evidence-based practices and their adaptation of techniques will be discussed. Ninety-one percent reported using at least one behavioral technique in their programs; providers typically combined up to seven methods, and modified techniques based on child, personal and external factors. Next, we will present results of a study examining fidelity of teacher use of a specific behavioral intervention, Pivotal Response Training (PRT). Teachers received either traditional training or training specifically designed for classroom settings. Fidelity of implementation of PRT varied with the amount and type of training teachers received. Finally, we will discuss the incorporation of behaviorally-based parent training programs into community educational services, including how it is "working" in the real world (e.g., how many districts & families served, consumer satisfaction). Recommendations for improving effective translation of behavioral methods into community settings will be presented.

"A common cliche is that education is a complex endeavor. We examine at least a portion of this complexity in a number of ways. In its overall operation what does an educational system require in order to be successful? It requires a proper organizational structure as well as the proper science from which successful engineering practices can be drawn. It requires as well more than just a statement of the requirement. It requires a long-term demonstration of a successful model of instruction over a sufficiently diverse set of students and schools to provide a factual basis for evaluation of that success, and as important, for evaluation as to how to move beyond current gains. It also requires an analysis of the historical background by which such a model was set in place. Each of the participantsTucci, Scutta, and Vargasaddress each of these requirements separately, and to some degree, address the considerations pertinent to one across to the others."

N/a

New research has shown that a baby that will eventually develop autism begins the first months of his life with seemingly normal social behavior; he smiles and coos and appears indistinguishable from other children. In fact, two new prospective studies followed infants at risk for autism (by virtue of having an older sibling with the disorder) from birth into toddlerhood and found no differences in social or language behavior from normally developing infants during the first six months of life (Zwaigenbaum, et al., 2005; Landa, et al., 2006). By the time infants were one year old, however, signs of autism that included increased passivity and abnormal attention and language development were in evidence. These findings are consistent with retrospective studies that have shown reduced responding to name and abnormal social interaction skills at the first birthday parties of infants later diagnosed as autistic. What has gone wrong in the developing brains of children with autism? Despite over 60 years of close scientific scrutiny, this essential question remains unanswered. While social behavior is complex and relies on the normal development of a host of systems relating to attention, language, and emotion processing, it also relies heavily on the normal development of face processing. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a non-invasive technique that capitalizes on the fact that rates of blood flow change in the brain when humans engage in a particular task (e.g., a math problem) or activity (e.g., daydreaming). fMRI as a research tool has been used extensively to study face processing in autism. Most studies focus on the fusiform gyrus, a brain region in the temporal lobe that contains an area in the middle lateral portion that responds strongly to faces (i.e., the Fusiform Face Area, or FFA). If functional responding in the fusiform appears abnormal in autism, it would not be surprising that higher-order cognitive functions that rely on the ability to interpret a face, such as theory of mind and emotion perception, would also be impaired. It is thus essential that this first step in understanding the social mind of autistic individuals, that is, testing the ability to decode information from a face, be tested thoroughly. This presentation will discuss the following: 1. The development of social behavior, particularly face perception, in normally developing infants and children; 2. Face processing fMRI research with adults and children with auti

This symposium will address effective treatment of students with severe behavior disorders who have a history of not responding to traditional positive-only programs. The first presenter will present various case studies of specific students. A review of the students treatment histories will also be discussed and behavioral charts will be shown to document the students behavioral improvement. The second presenter will discuss the implementation of contingent skin shock as a supplement to positive behavior programming for students with significant histories of severe behavior disorders. Safeguards to ensure the proper implementation of the skin shock will also be discussed. A demonstration of the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED) used at the Judge Rotenberg Center will be provided. The third presentation will include the effects of sudden fading of the contingent skin shock device. Case studies will be discussed and behavioral charts presented documenting the behavioral regressions when the GED is faded abruptly. Finally, case studies will be presented showing the successful fading of the GED.

B. F. Skinner took over 20 years to complete his book Verbal Behavior. In this talk, we address the development of his analysis. Our sources include major life events, publications, and notes Skinner wrote over the years, especially those written for his 1947 William James Lectures. We discuss the notes he made after the books publication in 1957. As with any evolutionary development, we also point to the effect of his analysis and to some of the directions in which it is now going.

These four presentations focus on behavioral training with parents of children in the child welfare system. Two presentations focus on the SafeCare model parenting program. The first presentation discusses the efficacy of the model in preventing child maltreatment, replications of the model in other areas of the country, and implications on staff training. The second presentation focuses on replication of the SafeCare model for assessment and training in home-based and clinic-based settings. The final 2 presentations focus on a parent training curriculum designed to increase parenting skills. One presentation focuses on evaluating potential effects of the curriculum on skill acquisition; repeated administration of quizzes showed systematic acquisition as a function of specific skills taught. The other presentation discusses methods to evaluate placement stability, such as duration and rate of placement changes, and the implications of these measures on evaluating potential effectiveness of the training curriculum. In general, all presentations discuss models of extending applied behavior analysis in parent training; specifically in child welfare. Furthermore, all presentations show therapeutic effects of training with this unique population, with discussions on methodological issues, outcomes, and future directions for research.

Physically holding an individual and using confinement timeout are common procedures used with individuals who exhibit severe aggression and self injury to ensure that they do not hurt themselves or others. It is incumbent upon clinicians to make sure the intrusiveness of these procedures is minimized without compromizing safety. The presentations in this symposium involve emprical evaluations of decreasing the intrusiveness of protective procedures while taking into account the behavioral effects of these procedures.

Mistakes made during the implementation of treatments (frequently called "treatment integrity failures") can lead to decreases in treatment efficacy. The research presented in this symposium examines the impact of treatment integrity failures on common components of behavioral interventions for persons with disabilities. These interventions include both response-acquisition and response-reduction procedures. Weiss, Libby, and Paquette examine the effects of degradations in procedural integrity on acquisition of a novel, arbitrary response with 3 participants with autism. Two papers examine the effects of integrity failures on response-reduction procedures. Pabico, Roane, and Kelley examine the effects of a particular type of integrity failure, delay, in a punishment procedure. Finally, St. Peter Pipkin and Vollmer used a non-clinical population (college students) to determine possible effects of treatment integrity failures on DRA treatments. All three papers showed some detrimental impact of treatment integrity failures on intervention outcome. Results will be discussed in terms of the potential effects of treatment integrity failures on treatment outcome.

When children are struggling academically, it is not uncommon for their parents to be involved with assisting homework or providing extra tutoring. Effective tutoring requires time, resources, knowledge and skill in instructional techniques that many parents may not posses. In such cases, parents may benefit from training in individualized instructional strategies developed to improve their childs academic progress. This symposium presents information and research regarding training parents to implement academic interventions to improve childrens academic progress. Clinical and school-based cases will be presented detailing procedures for training parents to implement academic interventions. Data will be presented regarding the identification of effective instructional strategies for individual children using brief experimental analysis procedures. Data on parents implementation of academic interventions and childrens academic progress will be presented. Information in this symposium will link directly with research literature on parent training, brief experimental analysis of academic interventions, and effective instruction. Participants will acquire practical knowledge and ideas for future research on training parents to implement academic interventions and innovative strategies for using brief experimental analysis to identify effective academic interventions.

This symposium will present four studies involving attending, social responsiveness, and/or advanced language skills in children with autism. Methods for assessing and then addressing difficulties in acquiring advanced language response forms, responding to sophisticated mands by the speaker, as well as improving responsiveness to common environmental stimuli are discussed. Implications of these deficits and a rationale for these treatment protocols as they relate to improving the functioning for children with autism will be presented. This information may suggest methods which should assist BCBAs who are working with children and young adults in these skill areas.

In 1974, it occurred to us that if fingers could be taught to read Braille, they could be taught to detect breast lumps smaller than golf balls. For the next seven years, we conducted basic research that was a mixture of classical psychophysics and operant conditioning as we learned about the sensory system involved in pressure sensation and put that knowledge to use in building a more sensitive procedure for palpating breast tissue. In 1981, we formed the Mammatech Corporation for the purpose of disseminating the resulting technology with as little degradation as possible. The ensuing 25 years have taught us more than we really wanted to know about running a public company, interacting with large organizations like the American Cancer Society, and surviving in the hostile world of the medical marketplace. We have also learned that there is no substitute for precise measurement to maintain the integrity of any technology and that financial contingencies can be arranged to insure this outcome. Some highlights of this journey will be presented along with advice to budding behavioral entrepreneurs.

Feeding problems are common among children diagnosed with autism and developmental disabilities. The feeding difficulties of these children potentially stem from and are maintained by numerous biological and environmental factors. This presentation will begin by providing an overview of factors that may trigger feeding difficulties with a particular focus on common problems encountered in children with autism. The presentation will also address empirical evidence for the gut theory of autism and the potentially harmful implications of arranging dietary restrictions as treatment for autism. Feeding assessments for classifying feeding difficulties will be discussed and evidence will be presented suggesting that the most common feeding problem for children with autism is food selectivity. Behavioral interventions for selective intake will then be reviewed. Systematically presenting previously rejected and/or novel foods will be illustrated as an initial step in the treatment process. Then an antecedent manipulation, the simultaneous presentation of rejected/novel and preferred foods exposure, will be described. Two effective differential consequence procedures, reinforcing acceptance/ignoring refusal-related responses and escape prevention, will be reviewed.

The Multisite Young Autism Project (MYAP) was designed to evaluate early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for children with autism who are under 3 years old at the onset of treatment. Two sites (Wisconsin Early Autism Project and Central Valley Young Autism Project) have published outcome reports from this project. Sallows and Amerine-Dickens will present long-term follow-up data as well as results from new cohorts at these sites. Larsson will present the results of an A-B-A reversal study at another site (Pittsburgh Young Autism Project) that compared the efficacy of 40 hours per week of treatment to 10 hours or 20 hours. Smith and Eldevik will summarize the full MYAP dataset and describe a meta-analysis of published EIBI studies.

In behavioral economics, reinforcement contingencies are viewed as transactions in which work is exchanged for a commodity (a reinforcer). Overall consumption of a commodity is determined as a function of its price (work or response requirements), often in relation to the availability and price of concurrently available commodities. Investigators have recently begun to explore behavioral economic relations in the response allocation of individuals with developmental disabilities, most notably with the aim of interpreting responding under various experimental constraints related to enhancing habilitation efforts. The present symposium will further examine ongoing research in translating behavioral economic theory into practical application for individuals with developmental disabilities. Among other things, the presentations will collectively examine: a) how increases in price can clarify differences in reinforcer value, b) the correspondence between steady-state performance on variable ratio schedules and progressive ratio schedules, c) how changes in consumption of a reinforcer are influenced by the manner in which that reinforcer is delivered in applied settings, and d) how environmental constraints related to access (i.e. open vs. closed economy) and stimulus similarity can interact to influence consumption.

These studies compare relative effectiveness of procedures to improve Verbal Behavior in children with autism. The first study compares the Effects of Mimetic-Tact versus Intraverbal-Tact training on the Acquisition of Sign Tacts in two Children with Autism. Similar to results obtained by Partington, Sundberg, Newhouse, & Spengler (1994), the subjects acquired more tacts via intraverbal-tact transfer while acquiring fewer via mimetic-tact transfer demonstrating the superiority of intraverbal-tact transfer. The second study, Increasing Vocal Behavior in a Young Adult With Autism via Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing adds to current literature on stimulus stimulus pairing procedures and assists in appropriate candidate selection for these procedures. The last study, Comparison of two errorless teaching procedures for promoting independent responding in children with autism: Transfer of stimulus control with and without a probe following a time delay compares the relative effectiveness of two nearly errorless procedures for developing independent responses. Results across twenty- five subjects are compared in regard to the literature on errorless teaching. (Touchette and Howard, 1984,, Touchette, P.E. 1968, Terrace, H. 1963)

This symposium includes presentations that focus on the practical applications of using the science of behavior for the educational needs of students with autism and other developmental disabilities. Practical issues and suggestions for an ABA Consultant is applicable to individuals who provide ABA consultation services, as well as owners of companies that provide ABA consultation services. Practical applications and examples of: token-based motivational systems will focus on using motivational systems to increase habilitative responses (academically, behaviorally, and socially). Practical applications and examples of behavior plans/contracts will focus on developing and implementing behavior plans/behavior contracts, based on the results of a functional analysis. Practical applications and examples of visual schedules will focus on using various schedules to promote independence, social interactions, communication skills, as an instructional tool, and to replace inappropriate behaviors with habilitative responses. Examples of specific token systems, behavior plans, and activity schedules, as well as visual representations of the corresponding data, will be shown during the presentation.

At the age of 98, Sidney Bijou continues to be an inspiration to generations of behavior analysts all over the world. For more than 60 years, Sidney W. Bijou helped found and foster two major movements in behavior analysis: a behavior analysis of child development, and applied behavior analysis with children with special needs. This symposium will chronicle the distinguished career of Bijou from his recruitment by Skinner to the Psychology Department at Indiana through his days at the University of Nevada Reno. Additionally, Bijous influence on the internationalization of behavior analysis will be described. As well as documenting the individuals influencing and influenced by Bijou, the speakers will also present many of the methodological, theoretical, and clinical contributions Sidney Bijou has made over his long and distinguished career.

Three pilot studies using TAG showed promising outcomes. Floridas Behavior Analyses Services Program (BASP) conducted two types of follow-up trainings (video, video with TAG) for caregivers who completed a 30-hour parenting course. Two skill components were compared after having been retrained with the video or the video with TAG. Average improvement scores for both components after video training were 29%. Average improvement scores after TAG were 50% for both components. Twenty-two juvenile delinquent youth participated in eighteen sessions utilizing TAG for a task analyzed list of components such as fighting and fight negotiation. This study showed skill enhancement and participants viewed TAG as socially acceptable as measured by positive verbalizations. Five gymnasts were taught four skills using either conventional training (verbal praise, encouragement, verbal correction for errors) or TAG (a specific behavior marked with a click with no verbal correction). Baseline was measured via three trials of four skills per gymnast. Behaviors were scored as 1 or 0 with total scores averaged across groups over three trials. Conventional training scores increased over baseline from 7% to 25% while TAG scores increased over baseline from 61% to 67%. Additional data collection is in process to support these preliminary outcomes.

This panel first reviews the literature that demonstrates the efficacy of Positive ABA Behavior Supports in addressing the most severe and challenging behavior. Additional Type III case studies are then presented that add to this evidence base. The target behaviors addressed include severe physical aggression, self-injury, and property destruction. In each case, behavior problems were brought under control, both in terms of occurrence and episodic severity. Each person's quality of life was also measureably improved. These results were achieved through the implementation of positive, multi-element behavior support plans based on comprehensive functional assessments. Further, the results have been lasting, indicating the generalization of treatment effects over time. Finally, given the existing and growing evidence of PBS efficacy, a number of explanations are offered as to the challenges Positive Behavior Supports continue to face. An important perspective for Behavior Analysts is to recognize is that if a positive ABA approach is equally or more effective than an aversive approach, ethics require the use of the less restrictive alternative.