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| Issues in Applied Behavior Analysis and Consultation in Public Schools Settings |
| Monday, May 28, 2007 |
| 1:30 PM–2:50 PM |
| America's Cup C |
| Area: EDC/AUT; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Bryan J. Davey (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.) |
| Discussant: Frank M. Gresham (Louisiana State University) |
| CE Instructor: Bryan J. Davey, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: Behavior consultation can involve a behavior analyst working on behalf of a public school to address a wide range of issues requiring behavioral services. Commonly, referrals are for training, skill acquisition, or behavior reduction with individual or small groups of students. This symposium will present 3 data-based papers representing this range of behavioral referrals. One paper will present data on skill acquisition in social skills training to a group of middle school students receiving special education services. Specifically, data will be presented on several childrens acquisition of social skills during a systematic training process. The second paper will present data on reducing prompt dependency and increasing spontaneous manding in a child with autism. The third paper will present data-based decision making procedures derived from an analysis of how much data is required for making informed decisions during discrete trials training. Using both contrived and real data sets, decision making strategies were applied to daily data collection, and data taken during 80%, 60%, 40%, and 20% of days. |
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| Evaluation of a Measurable, Data-Based, Social Skills Training Method. |
| AMANDA J. MANN (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.), Bryan J. Davey (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.), Ajamu Nkosi (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.) |
| Abstract: The extent to which children and adolescents possess social skills can influence their academic performance, behavior, social and family relationships, and involvement in extracurricular activities. For individuals who experience difficulty in building and maintaining positive interpersonal relationships with peers and adults, social skills training is often recommended as an intervention. Despite the desire to enhance these social competencies in children and adolescents, measurement and evaluation of skill acquisition during social skills training is not a well researched area. The current study will discuss multiple research-based interventions for teaching social skills with adolescents. In addition, this study will discuss how to make data-based decisions by forming objective definitions of the skills and quantitatively measuring the acquisition of social skills. Data from 3 participants will be presented using the multiple baseline across skills design used to evaluate skill acquisition. |
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| Overcoming Prompt Dependency in a Public School Setting: A Systematic Approach to Increasing Independent Mands. |
| SARAH NATARELLI (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.), Bryan J. Davey (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.), Andrea D. Davey (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.) |
| Abstract: One common characteristic across children with Autism is difficulty with language and communication. Communication is sometimes difficult for children with Autism to emit independently when mands are not under non-verbal antecedent control. As a result of this deficit, children can become dependent on verbal prompts. Data will be presented from a participant who displayed prompt dependency across mand repertoires. A Verbal Behavior Model using echoic to mand procedures was implemented. In addition, establishing operations was used to increase a participant’s independent mand repertoires. The number of echoics, mands, and generalized mands were recorded during 2-hour sessions. Results show an increase in independent and generalized mands. |
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| Analysis of Data Collection Parameters in School-Based Discrete Trials Training. |
| MEAGHAN TIMKO (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.), Michael M. Mueller (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.), Bryan J. Davey (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.), Christine Palkovic (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.), Sarah Natarelli (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.), Ajamu Nkosi (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.), Andrea D. Davey (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.), Amanda J. Mann (Southern Behavioral Group, Inc.) |
| Abstract: Skill acquisition programs are often implemented with an emphasis on data collection. Mastery criteria are set during discrete trials training (DTT) to evaluate when a child has mastered a skill; a commonly used mastery criteria is at least 80% accuracy for at least three consecutive sessions. Some literature suggests that collecting data less than every session will yield similar results for interpreting mastery criteria when compared to daily data collection. When implementing programs in the school setting, teacher and teacher-assistant therapists often cite the time requirements of data collection as a common concern or complaint. The current paper presents the outcomes of studies in which contrived, and actual, DTT data sets are evaluated for mastery criteria when daily, and less than daily data are used for decision making. Less than daily data analyses were evaluated when 80%, 60%, 40% and 20% of sessions were evaluated. |
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