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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39th Annual Convention; Minneapolis, MN; 2013

Event Details


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Invited Paper Session #222
CE Offered: PSY/BACB

Enhancing the Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Practicality of Functional Communication Training

Sunday, May 26, 2013
4:00 PM–4:50 PM
Main Auditorium (Convention Center)
Area: AUT; Domain: Applied Research
Instruction Level: Intermediate
CE Instructor: Wayne W. Fisher, Ph.D.
Chair: Jennifer N. Fritz (University of Houston-Clear Lake)
WAYNE W. FISHER (University of Nebraska Medical Center, Munroe-Meyer Institute)
Wayne Fisher is the H.B. Munroe Professor of Behavioral Research and director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at the Munroe-Meyer Institute within the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Fisher's methodologically sophisticated research has focused on several intersecting lines, including preference, choice, and the assessment and treatment of autism and severe behavior disorders, that have been notable for the creative use of concurrent schedules of reinforcement, which have become more commonplace in clinical research primarily as a result of his influence. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed research studies in 28 different behavioral and/or medical journals, including the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Pediatrics, and The Lancet. Dr. Fisher is president of the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, chair of the Childhood Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities Study Section for the National Institutes of Health, a past editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, a fellow in the Association for Behavior Analysis, and recipient of the Bush Leadership Fellowship Award, the APA (Division 25) Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Behavioral Research, and the Distinguished Scientist Award from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Abstract:

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) involve social and language impairments and repetitive behavior. Prevalence rates have grown 20-fold, and ASD now affects about 1 in 91 children. Without effective treatment, long-term outcomes for individuals with ASD remain bleak; few maintain friends, jobs, or independent living. A principal barrier to successful community life for this group is the presence of destructive behavior (e.g., aggression). The greatest recent advancement in the treatment of destructive behavior has been the development of functional analysis (FA), which is used to prescribe effective treatments. One such treatment, functional communication training (FCT), is often prescribed when an FA implicates social reinforcers (e.g., attention) for destructive behavior. With FCT, the consequence that heretofore reinforced destructive behavior is delivered contingent on an appropriate communication response and problem behavior is placed on extinction. Although this straightforward approach to the treatment of destructive behavior can be highly effective, many pitfalls and practical challenges arise when this treatment is implemented by caregivers in natural community settings. The presentation will feature data and describe a line of research aimed at increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and practicality of FCT for individuals with ASD who display destructive behavior in typical community settings.

Target Audience:

The target audience for this presentation is graduate students, practitioners, and researchers interested in the study and treatment of individuals with autism and related disorders who display severe destructive behavior.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the event, the participant will be able to: 1. distinguish between topographical and functional approaches to categorizing aberrant behavior; 2. identify potentially effective behavioral interventions, such as Function Communication Training (FCT), based on the results of a formal functional analysis; 3. determine how to select an appropriate functional communication response (FCR); and 4. describe effective methods for increasing the practicality of FCT.
 

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