Association for Behavior Analysis International

Functional communication training (FCT; Carr & Durand, 1985) is a commonly used function-based intervention which leads to a reduction in problem behavior by increasing functionally equivalent communicative responses (FCR). Individuals who have been taught functional communication (FC), however, often engage in FCR at much higher rates than feasible for families (Betz et al., 2013). Thus, schedule thinning is considered clinical best practice. Recent research has further indicated combining schedule thinning with terminal probes allows for more efficient FCT (Kranak & Falligant, 2021). Therefore, using a concurrent multiple baseline design, this study analyzed the effectiveness of a terminal probe within a response class for one individual learning FC. Results indicated after schedule thinning and a terminal probe were conducted for one FCR, the terminal probe generalized to two other FCRs in which schedule thinning had and had not been implemented. Implications for clinical practice and future research will also be discussed.

Behavioral interventions to decrease problem behavior typically utilize dense schedules of reinforcement for appropriate behavior. Following reductions in problem behavior, generalization across contexts is programmed to ensure the intervention is effective in the natural environment. However, problem behavior sometimes reemerges as a function of changes in contexts, this is called renewal. Falligant et al. (2021) found that the prevalence of renewal was lower for individuals who experienced denser schedules of reinforcement in the initial training context than those who experienced leaner schedules of reinforcement. The current study extended Falligant et al. (2021) by examining the relationship between the obtained magnitude of reinforcement (i.e., duration or frequency) during the initial training phase and magnitude of renewal during treatment evaluations for individuals admitted to an inpatient unit for severe problem behavior. We re-analyzed 37 treatment applications with context changes across 34 cases identified via a retrospective consecutively controlled case series. The clinical implications of identifying factors that are associated with renewal of problem behavior are discussed.

People with disabilities have a higher prevalence of cigarette smoking than people without disabilities. Moreover, there is a research gap in smoking cessation interventions between people with and without disabilities. This systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate research on tobacco smoking cessation interventions designed to improve outcomes for people with disabilities (e.g., cognitive, hearing, mobility, visual). Electronic searches were conducted in CINAHL Plus (EBSCO), Embase (Ovid), Medline (Ovid), and PsycINFO (Ovid) to identify peer-reviewed studies on tobacco cessation interventions for adults with disabilities in the United States. Two independent coders evaluated all retrieved records. A total of 972 studies were included in title and abstract screening. Forty-six studies were examined in the full text review, of which two studies met inclusion criteria. Both included studies used mindfulness-based procedures to reduce the self-reported number of cigarettes smoked per day in people with mild intellectual disabilities. Additional studies address other disabilities but were not rigorous enough to meet inclusion criteria. Given the breadth of smoking cessation treatments available to the general population, there is a paucity of empirically supported research for those with disabilities. Implications and recommendations for tailored interventions to address the unique needs of people with disabilities are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the emergence and persistence of independent non-target mands displayed by a 4-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder during treatment (functional communication training; FCT) and treatment disruption (extinction of mands). This study was conducted in three phases. During Phase 1, FCT was conducted within a multiple schedules design across two mand modalities (i.e., picture card; microswitch). During Phase 2, a mand preference assessment (MPA) was conducted within a concurrent schedules design to determine preference for type of mand modality. During Phase 3, extinction was conducted within a multiple schedules design to evaluate the persistence of independent target manding (card touch and microswitch touch). During FCT, independent manding was similarly high for both target mand modalities. A preference for the microswitch over the picture card and higher persistence of target manding in the microswitch condition occurred during the MPA and extinction phases, respectively. During these procedures, two non-targeted mands (vocalizations and manual signing) emerged during FCT, with higher levels associated with the picture card condition. Non-target mands were also observed at relatively high levels during extinction, but without any clear differentiation across target mand modality conditions. Clinical and research implications for these results will be discussed.

Play skills are critical to a child’s development and well-being. Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, however, are often unable to adequately engage with items; because of this, they are at a severe disadvantage for acquiring essential skills necessary for their success within educational and social situations. Previous research has focused on multiple procedures including peer modeling, video modeling, and arbitrary reinforcers for increasing toy engagement, however, results have demonstrated varied success. The competing stimulus assessment (CSA), typically used for individuals that engage in self-injurious behaviors, has shown to be a reliable procedure for increasing toy engagement. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of the CSA for increasing play skills for a two-year-old boy diagnosed with Down Syndrome that did not engage in self-injurious behaviors. Results from the CSA identified four items that the participant would reliably and appropriately engage with suggesting that the CSA may be a useful alternative for increasing toy engagement for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who do not engage in self-injurious behavior.

The importance of teaching caregivers to identify functional variables surrounding problematic behaviors in daily life is widely recognized within behavior analytic caregiver training literature (e.g., Bearss et al., 2018; Lerman et al., 2013; Shayne & Miltenburger, 2013). One way to build this skill is to coach parents in collecting data on problematic behaviors when they occur outside of treatment sessions. However, barriers to reliable data collection are common challenges to caregiver training (Sanders, 2009). Presented is a case example of a simple, electronic data collection system designed for parents, which was used to guide treatment focus and demonstrate outcomes from parent training sessions. Procedures were conducted in the Complex Behavior Program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders. The participant was a 7-year-old male diagnosed with autism who engaged in severe aggression, self-injurious behaviors, and property destruction. Initial sessions involved behavioral skills training in data collection procedures. Parent training was delivered weekly, involving data review and in vivo training of function-based procedures. Parents provided weekly data on behavioral events involving target behaviors. These data were graphed, analyzed, and used to assess progress on established treatment goals. Results demonstrate an initial 87% decrease in behavioral events per week from baseline. Low effort data collection across six questions averaging 3 minutes and 43 seconds per submission, can help guide treatment to produce clinically significant results in behavior reduction.

Intervention support technologies are being produced rapidly, and there is a critical need for frameworks and procedures to systematically evaluate their compliance with applied behavior analysis (ABA). Here, we present a systematic evaluation of the ability of the core components of ABA intervention to be implemented within the constraints of a particular technology, Floreo Virtual Reality. Specifically, this framework evaluates the implementation of the three-term antecedent-behavior-consequence contingency, including therapist control over activation of antecedents, determination and evaluation of specific target behavior responses of the learner, and implementation of consequences which are behaviorally contingent and immediate. We also evaluate the ability to implement standard prompting, prompt fading, and error correction procedures. Finally, we determine whether or not and how manual and automated trial-by-trial data can be collected and analyzed. Application of this evaluation framework indicates that a number of Floreo lessons are fully compliant with the core teaching procedures of ABA, and that the most common challenges to ABA compliance of Floreo lessons relate to digital data collection and error correction procedures. Therefore, this framework appears to be useful for both confirming the ABA-compliance of technology-based lessons and determining areas of need for securing ABA-compliance of said technologies for ABA practice.

Behavior analytic providers prioritize socially significant behaviors to improve independence and quality of life for the vulnerable populations we serve. In most interventions, functional communication and tolerance of delayed reinforcement skills are incorporated as goals. In the current study, Functional Communication Training (FCT) was implemented with an adolescent diagnosed with multiple developmental disabilities to increase tolerance of delayed reinforcement. It was socially significant for the client to be taught communication skills to obtain her needs and wants appropriately. Maladaptive behaviors were also a significant concern to the caregiver due to the high frequency of occurrences. The intervention was effective in increasing delayed tolerance, increasing accurate mands (use of two or more vocal words), and decreasing maladaptive behaviors (aggression and property destruction). There were limitations regarding hormonal fluctuations as they affected her mood and motivation during intervention. However, the client was taught communication skills which have been maintained and increased her access to needs and wants in the environment.

The neurodiversity movement is gaining ground as more and more advocates are speaking out in favor for inclusion. Discussions in the field of behavior analysis are steadily increasing. Organizations such as the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) has deployed a task force to interact with such discussions regarding neurodiversity and other related topics. Since 2020, several papers are advocating for more representation and inclusion of the perspectives of individuals of marginalized backgrounds, including neurodiverse populations (Collins et al., 2020). The purpose of this presentation is then to highlight the prevalence of presentations whose authors focused on topics associated with the neurodiversity movement across ABAI affiliated conferences for the last few years. This will be completed with two hopes. First, we hope to spark conversation and highlight what has been done, and what potentially could be done to aid in the inclusion of the movement and the perspectives within our behavior analytic community and beyond. Second, we will describe the efforts and open invitation for others to contribute to this and other diversity related causes. Viewers will be exposed to an interactive conversation with opportunities to contribute.