Association for Behavior Analysis International

People with disabilities do not engage in recommended levels of physical activity. The purpose of the present experiments was to systematically replicate Step it UP! interventions (Seward & Redner, 2023; Normand & Burji, 2020; Nieto & Wiskow, 2020) with adults with disabilities. Participants were divided into two competing teams, and the team with the highest step count participated in a prize drawing. Experiment 1 (N=9) evaluated the efficacy of an extended version Step it UP! Game that included additional and longer sessions. Experiment 2 (N=8) evaluated the addition of contingent adult attention during the Step it UP! Game. Baseline, Step it UP!, and Step it UP! plus interaction sessions were evaluated in an alternating treatment design. The Step it UP! Game was effective with additional and longer sessions and all participants took more steps during Step it UP! Game sessions. Adding adult interaction to the Step it UP! Game did not increase the effectiveness of the intervention.

Professionals who support adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who engage in challenging behavior (CB) are at risk for burnout, which can negatively impact the quality of support provided to service users. However, the role that self-confidence plays in the development of burnout for this population is unclear. An online survey was completed by 202 professionals with various roles around Ontario who support adults with IDD engaging in CB. Participants included direct support professionals (n = 156) and leaders in direct support (n = 46). The survey contained the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a self-confidence instrument, and both open- and closed-ended questions about demographic, organizational, and client-related variables. Quantitative results suggest that participants consider several variables (e.g., support in the workplace, type of CB) to influence their self-confidence in responding to CB. Preliminary correlational analyses propose that significant relationships exist between self-confidence and more than one dimension of burnout, but supporting linear regression results are pending. Results may increase our understanding of the relationship between self-confidence and burnout. Additionally, results may inform pertinent organizational and training targets to improve self-confidence of professionals providing support to adults with IDD in the developmental services sector, including in behavior analytic services.

Behavior analysts are required and ethically responsible to provide services to address socially significant behavior with the ultimate intent of improving long-term outcomes such as an individual’s quality of life (QoL). QoL is a complex social construct, sensitive to context and circumstances at both individual and environmental levels (Schalock & Verdugo, 2002). There are research-based frameworks and a variety of assessments comprised of universal domains and indicators for practitioners to utilize when attempting to define and assess the construct for their clients. Commitment on the part of a practitioner to use available QoL frameworks and assessments to guide delivery of services may help ensure those services address relevant, socially significant behaviors and improve QoL for the individuals being served (Schwartz & Kelly, 2021). The presenter will share results of a recent systematic literature review investigating single-case behavior analytic research claiming to address QoL. This review will provide insight into the skills behavior analysts are targeting when aiming to improve QoL as well as what efforts are being taken to ensure they have in fact achieved that goal. Second, the presenter will describe results of a nationwide survey exploring behavior analysts’ perspectives and practices related to social validity and QoL.

Sensory-integration therapy (SIT) is sometimes recommended for individuals who emit problem behavior. Within the behavior-analytic literature, researchers have not found SIT to produce meaningful changes in problem and there is some evidence that SIT can make some problem behavior worse. Although SIT involves access to stimuli, which can be an effective intervention, there may be a mis-match between the stimuli selected for SIT and stimuli that produce stimulation similar to problem behavior. Additionally, when problem behavior is multiply maintained, it may be possible to use noncontingent access to a single stimulus to treat problem behavior in multiple functional contexts. In the research, following ineffective SIT, we evaluated the effects of access to tangible items on the participant's problem behaviors that were maintained by automatic reinforcement and social positive reinforcement in the form of access to tangible items. The results showed that tangible item that evoked problem behavior could be effectively used to suppress problem behavior regardless of functional context. This suggests that cross-function stimuli, even if they do not produce the same stimulation as problem behavior, could effectively treat problem behavior.

Despite the increase of Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) in the United States, the demand for qualified behavioral providers continues to outpace the supply. Previous research has demonstrated that approximately 70% of all counties in the United States had at least one RBT, however, many of these counties (n= 623) had no supervising Board Certified Behavior Analysts (Yingling et al., 2023). It is important to identify factors contributing to the lack of RBTs. We distributed an electronic survey to RBTs providing applied behavior analysis services across 19 counties in Florida. The survey included questions about the respondents a) training, b) supervision, c) working conditions, d) job satisfaction, and e) intention to leave their current job. Overall, results indicated that insufficient training in challenging behavior and skill acquisition, working conditions, satisfaction with pay, and the requirement to complete unpaid tasks outside of work were related to job satisfaction, intention to leave, and burnout. Recommendations based on the findings of this survey aim to improve overall access to behavioral services by encompassing factors such as job-employee fit, supportive work environments, strong supervision, training, and fair compensation.

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have historically low employment and retention rates. These disparities in employment can be partially attributed to job placements and minimal opportunities to cultivate employment skills. It is common for this population to be employed in entry level positions or in jobs that are not of interest to the individual, decreasing the likelihood of job retention. Through a multiple probe across participants design, this study evaluated the effects of an intervention package consisting of behavior skills training and an acronym (ELSE+) on job decision-making skills of college students with IDD. Data indicate the strong effectiveness of the intervention package to increase the participants’ ability to make decisions about good job fit, maintenance of the skills once the intervention was removed, and generalization of the skills to novel stimuli (a different job search website). The intervention’s goals, procedures, and outcomes were socially significant. This study has implications on decision-making and employment for this population and for people who support employment efforts of these individuals regarding the need for explicit instruction of decision-making skills through BST.

Online shopping is a common feature of modern adult life made easy through targeted advertisements, a large buy now button, and pre-entered credit card information. However, these features do not support making purchasing decisions based on what is best for the individual. Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) need explicit instruction on how to make informed decisions regarding online purchases. Four adults with IDD currently employed participated in this study. A multiple probe across participants design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. This poster presents a dissertation study conducted in Spring 2024. IRB approval has been attained and data collection is ongoing. Based on results of previous studies, we anticipate participants of this study will acquire, generalize, and maintain the decision-making skills through the intervention package. Implications for practice and future research and limitations will be discussed and expanded upon from the previous and current study.

Caregiver training programs for children with developmental disabilities and disruptive behaviors typically target child-caregiver interactions, with the majority focusing on the prevention and reduction of mild to moderate behavioral challenges (e.g., behavioral parent training; parent-child interaction therapy). While these training programs may be effective, the interventions are not typically derived from a function-based perspective and, therefore, may have less relevance for professionals working with caregivers of children who demonstrate severe behavior. The purpose of this case study is to illustrate a function-informed, individualized approach to caregiver training within an outpatient clinic for children with severe behavior. A functional analysis was implemented to determine the primary function of the child’s severe behavior. Indirect and descriptive assessment data were used to identify additional parent behaviors that may have also played a role in reinforcing severe behavior. All three sources of data (indirect and descriptive assessment, and functional analysis) informed a function-based caregiver training intervention. Skills training targeted caregiver behaviors related to extinction for challenging behavior and reinforcement for alternative behavior. We evaluated the skills training in a multiple baseline design across contexts and report outcomes in terms of both caregiver and child behavior changes.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a chronic disorder that is characterized by intrusive private events (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors related to these private events (compulsions) that impact roughly two to three percent of the population in their lifetime (Fontenelle et al., 2006). Typical treatment for behaviors related to obsessive-compulsive disorder includes psychotherapy techniques through cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure and response prevention therapy, and pharmacotherapy through the prescription of serotonin reuptake inhibitor (Koran et al., 2007). While there is ample research demonstrating the effectiveness and efficacy of these treatments for obsessive-compulsive behaviors, the psychotherapy methodology mentioned relies heavily on verbal behavior and has limited applications for individuals without the verbal repertoire to engage with said therapy methods. Nevertheless, both cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure and response prevention therapy have treatment components that can be modified through environmental manipulations that are typically done in the field of behavior analysis. To date, limited research has examined the treatment of obsessive-compulsive behaviors for individuals with intellectual disabilities with limited verbal behavior repertoire. This project is a collaboration between behavior analysts, psychologists, and psychiatrists on a case demonstration for a modified ERP treatment for a 15-year-old individual who engages in multiple OCD-related behaviors through single case design. Implications and results are discussed.

This poster describes the evaluation of an intensive analysis and function-based treatment package to address severe, disruptive behavior exhibited by youths with ASD and intellectual developmental disorder. Most of the youth included in the present study have been removed from more than one school program due to the severity of their disruptive behavior. A core component of our assessment was a highly-individualized, analog functional analysis, which we conducted until we found evidence of one or more functions. Next, we evaluated function-based treatment. Core effective treatment strategies included starting with a rich schedule of reinforcement, accessed via minimally-effortful, communicative responses, often simply tapping a card. After the new manding form occurred consistently and disruptive behavior remained low, minimal additional demands were presented and cued by progressive, VR token boards. The VR schedule inherently included variability and may have made it easier to surreptitiously expand response requirements, which we did very gradually in a manner we came to call “micro-demand fading.” Results from the first five learners in this program show an average reduction of greater than 99% of severe, disruptive behavior.

Practitioners delivering behavior analytic services may encounter unsafe and interfering behaviors such as self-injury and aggression. The aim of this study is to understand the use of hands-on procedures, including restraint and physical guidance, in the field of behavior analysis. A preliminary national sample of 158 behavioral practitioners (RBT, BCaBA, BCBA, BCBA-D) completed an online survey that included Likert-scale, open-ended, and check box options regarding their experiences with physical restraint, mechanical restraint, and physical guidance, including their training, comfort, and confidence; client responses; and alternative options. Results indicate that 60% of participants used physical restraint within the last year, primarily for aggressive or dangerous behavior, whereas fewer implemented mechanical restraint (23%), primarily for self-injury. The majority of participants reported adverse client responses following restraint (86%), most commonly physically resisting, vocal responses, and emotional responses. Although all participants had received training in physical guidance and nearly all indicated using physical guidance, 86% reported working with a client whose behavior indicated that they disliked physical guidance. Whereas 71% reported confidence using physical guidance, the majority were unable to identify alternative procedures. Results indicate the need for training in alternatives to restraint and physical guidance, and honoring client preferences regarding physical touch.