Association for Behavior Analysis International

Behavior analysts often work with learners with language and communication deficits. As such, it is usually the case that comprehensive care for maximal impact requires the input of both behavior analysts and speech-language pathologists. Yet, while both professionals work to promote communication skills, effective collaboration often fails to occur between these two disciplines. Despite discussing the need for collaboration for many years, and the inclusion of a call for collaboration in the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (BACB, 2022), there is little published research investigating the impact of collaboration of behavior analysts with other disciplines, including speech-language pathologists. The purpose of this symposium is to present a systematic literature review as well as applied clinical work (focused on increasing vocalizations and echoics of infants at risk for autism, implementing Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), and teaching mands for social information to later be recalled by children with autism) demonstrating successful outcomes of collaboration and areas for future teamwork between these two disciplines. Recommendations for clinical application and future research will be provided.

graduate students, BCBA/BCBA-Ds, SLPs

Behavior analysts have been discussing the need for collaboration for many years, however there is little published research investigating the impact of collaboration across disciplines. There are ample opportunities for such collaboration within applied work, with great potential impact on learner outcomes. In addition, collaboration offers opportunities for professionals to increase their knowledge base and to disseminate the science of behavior analysis. The purpose of this presentation is to provide a systematic review of the available literature on collaboration between the field of applied behavior analysis and other disciplines. The authors utilized the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) model and identified 12 articles that met criteria for inclusion. Results of the literature review yielded positive results across two themes: the impact of teaching collaboration skills and the impact of collaboration on learner outcomes. Future research should focus on systematically teaching component skills for effective collaboration to professionals and systematically evaluating models for collaboration.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), and other professionals provide important support services to children who are candidates for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Current assessment practices often neglect critical socio-ecological factors that are necessary to inform communication-based interventions. By leveraging the unique knowledge, research, and expertise of related disciplines, an interprofessional approach to assessment may help to realize individualized or precision interventions and personalized supports that address the unique communication needs of each person. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce a process-based approach to assessment called the Applied Model of Interprofessional Collaboration – Assessment (AMIC–A). The AMIC–A will be defined and detailed including the rationale for development, a description of the approach, and recommendations for implementation. Case study examples and interactive figures will be provided to illustrate implementation of the AMIC–A. Participants will be able to state limitations of traditional assessment practices for clinicians who support individuals with communication needs, explain the steps of the AMIC-A, and discuss how the AMIC-A may help to identify important socio-ecological factors to inform individualized intervention.

Asking questions to others about their likes and preferences is a useful way to learn social information about others; but it is also important to recall the information once learned. The present study investigated the use of a Friend File (FF) for teaching children with ASD to mand for, record, then recall social information about others. We conducted a baseline with and without the FF in which participants were instructed to learn as much as they could about a friend by asking questions. The number of mands for information and facts recalled were recorded. In the FF Intervention, participants were taught to approach the named social partner, mand for information about topics with no circled answer (i.e., establishing operation trials), then record the answer in the FF. Several minutes later, the participants were asked to recall what they learned about the social partner with the FF available. Once mastered with two social partners, we evaluated generalization with an untrained adult social partner and peer. Results indicated that the procedure resulted in increased manding, recording, and recall of information about untrained partners. In the absence of the FF, performance improved from baseline but at lower levels than with the FF available.