Association for Behavior Analysis International

One key to the success of our students at the Centro Ann Sullivan in Peru- CASP is what we call the "Power of Two," where families and professionals work as a team. Dr. Mayo founded The School of Families of CASP 39 years ago with just 8 students and their families and now educates more than 450 families each year. At CASP, families are partners in the education of their children. Together with CASP professionals, they work as a team to provide the most comprehensive education for the students. CASP families receive a total of 171 hours of training annually, through group and individual sessions. Each family receives an Individual Educational Plan (IEP), updated annually, that outlines the skills they need to learn to be the best parents and teachers for their child. These skills are then taught in the classroom, in the community, and five times a year individual family training occurs in the home of the student. CASP believes the whole family is important to the success of the student and as such, twice a year more than 400 siblings of our students attend training to learn skills for how to be a sibling and also a teacher. As a result of many years of continuous training, some CASP families are now creating a multiplicative effect by training other families across Peru through the Mother-to-Mother Program and internationally through long distance education.

Behavior analysis has been a translational science almost from the beginning. Even as Skinner warned against the mistake of allowing issues of application to affect the development of a science in its early stages (in Behavior of Organisms, 1938), he was already at work extending to human behavior the principles he had discovered with rats. This work would eventually appear in Science and Human Behavior (1953), Verbal Behavior (1957), and a series of papers on ways to increase the effectiveness of instruction (starting in 1954). At a more practical level, he invented the "air crib" to simplify infant care, a missile guidance system based on the visual acuity of pigeons, and a machine to promote student learning. Because translation is so deeply embedded in the behavior analytic Zeitgeist, it is easy to lose sight of it. In this brief talk, I will outline the development of behavior analysis as a translational science and describe some contemporary examples.

Under the leadership of its Executive Council, ABAI has been crossing geographical borders for more than four decades, disseminating behavior analysis globally. I have had the honor to be part of this dissemination, inspired by the belief that we can change lives all around the world. Although this award is for people or organizations demonstrating significant and sustained contributions to the dissemination/development of behavior analysis outside the United States, behavior analysts in the United States have long been role models for me; I have huge gratitude for these pioneers. Awareness of ABAI and of leading behavior analysts in the United States started early in my career: in 1982 I went to Harvard to meet B. F. Skinner, and in 1990 I was already a contact person in Brazil for ABAI. Brazilian professors in behavior analysis shaped my interest in international development, and Brazil now has one of the largest communities of behavior analysts. One of the ingredients of our success was the constant presence of model scientists and practitioners; North American behavior analysts were invited to visit our country to help build the field there. Fred Keller was the first, and we also benefited from the visiting professorships of such luminaries as Murray Sidman and Charles Catania all of whom made it clear that without science there could be no solid progress in our field; and without practice, no future. With these two elements in mind, we went abroad to convince people of the real importance of behavior analysis.

The Graduate Program in Behavioral Sciences (Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Ciencias do Comportamento, PPG-CdC,) of the University of Brasilia (UnB), Brazil awards both Masters and Ph.D. degrees. It has played a pivotal role in the establishment and development of behavior analysis as a science and as a profession in Brazil since 1964, then under the leadership of Fred S. Keller and Carolina M. Bori and the collaboration of Rodolpho Azzi, John Gilmour Sherman, Robert Berryman and James R. Nazzaro. Faculty members of the graduate program at UnB have a good record of publications in both national and international scientific journals in behavior analysis (including the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, the Brazilian Journal of Behavior Analysis, the Mexican Journal of Behavior Analysis), further attesting to the enduring contributions of the graduate program to the development of behavior analysis.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Rigid and repetitive patterns and/or interests (RRBIs) are a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In comparison to social-communication interventions for children with ASD, surprising little is known about the effectiveness, implementation, and current practices being delivered RRBIs. Several analytic practices show a strong evidence-base or promise in reducing RRBIs or other co-occurring maladaptive behaviors (National Autism Center, 2015). There are several areas of imperative inquiry. In this symposium, two studies will be presented. The first study will present data from an online survey of practices implemented by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) for children (birth to age 8) across a variety of sub-topographies of repetitive behavior (e.g., stereotypy, insistence on sameness). The second study will present findings for a meta-analysis on interventions for vocal stereotypy with a focus on the implications of measurement differences. Discussed will be gaps in extant literature and implications of findings for science and practice.

The target audience for this presentation are researchers and practitioners who work with individuals with autism who engage in rigid and/or repetitive patterns of behavior and/or interests.

The evidence base of interventions to treat rigid and repetitive patterns of behavior and/or interests (RRBIs) in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is growing. Some researchers have asserted that some repetitive behavior can actually be adaptive for infants and young children and are present in typical development. However, as RRBIs are a core feature of ASD, the reduction of these behavioral topographies is often targeted in clinical practice. Yet, surprisingly little is known about what practices are actually being implemented in the field. An online survey was distributed to Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) who indicated that they worked with young children with ASD. A total of 128 BCBAs submitted complete entires. Survey items included BCBAs frequency of use of 15 practices including: antecedent-based embedded perseverative interests, consequence-based embedded perseverative interests, differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI), differential reinforcement of other or zero rates of behavior (DRO), differential reinforcement of variable behavior (DRV), environmental enrichment, functional communication training (FCT), noncontingent or time based schedules of reinforcement, overcorrection, physical exercise, response blocking, response cost, response interruption redirection (RIRD), sensory extinction, skill enrichment, visual and/or cues and 1 assessment (functional analysis). Additionally, we collected data on age ranges (i.e., birth to three year olds, three to five year olds, and five to eight year olds) with which BCBAs implemented or supervised implementation of each intervention and their perceptions of the effectiveness of each intervention. Finally, we collected a variety of demographic data. Preliminary analyses revealed that the most common practices implemented were: environmental enrichment, skill enrichment, visual and/or verbal cues, FCT, and RIRD. The interventions implemented the least were response cost, overcorrection, sensory extinction, and DRV. The interventions BCBAs rated the most effective were FCT, DRI, RIRD, and consequence-based embedded perseverative interests. The interventions that were rated the least effective were DRV, response cost, overcorrection, and physical exercise. Correlates to usage and perceptions of effectiveness including educational background, training, practice setting, and clientele will be discussed, as well as implications for future research and practice.

Vocal stereotypy (VS) is a behavior of concern for many individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Engagement in VS can be detrimental in that it may be stigmatizing in social settings and interfere with performance on academic and vocational tasks. A first step in treating VS is to determine function through a functional analysis or functional behavior assessment. Interventions can then be developed based on the specific function of the VS. Twenty-seven studies were identified incorporating 78 participants diagnosed with ASD who engaged in automatically-maintained VS. In this presentation the effects of the available treatments for automatically-reinforced VS will be discussed. Interventions include matched stimulation, differential reinforcement, response interruption and redirection (RIRD), and other punishment procedures. Preliminary analyses indicate that there are multiple interventions in the literature which are effective in decreasing automatically-reinforced VS, with Tau-U values suggesting treatment effects in the medium to large range. Results of RIRD were further assessed based on the data collection methodology utilized in individual studies which included whole session and interrupted session data collection. A limitation of the extant literature is the degree to which the groups vary within each intervention, as well as the limited number of participants per treatment. Implications for practice and future research will be discussed.

There are many empirically supported procedures for teaching early verbal behavior to individuals. As the verbal behavior repertoire grows, so does the complexity of targets and teaching procedures. This symposium will present research evaluating assessment and interventions for complex verbal behavior in children with and without autism. The first paper will present a study investigating procedures using multiple exemplar training to teach children with autism to identify the false beliefs of others. The second paper will present data on using multiple exemplar training to teach typically developing children to understand the double meaning of jokes. The final paper will present a review and critical analysis of research on the PEAK Assessment and Curriculum.

BCBAs and BCaBAs

Children with autism spectrum disorder have deficits in perspective taking abilities required to identify false beliefs of others (Baron-Cohen, Leslie & Frith, 1985). Research has demonstrated that children with autism can be taught to recognize the false beliefs of others using video modeling (e.g., Charlop-Christy & Daneshvar, 2003; LeBlanc & Coates, 2003). The current study extends behavioral research by teaching children with autism to identify false beliefs using a treatment package conducted in the natural environment with live people. Using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design, this study evaluates the use of multiple exemplar training, prompting, and reinforcement to train identification of false beliefs in two tasks. Thus far, the data from participant one demonstrates that the treatment package was effective in teaching him to identify false beliefs across two false belief tasks (an appearance-reality task and unexpected transfer task). Generalization across people and untrained stimuli was observed. Furthermore, the participant improved from baseline to posttreatment on correct responding to the classic false-belief task known as the Sally-Anne task, which was never trained. Data are currently being collected with two additional participants.

The understanding of complex forms of verbal behavior, specifically jokes with double meanings, is a skill that has been suggested to emerge in typically developing children between the ages of 7 and 11 years. Given that humor has been documented to be an important element in social interactions, it would be beneficial to identify the specific skills necessary to establish the speaker and listener repertoire of humor in order to remediate deficits in this area for specific clinical populations (e.g. autism spectrum disorders). The behavioral literature on this topic is somewhat limited but suggests that such skills are learned operants that can be taught through the use of systematic teaching procedures. As such, the current study employed multiple exemplar training and a three-step error correction procedure, implemented in a multiple-baseline across participants design, to teach typically developing children, between the ages of five and six years, to understand double-meaning jokes. All four participants demonstrated low levels of comprehension of double-meaning jokes in baseline and met mastery criterion for comprehension and appreciation measures in post-intervention. Post-probes and maintenance results were mixed with two participants requiring re-introduction of the intervention before meeting criteria on follow-up measures.

Elopement is a common topography of challenging behavior among individuals with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities. Elopement can lead to exposure to dangerous situations, disrupt learning, limit access to residential services and community activities, and even lead to serious injury or death. A systematic literature search identified 18 studies published from 2009 to 2016 that evaluated interventions to decrease elopement. The studies were summarized in terms of (a) participant characteristics, (b) assessment procedures, (c) intervention procedures, (d) intervention results. Frequent interventions included functional communication training, differential reinforcement, and response blocking. Functional analyses were conducted for each participant with several methodological modifications to address difficulties associated with functional analysis of elopement. Functional analysis of elopement may be challenging as participant retrieval may be necessary for safety purposes, but could serve as a confounding variable providing attention across all conditions. Systematic replication of functional analysis procedures utilized by Lehardy et al. (2013) was implemented with a 5-year-old male diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Results indicated elopement was maintained by access to tangibles. Functional communication training resulted in markedly reduced instances of elopement, confirming the results of the functional analysis. Implications and recommendations for practice will be discussed and suggestions for future research will be offered.

Behavior analysts including clinicians, teachers, researchers, BCBAs, and BCaBAs.

Elopement is commonly occurring topography of challenging behavior among individuals with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities. Elopement can disrupt learning, limit access to residential services, limit access to community activities, and in extreme cases lead to serious injury or death. A systematic literature search identified 18 studies published from 2009 to 2016 that evaluated interventions to decrease elopement. The studies were summarized in terms of (a) participant characteristics, (b) assessment procedures, (c) intervention procedures, (d) intervention results. Across the 18 studies, intervention was implemented across 27 participants with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities, ages four to 47 years. Functional analyses were conducted for each participant with several methodological modifications to address difficulties associated with functional analysis of elopement. The most frequent interventions included functional communication training, differential reinforcement, and response blocking. Implications for practice will be discussed and suggestions for future research will be offered.

Elopement is a frequent problem among individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities. Elopement can lead to an individual being exposed to dangerous situations. Moreover, elopement can increase stress for caretakers. Functional analysis of elopement may be challenging due to the fact that participant retrieval may be necessary for safety purposes, but could serve as a confounding variable providing attention across all conditions. A review of the literature revealed a variety of functional analysis methodologies to address these difficulties associated with functional analysis of elopement. The current study is a systematic replication of functional analysis procedures utilized by Lehardy et al. (2013). This functional analysis methodology was implemented with a 5-year-old male diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Results indicated elopement was maintained by access to tangibles. Functional communication training resulted in markedly reduced instances of elopement, thus confirming the results of the functional analysis. The results of this study, recommendations for practice, and suggestions for future research will be discussed.

In "The Operational Analysis of Psychological Terms," Skinner proposed that the science of behavior needs a contingency analysis of the contexts in which scientists use terms. A term is valid only when it increases the scientist's capacity for prediction and influence, and not merely when it produces socially mediated reinforcers such as the approval and agreement of other scientists. Years later, Skinner continued to evolve contingency analysis in terms of Darwinian theory, which involves variation, selection, and retention. In this talk, I will argue that the pragmatic aims of ABA hinge upon these two conceptual advances and that Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) offers practitioners a way to harness Skinner's conceptual horsepower in service of helping others. In the ACT approach, ABA workers start where folks are at and talk with them about what they value most. About love. Family. Pain. Laughter. Building this kind of connection with stakeholders in ABA is neither unprofessional, nor is using common sense language an invitation to mentalism. It is the catwalk from unworkable essentialism to pragmatic contextualism. In this talk, I will bridge the conceptual with the pragmatic by sharing single case design data from our work with parents and children.

BCBAs, BCBA-Ds, and others interested in bridging theory and practice.

The functional analysis provides a means for practitioners to identify the variables maintaining destructive behaviors and, in turn, develop function-based intervention. The current symposium outlines three studies which employed functional analysis to assess and inform function-based treatment of idiosyncratic presenting concerns. First, Simmons, Akers, and Fisher conducted a functional analysis of covert food stealing for a 6-year-old neurotypical individual. The results of the functional analysis informed the application of a function-based intervention and multiple schedule to signal availability and nonavailability of food items. Similarly, Stuesser and Roscoe provided a novel extension of assessment and treatment methods. Authors evaluated medical nonadherence and problem behavior in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Functional analysis results informed a differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors (DRA) treatment alone and in combination with stimulus fading to increase adherence and decrease problem behavior. Last, DeLisle and Thomason-Sassi extended the use of denial-and-delay tolerance training (Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, & Hanratty, 2014) for two individuals diagnosed with autism to automatically-maintained problem behavior. During this evaluation the authors taught the individuals to request permission to engage in the targeted behavior, and to refrain from behavior outside the permitted times. Finally, denial training, delay training, and fading therapist proximity were completed.

Practitioners

Denial-and-delay tolerance training (Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, & Hanratty, 2014) is a treatment protocol that has been used to teach children to mand for socially-mediated reinforcers. Subsequent treatment components include a teaching of tolerance response when requests are denied, and working until a reinforcer is available. In the current study, we extended this treatment for socially-mediated behavior to the treatment of automatically maintained behavior. We utilized an alone screen to determine the function of behavior for two individuals diagnosed with autism. Next, we taught the individuals to request permission to engage in their behavior targeted for decrease, and to refrain from behavior outside of those permitted times. Finally, denial training, delay training, and fading therapist proximity were completed. Results showed that participants engaged in low rates of inappropriate behavior, and were able to tolerate a denied mand by engaging in increasing amounts of work. Interobserver agreement was collected on 30% of sessions for both participants, and averaged at 96.7% (range, 93.3-100).

Medical procedures such as routine physicals and blood work are often associated with nonadherence and problem behavior in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Previous research has shown the utility of behavior analytic interventions for increasing medical adherence. However, these interventions often include a combination of components making it difficult to discern whether all components are necessary. The purpose of this study was to evaluate differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) without extinction alone and in combination with fading for increasing adherence and decreasing disruption during routine medical exams in four individuals with an autism spectrum disorder. An indirect assessment was conducted to identify routine medical exam steps. A functional analysis confirmed that problem behavior was maintained by escape from medical demands. We evaluated DRA alone and in combination with stimulus fading using multiple baseline across participants or reversal designs. DRA with fading was necessary for achieving clinically significant outcomes in three of the four participants. Interobserver agreement was assessed in 33% of sessions and averaged 91%.

The seminal research on equivalence relations by Sidman (1994) and colleagues, which commenced in the early 1970s, led in the mid-1980s to the development of relational frame theory (RFT; Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, & Roche, 2001). The tutorial will present an overview of this 30 year-old unfolding research story and will consider some empirical and conceptual issues that appear to require focused attention as the story continues to unfold across the coming decades. In particular, the tutorial will commence by focusing on the historical and intellectual roots of RFT, identifying the work of Darwin, Wittgenstein, Skinner, and particularly Sidman as critically important. The basic units of analysis proposed by RFT, as a behavior-analytic account of human language and cognition, will then be considered. The impact these analytic units have had, and still have, on RFT research will also be reviewed. A relatively new RFT concept, known as the multi-dimensional multi-level (MDML) framework will be presented. A recent model of specific properties of relational framing, the differential arbitrarily applicable relational responding effects (DAARRE) model, will also be considered. Finally, a case will be made to integrate the MDML and the DAARRE model into a hyper-dimensional, multi-level (HDML) framework

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

In this symposium, we included three papers related to using behavioral analytic strategies in inclusive settings. The first presentation used peer-mediated strategies embedded in Lego activities to increase social initiation and responses for children with autism in an inclusive preschool setting. The second presentation used social narratives combined with behavioral strategies to improve oral narratives for a child with hearing impairments in various settings and evaluated the generalization effect an inclusive classroom. The third paper presents several behavioral strategies that can be used in inclusive settings for students with different ability levels.

BCBAs, BCaBAs, special education teachers, general education teachers

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a peer-mediated LEGO? play intervention on improving social skills for children with ASD in an inclusive preschool in China. Three boys with ASD and 13 typically developing children participated in this study. A multiple-probe across participants design was used. The intervention consisted of LEGO? construction activities incorporated with peer-mediated strategies for one child with ASD and two typically developing peers. The intervention sessions were conducted two sessions per week with a total of 28 to 31 sessions for each participant. Results indicate that all three children with ASD increased their social initiations and responses following the completion of the intervention. Social validity was also obtained.

Oral narrative ability exerts a major impact on the cognitive development, interpersonal communication and verbal learning of hearing-impaired students learning in regular class. Through a cross-situation multi-baseline research on a single subject, the study employs story grammar instruction based on picture books as the plan for intervening oral narrative ability of the student in communicating with family members, a private tutor and strangers. It is found that the intervention method leads to significant improvements in story length and story grammar concerning the oral narrative ability of the hearing-impaired student in the three communication situations. As for the effect of the intervention on discourse coherence in the student's oral narration, further studies are still needed. In view of those findings, the study puts forward corresponding suggestions on the application of picture-book-based story grammar instruction in actual situation.

Applied behavior analysis is known as an effective way to address the needs of people with autism spectrum disorders. The layperson may also associate behavior analysis with forensic psychology through their experience of crime dramas such as Criminal Minds: Behavior Analysis Unit. However accurate or simplified these portrayals they are a very narrow view of the larger field of behavioral science. Behavior analysis has a host of applications in the real world. Some of these applications include but are certainly not limited to the determination of social policies, advertising, policing, animal training, business practices, diet and exercise regimens and education. In this chapter the authors will focus on how applied behavior analysis can be used as a teaching technology from the behavioral and educational literature that has the potential to help lead the way out of the educational crisis faced in the United States of America and abroad.

The field of behavior analysis has traditionally eschewed the use of statistical tests in the analysis of single-case experimental design (SCED) data. In particular, behavior analysts have argued against parametric statistics (e.g., t-tests and ANOVAs) for multiple reasons. Rather than use statistical tests, behavior analysts have relied upon inter-ocular trauma tests, where the visual analysis of SCED results hits you right between the eyes. The field has, generally speaking, overlooked the fact that parametric tests are only a few hammers in a much larger toolkit of statistical procedures. It is possible and beneficial for behavior analysts to use both methods—visual analysis and statistical tests—in conjunction with one another to analyze their data. In this symposium, the presenters will review three different non-parametric statistical tests that can be used in basic and applied behavior analytic research: Randomization tests, general estimating equations (GEE), and multilevel modeling. Each has its own unique merits and uses within SCEDs, and can function to augment other methods of analysis and replace more commonly used statistical tests.

Master's level and doctoral level BCBAs; Graduate Students in Behavior Analysis; Basic Researchers; Applied Researchers; Scientist-Practitioners

The frequent and repeated measurement of behavior often precludes behavior analysts from making statistical inferences about data obtained from single-case experimental designs (SCED). Parametric tests assume a random sample, independent observations, and a normal distribution. SCEDs violate one or more of these assumptions, and even worse, are considered quasi-experimental because subjects are not randomly sampled from a defined population or randomly assigned to treatments. Recent advances in computing, however, have brought an old and readily applicable test of significance to fore: Randomization Tests (Fisher, 1935; Pitman, 1937). Unlike conventional Null Hypothesis Significance Tests (NHST), randomization tests are non-parametric, distribution-free tests of statistical significance. They are particularly applicable to SCEDs, so long as treatments are randomly assigned to observations. The requirement that SCEDs include random assignment increases their methodological rigor by controlling for unknown variables and addresses the charge that SCEDs are quasi-experimental. While randomization tests cannot supplant the experimental control already built into SCEDs, they can certainly supplement the conclusions behavior analysts might make about treatment effects. The purpose of this presentation, then, is to elucidate the origins of randomization tests, explicate their applicability to SCEDs, and warn against the pitfalls of NHSTs when making inferences.

The field of Behavior Analysis has historically been conflicted over the use of inferential statistical methods in the analyses of data from single-subject designs. Valid concerns with the use of inferential statistics include the suppression of important behavioral variability at the individual level and the over-reliance on and misinterpretation of the p-value. This conflict has commonly resulted in two strategies: first, reliance on visual analyses and the out-right rejection of any inferential statistics, or second, the application of more "basic" inferential tests that may or more not be appropriate for single-subject design data. Multilevel modeling (e.g., mixed-methods or hierarchal regression) is a more advanced statistical analysis that addresses many of the concerns that the field of Behavior Analysis has with inferential statistics including quantifying the contribution of individual behavioral variability to the results and the compression of many data-points into a single comparison. The benefits of multilevel modeling will be demonstrated using several single-subject design datasets. A guide of how researchers can implement multilevel modeling including a priori recommendations before beginning data collection will be offered.

The focus of this symposium will be to present recent research that has focused on improving observational in children with autism and social delays both in-vivo and with video models. The first paper evaluated the effects of teaching children with autism to engage in self-echoic responses during in-vivo observational learning on the learning of tacts. Both participants learned the picture labels faster in the condition where they were taught to engage in self-echoic responses than in the condition where they were not required to use the self-echoic responses. In the second paper, three children with autism learned to engage in sharing responses during play with the successive introduction of observational learning presenting on video plus verbal coaching while viewing the video. Participants in this study also generalized sharing responses to non-teaching conditions including novel toys, in the absence of a teacher, and to siblings. In the third study, participants with social delays showed improved performance with sequencing pictures and learned to tact two and three-digit numbers during in-vivo observational learning but not via video. Participants in the video condition showed improved performance of known tasks but did not learn new responses. In the final study, the authors assessed the direct and indirect effects of training by assessing observational learning before and after instruction across tasks and task variations during both in-vivo and video model probes. All participants acquired the prerequisite skills and demonstrated observational learning during probes of directly-trained tasks, but generalization was variable.

BCBAs, practitioners, researchers, graduate students, teachers

Observational learning is essential for a child with autism to learn academic responses and to reduce reliance on one-to-one instruction. Imitation of the responses observed during observational learning contexts may facilitate OL and research indicates that typically developing children engage in verbal rehearsals (self-echoics)to facilitate recall of responses. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of self-echoic responses on learning picture labels via observational learning. In one condition, participants were taught to engage in self-echoic responses (i.e., repeat the modeled response three times, first out loud, then using a whisper, and finally to mouth the response) immediately after the adult modeled the picture label. In the probe condition, participants did not learn self-echoic responses. Both participants learned the new picture labels faster in the self-echoic condition compared with the probe condition. Areas for future research and practice implications will be addressed.

Children with autism exhibit significant deficits in social responses such as sharing. Past research has demonstrated that children with autism can learn academic responses via observational learning, however to date learning social responses via observational learning has not been demonstrated. The purpose of the current study was to use a multiple-baseline design to evaluate the effectiveness of observational learning via video and verbal coaching on teaching sharing to three children with autism during play. During baseline, no participants shared when they entered a room with others playing. During intervention, participants viewed a video in which a peer earned reinforcement for sharing with the person who had no toys. We also used verbal coaching with rules while the participants watched the video. Sharing increased for all three participants with generalization of sharing responses to toys never associated with training, when the teacher was not present during playtime, and to siblings.

A peer-monitoring intervention in both in-vivo and video conditions, counterbalanced across participants, was implemented with 12 preschoolers to induce observational stimulus control. In the first experiment, only participants who had completed the intervention in-vivo acquired both observational learning and performance capabilities. Completing the intervention in the video condition alone was not effective in inducing observational learning, but was effective in establishing observational performance. Both in-vivo and video pre-intervention probes were conducted in the second experiment; results were similar to those found in Experiment 1. These findings demonstrate that the peer-monitoring intervention led to the emergence of observational performance, however, the presence of a peer audience was the necessary component to induce observational learning. Furthermore, participants who were in the presence of a peer audience emitted higher frequencies of social contact in a free operant play setting than their peers who lacked a peer audience during the intervention.

Observational learning (OL) occurs when an individual contacts reinforcement as a result of discriminating the reinforced and nonreinforced responses of another individual. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have deficits in observational learning, and previous research has demonstrated that teaching a series of prerequisite skills (i.e., attending, imitation, delayed imitation, and consequence discrimination) can facilitate observational learning. We sequentially taught these prerequisite skills for three young children with ASD across three play-based tasks. We assessed OL before and after instruction across tasks and task variations (for two participants) during in-vivo and video-model probes using a concurrent multiple-probe design. All participants acquired the prerequisite skills and demonstrated observational learning during probes of directly-trained tasks. Generalization results varied across participants. Generalization occurred during the in-vivo probe for both participants for whom we assessed this response. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this symposium is to present data that suggests how clinicians might best organize their programming to produce generative effects in their learners. The first study, Revisiting Verbal Behavior Development: A Two Year Follow Up, is a two-year follow up presentation of a young learner who scored in low level I of the VB-MAPP -- without an echoic repertoire -- and is currently learning relational intraverbals such as the deitics (here/there, I/you), ordinals (first, middle, last) and Crels such as "name/sound". The second study, Establishing Stimulus Control Over Echoic Behavior to Teach the Mand, discusses implementing procedures to effect stimulus transfer control across Mand types. The third study, Teaching Learners Who Use a Speech Generator Device to Mand for Information-Asking Questions About Hidden Objects, is about teaching children who use a speech generator device, to ask questions. The fourth study, Decreasing Echolalic Responses by Teaching a Conditional Response to the Autoclitic OR When Differentially Tacting From Two Options, presents data on a procedure to increase comprehension and decrease echolalia by teaching the appropriate control of the autoclitic "or" to establish differential tacting of available choices. These four studies illustrate different aspects of the organization and management of programming to produce generative speaker/listener competencies.

This symposium has been designed for intermediate level professionals. Preferably for an audience of graduate ABA professionals. Professionals at the undergraduate level will greatly benefit too.

This paper is a two year follow up presentation of a six-year old learner who scored in low level I of the VB-MAPP, and initially did not have an echoic repertoire. His first year of progress was presented at the 2017 ABAI conference. In his second year of therapy the learner made significant gains in all verbal behavior repertoires: tacts, intraverbals, mands and echoics and his listener skills improved as well, positively impacting social skills. His language is becoming more fluent and his mean utterances has increased too. He is beginning to interact more in his natural environment as he independently reads books, plays with puzzles, is beginning to build more complex structures with wooden blocks, indicating that his nonverbal imitation is improving too. He is currently learning relational intraverbals such as (here/there, I/you), ordinals (first, middle, last) and Crels such as "name/sound.? Further relations, such as comparatives, spatials and temporals will be addressed as programming progresses.

Many children with autism do not have an established echoic repertoire. Imitating vocalizations is an important skill for learning to vocally mand. Pairing procedures have been shown to increase vocalizations in some limited research studies, however, there is no evidence to suggest that pairing words with reinforcement reliably establishes echoic behavior. We examined the use of two procedures to establish echoic stimulus control and eventually establish a manding repertoire using stimulus control transfer procedures across verbal operants. We were successful in establishing vocal manding with the participant, a young boy with autism. Both procedures used direct reinforcement for echoic behavior, however, the second procedure included the use of visual cues. Establishing stimulus control over echoic behavior led to an increase in mand and tact repertoires. Results suggest that stimulus control transfer procedures across verbal operants, combined with careful analysis of current skills and barriers may increase success when attempting to establish vocal verbal behaviour. More research is needed to identify which procedures or combination of procedures are most effective for certain profiles.

This study investigated if learners using a speech-generator device (SGD) could learn to mand for information, asking questions about hidden objects. We replicated the study by Williams, Perez-Gonzalez & Vogt (2003) with four learners who attended a program for children with special needs and who used the SGD but never used it to mand for information. The results indicated that learners can learn to use the SGD to ask questions when taught under the appropriate conditions of deprivation and systematic fading of textual and model prompts. We also measured generalization to untaught objects across settings.

It is common for children who present with a dominant echolalic repertoire to respond with an echoic when presented with an autoclitic form of instruction requesting a tact or mand-response, as in, for example, "Is this an apple or an orange?" or "Would you like to eat cake or spinach?" The current study analyzed the effectiveness of a procedure that incorporated already established tacting, matching and reading repertoires to increase differential tacting based on an "or" relation between two options. We measured if this acquired skill decreased echolalia and generalized to untrained settings. The data suggested that the learners in this study learned to tact differentially from two options that were presented with the autoclitic. We also measured if the acquired skill generalized to natural settings.

Children are diagnosed with a feeding disorder when they do not eat an adequate quantity or variety of foods, sustain an appropriate weight, or grow (Palmer & Horn, 1978; Piazza & Carroll-Hernandez, 2004). Feeding disorders are reported to occur in 2% to 35% of typically developing children and 33% to 80% of children with developmental disabilities (Bachmeyer, 2009; Burklow, et al., 1998; Palmer & Horn, 1987). Applied behavior analytic interventions have proven effective in the treatment of pediatric feeding disorders (Bachmeyer, 2009). A multi-component intervention combining differential positive reinforcement and escape extinction has the most empirical support (Volkert & Piazza, 2012). However, escape extinction is not always feasible, and using extinction as a treatment for inappropriate mealtime behavior can be associated with extinction bursts, emotional responding, and extinction-induced aggression (Lerman, Iwata, & Wallace, 1999; Volkert & Piazza, 2012). The current symposium reviews the prevalence of extinction bursts and examines the use of antecedent-based approaches to treat inappropriate mealtime behavior with and without escape extinction. Finally, the current symposium reviews the findings of a trial-based functional analysis of inappropriate mealtime behavior and function-based treatments compared to a traditional functional analysis of inappropriate mealtime behavior (Piazza et al., 2003).

Researchers and clinicians interested in learning more about the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders.

Extinction bursts are commonly identified as a side effect of extinction when treating problem behavior (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). Lerman and Iwata (1995) found that 27 of 113 data sets (24%) in studies that included extinction as treatment for problem behavior displayed an extinction burst. In a subsequent analysis, Lerman, Iwata, and Wallace (1999) found that 39% of 41 data sets in studies that included extinction as treatment for self-injurious behavior found an extinction burst. Even though extinction is a well-established treatment for food refusal (Volkert & Piazza, 2012), no studies to date have examined the prevalence of extinction bursts during the treatment of inappropriate mealtime behavior (IMB) for children with feeding disorders. The current study evaluated the presence of extinction bursts during treatment of IMB, using the criteria delineated by Lerman and Iwata, with 88 children with food refusal, liquid refusal, or both. Results of 133 data sets (74 and 59 datasets for solid and liquid intake, respectively) indicated the overall prevalence of extinction bursts was 12%. We will discuss these findings and the results of additional analyses, including limitations and implications.

Substance abuse is a major public health crisis that is costly both in terms of health care expenditures and the resulting poor health outcomes for individuals and their families. In the current symposium, a series of talks will address different behavioral economic approaches to assessing and treating health behavior related to substance abuse. Strategies that will be presented include 1) the use low-risk behavioral economic assessments to predict treatment outcomes among pregnant women undergoing smoking-cessation treatment, 2) improving effective contraceptive use among opioid-maintained women of reproductive age using financial incentives, 3) assessing whether electronic cigarettes are viable behavioral substitutes to cigarettes, and 4) the use of a soft-commitment approach to reducing cigarette use. All presentations highlight the use of established principles of behavioral economics to address serious health concerns.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Cigarette smoking is overrepresented among economically disadvantaged women, and smoking during pregnancy is the leading cause of poor pregnancy outcomes in the U.S. Two common low-risk experimental arrangements used in the study of cigarette smoking among pregnant women are the Cigarette Purchase Task (CPT) and delay discounting (DD). Few studies have evaluated whether combining CPT and DD may enhance understanding of smoking beyond observations with either alone. The current investigation evaluated the interrelationship between CPT and DD performance of pregnant women by examining associations with the likelihood of making antepartum quit attempts, a strong predictor of response to formal smoking-cessation treatment. Data from 114 women enrolled in an ongoing smoking-cessation clinical trial were analyzed. Intensity, Omax, and breakpoint were significantly and inversely associated with antepartum quit attempts. DD by itself was not significantly associated with antepartum quit attempts nor was it associated with the CPT indices. Considering the predictive CPT indices and DD together revealed a conditional relationship wherein associations between DD and quit attempts were conditional on Intensity and Omax level. That is, among those with relatively high demand Intensity or Omax DD was not associated with quit attempts, while among those with relatively low demand Intensity or Omax steep discounting was associated with a lower proportion of quit attempts. These results suggest that the influence of DD among pregnant smokers is mostly limited to lighter smokers or, said differently, heavy smoking appears to override any influence of DD on quitting smoking during pregnancy.

Evidence of climate change is abundant and persuasive, from rising global temperatures, to shrinking snow cover and sea ice, to the increasing frequency and intensity of weather events related to climate change. Evidence that human activities, especially the emission of greenhouse gases, are important contributors to global warming is also persuasive. The founding principles of applied behavior analysis emphasis the importance of behavioral issues that are important to society and the development of effective strategies to manage behaviors that improve quality of life. It is difficult to imagine a behavioral challenge with more far-reaching consequences than climate change yet behavior analysts have been relatively slow to adopt climate change as a focus of research and theory. In this symposium, we will review some of the conceptual and practical contributions, both at the individual and systems level, that behavior analysts (and other social scientists and policy makers) can make to developing an effective strategy and research agenda to address climate change.

This presentation is appropriate for behavior analysts with interest in social issues, climate change, sustainability, evidence based public policy and organizational behavior management. This presentation will cover: a) conceptual issues, such as behavioral economics, b) practical interventions at the individual and system level as well as c) dissemination of behavior analysis to the public and other professionals.

A growing proportion of Americans are acknowledging the danger posed by a warming climate, few are worried that climate change will threaten them personally, and few are taking direct action.��Scholars from various disciplines have explored the psychological processes -- including verbal processes -- that contribute to climate change denial and inaction, and at least three books have been recently published on the topic (Marshall�s�Don�t even think about it: Why our brains are wired to ignore climate change, Stoknes��What we think about when we try not to think about global warming,�and Hoffman�s�How culture shapes the climate change debate).��These works examine reasons for climate inaction/denial from an eclectic perspective (e.g., cognitive, social, and evolutionary psychology) and offer suggestions for how to change people�s opinions and induce sustainable actions.��Some behavior analysts have researched ways to increase sustainable behavior, but such efforts have been relatively limited.��Furthermore, behavior analysts have offered little in the way of conceptual analyses of verbal behavior related to climate change.��The purpose of this talk is to review these books with the goal of identifying ways in which behavior analysis might contribute to this discussion.

The United Nation’s 5th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported in 2014 that global warming due to increases in greenhouse gases (GHG) caused largely by human activities threatens world populations and requires immediate world action (IPPC, 2014). The report recommended several governmental adaptation and mitigation policies, e.g., building seawalls, reducing GHG. Most world governments have responded positively, whereas the US government has done little and recently denied the existence of any danger. Several books have described this inaction in cognitive terms suggesting ways to change one’s thinking so that people can make more appropriate responses to global warming. An alternate approach is to change behavior directly. Behavior analysis has been quite successful at changing behavior irrespective of verbal behavior. This talk will consider the behavior analytic use of current technology, specifically, gamification to change behavior with respect to climate warming. Recently an increasing number of apps and serious games have been developed to change health and fitness behaviors and to teach language (e.g., Fitbit, Duolingo). However, few apps have been developed to save the planet from GHG. We will suggest possible independent variables (Michie et al. 20??) needed for such an app and dependent variables recommendations to reduce GHG (Hawken, 2008).

Why should Behavior Analysts get involved in changing policy, creating evidence-based policy, and how does policy influence responding of both the individual and the group? Our society evolves when social values and corresponding response patterns, "contribute to the success of the practicing group in solving its problems" (Skinner, 1981). Evidence-based policy, is policy that is empirically supported, and is also sensitive to social concerns. How better to improve society, then to influence policy through applied behavior analytic research, and evidence-based practice? "Better applications, it is hoped, will lead to a better state of society, to whatever extent the behavior of its members can contribute to the goodness of a society" (Baer, Wolf, Risley, 1968). Climate change is a real problem that needs all scientists to contribute to forming policy that best supports our culture's survival. It is hypothesized that policy restricts responding of the group and potentiates certain response classes, likened to that of an instructional stimulus SDi, increasing the probability of certain responses occurring within the context of an individual analysis of behavior. By changing the environment in which our culture responds in, through the establishment of evidence-based policy, behavior analysts may have a significant impact on the survival of our culture and our species.

Effective accommodations for bilingual learners with disabilities are needed in the field of behavior analysis. This symposium includes four studies on how English and Spanish language influences responding, and the accommodations practitioners make to be more effective with bilingual learners with disabilities. This symposium will give the audience tools and techniques to apply in practice with bilingual learners. The purpose of the first study was to assess the influence of language preference among individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or other intellectual disorders who have been exposed to more than one language. This study evaluated language preference during play contexts followed by evaluating language preference within instructional contexts and the individual's compliance with instructions. In the second study, researchers developed a questionnaire for behavior analysts to use as a guide when choosing culturally adapted functional communication response (FCR) for Hispanic children. It was devised and pre-tested to choose FCRs for Hispanic families. Results from the questionnaire and feedback from the experience survey will be presented. The third study builds off the previous study by using the questionnaire identify an FCR that matched cultural values. The subjects were taught to emit a culturally adapted and non-culturally adapted FCR. Parents' preference for each FCR was evaluated after they were trained to implement both FCR responses. Finally, implementation of the preferred FCR was carried out by parents. The final study compared skill acquisition of Spanish-language-dominant caregivers during behavioral skills training (BST) to teach differential reinforcement, guided compliance, and BST by English and Spanish speaking therapists. In the English condition a translator was used, for the Spanish condition a bilingual therapist administered the BST. Rates of acquisition were compared and a social validity survey was administered to the caregivers. Implications of these studies on the practice of behavior analysis will be discussed.

Students, researchers, and practitioners.

Previous research has demonstrated that individuals with ASD who have been exposed to more than one language do not experience any additional language delays compared to their monolingual peers (Hambly and Fombonne, 2011), and of previous studies that have been reviewed, there has been no indication of negative outcomes associated with language abilities among bilingual/multilingual children with ASD (Drysdale et al., 2015). A majority of the research surrounding bilingual or multilingual individuals diagnosed with autism or other developmental disabilities have focused more on conducting communication assessments to assess participant's psychometric performance in these assessments but research on language preferences alone among these individuals is scarce. The purpose of the current study was to assess the influence of language preference among individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or other intellectual disorders who have been exposed to more than one language. The research study consists of two parts: Study 1 evaluates language preference during play contexts and study 2 evaluates language preference within instructional contexts and the individual's compliance with instructions.

The guidelines to conduct functional communication training (FCT) state that functional communication responses (FCRs) should be of low response effort, easily acquired, and easily recognizable by the community (Tiger et al., 2008). They also state that FCRs should be socially significant, meaning they are found acceptable by parents and the community. However, the guidelines do not mention the need to consider the clients’ cultural background when choosing an FCR. In this study, a questionnaire was developed for behavior analysts to use as a guide when choosing culturally adapted FCRs for Hispanic children. It was devised using literature that has identified specific behavioral manifestations of cultural values among the Hispanic population. Additionally, behavior analysts and parents who pre-tested the questionnaire completed experience surveys about their opinions and experience using the questionnaire to choose FCRs for Hispanic families. Results from the questionnaire and feedback from the experience survey will be further discussed.

Disparities in the use, quality, and outcomes of treatments, and the barriers that deter Hispanics from receiving healthcare services have been widely studied. Yet, similar efforts have been slow in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). A way to decrease treatment disparities is to assess the influence of cultural variables in behavior analytic interventions, and to evaluate whether manipulations to these variables improve the overall results of the interventions among Hispanic families. During this study, behavior analysts used a questionnaire to conduct an interview with parents to identify a functional communication response (FCR) that matched their cultural values. The subjects were taught to emit a culturally adapted and non-culturally adapted FCR. Parents' preference for each FCR was evaluated using a multiple-baseline design across participants in which they were trained to implement both FCR responses. At the end of the study, parents implemented the FCR of their choice. These results have important implications for ABA because it will support research in assessing cultural variables in interventions and services, and it will encourage behavior analysts to consider their clients' culture when providing services.

The purpose of this project was to evaluate cultural accommodations (bilingual clinician, translated documentation) and a lack of cultural accommodations (English speaking clinician with video interpreter). We compared skill acquisition of caregivers during behavioral skills training (BST) program for differential reinforcement, guided compliance, and BST with and without cultural accommodations. We found BST with improved cultural accommodations was more effective than without cultural accommodations.

One of the primary goals of applied research is to identify efficacious treatments for problem behavior that relevant caregivers can implement in relevant settings. In this symposium, we will review efficacious strategies for treating problem behavior and specific methods that will assist in training caregivers on the implementation of those strategies. First, an assessment and treatment model for treating feeding problems in the home setting will be reviewed in which caregivers were involved from the initial assessment through a 12-month follow-up. Next, we will review a skill-based treatment for food selectivity in an adolescent diagnosed with autism who engages in problem behavior, without evoking problem behavior throughout the teaching process. Then, an efficacious training program will be reviewed in which parents were taught to implement a comprehensive treatment for socially mediated problem behavior with their child. Finally, the utility of a training rubric will be reviewed as a tool for successfully transferring skill-based treatments to parents and caregivers in the treatment of socially mediated problem behavior.

Graduate students, practitioners, researchers

Multiple reviews focusing on the treatment of severe feeding disorders have recommended an increased focus on caregiver implementation, and nutritional and social outcomes. However, research continues to concentrate on the analysis of specific treatment procedures implemented by trained therapists during treatment admission. In this study, a home-based behavioural assessment and treatment model was evaluated for nine children with tube dependency. Caregivers informed assessment conditions, participated during experimenter-led sessions, and then received sequential phases of training to implement treatment protocols. We monitored caregiver implementation until the child's treatment goal was achieved (tube feeding cessation), then during follow-up visits conducted up to 12 months following the study. By the final follow-up, six of nine children had ceased tube feeding. We discuss the impact of caregiver participation on child performance, training requirements, and procedural integrity. In addition, we highlight barriers to longer-term adherence and recommendations for future research.

Between 67 and 89% of individuals with developmental disabilities have feeding problems (Silbaugh et al., 2016). This study describes a skill-based treatment to address food selectivity in children with autism who engage in problem behavior. An assessment was conducted with the participant's caregivers to identify foods to use in a preference analysis and to identify possible reinforcement contingencies influencing food refusal. Results were used to design a functional analysis of refusal. The reinforcement contingency shown to influence refusal in the analysis was then arranged to strengthen more appropriate food refusal behaviors. A contingency-based delay fading procedure was used to thin the schedule of reinforcement for appropriate refusal while suppressing inappropriate refusal and problem behavior and increasing mealtime requirements prior to reinforcement. By the end of this study, the participant consumed small meals consisting of multiple bites of a variety of foods that he did not eat previously, but that caregivers had reported wanting him to eat. Treatment was extended to caregivers in relevant environments. Interobserver agreement averaged 92% (range, 85% to 100%) for all variables measured. The results of this study suggest that these procedures may be useful for treating food selectivity without evoking problem behavior in children with autism.

Differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL) schedules are designed to reduce, not eliminate, targeted responses. The studies presented in this symposium provide exciting new data showing some extensions of commonly-used DRL schedules in both basic and applied contexts. The first two talks provide data on the use of spaced-responding DRL. Emma Gillespie will describe how avoidance behavior that limited access to positive reinforcement in a human-operant task was reduced and Laura Neal will describe how a spaced-responding DRL embedded within a group contingency reduced excessive requests for attention from children in a Year 4 classroom in South Wales. The next two studies provide data on the use of full-session DRL. Andrew Bonner will describe how severe problem behaviors (e.g., self-injurious behavior) of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities were reduced and Chris Krebs will describe how excessive requests for attention by adults with intellectual disabilities working at an adult-day-training center were reduced. A discussion will follow these four talks to promote an exchange of ideas for future translational research on DRL schedules and similar applications.

Applied Behavior Analysts Practitioners

This study investigated the effects of a spaced-responding DRL schedule on decreasing avoidance in humans. Participants played a game where they could earn or lose points by clicking on different countries on a map. In training sessions, participants could access safe periods by pressing a foot pedal, which turned a red bar (i.e., warning signals) into blue (i.e., safety signals) for 9-s. In test conditions, participants could change the red bar into blue only after 2-s had elapsed from previous presses (DRL-2s). A progress bar initially indicated the time until after pedal presses had an effect on accessing these periods. The bar disappeared after three consecutive correct responses, whereas three additional consecutive correct responses doubled the DRL requirement. Participants completed 4- 5 sessions lasting 20 min each. Responding quickly matched the DRL requirement (up to 64 s) for all participants. Percentage of correct presses varied slightly per participant, and incorrect responses tended to be more frequent as the DRL schedule increased. However, all participants achieved 100% correct responses in their final sessions. These findings may have important clinical implications for identifying strategies to decrease excessive avoidance that limits access to positive reinforcement.

Differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL) is frequently used as an intervention when a behaviour is problematic due to the frequency with which it occurs. DRL schedules are effective as reducing engagement to more acceptable levels. In applied settings, most investigations of DRL have focussed on evaluating session and interval DRL arrangements, whereby limits are placed on the number of responses that will be reinforced in a given time period. Spaced-responding DRL, whereby responses are reinforced only after a specific inter-response interval has elapsed, are much less common. The current study applied a space-responding DRL within a group contingency arrangement to decrease excessive student requests for attention in a Year 4 classroom in south Wales. As requests for attention may include requests for assistance, we also measured whether decreases in requests for adult attention produced corresponding changes in children accessing help from sources other than the teacher (e.g., referring to a book or printed instructions for completing the task). Results showed that the DRL schedule reduced attention seeking to levels deemed appropriate by the teacher, as well as increasing children's independent working skills. Both children and teachers reported liking the intervention and thought it helped them do better work.

Differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) schedules are reinforcement contingencies designed to reduce response rates. A common variation of the DRL arrangement is known as full-session DRL (f-DRL), in which a reinforcer is presented at the end of an interval if the response rate during that interval is below a predetermined criterion. Prior human operant research involving arbitrary mouse clicks has shown that the f-DRL is likely to reduce target responding to near zero rates. Similarly, applied research has shown that the f-DRL is likely to reduce minimally disruptive classroom behavior. There are, however, relatively few successful applications of the f-DRL to severe forms of problem behavior (e.g., self-injurious behavior). Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of f-DRL on the severe problem behavior of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For four participants, the f-DRL reduced severe problem behavior by clinically significant levels. Furthermore, results of a contingency strength analysis showed a strong negative contingency strength between target responding and reinforcer delivery for all participants. Key words: differential reinforcement of low rates, severe problem behavior, contingency strength.

Differential-reinforcement-of-low rate (DRL) schedules are often used to reduce, not eliminate, behavior. The current study examined effects of a full-session DRL on the number of requests for attention by two adults with intellectual disabilities working at an adult-day-training (ADT) program. The full-session DRL arranged for the delivery of a reinforcer at the end of a session if the number of requests for attention was less than a specified number during the entire session. Requests for attention, up to a specified number were also reinforced. In addition, a non-targeted behavior, duration of task (i.e., work) engagement, was measured. The full-session DRL reduced the number of requests for attention for both participants, and these effects were maintained during a generalization phase. Future research could extend the generality of these findings to other work-related behaviors and populations.

The four presentations in this symposium illustrate how evidence-based practices in instructional design and Precision Teaching can be combined in new ways to teach and assess core instructional objectives in mathematics, writing, and problem solving to typical learners of all ages, including elementary, middle school, high school, and college students. In the first presentation, Marianne Delgado will describe research that investigated the effectiveness of sentence combining procedures on the syntactical maturity of middle school students' compositions, using a multiple baseline design across classrooms. In the second presentation, Amanda VanDerHeyden will describe a comprehensive, research-based, Response To Intervention (RTI) implementation management tool for monitoring the progress of elementary and middle school students' acquisition and fluency of mathematics concepts and skills. In the third presentation, Nicole Erickson will describe and illustrate a procedure for teaching students to provide delayed prompting with their peers during the course of learning mathematics. In the fourth presentation, Traci Cihon will describe a measurement tool designed to capture the interlocking behavioral contingencies between dyad members, and its application in a research study that evaluated the effectiveness of a procedure to teach college students active problem solving behaviors.

behavior analysts and other psychology and educational professionals

At Morningside Delayed Prompting procedures are used to help students answer questions that require applying concepts taught in reading, writing, and math. During instruction, the teacher asks a question and provides a six-second delay for the student's answer. If the answer does not meet criterion, the teacher provides successive organization, language, content, and definition prompts until the student gives the correct answer. After three prompts the teacher provides a model to imitate. In this innovation, the teacher teaches students to use the delayed prompting procedure to prompt one another as they learn from a new math curriculum. The teacher partners middle level performers with other middle level performers, or middle level performers with high-level performers, allowing for the best results in concept acquisition. The teacher designs a sheet that coincides with the new math curriculum using a series of concrete, pictorial, and abstract prompts. The students use this sheet to identify the error being made and prompt their partner in order to correct that error. This presentation will present both teacher and student delayed prompting data, and videos of the students using the technology.

Whimbey and Lochhead (1999) described how problem solving can be taught if the component repertoires are brought to an overt level. One challenge university instructors face is determining when the desired repertoire has been achieved. The pilot study focused on the creation of an instructional sequence based on the work of Whimbey and Lochhead. The instructional sequence was piloted with one undergraduate student dyad and experimenters evaluated the effectiveness of the instructional sequence with a measurement tool designed to capture the interlocking behavioral contingencies between dyad members. The results suggested that the instructional sequence could be used to develop both Problem Solver and Active Listener repertoires as measured by the aforementioned tool; however, the effects were demonstrated with only one dyad and only one researcher. In the current study, experimenters assessed the generality of the instructional sequence and measurement tool with additional undergraduate student dyads. Two different graduate student researchers implemented the instructional sequence and took data on the resulting repertoires. The results suggest that the instructional sequence was transferable across researchers and that data could be collected using the measurement tool with reliability. Further, undergraduate students acquired the desired repertoires, as measured by our tools.

Clients benefit most when all members of a collaborative team combine their expertise to consider all possible interventions and outcomes (Zarcone, 2008). With increased calls for behavior analysts to participate in collaborative teams for clients receiving psychotropic medications as part of treatment, it is important to identify current training opportunities for behavior analysts in this area, and consider further opportunities that might be needed. It is also important to review how prescribers are making pharmacological treatment decisions, and how the behavior analyst can contrite to that process. This 4-paper symposium will focus on two related areas. First, two papers will review education and training opportunities available to behavior analysts, as well as BCBAs perceptions on training and collaboration opportunities. Second, two papers will summarize factors that influence prescriber decision making, and how behavior analysts can contribute to that process. A case study demonstrating successful collaboration between behavior analysis and psychiatry will be described.

Practicing behavior analysts

In recent years, there have been calls for behavior analysts to become more involved with issues related to psychotropic medication, both clinically and in research (van Haaren & Weeden, 2013), and to specifically consider effects of psychotropic medications during clinical assessment and intervention, to participate in the medication management process, and to participate in pharmacological research. Despite these calls, it has been suggested that the majority of behavior analysts may not have the knowledge or skill to work in these areas (Christian, Snycerski, Singh, & Poling, 1999; Wyatt, 2009). Although informal reports and reviews of behavior analytic training programs support this assertion, there is no known research that specifically seeks to determine what the current state of training may be for behavior analysts, in relation to psychopharmacology. Therefore, the current study sought to examine the medication/pharmacology-related training available within accredited training programs, and identify the rationales for the current state of offerings. Discussion will focus on the training opportunities and how they prepare behavior analysts for collaboration with prescribers.

Understanding the conditions under which novel speaker and listener skills emerge without direct training is paramount for increasing efficiency of intervention programs for children with autism spectrum disorder. This symposium will explore procedures to promote the emergence of novel speaker (i.e., intraverbals) and listener (i.e., following instructions) responses in children with autism. First, Hanne Augland will present a study that evaluated the effects of listener training on the emergence of two types of intraverbal task. Next, Sarah Frampton will examine the effects of instructional feedback during listener training on the emergence of intraverbal relations. Third, Andresa DeSouza will present a study that demonstrated the emergence of multiply-controlled intraverbals after training on a sequence of prerequisite skills. The final presenter, Megan Vosters will discuss the effects of echoic rehearsals on the acquisition and emergence of completing action-object instructions. David Palmer will serve as discussant.

Graduate students in applied behavior analysis programs; practitioners working in early intervention settings; educators in special education and language delayed population.

This study examined the extent to which teaching listener behavior would facilitate the emergence of intraverbal responding in a preschool aged boy with autism. Two types of intraverbal classes were evaluated: Saying the correct category of targets (Study 1) and answering "when" questions (Study 2). We used a multiple-probe-design across three stimulus sets for Study 1 and a multiple-baseline design across three stimulus sets for Study 2. Before starting the study, the participant was able to tact all stimuli involved in the listener training. Listener training consisted of teaching the child to identify correct pictures in response to the same questions used to assess the emergence of intraverbal skills. That is, for category questions, an example of listener training was touching the picture of a hamburger in response to the question "What is food?" For "when" questions, an example of listener training consisted of touching the picture depicting night when asked "When do you go to bed?" Once listener behavior was established, we tested for transfer to intraverbal behavior. For both studies, the listener training resulted in some emergent intraverbal responding. The participant responded to criteria during intraverbal "when" questions but not during intraverbal category questions.

Acquiring intraverbal relations under the control of multiple variables is critical to language, social, and academic development. Sundberg and Sundberg (2011) identified prerequisites that may engender the emergence of novel, multiply-controlled intraverbals. We used a multiple-probe design with both nonconcurrent (across participants) and concurrent (across sets of stimuli) components to evaluate the effects of training these prerequisite skills on the emergence of untrained intraverbals with four children with autism. Specifically, we taught participants to (a) tact multiple categories of stimuli (e.g., tact zebra as "mammal" and "from the desert"); (b) select stimuli when presented with category names (e.g., select zebra and gorilla upon hearing "Point to all mammals"); (c) provide exemplars belonging to categories (e.g., say "zebra and gorilla" after the instruction "Tell me some mammals"); and (d) select the target stimulus when presented with a instruction under multiple control (e.g., select zebra upon hearing "Point to the mammal from the savanna"). Participants showed the emergence of convergent intraverbals at mastery levels after they displayed mastery performance on all of the prerequisite skills identified by Sundberg and Sundberg. We will discuss these findings in terms of operant mechanisms that may facilitate the development of generative language.

Pinpointing, measuring, and changing behavior that impacts key performance indicators (KPI's) to rapidly grow a human service organization is achievable through the use of behavioral science. In fact, when executed with precision, this can result in massive scaling of services to impact many lives while creating economic opportunity for many employees. This panel is comprised of practitioners that are CEO's and executives that are doing this on a daily basis and provides specific actionable leadership behaviors that achieve massive organizational growth while maintaining the utmost quality through precise measurement of KPI's. Executives on this panel have produced peak employee and organizational performance resulting in employee retention rates exceeding 97% annually and doubling in revenue each year. The principles of organizational behavior management (OBM) that drive successful KPI trends must cascade through the fabric of three levels in any organization. Those levels include the individual employee level, the departmental level, and organization-wide level. Specific KPI's discussed are employee retention, employee engagement, employee recruitment and selection mechanisms, profit & loss, stakeholder feedback, utilization of authorized service units, diversity of funding, social media metrics, staff training and competency, fluency of accounts receivable, cash flow, and adherence to regulatory body compliance standards. Behavior analytic principles run through the fabric of each system to monitor and produce peak organizational performance in all these areas are analyzed.

The target audience for this panel is business owners, C-Level leadership in human services agencies, and those with supervisory and leadership experience. Participants should have, preferably, already taken the 8-hour supervision course. BCBA's, BCaBA's, & BCBA-D's are also encouraged to attend.

Aggression and reproductive interference are forms of behavioral interference that occur commonly between closely related species. Such between-species interactions can, and in most cases probably do, arise as a byproduct of activities that are part of the normal lives of animals, such as defending resources and attracting mates. However, the ecological and evolutionary consequences of behavioral interference between species can be quite distinct from the effects of the corresponding within-species interactions. Behavioral interference can determine whether species are able to coexist, and if they do coexist, how they evolve subsequently in response to each other through natural selection. Behavioral interference was probably part of human evolution, and could help explain why we are the only extant species in the genus Homo, but this talk will focus on what we know, with greater certainty, about the role of behavioral interference in the ecology and evolution of other animals. If behavioral interference is a costly interaction at the population level, why does it persist? In what ways, and to what extent, does behavioral interference affect the geographic ranges of species? How does behavioral interference affect the spread of invasive species, or the fate of endangered species? What is the evidence that behavioral interference has evolutionary consequences? I will use examples from the literature, as well as from my own research, to answer these and other questions, while striving to present a balanced perspective on the subject.

Anyone with an interest in the behavior of wild animals. No prior knowledge of the subject will be assumed.

Professional behavior analysts are expected to refer to the scholarly literature to guide their evidence-based clinical practices. Further, practicing behavior analysts will typically have multiple occasions to seek guidance with ethical decision making throughout their careers. The current symposium will include an overview of research and initiatives to assist professional behavior analysts with these tasks. The first presentation reports on a study of professional behavior analysts' literature search practices. Bank and Ingvarsson implemented an online survey, followed by interviews and self-monitoring with practicing BCBAs. The data suggest many participants search for literature at least once per month. Satisfaction with current literature resources decreased for those participants without a university library. Many professionals report conference attendance as a source of literature access. Juanico, Valentino and LeBlanc describe the development of a literature request service for a large service agency. They report employee literature requests received a response within two days. Valentino and LeBlanc describe a system developed in the same service agency to promote ethical behavior in the organization including an ethics network hotline. They report that ethical requests are frequently related to areas such as client rights and protection, dual relationships, and confidentiality. These presentations help gain insight to the literature searches and ethical needs of professionals in the field and describe the development of organizational supports provided to assist practitioners in both clinical and ethical decision making.

The target audience of this symposium includes all professionals credentialed by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board and those working towards that credential.

The first section of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board's Professional and Ethical Compliance Code (BACB, 2017) refers to the responsible conduct of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Included in the code is the expectation that professionals read the appropriate literature. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate how, why, and to what extent professionals access and read the behavior analysis literature. A 22-question survey was sent to professionals registered through the Behavior Analysis Certification Board. The survey respondents were also invited to participate in a follow up interview and self-tracking investigation. The survey results of 398 professionals provided information on their professional credentials, work structure, literature search habits, sources of research, resource satisfaction, and other related activities. Seventeen interviews and four self-tracking participants provided additional insight. A total of 223 respondents did not have access to a university library. Eighty percent of these participants searched for research at least once per month. The most frequently used online sources included Google Scholar, PubMed, and the BACB ProQuest benefit. Thirty eight percent of participants indicated satisfaction with the research resources available to them, while 62% indicated they were somewhat satisfied or not satisfied. The predominant theme related to lack of satisfaction was access. Fifty four percent of participants that had access to a university library reported they were satisfied with the research resources available.

This session is coupled with, and immediately follows, a SQAB tutorial on contextual behaviorism presented by Dr. Dermot Barnes-Holmes. Panelists will be asked to speak briefly about their research program and to bring questions designed to foster discussion with audience members. The goal is to generate ideas and collaborative efforts among basic, translational, and applied scientists. The tutorial and panel discussion have arisen because the Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior (SQAB), an organization that emphasizes fundamental sciences related to behavior analysis, meets immediately before ABAI. The tandem meetings of these two organizations present opportunities for attendees to hear about core sciences related to behavior analysis. The SQAB tutorials have provided an excellent spur for such discussions but we (SQAB and ABAI's Science Board) wish to take this a step further. This panel discussion, which represents a partnership between SQAB and ABAI, will create a setting in which basic and applied scientists, as well as practitioners, can meet to discuss applications of the topics raised in a SQAB tutorial.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

We present three studies teaching social interaction-related skills to children with autism spectrum disorder. The first study used intraverbal training to improve object substitution symbolic play behavior for children who lacked such play skills. The second study used a speaker immersion approach to increase

BCBAs, BCaBAs, special education teachers, applied researchers, autism researchers

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may not develop symbolic play skills so such skills need to be taught specifically. We report an experiment regarding a procedure targeting "object-substitution" symbolic play skills. The "object-substitution" symbolic play behavior occurred when the child labeled a common object with the name of a substitute and used the object to perform a play action (e.g., As she put a bowl on her head, she called it a hat). A multiple probe across behaviors design was employed with five children (four boys and one girl, aged 3 to 6) with ASD. All children had verbal communication and demonstrated functional play and generalized imitation, but no symbolic play skills prior to the study. The instruction consisted of intraverbal training, picture prompts, and modeling of play actions. All children demonstrated object-substitution symbolic play skills after the instruction. The occurrences of response generalization were also discussed.

One of the major characters of children with autism is having difficulty to establish social relationship with others. The basic challenge is to relate self to others, or have difficulty to pay attention to people around. Teaching the children to pay attention to people around,( such as: what color of the person's hair is, tact the person who possessed specific object, and who is looking at you, etc.) are the fundamental skills the children with autism to relate self to others, and later for facilitating social interaction. The purpose of this study is to use behavior analytic approach to teach children with autism to pay attention to people and also to be aware of whether is someone looking at her. One child, age 4, diagnosed with autism, who can tact over 50 items and had basic listener skills, participated in this study. Three behaviors were targeted in order to teach her to pay attention to people around and start to relate self to others. Three target behaviors included:(a) tact a person's name and tact his/her color of hair or clothes, or to touch other's ear or shoulder, upon requested, e.g., when teacher asked what color Mary's clothes is, the child can response correctly; or when presenting two persons, teach would ask the child to touch Jenny's shoulder, the child do it upon request; (b) Observe and tact the person who possessed specific object, e.g., upon requested, the child can tact the person has red toy car on hand, (c) observe and tell who is watching at me (the subject), eg., when presenting two persons, the child can tact the one who is looking at her . Multiple probe across behaviors were used to validate effectiveness of the strategies in this study. The results showed positive results across the three behaviors both in the acquisition level and generalization effects. Parent's report and social validity data also showed favor results. Real life generalization and its impacts on the child's everyday life will be discussed. In addition, future research suggestion will be provided at the end of the paper.

This symposium will include three presentations evaluating the effects of various interventions on problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement and a presentation summarizing research on the efficacy of response interruption and redirection (RIRD) implemented at various levels of treatment integrity. The first study evaluated whether a multiple schedule in which a bracelet worn by the participant signaled the availability of praise for appropriate walking and the delivery of reprimands for toe walking was effective in decreasing toe walking. The second study investigated the effects of RIRD and response cost (RC) alone as well as a treatment package consisting of both RIRD plus RC on the level of stereotypy. The third study examined the processes, extinction, punishment, or both, responsible for the effectiveness of RIRD. And the final study summarized research evaluating the extent that treatment integrity impacts RIRD treatment outcome in the clinical setting. These presentations will be reviewed by a discussant.

BCBA and BCBA-D

We evaluated a multiple schedule in which a bracelet worn by the participant signaled the availability of praise for appropriate walking and the delivery of reprimands for toe walking in a young boy with autism. We first conducted a pre-treatment screening analysis to verify that toe walking was sensitive to automatic reinforcement. Next, we conducted a treatment evaluation using the multiple schedule. In the absence of the bracelet, no programmed consequences were delivered for toe walking. Once toe walking decreased to criterion levels with the bracelet on, we increased the amount of time the participant wore the bracelet. We also assessed generalization and maintenance of the effects. The multiple schedule was effective; toe walking decreased to near zero levels. In addition, the effects of the procedure generalized to community settings and maintained at all follow-up assessment dates. The participant's mother also effectively implemented the procedure. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.

The purpose of this study was to expand on previous research by evaluating the effects of response interruption and redirection (RIRD) and response cost (RC) alone in reducing vocal stereotypy and to evaluate whether a treatment package consisting of RIRD plus RC leads to greater suppression of stereotypy. Preference, reinforcer, and competing items assessments were conducted to identify items for the response cost condition. In addition results of a functional analysis indicated that stereotypy was automatically reinforced. During the treatment phase we evaluated the effects of RIRD, RC, and RIRD plus RC on stereotypy using a multielement design. We observed high levels of vocal stereotypy during both baseline and toy baseline conditions. All three treatments led to a substantial decrease in stereotypy for all participants however for one participant stereotypy continued to occur during the treatment intervals of the RC condition. We discuss limitations of the current study and areas for future research.

Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) is an effective intervention for reducing vocal stereotypy, an often automatically maintained form of problem behavior that is otherwise difficult to treat. Previous research has suggested that RIRD works through a combination of extinction, punishment, or both. We attempted to examine processes responsible for RIRD's effectiveness by evaluating an analog to interruption consisting of contingent and noncontingent presentation of neutral sounds to suppress vocal stereotypy in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and comparing those effects to RIRD. Neutral sounds were identified through the use of a preference assessment of various sounds. RIRD was effective in all of the participants, but noncontingent presentation of neutral sounds and contingent presentations of neutral sounds ranged from ineffective to not as effective as RIRD. Manipulating the amount of time with a sound playing did not have an effect on vocal stereotypy either. These results expand on previous research that call into question extinction-like explanations for the effectiveness of RIRD.

Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) has been shown to effectively decrease automatically maintained behavior. However, its application outside of an experimental setting constitutes an emerging literature base. Research evaluating the extent that treatment integrity impacts RIRD treatment outcome in the clinical setting will be reviewed and compared. In study 1, treatment integrity observations on the consistency and accuracy of treatment implementation were collected in a classroom setting with three participants diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Results showed that treatment integrity varied across participants and across staff members. Inconsistent implementation was the most common error. However, when RIRD was implemented the components were carried out as prescribed with high accuracy. When an analysis of consistency errors was conducted in a controlled setting, RIRD was generally effective at 50% consistency following previous exposure to 100% consistency. Study 2, further investigated this phenomenon by comparing treatment effects when degraded treatment consistency was not preceded by exposure to 100% consistency. Results varied across participants, but generally more rapid suppression occurred during the 100% condition. An evaluation of these results is discussed in terms of treatment integrity considerations when implementing RIRD in a clinical setting.

The symposium features four studies on training undergraduates or caregivers to implement behavior analytic treatments. Hallie Ertel will present on the efficacy of and caregiver preference for differing ratios of low-p to high-p instructions to increase compliance, and the results suggest that caregivers tend to prefer the most efficacious ratio. Elizabeth Foley will present on a self-instruction package on implementation of guided compliance, and the results suggest that this type of training is an efficacious alternative when resources are limited. Mary Halbur will present an evaluation on caregiver preference and acceptability of three prompting strategies prior to and following acquisition of caregiver implementation. These results provide insight on how to improve the accuracy of preference and acceptability measures. Finally, Maegan Pisman will present on an evaluation to teach caregivers to implement multiple evidence-based strategies within a play context. Given the acquisition, generalization, and child-preference outcomes, this intervention seems well suited for caregivers to use when teaching young children with an autism spectrum disorder. We are excited and honored that Dr. Nicole Heal is serving as the discussant given her expertise and passion for these areas of research.

Target audience will include practitioners interested in efficacious training procedures for staff and caregivers

The high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence, which involves the delivery of a series of high-probability instructions immediately before delivery of a low-probability instruction, is a commonly used procedure to increase compliance among children and individuals with intellectual disabilities. Although the modal ratio of high-p instructions to low-p instructions is 3:1, other ratios may be more effective. In the current study, we compared three ratios of high-p to low-p instructions (i.e., 1:1, 3:1, and 5:1) during use of the high-p instructional sequence to increase compliance among three children with autism. Results suggest that the 5:1 ratio was most effective. Although less effective, the 3:1 ratio and 1:1 also produced increases in compliance. In addition, we had each participant's caregiver nominate the most preferred ratio and we then evaluated caregiver implementation of the most effective ratio. In general, the most preferred ratio was also the most effective ratio, even when implemented by caregivers. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Previous researchers have suggested that caregiver participation in intervention can enhance intervention and promote generalization of skills across settings. Thus, parents should be trained to implement behavioral interventions. The purpose of the current investigation was to evaluate caregiver preference for and acceptability of three commonly used prompting procedures. Experimenters trained caregivers of children with disabilities to use three evidence-based prompting strategies (i.e., least-to-most, most-to-least, and a progressive prompt delay). Once the caregiver reached the mastery criteria with each prompting procedure, his/her preference for each of the strategies was evaluated using a concurrent-chains arrangement. Additionally, treatment acceptability of all procedures was measured multiple times throughout the study. All participants met the mastery criteria for each of the prompting procedures and showed a preference for least-to-most prompting. Results suggested that caregivers' preferences for procedures prior to training were different than post-training/post-child practice. In addition, indirect assessment scores corresponded to choice trials during the end assessments. The data obtained during this study support the utility of objective measures for studying preference for behavioral skill-acquisition procedures.

The concurrent operant assessment (COA) has potential as a flexible and socially valid assessment strategy to guide reinforcement-based interventions for students with intensive behavior support needs in schools. In this symposium, we will present a series of data sets illustrating applications of COAs in public education settings. The first two presenters will share results of applied research studies in which COAs were used to inform interventions designed to increase compliance and/or on-task behavior for elementary-age students with or at risk for disabilities. The next two presenters will share data sets accumulated from state-funded projects related to implementing COAs in public school systems. One of these presentations will focus on a series of case summaries from a behavioral consultation model in which COAs have played an integral role. The other will present outcome data from a series of trainings designed to prepare school-based consultants to independently conduct COAs?from assessment design to data analysis and interpretation. Following the four data-based presentations, our discussant will offer comments on strengths and limitations of the works presented, and identify future directions for research and practice with respect to maximizing the impact of these assessments in schools.

Our presentation is targeted to behavior analysts who work in educational settings as well as those who conduct behavior analytic research in educational settings.

Choice assessments have shown promise in a variety of settings for identifying stimuli that may be used as reinforcers within behavioral interventions. One such assessment, the Concurrent Operant Assessment (COA), may be especially promising in educational settings that prioritize safe and efficient strategies to identify potential reinforcers for replacement behavior. Embedded within a behavior consultation model for public school-based teams across our state, we have conducted a series of COAs for students with challenging behavior. The consultations are intended to reduce challenging behaviors that raise safety concerns, interfere with learning, limit student access to the least-restrictive environment, and require high resource usage. Consultants train teams of educators to implement evidence-based treatment programs in the classroom. Within this consultation model, COAs are increasingly used to assess motivating variables and preferences for students and inform treatment decisions related to programmed contingencies of reinforcement for appropriate behavior. Outcome data will be shared on COA results, implications for treatment, and student outcomes.

Behavior analytic approaches in school settings are supported by a large foundation of empirical research. However, approaches for working with at-risk students have historically been underrepresented in the behavioral literature. The current symposium addresses ways to increase academic engagement, improve peer interactions, and decrease disruptive behavior in school settings with at-risk students. Study 1 compared the effects of differential negative reinforcement of alternative behavior (DNRA) and curricular revision (CR) on problem behavior with students diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Study 2 evaluated the effects of positive and negative reinforcement interventions on escape-maintained problem behavior with secondary students diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Study 3 examined the effects of the Good Behavior Game, a well-documented group contingency procedure, on student interactions in primary and secondary classrooms for students with EBD. Study 4 examined the effectiveness of teacher-implemented GBG on disruptive classroom behavior with students in a residential facility for juvenile offenders. Implications, future directions, and special considerations for working with this population will be discussed.

Researchers and practitioners who work in school settings with at-risk students or other special education populations, or those who want to learn more about the implementation of behavioral classroom management would benefit from attending this symposium.

Previous research has demonstrated that positive reinforcement can effectively treat problem behaviour maintained by escape from demands. We evaluated the effects negative and positive reinforcement interventions on engagement with math tasks for three secondary students with a history of math avoidance. A trial-based functional analysis confirmed that all three participants' problem behaviours were maintained by escape. We used an alternating treatments design to compare the relative effects of negative (i.e., removal of math tasks) and positive (edibles) reinforcement on work completion and accuracy. We then conducted a choice phase, in which participants could opt to work for removal of math problems or edibles. Results showed that positive reinforcement increased rates of problem completion and accuracy for two of the three participants. When allowed to choose, all participants opted for the positive reinforcement contingency and reported that they enjoyed completing math problems with the positive reinforcement contingency and disliked the worksheets when the escape contingency was applied. These results bolster previous findings indicating that positive reinforcement interventions may be more efficacious than negative reinforcement strategies for treating escape-maintained behaviour. Our results also raise important questions regarding how intervention approach may alter how an individual feels about engaging in appropriate behaviour.

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a group contingency procedure that is effective in reducing disruptive behavior and increasing on-task behavior in a variety of settings. This procedure has the support of a large literature base, but has not been evaluated with juvenile offenders who engage in severe problem behavior. Further, there are few GBG studies that directly address methods for training teachers to implement the procedure. In the current study, a group training procedure was used to quickly train 4 teachers to implement the GBG in classrooms in a secure residential facility for juvenile offenders. Results indicated that the teachers were able to produce substantial reductions in disruptive classroom behavior following a brief training. Teacher delivery of praise also increased substantially as a result of the intervention. Social validity data indicated that both teachers and students found the game to be effective. Implications, directions for future research, and special considerations for working with this population are discussed.

Anywhere between 30-50% of individuals with autism do not develop vocal language that is deemed functionally acceptable to meet their daily communication needs. This symposium seeks to address this problem by presenting three studies that use vocal or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions. The first study sought to extend the evidence base for teaching children with autism who are learning to communicate using speech generating devices by evaluating the acquisition of intraverbal responding in a four-year-old child with autism. Systematic instruction in the context of an activity interruption (i.e., song) was used to contrive the opportunity for intraverbal responding. The second study investigated procedures to teach the mands for information under control of the establishing operation, and examined the extent to which teaching generalized to novel scenarios. The third study evaluated how two commonly used AAC formats, sign language and picture exchange, resulted in access to reinforcement in the natural environment. All three studies for this symposium have important implications that extend previous research using both vocal and AAC language interventions.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts

Anywhere between 30-50% of individuals with autism do not develop vocal language that is deemed functionally acceptable to meet their daily communication needs. As a result, individuals with autism may require interventions alternative to vocal speech, such as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). However, very little is known about how members of the public may respond to forms of AAC. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how two commonly used AAC formats, sign language and picture exchange, result in access to reinforcement in the natural environment. To do this, we approached naïve adults (i.e., individuals unfamiliar with AAC) and asked questions (e.g., "Where is the bathroom?") that were likely to result in reinforcement. We measured whether or not naïve adults accurately responded to each question, and we collected additional descriptive information about their reaction to that form of AAC. This study has important implications, not only on the social validity of each form of AAC, but also for long-term considerations for using AAC.

Mands for information (MFI) are classified as behavior in the form of question asking that is under control of an establishing operation (EO); the consequence being information related to the EO. This behavior often occurs in the form of "wh" questions, though any topography can serve as a MFI (e.g., "tell me"). Mands for information (MFI) can play a critical role in language development and represent an important skill to enable individuals to successfully learn new information from their environment. Yet, many children with autism do not acquire mands for information without direct teaching. Research has demonstrated effective procedures for teaching all "wh" forms, except for "why." This study investigated procedures to teach the MFI "why" under control of the establishing operation, and examined the extent to which teaching generalized to novel scenarios. The intervention was effective in establishing the MFI "why" in three children with autism within a short number of teaching sessions, and intervention was effective in establishing generalization of the MFI to novel scenarios for all participants.

Children with autism who do not develop spoken communication are often candidates for speech-generating devices (SGDs) as an alternative communication modality. Early language interventions for children with autism often utilize Skinner's conceptual analysis of language by targeting manding, tacting, and intraverbal skills. However, for children learning to use SGDs, research has mainly investigated manding skills. Thus, the current study sought to extend the evidence base for teaching children with autism who are learning to communicate using SGDs by evaluating the acquisition of intraverbal responding in a four-year-old child with autism, using a concurrent multiple baseline across responses design. Systematic instruction in the context of an activity interruption (i.e., song) was used to contrive the opportunity for intraverbal responding. All three intraverbal responses were acquired during a final choice phase, which allowed for the participant to select the song order. These results suggest the value for targeting intraverbal skills to children with autism who use SGDs.

For the past 5 years the Global Autism Project has been providing training to autism centers around the world through our SkillCorps program. This unique volunteer program allows professionals to bring their experience to centers in underserved areas around the world. Our panel of SkillCorps participants will discuss the benefits and challenges of short-term volunteering to both volunteers and service partners as well as how the Global Autism Project has dealt with these challenges.

BCBAs consultants

Behavior interventions often involve several components that can be manipulated across individuals or settings including contingencies of reinforcement, prompting procedures, and establishing operations. While many variations of these procedures exist in the literature, less research has been dedicated to directly comparing the effectiveness of these variations. Even less focus has been given to preferences for treatment components by the individual who is receiving the intervention or the individual who is implementing the intervention. This symposium presents three studies that evaluated modifications to various components of treatment and preference. Diabiase, Schuierer, DeQuinzio, and Taylor extended the research on traditional versus embedded discrete trial teaching to adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Luck, Lerman, Zey, and Campbell assessed teacher preference for three error-correction procedures and compared these preferences to the effectiveness of each procedure. Miller, Scheithauer, Shirley, Gerenscer, and Muething compared client and therapist preference across three prompting procedures and compared these data to the effectiveness of each procedure at promoting compliance. Together these studies represent methods for evaluating preference across procedures and evaluating for the most effective intervention in within participant models.

Practitioners in educational settings, skill acquisition settings, and those treating escape-maintained problem behavior

Geiger, Carr, LeBlanc, Hanney, Polick, and Heinicke (2012) compared traditional discrete trial teaching and embedded discrete trial teaching (DTT) with children with autism. We extended the results to two adolescents with autism. A multi-element design within a multiple baseline design across two stimulus sets was used to compare the effects of traditional and embedded DTT. Traditional DTT consisted of the instructor presenting a discriminative stimulus to start each trial ("Point to ___"), implementing a prompt (i.e., manual guidance), and providing reinforcement (i.e., praise and token) for correct responding. Embedded DTT consisted of presenting trials similar in structure to the traditional DTT but within an ongoing activity (e.g., shooting baskets). The percentage of correct responses improved with the introduction of both types of DTT. However embedded DTT resulted in faster acquisition (i.e., less trials to criterion). Mean session duration was longer for embedded than for traditional. The results of this study with adolescents with autism is promising because it demonstrates that receptive skills can be targeted during activities away from a desk or table with implications for incorporating instruction during vocational activities.

Within the field of applied behavior analysis, single case research designs are often used to demonstrate treatment effects. However, in order to disseminate these interventions we need larger scale analyses. The current symposium will present three papers focused on the use of meta-analyses and consecutive case reviews as models to help establish interventions as evidence-based. The first paper evaluated the procedures used in 18 previously published meta-analytic reviews on behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder. Specifically, this study evaluated the decisions rules researchers used to determine if an intervention was effective. The second paper focuses on a multi-level meta-analysis model to help establish if an intervention is effective. The authors describe this approach using two different types of differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedules as an example. Lastly, the third paper uses a consecutive case series analysis to evaluate outcomes related to behavioral treatment for enuresis. The evaluation and use of other models, such as these, are needed in order for the field to disseminate evidence-based interventions for individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities.

Researchers, clinical researchers, and other professionals in the field of behavior analysis

Children with developmental disabilities (DD) are more likely than typically developing peers to have issues with enuresis. Past research has shown the success of behavioral treatments consisting of scheduled sits and reinforcement for continent voids (Azrin & Fox, 1971; Leblanc, Carr, Crossett, Bennett, & Detweiler, 2005). However, this research has included small sample sizes, while studies with larger numbers have lacked key information (i.e., baseline rates and follow-up data to evaluate maintenance and generalization). The current study conducted a consecutive case series analysis of 44 individuals with developmental disabilities who completed a two-week program for enuresis. Results showed significant improvement in continent voids and follow-up data suggested positive results maintained when treatment was implemented by caregivers in a home environment.

Naming across both listener and speaker responses and intraverbal responding may be defined as bi-directional because of the speaker-listener bi-directional relations involved in each of these types of behavior (Miguel, 2016). We report on three studies focusing on bi-directional operants and how, when and under which environmental conditions each may be acquired. In the first paper we present data on 49 participants between the ages of 18 months and 3 years. We investigated when and how these children acquired the listener half (uni-directional) and both the listener and speaker components (bi-directional) of Naming. In the second paper we report on experiments testing the effects of a Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) procedure on bi-directional naming (BiN) and delayed drawing responses as a measure of conditioned seeing for school-aged students with Autism. Our final paper reports on the emergence of intraverbals and speaker-as-own-listener behaviors (Naming, say-do responding and self-talk) in toddlers with and without identified disabilities or delays.

Behavior analyst practitioners, supervisors and school personnel

We tested 49 children between the ages of 18 and 36 month for the presence of the listener half (uni-directional) and full (bi-directional) Naming. Students were provided with Naming experiences which included the presentation of visual and auditory stimuli (participants saw and heard the names of pictures). Tests for uni-directional and bi-directional Naming were conducted after each three sessions of Naming experiences across four different stimuli. The results are discussed in terms of differences across chronological age groups and analyses of other relations are presented.

I conducted 2 experiments investigating the relations between speaker-as-own-listener cusps and responding to reverse intraverbals. Speaker-as-own-listener (SOL) cusps include, Naming, Say-Do Correspondence and Self-Talk Fantasy Play. During a pilot experiment, I found the source of the problem in 2 participants' learning was their deficient speaker-as-own-listener repertoires. Participants in the pilot lacked Say-Do and Self-Talk developmental cusps. Following a Self-Talk Immersion intervention, Say-Do was induced for both participants and coincidentally; correct responses to reverse intraverbals emerged. In Experiment I, I continued examining relations between the speaker-as-own-listener repertoire and intraverbal responding with a statistical analysis of 35 Early Intervention (EI) and Preschool students recruited from CABAS model schools who functioned at listener and speaker levels of verbal behavior. Findings from Experiment I indicated that the presence of Say-Do Correspondence and Self-Talk were significantly correlated to correct responses to reverse intraverbals. Experiment II was a functional analysis, during which 5 participants were selected from an EI classroom due to their similar levels of verbal behavior, deficient SOL repertoire, and because they could not respond to reverse intraverbals. Results indicated a functional relation between the presence of Say-Do Correspondence and Self-Talk and correct responses to intraverbal probes for all 5 participants.

Behavioral consultation (BC), wherein a consultant changes a target client's behavior by working directly with a mediator (e.g., K-12 teacher) who serves as interventionist, has long been an important topic in school psychology and applied behavior analysis. This presentation examines key historical developments in BC, such as the impact of Bergan, Kratochwill, and others' verbal interaction and competency-based training research, and then considers the state of current BC practice in schools and related settings. The presentation concludes with some speculations about how technology will affect future BC practice.

Practitioners who work with school-age clients

Over the last several years, the public has increasingly paid attention to problems associated with suicide and law enforcement. Each presents its own set of controversy, challenges and barriers to progress. This symposium focuses on real world sets of data, using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to reveal new insights and patterns within the fields of contemporary suicidology and law enforcement. The presentations offer solutions and recommendations using ABA principles while also leveraging ABA to teach the audience about these respective subject areas. One talk elucidates a novel analysis of the Air National Guard's Suicide Prevention Program. It uses recently obtained data and analyses to highlight predictive variables, risk factors and protective factors which have previously been unknown to the military community. It concludes with recommendations for more effective suicide prevention. The second presentation addresses a common source of concern among U.S. citizens pertaining to the use of force by police and the coverage of this issue in the media. This discussion centers around the ways in which ABA can offer solutions for the analysis of these data and the training of law enforcement officers in the future, as that community aspires to prevent the inappropriate use of force.

This is appropriate for psychologists and those in the behavior analysis community interested in continuing education.

Suicides continue to be one of the top ten causes of death in the United States. Among adolescents it is within the top three. Within the military, suicide continues to plague service members, leaving military families torn and leaders baffled and frustrated. Since 2008, military suicide exceeded civilian ones (Army Institute of Public Health, 2011) and have not yet returned below the civilian rates. Shockingly, no civilian or military organization, state or locality has successfully maintained a reduced suicide rate despite a variety of suicide prevention programs (Corso et al., 2017). A recent meta-analysis of risk factors for suicide reveals that the field’s predictive capabilities are poor (Franklin et al., 2017). The authors discuss the results of a program evaluation pilot of Airmen in the Air National Guard (ANG). Unlike the variables the field has historically examined, the authors evaluated system-level factors (i.e., those to which the entire ANG population are exposed) which may be mitigated by military leaders at the population level. System-level risk and protective factors are discussed, as well as an empirical model for predicting suicide in the ANG and suggested solutions for reducing suicide among Airmen.

The insurance mandate in California has led to organizations taking great steps towards hiring and retaining talent. In late 2014 Easterseals (ESSC) Autism Services convened a work group chartered to focus on improving employee recruitment and retention. Over the last two years the group worked to find contributing factors to retention, identify barriers to higher levels of retention, and to define strategies to improve recruitment and better retain the individuals in the organization. The work group developed two questions that prevented them from taking large scale next steps:1) Is the level of retention at ESSC within an acceptable range compared to similar organizations? 2) Are the barriers identified by the work group the ?right ones?, and if so, what are best-practice mitigating solutions? Early analysis found a lack of benchmark data in the industry surrounding acceptable retention rates. As a result, outside consultants were hired to benchmark the level of retention at ESSC against similar organizations across the country. This panel will review the results of the retention benchmark study and discuss strategies surrounding associate retention. Dialogue around best practices will include audience sharing and participation.

BCBAs Organizational Leaders

A key component of comprehensive behavioral interventions for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the provision of reinforcement. Several methods have been designed and evaluated within the literature to identify potential reinforcing events (e.g., multiple stimulus without replacement; MSWO). Once potential reinforcers have been identified it is common for those to be used within a reinforcement system, such as a token system. The purpose of this symposium is to present three studies that evaluated the methods of reinforcement identification, assessment, and the use thereof. The first presentation evaluated the effectiveness of a magic number token system to increase the frequency of comments during snack for children diagnosed with ASD. The second presentation evaluated the use of a level system to improve synchronous engagement (SE) within two dyads of children diagnosed with ASD. The final presentation compared the rate of responding when potentially reinforcing items were identified using a MSWO preference assessment or through in-the-moment reinforcer analysis.

RBTs, BCaBAs, BCBAs

Token systems are commonly used throughout the course of treatment for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Token systems commonly involve a predetermined number of tokens required to be earned prior to their exchange for a terminal reinforcer. The effectiveness of token systems implemented in this manner have been well documented within the literature. One alternative to a static number of tokens earned, is altering that number based upon learner responding and having the number remain unknown to the learner until the moment of exchange (i.e., a magic number token system). This type of a system requires in-the-moment assessment by the interventionist. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a magic number token system to increase the frequency of comments during snack for children diagnosed with ASD. The results of a multiple baseline across children will be discussed as well as future research and clinical recommendations.

Level systems have been described as a framework which can be used to shape behavior through the systematic application of behavioral principles. Within level systems, an individual moves up and down through various levels contingent upon displaying specific behaviors. While level systems have been evaluated across a wide variety of settings using group contingences, their use on an individual level has received considerably less attention. Furthermore, to date, the authors are only aware of one study that has utilized a level system with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of a level system to improve synchronous engagement (SE) within two dyads of children diagnosed with ASD. The results of an ABAB reversal design demonstrated that the level system was effective at improving SE for both dyads. Future research and clinical recommendations will be discussed.

The provision of reinforcement to increase the frequency of desired behaviors is a crucial element of behavior analytic intervention for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Formal preference assessments, like the multiple stimulus without replacement procedure (MSWO), are often used to determine potential reinforcers for use during intervention. While these types of assessments have been widely demonstrated as effective, there is little empirical evidence to support that these rigorous methods of reinforcement identification produce higher rates of responding compared to more efficient methods (i.e., in-the-moment reinforcer analysis; IMRA). The purpose of this study was to compare the rate of responding on a sorting task when potentially reinforcing items were identified through the use of a MSWO preference assessment or through IMRA. The results of alternating treatments design will be discussed in terms of rate of responding, efficiency, reinforcer selection, and interventionist rationale. Future research and clinical recommendations will also be discussed.

Beginning in 2009, 28 states in the United States have established licensure for behavior analysts. Not only does the nature of licensure vary across states, the processes and experiences of behavior analysts involved in establishing such licensure has varied greatly. Behavior analysts in some state some experienced little difficulty or opposition with the process being relatively brief while those in other states experienced much difficulty, dealt with opposition from members of other professions with the effort require multiple legislative sessions. In this discussion, the experiences of behavior analysts in 4 states where behavior analyst licensure was established in the last 2 years will be discussed. Information will be presented regarding the experiences in Michigan, South Dakota, Montana, and Texas. The discussion will include comparison of experiences, strategies and tactics of the states as well as recommendations for other states where licensure has not as yet been established. This discussion will be helpful for behavior analysts considering pursuing licensure in other states and will provide important information for persons interested in the history of the profession of behavior analysis.

Behavior analysts interested in establishment of state licensure of behavior analysts and persons interested in the history and ongoing development of the profession of behavior analysis.

This tutorial provides a primer on open-source software designed for behavior analysts and behavioral scientists. The review includes an overview of existing works and highlights software designed to extend the range and precision of behavior analytic work. This tutorial also discusses the emerging role of open-source software and software repositories as necessary adjuncts to peer-reviewed works and evidence-based tools. For researchers, open-source repositories provide an additional means for increasing the transparency, replicability, and extendibility of existing approaches. For practitioners specifically, several open-source tools provide applied behavior analysts with additional clinical information that was previously unavailable without substantial time, complicated data collection, and statistical training. Topics covered will include delay discounting, applied behavioral economics, and severe behavior and the tutorial provides examples of how such software can be applied in both clinical work and research. The specific operations performed by these tools include non-linear curve fitting, model selection, inter-rater reliability, and time-based lag sequential analyses.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Skinner (1957) described the tact as the most important of the verbal operants, as a tact repertoire provides foundational building blocks for the establishment of more complex verbal behavior. This symposium presents basic and applied research on variables involved in the establishment of tact control and the effects of tact acquisition on other behavior. The first study compared the the efficiency of most-to-least prompting and error correction procedures in tact instruction for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The second study evaluated the effects of stimulus preference on typically developing children's acquisition of tacts and the subsequent emergence of mands and listener relations. The third study, also conducted with typically developing children, addressed the role of echoic responding in emergent tact control by assessing the effects of stimulus presentation order on control by visual stimuli over vocal responses following contiguous presentation of visual and verbal stimuli.

Behavior analysts; graduate students; scientists; other professionals

In this study we compared most-to-least prompting to an error correction procedure to teach 26 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tact relations. The children were randomly assigned to either a most-to-least prompting condition or an error correction condition. Three sets of two cartoon characters, for a total of six, were targeted for children in both groups. Child responding was evaluated prior, during, fand following intervention. Additionally, the efficiency of the two procedures was evaluated through daily probes. Various statistical analyses were conducted to determine if there were any significant differences between the two conditions. The purpose of this presentation is to describe the procedures implemented in both conditions, the results, implications for future research. Furthermore, the results of this randomized control trial has several implications for clinical practice for those training tact relations for individuals diagnosed with ASD, which will also be discussed.

Previous research has demonstrated that tact training with preferred stimuli facilitated the emergence of mands compared to tact training with nonpreferred stimuli in persons with intellectual disabilities (Wallace, Iwata, & Hanley, 2006). The present study seeks to replicate and extend the previous research by (a) testing typically developing children, (b) mediating some of the limitations of the mand condition and (c) testing for emergent listener responses. We trained participants to tact 3 highly preferred and 3 nonpreferred pictures of different cat breeds in Set 1, and different dog breeds in Set 2. To date, tact training is currently being conducted with two participants. Results are consistent with previous research in which acquisition of tacts is similar across both preferred and nonpreferred stimuli conditions.

Tact control over vocal responses may emerge in the absence of reinforcement after exposure to contiguous presentation of verbal and nonverbal stimuli. The present study examined whether covert echoic responding in the presence of the visual stimulus facilitated tact control. In Experiment 1, four children were exposed to contiguous presentation of nonverbal and verbal stimuli followed by tests for tact control over vocal responses. For three stimulus sets, the verbal stimulus was presented before the visual stimulus. For the other three, the visual stimulus was presented before the verbal stimulus, making it impossible to echo the verbal stimulus in the presence of the visual stimulus. Each participant received one session of exposure to each set. No child tacted more than one stimulus per set correctly, but correct tacts were ususally under appropriate stimulus control. Tacts were equally likely to emerge in both conditions. In Experiment 2, two children received repeated exposure to the same stimuli until tacts emerged to criterion in at least one condition. Again, there was no advantage of verbal-first presentation. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 1 while introducing overlap between verbal and nonverbal stimuli; preliminary results indicate increased tact emergence, but no effect of presentation order.

Matrix training is a form of generative instruction that guides the manner in which teaching targets are selected. As a result of using this teaching approach, a subset of targets is directly taught and learned, while learning of other targets emerges without direct teaching, known as recombinative generalization. The studies presented in this symposium include a range of applications of matrix training to teach children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Jimenez-Gomez et al. present studies in which matrix training was employed to teach verbal operants and play skills to young children with ASD. The focus of these studies was to use matrix training to program for generalization within and across operant classes. Frampton et al. employed matrix training to teach color-shape tacts using known components. This work replicates and extends previous findings showing the usefulness of matrix training for teaching complex tact skills. Finally, Groskreutz et al. present a study of the application of matrix training to sociodramatic play behaviors and tacting objects and prepositions. They discuss the importance of understanding sources of stimulus control when considering expanding the learner's repertoire.

RBTs, ABA Master's and PhD students, and BCBAs working with children with autism spectrum disorder

Communication and play imitation deficits are common in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Using generative instruction, such as matrix training, instructors teach a subset of skills and new skills emerge without direct teaching. Such an approach can result in a faster acquisition of functional skills in children with delays associated with ASD diagnosis. Matrix training has been used to teach preschool-aged children with ASD spelling, writing, receptive identification, and pretend play skills. We recently used matrix training as a generative instruction approach to expand the listener and tacting repertoires of toddlers with ASD (Exp. 1) and to obtain transfer across verbal operants (e.g., tacting to listener responding) and other operant classes (e.g., tacting to play; Exp. 2) in five-year-old boys with ASD. We will discuss the usefulness of matrix training as an instructional strategy for early intervention programming, specifically in the area of communication and play.

Matrix training consists of pre-planning instruction by arranging components of desired skills across a minimum of two axes. The procedures are designed to promote efficiency in instruction and generally include assessment of untrained targets following intervention. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend past research by incorporating an additional generalization matrix and targeting color-shape tacts with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Matrix training was conducted with six males with ASD who were between the ages of 4 years 1 month and 5 years 4 months within a language clinic. Three matrices were developed for each participant (e.g., Matrix 1, Generalization Matrix 1, and Generalization Matrix 2) with known components (i.e., colors and shapes). Following baseline, diagonal training was conducted with Matrix 1 to teach participants to emit combined tacts (e.g., "red heart"). Results of post-tests were used to determine which, if any, remedial procedures were necessary. Results from all six participants indicated that mastery criteria were eventually met for Matrix 1. For five participants, mastery criteria were also eventually met with generalization matrices. Results replicate findings from prior studies and further demonstrate the utility of applying matrix training to complex tact skills.

Matrix training procedures are an effective means of establishing various skills, including sociodramatic play and preliteracy listener responses, and tacts under control of multiple stimuli. When matrix training procedures are used, participants are systematically exposed to multiple pairings of stimuli, which come to exert stimulus control together in order for learners to produce correct responses. We are currently employing matrix training procedures to teach young children with autism to engage in sociodramatic play behaviors, and to teach elementary-aged children with autism to tact objects and prepositions (e.g., "The book is behind the box."). For one completed participant, matrix training procedures established sociodramatic play responses, which then generalized to unstructured play sessions, with novel toys, and a parent serving as play partner. In the matrix training literature, learned relations among stimuli are often discussed as either trained relations (i.e., those combinations of stimuli presented during training), or instances of recombinative generalization (i.e., responses to pairs of stimuli that were presented in training only as components of different combinations). We will discuss our results in consideration of the potential utility of clarifying the sources of stimulus control established through matrix training, to facilitate learners incorporating new information into previously acquired matrices.

This study reviews specific social skills programming and exposure to social opportunities and their effects on problem behavior rates for children diagnosed with ASD and other developmental delays. The setting for the study was a clinic-based ABA program designed to help children with various diagnoses respond in groups, follow instructions, and improve social skills for school readiness purposes. Three participants between the ages of 3-5 were evaluated in this study. Each participant was one of 5-7 children present in the program. Target programming consisted of say-do correspondence, functional play skills and interactive play skills, and engaging in reciprocal play. Problem behavior data was also reviewed and correlated in order to assess weather social skill improvements could correspond to changes in problem behavior rates. The results show that each participant's social target improved significantly. Some are now able to interact with peers in the program setting, and some exhibited a decreased rate of problem behaviors once their specific skill was mastered. Future research should include classroom wide social skill improvement measures and a review of data on how many redirections are given from teachers/technicians once specific social skills are taught.

BCBA in clinical practice, all BCBAs, people interested in social skills, applied professionals.

Say-Do Correspondence was used to increase social interactions and reduce the aggression, and property destruction of two participants diagnosed with ASD. The participants were both male, ages 4 and 5. The setting was a clinic-based ABA program which was designed to work on group skills in order to improve the school readiness skills of our clients. The participants were asked what they wanted to play or do during transitions in the classroom, or during breaks from specific DTT programming. Previously, these participants would engage in problem behaviors during transitions or unstructured time. Once each participant identified what they were going to do, the RBT would prompt them to say "I am going to go ____" or "I am going to play _____" and then allow the participant to engage in the stated behavior. Once this phase was mastered, and the participants were above 80% accurate in doing what they stated, they moved the stated action to a social interaction. For example, the RBT would ask "Should we play _____ or _____ next?", in which each choice involved a peer already engaging in that activity. The participants would make a choice, the RBT would prompt them to say "I am going to go play ______ with _______" and then allow the participant to engage in the stated interaction. Results show increased social interactions and reduced problem behaviors for both participants. Future research should include a larger participant sample as well as varied levels in functioning.

Teaching social skills to children with developmental delays in the community can be difficult as prompting random peers to engage with the child is not possible. Using a developmental setting with 8 peers with similar diagnoses, each equipped with a personal behavior technician, social skills were targeted in this study through both natural and contrived situations that mimic opportunities found in a typical classroom. The child identified for this study is a 3-year-old with no interests in peers, low tolerance of play being interrupted by peers and adults, and no ability to tolerate parallel play with preferred items. The child's treatment plan identified nine social objectives that would enable the child to interact with peers through play by developing reciprocal play and initiating and responding to peer requests. Prompts used in this study included modeling actions performed by peers, modeling appropriate play schemes, and modeling delivering a "stop" or "no" PECS card to a peer to end a non-preferred interaction.

Teaching play skills is a valuable skill to target for kids when working on imitation skills and preparing for beginner social skills. This current study examined the effectiveness teaching individual play actions using various play sets during center-based sessions. The participant is a four-year old male diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. In each phase, the participant participated in a two-minute probe to assess current skills and then spent up to 10 minutes in teaching trials for skills that were not shown. During an initial intake, the participant displayed zero play skills and only engaged in property destruction. Preliminary results indicate that the participant was able to learn new play skills across the first initial playsets introduced to him. A wooden train set was the first playset introduced. This target had to be modified to take into account the participants fine motor skills and additional staff training.

The communication and social-skill deficits characteristically displayed by learners with autism are wide ranging, especially in the areas of social referencing, empathy, and joint attending. In the first presentation, a behavioral conceptualization of social referencing will be expanded upon, and the role of discriminative stimuli, social reinforcers, and transitive conditioned motivating operations in the acquisition of the chain of responding in typically-developing children will be discussed. Assessment data supporting this conceptualization will also be discussed as well as treatment considerations for establishing social referencing in children with autism. The second presentation, will provide an overview of the development of empathy, different theories accounting for empathy deficits in children with autism, and behavioral interventions used to teach empathy to children with autism. In addition, suggestions for future research will be described. The third presentation will describe an overview of a study that evaluated whether a three-component strategy consisting of (a) a general-case analysis, (b) multiple-exemplar training, and (c) experimenter-defined categories along with auditory scripts and script-fading, a trial-unique procedure, prompts and prompt-fading, and socially mediated consequences effectively established a generalized repertoire of initiating joint attending in four young children with autism.

Graduate Students and Board Certified Behavior Analysts

The communication and social-skill deficits characteristically displayed by learners with autism are wide ranging. In particular, many children with autism have a marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors to regulate social interaction and communication. Children with autism who display empathy, which consists of appropriate concern and interest when others are sad, excited, or frustrated, will likely increase their opportunities for future interaction with peers and family members. Although investigations of empathetic behavior are not new to developmental psychology, behavior analysts have only recently begun to investigate this topic, both theoretically and empirically. Instead of assuming that an empathetic repertoire emerges as a function of development, behavior analysts contend that specific learning histories give rise to this complex, higher-order skill. Therefore, establishing the necessary learning history may help remediate deficits in empathetic responding often observed in individuals with autism. This review provides an overview of the development of empathy, different theories accounting for empathy deficits in children with autism, and behavioral interventions used to teach empathy to children with autism. In addition, suggestions for future research are described.

The current study evaluated whether a three-component strategy consisting of (a) a general-case analysis, (b) multiple-exemplar training, and (c) experimenter-defined categories along with auditory scripts and script-fading, a trial-unique procedure, prompts and prompt-fading, and socially mediated consequences effectively established a generalized repertoire of initiating joint attending in four young children with autism. One hundred forty stimuli consisting of 20 in each of 7 experimenter-defined categories were used to program for generalization for joint attending from trained to untrained stimuli. Two categories of 20 stimuli each were reserved for assessment of generalization. A multiple-baseline across-participants design with a multiple probe was used to assess the effectiveness of the treatment package on the establishment of a generalized repertoire of initiating joint attending. All four participants learned to make initiations for joint attending in the presence of training stimuli. In addition, all participants displayed response and stimulus generalization. That is, all scripts were successfully removed and participants continued to engage joint attending. Also, joint attending generalized from trained settings, interaction partners, and categories of stimuli to an untrained setting, interaction partner, and categories of stimuli. Joint attending skills also maintained at two-week and one-month follow-up assessments.

The science of behavior change in children with autism is well developed and sophisticated. Much of the work of BCBA's in the school system involves changing and supporting the practices of educators working with these children. The science and practice of changing the behavior of educators lags far behind, however. Nowhere is this more evident than in low-resource public schools, where poor pre-service training, school resources, and organizational culture and climate all can contribute to inadequate implementation of evidence-based practices. In these situations, traditional consultation and training practices often don't result in desired change. In this presentation, I describe a 10-year public-academic partnership and line of research in Philadelphia through which we have developed the science and practice of supporting public school teachers working under difficult circumstances.

BCBAs and other professionals who provide consultation and training to teachers working with children with autism.

Creating work environments that allow humans to thrive and be healthy over time, while also collaborating to increase efficiency in their work is a challenge for any kind of organization. Developing key skills and behaviors that become a natural part of the day to day work is a challenge for every behavior change consultant. An evidence-based kernel is a behavior–influence procedure shown through experimental analysis to affect specific behaviors (Embry & Biglan, 2008). Existing evidence shows that a variety of kernels can influence behavior in context, and evidence suggests that frequent or sufficient use of some kernels may produce longer lasting behavioral shifts. Nurturing Environments (Biglan, Flay, Embry & Sandler, 2012; Biglan, 2015) describes key areas in evolving a healthy culture: minimizing toxic social conditions, increasing reinforcement of prosocial behaviors, limiting problem behaviors, and promoting psychological flexibility in the pursuit of one’s values and goals. This presentation will show how these concepts, coming from research in prevention, can be applied in various ways in non-clinical contexts, with special focus on organizations, groups and communities.

Professionals working with behavior change in any context, interested in doing practical work in evolving leadership, organizations and groups.

In 2016, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board released a new revised ethical code for the field: The Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts. In this revised code, the board has shifted the language of the code from that of a set of guidelines to that of a set of enforceable rules. This important shift has not been well discussed in the field. In this symposium, we explore the potential implications and perhaps inadvertent consequences of such a shift and propose that a focus on a process of ethical decision making, rather than on an increasing set of rules, may be a better way to promote ethical behavior within the field. We propose a possible ethical decision making process and give a case example of how the process would be used in confronting an ethical dilemma.

Practicing BCBAs

The panelists will discuss recent developments at the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). The most current data on the BACB’s certification programs will be provided: Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst, and Registered Behavior Technician. In addition, a number of recent and impending developments at the BACB will be described, including changes to standards, new initiatives, and various international development activities.

Behavior analysts

In recent years, many organizations have made the move from traditional pen and paper data collection systems to electronic systems. As behavior analysts, we take massive amounts of data in very structured formats, therefore this switch is not an easy transition and can cause anxiety for many. This panel discussion will allow four representatives from four different agencies providing behavior analysis services to tell the story of their transition to electronic systems. Panelists will focus on describing their organization and their transition to an electronic system. Each participant will also describe the steps that did and did not go well, things they know now but wish they knew before starting this process, and give tips to those looking to make a similar switch. The panelists have been chosen to ensure a wide variety of viewpoints and experiences. Panelists come from groups servicing from 50 to 1,000 clients, providing services in a range of settings (home, clinic, & schools), and users of three different electronic platforms. Discussion will include audience questions.

Any behavior analyst currently collecting data on paper and considering moving to an electronic system.

Ecology is the study of how organisms relate to one another and to their physical environment. This tutorial presents three insights from an ecological approach to investigating the scientific behavior of behavior analysts. First, longstanding discussions of "foxes" and "hedgehogs" have divided us into behavior analysts who use a broad range of skills and those who rely on a more specialized skillset, but additional categories may be valuable as well. Second, we are all products of the training we receive. From an ecological perspective, behavior analysis training programs can be K-selective or r-selective, either investing heavily in a small number of students or training as many students as possible, with less time and resources invested in each one. Finally, organizing behavior analysis research into a taxonomy, as ecologists have organized life on earth, may help to identify knowledge gaps and emerging areas of future research. One system classifies the spectrum of empirical behavior analysis research into tiers based on the research subjects, target behavior, relevant stimuli and setting used. Viewing behavior analysts, training programs and research output as an ecosystem can enable us to apply the enormously successful methods of science to our own affairs.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

For individuals with autism, effective instructional methods for increasing their communication repertoire is essential for preventing social impairments due to miscommunication or the occurrence of problem behavior. This makes initial instruction in foundational communication skills invaluable for future generalization and maintenance of skills. The first study addresses the impact of discrimination of negatively-reinforced mands by evaluating training methods for teaching participants to reject nonpreferred foods on which they were trained, generalization to novel nonpreferred foods, and maintenance over time. Authors for the second study take a strategy that has commonly been investigated for mands, manipulating motivating operations prior to instruction, to determine what effects presession attention has on acquisition of tacts and intraverbals. With the third study, authors promote early requisite behaviors for skill acquisition by demonstrating the utility of environmental arrangements, differential reinforcement, and demand fading procedures to promote choice allocation to instructional environments when demand requirements are high and schedule thinning occurs. Authors for the fourth study evaluated the effects of echoic prompts to increase mand utterance length from single word mands to more socially clear and acceptable mands using multi-word sentences. The discussant will deliver a synthesized conclusion and present future directions.

Behavior analysts who are clinicians or researchers. Appropriate for graduate students or individuals who already have their BCBA.

In this study, we examined the generalization of negatively-reinforced mands in three young children with autism. First, we used example and nonexample stimuli embedded in mand training to teach a new, socially appropriate, negatively-reinforced mand to reject unpreferred food items while continuously assessing mand discrimination. Second, we evaluated the discriminated generalization of the newly acquired mand by using untrained example and nonexample stimuli. Finally, we conducted maintenance probes to examine if the new, discriminated mand occurred over time in the absence of training. Results suggest that our mand training produced acquisition of a discriminated negatively-reinforced mand in all three children. Data indicate that the newly acquired, discriminated mand generalized to untrained food items and was maintained after training was discontinued. We discuss clinical implications and the conceptual significance of using example and nonexample trials to produce acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of negatively-reinforced mands in young children with autism and language delays.

Children with autism spectrum disorder may engage in a variety of behaviors that influence the efficacy of early intervention programming (e.g., tantrums, disruptive behaviors, etc.). Behavior analysts may utilize a variety of strategies to reduce these competing behaviors and increase appropriate repertoires. However, these strategies may vary in efficacy and caregivers may express concerns when the child engages in problem behavior in a therapeutic setting. The current study describes the findings of a structured intervention protocol on problem behavior and alternative behavior (e.g., compliance, close proximity, etc.) for nine female participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and no vocal verbal behavior. The intervention included the arrangement of concurrent reinforcement schedules, demand fading, and differential reinforcement procedures without the use of physical guidance. Findings indicate that the topography of problem behavior differed across participants during baseline with seven participants completing all stages of the protocol. One participant did not complete the protocol due to high rates of motor stereotypy. For an additional participant, baseline rates of problem behavior were low, thus, progression through the protocol was not necessary. Implications for early intervention are discussed.

Mand training curricula often emphasize the teaching of single-word utterances (e.g., "cookie") to initially provide young learners with an efficient and functional form of communication to make requests. However, as a child's mand repertoire increases, it may be preferable to increase the mean length of utterances (MLU; e.g., "I want cookie"). A total of six children between ages of 4 and 6 years old who primarily manded and tacted using single words participated in the current study. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to assess the effects of a treatment on MLU. Following baseline probes, a treatment involving echoic prompts using two- to three-word utterances (mands) was used to increase participants' mean length of mands. Results indicated the use of echoic prompts was effective in increasing MLUs across all participants. Maintenance probes were conducted with one of the participants and results showed that MLUs maintained over four sessions.

Upon increased awareness for evidence-based treatment in autism among caregivers, needs for ABA service in Korea have drastically escalated. Yet, qualified professionals are scarce and service materials are extremely limited. Our team has continuously worked on establishing an evidence-based assessment and treatment materials for the past 10 years. In this symposium, we are presenting research findings on newly developed assessment instruments for measuring the functions of problem behaviors, and social-perception ability. In addition, results and implications from 2 treatment outcome studies, a behavioral parenting program for decreasing problem behaviors and an app-based application program for improving social ability, will be shared. Specific details on developing and conducting research projects related to this topic will be beneficial to future researchers and clinicians.

BCaBA, BCBA, BCBA-D

Deficits of social communication seen in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be explained by a lack of social skills and the inability to perceive faces. Although ABA can be used to improve social skills of children with ASD, limitations exist in terms of cost, accessibility, and effectiveness. The aim of this study was to develop and test the effectiveness of "Yface," a cost-effective and highly accessible evidence-based program. "Yface" consists of tasks that are designed to improve eye-contact, face perception and social cognition. Fifth-three high-functioning ASD children participated in the study and were randomly assigned to three groups: a social training ("Yface"), a cognitive training ("Ycog") and a control (waiting) group. The two training groups trained through the program for 10-15 minutes per day for 12 weeks, whereas the waiting group received usual care. Computerized cognitive tasks, the Faux-Pas test, behavioral observation, and an interview and surveys were conducted as pre- and post- assessments. A repeated measure ANOVA was used for data analysis. Result showed that the "Yface" group reported enhanced social reactivity, communication and face perception compared to the "Ycog" group and the waiting group. This indicates that the "Yface" program is effective in improving social cognition of children with ASD. Further efforts are needed for the implementation and dissemination of the program.

Autism spectrum disorders(ASD) are characterized by significant difficulties in emotion recognition, but the evidence-based assessment tool for this impairment is limited. Yonsei Mindreading Face Battery(Y-CAM) is developed to test subtle emotion recognition, including 113 facial stimuli video clips which has been modified to match Korean culture based on the Cambridge Mindreading Face Battery. The purpose of this study is to establish differential validity of the Y-CAM in detecting subtle emotion recognition in ASD on samples of adolescents with ASD and typically developing(TD) adults. In experiment 1, 60 adolescents with ASD completed 3 tasks consisting of Y-CAM, the Autism Quotient (AQ), and the Social Skills Improvement System(SSIS), whereas 121 TD adults completed 5 tasks consisting of Y-CAM, AQ, SSIS, Beck Depression Inventory(BDI) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory(STAI). The results showed a significant positive correlation between Y-CAM and SSIS among ASD adolescents, while Y-CAM was significantly negatively correlated with AQ among TD adults. In experiment 2, youths with ASD were divided into 2 groups upon their ages and the accuracy of Y-CAM were compared. The results showed that children aged 5-10 showed significantly lower accuracy of emotion perception than adolescents aged 11-17. These results suggest that the Y-CAM is a sensitive tool to detect emotion recognition ability in both ASD adolescents and adults.

Problem behaviors such as physical aggression, self-injury, defiance, stereotypy, and disruption are major barriers to the children and adolescents' social development and their parents' quality of life. Behavioral parent training (BPT) is one of the empirically supported interventions for improving problem behaviors and promoting effective parenting. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of behavioral parent training (BPT) on reducing problem behaviors for youths with developmental disabilities (DD). Twenty-five parents of youths with DD participated in a BPT program for 12 weeks. Data on parent's quality of life, knowledge of behavior principles, parenting efficacy, parenting stress and depression were collected before and after the training. Parents also recorded frequency and severity of the target problem behaviors of their offspring. Paired t-test showed significant improvement on all dependent variables after the training. Bootstrapping, a computational nonparametric technique for "re-sampling," enables researchers to draw a conclusion about the characteristics of a population strictly from the existing sample rather than by making parametric assumptions about the estimator. Bootstrapping was used to compare the confidence intervals of the mean severity of problem behavior before and after training. The results showed that 64%(16 out of 25) youth showed significant reduction of their problem behaviors after the BPT training program, suggesting the BPT as an effective method to treat problem behaviors.

The purpose of this study is to compare the identified functions of problem behaviors between teachers and day program staff for persons with developmental disabilities (DD). 15 teachers (aged 23-57; 5 teachers completed two questionnaires; N = 20) and 25 staff members (aged 20-45; N = 25) who works for the DD population (aged 8-43) participated in this study. They completed one or two Functional Assessment for Challenging/Problem Behaviors (FAPB: Chung, Kim & Chung, 2017) questionnaires to evaluate the function of the problem behaviors of clients they work with. The FAPB is a 24-item scale used to identify 6 functions of problem behaviors (demand, self-stimulation, physical state, obsession and control, avoidance, attention) and its psychometric properties were well established. An independent t-test was conducted to determine the differences the FAPB scores of each function between teachers and staff. As a result, there was a significant difference only in the 'obsession and control' function and there were no significant differences in the other functions. This result suggests possible differences in perception of the function of problem behaviors across informants. Further implications and limitations of this study are discussed.

Communication is central to most major life activities. Children with complex communication needs and developmental disabilities frequently benefit from implementation of augmentative and alternative communication interventions, which provide them with means of supplementing conventional communication modes. This symposium includes 4 presentations and a discussant -- renowned, experienced researcher teams spanning the fields of communication science, behavior analysis, and special education and from 5 Carnegie-classified Doctoral Universities, Highest Research Activity. These teams will present findings from their work on topics such as parent coaching interventions for families with children with autism spectrum disorder, functional communication training and schedules of reinforcement, promoting peer interaction in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder, and using technology to improve language outcomes in young children. Findings will provide researchers with direction to fill research gaps and practitioners with empirically-supported strategies for improving communication for children with complex communication needs, their families, and their peers. The discussant will provide a synthesis of and potential future research directions for the use of augmentative and alternative communication for people with autism spectrum and other developmental disabilities.

Researchers Graduate students Practitioners

Functional communication training is a robust intervention to decrease challenging behavior. The implementation of this intervention often includes a continuous reinforcement schedule arrangement for the targeted appropriate replacement behavior, including mands; potentially impacting the persistence of mands when introduced to the thinned and variable reinforcement schedules often encountered in the natural environment. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of functional communication training intervention delivered with fixed ratio (FR1) and then variable ratio (VR3) reinforcement schedules on the targeted mands with adapted reversal designs with embedded extinction probes (Wacker et al., 2011). During the intervention, parents conducted all functional communication training interventions with remote coaching via telehealth. Both participants improved use of the targeted mands, including with augmentative and alternative communication, and experienced reductions in challenging behavior. Implications from this study support increased responding of the mands under variable schedules. Both participants displayed increased responding of mands in the extinction probes following variable reinforcement schedules; however, one participant also experienced slightly elevated levels of an untargeted typography of challenging behavior.

Purpose: Social interaction has been shown to have a positive impact on relationship development, health, and academic success. For children with autism spectrum disorders who use augmentative and alternative communication, evidence-based intervention to support peer interaction is needed. Method: 5 dyads of children (child with autism spectrum disorder and peer) participated. A multiple probe across dyads design with a partial replication was used to evaluate the effects of intervention on the frequency of communicative turns expressed by children with autism spectrum disorders when interacting with peers. Frequency of peer turns, percentage of turns taken by peers, and joint engagement were collateral measures. The intervention included: (a) provision of a communication app on an iPad and (b) dyadic turn-taking training. Results: For four participants with autism spectrum disorders, the intervention had a strong effect on the frequency of turn-taking. The fifth participant showed increased turn-taking during training, but little change in independent turn-taking. All peers increased turn-taking with no negative impact on the turn balance between participants. Average joint engagement increased for all dyads.

Estimates indicate that more than 4.05 million people in the United States have such severe speech disabilities that they require the use of augmentative and alternative communication. Since the advent of mass market tablet technologies like the iPad, increasing numbers of families and clinicians are reportedly considering augmentative and alternative communication options for preschool-age children with complex communication needs. However, even when early access to augmentative and alternative communication technologies is available, accompanying access to evidence-based augmentative and alternative communication services -- particularly during the critical early language learning years -- often is not. This puts these children at further risk for the poor expressive language outcomes that have been reported in the augmentative and alternative communication literature. This investigation was designed to evaluate the impact of an aided augmentative and alternative communication modeling intervention on: (a) the productive use of a range of linguistic structures by 5 year olds using an augmentative and alternative communication iPad app, and (b) generalization to productive use of non-targeted linguistic structures. Single case experimental design (multiple probe across three participants) indicated that the intervention is effective in increasing participants' expressive productions of the targeted linguistic structures using an augmentative and alternative communication iPad app, and that participants are able to generalize to non-targeted linguistic structures.

This single-case experimental study was to evaluate the effects of coaching the parents in a multimodal communication intervention via behavioral skills training to parents of children with autism spectrum disorder to increase children's social communication skills in natural contexts. The participants included 2 parent-child dyads and 1 parent-child triad. The child participants ranged in age from 5 years to 15 years at the time of data collection and were identied as having autism spectrum disorder, two of whom also had complex communication needs. A multiple-probe design was used and data were collected on the proximal effects of the parent-coaching protocol on the parents' use of the intervention and the distal effects on communication behaviors in children. There were three phases in this study, including baseline, intervention, and generalization/maintenance. After collecting baseline data, the initial parent training session was provided in a group webinar, and the remaining 10-12 coaching sessions were provided individually with the parents and their children. Researchers implemented parent coaching, collected data via video recording, and provided weekly feedback to parents. The multimodal communication intervention was used to promote that each child's communication skills, and developmentally and behaviorally-based strategies were used to expanded new communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. The presenters will report results on the parents' fidelity of implementation and children's communication outcomes and will discuss limitations, suggestions for future research, and implications for practice.

To ensure child skill acquisition and problem behavior reduction, behavior analysts may conduct trainings with change agents (e.g., parents and special education staff). Utilizing behavioral techniques in school and home allows change agents to become active participants in their child's intervention. One empirically supported instructional strategy is the use of behavioral skills training (BST). BST is a multi-component teaching package that consists of instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. Past research demonstrates how BST can be employed to teach change agents to accurately implement behavioral interventions like discrete-trial instruction (e.g., Sarokoff & Sturmey 2004) or differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (e.g., DiGennaro, Martens, & Kleinmann, 2007). Though BST can increase the accuracy in which an individual conducts a behavior-analytic procedure, other factors could influence stakeholder implementation and endorsement of evidence-based practices. Given that BST is resource intensive, procedural modifications (using real-time feedback) or alternatives (self-instructional packages) should also be investigated to identify efficient and effective training modalities that could minimize practitioner time. Presentations in this symposium will describe strategies in assessing preferences and identifying barriers when conducting parent training. In addition, methodological BST refinements will also be presented. Dr. Nathan Call will discuss these studies at the conclusion of the presentations.

The target audience for this symposium are board certified behavior analysts and graduate students in applied behavior analysis who conduct training in home and school settings.

Despite training, some parents continue to implement behavioral interventions with poor integrity. In the current study, we assessed the barriers to proper parental implementation of a skill acquisition procedure to teach verbal operants to three children with autism. Prior to baseline, parents were taught to implement the skill acquisition procedure. During baseline, we assessed parental implementation of the procedure. Next, we adapted the Performance Diagnostic Checklist (PDC) to assess the reasons parents implemented the procedure poorly during the baseline phase. Based on PDC results, we designed a training to increase the percentage of steps on which parents correctly implemented the skill acquisition procedure with their children. Results are discussed in terms of the utility of the assessment to identify barriers to proper parental implementation of behavioral interventions.

In behavior analysis, visual inspection is the primary method of evaluation of the effects of treatment outcomes (Kahng, Chung, Gutshall, Pitts, Koad, & Girolami, 2010). Previous research shows that graphical analysis has multiple benefits including allowing immediate treatment decisions to be made and communicating with interested parties (e.g., parents; Vanselow & Bourret, 2010). Although previous research evaluated teacher's preference for different graphical forms, limited research has been conducted to evaluate parent preference for graphical displays. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate parents' preferences for and understanding (i.e., clarity) of single-subject design graphs. 276 parents completed a survey that asked questions regarding their preference for several graphical forms. Results showed that bar graphs and pie charts were most preferred for evaluating problem behavior. For skill acquisition data, parents preferred condensed data displays rather than data displayed in a multiple baseline across stimulus sets. The role of using different graphical displays with parents, clinical implications, and future research suggestions are discussed.

Mounting empirical support for early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) has increased demand for these types of treatments for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Many caregivers are now learning EIBI techniques and becoming active agents in their child's ASD treatment. Behavioral skills training (BST) has been frequently used to teach individuals to perform a variety of skills correctly, including discrete-trial instruction (DTI) (Lafasakis & Sturmey, 2007). In this study, caregivers were trained to conduct a DTI procedure. A single-component BST method (i.e., real-time feedback) was examined. A concurrent, multiple baseline across caregivers design was used to demonstrate experimental control. Results showed that a single-component BST was associated with short training time and few sessions to mastery. In addition, caregivers expressed high satisfaction with the real-time feedback training method.

Typically developing children learn language incidentally through experiences interactions with caregivers in the environment. However, some children do not acquire language incidentally, and require direct instruction. We call the presence of the incidental acquisition of language as a speaker and a listener as Bidirectional Naming. We present 4 papers that examine the ways individuals acquire language incidentally and the subsequent effects of the acquisition of Bidirectional Naming. The first paper examines the differences in the incidental acquisition of language for familiar and non-familiar stimuli. Results demonstrated a significant difference in the percentage of correct responses emitted during probe sessions for the different types of stimuli. The second paper sought to determine if there is a relation between the presence of Bidirectional Naming and relational responding for arbitrary and non-arbitrary stimuli. The third paper examines the relation between verbal developmental cusps and the acquisition of basic relational concept development as measured by the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts. The final paper examines effective modes of instruction for students who have acquired Bidirectional Naming, and if its presence effected the rate of acquisition for new operants. All results will be discussed in terms of the educational implications of Bidirectional Naming.

The target audience for this symposium are behavior analysts that are interested in the incidental learning of language, and its theoretical and practical implications.

Children's vocabulary exponentially increases without direct instruction (Hart & Risley, 1995). Verbal behavior developmental research and theory suggests that children acquire listener and speaker responses to a stimulus after observation of another person saying the name of the stimulus, when a Full Naming repertoire (i.e., joint stimulus control across listener and speaker responses) is present. In Experiment I, I examined the differences between incidental language acquisition of familiar (non-contrived) and unfamiliar (contrived) stimuli for 20 first-grade students. Paired samples t-tests were conducted to compare the percentage of correct untaught: (a) listener and speaker responses across stimuli conditions. The t-test revealed a significant difference in the percentage of correct untaught listener and speaker responses for familiar versus unfamiliar stimuli conditions. The results also suggest that the learned repertoire to acquire language incidentally differs across stimuli types (familiar and unfamiliar), consistent with findings of recent studies. In Experiment II, I examined the effects of a repeated naming probe intervention on the emergence of naming for familiar and unfamiliar stimuli. The increased numbers of correct untaught responses during post-intervention naming probe sessions across all participants, demonstrated relation between increased naming experiences and the emergence of joint stimulus control across listener and speaker responses for both stimuli types.

The purpose of this experiment is to determine if there is a relation between the presence of Bidirectional Naming (BiN) and relational responding for arbitrary and non-arbitrary stimuli. 32 preschool students , ages 2 to 4-years-old, were selected based on the demonstration of prerequisite listener and speaker repertoires. The participants were separated into 4 groups to control for sequence effects. Following a single exposure to a novel set of stimuli, the presence of BiN was measured by the number of correct listener (i.e., point) and speaker (i.e., intraverbal tact) responses emitted by the participants. The participants were trained with a second set of novel arbitrary and non-arbitrary stimuli in order to determine the presence of relational responses. These responses were measured based on correct responses to mutual entailment and combinatorial entailment probes. The results will be discussed in terms of (1) the presence of BiN, (2) the presence of relational responding, and (3) the relation between the two.

The current study investigated basic, relational concept development, as measured by the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts 3rd Edition Preschool Version (BTBC3-P), in 51 preschoolers with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Relational concepts represent spatial, dimensional, temporal, quantitative, and class relationships between objects or people. This study investigated relational concept acquisition using Verbal Behavior Development Theory (VBDT) framework. We found that preschoolers with ASD demonstrated significantly fewer acquisition of total concepts, quantitative concepts, and spatial concepts than their typically developing (TD) counterparts. Also, the more VBD cusps and capabilities a child attained, the more concepts he/she correctly identified. Further, regardless of diagnosis and student progression of VBD, naming was a significant predictor of total concepts known (R2 naming = .114), as well as of concepts known not covered in the C-PIRK curriculum (R2 naming = .099) used at the preschool. A secondary aim of this study investigated the effects of an Assessor's Tactic Checklist on the students' motivation and on task behavior as well as the assessment validity. Overall, diagnosis and naming were related to the number of assessor's tactics used, with those children with ASD and children without naming requiring significantly more types of tactics than their counterparts.

Feedback has been shown to be effective in increasing and maintaining performance in organizations. Despite its abundant research within the field of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), a gap remains in the literature in understanding under which environmental arrangement feedback is the most effective in increasing and maintaining performance, as well as under which environmental arrangement the observer is more likely to deliver accurate feedback. This symposium will present four studies relating to gathering feedback and/or feedback accuracy. Specifically, the first study, evaluated patterns of responding and patterns of feedback request of anonymous, internet-based feedback. The second study evaluated the effects of feedback accuracy on rumor during an analogue task. The third study evaluated the relative effects of feedback accuracy and trainer verbal behavior on performance during an analogue task. The final study evaluated the variables that impact feedback accuracy during coaching interaction.

The target audience for this symposium is anyone who provides feedback in their daily jobs. Including: BCBA's, OBMers, practitioners, and scholars.

Frequent feedback has been linked to more consistent improvements in performance greater job satisfaction, and lower intention to leave the organization. However, some people report feeling uncomfortable providing honest feedback in the workplace. In addition, research suggests that people are more likely to seek feedback when it is given through the computer rather than face-to-face and when feedback is easily accessible. There is evidence that feedback provided through technology improves work performance and learning more than the same feedback delivered face-to-face. This study evaluated a total of 1223 feedback questions and their corresponding responses from a web service that allows users to ask feedback questions and receive responses anonymously. We categorized the questions in terms of valance, ending type, people, personalization, and specificity. We coded feedback responses in terms of the number of pieces of feedback per response and had information about number of people asked and response. Results and future implications will be discussed.

Feedback is the most commonly used intervention in Organizational Behavior Management (OBM). Recent OBM research has examined both the effects of inaccurate feedback (FB) on performance as well as rumors created due to inaccurate rules. The current study expanded upon both of these lines of research by examining the verbal behavior exhibited by dyads of participants during an analogue task as they were exposed to three different levels of FB accuracy (i.e., one-third FB of the actual number of entries completed, accurate FB, and tripled FB of the actual number of entries completed). The results of the study showed that participants exhibited different types and levels of verbal behavior depending on the level of feedback accuracy to which they were exposed. Specifically, more feedback rumor statements were exhibited during conditions with inaccurate feedback compared to the condition with accurate feedback. Implications, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed.

Feedback is the most commonly used intervention in Organizational Behavior Management (OBM). Recent OBM research has examined both the effects of inaccurate feedback (FB) on performance as well as rumors created due to inaccurate rules. The current study expanded upon both of these lines of research by examining the verbal behavior exhibited by dyads of participants during an analogue task as they were exposed to three different levels of FB accuracy (i.e., one-third FB of the actual number of entries completed, accurate FB, and tripled FB of the actual number of entries completed). The study also assessed the relative effects of two independent variables on performance during an analogue work task: the type of verbal behavior regarding FB accuracy provided during training by confederates posing as participants (i.e., being told during training that FB accuracy during their task was incorrect) and the actual FB accuracy to which participants were exposed during the analogue work task (i.e., one-third, accurate, and tripled). The results of the study showed that participants exhibited different types and levels of verbal behavior depending on the level of FB accuracy to which they were exposed. Additionally, the type of verbal behavior regarding FB accuracy provided during training by confederates posing as participants and the level of FB accuracy to which participants were exposed affected performance on the analogue task. Implications, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed.

Feedback is the most commonly used intervention in organizational behavior management (OBM) and accurate feedback is most effective at improving performance. To efficiently influence performance, we should focus on accurate data that leads to accurate feedback. The current study combines 2 parts to investigate factors that might influence less accurate data collection or feedback delivery. Part 1 of the current study uses a counterbalanced ABAB design to compare observation only conditions with observations plus required feedback conditions. Results suggest that requiring observers to provide immediate feedback, following a safety observation, leads to less accurate data than when observers are not required to provide feedback following an observation. Part 2 of the current study uses a multiple baseline design that attempts to evaluate the specific variables that may contribute to this disparity between the two phases. Results of both parts of this study, limitations, and future directions will be discussed within.

In general, the practice of ABA is guided by a complicated array of variables, such alignment with the seven dimensions of ABA (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1986), adherence to our Professional and Ethical Compliance Code (Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2017), and setting-specific policies and requirements (such as those dictated by agency administrations, funding streams, licensure laws, etc.), just to name a few. Additionally, each practitioner also has specific values that guide their practice. Sometimes, these values may conflict with our ability to practice in such a way that is supported by our environment. In this symposium, the authors will discuss several practice scenarios, highlighting the interlocking and competing contingencies that may put clinician values in conflict with ethical guidelines and practice standards. The symposium will conclude with a discussion of the ?big picture,? and how clinicians can clarify their values in service of practicing in a way that best serves our clients, their community, and our field.

BCBAs

Transformative justice-based practices often focus on examining the impact of an individual's harmful or problematic behaviors on others in their environment. Specifically, the goal of transformative justice-based practices is not only to decrease future instances of that harmful behavior, but also to focus on the healing of persons harmed by those behaviors (i.e., the victims). Behavior analysts are often tasked with working with individuals who emit problematic behaviors that negatively impact others in that client's environment (such as a client aggressing toward their parent). During this presentation, we will discuss the interlocking nature of both our client's harmful behaviors and the behavior of those harmed by the clients (i.e., the victims). We'll then discuss how to design interventions that both effectively and ethically target those problematic behaviors while concurrently focusing on validating the victim's experience and healing the relationships that may have been damaged as a result of the client's problematic behavior.

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder often have deficits in vocal verbal behavior. Therefore, developing verbal operants is frequently a goal within behavioral treatment, and identifying the most efficient and efficacious way to teach more complex repertoires is of crucial importance. The purpose of this symposium is to provide resources and information on recent advances in verbal behavior research. In the first paper, Pellegrino and Higbee used an interrupted-behavior chain to teach mands for information (i.e., "where"). The remaining papers in the symposium evaluated strategies to teach complex intraverbal responses. In the second paper, Smothermon, Lechago, and Jackson evaluated the effects of modifications to motivating operations and echoic prompts when teaching children to answer questions about private events (i.e., various states of deprivation). In the third paper, Van Den Elzen et al. compared within-stimulus prompts (e.g., elongation, emphasis) to teach compound intraverbal discriminations. In the final paper, Silberman et al. investigated the utility of multiple procedures (i.e., blocked-trials, differential observing responses) for teaching multiply controlled intraverbals. The discussant will describe the contributions of these studies to the extant literature on verbal behavior and suggest clinical implications and avenues for future research.

Researchers and Clinicians in Behavior Analysis

Manding for information is a skill often taught to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by contriving motivating operations such that the information functions as a reinforcer, although it does not always generalize to other appropriate situations (Lechago & Low, 2015). One way of contriving motivating operations to teach manding for information is using interrupted-behavior chain procedures. We used multiple exemplars of interrupted-behavior chains and objects within each chain to teach manding "where?" to two preschoolers with ASD, and tested for generalization to novel objects in novel chains, as well as novel objects with different instructional agents. Both participants learned to mand for information during training, which generalized to novel objects and novel chains for one participant, and to novel objects with different instructional agents for the other participant. Direct training led to manding for information to the situations in which generalized responding did not occur. Potential reasons to some form of context-specific responding and their relevance to clinical practice are discussed.

There is a dearth of research related to teaching individuals how to talk about private events. Learning to talk about private events affords multiple benefits to the social and physical health of an individual. A non-concurrent multiple baseline design across MOs and participants is employed to investigate the effects of MO manipulations and echoic prompts to answer yes/no questions about specific states of deprivation in children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The three private events targeted are food deprivation, water-deprivation, and lack of stimulation. Echoic prompts are used to teach the responses to the questions. Offering choices of food, drink, and an activity via picture card selection after answering the questions is used to verify the presence of the putative relevant MO. Control conditions in the form of states of satiation are interspersed to ensure responding under the influence of the relevant MO. The results thus far demonstrate that the MO manipulations and echoic prompts are effective for teaching the participant to answer the yes/no questions correctly during EO conditions, and to select the appropriate picture card 100% of the time.

Multiply controlled intraverbals commonly occur in social interactions and are important for the acquisition of academic skills. Research on the effectiveness of strategies for teaching multiply controlled intraverbals to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is limited. It has been suggested that multiply controlled intraverbals involve conditional or compound stimulus control. Procedures involving prompt delays have resulted in acquisition of multiply controlled intraverbals for some children with autism spectrum disorder. Blocked-trials procedures (BTP) have also been effective for teaching responses to auditory-visual and visual-visual stimuli involving conditional and compound stimulus control. The purpose of the present study was to extend the literature on teaching multiply controlled intraverbals by evaluating (a) the effects of a constant prompt delay on the acquisition of multiply controlled intraverbals by children with ASD, (b) a BTP on the acquisition of multiply controlled intraverbals if a prompt delay was not effective, (c) the addition of a differential observing response (DOR) if the BTP alone was not effective, (d) control by all relevant antecedent stimuli by constructing sets of stimuli with overlapping components, (e) effectiveness of these procedures on Wh-questions, and (f) maintenance of the multiply controlled intraverbals via two- and four-week probes.

Reports of a recent national survey indicate that young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at higher risk for unemployment than young adults with other disabilities (Shattuck et al., 2012). Deficits in social skills contribute to lack of success in job interviews and sustained employment. This symposium will focus on different teaching strategies to enhance the employability of young adults with ASD. The first study evaluated the effects of individual components of an interview-training package to improve responses to eight commonly asked interview questions. Positive outcomes were observed for all participants during mock interviews, and the responses generalized to a novel interviewer and maintained at one-month follow-up. The second study evaluated the effects of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention on verbal and nonverbal behaviors for three individuals with ASD. Dependent measures included verbal and physiological responses during mock interviews. The third study examined the impact of video modeling to teach customer service skills (i.e., customer service phrases) to a young adult with ASD employed as a cashier at a retail store. In addition to acquiring the target behavior, both the participant and his employer rated the intervention favorably. The symposium presenters will each offer recommendations for future research in this area.

Practitioners and researchers working with this populations and/or those interested in conducting follow-up studies in this area of research.

A successful job interview contributes to gainful employment, but individuals with ASD struggle with interviewing skills (Hendricks, 2010). Previous research has focused on training programs to teach job-interviewing skills, but few studies have evaluated procedures to improve responses to interview questions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of individual components of an interview-training package on responses to eight commonly asked interview questions by young adults with ASD. We used a multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate the impact of: 1) written instructions, 2) rehearsal and video self-feedback using a commercially available program, and 3) verbal feedback from a trainer. A generalization probe was conducted by a career counselor not involved in the study. Results show all participants required a remedial behavioral skills training session to answer all eight interview questions with accuracy. The skills generalized to an interview with a novel trainer and were maintained at follow-up. We will discuss the limited impact of each training component and areas for future research.

A deficit in social skills is a common issue among individuals with autism. Adaptive social skills are often required for individuals with autism to live a more autonomous lifestyle. One area in which adaptive social skills are necessary is with the job interviewing process. Past research has shown success in behavior skills training (Kelly, Wildman, & Berler, 1980) and modeling (Hall, Sheldon-Widgen, & Sherman, 1980) to improve these skills among individuals with autism. However, there is a limitation to these procedures because they do not address the language barrier present in many individuals with autism. More research is needed to determine effective procedures for increasing flexibility in verbal and nonverbal behaviors in individuals with autism during a job interview. The current study measured verbal and physiological responses of three individuals with autism during a mock job interview before and after the implementation of mindfulness and defusion activities. A noncurrent multiple-baseline procedure was used to evaluate the effects of an ACT intervention prior to a job interview. A discussion of the results will be provided that will relate to current literature and future directions for research will be provided.

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience lower rates of employment and may have difficulty maintaining employment that requires customer service and/or social skills. Additional research is needed to examine existing evidence-based practices (EBPs) as learners with ASD progress across the lifespan. An established EBP, video modeling, was implemented to teach customer service skills to a young adult with ASD employed as a cashier at a bargain retail store. A multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to teach three different customer service phrases. A co-worker served as the peer model and videos were shot using an iPhone. Visual analysis indicated that customer service phrases increased contingent on watching video models. The degree of confidence of the visual analysis is high. Both the young adult with ASD and his employer highly rated the social validity of the video modeling intervention. Implications of examining the efficacy of EBPs in applied settings, such as community employment settings, will be discussed.

Teaching children to play is an integral part of development because it sets the occasion for having social and communicative interactions with peers, increases the likelihood of learning in natural and inclusive settings, and offers flexibility to be used in multiple environments (Barton & Wolery, 2008). Children with disabilities are observed to engage in spontaneous play less often and demonstrate fewer varied pretend play behaviors than children with typical development (Barton, 2015). Jahr and Eldevik (2007) identify the acquisition of play skills as the barrier, rather than the production of play. Teaching children with autism appropriate play skills requires a systematic approach involving intentional, direct teaching strategies and explicit instruction. An examination of the various aspects of typically developing childrens play, including object of play, agent of play, vocalizations during play, and category of play, prompted the development of a systematic intervention to teach children with autism appropriate play skills. Play is an integral part of a childs development and should be an emphasis in behavioral intervention for children with autism.

Professionals, BCBAs, BCaBAs

Play is a child's work that captures their attention and interest. Play stands out as a distinct domain because of its systematic relationships with other developmental domains. Through play, children acquire various skills critical to their development including language and social skills. When looking at object play it has been identified that the diversity of object play is theoretically predictive of communicative word use, lexical density growth, and future language (Tomasello, Striano, & Rochat, 1995; Yoder, 2006). The long-term effects of an impoverished play repertoire are observed in social interactions later in life. McConnell (2002), discovered that children with disabilities spend more time in isolate play, make fewer attempts to initiate social interactions, are less likely to respond to the social initiations of peers, and spend less overall time engaged in direct interactions with peers. The purpose of this study was to assess the pretend sociodramatic play skills of typically developing children, ages 2–5. Typically developing boys and girls were video-taped playing in dyads in a designated play room with 15 different play schemes. Researchers coded and evaluated the play to identify variations in play across the age spans including gender differences, scheme preference, and abstract play.

Research identifies a number of complex stages in the typical developmental sequence of play. Deficits in play are linked to poor social relationships, limited expressive language, and high rates of stereotypic behavior (Casby, 2003; Lifter, 2005). Early language development and symbolic play are correlated developmentally and are related in time, content, and structure (Casby, 2003). The purpose of this study was to assess independent play skills of typically developing children, ages 2–5. Each participant was video-taped for two 10-minute play sessions in an isolated room with 2 play schemes, 3 figures (e.g., dolls, action figures), and 2 abstract items. The play sessions were analyzed to identify differences in independent play across age groups, gender, and play schemes. Consistent with the results of this study, Case-Smith (2008) evaluated gender differences in play and identified that boys enjoyed simpler fantasy themes when compared to same age girls. Additional components were examined including the category of play, vocalizations during play, agent of play, abstract play, and advanced play.

Play in children with autism is often referred to as stereotypical and lacking in symbolic qualities and flexibility (Lifter, Sulzer-Azaroff, Anderson, & Cowdert, 1993). The purpose of this study was to utilize the developmental sequence of play and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching a series of 8 components to acquire the 2nd stage of pretend play: chaining play. Least-to-most prompting was used to teach a chain of 3 play actions and vocalizations to 4 children diagnosed with autism, ages 3-5. All 4 children were taught each chain of play actions across agent of play: self as agent, passive figure, and active figure. Advanced play was targeted in the form of rotating between play schemes and combining play schemes both independently and with peers. Lastly, the essential skills to sociodramatic play, initiating, responding, and expanding were targeted throughout the sequence. The outcome of this study demonstrated the efficacy of the 8 teaching components as steps to teach all 4 children a chain of play actions with corresponding vocalizations across agent of play and object of play, independently and with peers.

Intervention outcomes in ABA are most commonly measured through single-case research designs where the effects of individualized interventions are evaluated. Given the countless combinations of behaviors that meet the diagnostic criteria for ASD, it is of little surprise that consensus has not been reached on how to measure intervention outcomes. The lack of consensus makes it difficult to evaluate the overall quality of organizations' clinical programs. However, BCBA's are experiencing more pressure than ever before to demonstrate intervention outcomes for insurance reimbursement and allocation of public funds. Various methods to measure intervention outcomes and quality of programs will be discussed.

This panel is appropriate for clinical staff who are interested in identifying the methodology for reporting aggregate client outcomes to stakeholders. BCBA's, Senior Leadership, or Researchers are welcome.

Since the wars following September 11, 2001, our military service members have suffered from two hallmark wounds: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Chronic pain and substance abuse have also been common co-morbid conditions suffered by members of this community. While the rate of suicide among veterans of all wars continues to fluctuate between 20 and 22 per day, suicides in the military continue to remain above civilian rates. At no time in our country's history have the military or civilian communities sustained lower suicide rates despite their numerous programmatic and treatment efforts. Resilience is part of the answer to these problems; effective treatments are another. These three talks apply ABA theory to elucidate how resilience, PTSD and other conditions operate. By analyzing some of the evidence-based treatments for these conditions, the authors illustrate how ABA offers helpful explanations and additional solutions to the challenges faced by the military and veteran communities.

This is for members of the behavior analysis community who are interested in continuing education.

Since 2001, American military service members have endured multiple deployments, some lasting up to 24-months in duration. Combat experiences leave many service members living with an unregulated, highly active sympathetic nervous system. For some service members, this degrades their job performance, while others experience sub-threshold or diagnosable sleeping problems, irritability, interpersonal conflicts, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PSTD). Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is one of only two efficacious treatments for treating combat-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). CPT has been shown to be an effective manualized treatment in both the civilian and the military populations, and it has been endorsed as a best practice for the treatment of PTSD by the United States Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, as well as the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. Since it works, it must somehow operate via behavioral principles. However, our review of the literature indicates that it is difficult to find a behavior analytic conceptualization of CPT, or a behavior analytic explanation of its effectiveness.

ECHO Autism is an innovative model that leverages video-conferencing technology to create virtual learning networks of community providers. Community Providers regularly share deidentified case information with a team of experts who mentor through best practice strategies. ECHO Autism is reaching thousands of children in North America by training their primary care physicians and therapists. ECHO Autism for Primary Care Physicians/Practitioners focuses on increasing self-efficacy in identifying symptoms of autism and managing common medical and psychiatric comorbidities. ECHO Autism ABA and ECHO Autism School Psychology are other iterations of the model being used to disseminate and mentor best practice methods in rural and underserved communities.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) has a long history of improving employee performance in human service settings. As human services continue to grow the need for OBM will also expand. It is essential for OBM to refine its current techniques, and develop new intervention strategies so that it can meet the ever changing demands of human services. This symposium contains three data-based presentations on key aspects of human services. The first two presentations present data on refining two common staff management procedures: antecedent prompts and training. The last presentation addresses safety for employees by means of a retrospective analysis. These studies add to the existing repertoire of OBM practitioners as they assess and design treatment plans to increase employee safety and performance.

Practicing behavior analysts in applied settings who have an interest in OBM topics

Staff working in human service settings (e.g., direct care staff) are at high risk of being injured on the job, and workplace violence initiated by the patient results in the largest proportion of injuries to staff in these settings (Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2014). While ample research exists for predicting staff injuries within psychiatric settings (e.g., Cunningham, Connor, Miller, & Melloni, 2003), little to no research has been conducted on risk factors in other human service settings, such as organizations who serve individuals with autism and related intellectual disabilities. This study involves a retrospective analysis of staff injuries documented in an inpatient unit specializing in the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior for individuals 4-21 years old, and who are diagnosed with autism, intellectual disabilities, and related disorders. Purposes of this study include: 1) determining to what extent staff working in this particular setting are likely to be injured on the job; 2) examining the severity of injuries incurred by staff; 3) attempting to generate an actuarial model of staff injury potential (SIP); 4) attempting to generate an actuarial model of a patient's injury potential (PIP); and lastly 5) using staff, patient, and contextual factors in an attempt to identify a statistical model that best accounts for staff injuries within this inpatient unit.

The standards for Board Certified Behavior Analyst supervision have changed greatly over the past decade. As stated by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, the supervisee's primary focus should be acquiring new behavior analytic skills related to the BACB Task List, with activities consistent with the dimensions of applied behavior analysis identified by Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968). Providing appropriate supervision includes clinical case review, direct observation and reviewing the application of BACB Task List items. Supervising potential BCBAs may be accomplished using varied formats, including in-person meetings and observations and distance contact through both synchronous and asynchronous modes. This expert panel comprises BCBA supervisors who use various modes of supervision, including in-person, distance, university practicum, private practice, clinic-based, and more. Panelists will present best practices in providing supervision, share tracking systems, and discuss dilemmas faced when providing supervision. There will be a discussion with the audience with an emphasis on best practices, assessing supervisees skills and acquisition of new skills, as well as supervisor effectiveness.

The target audience is BACB supervisors who have completed an 8-hour supervision training.

Much of public policy has to do with how to formulate policy to either directly influence human behavior toward some common goal or consider the indirect effects of public policy on human behavior. From a behavior analytic point of view, public policy designed to influence behavior can manipulate discriminative control of behavior through advertising and education, offer reinforcers as incentives to shift behavior toward more productive or healthy choices, or introduce costs or penalties to discourage destructive or unhealthy choices. Underlying nearly all public policy decisions is a need to understand what sorts of things people want—what do people desire and how much will they pay for the things that they desire. Effective public policy harnesses our natural desires and directs them toward more healthy and productive outcomes by offering new and better alternatives, lowering the perceived costs of desired alternatives, and discouraging less desirable alternatives. Framed in this way, we can see that public policy is all about behavioral economics—the science that quantifies the essential value of commodities and defines the cost/benefit relationships associated with those commodities. In this tutorial I will explain scientific principles and methods for quantifying essential value and demand for alternative goods. I will draw on animal studies using drugs as reinforcers, human studies of drugs as reinforcers and other commodities, and studies of both isolated demand for single goods and competing demand between several goods. I will show extrapolations of these principles to public policy to stimulate future research and application beyond the bulk of prior research. I will conclude by demonstrating that impulsive behavior that is also a focus of behavioral economics and public policy is, at its core, another way to look at the relative essential value of goods, with time as the dimension of cost.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Obstacles behavior analysts cite as reasons not to conduct functional analyses include the amount of time, complexity, and safety of functional analyses, and the potential inability to address multiple topographies of problem behavior at once. The current symposium will address these and related issues through evaluations of (a) components of functional analyses, (b) the utility of different models of functional analysis, (c) social acceptability of consultant-supported functional analyses, and (d) procedures for promoting safety and addressing multiple topographies of problem behavior.

The target audience for this symposium is researchers and practitioners interested in the assessment of problem behavior. The ideal audience has a background in behavior analysis or works with individuals with developmental disabilities.

Since the publication of Iwata et al. 1982/1994, functional assessment has evolved to become considered best practice in the treatment of problem behavior for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (Fischer et al., 2016; Pelios, Morren, Tesch, & Axelrod, 1999). Though legal mandates requiring access to functional assessment are further evidence of the broader cultural importance of function-based behavioral intervention (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 2004), surveys of practicing behavior analysts conducted over the last 10 years (Love, Carr, Almason, & Petursdottir, 2009; Oliver, Pratt, & Normand, 2015; Roscoe et al., 2015) reveal most practitioners are choosing to run descriptive assessments over more rigorous experimental analyses in their own practices. To investigate this issue, we review trends of published functional analyses for efficiency and number of components necessary for a successful analysis.

Hanley et al. (2003) outlined the practical issue of efficiency in the use of functional analysis procedures. Recently, fervent debate has arisen regarding the use of standardized, synthesized, and other functional analysis. At times, standard functional analysis procedures yield zero-rates of problem behavior, perhaps because they fail to capture the true establishing operation, which may involve a combination of multiple stimulus events. In the current study, indirect descriptive assessments in the form of open-ended interviews were conducted and compared with standard functional analysis procedures as described by Iwata et al. (1982/1994). These results were then compared with functional analysis procedures derived from the results of the open-ended interview. Results suggested that in some cases, standard functional analysis procedures that yield zero-rates of responding were not congruent with the establishing operations suggested by interviewees. Revised analysis, including concurrent operant arrangements and synthesized contingencies, produced clear rates of responding under conditions described by caregivers and teachers during interviews. Finally, a trial-based synthesized contingency analysis was piloted that successfully determined behavioral function in under 30 minutes of session time, on average. Results are discussed in terms of individualized assessment, and using descriptive analyses to inform the design of relevant functional analysis conditions.

Practitioners report an almost exclusive reliance on indirect and descriptive assessments when conducting functional behavior assessments (FBA) of severe problem behavior (SPB) in school and residential settings, despite the absence of evidence supporting their utility when not complimented with a functional analysis. Practitioners also report that they do not conduct functional analyses due to concerns with safety, amount of time required, and lack of necessary resources. This project describes a collaborative approach for conducting effective functional analysis of SPB in educational settings. The process involved the collaborative conduct of a particular type of functional analysis referred to as an Interview-Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis (IISCA) for students with SPB. With the consult of a board certified behavior analyst, the participants conducted interviews, designed conditions, ran sessions, and collected and analyzed data. All analyses yielded differentiated outcomes safely and quickly. Survey results showed that the process was considered sufficiently safe, fast, and effective by the practitioners for use in their educational settings.

Persons with autism often engage in multiple topographies of problem behavior. Conducting functional analyses of each form as recommended by Hanley, Iwata, and McCord (2003) may be too time consuming. As an alternative, we progressively applied extinction in test conditions that were differentiated from their control conditions to determine response class membership of multiple topographies of problem behavior. During interview-informed and synthesized test conditions, all reported problem behaviors were initially reinforced. Progressive extinction based on the procedures described by Magee and Ellis (2000) was then implemented during which problem behavior types were sequentially placed on extinction for four participants. Expedited or brief extinction analyses were conducted with the remaining participants in which all but the most concerning topography of problem behavior were placed on extinction. Results showed that all topographies of problem behavior that were reported to co-occur, including the most concerning topographies, were evoked and maintained by the same contingencies across all nine participants. We highlight the conditions under which a full or expedited extinction analysis should be considered when functionally analyzing multiple topographies of problem behavior.

The four presentations in this symposium illustrate how evidence-based practices in instructional design and Precision Teaching can be combined in new ways. The first two presentations focus on mathematics instruction for pre-schoolers and middle school students. In the first presentation, James Stocker will describe research demonstrating the effects of computational fluency on middle school students? higher order math skills and quantitative reasoning repertoires in a public charter school. Next, Kerri Milyko will demonstrate how to adapt a commercially available pre-school mathematics ?app? to increase active responding, reinforcement, discrimination training, individual generalization and application to a wider array of students. The second two presentations focus on teaching executive functioning skills and repertoires to elementary and middle school students. In the third presentation, Shiloh Isbell will demonstrate how so-called executive functioning can be broken down into component learning-to-learn behaviors and taught discretely, and how middle school students can be taught to self-assess their executive dysfunction, and apply the component learning behaviors to promote application and adduction. Next, Vivian Mach will show how teaching elementary aged students (a) the behaviors correlated with executive functioning skills, and (b) how to name the behavior required in a given situation, facilitates their academic gains and ability to successfully complete standardized tests to reintegrate in their former school.

behavior analysts and other education and psychology professionals

Computational and procedural fluency are critical elements that support mathematics achievement. Using curricular materials from Morningside Academy, a frequency building intervention was implemented in a public charter middle school (n=84). Students engaged in 12 minutes of daily practice for 50 days that consisted of three thirty-second timings solving for missing numbers in addition fact families followed by a one-minute timing of related math facts. The same procedure was repeated for multiplication fact families. Students completed a two-minute Curriculum Based Measurements (CBM) on Fridays and self-monitored progress using a computer-based standard celeration chart application. The treatment group outperformed the control group yielding a mean gain of 51 digits correct or 38 correct problems per three minutes on the Woodcock-Johnson IV (WJ-IV) fluency sub-test and 21 correct problems or 28 digits correct per two minutes on weekly CBM measures. The treatment group continued to outperform the control on generalization measures that consisted of reducing fractions, long division, and computing fractions with unlike denominators. Effect sizes from the WJ-IV tests of mathematics achievement will be discussed with emphasis on gains in quantitative reasoning. Teachers found the intervention socially valid, easy to implement, and beneficial to pace of instruction impacting overall mathematics performance.

The growing use of educational apps has helped increase access to fun, yet challenging, learning opportunities for children. Little learners are more inclined to play an educational game filling in the missing letter with a talking robot and shooting stars, rather than studying flash cards. However, these educational apps, while somewhat intuitive, always seem to miss critical features required to fully embrace the educational behavior analytic community's standards. One such app is Native Numbers. Native Numbers is brilliant with respect to the scope and sequence of each "lesson" to conceptually and fluently teach number sense. However, essential barriers make it not conducive to all learners. These barriers include 1) ratio strain, 2) excessive error correction, 3) punitive settings with no balanced reinforcers, and 4) limited modes of responding (e.g. learning channels). The team at Precision TLC adapted Native Numbers into one that was not computer based, required tangibles, vocal responses, motor responses, and flexible discrimination sensitive to the learner. This presentation will describe and demonstrate the app, detail strengths and limitations when working with particular students, and show how Precision TLC's curriculum strengthens the app to help promote individual generalization and application to a wider array of students.

Executive Function refers to both self-regulation and self-direction (Barkley 2011; Delis 2012). Improvement in self-regulatory skills can lead to short and long-term accomplishments in a student's academic career (Dawson and Guare, 2009). Using a behavior analytic approach to acquire skills such as response inhibition, working memory, and goal-directed persistence, students will advance their Language of Instruction. We presented logic problems and retelling activities in small groups of elementary-aged students, while observing and measuring classroom behaviors correlating with the executive skills being enhanced, such as being patient, following one-two step instructions, actively staying with a group member, starting and ending a task. Students conducted the prescribed activities through peer coaching, which involved one partner leading complex see/say directions for the other performer to hear/write directions and hear/do tasks. We measured how many tasks each member of the pair can accurately complete in a fixed amount of time. Improvement in behaviors that correlate with the acquired executive functioning skills enhance students' academic language, which in turn facilitates academic gains and student ability to successfully complete standardized tests to reintegrate in their former school.

Goals in applied settings are to improve client outcome. Frequently fundamental interventions are discounted for more complicated, labor intensive ones. The papers in this symposium will discuss two research projects. Specific data are presented on a specific staff training strategy to teach staff to become proficient group teachers. The second paper presents data on a strategy to increase staff/client engagement across activities in a center-based setting.

Practioners

The literature in applied behavior analysis (ABA) clearly indicates effective strategies to teach staff to successfully teach learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in 1:1 instructional formats. There are few resources available, however, specific to training staff to become effective and efficient group teachers. The current project takes place in a center with 10 learners with ASD ranging from 3-7 years-of-age, and 10 staff. The project evaluates the use of didactic instruction combined with competency-based checklists to teach skills essential to effective group teaching. Dependent measures include teaching skills broken down into sub-categories consisting of environmental arrangement, prompting, reinforcement, and management of problem behaviors, among others, with corresponding didactic instruction. Skills for both group leaders and support staff are targeted. Data was collected using both per opportunity and interval sampling. A multiple baseline design across sets of skills with-in groups was utilized to evaluate the intervention. Preliminary data indicates that the intervention is effective in providing group teaching skills to group leaders (data attached). Results will be discussed well as suggestions for next steps and future research.

Environmental arrangement, client participation, and systematic treatment measures are essential and pivotal in evaluating effecting change in treatment environments (PLA-Check, Doke and Risley, 1972). Interventions require little observer effort, evaluating and comparing entire activity periods or settings using group recording time-sampling procedures. PLA-check measure sample proportions of time a client is observed to be appropriately engaged or participating in the target activity are then evaluated. The PLA-Check has since been applied to numerous treatment settings and has been used as a staff performance feedback system. This is a basic, effective, and easy system to dramatically change both staff and client behaviors. The current project replicates this basic procedure in a center for 10 clients ages 3-8 with ASD, and 10 staff. Preliminary data is presented. Results clearly indicate an increase in staff/engagement.

Misophonia is an understudied but relatively common respondent behavior condition, the effects of which range from annoying to debilitating. Misophonia cannot be classified with DSM or ICD-criteria. Misophonia is known as a condition where commonly occurring innocuous stimuli (e.g. chewing sound) elicit anger and accompanying physiological responses which function as motivating operations for overt aggression and escape. Recent basic research on misophonia as a behavioral phenomenon has identified an immediate physical response (typically a muscle flinch) elicited by misophonic stimuli, which is unique for each person. Although there are some common misophonic stimuli, each person has a unique set of stimuli, which often includes auditory and visual stimuli, but can be any sensory modality. Misophonia is similar to general sensory sensitivity which is common with autism, but the management and intervention for each are quite different. Misophonia was first identified and named by audiologists and has been considered a hearing disorder. Recently misophonia has come to be viewed as an anger disorder and the focus of psychiatrists, psychologists, and neuroscience. Behaviorally, misophonia is a classically conditioned physical respondent phenomenon, and it may be more appropriate to view misophonia as a conditioned behavioral disorder.

Behavior analysts, other professional practitioners, and educators

Misophonia behavior patterns often impair multiple life domains, and once developed may persist indefinitely. Two adult participants with misophonia and no comorbid conditions were treated using a adapted counterconditioning intervention which provided a continual positive stimulus and an intermittent, low intensity misophonic stimulus. During the intervention, the participants experienced a physical reflex consisting of a skeletal muscle contraction, which gradually extinguished. Both participants had a large reduction in their misophonia impairment, and maintenance and generalization of the treatment effect. One intervention was a multiple baseline design, providing some empirical support of a functional relation. The intervention for one participant included live and recorded audio sessions. The second intervention utilized an automated stimulus delivery system (an iPhone app) which gave the participant real-time control of the counterconditioning parameters. These cases provide initial support for a counterconditioning treatment for misophonia, and they show that misophonia may include a physical respondent to misophonic stimuli.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a behavior analytic approach to intervening on complex verbal behavior, with the goal of disrupting maladaptive control by rules, leading to socially meaningful overt behavior change. The functional analyses that form the foundation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy are broadly applicable and provide a set of analytical tools that can be used to understand adaptive and maladaptive behavior across a variety of settings and repertoires. This symposium brings together three presentations that adapt conceptual and practical analyses from the ACT literature to novel areas. The first paper, by Megan St. Clair, consists of a behavioral conceptual analysis of "grit." The second paper, by Lauren Servellon, consists of a research review and behavioral conceptual analysis of "resilience." The third paper, by Dr. Thomas Szabo, evaluates an ACT-based treatment program for gender-based violence in Sierra Leone.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts

Across the social sciences, grit can collectively be described as demonstrating single-minded persistence in pursuit of a goal, in spite of various forms of interference such as adversity, plateaus in progress, and even failure. While the construct of grit has received robust empirical attention in mainstream psychology within recent years, it has primarily been regarded as a stable personality characteristic, trait, or disposition which an individual either possesses or does not. This perception is limiting; however, when considering that it does not pave the way for effective behavioral acquisition. Unfortunately, thus far, the behavioral literature has contributed little to the understanding of grit as a behavioral phenomenon by functionally analyzing the behavioral mechanisms involved. This is concerning when considering that related traditional psychological research has widely documented that grit is highly correlated with positive outcomes in academic achievement, professional advancement, and personal ambitions that correspond to one's principal life objectives. Fortunately, a behavior analytic conceptualization supported by relational frame theory (RFT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) would alternatively regard grit as yet another behavior to be explained in terms of its functional, behavior-environment relations. As such, within this context, grit is perceived as a complex behavior that has the potential to be built within one's repertoire by applying the principles of the science of behavior in functional analytic procedures that inform treatment methodology. This presentation will review the strengths and limitations of research on grit, with an emphasis on clinical implications and future directions.

Resilience is a construct that refers to one's ability to continue living and even thrive, despite having experienced significant adversity. For example, veterans who return from war and report good quality of life and satisfaction in their normally daily non-combat lives are said to have good resilience. Veterans who struggle with depression, substance abuse and/or report low quality of life and/or happiness might be said to demonstrate low resilience. As a hypothetical internal causal construct, resilience has little to recommend it. However, response to adversity certainly differs among people and at least some of that difference must be due to learning history and therefore it seems likely that it must be possible to arrange interventions where adaptive responses to adverse circumstances can be strengthened. Research in clinical psychology has begun on treatment approaches designed to increase resilience, however little or no behavior analytic research has attempted to analyze or improve repertoires referred to as resilience. This presentation will review research on interventions designed to increase resilience and present a behavioral conceptual analysis of some of the repertoires that might contribute to adaptive responding in the face of adverse life circumstances.

Gender-based violence and a response class that may serve as its precursor, microaggression, are rarely studied by behavior analysts but likely entail a complex repertoire of physical, verbal and arbitrarily applied relational responding. Microaggression is particularly important to the reduction of gender-based violence because it often goes unnoticed and therefore unaddressed, but it predicts other more serious forms of aggression. Like most other operant behavior, it is reinforced without explicit awareness of its occurrence by the speaker or the listener. We conducted a multiple probe study across married couples in which microaggression and overtly aggressive behavior were recorded during and between sessions of a month-long, four-session behavioral flexibility training that was modeled on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The study was conducted in a small west African nation where gender-based violence is reported to be at pandemic levels. Results showed immediate reductions in microaggression occurring within and between sessions. Subsequent reductions in aggression that occurred between sessions were also recorded and partner reports were endorsed by all participants during private communications when partners were not present. Further, collateral behavior that sometimes occurred before or during microaggression and physical assault (e.g., heavy drinking, drug use, and betrayal) were weakened and replacement behaviors strengthened.

Young adults and adolescents with developmental disabilities are particularly vulnerable to the negative impact of deficits in functional and daily living skills. These skills are essential to an improved quality of life, greater independence, and integration into the community (Gardner & Wolfe, 2015). In addition, many young adults find themselves unprepared to transition into competitive employment after formal education (Hartman, 2009). Several instructional strategies have been utilized for teaching these transition-related skills, including self-monitoring (Rusch & Dattilo, 2012), Behavioral Skills Training (BST; Kelly, Wildman, & Berler, 1980), and video-based procedures such as video modeling and video prompting (Seaman & Malone, 2016; Gardner & Wolfe, 2015). This presentation will examine two research studies and a program evaluation focused on the utility of these instructional tools for teaching daily living, pre-employment, and job-related social skills for young adults and adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Varied changes in performance levels will be discussed in relation to each of these strategies with the inclusion of a variety of training features.

Practicing BCBAs

An estimated 50,000 adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) turn eighteen annually in the United States, but are unprepared to engage in typical independent adult lifestyles when they graduate, including maintaining employment (Roux, Shattuck, Cooper, Anderson, Wagner, & Narendorf, 2013). Problems in the workplace can be present due to the significant social and perceptual deficits including problems understanding social cues, understanding emotions, inflexibility with change, and difficulty adapting to new tasks and routines (Muller, Schuler, Burton, & Yates, 2003). The current program evaluation is aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an intensive employment skills training program for fifteen adults with high-functioning ASD. Teaching strategies evaluated include self-monitoring, behavioral skills training, video modeling and feedback. Adults with ASD were evaluated by momentary time sampling, percentage of opportunities, and self-monitoring. Soft skills monitored include staying engaged, following directions, self-advocating, respectfulness, independence, peer interactions, assertiveness, and risk-taking. This program evaluation assessed participant growth in self-regulation techniques and increases in socially appropriate behaviors to increase successful pre-employment skills. Results indicated that risk-taking and taking a leadership role are pre-employment skills that need more intervention than other soft skills such as direction-taking and staying engaged.

Despite a growing emphasis on autism-related services, many young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are underemployed and unprepared for employment (Hartman, 2009). Social skill deficits are reported as the reason for 90% of employment loss (Murray & Doren, 2013), and nine of 10 reasons applicants are rejected during a job interview (Elsknin & Elsknin, 1991). One instructional method that has been used to teach social skills is video modeling. Past research on first-person point-of-view (FPPOV) video modeling (shown from the perspective of the performer) has demonstrated changes in behavior only when FPPOV video models are combined with additional intervention. This presentation will focus on a study conducted to examine the effectiveness of FPPOV video models as a stand-alone instructional tool for job-related social skills for four young adults diagnosed with ASD, ages 18 to 26. Results suggest that FPPOV video models alone were not effective for teaching job-related social skills until embedded in the Behavioral Skills Training (BST) package or after the addition of enhanced video features. This presentation serves as an extension of the video modeling literature and will present additional avenues for continued research on behavior-based instructional tools for job-related social skills.

A large body of evidence exists supporting the use of preference assessment as part of providing behavior analytic services to individuals with disabilities. Although several empirically supported methods for identifying preference exist, practitioners and researchers often need to modify and individualize preference assessments to meet client needs, especially when using emerging technologies. For example, practitioners and researchers may need to identify preference for content on electronic devices or modalities for augmentative and assistive technology. The purpose of this symposium is to highlight the use of alternative forms of preference assessments. The first speaker will present a literature review study examining the efficacy of alternative modality stimulus preference assessments. The second speaker will present a study examining a modified MSWO preference assessment using picture icons to assess preference for content on an iPad. The third speaker will present a study examining preference for alternative communication apps commonly used by individuals with disabilities. Implications for alternative modality and individualized preference assessments will be discussed.

Applied Behavior Analysts, Researchers, Behavior Analytic Practitioners, Educators

The purpose of this review was to identify investigations comparing the efficacy of alternative modality stimulus preference assessments for individuals with developmental disabilities. We identified articles by searching peer-reviewed journals using the PsycINFO and ERIC databases, conducting table of content searches of common behavioral outlets, and conducting ancestral searches of recent reviews and practitioner summaries of preference assessment methods. A total of 32 articles met our inclusion criteria. These studies were then coded across a variety of features to gain a better understanding of the efficacy of alternative format preference assessment for individuals with developmental disabilities. In addition, we reviewed this literature for the use of prerequisite skill assessments and contingent reinforcer access to further investigate the relation between these variables and the success of pictorial, verbal, and video preference assessments. A variety of methodological concerns are discussed as well as suggestions for future research.

High tech items, such as iPads, are increasingly being used for individuals receiving behavior analytic services. When using iPads as part of behavioral services, it is important to assess preference for content delivered on the device, (i.e., applications or apps). Presenting apps for selection within a multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment may involve unique difficulties (i.e., having multiple iPads to deliver an app on each screen, or needing to move apps around on the device prior to every presentation). This study examined the effects of using pictures depicting app icons within an MSWO preference assessment followed by reinforcer assessments to validate preference assessment outcomes. Participants included six adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities attending a vocational day program. Results of the app icon preference assessment included identifying preference hierarchies for all participants. Subsequently, when given a choice to earn different apps, five participants showed a clear pattern of responding toward the highest preferred app. Results have implications for using alternative formats when conducting preference assessments using high-tech devices.

Androids may be based on the behavioral developmental and evolutionary stage model: An Android is "computer based" synthetic organism designed to act like a human. We have created a higher order neural network that thinks, perceives, understands, predicts and manipulates better than insects. Our goal is to emulate the behavior smartest people as measured by their behavioral-developmental stage. Operant conditioning is based conditioning based on four instances of respondent conditioning: 1) respondent conditioning case pairs the reinforcer with the eliciting neural stimulus for the operant response. 2) Pairing of the now salient neural stimulus that elicits the operant with the environment event. 3) Pairing of the environmental event with the reinforcing stimulus.4) pairing of the stimulus elected by the drive with the reinforcement event, changing the strength of the reinforcer. Because of the simplicity of the calculations. These neural networks should be faster and smaller. The first three developmental and evolutionary behavioral stages are Order 1 tasks that are addressed with automatic unconditioned responses; Order 2 tasks include classical conditioning but not operant conditioning. Order 3 tasks coordinate three instances of these earlier tasks to make possible operant conditioning. Neural networks operate at this order as well as some invertebrates and all insects.

People interested in Computer models of behavior, androids and evolution of "smarts" in animals. No experience or knowledge of computer is required. Some background of Respondent and Operant Conditioning is required.

University enrollment and state support for public institutions have largely been trending downward for several years now. These downward trends mean that universities have less money and fewer resources to support their many programs and services. When resources are scarce, administrators are faced with difficult choices. The behavior analyst is uniquely situated in the higher education system to provide services that help support institutional goals and protect his or her discipline during difficult economic times. Curricular and pedagogical advancements through behavior analytic technologies help to strengthen the behaviorist's position within the university while simultaneously expanding the field. This symposium presents three areas of involvement where behavior analysts can provide meaningful contributions to student, program, and university growth. G. DeBernardis discusses ways in which behavior analytic undergraduate programming can promote student success while also growing our field. K. Kellum provides an overview of how to promote university-wide faculty success in meeting assessment and accreditation goals. B. Witts reviews how behavioral faculty can include graduate students in conducting assessments at the university to increase supports for non-traditional students.

Higher education instructors (faculty, professors, lecturers) Higher education administrators Graduate students

Higher education recognizes two general classifications of student: traditional and nontraditional. Traditional students are those students who transition immediately from secondary to post-secondary schooling. Nontraditional students are everyone else, and include undergraduate students over the age of 25, students who took time off between secondary and post-secondary schooling, and those students with dependents, to name a few. Nontraditional students are often overlooked by faculty and staff, disconnected with their university, and must endure additional hardships not experienced by their traditional student counterpart. This presentation outlines four assessments conducted at a medium-sized Midwest university that aimed to better understand how this broad population was being served at this university. While some results varied, the general conclusion across assessments was that this university is atypical when it comes to nontraditional student inclusion, belonging, and supports. I conclude with a discussion of how this information can be used to continue developing these supports and how it can be used for recruitment and retention efforts.

This symposium will present data on applications of behavior analysis to police academy training. The first study involved a class of 54 police academy cadets exposed to training as usual with performance assessed at 7 and 15-week follow-up during the academy. Trainers and cadets were then provided performance feedback prior to a booster training that resulted in mastery-level performance. A post-academy follow-up test was conducted after 4 months of work in the field as a police officer. The second study involved a novel class of 46 police academy cadets exposed to behavioral skills training. Half of the class received video-modeling and the other half did not. Trainers and cadets were then provided performance feedback prior to a booster training that resulted in mastery-level performance. A post-academy follow-up test was conducted after 4 months of work in the field as a police officer. Results of both studies will be discussed in terms of implications for police academy training and the dissemination of behavior analysis to policing.

Behavior Analysts who are interested in working with police.

Researchers have defined compliant and noncompliant behavior in several ways. For example, Cook, Rapp, and Schulze (2015) suggested that compliance can be broken down into two subtypes; active or passive. Active compliance involves a specific response requirement while passive involves teaching tolerance of a context. Treating compliant behavior may pose challenges unique to the type and function of the noncompliant counter-behavior. The current symposium will present three papers focused on refining the way behavior analysts define and treat compliance across diverse populations. The first paper focuses on a specific type of compliance, quiet compliance, and how it may be taught to typically developing adjudicated adolescents who receive treatment in secure residential facilities. Results showed that using a differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL) procedure to treat quiet compliance as its own unique behavior was effective for seven adjudicated adolescents. The second paper compared the delivery of positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement to treat escape-maintained behavior. Results suggested that the positive reinforcement condition was most effective to reduce problem behavior. The third paper compared the efficacy of time based or completion based structured schedules. Researchers will discuss results with respect to individual differences.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts

Previous research has found that problem behavior maintained by escape can be successfully treated using the delivery of preferred items contingent upon compliance, in the absence of escape extinction. In the current study, we compared the delivery of positive reinforcement (a nonfunctional intervention) to negative reinforcement (a functional intervention) to treat escape-maintained problem behavior (i.e., aggression, self-injury) among three children with intellectual disabilities. We evaluated two positive reinforcement conditions: one in which a preferred edible item was delivered contingent upon compliance and one in which a preferred tangible item was delivered contingent upon compliance. Escape extinction was not used. Results suggest that the positive reinforcement condition in which a preferred tangible item was delivered contingent upon compliance was most effective to reduce problem behavior.

The use of structured schedules is one antecedent-based strategy that can be helpful in reducing problem behavior and increasing compliance exhibited by students with autism spectrum and other developmental and intellectual disorders. While this approach is an often-used strategy, it is possible that variations in its implementation may contribute to individual success. In the current investigation, the work portions of a structured schedule were implemented in two distinct manners. In one arrangement, work was presented for a fixed amount of time (e.g., 5 min). In a second arrangement, a specific amount of work (e.g., one worksheet) was presented to the student. Work ended when either the time criterion was met or the work requirement was met in the respective conditions. The relative effects of the two work requirement conditions were evaluated using single subject reversal experimental design. Data were collected on problem behavior and compliance exhibited across work arrangements. Results are discussed with respect to individual differences that may contribute to the relative success or failure of this type of antecedent-based intervention.

Self-care is a term discussed scarcely enough in psychological practice, but is rarely discussed among behavior analytic practitioners. Trauma, burnout, and compassion fatigue are widely studied in other fields similar to behavior analysis. These concepts have significant impacts on client care and therapist well-being, so why aren't we discussing this more often? This panel aims to discuss these concepts in behavior analytic practice and further the discussion on a potentially ugly but necessary truth of behavior analytic practitioners.

Our target audience are BCBA's that are seeking to learn more about the important components of self-care in our field and how to embed as part of being a practitioner and supervisor.

This session is coupled with, and immediately follows, a SQAB tutorial on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy presented by Dr. Steven Hursh. Panelists will be asked to speak briefly about their research program and to bring questions designed to foster discussion with audience members. The goal is to generate ideas and collaborative efforts among basic, translational, and applied scientists. The tutorial and panel discussion has arisen because the Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior (SQAB), an organization that emphasizes fundamental sciences related to behavior analysis, meets immediately before ABAI. The tandem meetings of these two organizations present opportunities for attendees to hear about core sciences related to behavior analysis. The SQAB tutorials have provided an excellent spur for such discussions but we (SQAB and ABAI's Science Board) wish to take this a step further. This panel discussion, which represents a partnership between SQAB and ABAI, will create a setting in which basic and applied scientists, as well as practitioners, can meet to discuss applications of the topics raised in a SQAB tutorial.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

This panel discussion is intended for graduate students and beginning academicians who are relatively new to the process of peer review and publishing. This panel will feature editors of the four ABAI journals, including The Behavior Analyst, The Psychological Record, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, and Behavior Analysis in Practice. The panel will provide an overview of the aims and missions of each of the four journals, along with a showcase of recent representative publications and special projects. The panel will also discuss the peer review process and share insights for those just getting started as journal reviewers and contributors. Tips and strategies to promote success among newer authors and reviewers will be shared. A former ABAI journal editor will moderate the discussion.

Graduate students and beginning academics

Behavior analyst working in education research effective and efficient teaching interventions and tactics to increase learner skill acquisition and generalization across areas of development. However, a learner?s ability to demonstrate the skill during instruction is not sufficient; for a skill to be considered truly in one?s repertoire, the individual must be able to acquire the correct source of environmental control over the learned responses and be able to emit these responses in the natural environment or under novel conditions. In addition, behavior analysts are interested in identifying instructional procedures that result in the emission of generative behavior; much research has demonstrated the efficacy of providing certain instructional histories (i.e., multiple exemplar experiences) on the production of novel verbal behavior. In this symposium, we present 3 studies on instructional procedures that have resulted in better acquisition rates or the emergence of untaught behaviors: 1) the implementation of a rule-governed error correction procedure on the acquisition of textual responses to numbers, 2) multiple exemplar instruction across autoclitic frames on the emergence of novel combinations of autoclitics emitted in tacts and 3) a multiple exemplar training package on the behavior of seeking help and resolving conflicts in novel social situations.

BCBA, BCaBAs, educators, or related service providers (e.g., speech therapists) working with individuals with autism, other developmental disabilities, or with language delays

Behavior analysts and educators are constantly looking for more efficient methods of acquiring new skills. Curricula, programs of instruction, and behavioral tactics are all methods by which instructors can facilitate faster learning. Recent studies have begun to look at the effects of different types of correction procedures on rates of learning for different types of skills. Preliminary findings suggest that different correction procedures have different effects depending on the level of verbal behavior of the learner and the presented task. The current study is the first of an intended three part series of studies to look at the effects of a rule governed error correction procedure on the acquisition of numeric textual responses. This study was conducted with seven 2-year old participants, three with a diagnosis and four without. A multiple probe design was used to test for the effectiveness of the error correction procedure. While the study is ongoing, previous results have shown this to be an effective tactic in acquiring this skill. We will discuss results, limitations, and future studies including the relative efficiency of the tactic, and the role of rate training as compared to rule-governed corrections, and “traditional” error correction procedures.

We tested the effects of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) across relational autoclitic frames on the emergent emission of untaught combinations of autoclitics in speech using a delayed multiple probe design across participants. Participants in this study were pre-school aged children with language delays who emitted high instances of non-functional (grammatically incorrect) autoclitics (e.g., saying "Boy boy dog dog" or "He has a dog" in response to a 2D stimulus of 2 boys walking multiple dogs) when emitting tacts. During MEI intervention, the experimenters rotated instructional trials across the target relational autoclitics: demonstrative pronouns, possessive adjectives, subject pronouns, verb tense, and singular vs. plural nouns. The following combinations and responses were taught to a pre-established mastery criterion: 1) subjective pronoun and verb tense (e.g., they are painting), 2) Possessive adjectives and singular or plural noun (e.g., Her balloons), and 3) Demonstrative pronouns and singular or plural nouns (e.g., Those are backpacks). Post-intervention assessment results for the current two participants showed an overall increase in emission of functional autoclitics, untaught combinations of autoclitics (e.g. she is holding her dog, or, Those are her pumpkins), and decreased emission of non-functional autoclitics across both participants. This study is on-going; we are currently working on implementing the MEI procedure with additional participants.

Many children with Autism lack problem solving skills in social situations as well as in daily life routines. Previous research have implemented video modeling as a tactic to teach a variety of skills in children with Autism, however, some studies have shown that video modeling alone do not facilitate generalization. A multiple probe design across four participants and across two behaviors were used in this study. Participants were preschoolers with Autism who displayed none or a few problem solving skills in baseline. A training package consisted of (1) accurately tacting multiple exemplars of case scenarios in video clips, (2) choosing an appropriate solution to the problem, and (3) demonstrating the chosen solution in active role play was implemented to test its effects on seeking help behavior in daily routine and resolving conflict in social situations. Results showed that after the training package, all participants showed an increase in their correct responding. Generalization probes were also conducted and the results were consistent with the post-training results.

The study of evolution in relation to human affairs lags behind the study of evolution in biology by about a century. During this period, the many basic and applied human-related disciplines developed into sophisticated bodies of knowledge that were poorly integrated with each other or with evolutionary theory. That is now rapidly changing. I will provide a broad overview of the integration in progress and how it can lead to positive intentional change at all scales, from individuals to the planet.

The presentation is targeted to a broad applied behavioral science audience.