Association for Behavior Analysis International

Skinner’s 1945 treatise, “An Operational Analysis of Psychological Terms,” established a defining and fundamental characteristic of radical behaviorism by emphasizing the necessity of understanding scientific verbal behavior in terms of the same principles applied to the understanding of any behavior – that is, in terms of its antecedents and consequences. Further, his call for a functional analysis of any psychological concept was predicated on the position that only such an analysis would lead to more effective action with respect to the subject matter at issue. To the extent that “service” contributes to the survival of our discipline and world view, it follows that an examination of the conditions under which we speak of “service” may prove useful in our efforts to target and increase such activities. Thus, this talk will review some of the varied forms of professional activity that occasion service descriptions, with an eye toward creating and identifying opportunities, facilitating the professional actions needed, and consequating service efforts effectively.

Vincent Strully, Jr., CEO and Founder of The New England Center for Children (NECC®), is proud to accept the 2017 SABA Award for International Dissemination of Behavior Analysis on behalf of NECC. Despite the growing acceptance and demand for behavior analytic services, there are considerable challenges to developing sustainable models of service delivery internationally, including language barriers, differences in cultural practices, and funding considerations. Over the past 40 years, we have identified several components that are essential for the development of sustainable models of service delivery worldwide. Government funding and support are critical for success, as are training programs that provide local staff access to graduate-level instruction in behavior analysis. Also, NECC’s development of the Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia (ACE®), an application providing an interactive interface containing assessment tools, lesson plans, teaching materials, and student performance reports for over 1,900 skills, has provided an effective and efficient curriculum necessary for delivering sustainable services.

Behavior analysis has been foundational for a broad range of treatment and prevention interventions. However, there are reasons to believe that behavior analysts are not contributing to the improvement of societal wellbeing to the extent that B. F. Skinner envisioned in his seminal writings. In the past 2 years, I have spoken with hundreds of behavior analysts, many of whom expressed this kind of concern. I will summarize these concerns and suggest principles that might help behavior analysis as a field fulfill its promise to bring about unprecedented advances in human wellbeing. Specifically, I will suggest changing the criteria regarding what a behavior analysts should know from one that restricts our focus to practices and methods that are explicitly labeled as “behavior analytic” to one that encourages behavior analysts to embrace any empirical evidence or methods that contribute to human wellbeing, initiating much more empirical research on strategies for influencing climate change, and forging alliances with other areas of behavioral science.

Behavior Analysis has been a significant focus of the Psychology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington since 1976. The department’s contributions to the field can be measured in research, teaching, and service. The faculty have published hundreds of peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters spanning the experimental analysis of behavior, applied behavior analysis, and translational research. Faculty and students closely collaborate on research, including: basic learning principles, choice, teaching, behavioral pharmacology, behavioral economics, stimulus control, memory span, contingency management, functional analysis, preference assessment, health behavior, animal behavior, and pediatric feeding. In addition to training countless undergraduate students in behavior analysis, the program has graduated 96 master’s students who have completed a thesis with a behavior analytic focus, and will begin training Ph.D. students in behavior analysis in 2017. Faculty have served in leadership roles within ABAI and Div. 25 of APA, and various other national, state and regional organizations. They have served as editors or editorial board members for key journals such as The Behavior Analyst, JEAB and JABA. The presentation will include a brief history of the department’s contributions, as well as a description of its vision for the training of behavior analysts.

Board certified behavior analysts, licensed psychologists, graduate students.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at a greater risk for feeding problems relative to their typically developing peers. A substantial percentage (46-89%) of children with ASD display feeding problems, including food selectivity, food refusal, and other mealtime behavior problems such as elopement from the table or crying. Parents of children with autism report that they struggle to manage their childrens feeding problems and worry about the potential negative effects on health and development. Researchers have identified a need for additional replications of promising focused behavioral interventions with positive effects on feeding and mealtime challenging behavior in children with autism and food selectivity. The current studies assess the generality of such feeding interventions (i.e., differential reinforcement, shaping, and a high-probability instructional sequence), by evaluating the effects of these treatments in children with ASD who display food selectivity. Whereas the use of shaping and differential reinforcement resulted in a decrease in food selectivity, the use of the high probability instructional sequence did not show the same effects. All participants were provided with individualized treatment evaluations until they demonstrated improvements in feeding.

Researchers have identified a need for additional replications of promising focused behavioral interventions with positive effects on feeding and mealtime challenging behavior in children with autism and food selectivity (FS). Therefore, the current study assessed the generality of one such promising intervention, the high-probability instructional sequence (HPS), by attempting a replication in children with autism and FS. High inter-observer agreement and treatment fidelity justify strong confidence in the results. We failed to replicate previously reported effects of the HPS on low-probability feeding responses for three consecutive children enrolled in the study. Subsequently, all three children were provided with individualized treatment evaluations until they demonstrated improvements in feeding and mealtime challenging behavior. Pending further research, the current results suggest practitioners should consider ruling out more empirically supported focused behavioral interventions such as escape extinction and differential reinforcement by relying on treatment individualization through rigorous progress monitoring, before applying the HPS to treat FS in children with autism. Implications of the current study for future research and practice are discussed in the context of publishing failures to replicate in applied behavior analysis and other disciplines.

The present study evaluated the effects of Teaching with Acoustical Guidance (TAG) to increase the number of appropriate steps and decrease toe-walking exhibited by a five-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder in a hospital setting. This participant was selected due to severity of toe-walking, which left untreated would have required surgery on each ankle within the calendar year. After a pre-treatment screening analysis suggested that toe walking was maintained by automatic reinforcement, we evaluated acoustical guidance to decrease toe walking. TAG was effective in increasing the rate of appropriate steps taken and decreasing the rate of inappropriate steps taken. We also faded the use of the procedure and the decrease in toe walking maintained. Finally, we assessed the generalization of treatment effects at home; the effects maintained there as well. Results are discussed in terms of the severity of the behavior and the effort involved in implementing the acoustical guidance procedure.

Bruxism, the gnashing or grinding of ones teeth, is a significant dental concern that can lead to severe damage of the tooth and gum structures and occurs in higher rates with individuals with intellectual disabilities. Little research has been conducted in this area and studies have not utilized function based treatments nor conducted functional analyses. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a matched stimulation intervention on bruxism with two adolescent boys diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Functional analyses were conducted for both participants and revealed that bruxism was exhibited across all conditions and occurred highest in the alone condition, suggesting that the behavior was maintained by automatic reinforcement. Based on these findings, a function based matched stimulation treatment was developed to examine the effects of auditory and tactile stimuli on bruxism relative to conditions in which no stimuli were available. Results indicated that the matched stimulation intervention produced substantial decreases in bruxism for both participants. A post matched stimulation evaluation further supported these findings, showing the occurrence of bruxism remained at low levels following the removal of the stimulus, suggesting the application of the matched stimulus acted as an abolishing operation.

Delay discounting refers to a preference for smaller, sooner over larger, delayed outcome. Domain effects refer to a tendency for some outcomes to be more strongly discounted than others. We will review research that reports domain effects across a variety of special populations, but focus on an outcome that is one of the most steeply discounted food. Our laboratory, which examines delay discounting with obese rats and humans has uncovered a consistent pattern of domain-specific discounting effects with food as the outcome. In other words, the largest differences in obese and healthy-weight subjects tend to be with food or food-related outcomes. This domain-specific finding also has been shown in response to the treatment of mindful eating. Implications for using multiple relevant outcomes in discounting studies will be discussed. This presentation will also serve as an introduction to a panel discussion on the application of behavioral economics to obesity.

Certified behavior analysts, licensed psychologists, graduate students.

The decision to implement new technology platforms in schools requires a financial investment, commitment to change, and time to learn and implement a new program. Stakeholders have priorities of student growth outcomes but also must be concerned with teacher engagement and fidelity of program use in which they have invested. Finding the time, financial and staff resources, and ongoing support continues to be a challenge in educational settings across the country and beyond. Research shows that using a train the trainer approach is an efficient and effective model in developing the professional repertoire of large groups of staff working in schools. The session will look at strategies to develop a train the trainer protocol, discuss the implementation process within school support frameworks, and address outcomes from current models used with a specific platform within the United States. The session will use both quantitative and qualitative data to share successes and continued needs in developing this training method to engage staff and increase the use of applied behavior analytic practices effectively and with success in school settings.

Although it's one of the biggest economies worldwide, in Germany Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), the application of behavior analysis to behavior in the workplace, is virtually nonexistent. The reasons for this situation are manifold; the nearly complete lack of research and teaching in behavior analysis being the most significant. The background for this situation is a total ignorance of radical behaviorism, the philosophy of the science of behavior. On the other hand, effective OBM applications like Behavior Based Safety (BBS) are attractive to German companies. Consultants without any background in behavior analysis try to bridge this market gap with half-baked or "cognitive" versions of these applications, ignoring their foundations in radical behaviorism. But one cannot have the success of OBM applications without consideration of radical behaviorism and basic behavioral principles. Christoph Bordlein describes his efforts to promote the scientific basis for Behavior Based Safety in an environment that lacks institutions and structures for behavior analysis.

The panelists will discuss recent developments at the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). The most current data on the BACBs credentialing 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.

Starting a business in any field can be a scary proposition and often times evokes overwhelming questions like: Am I ready for this? Can I afford this? What if I fail? These questions can be amplified in emerging industries like Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) where the field itself is already on shaky and unstable ground. Moreover, starting a business in a booming field like ABA can be very tempting, especially since demand for services exceeds supply. It is easy to see why so many people want to start an ABA business. However, being prepared for successfully building an enduring and ethical enterprise is a critical set of skills for those brave ABA souls who endeavor to realize their most passionate ambitions. This panel will answer some of the most important questions about starting a business in ABA from ethics to finance to marketing and even OBM as it relates to starting and running a business in ABA.

In light of the great benefits to conducting interdisciplinary work, it is not uncommon for practitioners to harbor misconceptions without a rich understanding of each contributing discipline. A panel discussion of the impact and perceptions of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Positive Behavior Support (PBS) will be conducted by 4 Board Certified Behavior Analysts that work in the domain of PBS. Foundations of ABA and PBS will be discussed from the early history of ABA influencing the application of PBS. Arguments over the past few decades will be presented from both sides of the debate. ABA and PBS in practice will be reviewed including common PBS practices and terminology, highlighting how the practices are rooted to behavior analytic principles. Finally, common misconceptions of PBS will be presented and addressed (i.e., PBS is fluffy, PBS only does antecedent intervention, PBS is not ABA). By debunking these fallacies, the goal is to disseminate proper understanding of PBS and facilitate a more thorough appreciation for the principles of behavior analysis as instrumental in the application of PBS.

Practitioners and researchers have effectively used a range of instructional techniques from applied behavior analysis to teach critical social, language, and academic skills to children with autism spectrum disorders. The collection of studies in this symposium will explore how different variations in instructional procedures can influence the acquisition and generalization of skills for children with autism. First, Sophie Knutson will present a study comparing varying task interspersal ratios on the efficacy and efficiency of discrete-trial teaching. Second, Natalie Jones will present a study comparing the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching procedures with secondary targets embedded into a demand and play context. Third, Shaji Haq will present a study assessing the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of skills taught using prompting and reinforcement or instructive feedback procedures. Fourth, Bethany Hansen will present a study evaluating the effects of single-exemplar and multiple-exemplar training on the acquisition and generalization of third person pronouns. Finally, Bridget Taylor will discuss interesting components of each study, and describe future areas of research on skill acquisition.

Instructive feedback has been shown to vastly improve the efficiency of structured teaching procedures. Instructive feedback involves presenting secondary targets (i.e., extra non-target skills) in an instructional trial. Learners are not required to respond to these additional skills; however, previous studies show that learners may acquire secondary targets in the absence of direct teaching. In the current study we evaluated the conditions under which three children with autism acquired secondary targets in the absence of direct teaching. We used an adapted-alternating-treatments design to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of four teaching procedures with and without secondary targets embedded into demand and play contexts. The results showed that two participants acquired secondary targets presented across all conditions; however, learning was more efficient when secondary targets were presented within a demand context. Findings from this study suggest that instructive feedback may increase the number of skills that children with autism can learn without increasing instructional time, and that the demand context may mediate some of these effects.

Although instructive feedback is an effective and efficient approach for skill acquisition, there is limited research on generalization and maintenance of skills that are trained using this procedure (Nottingham, Vladescu, & Kodak, 2015). In this study, we taught intraverbal fill-ins using prompting and reinforcement (i.e., primary targets) or instructive feedback (i.e., secondary targets), and we assessed generalization of skills to novel therapists or to corresponding wh- questions. In addition, we assessed maintenance of a) primary targets, b) secondary targets, and c) generalization targets during two and four-week probes. Results indicated that all three participants acquired, generalized, and maintained skills in all conditions. Implications for research and clinical practice will be discussed.

Studies have found pronoun difficulties as a noted deficit for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Wilkinson, 1998). Stokes and Baer (1977) discuss the importance of programming sufficient exemplars to promote generalization when teaching a potentially generalizable skill, such as pronoun use. The purpose of this study is to assess the need for multiple exemplar training in facilitating generalization of correct pronoun use. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of single exemplar training on the acquisition of third person pronouns, followed by multiple exemplar training if generalization did not occur. Baseline data were collected for three sets, each consisting of nine targets that included three third person pronouns (i.e., he, she, and they) engaging in three different verbs (e.g., sleeping). Three targets in set one were initially targeted for intervention (e.g., each pronoun engaging in a different verb). Probes were conducted once mastery criteria were met. Untrained targets within and/or across sets were trained until generalization was observed. Results showed that one participant demonstrated generalization within and across sets following single exemplar training of one set, one participant demonstrated generalization within and across sets following multiple exemplar training of one set, and one participant demonstrated generalization following multiple exemplar training of multiple sets. These findings support the need for assessing the number of exemplars that require training to promote untrained, novel responses for learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Functional communication training (FCT) is an efficacious treatment that often results in an immediate reduction of problem behavior (Tiger, Hanley, & Bruzek, 2008). However, the specific prompting strategies used during initial phases of FCT are either not described or are inconsistent across studies (e.g., Gibson, Pennington, Stenhoff, & Hopper, 2010; Lalli, Casey, & Kates, 1995). In particular, the specific methods by which functional communication responses (FCRs) should be prompted prior to and following problem behavior are unclear. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of immediate and delayed prompts to emit the FCR following problem behavior when combined with prompts to emit the FCR prior to problem behavior that were presented using either a fixed 3-s delay or a progressive 0- to 3-s delay. For our participant, a young child with autism, we found that significant reductions in problem behavior and optimal rates of FCRs were only achieved when immediate prompts following problem behavior were combined with a progressive 0- to 3-s prompt delay. Results suggest that the manner in which prompts are delivered prior to problem behavior may be more important than the manner in which they are delivered following problem behavior. Interobserver agreement was assessed for more than 20% of sessions with a minimum agreement of 80%.

The current study integrates the treatment package for socially mediated problem behavior reported by Hanley et al. (2014) with the chained schedule treatment for automatically maintained non-injurious stereotypy reported by Slaton and Hanley (2016). A 10-year-old boy with autism who engaged in high frequency stereotypy was taught to mand for access to stereotypy, wait for the mand to be granted before engaging in stereotypy, give an appropriate response when the mand was occasionally denied, and complete a short series of academic demands before earning access to stereotypy. Stimuli were correlated with periods during which stereotypy was allowed (S+) and periods during which it was blocked (S-). During the S- component, stereotypy was reduced from an average of 71% of component duration to near-zero levels, accuracy with simple academic tasks increased from an average of 29% to an average of 80%, an independent mand for stereotypy was established and then shaped to include a mand frame, and an independent tolerance response for the denial of this mand was also established. A shift in response allocation for (untargeted) vocal stereotypy was observed as well. The importance of contingent access when treating stereotypy will be discussed.

Behavioral analyses of the stimulus control for the phenomena characterized as bi-directional address critical issues in verbal behavioral development, verbal behavior, and relational responding. Laboratories have investigated naming as (a) derived relations, (b) its effects on other derived relations, (c) as well as the identification of experiences that contribute to the onset of naming as a behavioral developmental cusp. We present the perspectives of four laboratories on bi-directional naming.

The target audience consists of all behavior analysts with a theoretical and/or practical interest in the emergence, "generativity," or "explosion" of verbal skills in young children, and in how the basic behavioral principles can be utilized in teaching children with language delays more effectively.

Naming types have been identified as verbal behavior developmental cusps that result from a history of experiences. Different types of naming have been identified according to the stimuli controlling stimuli including: (a) naming involving actions, (b) additional auditory stimuli, (c) exclusion conditions, (d) familiar and unfamiliar stimuli, and (e) additional auditory stimuli. Some children who do not demonstrate naming can do so after several interventions and their educational prognosis improves as a result.

Humans often solve problems by engaging in a variety of strategies, some of which involve talking to themselves. This requires that they speak with understanding. Bidirectional Naming (BiN) is the term used (in behavior analysis) to refer to the ability to react as a listener to one's own speaker behavior. In this talk, I will describe basic, translational, and applied studies supporting the role of BiN in the development of complex skills such as categorization and analogical reasoning. Evidence for the role of BiN as a problem solving strategy comes from positive performances on complex matching-to-sample tasks after the use of verbal behavior training alone, and also from spontaneous vocalizations on the specific verbal strategies utilized by participants during or after task completion.

In the paper that gave rise to the study of stimulus equivalence, Sidman (1971) used the terms name/naming to generically designate responses under the discriminative control of pictures and printed words. In Skinnerian terms, he was referring to tact and textual relations. In Sidman's study, these discriminated operants emerged as a by-product of learning stimulus-stimulus relations. Although the response in a tact (or textual behavior) occurs under the control of a specific stimulus, if that stimulus is a member of an equivalence class, this implies that the response comes under the control of the class as a whole. The class, in turn, involves at least the primary item or environmental aspect, the spoken word/s, which was/were conventionally related to this item by the learner's verbal community [in the tact], and the corresponding printed word/s [in textual behavior]. Consequently, the learning history established listening and speaking behaviors in the same individual. This presentation will illustrate the formation of equivalence classes and the development of listening comprehension, tact, and textual behaviors in a sample of deaf children with cochlear implants.

One method of growing the practice of applied behavior analysis is to train practitioners who are responsible for assessing and treating individuals engaging in challenging behavior. Practitioners from a variety of backgrounds (e.g., psychology, social work, education) are expected to assess and treat individuals engaging in challenging behavior, but they may not have the skills to conduct an experimental analysis, the gold standard in behavior assessment. Training these practitioners to use experimental analyses is necessary if there isnt someone else (e.g., BCBA) with the expertise readily available. Presenters in this symposium have chosen to expand ABA practice by training school-based and community-based practitioners to conduct behavior assessments. Three talks (Staubitz et al., Rios et al., Graber et al.) will discuss training models they employed to successfully teach practitioners preference assessments and/or experimental analyses. All three groups utilized telehealth technology in various ways to support their training. Carrion et al. studied the impact of training school-based behavior teams to conduct assessments that were traditionally reserved for a clinical setting has on clinical practices. Together, the four talks, serve as an example for the understanding the main benefit of sharing ABA with other disciplines: Creating ABA availability for those in need.

Even when practitioners understand the importance of function-based interventions for challenging behaviors, their skill and confidence deficits may prevent them from incorporating valid data within the Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA) they are required to develop and implement. The Tennessee Department of Education contracted with board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) from Vanderbilts Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD) to pilot a program training 8 school-based consultants (e.g. school psychology, special education) to improve the quality of their FBAs for students. TRIAD BCBAs conducted behavioral skills training using a combination of live and telepresence support to teach trainees how to plan, conduct, and analyze preference assessments and descriptive assessments, and to synthesize assessment results into a valid and complete FBA. This presentation will include data reflecting consistent, marked improvements in trainee knowledge and self-assessment of their skills over the course of the project, along with rising procedural fidelity, inter-observer agreement, and accuracy for assessments and reports generated. These findings suggest that these training procedures are likely to result in improved FBAs conducted by school-based consultants, and include several practical implications.

The Iowa Department of Education contracted behavior analysts from the Center for Disabilities and Development to provide hands-on training to behavior specialists working with students who display challenging behavior in schools. Training focused on preference assessments, concurrent operants assessments, antecedent analyses, and functional analyses. To date, this Challenging Behavior Service (CBS) has trained 33 individuals to an independent level in these skills. During training sessions, CBS trainers and trainees worked directly with students referred for challenging behavior. Based on operationalized levels of independence, trainees progressed through two phases of training: skill-building and maintenance. In skill-building, trainers modeled skills and gradually faded support as trainees showed increasing independence. In maintenance, trainees demonstrated their continued independence with the target skills. Over the course of the project, several challenges emerged, including student reactivity and high costs of travel for training. This presentation will describe how we utilized telehealth to overcome these challenges, including a case example from each phase of training. In skill-building, telehealth was used during a school-based assessment to reduce student reactivity, by allowing observers to take data from another classroom. In maintenance, telehealth was used to reduce costs associated with travel and to increase the validity of assessing trainee independence.

This symposium includes four studies that attempted to assess the effectiveness of different instructional methods to generate novel behavior and/or novel stimulus control. The first study assessed the effectiveness of matrix training to teach college students to play notes and rhythms on a piano. The second study also utilized matrix training to overcome faulty stimulus control when teaching children with autism to answer questions containing compound stimuli (multiple control). The third study compared instructive and general feedback when teaching visual-visual matching on the emergence of novel speaker and listener skills in children with autism. Finally, the fourth study compared different types of multiple exemplar instruction and instructive feedback on the acquisition of tacts in children with autism. All procedures were shown to be effective and efficient in teaching the targeted skills.

As part of early intensive behavioral intervention, children with autism are taught to answer personal information questions that might prove useful in conversation (e.g., What is your favorite food? and What is your favorite color?). In these questions, multiple auditory stimuli are presented as part of the compound discriminative stimulus (i.e., what favorite color/food) and each of those stimuli must control responding for the child to give a viable answer. Often children with autism who master one of these targets (e.g., favorite food) consistently fail to acquire subsequent targets (e.g., favorite color) because the previously learned common component of the auditory stimulus (i.e. favorite) controls responding to the exclusion of the unique component (i.e., what is your favorite color?). Although this clinical concern is common, to date no studies have directly examined strategies for overcoming this faulty auditory stimulus control. This study used an adapted alternating treatments design to compare the use of training sets with programmed overlap of component auditory stimuli (i.e., matrix training) to training sets with no overlap of question components (i.e., non-matrix training). The effects of these two arrangements were evaluated on trials to criterion and percentage accuracy. Preliminary results suggest all participants reached mastery faster with at least one target set in non-matrix training compared to the set in matrix training. The effects of training will be evaluated on a third set of stimuli for generalization.

Researchers have recently evaluated instructive feedback as a method to increase the efficiency of language acquisition procedures for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Practitioners implement instructive feedback by including additional stimuli, or secondary targets, within a teaching trial with the goal that clients will acquire the secondary targets with little to no direct teaching required. The current study aimed to evaluate whether the use of instructive feedback over general praise during training of a matching task resulted in faster skill acquisition for three children with autism. Additionally, we tested if listener responding, tacts, and intraverbals emerged as a function of differences in praise statements. The results indicated that instructive feedback was no more efficient than general praise in teaching matching skills. However, participants were more likely to engage in novel verbal operants following instructive feedback suggesting some benefit of the procedure. Clinical implications and future research directions will be discussed.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often emit new skills in a limited range of contexts, and these responses do not readily generalize without proper planning. The purpose of the current study was to directly compare serial to concurrent multiple exemplar training using total training time per exemplar, mean total training time, and exposures to mastery measures of efficiency across three children diagnosed with ASD. Additionally, we assessed the efficiency of presenting secondary targets in the antecedent and consequence portions of learning trials and evaluated generalization to tacts not associated with direct teaching. Results suggested that all training conditions produced acquisition and generalization for trained and untrained exemplars, respectively. However, the serial multiple exemplar training condition was most efficient for two participants, whereas the instructive feedback condition was the most efficient for the third. Findings are discussed in light of previous studies and areas for future research.

The two studies used functional communication training on separate individuals with autism spectrum disorder. One of the studies described a synthesized analysis and treatment, where the analysis was based on an open-ended interview and the treatment was functional communication- and delay-tolerance training, on a child with severe problem behavior (Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, & Hanratty, 2014). The second study described a traditional functional analysis(Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1994) including a precursor analysis as basis for FCT, on an adult with severe problem behavior . The first study was conducted in an early intensive behavior intervention program EIBI in the USA, and the second study was conducted in a residential facility for adults in Norway. Both studies resulted in a considerable reduction in problem behaviors and an increase in appropriate requests. The findings suggest that functional communication training can be used over age range and settings, and lead to meaningful improvements in problem behavior.

We compared a resetting to a non-resetting differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) procedure to reduce stereotypy exhibited by young boy with autism. During the resetting DRO, a reinforcer was delivered contingent upon the absence of stereotypy during the DRO interval. If stereotypy occurred, the DRO interval was immediately reset. The non-resetting DRO procedure was identical, except that contingent upon stereotypy, the DRO interval continued until it expired; a new DRO interval then began. Results indicate that the DRO procedures were equally effective to reduce stereotypy, but the participant preferred the resetting DRO procedure.

The development of play skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder is an ever present need in educational and treatment programs. In the first paper, the authors will present the use of matrix training to teach play skills to three preschool student with Autism Spectrum Disorder using same-age peer trainers. The results will be discussed in terms using matrix training as a generative instructional method for play and the potential benefit for using peers as trainers. The authors of the second paper evaluated a multi-component treatment package including blocking stereotypy, differential reinforcement, and backward chaining, to increase functional leisure engagement (FLE) in three school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. These results will be discussed in terms of their effect on increased FLE as well as decreases in stereotypy. Both procedures will be discussed in terms of their generalization to novel peers and toys respectively and the potential benefit as interventions to be utilized within school settings.

Matrix training is a generative instructional approach where stimulus pairings are taught with the goal of emergent responses occurring without direct instruction. The matrix in this study was comprised of four character-action pairs aligned on a vertical and horizontal axis respectively. The researcher trained peers without identified disabilities to provide instructions and feedback to three children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for four character-action pairings. For all participants, untrained responses for the remaining character-action pairings emerged in 73% to 100% of opportunities. In addition, responses for all participants generalized to novel peers. For two of the three participants, responses also generalized to independent play. Results of this study suggest that matrix training mediated by a peer can be an effective and efficient method for teaching sociodramatic play skills.

Research with individuals with disabilities has demonstrated the utility of intervention approaches to address toy play, also referred to as functional leisure engagement (FLE). Examples include prompting FLE, blocking stereotypy, and differentially reinforcing appropriate FLE with social or automatic (i.e., access to stereotypy) reinforcers. Backward chaining has yet to be evaluated, but may be useful for establishing more complex FLE. The current study employed a treatment package consisting of these components with three school-aged children with autism in a therapeutic classroom. Effects were evaluated during pretest and posttest sessions, which consisted of free access to toys in a novel setting. The percentage of session with FLE and stereotypy (two participants only) was evaluated using a multiple probe design across participants. Results showed all participants demonstrated an increase in FLE and two participants showed decreased stereotypy. Feasibility for classroom implementation is discussed.

Clinical behavior analysis is the application of behavior analysis to understanding and intervening psychological disorders. Analogue research aims to gain understanding about the processes by which and conditions under which interventions are effective. The role of analogue research in the continued development of clinical behavior analysis remains unclear. This symposium will focus on the applications of analogue studies in clinical behavioral analysis. The symposium will begin with a conceptual discussion of the use of analogue design studies in clinical behavioral analysis, followed by the presentation of two analogue studies. The first presentation will review a series of studies examining the relative effects of brief psychological flexibility interventions on behavioral manifestations of body image inflexibility. The second presentation will review the results of a study considering the impacts of an exercise activity on emotions and emotion regulation. Both presentations will include a discussion of the implications of this research, and analogue research in general, for the development of clinical behavior analytic interventions.

Social and communication deficits for children with autism may lead to an increased risk of becoming lost in public spaces, yet few studies have investigated methods for explicitly teaching help-seeking skills. This study was based on the work of Bergstrom et al (2012) and used discrimination training and forward chaining to systematically teach a hierarchy of help-seeking responses to an 18-year-old male diagnosed with autism, Down Syndrome, and ADHD. We first taught the participant to discriminate lost in a clinical setting. Then, we taught him a four-step sequence of conditional responses to recruit help in a public space: call out, approach desk, recruit attention, and exchange identification card. Because any of these responses could effectively produce reinforcement, we taught the sequence using a forward chaining procedure. We established experimental control of treatment effects using a concurrent multiple probe design across contexts and tracked independent responding during baseline, training, and maintenance as our primary dependent variable. Results indicate that the intervention was effective and treatment effects maintained across all settings.

Relationships among stimuli are regarded as implicit behaviors when are measured with respect to faster response latencies and more accurate responses, or brief and immediate relational responding (BIRRs). This paper will address the predictive utility of a modified IRAP to increase cooperation in a simulated work task. Various classes of cooperative, individual, and conformity stimuli were assessed to determine if they had an augmenting function on cooperative responding. The coherence between implicit responding, as demonstrated in the modified IRAP, and explicit responding, as demonstrated in the simulated work task will be discussed.

In order to deliver services to clients and the serve the community at large, it is imperative for behavior analysts to develop collaborative partnerships with various entities such as school districts, community mental health agencies, departments in higher education, and private clinics or programs. Moreover, collaborating and creating practicum sites with those agencies can serve as valuable placements for training opportunities for individuals receiving learning applied training in behavior analysis. However, developing these partnerships and collaborations is not always easy, and there can be many obstacles to address along the way. This panel discussion will discuss and present strategies for effective partnership and practicum development on behalf of several different practicums through their various stages of their existence, as well as share experiences resolving various obstacles and hurdles faced during creation and maintaining of the partnerships. Audience members will also have an opportunity to pose questions to the panelists regarding any presentation material or issues they are facing themselves.

Conclusions derived from current functional assessment practices heavily rely on indirect methods for gathering data (e.g. FAST, MAS). When a function is experimentally tested, current practices pose ethical, practical and theoretical concerns. Both approaches are problematic in that indirect data produces inaccurate and imprecise data, and experimental methods are typically not driven by a hypothesis, directly reinforce problematic behaviors, and do not involve simultaneous establishment of appropriate alternative behaviors. The first presentation will focus on a comparison between two indirect and one direct data collection method to generate hypothesis regarding function that is more accurate and efficient. The second will propose alternative experimental methods to test a subset of hypothesized functions and involve teaching alternative responses and do not reinforce problematic behaviors. The symposium will conclude with an argument to support (1) direct observation of consequences be used in place of indirect data to develop hypothesis and (2) use of use of alternative experimental methods such a free-operant and trial-based functional analysis procedures. The proposed methodology provides a more ethical, conceptually systematic, and practical assessment of function.

Indirect data obtained through interviews such as the Functional Analysis Screening Tool (FAST) and Motivational Assessment Scale (MAS) are commonly used to develop hypothesis regarding function of problematic behavior despite the known inaccuracies produced by indirect data. While researchers use the FAST and MAS as a simple way to raise hypothesis, such use can be problematic if (1) the instrument fails to include the actual function as part of the hypothesis (miss) and (2) does not filter enough possibilities (false alarms). Those outcomes may mislead or waste assessors’ and clients’ time and efforts. The current research aimed to compare the FAST and MAS to a direct observation of consequences that follow problematic behaviors (Beacon Consequence Analysis Form - BCAF). Data from twelve children whose function of problematic behaviors were confirmed by a trial-based or free-operant functional analysis were used in this study. A comparison of the instruments hypothesis and confirmed function was conducted and rates of hits, correct rejection, misses, and false alarms calculated. The results supported the use of the BCAF which had the highest rates of hits (100%) and correct rejections (93.3%) and lowest rates of misses (0%) and false alarms (6.7%) to raise hypothesis regarding potential function.

Skinner defined functional analysis as the identification contingencies of reinforcement responsible for the acquisition of maintenance of responses. Iwata et al (1994) introduced a procedure that involved direct manipulations of the antecedent and consequences in order to experimentally determine the function of the problem behavior. While its approach was and has been now widely accepted some ethical, practical and theoretical concerns may be raised. For example, the appropriateness of its wide use may be questionable in some situations due to its directly reinforcing specific topographies of problematic behavior, and it assumes an invariable relationship between antecedent conditions and the consequences maintaining problematic behavior (e.g., problematic behaviors occurring under demand conditions are always reinforced by escape) which is not always the case. For example, a demand condition may function as a discriminative stimulus that attention (follow through with the demand) will be delivered. The present study attempts to identify a trial-based and free-operant alternative to conducting a functional analysis that involves teaching functional communication responses rather than reinforcing problematic behaviors. This method will be described and examples concerning functional analysis of multiple topographies such as prompt dependency, aggressions, and tantrums will be reviewed.

The prevalence of obesity continues to climb in all age groups, and around the world. The standard paradigm assumes that we “eat too much and exercise too little, that obesity is due to two aberrant “behaviors”. However, are these behaviors cause or effect? Our research on children with brain tumors who develop hypothalamic damage and become obese after surgery or radiation, termed “hypothalamic obesity”, demonstrates that they have anatomic “leptin resistance”. In these subjects, excessive insulin release blocks leptin signaling to drive weight gain and hunger, while pharmacologic insulin suppression results in reduced food intake, increases spontaneous activity, and promotes weight loss. Why should insulin block leptin signaling? Leptin is a necessary signal to the VMH for the initiation of high-energy processes, such as puberty and pregnancy. If leptin always worked, then nobody could gain weight, and our reproductive capacity would be shot. Most obese people are hyperinsulinemic. But is that cause or effect? It is assumed that as you gain weight, cytokines are released from adipose tissue, which drive insulin resistance. However, our research demonstrates that dietary sugar is metabolized to fat in the liver, and it is this liver fat that drives insulin resistance unrelated to peripheral fat. Why should sugar drive insulin resistance? Naturally occurring sugar in fruit is what makes fruit palatable. But for our ancestors, fruit was readily available for one month per year, called “harvest time”. Then came four months of winter, and no food at all. We needed to stock up, to increase our adiposity in preparation for four months of famine. In other words, seasonal insulin resistance was evolutionarily adaptive; but year-round insulin resistance due to ubiquitous sugar availability has become maladaptive. It is assumed that people consume sugar because of its palatability. However, there is now evidence that sugar may be addictive in humans. Obese subjects will use sugar to treat psychological symptoms. Overweight women who were self-reported carbohydrate cravers reported greater relief from dysphoria in response to a carbohydrate-containing beverage as compared to a protein drink. Why are we drawn to sweet? Evolutionarily, sweetness was the signal to our ancestors that a given food was safe to eat because there are no sweet foods that are acutely poisonous (even Jamaican vomiting sickness only occurs after consumption of unripe ackee fruit, which is not sweet). Unfortunately, the food industry knows this and adds excess sugar to processed food to make us buy more. Thus, the behaviors associated with obesity are secondary to our biochemistry, and our biochemistry is secondary to our environment. Understanding these evolutionary precepts explain our obesity epidemic, and also point to environmental and policy solutions.

Practitioners working in behavioral medicine settings or environments where dietary issues impact behavioral responses.

This session is coupled with, and immediately follows, a SQAB tutorial on Behavioral Economics and Obesity presented by Dr. Erin Rasmussen. 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 ABAIs 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.

individuals interested in applying the fundamental principles of behavioral economics to reducing caloric intake of increasing caloric expenditure.

Of the approximately 3.9 million dogs that enter US animal shelters each year, many exhibit behaviors related to fear, which can affect their likelihood of adoption. Current dog training procedures to treat fear include counterconditioning and desensitization, which can often take months or years to show any behavior change and do not teach specific behaviors aimed to increase the dog's chance of being adopted. The current study used a negative reinforcement shaping procedure to teach fearful dogs to approach and and interact with people. The results showed that constructional fear treatment increased the amount of time the dog spent at the front of the kennel, and increased sniffing, tail wagging, and accepting petting for all 3 participants.

A growing number of studies make claims about dog sociability in both applied and basic contexts. Yet, there is currently no standard for measuring sociability in dogs. The purpose of this three-part study was to determine whether a wide range of canine sociability tests would produce the same results as each other, over time, and between shelter and pet dogs. Experiment 1 established the appropriate methodology for detecting social behavior in a shelter setting using a mixed-subjects design to assess whether experimenter position (standing, sitting, or kneeling) and presence of affection (petting and praise or none) affect leashed dogs social behavior. In Experiment 2, three common sociability procedures were compared using shelter and pet dogs: 1) unleashed dogs latency to approach, time in proximity, and following patterns; 2) leashed dogs touching, gaze, and proximity; and 3) the relative reinforcer efficacy between food and human attention. Experiment 3 explored the relationship between sociability and social cognitive tasks including perspective taking, joint attention, and choices in a t-maze. The data have implications for the validity of temperament tests in both basic and applied research. Results can be applied to improve matches for adoption and better inform shelter staff about the dogs in their care.

Previous research demonstrates that response blocking and response interruption are effective treatments for behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement, such as stereotypy. These three studies further evaluated variations of the response interruption and redirection (RIRD) procedure described by Ahearn, Clark, MacDonald, and Chung (2007). Gauthier and Ahearn assessed different levels of procedural integrity of the RIRD procedure in the treatment of vocal stereotypy. RIRD with diminished integrity suppressed stereotypy for some participants, but generally, full integrity resulted in more immediate suppression. Shawler, Dianda, and Miguel replicated and extended Love, Miguel, Fernand, and LaBrie (2012) in a comparison of RIRD and response competition in the treatment of vocal stereotypy. Significant stereotypy suppression was observed with one of the two participants in the response competition condition, but RIRD resulted in greater suppression for both participants. Steinhauser and Ahearn further evaluated the RIRD procedure in a systematic replication of Ahrens, Lerman, Kodak, Worsdell, and Keegan (2011) by comparing motor RIRD and vocal RIRD without prompting in the treatment of stereotypy. Both RIRD procedures reduced stereotypy with all participants, but the most effective procedure was idiosyncratic across participants.

Stereotypy is defined as any repetitive vocal or motor behavior that does not have an apparent function. Two recent methods for treating stereotypy include response competition and response interruption and redirection (RIRD). The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend results of Love, Miguel, Fernand, and LaBrie (2012) by directly comparing the reductive effects of RIRD and response competition separately on vocal stereotypic behaviors using a multielement with reversal design. Reductive effects between auditory and nonauditory toys within the response competition condition were also compared. Participants were one male and one female child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Results for both participants indicate a greater suppression of vocal stereotypy during RIRD. However, for participant two, there were also significant reductions in vocal stereotypy when she engaged with competing items that provided auditory stimulation. Finally, for both participants, there were some increases in appropriate vocalizations during treatment conditions. These findings support the results of previous literature on RIRD and matched stimulation as an effective method to reduce vocal stereotypy.

Behavioral economic demand analyses quantify the degree to which organisms defend consumption of reinforcers. Emanating from the experimental analysis of behavior, demand analyses have rendered an abundance of success in modeling consumption and choice in highly controlled nonhuman studies. Translational applications in the 1980s demonstrated the potentiality of demand analyses in understanding substance use in human subject. Accordingly, contemporary research in addiction sciences has seen a marked proliferation in applying demand analyses in both translational and clinical settings. This SQAB Tutorial highlights translations of findings from basic studies on reinforcer demand to various issues of societal important. The presentation begins with a primer on demand assessment and analysis. Discussion of demand metrics with immediate translation to applied behavior analysis is provided. Particular examples from behavioral health domains are provided in the areas of alcohol, cigarette, marijuana, and indoor tanning demand. The presentation concludes with a discussion of other areas of translation in mainstream applied behavior analysis, such as validating preference assessments, determining token delivery and exchange schedules, and classroom based reinforcement contingencies for work completion.

Certified behavior analysts, psychologists, graduate students.

This presentation will highlight the four big ideas of effective instruction. These big ideas include (a) setting expectations, (b) increasing student engagement, (c) providing praise, and (d) correcting errors. Research supporting these four elements will be shared. Illustrative videos and participant practice using research validated programs will be included in the presentation. Expectations involve a focus on establishing expectation routines and teaching them explicitly. Increasing student engagement will focus on choral responding, use of white boards, and other response card requirements. Providing praise will emphasize the use of general and special praise statements. Finally, correcting errors will involve modeling and firming practices to ensure future success. Problem solving scenarios will also be shared.

This symposium presents three studies that examine aspects of delivering incentives as a behavior-change intervention. The components of incentive delivery evaluated and discussed in the presentations include: feedback, probability of delivery, magnitude of reward, and the interplay of social influences. Taken together, these presentations will provide practitioners and researchers with the latest information on what variables are likely to influence incentive systems.

In practice, the delivery of consequencesincluding incentivesdoes not always correspond with the ideal conditions for effective reinforcement). The present study was conducted as an extension to previous research focusing on the effects of uncertainty for incentive delivery. Using a simulated work task in an analogue setting, an incentive was arranged for meeting a performance criterion during each trial with varying degrees of probability applied to the criterion. Specifically, participants were told at the beginning of each trial that the probability of the incentive criterion being applied to their performance was either 5%, 10%, 25%, or 90%. If the criterion was not applied, no incentive was delivered regardless of performance during that trial. In a reversal design, two magnitudes of incentives ($0.75 and $1.50) were compared. During the small incentive condition, the probabilistic schedules of incentives failed to sustain responding on the work task for under at least the lower probabilities. For those three participants, increasing the magnitude of the incentive shifted responding with lower probabilities of earning an incentive were more effective maintaining responding than under the small incentive. This effect of magnitude may have implications for the implementation of incentive systems under less than ideal conditions.

Lotteries have proven to be an effective procedure in changing employee behavior. However, lotteries contain multiple components (e.g., drawing locations, odds of winning, delivery of tickets after performance). The degree to which the components influence the effectiveness of the intervention is largely unknown. Recent research has examined probabilities that a lottery will payout to entrants, but no research has yet to evaluate aspects of the lottery drawing. This investigation extends previous research by examining the social aspects of lotteries by comparing private versus public drawings of lottery winners. Participants were direct care employees in three separate classrooms in a school for children diagnosed with autism. The dependent variable was the number of FAST assessments completed by the employees. A multiple baseline with a multielement component was used to evaluate no lottery, lottery with a winner drawn and informed in private, and a lottery where the winner was drawn and announced in the classroom.

Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) provides a useful technology and conceptual basis for changing the behavior of individuals in work settings. This symposium focuses on applications of OBM in human services agencies. The first presentation describe working in Early Intervention clinics for children with autism to improve their delivery of behavioral intervention. The second presentation describes and discusses the use of social validity measures in human services in the context of organizational and staff performance improvements.

In clinical settings, it is important to train behavior technicians to run programs correctly and maximize all teaching opportunities. In this study, the total number of teaching opportunities and the percentage of programs with at leave five learning opportunities was targeted for improvement. Results from the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services-2 assessment tool indicated staff fluency deficits. A Precision Teaching intervention was employed to increase fluency across skill acquisition programs. Results suggest that the intervention was effective in both increasing the number of total teaching trials per hour and increasing the number of programs with at least five teaching trials.

Goals, procedures and outcomes oh my! Social validity is an important element to our practice and service. While you may be able to present some compelling data to show the impact of your behavioral intervention, there is one piece of data that can mean long-term success or failure for your plans, namely social validity. This presentation will highlight the importance of social validity, and a design for educating practitioners on including social validity as part of their practice. Emphasis will be placed on how social validity should be integrated before, during and following any behavioral intervention, and case examples towards raising the bar of our profession.

B. F. Skinner argued that neurobiology was not necessary to explain operant behavior. However, some of his most publicized conjectures could only be tested using neurobiological methods. For instance, 1959, in what may be one of the most decisive debates in modern psychology (or cognitive neuroscience), Noam Chomsky gutted Skinner's claims that human language were acquired via operant processes. By understanding and comparing the neurobiological mechanisms of operant learning in different animals, we now are beginning to accumulate evidence that Skinner was at least partially correct: there is a dedicated, evolutionarily conserved biochemical mechanism underlying behavioral learning which does not seem to be involved in the other forms of learning tested so far. This mechanism is also involved in acquiring at least the speech component of language, articulation. Coincidentally, such experiments also solved a technical problem first formulated by Skinner in 1935. Behavioral experiments were performed ~80% statistical power and have been internally replicated before publication. These replications often included different genetic modifications targeting the same biological structure, providing converging evidence for any given effect.

Fellow researchers, but it is my aim that graduate students should be able to follow and understand the talk nevertheless.

Individuals with disabilities are disproportionately more likely to be overweight or obese compared to the general population. With the other health concerns that go along with disabilities, specifically Down Syndrome, this creates the need for a program to increase physical activity. There are several biological characteristics common among individuals with the diagnosis which make them more prone to obesity, such as hypothyroidism, a lower basal metabolic rate, and an increase in leptin along with behavioral characteristics such as oppositional behavior, noncompliance, and inattention (Murray & Ryan-Krause, 2010). Current literature on the use of activity trackers for behavioral intervention is available, but none have specifically focused on individuals with disabilities. The present study utilized fitness trackers to make slow, incremental increases in the daily walking activity of adults with Down Syndrome who are considered obese. The study included five participants living with their families, four males and one female, who ranged in age from 22 to 30. Participants were supported in the intervention by an adult caregiver, which in each case was their mother. The intervention included the provision of a Fitbit worn daily, weekly performance goals, daily performance monitoring on a phone app, weekly data review by phone with the researcher and a caregiver, and immediate reinforcers for goal attainment delivered in the home setting by the adult caregiver in the household. Following implementation of the intervention, all participants increased their frequency of steps taken per day 30% over baseline averages.

Every student in a master's program in applied behavior analysis is required to take a course on ethics. Preparing these new practitioners is one of the most daunting aspects of a training program, yet there are few resources describing strategies to teach students to engage in ethical professional behavior. The purpose of this panel is to describe a process for talking about ethical issues that has been in use in a applied behavior analysis training program. The ethical decision making process will be described and different panelists will describe their experiences working with students as they implement the process.

The focus of this symposium is on behavior analytic emotion-related instruction for children with autism spectrum disorders. The first study used a stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure to teach preference for books for children. Results indicated that children spent more time on looking at books and their stereotyped behaviors decreased after the intervention was completed. The second study used multiple exemplar instruction to teach a student with autism to tact others' emotions and environmental contexts associated with emotions. Results indicated that the student's emotion recognition skills improved as a function of multiple exemplar instruction. The third study employed a behavior analytic emotion intervention program to improve emotional and behavioral competence for children with autism. This study utilized a group design with pre and post tests. The emotion program was delivered in a group format with two to three children in each group. Statistical analyses comparing scores on pre and post tests indicated that children's behavioral and emotional competence improved after the intervention.

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of a stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure on children's preference for books and their stereotyped behaviors. Two 3-year-old boys and one 4-year-old girl with autism participated in this study. A multiple baseline across participants design was used. The stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure consisted of delivering each child's preferred items or edibles while they were looking at books. Results indicated that all children spent more time on looking at books and their stereotyped behaviors also decreased during free play time after the intervention was completed.

One of the major deficits for people with autism is to understand other peoples emotions. Tact emotion training is important for their emotional regulation and social interaction. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a multiple examples strategies and verbal prompt procedure can increase the percentage of correct responses of : (1) tact facial expressions (happy, sad, sacred and angry), (2) tact others emotions and (3) tact the cause of emotions in context, for a student with autism. A middle school student with autism participated in this study. A multiple probe across behaviors design was used. Results indicated that the student acquired the skills of tacting emotions and the environmental contexts associated with the emotions.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a behavior-analytic emotion intervention on childrens behavioral and emotion competence. Eight children (seven boys and one girl, age 7-8) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder participated in this study. The study used a group design with pre and post tests to measure the intervention effects. The emotion intervention was delivered in a group format with two or three children in one group for the first 12 sessions and two individuals sessions. The content included a) emotion recognition, b) identifying antecedent and context of emotion, c) expressing ones own emotions with contextual information, d) seeking help, e) emotion management techniques (i.e., relaxation, distraction), and f) self-delivery of reinforcement for emotion management. Results indicated that the emotion intervention increased childrens behavioral and emotional competence.

Four studies examining compliance among children with autism or related intellectual disabilities will be described. The first study examined the effects of the topography of high-probability instructions during the high-probability instructional sequence. The results suggested that the topography of the high-p instruction had no effect on compliance. The second study examined the effects of teaching verbal-mediating responses (echoic rehearsals) on the acquisition and generalization of following novel combinations of action-object instructions (e.g., �Take out book; Put the cup on the table�). The third study examined whether a concurrent-operant assessment would predict responding in a single-operant assessment in which opposing values of high- and low-preferred parameters were manipulated. Results suggest that low-preferred parameters of reinforcement and response effort can still maintain responding of children with ID in an academic setting, and suggest that clinicians may have flexibility in selecting reinforcement parameters. The fourth study examined the use of a functional analysis and function-based treatment to increase compliance during outings among two children with autism.

The high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence involves the delivery of a series of high-probability instructions immediately before delivery of a low-probability or target instruction. It is a commonly used procedure for treating noncompliance in a variety of populations. It is possible that matching the topography of the high-p instructions with the topography of the low-p instructions in the sequence may lead to greater increases in compliance with the low-p instructions. The current study examined the high-p instructional sequence with both similar and dissimilar high-p instructions on two topographies of low-p instructions (motor and vocal) among two young children. Results suggested that the topography of high-p instructions did not have an effect on the levels of compliance for either participant. Implications of these findings and avenues for future research are discussed.

Complex schedules are ubiquitous in the natural environment, and therefore, often play an important role in the assessment and treatment of problem behavior. This symposium explores various uses of multiple or other combined schedules in all stages of treatment of problem behavior (i.e., during assessment, treatment, and caregiver training), while highlighting both advantages and potential limitations of these schedules. Presentation will focus on a) the potential for emergence of novel functions of behavior following exposure to combined reinforcement schedules during assessment, b) the pre-requisite skills necessary for discriminated responding during multiple schedules, c) the use of technology to signal reinforcer availability, and d) the use of multiple schedules to facilitate the transfer of treatment effects to caregivers. The discussant will provide a thematic synthesis of research findings, and discussion their implications for clinical practice and future research.

Decades of research in behavior analysis have demonstrated that discrimination between schedules of reinforcement occurs more quickly and efficiently when multiple schedules are used compared to mixed schedules. The use of multiple schedules has been shown to be effective at reducing high rates of manding for individuals who use picture exchange cards. However, with the rise in technology, many children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities are learning communication skills (i.e., manding) using new augmentative and alternative communication devices such as the Proloquo2go application on the iPad. To date, no studies have extended multiple schedules in order to signal periods of reinforcement availability and extinction using these forms of technology. The current study will extend the literature of multiple schedules as a proof of concept to current technology.

Functional communication training (FCT) is an effective treatment for decreasing destructive behavior maintained by social consequences (Carr & Durand, 1985). Multiple schedule (mult) FCT has been used to thin the reinforcement schedule during FCT (Hanley, Iwata, & Thompson, 2001). In cases where FCT results in high rates of incorrect FCRs, response restriction has been demonstrated to be a viable alternative (Fisher, Greer, Querim, & & DeRosa, 2014). This study was conducted with four participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who were referred for treatment of destructive behavior (i.e., aggression, disruption, self-injury). Caregivers were taught to implement functional analysis conditions using behavioral skills training (BST). Therapists then taught participants an FCR to access the functional reinforcer(s) and used mult FCT or response restriction to thin the schedule of reinforcement. Following reinforcement-schedule thinning, we used BST to teach caregivers to implement the terminal FCT schedule. Treatment was transferred to caregivers using a multiple baseline across functions, multiple baseline across caregivers, or reversal design. Modifications that were required to facilitate effective caregiver transfer are discussed. Results show that the use of discriminative stimuli during FCT schedule thinning may facilitate the transfer of treatment effects to untrained contexts (e.g., novels settings, therapists, or caregivers).

Social communication deficits are a core characteristic of Autism and many children with Autism Spectrum Disorders are faced with a variety of challenges related to early skill acquisition. Without treatment, these deficits in skill acquisition often lead to significant delays and challenges as students with ASD advance in age. This symposium examines four papers aimed at addressing skill deficits observed within Level 1 of the VB-MAPP. Delfs, Yosick, Walton, Kansal, and Shillingsburg examined mand training via a telehealth approach. Gayman et al. examined a teaching approach aimed at comparing the efficiency of teaching mands through modified sign language versus a picture exchange system. Conine, Vollmer, and Bolivar evaluates procedures for training children with ASD to respond to their name and the conditions under which responding maintains. Finally, Deshais, Phillips, Wiskow, Donaldson, and Vollmer evaluated the acquisition of imitation skills with and without permanent products. Findings from these studies have implications for clinical programming and future directions for research on early skill acquisition. Results and common themes will be discussed by Dr. Tina Sidner.

Interventions aimed at improving functional communication, such as mand training (MT), are often a core component of behavioral interventions for children with autism. MT can be implemented through direct services or delivered as a caregiver-mediated intervention (Loughrey et al., 2014). Several barriers to accessing evidence-based treatment for children with autism are common, including lengthy time commitment and geographical restrictions (Thomas et al., 2007). Prior studies have provided promising evidence of the utility of telehealth technology to address these barriers to access and deliver behavioral services to children with autism (e.g., Wacker et al., 2013; Vismara et al., 2012 and 2013); however, research is limited. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of MT via telehealth in 15, non-vocal, early learners with autism. Feasibility was measured by the percentage of pre- and post- measures collected, drop-out rates, treatment fidelity, and social acceptability by caregivers and therapists. Results indicate that the majority of enrolled participants completed the entire study, attended most sessions, reported satisfaction, and reported willingness to participate in telehealth services again. In addition, gains in requesting and commenting were reported across the majority of participants who completed the study.

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have limited speech abilities and often use alternative communication systems in order to effectively communicate with others. A few studies have compared different communication modalities in an effort to determine which form of communication may be most effective when teaching requesting skills (Tincani, 2004; Barlow, Tiger, Slocum, & Miller, 2013). The current study used a multiple probe design across behaviors (mands) with an embedded alternating treatments design to replicate and extend the comparison study conducted by Barlow and colleagues. In this study, experimenters simultaneously taught the modified sign and picture touch or picture exchange for one preferred item while two additional items remained in baseline. Once mastery criteria were met for a mand item, a post-test consisting of correspondence checks between the indicating response (i.e., pointing to preferred item), mand, and item consumed was conducted for all three mand items. Data for all three participants suggest mands taught using picture touch or exchange may be acquired more rapidly than modified sign and are discriminated from other mands. These data and their clinical implications will be discussed.

Responding to name is a critical deficit and diagnostic criterion for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and appears as a target for intervention in many early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) curricula. However, little research evaluating procedures for training response to name currently exists for this population. The current study evaluates procedures for training this response, and the conditions under which responding maintains, in four children with ASD. Procedures included the delivery of social interaction with and without preferred tangible items contingent on responding to name, response prompts, prompt-fading, and differential reinforcement of independent responding. Procedures were evaluated using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across subjects with an embedded multielement design. Generalization was assessed using a multiple probe design across settings. Results indicated that social interaction was not sufficient to establish or maintain responding, and some form of programmed tangible reinforcement was necessary to produce meaningful increases. Following acquisition, responding maintained at relatively thin schedules of tangible reinforcement, and generalization to non-treatment contexts was observed. Implications for clinical practice and future research will be discussed in this presentation.

Pediatric feeding disorders can range from concerns with volume of food consumed (food refusal) and dietary variety (food selectivity). The purpose of the current symposium will be to survey innovative treatments for pediatric feeding disorders that span both areas. The initial presentations will examine interventions designed to address behaviors that emerge during the course of treatment and interfere with swallowing. The first presentation will determine if the emergence of expulsion is a common corollary effect during treatment of food refusal with nonremoval of the utensil and whether re-presentation is an efficacious treatment for expulsion of solids. The second presentation will compare flipped spoon presentation and redistribution to reduce packing for two children with a feeding disorder. The third presentation will describe a behavioral treatment package to increase compliance with medication administration for two children with severe feeding problems and other medical conditions which required daily medication administration. The final presentation will replicate Peterson, Piazza, and Volkert (2106) and compare a modified version of Sequential Oral Sensory (M-SOS) to an applied behavior analytic approach to treat food selectivity for two participants with autism.

Treating food or liquid refusal with escape extinction procedures reliably results in increased acceptance and decreased inappropriate mealtime behavior. However, problematic behaviors may emerge or persist in response to treatment, interfering with consumption. Coe et al. (1997) and Sevin et al. (2002) showed that treatment of refusal with nonremoval of the utensil (escape extinction procedure) resulted in emergence of expulsion. Both investigators used re-presentation (i.e., feeder scooped up expelled food and placed it into the mouth), to decrease expulsion to near-zero levels. Their results raise the question of whether emergence of expulsion is a common corollary effect during treatment of refusal with nonremoval of the utensil and whether re-presentation is an efficacious treatment for expulsion. A preceding investigation found expulsion emerged during treatment of liquid refusal with nonremoval of the cup and re-presentation was an effective treatment for expulsion. The current investigation evaluated whether treatment of food refusal with nonremoval of the spoon for 12 children resulted in similar findings. Results indicated that 6 (50%) children exhibited expulsion during the evaluation. The incorporation of re-presentation resulted in lower expulsion for 4 (67%) of the 6 children, relative to nonremoval of the spoon alone. Implications will be discussed.

For children with feeding disorders, nonremoval procedures combined with reinforcement are often used by practitioners to treat initial food refusal (Volkert & Piazza, 2012; Volkert, Patel, & Peterson, 2016). However, this treatment may not always be sufficient to increase food consumption because problematic behaviors such as packing or expulsion emerge. Antecedent- and consequence-based interventions have both been effective to decrease packing (holding food in the mouth) or increase mouth clean (converse of packing) for children with feeding disorders. Depositing the bite using a flipped spoon or Nuk upon presentation has been shown to increase mouth clean (Sharp, Harker, & Jaquess, 2010; Wilkins et al., 2014) and re-distribution and/or swallow facilitation has been effective to decrease packing (Gulotta, Piazza, Patel, & Layer, 2005; Volkert, Vaz, Piazza, Frese, & Barnett, 2011). To our knowledge, flipped spoon presentation and redistribution have not been directly compared to reduce packing, and this was the aim of the current study.

Children with a diagnosis of a pediatric feeding disorder may display inappropriate behaviors in order to avoid/escape food so consuming a medication may be even more difficult. There is a limited number of scientific studies available focusing on increasing medication compliance in children with feeding problems. The purpose of this study was to use a behavioral treatment package to increase compliance with medication administration for two children with severe feeding problems and other medical conditions which resulted in daily medication administration. The treatment package for the first participant included stimulus fading, positive reinforcement, and escape extinction. The treatment package for the second participant included a visual cue, stimulus fading, positive reinforcement, self-monitoring, and avoidance. A multiple-probe design was used to evaluate treatment effectiveness for the first participant and a reversal design for the second participant. For the first participant, data showed that in baseline mouth cleans remained low after the specified time criteria and chewing remained high. During the course of treatment, chewing had significantly reduced during baseline and treatment phases but mouth cleans only improved when the treatment package was implemented. By the end of treatment, the child successfully accepted and swallowed all medication without chewing and packing. For the second participant, duration to swallow medication was high in baseline and with the implementation of treatment package, duration decreased to acceptable levels. In addition, both participants were able to consume medications with their caregivers with high integrity. These data are discussed in relation to positive and negative reinforcement and the appropriate treatment combinations that can facilitate better treatment outcomes for children who display oral aversion.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder display food selectivity (consumption of a limited variety of foods; Schreck, Williams, & Smith, 2004). The Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach is a commonly used treatment for food selectivity; however to our knowledge, there is no empirical support for SOS. Peterson, Piazza, & Volkert (2016) compared a modified version of SOS (M-SOS) to an ABA approach and demonstrated that consumption of target foods increased for children who received ABA, but not for children who received M-SOS. In the current study, we replicated the findings of Peterson, Piazza, & Volkert. Thus far, we enrolled two participants with autism and food selectivity and used a multiple baseline across foods design. Acceptance did not increase for the M-SOS participant; however, we observed high levels of acceptance for the ABA participant. Additionally, we observed increased levels of acceptance for one of the two other foods not in treatment (i.e., generalization).

Self-control can be defined as choosing a smaller, immediate aversive event over a larger, delayed aversive event. Children with developmental disabilities have been found to respond impulsively when given the choice between aversive events that differ based on magnitude and difficulty. However, other variables may affect aversiveness (e.g., qualitative differences between tasks). To directly assess and subsequently treat self-control choice involving aversive events that are qualitatively different, it is necessary to assess relative task aversiveness. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to (a) empirically identify a hierarchy of aversive tasks for three individuals with developmental disabilities by evaluating their average latency to avoidant responding when presented with each task, (b) assess baseline levels of self control, and (c) introduce an empirically validated treatment, which involves adding a delay to both tasks. For three individuals with developmental disabilities, low- and high-aversive tasks were identified, and each participant initially made impulsive choices (i.e., chose the delayed, high-aversive task). Following treatment, each participant made more self-control choices. Results suggest that there may be a need to broaden the types of variables included in self-control assessments and interventions.

Teaching adults with intellectual disabilities writing skills in the context of a college class ensures a learning context more typical to that experienced by same-age peers, while simultaneously promoting the inclusion of individuals with intellectual disabilities in a university setting and capitalizing on the educational opportunities afforded by integrating same-age peers (i.e., undergraduate students) in the classroom. We used a package intervention to teach a class of seven adults with intellectual disabilities to write cover letters for job applications. The treatment package included lecture with a modified classroom response system, cover letter templates, delayed feedback on prior letters, and general praise for on-task behavior delivered by undergraduate student peers. Although the treatment was successful, the independent contribution of each component (e.g., delayed feedback) is unknown. Nevertheless, results indicate that adults with intellectual disabilities can and should be integrated into university settings. Recommendations for increasing the feasibility of such educational practices will be discussed.

Mathematical competence is imperative for having a range of daily living, leisure, and career opportunities. Individuals with severe disabilities, including moderate to severe intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder, have difficulty with mathematical problem solving in part due to the chained nature of problem solving. Each step is dependent upon correct execution of the one before, and errors in prior steps can prevent arrival at a correct solution. Pictorial self-instruction has a history of effectiveness for teaching chained tasks to students with severe disabilities, but is only recently being used in chained mathematical tasks. This symposia will include (a) a conceptual model for teaching chained mathematical tasks to students with severe disabilities, (b) report of the impact of peer-assisted pictorial self-instruction on chained mathematical tasks for students with severe disability, (c) report of the impact on technology-based pictorial self-instruction on chained mathematical tasks for students with autism spectrum disorder, and (d) report of the effects of pictorial self-instruction with generalization across iDevices on personal finance chained tasks for students with Down syndrome.

Teaching students with severe disabilities to solve mathematical problems is not only an important academic skill, but also a functional skill important in adult life. The model is constructed on four foundational components: (a) build on research from early literacy for text comprehension of the word problem (e.g., Browder, Trela, & Jimenez, 2007; Mims, Hudson, & Browder, 2012); (b) adapt research on schema-based instruction for solving word problems (Jitendra et al., 2009; Jitendra & Hoff, 1996); (c) apply research on teaching mathematics to students with severe disabilities: task analysis and prompting (Browder, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Harris, & Wakeman, 2008; Browder et al., 2012), and (d) use research on generalization and peer tutors (Carter, Sisco, Melekoglu, & Kurkowski, 2007; Cushing, Clark, Carter, & Kennedy, 2005; Spooner, Kemp-Inman, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Wood, & Ley Davis, 2015; Stokes & Baer, 1977). The theoretical foundations of the model and its instructional components will be demonstrated. The model served as the conceptual framework around which instruction was built.

Research reveals that the academic accomplishments of students with severe disabilities increase through interaction with typically developing peers in an integrated environment (Brinker & Thorpe, 1984, Westling & Fox, 2009). Moving students with severe disabilities toward independence in inclusive educational settings is an aspiration of many professionals and families within the field of special education. Mathematical tasks within general education classes are typically chained and require a high level of metacognition, which are two areas of weakness for students with severe disabilities. The intense level of individual instruction required by students with severe disabilities presents a barrier to inclusive mathematics instruction if teachers or other adults are the only intervention agents. This presentation will prevent findings from a single-case research study that used a multiple probe across participants design to examine the effects of using peer-mediated pictorial instructoin to teach students with severe disabilities to solve chained mathematical tasks. Results found a functional relation between intervention and mathematical problem solving. The significance of these findings, including the ability of peers to deliver systematic instruction with a high degree of fidelity, along with directions for future research will be discussed.

The current study evaluated the effects of a treatment package that included pictorial self-instruction on a technology platform to teach middle school students with autism and moderate intellectual disability to independently complete chained mathematical tasks. Participants learned to solve and discriminate between two types of word problems. Participants were taught how to use an iPad that displayed a task analysis with embedded verbal and specific verbal prompts. In addition, participants were taught key vocabulary terms related to math problem solving. Results of the multiple probe across participants design show a functional relation between constant time delay and acquisition of mathematics vocabulary terms as well as between pictorial self-instruction and mathematical problem solving. The findings of this study provide several implications for practice for using pictorial self-instruction and offer suggestions for future research in this area.

Solving mathematical problems related to purchasing and personal finance is important in promoting skill generalization and increasing independence for individuals with moderate intellectual disability (ID). Using a multiple probe across participants design, this study investigated the effects of a treatment package that included pictorial self-instruction on solving chained mathematical tasks related to personal finance. Middle school students with moderate intellectual disability were taught to use a calculator and a task analysis to solve word problems related to items being on sale or needing to leave a tip. The results showed a functional relation between the treatment package and the ability to both solve problems and generalize across devices (e.g., classroom calculator, iPhone, iPad). Findings of this study provide several implications for practice and offers suggestions for future research.

The Morningside Model of Generative Instruction (MMGI) is a research based protocol for teaching learners of all ages and grades. Over 125 schools in the US and Canada have successfully implemented MMGI with both typically developing students who struggle in school, and children with disabilities. In this symposium, presenters will highlight successful innovations in implementing MMGI with middle school, high school and college students. In the first presentation, Brien McGuire will describe a procedure for going beyond standard fluency building procedures to design individualized, targeted fluency practice for students in a pre-algebra class. In the second presentation, Nicole Erickson will present procedures for teaching learners themselves to use MMGIs teacher led delayed prompting procedures to coach each other in applying written composition and conceptual mathematics methods to new assignments beyond those presented during instruction. In the third presentation, Scott Beckett will describe how MMGI design, diagnosis, precision teaching, and explicit instruction procedures have been adapted to remediate algebra deficiencies in students at Jacksonville State University. In the fourth presentation, Shiloh Isbell will describe her design of a web-based application to teach reinforce, and build the fluency of organizational skills of adolescents who struggle in high school.

Developmental algebra presents a huge hurdle for 50% of college students nationwide, preventing many from graduating. Students exhaust financial aid and lose earning potential, and schools lose tuition dollars. At Jacksonville State University, Board Certified Behavior Analysts in Learning Skills have designed an accelerated developmental algebra course that blends online, adaptive instruction (provided by EdReady) with in-class, evidence-based teaching practices adapted from the Morningside Model of Generative Instruction. Over the past four semesters, students with an average age of 19 have increased passing rates from below 50% to above 75%, ACT composite scores from 17-19. Roughly equal percentages of females and males, and African-Americans and Caucasians achieved substantial improvements. Two on-site Board Certified Behavior Analysts train and supervise four psychology graduate students as teaching assistants, resulting in a four to one student to teacher ratio. The graduate students commit to two years and earn 1500 supervision hours at no cost as partial payment for their teaching. They learn and apply MMGIs component-composite analysis, diagnosis and remediation, precision teaching, and explicit instruction components. They have also created flashcards and practice sheets aligned with the online developmental math curriculum.

Students struggling in school with organization deficits need to be taught skills such as homework organization, time management, self-advocacy, and project management. Once these skills are fluent, students notice improvement in their grades, work quality, and stress level. Unfortunately, these reinforcers are often too far removed to maintain pro-student behaviors. This presentation discusses the creation of a computer application, Learning Lab Assistant, to promote organization skills in students with executive functioning problems, as well as data collection and analysis to determine app effectiveness. The main focus of the presentation is how to increase app interaction utilizing principles of gamification as viewed within a behavior analytic framework. Gamification as a concept will be explained, including critical and variable features, as well as a discussion of player and reinforcement types. The effectiveness of changes in app design to include gamified aspects is shown using student engagement data collected by the Learning Lab Assistant app.

Practitioners and researchers in the field of behavior analysis often encounter individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who present with complex learning problems or behavior that does not readily respond to even good-quality ABA services (Sallows & Graupner, 2005). In the field, these children might be labeled as "non-responders" and many have long learning histories which have resulted in faulty stimulus control such as biased responding or prompt dependency. While it is quite fortunate that so many research and best-practice publications and trainings are now aimed at disseminating strategies to decrease the likelihood of developing those types of learning patterns, there is a relative lack of information to help practitioners address those learning barriers where they exist. In this symposium, presenters will share research and clinical data from their work with these children, and describe the approaches they have used to spur progress in areas of difficulty such as listener responding, imitation, and conditional matching. The presenters will also outline the analysis of target and prerequisite skills necessary with this population, and suggest programmatic and curricular changes that will maximize learner performance with these specific skills as well as functioning and independence in daily life.

For many years the term "non-responder" has been used to connote those individuals who make little or no progress in Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) programs. While there is little debate that such individuals exist, the description is hardly consistent with a scientific requirement of a technological description of the phenomena. Non-responders respond. They respond incorrectly (from the point of view of the instructor), they may display high levels of problem behavior, low levels of correct responding and a multitude of off-task, distracted and otherwise interfering behavior. In short, significant levels of responding are occurring, just not under the control of the relevant stimuli. The question is how to account for this failure to bring responding under instructional control. One must either conclude that the operant learning paradigm may not apply to this learner or accept the fact that despite their best efforts, the clinicians have not yet identified and controlled the controlling variables. This presentation will highlight three cases where individuals identified as not making progress in EIBI programs where subjected to more detailed analyses. Program modification made as a result of these analyses resulted in previously described non-responders becoming effective learners in the context of EIBI programming.

Receptive learning difficulties are commonly observed with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recent research investigations have focused primarily on preventing the occurrence of ineffective learning strategies. Recommendations include counterbalancing location of the target stimulus within the stimulus array and order of occurrence of target stimuli within sets of trials. Additionally, research and clinical practice has focused on the adherence to strict prompting protocols. Such strategies focus on what not to do, rather than helping the student learn what to do. There are a number of complementary skills including "learning how to listen" that have not been sufficiently explored in the research literature that could potentially facilitate success in conditional discrimination tasks. Drawing upon clinical experience as well as our published research we will discuss potential strategies for improving students' success with receptive language, provide recommendations for clinicians who work with individuals diagnosed with ASD, and provide ideas for future research projects.

Despite evidence-based practices for teaching receptive identification (i.e., auditory-visual conditional discrimination) to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a proportion of these children do not acquire this skill. The lack of acquisition during training may relate to the absence of important, prerequisite skills for successful auditory-visual conditional discrimination training. An assessment of prerequisite skills for auditory-visual conditional discrimination can help identify missing skills in need of intervention such as simple visual or auditory discriminations. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research to guide researchers and practitioners on how to teach these missing prerequisite skills once they are identified. This presentation will describe several interventions to teach missing prerequisite skills for auditory-visual conditional discrimination training with children and adolescents with ASD. We will describe treatment challenges encountered while teaching these prerequisite skills. Suggestions for modifications to training procedures that could improve the success of teaching prerequisite skills for auditory-visual conditional discrimination will be provided, and we will discuss the importance of persisting with the identification of effective strategies for clients who have a slow response to common behavioral interventions.

Many young children with autism have difficulty learning to exhibit skills that are part of developmental curricula. These skills include identical and arbitrary matching, vocal or motor imitation, listener responses that require conditional discriminations, tacts, and intraverbal responses. Many of these same children seldom experience stimulus generalization or induction. Dr. McGreevy will suggest curricular alternatives that should be considered when children experience these barriers and are no longer candidates for effective, formal, academic inclusion. One of these alternatives, Essential for Living, was co-authored by Dr. McGreevy and is composed of functional communication skills and pragmatic language skills, along with functional daily living and tolerating skills that are designed to prepare children for personally fulfilling experiences as children and adults and effective participation in their family life and their communities. These skills are taught in contexts that are the same or similar to those which they will encounter in daily living, which precludes the necessity for stimulus generalization and induction.

Some authors claim that over the last decades the experimental and applied analyses of behavior have become disconnected. However, a thorough analysis of the literature shows that this trend toward insularity has been somewhat reversed over the last decade by an emphasis on translational research. Three factors could account for a change in trend toward more basic�applied interaction. First, the rise of functional analysis methodology that is used to identify the contingencies that generate and maintain problem behavior. Second, the editorial leadership of JABA and JEAB has prompted attention toward basic research of potentially applied relevance. Finally, basic researchers are increasingly urged by funding agencies to strengthen the translational potential of their work. Above all, translational research is essential to a cohesive behavior analysis. The present symposium presents a range of studies from four different labs under the common theme of translational research. Specifically, presenters will discuss empirical translational work in the following areas: differential outcomes effect (McCormack), the signaling effect of reinforcers (Cowie), delayed reinforcement (Fernandez), and vicarious punishment (Koehler). These studies provide an overview of current translational research.

The differential outcomes procedure has been found to enhance conditional discrimination learning in animals and humans. In conditional discrimination learning, the subjects learns to make one response in the presence of stimulus A (the discriminative stimulus) and another in the presence of stimulus B. By pairing each discriminative stimulus with a unique reward or reinforcer it provides an addition cue to correct responding. This can lead to faster and more accurate learning, as well as the development of equivalence relations. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that reinforcers can become part of the relational frame of discriminative stimuli. Thus, the differential outcomes procedure provides an opportunity to evaluate the extent to which differential reinforcers can induce distinct emergent relationships. In the present study, we taught novel labels to four boys with developmental or intellectual disability. Three of the four boys met mastery sooner in the differential outcomes condition relative to the variable outcomes condition. In addition, we tested for the emergence of equivalence relations, and found that stimulus-outcome or response-outcome relations emerged in three out of four students. Three of the participants participated in a subsequent transfer phase where we introduced novel stimuli requiring the same vocal response. Only two of the boys were able to meet mastery criteria for the new stimuli and both met mastery sooner in the differential outcomes condition. The study provides evidence for the effectiveness of the differential outcomes procedure in children with disabilities and provide an empirical basis for the addition of differential outcomes in behaviour acquisition programs.

The assumption that reinforcers strengthen behavior forms the foundation of many behavior-analytic interventions. However, recent basic research suggests that reinforcers control behavior because of what they signal about events that are likely to occur in the immediate future, rather than because they strengthen the behavior they follow. We extended an experimental paradigm used with non-human animals to study reinforcer control of choice in children. Seven typically developing children and one child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder played a game where opening one of two drawers would result in a reinforcer. The probability of the next reinforcer being obtained for opening the same drawer as had produced the last reinforcer was varied across conditions. Generally, children chose the drawer more likely to produce the next reinforcer, even on occasions when a different response had been reinforced in the preceding trial. This finding suggests that strengthening may be an unnecessary construct, and that a better understanding of how appetitive consequences control behaviour may be achieved using an alternative framework.

Recent research on the effects of delayed reinforcement on response maintenance in children with ASD suggests that reinforcer delays degrade response maintenance at delay values that varied from 6 to 120 seconds (Leon, Borrero, and DeLeon, 2016). However, this preparation examined the effects of delays under conditions in which no programmed alternatives to target responding were available, which seems unrealistic in relation to what a child might encounter in natural environment. In the present study, we first compared response maintenance with no programmed reinforcement in the presence and absence of freely available alternatives. We then added reinforcement for responding and parametrically increased the delay to reinforcement while retaining the freely available alternative. The results suggest that arranging a concurrently available alternative activity makes children less likely to persist in the absence of reinforcement, but performances do not deteriorate at markedly lower delays than previously observed if alternative activities remain present. Subsequent analyses compare whether this remains true for primary and conditioned reinforcers.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in communication and social skills. Despite a wealth of studies on establishing basic repertoires in these areas, there is limited research on teaching complex communication and social skills, such as talking about past events and determining if others are available for conversations. The first three papers in this symposium focused on teaching recalling past events to individuals with ASD. In the first paper, Walters et al. used prompting and fading to teach recalling past events to children with ASD who used speech generating devices to respond. In the second paper, Stine and Bourret taught the problem solving strategy of visual imagining to adolescents with ASD which increased recalling past events. In the third paper, Phelan et al. taught the problem solving strategies of visual imagining and self-questioning to children with ASD which increased recalling past events. In the fourth paper, Mann and Karsten taught self-questioning to college students with ASD which increased their conversational behaviors related to the availability and interest of conversation partners. The complex repertoires targeted in this symposium require an analysis of multiply controlled verbal behavior. The discussant will place the papers in context and recommend future directions.

Reporting past behavior has been identified as an area of deficit for individuals with autism and plays a significant role in social communication due to its relatively high frequency in day-to-day interactions (e.g., a parent asks their child ?what did you do at school today?? or a friend asks ?what movie did you watch last night??). Previous research has shown that children with autism can learn to report past behavior following echoic prompts and prompt fading; however, all these participants communicated vocally, which is not fully representative of the broad spectrum of communication abilities in individuals with autism. Recently, the use of speech generating devices (SGD) is becoming more prevalent for non-vocal children, but additional research is needed on the use of SGDs. Thus, the purpose of the current study is to extend upon previous research to increase the accuracy in reporting past behavior with the use of a SGD in two children with autism (additional datasets are forthcoming). Participants reported past behavior using picture selection, text selection or typing on his or her SGD. Results found that participants reported past behavior with greater accuracy on end-of-day probes following our treatment procedure, and correct reporting generalized to caregivers.

Many individuals with developmental disabilities cannot accurately remember past events; recall may be improved by learning to emit precurrent, or problem solving, behaviors to make correct responses more probable. Visual imagining is a problem solving strategy that involves seeing in the absence of a stimulus that was once seen (Skinner, 1974). Kisamore, Carr, and LeBlanc (2011) evaluated a visual imagining procedure on an intraverbal categorization task with four typically developing children; this procedure did not establish high rates of responding, but responding did increase when participants were prompted to use the strategy and taught a rule to reduce prompting. In the current study, a visual imagining procedure was evaluated with five adolescents (ages 12-15 years) with an autism spectrum disorder. Recall was evaluated before and after the training condition at no delay and at a delay of up to two hours. The visual imagining procedure increased recall for three of the five participants when no delay was imposed and, for two participants, increased recall at no delay and at untrained delays of up to two hours. For two participants, repeated exposure to stimuli and a correction procedure were required to improve recall.

Many individuals with autism do not reliably respond to questions about past events, such as telling a parent or teacher about a recent weekend trip or a visit to the zoo. Problem solving strategies, such as visual imagining and self-questioning, can assist in recalling past events. We evaluated these strategies with 3 children with autism using a multiple baseline across participants design. At the start of each session, the participants engaged in a novel activity with a behavior therapist, and the therapist took a picture of the activity. Approximately two hours later, a different therapist asked the participant to describe what he/she did. The intervention consisted of showing the participant the picture of the activity, telling him to close his eyes and see the activity, modeling asking and answering seven questions (e.g., Who was there? What is one thing that happened?), prompt fading, and reinforcement. All participants demonstrated an increase in the frequency of accurate about the activity with varying levels of assistance. Interobserver agreement and procedural integrity data were collected for nearly 100% of sessions across all participants and conditions (table attached). Future researchers should continue to evaluate effective problem solving strategies for recalling past events.

Higher quality conversation skills correspond to higher quality of life (e.g., independent living, employment) for adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Roessler, Broling, and Johnson, 1990). In this sequence of studies, we taught responses occasioned by conversation partner behavior as a means to improve the conversation skills of college students with ASD. In Study 1, participants learned to engage in self-questioning to determine if a peer or professor is available to converse. In Study 2, participants learned to engage in self-questioning to occasion correct responses across three functions of speaker disinterest. We assessed generalization of participant responses from the training context to conversations with trained confederates and untrained conversation partners (e.g., peers, professors). Finally, we collected peer ratings of the social validity of changes in conversation behavior as well as participants social validity ratings of study goals, procedures, and outcomes.

Schedule-induced or "adjunctive" behavior may occur related to a time based schedule when an individual produces behavior accompanying a scheduled stimulus delivery. In 1978, Foster exposed a lack of the term "adjunctive behavior" within the usage of JABA, while noting the potential significance of "adjunctive behavior" to applied settings. He had observed "numerous cases where professionals and paraprofessionals devoted strenuous, shortsighted, and futile efforts at directly modifying apparently adjunctive behaviors by imposing medications or consequences on them." Today, despite its contributions to the basic literature and its massive potential significance to applied settings, adjunctive behavior remains a topic infrequently explored by researchers interested in human populations, and may still be unfamiliar to behavior analysts lacking research experience or comprehensive backgrounds. This paper explores using a schedule-related analysis in providing ethical supervision and treatment for populations affected by trauma (for example, young children experiencing court-ordered visits with caregivers previously associated with aversive stimuli). Data are discussed in the context of engineering supportive environments for children with previous schedule related aversive experiences, as well as providing appropriate education and training for such families or others new to the analysis of stimulus schedule effects.

PENDING

Attitude is one of the strongest non-verbal determinants of academic and employment achievement especially in competitive settings, yet it is rarely addressed as an important behavior for applicants to focus on. Attitudes are complex circular designs since each established attitude creates a perception, which establishes an attitude, and the cycle continues. Attitude and dyadic interactions are known to be complex. Add group and panel interviews to this, and attitudes of the applicant can catapult the individual to a successful outcome, or discontinue the applicant's competition early in the process. The authors will present a behavioral analysis of an attitude, teach how to modify or change attitudes for success and effectiveness, and present cases they experienced pertaining to attitudes in academic and employment competition. Attendees will learn how to generalize the material to their own social function opportunities that can provide additional benefits to competition in their respective settings. They will learn highly effective attitudes and how to develop them for competitive job search and educational promotion situations for professionals.

Each person carries within them thoughts, feelings, and emotions that influence our behavior and which influence the way we are perceived by others. This works both ways with each interaction. This interaction (perceptions of each other and our behavior) is so very complex, and happens so quickly, that perceptions of each other are not necessarily at a conscious level and opinions about you can be formed before you even have a chance to make any corrections to your behavior. Complicating this process are antecedents that evolve into perceptions, which we learn early in life. This paper will explain (1) how you develop perceptions and attitudes, (2) how these influence your behavior, and the perception of others, and (4) how we learn which antecedents require a response and which ones do not. The paper will also teach the audience how to increase awareness of their own perceptions and how to shape, modify, or discontinue reactions to perceptions.

Positive attitudes have a strong impact on the competitive job search and promotion processes for professionals across academic, industry, not-for-profit, government, and other sectors. We have substantial evidence and experience that attitudes such as optimism, confidence, responsiveness, energy, caring, etc., can create positive perceptions and judgments in key decision-makers. At the same time we have learned that anchoring these attitudes in specific behaviors help us to understand the processes, and to develop effective attitudes/behaviors in ourselves and in others. This paper identifies several specific positive attitudes in the job search and promotion processes, with a strong emphasis on behavioral aspects. Real cases will be presented and discussed, revealing how attitudes translate in to behaviors. Attendees will learn how to change or modify existing behaviors to increase successful outcomes in academia and employment, and learn how to develop a vocabulary and create behavioral examples that will reflect strengths, experiences. Behavioral techniques presented will include SMART goals (Specific, Measureable, Action-oriented, Realistic, Time-bound).

The recurrence of previously eliminated operant behavior (i.e., relapse) represents a challenge to the long-term success of a wide variety of behavioral interventions. This tutorial will provide a review of common relapse phenomena (e.g., reinstatement, renewal, resurgence) using examples from both basic research and applied settings. A major emphasis will be on providing user-friendly descriptions of existing theories of relapse, especially theories of resurgence. Theories discussed will be Behavioral Momentum Theory, Context Theory, and Choice Theory. The successes and failures of these theories will be addressed, as will areas in need of additional empirical and theoretical development. Finally, translational relevance will be discussed by considering how insights provided by the theories might be used to prevent or reduce relapse following common behavioral interventions (e.g., DRA). This presentation will also serve as an introduction to a panel discussion on the application of theories of relapse.

Certified behavior analysts, graduate students.

Methods to support students' competencies often target isolated contexts or activate individual treatment agents. Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC; Sheridan, Kratochwill & Bergan, 1996; Sheridan & Kratochwill, 2008), on the other hand, is an indirect intervention focused on the attainment of students' goals through (a) collaborative and consistent implementation of evidence-based interventions across home and school settings, and (b) data-based problem solving with parents and teachers working as partners. This presentation will review CBC and decades of empirical investigations that have documented its efficacy for promoting behavioral, social-emotional and academic competencies among children facing a range of behavioral and learning challenges. Research exploring outcomes for students, parents and teachers will be presented. A focus on translation and considerations for practice will be highlighted by exploring empirically-derived "active ingredients" (mediators) responsible for CBC's effects, conditions (moderators) under which desired outcomes are maximized, and a number of implementation lessons learned. Opportunities for future research and training will be explored.

Professionals who serve as consultants or who are interested in school/home consultation.

The effectiveness of behavior support has been demonstrated across school, home and community settings. However, challenges often arise in the delivery of behavioral services that may negatively impact the effectiveness of treatment. Consistent implementation of behavior support strategies is a vital component of successful treatment outcomes and influences the effectiveness of the treatment (Allen & Warzak, 2000). In home and community settings, typically behavior analysts train parents with the expectation that parents are primarily responsible for implementing interventions. In many cases however, parents may be experiencing circumstances that function as impediments to successful implementation (Stocco & Thompson, 2015). Behavior analysts may have little influence in mitigating these circumstances but can work with parent training and support groups to address these barriers (Allen & Warzak, 2000). Behavior support literature indicates that collaboration between families and practitioners can result in successful treatment outcomes as well as improvements in quality of life for families (Lucyshyn, Blumberg & Kayser, 2000). This panel will discuss parent and practitioner accounts of challenges that often arise in behavioral service delivery and how these issues may be addressed in home and community settings through collaboration of behavior analysts and parent training and support organizations.

Telepractice refers to using technology to deliver training from a distance. Telepractice can allow Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) to access more students and families and teach applied behavior analytic (ABA) to more people. For example, Wacker et al., 2013 revealed that it is feasible for parents to conduct functional communication training (FCT) when being coached by BCBAs that were within 200 miles via telepractice. While there is developing literature supporting the use of distance technology to disseminate ABA, there is limited support for the use of this technology in global dissemination. These studies aim to extend the telepractice literature base by evaluating the use of telepractice to disseminate naturalistic instruction on a global level. Naturalistic instruction involves teaching in one's natural environment and reinforcing behavior with natural contingencies. The authors will speak on their research done on using telepractice to coach parents and students on naturalistic teaching in Japan.

We investigated the effects of a global telepractice training package on participants implementation of incidental teaching. The supervisor was a BCBA-D in the United States while the supervisees worked at a community based clinic in Japan. The supervisor worked with one bi-lingual coach to master incidental teaching via videoconferencing and delayed video-based feedback. The coach then taught three subsequent therapists. Impacts of this global telepractice training program will be discussed in terms of therapist fidelity of implementing incidental teaching, impact on child mands, and social validity of the training program.

Both naturalistic communication and parent-delivered interventions are considered evidence-based practices for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). However, it is not well known how much this delivery model may actually be efficient in terms of cost, time, and effort for parents. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a training on parent implementation of naturalistic communication teaching procedures and on childs communication skills using a tele-home practice. This study used a self-training manual that included written and video instructions to provide parent training in participants home environments. A changing criterion design was utilized. Three mother-child dyads with children ages 4-6 years with a diagnosis of ASD participated in this study. In addition to the self-training manual, the mother participants were asked to complete a self-checklist of the instructional procedures after each session. Based on the participants performances, written feedback was provided. Pre- and post-training and follow-up data collection are still under way.

Skinner (1957) classifies communication responses in terms of functional properties rather than in terms of its form. A mand is a type of communication behavior that is controlled by deprivation or aversive stimulation and reinforced by characteristic consequences. Approximately 25-30% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder do not develop speech. As a result they may benefit from interventions that teach the use speech-generating devices to establish manding repertoires. This symposium will present empirical data related to teaching manding skills to children using speech-generating devices. The first single case study evaluates teaching procedures used to target increasing targeted vocalization along with speech-generating devices during mand training. The second single case study replicates the procedures from Ingvarsson and Hollobaugh (2010) to teach a child who used a speech-generating device to mand for answers to unknown questions. The third single case study replicates the procedures from Shillingsburg et al. (2014) to teach children with autism to mand for information using speech-generating devices. The final single case study evaluated procedures for teaching children with autism to use a speech-generating device to mand for information using Where question frames. Tracy Raulston will sever as the discussant.

Six preschool-age children with autism and limited echoic abilities were taught to mand for preferred items using a speech-generating device (SGD) during a vocalization baseline that included least-to-most prompting and reinforcement for SGD mands, and no programmed consequences for vocalizations. Participants emitted target vocalizations during 0-40% of trials (M= 5%). An SGD-vocalization intervention was introduced across two implementations of a multiple baseline design. Intervention phase I included a delay to reinforcement and differential reinforcement (i.e., SGD-only on extinction; SGD plus target vocalizations reinforced). During this phase, three participants increased target vocal approximations (M= 81%), and one began using the full vocal target word (M=97%). A fifth participant required the addition of an instructors echoic model (phase II of intervention), and reached a mean of 100% in a return to phase I. The sixth participant appeared to have satiated on the preferred item and intervention was discontinued. Phase II was introduced to shape closer approximations and/or higher rates of target vocalizations for participants who showed phase I success (with a second word introduced for the participant who mastered a full target word). Shaping procedures had mixed success. Participants generalized vocalizations when the SGD was absent, and maintained responding.

The current study systematically replicates and extends the findings of Ingvarsson and Hollobaugh (2010) by teaching a boy with autism who used a speech-generating device to mand for answers to unknown questions. The effects of the intervention were evaluated via a multiple baseline across stimulus sets. The intervention resulted in acquisition of both the mand for information and intraverbal responses (i.e., correct answers to previously unknown questions). However, generalization of the mand for information was limited.

Some children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty acquiring spoken language even after receiving intensive intervention. For these individuals, alternative and augmentative communication systems can be helpful. With the ubiquitous use of tablets and mobile devices, the use of speech generated devices has increased. Children with limited functional communication require targeted mand training to increase social communication skills and the mand repertoire is often one of the first skills targeted for children with ASD who use devices (van der Meer & Rispoli, 2010). Advanced manding repertoires may also be taught using communication devices. Shillingsburg, Bowen, Valentino and Pierce (2014) demonstrated an intervention to teach mands for information using prompting and differential reinforcement under establishing operation (EO) and abolishing operation (AO) conditions to children using vocal responses. The current study replicates the procedures from Shillingsburg et al. (2014) to teach two children diagnosed with ASD to mand for information using a speech generated device on a tablet. Both participants learned to mand for information using who and which and used the information provided to access a preferred item. Procedural details and modifications will be discussed.

Children with autism spectrum disorder who have limited spoken communication skills are often taught to use a speech-generating device for basic mands, such as requesting preferred objects. Fewer studies have focused on teaching mands for information. We report on the results of two experiments that aimed to evaluate procedures for teaching three children with autism spectrum disorder to use a speech-generating device to mand for information (i.e., Where is [item]?). Teaching procedures involved systematic instruction (i.e., time delay, response prompting, and differential reinforcement) and a behavior chain interruption strategy. Results of the first experiment showed that all three participants acquired the target mand, however, generalization to a novel stimulus did not occur until direct training was provided. For the second experiment, each participant was taught to approach a second communication partner when the first partner did not provide the requested information. Results point to a potentially useful approach for teaching mand for information to children with autism spectrum disorder.

All verbal behavior programming is ultimately intended to produce generative capacities for speaking and listening. Cusps represent behavior capacities that enhance or extend an individuals ability to learn and adapt to environmental complexities. Verbal behavior cusps enhance and extend the development of verbal repertoires as sources of generative speaking and listening competencies. The four presentations included in this symposium provide examples of early behavioral cusps that appear to be necessary for the evolution of verbal repertoires that lead to generative behavior.

Visual regard provides the basis for rapid and extensive learning. In this study, visual regard is shown to be a precursor skill for the development of proto imperatives, non-vocal mands. We analyze steps to induce visual regard in children who lack this skill.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship that exists between echolalia and intraverbal operant in language development. This study compared (1) the intraverbal behavior of typically developing children and children with autism; (2) the echolalic behavior of normally developing children and children with autism; and (3) the correlation between language skills and echolalia.

This study showed the acquisition of echoics/mand, mands and tacts in an initially nonverbal four year old boy with autism. The analysis tracked the emergence of tacts from mands and mands from concurrent echoic/mands

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effectiveness of a procedure - Echoic Extension- to teach echoic repertoire to non-verbal children who present challenges to acquire echoic repertoire. Echoic Extension is defined as the extended presentation of the antecedent vocal stimulus. Four nonverbal children participated in this study and all four children acquired echoic responses under vocal stimulus control. In this paper we analyzed the components that may make echoic extension an effective procedure.

Contingency management is a useful behavior analytic technique that can readily be applied to problem behaviors related to health. Contingency management has been validated as an effective treatment for substance use disorders by many randomized controlled trials. Recently contingency management techniques have been used to treat new behavior targets and new populations. The presentations delivered during this symposium will cover several of these new targets and populations and review the modern expansion of contingency management. Specific topics include application of contingency management to reduce opiate use and HIV sex risk behaviors in women arrested for prostitution, using remote alcohol monitoring to facilitate alcohol abstinence reinforcement, and the use of the good behavior game to increase physical activity in elementary school children. The discussant has published frequently in this area, with relevant publications in journals such the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Addiction, and Translational Issues in Psychological Science. Taken together, this symposium offers its audience a broad overview of current research in contingency management.

The delivery of monetary incentives contingent on verified abstinence is an effective treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. However, technological barriers to accurate, frequent biochemical verification of alcohol abstinence have limited the dissemination of this technique for the treatment of problematic alcohol use. In the present study, we are using a breathalyzer device that allows remote collection of a breath alcohol sample, text messaging, and reloadable debit cards for remote delivery of incentives to test a contingency management treatment for alcohol use that can be delivered with no in-person contact. We are comparing two groups: a Contingent and Noncontingent group. The Contingent group receives nearly immediate monetary payments over the internet each day they remotely provide negative breathalyzer samples. The Noncontingent group receives payments each day they successfully provide samples independent of the alcohol content of those samples. Results support the efficacy, acceptability, and feasibility of this intervention. Abstinence rates in the Contingent group were over 40% higher than the Noncontingent group (p < .001), breathalyzer collection adherence rates were over 95% in both groups, and participant ratings of acceptability were high.

For health and wellness, children should engage in 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily, though many children do not. We evaluated the effects of a modified version of the Good Behavior Game on the number of steps taken by elementary school students during their recess periods. Students in the class were divided into two teams, and the team with the highest pedometer step-counts at the end of each game earned raffle tickets that they entered into a school-wide lottery. The Good Behavior Game was compared to traditional recess periods without the game using an alternating-treatments design. On average, students on both teams took more steps while playing the Good Behavior Game than they did during recess periods without the game. These results, though preliminary, are promising and suggest that the Good Behavior Game can be used to increase physical activity with groups of young children in typical school settings.

In a typical resurgence paradigm, a target behavior (R1) is acquired in an initial phase and extinguished in a second phase while an alternative behavior (R2) is reinforced. When reinforcement for the second response is removed, R1 behavior returns or resurges. Three experiments studied the effectiveness of a retrieval cue in attenuating the resurgence effect in rats. Experiment 1 established that a 2-second cue associated with alternative reinforcement in Phase 2 of a resurgence paradigm can attenuate R1 resurgence and promote R2 behavior. Experiment 2 demonstrated that this effect remains when the cue is delivered contingently or noncontingently during the test, and Experiment 3 demonstrated that for the cue to be effective in reducing resurgence, it must be paired with alternative reinforcement during Phase 2. Together, these results suggest that a neutral cue can serve as an effective retrieval cue if it is paired with alternative reinforcement. By the time of the May meeting, several experiments investigating the mechanism through which this cue attenuates resurgence will also have been conducted.

Relapse of problem behavior after treatment is a problem frequently faced by clinicians. Resurgence is one such form of treatment relapse, defined as the recurrence of a previously reinforced and then extinguished target response when extinguishing a more recently reinforced alternative response. Resurgence also occurs when alternative reinforcement rate is reduced across sessions. This translational study conducted with children sought to evaluate resurgence when challenging alternative responding with progressive-ratio schedules. To simulate problem behavior, we first reinforced an arbitrary target response, then extinguished target responding while reinforcing an arbitrary alternative response. Finally, we examined resurgence of target responding either by (1) extinguishing alternative responding or (2) introducing a progressive-ratio schedule of reinforcement for alternative responding. Resurgence was demonstrated in both conditions in all participants. For three of four, resurgence in extinction phase was greater than in progressive-ratio phase. These findings emphasize the importance of compliance to procedure fidelity in differential-reinforcement treatments and imply that frequent monitoring of treatment integrity is essential for all therapists and caregivers. Implications of using progressive-ratio schedule to predict an ultimate goal for scheduling alternative reinforcement is also discussed.

Automatically-maintained problem behavior can present treatment challenges. In addition, there are relatively few examples of aggression maintained by automatic reinforcement in the literature to guide clinicians in developing effective treatment plans. The current investigation evaluates a treatment of aggression, in the form of hair-pulling, maintained by automatic reinforcement for a young boy with autism. We first evaluated the effects of an environmental-enrichment procedure using competing items; however, aggression maintained at high levels. We next conducted a stimulus-avoidance assessment (SAA) to identify procedures that may function as a punisher for maladaptive behavior. Based upon the results of the SAA, we evaluated the contingent application a hands-down procedure within a reversal design, and aggression was reduced by 80% from baseline levels. Treatment gains maintained when the participants mother served as the therapist and also over an extended 7-hour session. Finally, we conducted a preliminary investigation to teach the participant to discriminate between appropriate hair play and hair pulling.

Few researchers have compared preference for reinforcement and response cost within a token economy, and the results have shown that preference varies among individuals (e.g., Donaldson et al., 2014; Iwata & Bailey, 1974; Jowett Hirst et al., 2016). Preference for response cost is an interesting phenomenon because response cost is a punishment procedure and is often considered aversive. Therefore, identifying the variables that influence preference for response cost is an important area of research. Some authors have suggested that the immediate delivery or presence of tokens might influence preference for response cost, but these variables have yet to be experimentally evaluated. The current study evaluated whether the presence of tokens influences selection of response cost over reinforcement in typically developing preschool children by systematically varying the presence of tokens across both the reinforcement and response cost procedures. Preliminary results suggest that the presence of tokens may influence preference for some individuals.

Recent research suggests that many non-vocal children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis may benefit from the use of an augmentative or alternative communication (AAC) device (Lorah, Parnell, Schaefer Whitby, & Hantula, 2014). Augmentative communication refers to the alternative way of communicating being the primary method of communication while augmented is used as a supplement (Lorah, Parnell, Schaefer Whitby, & Hantula, 2014). Recently, there has been a growing interest in using the iPad as a speech speech-generating device (SGD) as a form of AAC. When using a handheld device as a SGD, it is important that the user is able to navigate the device to ensure independent use. The purpose of the research was to evaluate the use of task analysis and a five-second-time delay with full physical prompts on the acquisition of device navigation. In a multiple baseline across participants design, three preschool aged children with a diagnosis of ASD were taught to open the iPad, locate and open the application Proloquo2go. Using a task analysis, this behavior chain was broken into three steps: pressing the home button; swiping right on the screen; and in opening the application. In baseline, none of the participants were able to independently follow the steps at 80% independence. During training, a preferred item (determined by a preference assessment before research began) was presented to the participant but kept out of reach. A five-second-time delay, with full physical prompts was used for instructional purposes. All three participants acquired the ability to navigate their device independently as a result of this training. Following acquisition, generalization was assessed through having the participants complete the steps to unlock the iPad and open the app in a different environment.

The use of the iPad and application Proloqu2Go has provided practitioners with access to high capability speech-generating devices (SGD) that are readily available and comparatively less expensive. In response, we have seen a growing body of research, with promising results, demonstrating that the iPad and application Proloqu2Go can effectively be used as an Augmentative and Alternative Communication system for young children with autism, in terms of the acquisition of a mand repertoire. That said, we have seen relatively less research looking beyond the basic mand repertoire to other operants such as the tact or intraverbal. Comparatively, we have seen even less research on the acquisition of the autoclitic. This study evaluated the use of an iPad based SGD and a five-second time delay with full physical prompts, for the acquisition of manding with an autoclitic (i.e., carrier phrase), in three preschool aged children with autism. Using a multiple-baseline design across participants, children were exposed to training during a snack-time routine, within a university based clinical preschool setting. All three participants acquired the ability to mand using the carrier phrase I want, within the snack-time setting. Following acquisition of the carrier phrase during snack time, generalization of the skill was accessed across other classroom routines and environments. Results indicate that the use of such a device for full-sentence manding is achievable. Additionally, the results provide further support for the use of time-delay and prompting for the acquisition of verbal behavior in preschool aged children with autism. Collectively, these results provide further support for the use of handheld computing devices as SGD.

Inclusion is a valuable and important practice in the American school system. According to IDEA (2004), all students are entitled to a free and appropriate public education, in the least restrictive environment. This right is extended to students regardless of gender, religion, race, or ability. For the purposes of this presentation, inclusion refers specifically to the inclusion of students with special needs in general education classrooms to the fullest extent possible. It is critical to identify how students can be successful in a general education setting in order to employ best educational practices when it comes to inclusion. Psychological and educational literature rightfully suggest that the onus of student success lies in school policy and teacher ability; however, the Verbal Behavior Development Theory (Greer & Ross, 2008) has also defined specific developmental cusps and capabilities that can contribute heavily to student success in a general education setting. In this presentation we will present an overview of the procedures utilized in the CABAS AIL model of instruction utilized in self-contained (special education settings) for a transition to a less-restrictive inclusion environment in AIL classrooms. Scientifically-based methods, criterion referenced target behaviors as well as collaboration between general and special educators are essential to successful transitions.

Inclusion classroom settings are prevalent throughout the US education system. In a CABAS Accelerated Independent Learning (AIL) model, inclusion is the reality of all instruction. In the upper elementary school setting (grades 3-5) specific learning cusps and capabilities are required in order to have a successful transition into an AIL inclusion setting. Naming, Observational Learning, and Audience Control must be induced before a student can learn effectively in an AIL setting. Repertoires required to learn in this setting are read-do correspondence, which enables students to work on a Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), joint stimulus control across saying and writing, and Dictation (hear-write). Implementing algorithms to affect student writing in math and English language arts enables the students technical writing to precisely affect reading behavior, and self-editing. Students who are in an inclusion setting can become independent learners by acquiring these repertoires and will continue to demonstrate progressive learning.

The science and practice of behavior analysis has much to offer educators. For example, behavior analytic interventions have been shown to be effective for increasing academic and pro-social skills and reducing problem behavior for students with and without disabilities. In spite of these successes however, educators are not beating down our proverbial door. Instead, behavior analysts often report the opposite: school doors seem shut and locked tight, there seems to be little or no interest on the part of educators in working with a behavior analyst. This presentation will address some of the challenges we face in working with schools and will describe a framework for developing and maintaining a positive and effective consulting relationship with educators.

Professionals who serve as consultants in schools or are interested in serving as school consultants.

This symposium will include several papers presenting an overview of the first stages of implementation (Years 1-2) of a School Wide Positive Behavior Support program in a set of alternative, private educational settings that serve children and adolescents with emotional behavioral disorders, autism spectrum disorders, and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. The related papers will show data from before and after implementation of the program including data from incident reports, exclusionary time outs, disciplinary referrals, and treatment integrity. The presenters, clinicians overseeing the implementation, will discuss the history of the schools and previous school-wide interventions, obtaining buy in and support for the school-wide positive behavior support program, roll out, effectiveness, and implementation. Successes and challenges will be discussed in an effort to help others learn from the unique considerations of implementing this type of program in non-public school settings, an area currently lacking in the research literature. Special focus will be on the factors that may contribute to treatment integrity and modifications made throughout the initial implementation.

This paper presentation will discuss the history, initiation, roll out, and effectiveness of a School Wide Positive Behavior Support program in a large, private school that serves children, adolescents, and adults with autism and other intellectual disabilities. The program transitioned from a previous school-wide program to a traditional School Wide Positive Behavior Support program. Data will be discussed on the effectiveness of the program across the first two years of implementation as well as treatment integrity data. Considerations will be discussed in terms of implementation treatment integrity, modifications, data monitoring, etc. The program was successful in decreasing behavioral incidents from the prior year; however, variables affected the demonstration of effectiveness such as increase in admissions, increase in severity of behavior disorders, support by staff, etc. Treatment integrity was regularly monitored and common errors will be reviewed with suggestions for modifications. The successes and challenges of the program will be discussed.

This paper presentation will discuss the initial roll out and continued implementation of a School Wide Positive Behavior Support program in a new and growing school for students with emotional behavioral disorders. The programs history of interventions, including common punitive and restrictive procedures and the transition to the School Wide Positive Behavior Support program will be discussed. Data will be presented on the decrease in behavioral incidents and use of punitive procedures. Routine, treatment integrity data were collected and will also be discussed as well as strategies for improving the implementation fidelity. Discussions of the modifications and strategies for improving buy in and support from staff will also be discussed. Special focus will be placed on the implementation challenges and successes specific to the population served and staff implementing the program. In addition, strategies used to decrease the use of punitive procedures will be highlighted and suggestions for clinicians will be provided

This paper presentation will review the implementation of a School Wide Positive Behavior Support program in a new and growing school in an urban, inner-city area serving children with autism and emotional support needs. Many students also had dual diagnoses and were receiving additional services. Data will be presented on the effectiveness of the program to decrease behavioral incidents. Discussion will include a focus on staff training, treatment integrity, and implementing a School Wide Positive Behavior Support program in a new school while simultaneously training new staff and administration. Treatment integrity data was monitored regularly and will be discussed. Data-based decisions will be reviewed detailing modifications made to the program as well as the intricate balance of developing systems that will be effective and acceptable to staff and administrations. Implications for the dual diagnosis population will be discussed as well as suggestions for staff training and ensuring fidelity of implementation.

Functional analysis methodology is supported by a large and extensive body of research and has become the gold standard for determining the variables maintaining problem behavior. A number of variations have been investigated providing practitioners with a number of variations that may be employed. Despite this, researchers have suggested that practitioners still face a number of obstacles that reduce the likelihood that they will include a functional analysis as part of their process in assessing a given problem behavior. This symposium will provide data on one variation that may increase the efficiency of functional analyses by use of abolishing operations in each test condition. This is examined against a more traditional functional analysis for the problem behavior of children with autism spectrum disorder, and the data suggest that this may be a viable option, while reducing the duration of the analysis and the occurrence of problem behavior. Presentations will examine the use of Interview-informed Synthesized Contingency Analyses (IISCAs; Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, & Hanratty, 2014) in a variety of settings including community and clinic settings, as well as methods for the dissemination of this procedure in countries with few behavior analytic resources. Issues of translation and training methods will be discussed.

Functional Analysis (FA) of problem behavior is a well-established method for determining the variables that maintain problem behavior. With a large body of research on the replication and extension of this technology, researchers aim to find the most effective and efficient way to evaluate possible maintaining variables and develop an effective function-based treatment. Functional analyses require the repeated occurrence of behavior, and as such, it is advantageous to increase the efficiency of functional analyses and thus minimize the occurrence of problem behavior. Latency has been shown to be a useful dependent variable and seems to reduce both the occurrence of the problem behavior, and the duration of the functional analysis. In this study we extended this area of research by examining the use of abolishing operations to reduce the likelihood of the target behavior during the maintaining test conditions and enhance antecedent control. This modified procedure was compared to the outcome of a traditional functional analysis for three children with autism spectrum disorder. Results indicate that this approach may be useful for identifying the functional variables of behaviors maintained by socially mediated reinforcers. Differences in the number of instances of problem behavior for each analysis lend additional support to this approach.

There is a significant body of research supporting the effectiveness of functional analyses in determining the variables maintaining problem behavior, and a number of researchers have examined modifications to this process. One such modification has been the Interview-informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis (IISCA; Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, and Hanratty, 2014). It has been suggested that this method may be more efficient and reduce some common obstacles for practitioners involved in the functional assessment process. This may also be helpful for the dissemination of functional analysis technology, especially in countries with a very limited number of qualified behavior analysts. In this presentation we describe group behavioral skills training used to teach staff in a university-based autism clinic to conduct IISCAs on the problem behavior of children with autism spectrum disorders. Training involved the translation of all forms, interviews, procedures, and outcomes for staff, parents, and clients, as well as the feedback given via bug-in-ear technology. Outcomes from initial IISCAs suggest that this method was effective and efficient in teaching staff to conduct the IISCA and generalization data are discussed.

Recent research by Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, and Hanratty (2014) has suggested that functional analysis conditions may be more efficient and effective when informed by an open-ended interview and the use of synthesized functions in a test condition, when compared to its matched control. In addition, it has been suggested that this may reduce many of the obstacles that limit practitioners inclusion of functional analyses in assessment that informs the development of a behavior intervention plan; however, a recent study by Fisher, Greer, Romani, Zangrillo, and Owen (2016) has suggested that we evaluate the benefits of synthesized conditions by comparison to a more traditional functional analysis. This presentation will discuss the use of the IISCA in the functional assessment of problem behavior with children and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. These were conducted in community settings and in a university-based clinic for the treatment of problem behaviors. In addition, we examine data from two analyses that compare individual test conditions to synthesized test conditions in determining the variables maintaining problem behavior. Issues and challenges will be discussed.

This session immediately follows Dr. Tim Shahan's SQAB tutorial entitled "Relapse," which introduces the fundamental principles underlying resurgence, renewal, and reinstatement. 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 arose 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 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.

The target audience is investigators involved with translating or applying the core principles of behavior analysis.

A common conference theme is the need for bridging the gap between the basic and applied behavior analysts for a more cohesive and coherent analysis of behavior. One particular void is that of time and timing. A survey of basic and applied literature on timing reveals an inconsistent array of studies, either experimental work without applicable value or interventions without a clear tie to basic principles. For example, the effectiveness of mindfulness training, particularly as it related to present moment awareness, is well documented. Nevertheless, there is little experimental work that explains how the process of focusing on the present functions to promote wellness. A more coherent discussion of time and timing is needed to bolster the foundation of successful treatments as well as strengthen basic research as it pertains to other temporal repertoires, like delay discounting. The symposium will begin with a behavior analytic review of present moment awareness, followed by an experimental presentation tying applied and basic work on time by addressing the two essential behavioral repertoires for timing: awareness and verbal behavior.

Being present or mindful has come to be fairly widely accepted as a psychological strength. Defined in clinical psychology as bringing ones complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis, mindfulness has been associated with a range of positive behavioral outcomes. In psychotherapy interventions, including some with behavior analytic foundations, this is reflected in the frequent inclusion of present moment awareness and/or mindfulness as a target behavior. Less common has been the consideration of mindfulness as a target behavior in more traditional Applied Behavior Analysis interventions. This is odd, considering its apparent utility as a repertoire, and may be related to confusion between mindfulness as a behavior and mindfulness meditation as an intervention. This paper will (1) offer a behavior analytic definition of present moment awareness, (2) explore verbal repertoires that interfere with present moment awareness, and (3) argue for its relevance for many clients served by ABA, not only as an independent target behavior but also in facilitation of behavioral cusps.

As the saying goeswhat goes unmeasured, goes unmanaged. Time management is often cited as a desirable skill, although there are few behavioral measurements to track it. Often discussed at the applied level and rarely at the basic level, there remains a vacuum of understanding by what we call time management. Much of the work that has been done relies on mentalistic notions of motivation or appeals to neurological clocks. Exploring the repertoires involved with timing behavior under controlled conditions (e.g., reporting and estimating time intervals) may later provide a more productive avenue for practitioners to train time management. Taking the same view as Gibsons ecological view that events are perceivable but time is not, the presentation will address a systematic investigation of how timing is shaped in verbal humans. Preliminary studies with university psychology students assessed the degree of accuracy one can report interval duration without a clock. Current data demonstrate that timing strategies seem to correctly discriminate a fixed versus variable time schedule, but decreased sensitivity to verbal antecedents during the task. The opposite findings were observed for participants without timing strategies. Subsequent studies will discuss how rule governed behavior influence timing accuracy and time management skills.

Behavior analysis continues to make important contributions to a wide range of social, cultural, and educational problems. Studies examining procedures to promote the development and refinement of verbal behavior repertoires are critical to the enhancement of applied work. This set of papers demonstrates the range of topic areas and populations that benefit from verbal behavior research. In the first paper in this symposium, Parker and colleagues present a review of the literature on teaching echoics and summarize best practice guidelines. In the second paper, Frewing and colleagues evaluate three variations in reinforcement contingencies when teaching intraverbals and, subsequently, examine participant preference for procedures. In the third paper, Abdel-Jalil and colleagues examine an instructional package to improve problem solving in college students. This student symposium highlights the important work undertaken by talented students in the field of Verbal Behavior.

An echoic is a verbal operant in which the response is vocal and controlled by a prior auditory verbal stimulus, there is point-to-point correspondence between the stimulus and the response, and there is formal similarity between the stimulus and the response-product (Skinner, 1957). Echoics are an important element of language acquisition programs, as they are often used in transfer of stimulus control procedures to teach other verbal operants. When echoics are not observed for children, there are many questions regarding how to teach them. There is currently no review of the literature on teaching echoics to guide clinicians on best practice. Research includes various age groups and diagnoses. This presentation reviews existing literature to answer questions such as how to present vocal models, voice quality of the model, target selection, and how many targets to teach concurrently, and intervention procedures used in the literature including physical prompts, shaping and fading, modeling, chaining, high-p procedures, and natural environment teaching. We summarize this literature and make recommendations for practice and future research.

The Human Factors and Aging Laboratory (www.hfaging.org) is specifically oriented toward psychological science that supports successful aging. Our research does not emphasize loss of function associated with aging; rather, we wish to understand how to enable older adults to retain and enhance their ability to function in later life. Our research efforts are conducted within the framework of human factors psychology and we strive to apply that scientific knowledge to better design products, environments, and training. There is much potential for technology to enable older adults to age successfully. In this presentation I will provide an overview of the needs, capabilities, preferences, and limitations of older adults as well as the role of human factors research for technology design. I will then discuss our research on the design of technologies with examples ranging from mobile apps to personal robots. Central to my presentation will be a focus on research questions, methods, and areas of application.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.