Association for Behavior Analysis International

Joint Attending and Social Referencing (JA/SR) most often involves two or more people simultaneously attending to the same constellation or elements of an environmental event. As a critical "learning-to-learn" repertoire, JA/SR is an important foundation for learners to acquire and master. By definition, JA/SR is a social phenomenon; however, it is also solipsistic in that joint attending may occur within the individual as a fusion of "speaker/listener" repertoires that allow for self-referencing and self-talk that guides what an individual attends to at any one time. This panel will present a draft taxonomy of JS/SR intended to formalize and categorize the variables responsible for the emergence and growth of JS/SR competencies throughout a person's lifetime.

Practitioners who are interested in how to organize and delivery effective programming to develop extended joint attending and social referencing repertoires in their clients.

Interventions that focus on fostering contact with values and building values-consistent patterns of behavior have been shown to increase awareness of and openness to aversive experiences, as well as effective, committed action in the presence of those experiences. These findings suggest a powerful role for values in facilitating desirable behavior change � not only for clients but also family of clients and even practitioners themselves. As a result, values-interventions are increasingly included in clinical behavior analysis (often explicitly, as in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Behavior Activation Therapy for Depression). However, much of the research on values interventions focuses on psychotherapeutic definitions of the term and applied contexts. Given the growing role of values interventions in behavior analytic practice, it is important to conceptualize them in behavior analytic terms so that they may be studied with precision, scope and depth. The aim of this panel is to examine values from a behavior analytic perspective, then discuss their application and usefulness in traditional behavioral interventions.

Behavior analysts or behavior therapists with an interest in values as behavioral phenomena or values-based interventions.

Many people outside of behavior analysis believe that creativity and philosophical skills are innate talents and cannot be taught to students without such talent. Fine arts and philosophy faculty generally agree that creativity and philosophical thought can be shaped to at least some degree with specific forms of practice. Consistent with those and behavior analytic assumptions, research has shown that students can develop an ability to engage in creative and philosophical behaviors. Teachers would likely more effectively arrange practice for students to gain these skills using teaching techniques derived from behavior analysis than from traditional approaches. This panel will discuss definitions of creative and philosophical behaviors, the importance of these skills, teachers' role in the development of such skills, and behavioral approaches to teaching them. Through this panel, we hope to develop future research ideas of how best to assess these behaviors, modify the classroom environment, and foster teacher-student interactions that are conducive to furthering the growth of students' creativity and philosophical skills.

Service providers, higher education instructors, school professionals, teachers, people interested in philosophy and/or creativity

This symposium will showcase the application of a Pay for Performance Systems in a Class Action Settlement organization and an ABA company. Attendees will learn about the benefits of Pay for Performance and rationale for implementing this type of system, based on data going back several decades. Presenters will walk attendees through this case study illustrating the process steps: initial behavioral systems analysis interviews and recommendations; designing weighted scorecards for the organization, departments, and individuals; collecting data (baseline, measurement, and pay for performance phases); analyzing data and sharing with the relevant departments and individuals; and finally providing coaching and feedback to individuals based on scorecard results. Presenters will also share lessons they learned related to designing, implementing, and sustaining a pay-for-performance system.

Organizational supervisors, managers, or owners; any one who manages employees/staff.

This presentation will showcase the application of a Pay for Performance System in a Class Action Settlement organization. Attendees will learn about the benefits of Pay for Performance and rationale for implementing this type of system, based on data going back several decades. Presenters will walk attendees through this case study illustrating the process steps: initial behavioral systems analysis interviews and recommendations; designing weighted scorecards for the organization, departments, and individuals; collecting data (baseline, measurement, and pay for performance phases); analyzing data and sharing with the relevant departments and individuals; and finally providing coaching and feedback to individuals based on scorecard results. Presenters will also share lessons they learned related to designing, implementing, and sustaining a pay-for-performance system.

Many companies in the applied behavior analysis (ABA) arena utilize payment structures that focus on completion of billable hours versus incentive based systems that target improved quality and outcomes for their clients. With healthcare costs at an all-time high and an insurance industry poised to change to value-based models of care, the time is now for ABA organizations to move away from time-based pay formats and into the realm of performance-based pay. This talk will chronicle the journey of one ABA company through the development and implementation of a pay for performance system that balances business and financial goals with ethical strategies. The presentation will include details on the initial assessment of the company's performance, identification of performance measures, design of the performance improvement system in accordance with the BACB Professional and Ethical Compliance Code, and implementation challenges and successes.

Behavior analysts are frequently trained to implement specific procedures found within behavioral and educational journals. However, practitioners frequently encounter situations that do not exactly apply to this literature base. This panel will discuss how to ethically apply the science of behavior analysis using an evidence-based practice model focused on clinical expertise, the individual client, and the best available research. Panelists will discuss how they have successfully applied this model to address common barriers to learning such as weak motivation, escape maintained challenging behavior, prompt dependence, and developing instructional control. Each panelist has significant experience and expertise with applying the science of behavior analysis as a whole and determining the most effective intervention for each client based on the methods and principles of this science as opposed to broadly and generically applying popular procedures with each client. Audience members will be given the opportunity at the end of the panel to ask the panelists for their expertise in ethically addressing common barriers to learning.

This panel is most appropriate for intermediate level or higher behavior analysts who have been practicing for several years and wish to learn more about how to enhance the scientific application of behavior analysis within the practitioner setting.

This session will be a panel discussion of the impact and perceptions of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) within Positive Behavior Support (PBS). Upon entry into the panel, audience will be provided a link to a polling website to select from a per-determined list of questions/topics they would like to panelists to discuss. Audience can also contribute additional questions via the polling site. Questions will be selected based upon highest to lowest ranking of scores and the panelists will alternate responding or each be given a chance to respond, depending on the nature of the question. Questions will be derived from the following topics: (a) Foundations of ABA will be explored from a vantage point of classically trained behavior analysts who practice within PBS frameworks. Early history of ABA influencing applications of PBS along with debates from both sides will be discussed. (b) ABA and PBS in practice will highlight how PBS practices are rooted to behavior analytical principles. Multi-tiered systems of support will be examined from the perspective of behavior analysis and PBS terminology will be viewed through the lens of behavior analytical verbal behavior. Key points will be to enlighten attendees that although terminology may be different, foundational principles are the same. (c) Debunking the Myths of ABA and PBS will explore the common misconceptions held by practitioners who may not have a rich understanding of each contributing discipline. ABA and PBS are not strangers to each other, yet many practitioners maintain common misinterpretations and misunderstandings (e.g., ABA is only consequence-bases; PBS does not apply any consequences; ABA is only for autism; PBS is ABA-light, etc.). By debunking these fallacies, more accurate information will be disseminated along with a more thorough appreciation for behavior analytical principles as essential in the application of PBS.

Practitioners, Educators, Supervisors, Researchers, University Faculty, Graduate Students

We will present research based on the application of a systems approach to instruction that places the learners at the center of the matrix and emphasizes on-going rule-governed communication among the component parts. In this model the data generated through the measurement of each client's responses drive the system. Clinicians are trained through modules that provide in situ opportunities specifically related to the accurate implementation of Clients' programs, choice of strategies and tactics, materials and selection of new short term and long term objectives. The composition of the curriculum for the clients is logical and empirical and based on verbal development milestones. Assessments that identify learning rates, pre-requisite skill deficits and missing verbal developmental capabilities are used to pinpoint the potential source of each client's instructional problems and suggest rule-governed approaches to remediation. The results of the studies we will present show that the implementation of a rule governed organizational matrix to train clinicians supports increases in academic literacy, communication and social skills for pre-school and elementary school age clients diagnosed with autism and related communication disabilities in 1:1 settings.

Teachers, BCBA's, School Supervisors, Clinic Supervisors, Staff Trainers

We tested the effects of a clinic wide systems approach to supervision including the completion of PSI (Personalized System of Instruction) modules based on increasing levels of verbal complexity, and in-situ training. The clinic provided 1:1 services for preschool to school age clients and used the CABAS (Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling) model of supervision. The clinics' mentors provided support, modeled scientific tacts and intraverbals in response to clients' instructional problems in situ, provided instructional resources and collected and analyzed clinic wide data. The dependent variables for the clinicians were the completion of modules, the number of errorless TPRA's (Teacher Performance Rate Accuracy), the number of errorless strategic and tactical decisions made and the number of errorless scientific tacts, intraverbals and research based tactics they implemented pre and post intervention. The independent variables consisted of a treatment package that included strategic questions and answers related to learn unit presentations, the visual display of data and instruction in using a rule governed algorithm to analyze instructional problems. Results showed increases in the clinicians' use of scientific tacts, intraverbals and research based tactics post intervention, as well as increases in clients' learning across the curriculum measured.

ABA service providers recognize the need to develop supervision practices that produce quality outcomes. Complex interactions between supervisors and clinicians should result in effective treatment through accurate instruction and delivery of behavioral interventions. This paper offers a procedure to implement an individualized supervision model and a measurement system to analyze the quality of the products with a focus on the interlocking contingencies within the system. The CABAS model has provided a science of teaching that can be applied across settings and provides a system to measure student and teacher behavior. We sought to develop and implement a standardized system of individualized instruction for supervisors and clinicians utilizing components of the CABAS model in an established private ABA clinic. The clinic provides home, school, and clinic-based services to clients between the ages of 2 to 22. This paper describes the system and components currently in place, a method for implementation, and outcome data analysis.

We tested the effects of a rule-governed algorithm in situ and line technicians' analysis of instructional problems and clients' learn units to criterion. We used a multiple baseline design across six participants who worked at a private center and provided 1:1 instruction for preschool to school age clients diagnosed with autism. The participants showed an interest in learning about the scientific vocabulary used at the center. The independent variable was the rule governed algorithm with scientific questions and answers related to an analysis of the learn unit in context. The dependent variables were the number of intact learn units presented, pre- and post-probe data for responses to scientific questions as selection and production responses for the line technicians and responses to learn unit presentations and learn units to criterion for the clients taught. As the participants became more proficient in utilizing the vocabulary of the science they began to think through instructional problems and became self-observers of the instruction they presented to their clients. Results showed a significant increase in the line technicians' analysis of instructional problems utilizing scientific tacts, increases in correct responses and decreases in learn units to criterion for the clients taught.

Demonstrating the efficacy of behavior analysis with respect to real-world problems is one key to dissemination of our science. Accomplishment of this objective requires presentation of our science in a manner obviously relevant to and easily understood by potential consumers. One emerging movement that has been successful to this end is within the area of applied animal behavior. Last year, leaders of this movement provided accounts of their efforts within special settings, and provided recommendations for addressing potential challenges likely to present during interdisciplinary collaborations. This year, the discussion will be continued with new accounts of collaborative efforts that have advanced our science in under-served areas of applied animal behavior. Further suggestions for extending our reach to new populations, and discussion of techniques for doing so, will be provided. While presented in the context of applied animal behavior, invaluable information will be provided for anyone interested in sharing the science of behavior.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts and others who aspire to extend the reach of behavior analysis through practice, especially in, but not limited to, the area of applied animal behavior.

ABA principles, procedures and ethical standards are directly relevant to improving the quality of life for zoo animals. A basic course was developed to improve zoo keepers ABA knowledge and skills. In this presentation, the course learning objectives will be discussed along with three case studies in which the fundamental tools of ABA (e.g., functional assessment and intervention design), were successfully applied to a self-injuring elephant, a fearful rhino, and an orangutan surrogate mother roughly handling a young baby.

As speakers in this symposium will demonstrate, the principles, procedures and ethical standards of ABA are relevant to improving the quality of life for zoo animals. But as in most animal settings, to increase the well-being of an animal in a zoo, you must first engage with their humans. This presentation will take a look at a typical day in the life of an animal caregiver, and discuss how this knowledge should inform how scientists approach and effectively engage with these institutions. There is great potential in the collaboration between behavior analytic researchers and captive animal environments. The goal of this presentation is to share some approaches that have yielded both effective and ineffective means for this type of collaboration.

Horses have a long history as domestic livestock and working animals, which has shaped and continues to influence policies and management practices. A growing demographic of horse owners have demanded change, and applied animal behaviorists are stepping up to meet that demand. Horse owners are typically dispersed, living in rural areas, and they seek advice about behavior issues from their local veterinarians, farriers, or trainers, very few of whom have received education in equine behavior. A top-down approach to disseminating information about ABA can help address these challenges. We teach an e-course on resolving fear-based behaviors in horses, and have marketed it to professionals by offering continuing education units. The course also has practical value to equine professionals; flight is horse's primary defense, thus fear-based behaviors are common and can impact the horse's health and performance, create a risk of serious injury to horses and humans, and result in lost revenue and increased expenses. An advantage to a top-down approach is that most equine professionals already have the skills and experience to successfully implement methods taught remotely. In addition, the course increases recognition of the role behaviorists play in equine care, distinct from veterinary care and training.

Nearly 20 organizations nationwide are responsible for training guide dogs. Overwhelmingly, they report less-than-ideal behavioral outcomes. In fact, the nation's most successful guide dog organization report that the majority of dogs are dismissed from their training program secondary to problem behaviors that are not medical or so-called species-specific. This is problematic because poor behavioral outcomes limit the extent to which the visually-impaired may engage safely with their communities. This presentation will provide an account of the gaps found in the literature addressing guide dog training, and offer behavior scientists suggestions for further developing a pragmatic line of research. Additionally, this presentation will discuss opportunities for the behavior scientist to contribute to development of assessment and training methods that aim to improve the quality of life of the guide dog, its trainers, and its consumers. Finally, with such ambitious objectives towards influencing the training of guide dogs, strategies for amicable collaborations will be provided.

The current symposium examines procedures for teaching social skills to children with autism and related disorders, including the utilization of group reinforcement contingencies, behavioral skills training, curriculum-based instruction, and the establishment of rules. The first paper is a data-based discussion regarding the use of an interdependent group contingency to increase the social interactions and motor skills of children with autism spectrum disorder and their typically developing peers during indoor rock climbing sessions. The second presentation examines the efficacy of behavioral skills training and group contingencies to teach various social skills to elementary-aged boys diagnosed with autism in a clinic setting. The third paper presents outcome data on the utility of curriculum-based, group training targeting age-appropriate social skills for children diagnosed with autism and related disorders. The second and third papers also will address data collection and experimental design challenges that may be encountered during group service delivery. The fourth paper is a literature-review, which will discuss recent research on rule-governed behavior in applied settings.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Registered Behavior Technicians, students in the field of ABA or related disciplines

Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are often less physically active and involved in the community than their typically developing peers. This is a concern given the many detrimental outcomes of a sedentary lifestyle, as well as the consideration that individuals with ASD may face challenges with many forms of physical activity. Indoor rock climbing may be a good option for children with ASD due to the sport's physical and social characteristics. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to examine the effects of an interdependent group contingency on the social interactions of children with ASD and their typically developing peers. The dependent variable was the rate of positive, negative, and neutral social interactions between the participant and peer; the independent variable was the group contingency, wherein reinforcement was provided for the participant and peer reaching predetermined climbing goals. The participant's motor proficiency was also measured. Results suggest that participants engaged in more positive and neutral social interactions during the interdependent group contingency, and a brief reversal showed some generalization to a new peer in the absence of the group contingency.

Children diagnosed with autism generally present with deficits in social skills, including talking and playing with peers, making eye contact, and appropriately responding to the emotions and preferences of others (Centers for Disease Control, 2017). Behavioral skills training (BST) and group contingencies are evidence-based interventions used in treatment (Hood et al., 2017; Peter & Thompson, 2015; Speltz et al., 1982). Six males diagnosed with autism participated in an eight-week social skills group in which BST (i.e., oral instructions and rules, adult modeling, and practice with feedback) and interdependent and independent group contingencies were used to teach a variety of social skills. Most participants mastered the skills taught and all participants demonstrated improvements on a post-intervention skill assessment. Social validity questionnaires completed by the children's parents demonstrated that parents thought the group was helpful for their child and resulted in meaningful progress. Issues and limitations associated with using group contingencies with young children, forming social skills groups based on client age and skill-level, and employing experimental designs in a service-delivery setting will also be discussed.

Many individuals who demonstrate social delays participate in structured "play groups." Some play groups claim to target the development of social skills, but often are unstructured or over-reliant on contrived training opportunities. Unlike typical play groups, more formalized programs that aim to improve age-appropriate skills, are supported by Regional Centers and insurance agencies in California. There is a paucity of research on outcomes for these programs, however, and limited information about the extent to which they measure progress, promote generalization or maintenance, and provide caregiver training. Curriculum-based, group social skills training seeks to address these concerns across various domains including: having or joining conversations, using social media and the internet, or dealing with bullies. The purpose of this presentation will be to review the progress of 12 individuals with autism or related disorders who partook in a curriculum-based, group social skills program. Participants ranged in age from 6 to 16 years and demonstrated significant social delays. Outcome data from four groups will be presented, and the variables associated with group contingencies and rule governance also will be discussed.

A substantial amount of evidence from basic research has shown that rules can effectively control behavior, even when they conflict with actual contingencies of reinforcement. However, relatively few studies have evaluated rule-governed behavior in applied settings. This presentation consists of a literature review of research on rule-governed behavior in applied settings. The effects of interventions incorporating rule-governed behavior will be discussed, as well as their potential for creating behavior change that is generalized across populations and settings. Given the potential power of rules, it is surprising that rule-governed behavior has not received more attention in the empirical literature. The presentation concludes with recommendations for both practitioners and researchers.

A large body of research has demonstrated the benefit of conducting a functional analysis (FA) prior to initiating the treatment of destructive behavior. For example, multiple studies have shown that when function-based treatments are used, reinforcement-based procedures are more likely to be effective and punishment procedures are often unnecessary (Greer, Fisher, Saini, Owen, & Jones, 2016; Kuhn, DeLeon, Fisher, & Wilke, 1999; Pelios, Morren, Tesch, & Axelrod, 1999; Smith, Iwata, Vollmer, & Zarcone, 1992). Although research has repeatedly shown the benefits of FA, many clinicians continue to use less reliable assessment methods to identify the function of destructive behavior, in part due to their ease of implementation. The purpose of this symposium is to explore the efficiency and accuracy of a number of functional analysis variations. The presentations will cover (a) a translational investigation of individual versus synthesized contingencies during FA, (b) structured criterion used to investigate the efficiency of various FA types, and (c) the progression from brief to more extended FA methods.

clinicians, clinical researchers

Research has evaluated the reliability and validity of structured criteria for inspecting functional-analysis (FA) results on a post-hoc basis (i.e., post-hoc visual inspection (PHVI). However, most behavior analysts inspect FAs using ongoing visual inspection (OVI), and the validity of applying structured criteria during OVI remains unknown. We evaluated the validity and efficiency of applying structured criteria on an ongoing basis by comparing the interpretations produced through OVI with (a) PHVI, (b) authors' post-hoc interpretations (PHAI), and (c) the consensus of these two post-hoc analyses. Ongoing visual inspection predicted the results of (a) PHVI and the consensus interpretations with a very high degree of accuracy and (b) PHAI with a reasonably high degree of accuracy. Furthermore, the PHVI and PHAI results involved 32 FA sessions, on average, whereas the OVI required only 19 FA sessions to accurately identify the function(s) of problem behavior. Findings are discussed relative to other methods designed to increase the accuracy and efficiency of FAs.

Originating in the mid-1960s, functional analysis (FA) has become the gold standard method for understanding the environmental variables that come to shape and maintain problematic behaviors such as aggression, self-injury, and property destruction. Over the decades a number of studies have refined FA methods, attempting to influence the overall efficiency of the analysis, including experimental design and procedural modifications. In the present review, we used ongoing visual-inspection criteria and basic probability theory to compare and analyze levels of efficiency across FA types. We found the pairwise design, multielement design, and synthesized analyses to be about equally efficient with respect to the average number of sessions conducted per function tested, and found the trial-based and synthesized contingency analysis to be the two most efficient with respect to the average duration per function tested. We discuss the implications of these findings in the broader context of efficiency and provide recommendations for maximizing efficiency during an FA. We also discuss other qualitative procedural details that may influence the overall efficiency of an FA.

Despite the utility of functional analysis methodology, not all functional analyses produce differentiated results. Factors such as interaction effects, multiple control, or methodological inefficiencies may compromise obtaining differentiated outcomes. Vollmer et. al. (1995) proposed an assessment sequence for progressing from brief to extended experimental analyses. Since this publication; however, various studies have addressed other methods to improve the efficiency and efficacy of functional analysis methodology. The purpose of the current study was to update and extend the assessment sequence proposed by Vollmer et. al. (1995) for progressing from brief to extended experimental analyses. Specifically, our assessment model incorporated several procedural refinements developed over the years since the Vollmer et. al. (1995) model was proposed. The current model incorporated five phases including extended ignore, brief functional analysis, extended functional analysis, extended ignore, and reversal. We conducted assessments with 20 participants diagnosed with autism or other related disabilities. Participants were referred to 3 different clinics for functional analyses due the occurrence of various topographies of problem behavior. Overall, results validate previous assessment modifications proposed in the literature, support the utility of the updated model, and provide new and valuable insight regarding the assessment of problem behavior.

A qualitative characteristic of individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) includes deficits in social skills. It is important that practitioners address social skill deficits effectively to enhance social interactions. This symposium will highlight innovative methods to assess and enhance social skills with individuals with ASD. The first paper will present on the effects of video modeling on scripted statements with dyads of individuals with ASD during mastered leisure activities. The second paper will discuss the use of a packaged intervention consisting of video modeling and video feedback for teaching social skills to adolescents with autism during leisure. The third presentation will discuss an innovative approach using textual prompts via text messaging to increase conversational skills with individuals with ASD. The fourth and final paper will discuss the use of an assessment and a training program to enhance social interactions with individuals with ASD. Limitations, clinical implications and areas of research will be discussed.

undergraduates, graduate students, parents, and practictioners

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often display deficits in social and conversational skills. Methods to address social deficits include the use of video modeling. There is dearth of research targeting conversational skills using video-based instruction with individuals with ASD as conversational recipients. We evaluated the effects of video modeling on scripted statements during leisure activities to dyads of children with ASD using a multiple probe across activities design. Video modeling alone was found to be effective for three of the participants. Video modeling with tangible reinforcement was needed for one participant to learn scripted statements whereas tangible reinforcement and additional prompts were needed for two participants. Generalization was assessed across novel peers and data were variable across participants. Results were found to maintain across one and three weeks after mastery and goals and outcomes were reported as socially valid. Limitations and areas of future research will be discussed.

Teaching relevant social skills during engagement with leisure activities may promote natural interactions and enhance the benefits of leisure. The present study evaluated the effect and generalization of a treatment hierarchy starting with a video modeling and video feedback package (VMVF) for teaching social skills to adolescents with autism during leisure. Participants were between the ages of 15 and 21 with ASD and attended a residential school. Six target social skills determined to be important in typical leisure based interactions were divided into three domains: (a) initiating joint participation, (b) conversation relevant to activities, and (c) prosocial interactions. Experimental control was demonstrated using a multiple-baseline within participants design. Participants were shown one of the video models twice successively at the start of the session. Following the session, participants were shown the video recording and given feedback in the form of praise or suggestions for improvement. Additional treatment components of the package included naturalistic prompting and arbitrary reinforcers. Although VMVF alone had limited success, the additional treatment components produced an increase in targeted social skills. Interobserver agreement was calculated in 40% of sessions with a score of 94%.

The present study used a multiple baseline design across 4 dyads of children with autism spectrum disorder to assess the efficacy of a text message prompt on smartphones to teach conversational speech during play time. During treatment, each child was taught to use text messages that prompted conversational phrases sent to their smartphones positioned beside them during dyad play. These texts were sent in, during real time play, by experimenters seated just outside the play area. The texts were then faded out, and the smartphones were then gradually removed from of the play area. Results indicated that each dyad maintained appropriate conversations with each other. Generalization of both previously scripted and unscripted phrases with non-trained peers and across untrained settings occurred. The results are discussed in terms of using simple texting on cell phones to occasion conversational speech for children with autism.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication. Skill deficits are most noticeable in social behavior and these deficits may be related to atypical responsiveness to social stimuli. The current study sought to examine how individuals with an ASD allocated their behavior in the presence of others pre and post social exchange training and to evaluate the qualitative changes in social behavior following training. One adult and three children with an ASD participated. Relative preference for social interaction and the qualitative state of social engagement during social interaction were measured. Participants then received training to initiate and sustain a social exchange. Prompting and reinforcement, in the form of preferred social consequences, were provided. Following social exchange training, the results suggested an increased preference for social interaction for some participants and a qualitatively richer state of social engagement for all participants. All sessions were videotaped and more than 33% of sessions, across both assessment and training, were scored by 2 trained observers. Interobserver agreement (IOA) ranged between 84% - 100%. Social validity data indicated that the obtained coordinated joint interaction state of engagement of the study participants was reflective of the states of engagement in typically developing persons.

The subdiscipline of behavioral science known as "operant behavioral economics" (hereafter termed simply "behavioral economics") integrates concepts from microeconomic theory and behavior analysis. Behavioral economics provides scientists, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers with unique insights into motivation and reinforcer efficacy. Of particular noteworthiness is the influence of behavioral economics in the domains of addiction, behavioral pharmacology, and empirical public policy. Central to behavioral economics' success is its unique demand curve analysis that quantifies the degree to which an organism/agency defends its baseline rate of consumption of a target commodity (i.e., its blisspoint). Recent advances in data collection for demand curve studies, as well as the quantitative modeling and analysis of subsequent data, have advanced both the theoretical interpretations and practical applications of behavioral economic principles. This symposium highlights these recent advances in both data collection for and quantitative analyses of demand curves. Contributors will provide data-based recommendations for best practices in this line of research.

Advanced; Researchers with an interest in behavioral economics or quantitative analysis.

In the application of behavioral economic principles to issues of societal importance, a critical unit of analysis is unit elasticity—termed Pmax—which represents the price value at which inelastic demand shifts to elastic. The Pmax price point may thereby serve as a target price for excise taxation, price regulation boundaries, or understanding how consumers value commodities against real-world market prices. Quantifying Pmax is dependent on quantification of demand to generate demand curve parameters. Recent advances in demand analysis have yielded competing models of demand, but the extent to which these models influence Pmax has not yet been explored—this is particularly alarming given the proliferation of Pmax applications to inform federally funded projects tasked with informing regulatory policy. This study extracted existing data from seminal articles containing demand curves for substances of abuse. The exponential and exponentiated demand models were used to generate best-fit parameter values, which were input into Hursh's (2014) exact Pmax equation, as well as slope-based Pmax values independent of a theoretical model of unit elasiticty. We identified alarming discrepancies in Pmax across the exponential and exponentiated models, suggesting the field must address modeling issues before proceeding with applying these analyses to inform policy-level decisions.

The alcohol purchase task has been considered a gold standard tool for measuring demand for alcohol. Although different alcohol purchase tasks have been used in many experimental studies, there is no research on the procedural differences between the different versions of alcohol purchase tasks that have been used to measure demand. The present study sought to examine the extent to which market price anchor placement in purchase task price sequences influence demand. We recruited 298 participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk to complete an alcohol purchase task with four different possible price sequences. Price sequences represented standard, left, right, or center placement of market values. We stratified participants across the four different price sequences. Nonsystematic data were removed (trend: 8.7%; bounce: 3.0%; reversals from zero: 3.6%); we analyzed remaining data using exponential and exponentiated demand equations. Exponential analyses indicate no significant differences in demand between responses in any of the four price sequences; whereas exponentiated analyses indicate a significant difference between groups. This research is valuable in considering how purchase tasks are used to inform public policy and used to guide creation of clinical scales for alcohol demand. Implications for best practice will be discussed.

Behavioral economic demand offers a multi-dimensional evaluation of drug reinforcement and abuse liability. However, generating demand curves with self-administration is time consuming and costly. Human researchers sometimes use hypothetical drug purchasing tasks as quick, cost-efficient alternatives, in which a participant self-reports how many units of a described drug he/she would purchase at a range of prices. Two limitations of typical purchasing tasks are: 1) commodities are described rather than experienced, and 2) inability to control for expectancy (placebo effect). We developed the Double-Blind Drug Purchasing Task, a hybrid task in which we administered drugs and placebos in separate double-blind sessions. Participants then made hypothetical purchase decisions at the conclusion of each session in reference to the drug/placebo administered. We administered this task to 56 users of either cocaine, methamphetamine, or alcohol. Drug purchasing decreased reliably as an orderly function of price. Drug was reliably purchased more than placebo. Elasticity tended to be negatively correlated with clinically relevant variables: money spent on drug and use frequency. Ongoing research is comparing the novel task against operant laboratory demand methods in tobacco users purchasing/earning cigarettes. The DBPT may serve as an efficient method for determining drug demand under pharmacologically rigorous, placebo-controlled conditions.

Clinical behavioral psychology and behavior analysis are tightly related. Though political differences have left a gap between these areas of behavioral science, many empirically supported psychotherapy approaches are based on behavioral principles. This symposium will present behavioral-oriented clinical interventions whose theoretical foundations rely on behavior analysis and contextual behavioral science. We will present the achievements and scope of Behavioral Activation, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), and Parent Training. We will provide evidence connecting behavioral principles and clinical practices, and the future areas of research in which behavior analysts and clinical psychologists could collaborate to improve therapeutic services by conducting translational and applied research. We will discuss scenarios where the implementation of therapeutic tools from these therapies could be utilized by behavior analysts to boost their interventions and some others where referral to clinical psychologists are needed. We seek to build a bridge between clinical psychologists and behavior analysts to reduce the burden of both professional areas and promote collaboration to strengthen behavioral science. Behavior analysts in interdisciplinary settings will learn how their mental health colleagues apply a behavioral perspective to complex human action.

Target audience for this symposium are graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, behavior analysts and clinical psychologist working in private practice and academia.

Behavioral activation (BA) is one of the most widely researched and disseminated treatments for clinical depression. Originally formulated as a component of cognitive-behavioral therapy, BA has emerged as a cost-effective, efficacious, and portable stand-alone intervention. The theoretical roots of BA are planted firmly in the operant work of Skinner and Ferster. Early empirical research by Lewinsohn inspired a wave of behavior therapists, including those who researched similar yet divergent treatment delivery methods. As behavior therapy widened its scope and considered the role of affect and cognition, research has continued examining the core behavioral processes thought to be the heart of BA, including collaboratively identifying reinforcers, structured activity scheduling, and weekly evaluation. While multiple iterations of BA have augmented treatment with modules such as relaxation training, social skills training, and values or long-term goals assessment, basic behavioral principles remain the engine under the hood. Behavior analysts will find the theoretical grounds of BA to be familiar territory, while contemporary empirical findings will provide an updated assessment of where BA can go next.

Numerous research has shown DBT to be an effective treatment for a wide variety of disorders including but not limited to borderline personality disorders, substance use and dependence disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders. DBT involves teaching and training clients through the use of behaviorally based skills which implemented across a variety of settings and situations. Particularly, DBT has developed guidelines to teach clients to tact their emotions based on the discriminative stimulus in the environment where these are evoked. This therapy also promotes effective interpersonal behaviors with the aim of improving clients global functioning. Due to its widespread applicability knowing, and the utility of its basic skills for a wide variety of clients, DBT can prove to be an invaluable addition to behavior analysts interventions. This presentation will address the achievements and scope of DBT, its application across a variety of settings and situations and the potential implications of its tools for behavioral analysts.

Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) is characterized for using traditional behavioral procedures such as differential reinforcement, extinction, and time-out to modify problem behaviors, and to establish more appropriate behaviors in children. Although these procedures have been very effective in establishing new behavior, the fact is that important areas in parent training have been left behind. For example, addressing the impact of private events in dealing with stressful events, values, and mindfulness methods. Therefore, the objective of this presentation is two-fold. First, provide a state of the art of the behavioral intervention to parents with neuro-typical children and children with intellectual disabilities. Second, describe the evidence of these new methods to parents training. Behavior analyst have been very reluctant to implement values and mindfulness procedure in to their practice. We will provide some guidelines how to do it in their clinical work.

Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) is a behavioral principle-driven intervention focused on promoting therapeutic changes within the context of therapeutic relationship. FAP primary goal is enhancing social functioning while reducing socially ineffective behaviors through modifying clients' social contingencies of reinforcement in-session. Functional analysis is the foundation of FAP, and based on that, therapists evoke, redirect, reinforce, and generalize clients' clinically relevant behaviors. Although FAP represents the natural transition from applied behavior analysis to clinical behavior analysis in the therapeutic relationship context, FAP is not widely known by researchers and practitioners in behavior analysis. Based on that, this presentation seeks to expose the potential utility of FAP for applied behavior analysts and prospective areas of collaboration between researchers from both fields. On the applied area, a FAP-approach would particularly benefit for applied behavior analysists who interact with high-functional clients and family members, enhancing their therapeutic relationship and social connection. On the research field, a translational research agenda that explores the link between FAP-applications and its basic roots, the parameters of reinforcement within the clinical setting, the role of motivational operations in the therapeutic relationship, so forth. would help to extend the scope of behavioral science to other human-relevant areas.

Function-based treatments for problem behavior are well studied using single-subject designs, but there is less research using larger samples. While single-subject designs are an important cornerstone of behavior analysis, larger sample sizes allow us to answer different questions and disseminate results to novel audiences. Two of the studies in this symposium analyze resurgence and relapse in clinical populations. These concepts are well studied in basic research but the prevalence in applied settings is unclear. These studies used consecutive-case review designs to answer this question and identify the prevalence in patients undergoing treatment for problem behavior. The third study also used a consecutive case series design to analyze treatment results for inappropriate sexual behavior, which is an incredibly problematic, but understudied, topography. By using a large-N design, the researchers were able to assess treatment efficacy in a format that easily disseminates to professionals outside of our field. The last talk focuses on a literature review for automatically-maintained problem behavior. In using this large sample found in past research, they identified trends in assessment that may predict the types of treatment components necessary. The implications of use of large-N designs in these projects allowed for solving novel and important research questions.

Professional clinicians and researchers in the field of psychology and behavior analysis who work with children who engage in problem behavior. I also believe this presentation qualified for psychology CEUS (PSY), but this was not an option listed above.

A consecutive controlled case-series design (Hagopian, Rooker, Jessel, & DeLeon, 2013) was used to examine resurgence of problem behavior during implementation of a multiple schedule of reinforcement and during subsequent thinning steps. Multiple schedules signal the availability of reinforcement by correlating a unique stimulus with the presence or absence of reinforcement following a targeted response (Saini, Miller, Fisher, 2014). Resurgence was defined as the occurrence of problem behavior at a rate that exceeded levels observed during baseline or the prior multiple-schedule thinning step in at least one of the next 10 sessions (Volkert, Lerman, Call, & Trosclair-Lasserre, 2009). Data were collected from clients of an intensive day treatment program over an eight year period whose treatment for problem behavior included a multiple schedule component. Resurgence was coded after the multiple schedule was introduced and following each subsequent thinning step. Data were collected on a variety of different participant characteristics including: age, topography of problem behavior(s) (e.g., aggression, self-injury, pica), and confirmed function(s) of problem behavior. Implications for thinning the schedule of reinforcement in a multiple schedule will be discussed.

This study used a consecutive controlled case-series design (Hagopian, Rooker, Jessel, & DeLeon, 2013) to examine the prevalence of renewal when treatments for problem behavior were generalized. Renewal is defined as the reemergence of a previously extinguished response when the stimulus context changes (Kelley, Liddon, Ribeiro, & Greif, 2015). For example, when renewal is applied to the treatment of problem behavior, problem behavior is initially observed in the home. Next, treatment is implemented in a different setting and problem behavior decreases or extinguishes. Finally, when treatment is generalized back to the home, problem behavior may reemerge. This treatment relapse effect has significant implications for clinicians generalizing treatments for problem behavior. Data were analyzed from all clients over a six year period who were admitted to a day treatment program for the treatment of problem behavior. Renewal was coded if problem behavior was observed at a rate in the first 10 sessions in the new stimulus context higher than that of the 10 sessions preceding generalization. Data were also collected on participant and treatment characteristics including: topography(s) of problem behavior, identified function(s) of problem behavior and treatment components. Implications for the treatment of problem behavior and generalization are discussed.

Effective training of paraprofessionals is critical in creating behavior change for children with developmental disabilities, yet many paraprofessionals receive limited professional development or support in implementing behavior plans. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the training procedures for paraprofessionals to identify the most efficient, cost-effective approaches to increase a paraprofessional's ability to implement a behavior plan with fidelity. The research included in this symposium addresses a variety of approaches to training, including behavioral skills training and practice-based coaching to increase paraprofessionals' skills in implementing behavior change procedures. These studies note the marked increases in treatment fidelity after training as well as reductions in challenging behavior and increases in adaptive skills in the children the paraprofessionals work with in home, school, and community settings. In sum, these studies outline several evidence-based approaches to training paraprofessionals in executing behavior plans with fidelity. Limitations and future areas of research will also be addressed.

Behavior analysts working with paraprofessionals

Ensuring educational progress for students with moderate-to-severe developmental disabilities requires exposure to well executed evidence-based practices. This necessitates that the special education workforce, including paraprofessionals, be well-trained. Yet evidence regarding effective training mechanisms for paraprofessionals is limited. A multiple baseline design across five teachers was used to evaluate the impact of online instructional modules and a Practice-Based Coaching (PBC) model with teacher-as-coach on their paraprofessionals' fidelity of discrete trial training (DTT). Implementation of the instructional modules yielded little to no change in paraprofessionals' DTT fidelity, however, a clear functional relation between PBC and improvement in paraprofessionals' fidelity of implementation of DTT was demonstrated.

Extensive research suggests naturalistic approaches, including Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT), improve the acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of communication skills among children with developmental disabilities (DD). Limited research has examined professional development for paraeducators, particularly related to communication interventions. The current study uses a randomized, single-case multiple baseline design across participants to address the impact of a training package on paraeducator's use of EMT with a child dyad and subsequent child communication gains. Data is presented for four paraeducators and seven preschool children with DD. A visual analysis of the data is presented, in addition to an interpretation of Tau-U and Hedge's g effect sizes. Results indicate increases in paraeducator's fidelity of implementation of EMT, with large effects. There were increases in child communication, with large effects for prompted communication and small effects for independent communication. Paraeducators were able to generalize their use of strategies across additional students in the preschool classroom. The results of the study have promising implications regarding successful training procedures for paraeducators working with young children with DD. Future research should continue to examine effective, yet more cost-effective training programs for paraeducators.

Paraprofessionals spend the most time with the neediest students, but receive the least amount of training and support. All target students in the study had developmental disabilities, were between the ages of three and five, and had a history of challenging behavior. Paraprofessionals in the study were recruited because they had the least experience and training administering behavior support plans (BSPs) in their setting. A multi-level consultation model was used to train paraprofessionals to implement individualized BSPs. First, paraprofessionals were trained in a one-on-one setting how to implement the BSPs using behavioral skills training. Next, adherence to the BSP was monitored by independent observers and additional support was delivered contingent on meeting an adherence criterion. Through a cascading logic, data showed that paraprofessionals engaged in immediately and substantively higher levels of BSP adherence following application of the multilevel consultation model, and as a result, students engaged in immediately and substantively lower rates of challenging behavior (d = -1.5 to -4.4), which maintained over time. With minimal training provided to each paraprofessional across the study (M = 151.2 minutes), and dramatic observed changes in challenging behavior, the multilevel consultation model proved highly efficient and effective.

The purpose of this study was to train teachers to coach paraprofessionals in the use of FCT to treat challenging behavior in young children with disabilities. Our first set of participants included a preschool special education teacher, a paraprofessional, and a child aged five years. We utilized a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across three paraprofessionals to examine the effects of practice-based coaching on (a) FCT treatment fidelity of the paraprofessional, and (b) challenging behavior and appropriate communication of the child. We trained teachers in FCT and coaching procedures, after which the teachers trained their paraprofessionals in FCT and provided coaching throughout the intervention phase. Our preliminary results with the first set of participants indicated the paraprofessional was able to implement FCT independently with high fidelity, which led to a decrease in challenging behavior and increase in appropriate communication in the child. Implications for future research and practice will be discussed.

Higher education is an excellent setting for the application of behavioral technologies. This symposium will include four data-based presentations on behavior-analytic procedures with college students. Two presentations will focus on improving student performance in college classrooms, and two presentations will focus on teaching interviewing and public speaking skills. In the first presentation, Cynthia Nava will present an evaluation of concept programming using student-generated exemplars in a behavior analysis course. Next, Dr. Megan Heinicke will present a comparison of two types of response card systems in an upper-division psychology course. In the third presentation, Vinthia Wirantana will present an evaluation of behavioral skills training to train career resource center staff to use behavioral skills training to teach job interview skills. In the final presentation, Christina Montes will present an evaluation of awareness training to decrease speech disfluencies during public speaking. The symposium will conclude with a discussion by Dr. Jennifer Austin.

Researchers, teachers, and resource providers

Many of today's leading scholars and practitioners of behavior analysis were once undergraduate students learning the foundational concepts for the first time in a college classroom. Few studies exist on instructional strategies to improve the acquisition of behavioral concepts (e.g., positive reinforcement) in college students. Those that do exist (e.g., Miller & Weaver, 1976) were conducted before web-based technologies became a staple of college life. Our study extends existing research by systematically evaluating the effects of "concept programming" using multi-media examples of the behavioral principles generated by graduate students. First, we assigned graduate students to create examples (pictures/videos, captions, and descriptions) of the behavioral principles in their everyday lives. Next, we curated an online bank of these multi-media examples corresponding to four topics (respondent conditioning, reinforcement, antecedent control, extinction and punishment) taught in an undergraduate behavior analysis course. We used a multiple probe and between-group design to evaluate the effects of access alone and access with probes for critical thinking on concept formation. We also assessed student preference for multi-media, peer-generated examples compared to traditional textbook examples. Results of the study will be discussed in the context of instructional design, student preference, and culturally responsive practices in higher education.

Behavioral skills training (BST) has been shown to improve job interview skills of college students (Hollandsworth, Glazeski, & Dressel, 1978; Stocco, Thompson, Hart, & Soriano, 2017). Students can receive interview training through college Career Resource Centers (CRCs), but it is unclear if CRCs use BST. Subsequently, if BST is not used, it is unknown whether BST produces better outcomes than a typical CRC training or whether professionals in those settings would embrace the use of BST. To address these gaps in the literature, we taught CRC staff to use BST when teaching college students to answer interview questions; we measured the number of BST steps used in comparison to a baseline that consisted of typical CRC training. In addition, we measured the percent of appropriate answers provided by college students during simulated interviews conducted after typical CRC training and BST. We used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across three staff-student dyads to evaluate the effects. Results thus far show that CRC staff use some, but not all, BST steps during typical training. So far, after receiving training on BST, staff increased the use of BST steps, and we have observed collateral improvement in student performance during simulated interviews. However, data collection is only complete for one of the three dyads. Following the completion of all dyads, we will collect staff and student data on the social validity of procedures and outcomes.

Past behavior-analytic research has focused on reducing speech disfluencies, such as "um" or "like," via punishment procedures. More recently, Mancuso and Miltenberger (2016) found habit reversal was effective in decreasing speech disfluencies. However, habit reversal can be a lengthy intervention package and the specific components responsible for behavior change are often unknown. Spieler and Miltenberger (2017) also evaluated awareness training, one component of habit reversal, as a stand-alone treatment and found the procedure was only effective with additional booster sessions. We systematically replicated these prior investigations by evaluating awareness training as a sole intervention with more stringent mastery criterion with four college students. We also measured collateral effects of treatment on participants'use of additional, untargeted filler word topographies and rate of speech. We found awareness training was effective for all participants without the use of booster sessions, and covariation between targeted filler words and secondary dependent variables was idiosyncratic across participants.

As demand grows for behavior analytic services so do requirements and standards from various stakeholders. Attracting, onboarding and retaining front-line staff is becoming increasingly complex. Given all of the relevant standards and expectations BCBAs/BCaBAs are expected to be familiar with (both within the Behavior Analyst Certification Board's [BACB's] scope and those of external groups), service provider organizations are uniquely positioned to provide support to their own team members. This group of professionals in Behavior Analysis, business and Human resources will review the successful implementation of recruiting, onboarding and credentialing Registered Behavior Technicians.

Behavior Analyst that oversees training and onboarding processes

Hiring and retaining talent is critical to the success of every organization. We have all heard the phrase "The War on Finding Talent" but we are fighting an even bigger war within our organizations in trying to keep our talent. When an employee becomes disengaged, they are less productive and start to look elsewhere for job satisfaction. Although turnover is inevitable, there are preventative strategies we can implement to reduce "agency hopping" and increase our employee tenure. Do you know which of your employees are engaged and committed to your organization? Do you have a plan for those who are not? It's more efficient to retain a quality employee than recruit, train, and orient a replacement. We will identify key drivers of employee engagement, retention and performance and develop a loyal and committed workforce. This presentation will give you 5 strategies you can implement immediately to increase engagement, decrease turnover, and maximize your contributions positively to your bottom-line.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an estimated 2.5 million people nationwide sustain a brain injury each year, with myriad implications and complications for the individual, their family and the rehabilitation community. As the incidence of brain injury is increasing so too is the need for effective assessment and treatment, as well as public awareness and education. This symposium will feature four presentations from the experimental and applied realms of behavior analysis intended to address these needs. In the first study, findings from a replication and extension of a previous inquiry into the functional independence of verbal operants will be presented. The second paper will describe function-based interventions for two individuals that reduced "exiting" behavior and increased participation, respectively. In the third paper a differential reinforcement procedure to address agitated and aggressive behavior maintained by negative reinforcement will be presented, including video. In the final presentation, three cases will be reviewed where token economy-based interventions were utilized to reduce challenging behaviors maintained by positive and negative reinforcement. Discussion of the utility and implications of these papers will be presented as a demonstration of the effectiveness of behavior analysis for treatment of individuals with traumatic brain injuries.

The target audience for this symposium includes practitioners in the rehabilitation fields, individuals working with survivors of TBI, as well as those interested in translational research.

Disruptive behavior including attempts to escape challenges and access tangibles are frequently seen after traumatic brain injuries (TBI). The first case study will be presented on a 60-year-old male who was involved in a motor vehicle accident (MVA) who suffered a TBI. Problematic behaviors such as nonparticipation, confabulations, elopement, and posing a high safety risk warranted functioned-based treatment. An "Early Departure" program was implemented to address exiting and refusals baseline levels of (e.g., 13% exiting and 50% refusals across twelve weeks) to 0% exiting and 25% refusals at discharge. The second case study will be presented on a 38-year-old-female with an acquired brain injury secondary to anoxia. Problematic behaviors included kicking, hitting, biting, nonparticipation, and major sleep-wake disturbances. Implementation of rapport building, planned ignoring, hand-over-hand and differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors resulted in observed participation levels at 100% from 0% at baseline. Additional improvements and positive outcomes will also be discussed. Data and graphical analyses will be presented, along with limitations.

Token economies, through establishing and utilizing conditioned and generalized reinforcers provide a highly effective conceptual and procedural framework in which behavior analysts can work to manipulate types and schedules of reinforcement to produce behavior change. A well constructed token economy can meet essential immediacy requirements to promote the acquisition of behavior as well as allow for the systematic adjustment of types and schedules of reinforcement to strengthen and maintain behavior over time. These properties are especially well suited to addressing challenging behavior in the adult brain injury population. In brain injury rehabilitation, the behavior change process is often complicated by organic deficits such as frontal lobe impairment, memory impairment, anosognosia, etc. The utilization of token economies in working with adult survivors of brain injury with neurobehavioral complications will be discussed, and data will be presented for three adult subjects that demonstrate the efficacy of token economies in implementing differential reinforcement of other and alternative behavior procedures to reduce key target behaviors, including at risk mobility, sexually intrusive behaviors, aggression, etc. Each case will illustrate individualized interventions as well as rehabilitation goals.

Since before Skinner’s “Selection by consequences,” behavior analysts have acknowledged the natural alliance among the sciences that commonly rely on selection as a fundamental cause and sufficient explanation of behavior. In that vein, several behavior analysts have explicitly called for a closer integration of evolution and behavior science, and some have incorporated evolutionary principles in proposed expansions and modifications of behavior theory. However, it is only recently that a fully integrated, data-driven, evolution-based science of behavior has emerged with both conceptual and empirical implications for behavior scientists. A fundamental assumption of this approach is the reciprocal influence of evolution on behavioral processes at multiple levels of analysis, individual, symbolic and cultural. The participants in this panel are the principal architects of this integration, and each will discuss their specific conceptual and empirical contributions. A panel discussion format was selected specifically to allow audience participation in the discussion.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Training direct service providers to implement programming with fidelity is integral to the success of any program within the field of behavior analysis. In addition, we recognize the caregivers? key role in ensuring consistency in the daily life of clients outside the direct service provision environment. With an understanding that both of these roles are equally important to the overall success of programming from acquisition to maintenance, the authors in this symposium seek to improve training modalities for both parties through evidence-based, behavior analytic procedures. These studies employ both single-subject and group designs to answer empirical questions about the most effective ways to ensure direct service providers and caregivers alike, are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to facilitate the most optimal outcome for each client.

The content of this symposium is appropriate for all levels of training and certification.

In behavior analytic practice, it is imperative that consumers receive programming as quickly as possible to ensure maximum effects (Reichow, Barton, Boyd, & Hume, 2012). In addition, it is vital that the individual delivering these services are adequately trained. The purpose of this study is to compare two CBI methods, one didactic and one active responding, to evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge acquisition in individuals seeking the Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) certification. Participants included eight individuals seeking certification for the purposes of either working in a home-based agency delivering applied behavior analysis (ABA) programming to individuals on the autism spectrum, or for application in a public school district classroom. The authors randomly assigned participants to one of four groups, which included training in either a didactic model or an active student responding (ASR) model, utilizing a modified Solomon four-group design.

There is a large body of research indicating that when positive behaviour support is implemented within schools, there are decreases in school discipline referrals and challenging behaviour Carr et al., 1999; Dunlap & Carr, 1997, Gore et al., 2013; LaVigna, Christian, & Willis, 2005). There are only two studies that have used school wide positive behaviour support in a school where the majority of students have been diagnosed with intellectual disabilities. This study implemented positive behavior support school wide for a school with the majority of students diagnosed with an intellectual disability using validated measures and direct observations with both school staff and students. Results indicated increases in positive feedback to students were achievable after five hours of training in positive behaviour support. Additionally, student incidents were lower for five of the six students observed in this study. Individual data, limitations, barriers, and future directions will also be discussed.

As more children are being diagnosed with ASD prior to the age of three, early intervention is recommended and considered best practice. While the nature of parent involvement can vary across approaches, it is essential that parents learn strategies to implement at home during everyday activities (CDC, 2017). This paper will examine the feasibility of implementing a parent-mediated naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention for young children with ASD, in the home setting. The researcher developed a 12-week intervention program, and used Behavior Skills Training (BST) to train parents to fidelity, on the six motivational procedures of Pivotal Response Training (PRT) during everyday routines. A multiple baseline design was used across nine parent-child dyads. Results of the study show that in addition to parents achieving fidelity with the intervention procedures, there were also improvements in social communication behaviors, and a decrease in challenging behaviors for all child participants. Additionally, parents reported lower levels of stress and were overall satisfied with the intervention.

Telehealth includes various forms of technology that can be used in the behavior field to train, supervise and consult. Current research supports the use of telehealth in consultation, parent training, and behavior technician training, however fidelity of performance is a common limitation across studies (Fisher et al., 2014; Suess et al., 2014; Wacker et al., 2013). The present study utilized a delayed multiple baseline design across three participants to measure the fidelity of behavior technician performance following telehealth training. Pre-test and baseline probes were used prior to training to assess participant's initial knowledge of Precision Teaching. Following telehealth training, a series of three competency assessments were administered to probe participants post knowledge, along with a generalization and maintenance probe that included role-playing. Results indicate that prior to telehealth training participant's performance was 40% correct or below and following telehealth training participant's performance was at 85% correct or above for competency. Participant performance was maintained during maintenance and generalization phases with scores between 80% and 100% correct.

Chair: Laurie Tarter, Psy.D., BCBA Presenters: Karelix Alicea, M.S., BCBA, Janet Vasquez, M.S., BCBA, Kimberly Woolery, M.S., BCBA Behavior analytic service delivery not only involves the participation of the client, but their parents and caregivers as well. There are several factors that impact the outcome of Applied Behavior Analysis services for clients. Some factors include various parenting styles, the level of buy-in, and the caregivers' willingness and availability to participate in Applied Behavior Analysis sessions. The panel will discuss the paramount role of parents and other caregivers within the Applied Behavior Analysis service delivery system from several different perspectives, including business policies, ethical considerations, method of service delivery (i.e., in-vivo vs. telehealth) and also incorporating the family systems perspective. Each panel member will address and present on a particular area of expertise, all while sharing personal stories and insights on their challenges and triumphs in working with caregivers in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis.

The target audience are those who supervise ABA programs for clients with caretakers or parents. It will also target those who might run an ABA agency from a business standpoint.

Precision Teaching and fluency-based instruction provide valuable behavioral engineering to produce effective student learning. University instructors may find it difficult to incorporate some aspects of fluency-based instruction in their courses due to various administrative behavior-environment contingencies that are imposed on them that are not present in other educational settings. Some of these contingency arrangements can include the number of days per week that classes meet, students who have learning histories associated with accuracy-only assessment measures, and the time associated with trying to make chart-based decisions for each individual student. This symposium address curricular design considerations that may make it easier to include Precision Teaching and fluency-based instructional in higher education courses. The first presentation examines procedural implementations of SAFMEDS (Say All Fast Minute Each Day Shuffled; fluency cards). The second presentation covers an adaptation of SAFMEDS using a see-type learning channel (TAFMEDS), a fluency-based extension going beyond a see-say learning channel. Both sets of researchers comment on the curricular considerations as evaluated through standard behavior measures of student success.

university faculty and course instructors

Research into the fluency-building tactics named SAFMEDS (Say All Fast Minute Each Day Shuffled) has implications for instruction at all academic levels. Several researchers have studied the effects of SAFMEDS in undergraduate courses; however, not all of the salient variables, or their relationships, have been fully analyzed. In the current investigation, experimenters collected behavioral data across four semesters of undergraduate introductory behavior analysis courses. The effects of two procedural manipulations were evaluated in relation to undergraduate students' performance frequencies (N = 305) on weekly checkouts with two to four decks of see term/say definition SAFMEDS. One procedural manipulation explored the differences in performance frequencies when students practiced four times a week (summer semesters) as compared to two times a week (fall semesters). The other procedural manipulation analyzed the comparative effects of two or four cumulative stability checkouts per semester. Results suggested that students' performance frequencies improve as a function of repeated practice regardless of the frequency of cumulative stability checks. The results are discussed in the context of fluency-building strategies that support undergraduate student performance, and the pragmatic considerations course instructors might consider when adopting fluency-building tactics in the college classroom.

Precision Teaching and fluency-based instruction are have been used effectively in many educational settings. University settings present some challenges compared to K-12 settings: most classes do not meet daily, yet daily practice has been asserted to be an important component for producing fluency. Instructors often incorporate SAFMEDS (Say All Fast Minute Each Day Shuffled) flashcards in their courses but instructors are unable to monitor students' practice outside of class sessions. An alternative to the see-say learning channel of SAFMEDS may be the see-type learning channel in the less explored TAFMEDS (Type All Fast Minute Each Day Shuffled). We arranged a point contingency on daily, timed-practice of TAFMEDS with undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory behavior analysis course. Behavior analytic terms were divided into four sets of 18 terms. Students' performance frequencies were assessed daily. Daily practice culminated in four checkouts in which students engaged in activities related to the TAFMEDS regarding their endurance, application, stability and performance in different learning channels. Results showed that daily practice correlated with higher daily performance frequencies. The findings are discussed in terms how to incorporate fluency-based instruction in university settings and how TAFMEDS practice might better prepare students for more traditional university-based assessments.

The presentation will tell a research story about the search for verbal mediation in delayed matching-to-sample arrangements and emergent relations. By telling the story, a series of experiments will be presented. Terms as simultaneous and delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) and emergent relations will be discussed. Research using DMTS procedures has shown that equivalence class formation has increased as a function of increasing delays between sample and comparison. For example, a 9-s delay enhanced equivalence class formation more than a 0-s delay. So, the question "why" has been asked. Thus, in research on DMTS, it has been argued that the naming the stimuli in the delay might bridge the gap between the sample offset and the comparison presentation. Therefore, we have tried to influence the matching performance by introducing a variety of distracting tasks in the delay between the sample offset and the comparison onset. The main findings from such experiments have shown how the tasks presented in the delay influenced the responding in accordance with stimulus equivalence. Finally, experiments employing "silent dog" and talk-aloud procedures have accumulated valuable information of what participants are talking about in the presence of the sample, in the delay, and when the comparisons are presented.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

The symposium includes four talks that broadly address instructional considerations when establishing new skills for learners with autism spectrum disorder. The first talk evaluated the acquisition of imitative responses that did and did not produce a permanent product. Parallels to basic research and clinical implications for imitation training will be discussed. The second talk evaluated the acquisition and generalization of yes and no responding across verbal operants. Results will be discussed in light of previous related studies. The third talk evaluated the effects of three instructional set sizes on the acquisition of tacts. Variables that may influence the optimal set size and considerations for clinical practice will be presented. The fourth talk evaluated the usefulness of a equivalence-based instruction to establish WH-concepts. Collectively, these studies support consideration for aspects of instruction to promote acquisition of new skills for learners with autism spectrum disorder.

Practitioners of behavior analysis and school psychology.

We sought to replicate and extend Shillingsburg, Kelley, Roane, Kisamore, and Brown (2009) by examining the acquisition and generalization of yes and no responses across verbal operants (mand, tact, and intraverbal). Three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder participated. We identified four yes and four no targets per verbal operant (12 stimuli total) and used a multiple baseline design across verbal operants to teach yes and no responses as mands, tacts, and intraverbals. Training consisted of massed, 10-trial sessions with a progressive prompt delay of one yes and one no target response from the targeted verbal operant. Targets were considered mastered based on three consecutive correct probe trials, conducted each day before training sessions. Following mastery of each target, generalization sessions of that response (yes or no) across verbal operants was examined. We extended Shillingsburg et al. by conducting additional generalization sessions that included varied trials (yes and no targets alternated randomly within a session) across verbal operants following mastery of each operant. Our extension aims to address a limitation of previous research by examining the effects of varied yes and no generalization probes across verbal operants and the discriminability that single-response training promotes.

We used a pretest/posttest experimental design to examine the effects of teaching conditional relations among stimuli representing WH-concepts on the emergence of untaught relations, receptive and expressive identification of WH-concepts in sentences, and sorting tasks. Match-to-sample was used to train the conditional discriminations using a simple to complex training protocol and a linear training structure. Pretests for all relations were below 50%, with the exception of C-B, and posttest scores were at or above 80% for all relations. We also observed the emergence of sorting and receptive and expressive identification. Although new relations emerged following EBI and the task for sorting pictures into WH categories emerged as well, the participant still could not demonstrated other receptive or expressive identification tasks to criterion levels when the WH-concepts were in the contexts of sentences. Future training sets might include sentences as equivalence stimuli used during training. Implications for the limits of EBI with this learner will be discussed.

There are multiple health concerns linked to a poor diet and lack of physical activity, including diabetes and heart disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Furthermore, in the United States, people are failing to meet dietary and physical activity guidelines at an alarming rate. The field of Behavior Analysis has conducted some research to increase healthy eating and exercise but more work is needed. The current symposium will present recent advances in this area, including optimal uses of goal setting and reinforcement contingencies for exercise and utilizing gamification and stimulus exposure to increase healthy food selection and consumption. First, Hernandez et al. will present on the differential impact of a negative reinforcement contingency versus goal setting on step count. Peck's study will also target step count, but with adults with a mental health disability, and evaluate the effects of daily goal setting and positive reinforcement. The third study by Assemi et al. looks at healthy food selection, specifically at the effects of health information on shopping behavior and implicit and explicit measures of verbal responding. Finally, the study by Chavira et al., evaluates the effects of gamification and taste exposure on elementary school children's preference for and consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts and others working with adults or children on improving physical activity or healthy eating

In general, American adults understand that physical activity is good for their health, yet it has been estimated that less than 5% of adults actually meet CDC recommendations of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, an exertion level equivalent of a brisk walk. Contingencies that promote problematic behaviors make it difficult for individuals to engage in behavior that would benefit them in the long term. Thus, the application of contingency management strategies in which immediate consequences for healthy behaviors are contrived to compete with problematic competing contingencies, may be effective in increasing behaviors that produce positive cumulative effects. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of experimenter funded negative reinforcement contingency contracts and feedback with a goal setting with feedback intervention. A Fitbit Zip device was used to measure the frequency of daily step total goals met. Goals were individualized and calculated by averaging the steps taken during a screening period increased by a negotiated percentage of a minimum of 20-25% in experiment 1, and a minimum of 50% in experiment 2. Results indicated that participants met their daily step goals more often and on average had higher daily step counts during the contract condition. These findings support the use of negative reinforcement monetary contracts in physical activity interventions.

One of the greatest threats to the well-being of mentally-disabled adults is their sedentary lifestyles. In fact, approximately half of all individuals living in community settings do not engage in any type of regular leisurely physical activity (Draheim, Williams, & McCubbin, 2002). As such, research is needed to help increase activity engagement among this population. In 2014, LaLonde et al. increased daily steps of young adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder using goal-setting and contingent incentives. The current study aimed to replicate LaLonde et al. (2014)'s findings, and increase the daily steps of six adult individuals with a mental health disability. These adults ranged in age from 25-80 years. Participants were each given Fitbit tracking device, and tools to assist with tracking steps and preserving the Fitbit. After a baseline period with no goal in place, researchers set a goal based on each individual's average steps per day during baseline. Intervention consisted of setting a daily step goal, and then providing a reward and increasing the goal by ten percent each time it was met. Results showed that the majority of participants were able to double their average steps per week during the course of the study.

This symposium will describe how behavior emitted by practitioners and their clients follows fundamental laws of behavior discovered in the basic laboratory. The presenters take a radical-behaviorist approach to explaining interesting behavior of their clients, as well as of themselves and other practitioners, in the context of applied practice. The purpose of this symposium is to illustrate the utility of conceptualizing behavior in terms of basic concepts, and of applying those concepts in conceptually systematic ways to applied problems. Such practices can lead to more efficient treatment and better outcomes for clients, yet many practitioners do not follow this approach. Instead, they use techniques based on topography and function, without necessarily considering the context in which behavior occurs, or they follow rules about techniques they should and should not use, such as differential reinforcement and punishment, respectively. Many practitioners are fluent in function-based approaches but do not consider behavioral concepts that are less salient for them, such as the Matching Law, conditioned motivating operations, complex schedules of reinforcement, adjunctive behavior, response generalization, and Skinner's (1953) analysis of emotion. Specific conceptualizations, applications, and case studies will be presented, and implications of a contextual, fundamental approach to practice will be discussed.

Masters-level and doctoral-level behavior analysts who are applied practitioners or who are interested in how basic concepts apply to human behavior; behavior analysts interested in basic, applied, and translational research; radical behaviorists

In 1960 Isaacs, Thomas, and Goldiamond used behavior-analytic techniques and chewing gum to get two "psychotic" patients to speak after 14 and 19 years of not speaking at all. The report was amazing, yet one behavior analyst reader reacted that there were a lot of limitations: there was no preference assessment or functional analysis or control over other variables in the environment. The authors had effected socially significant behavior change using behavioral techniques and gum, that likely improved the patients' lives immeasurably, yet the reader was concerned that they did not follow the rules that this reader had been taught to follow. This presentation will argue that going back to basics, to basic laboratory findings and to the early days of behavior modification, can significantly improve the practice of applied behavior analysis. Interesting behavior that is difficult to explain in a technological and conceptually systematic way will be conceptualized in terms of basic behavioral processes, and effective treatments based on that interpretation will be presented. The take-home point is that unexpected, inexplicable behavior is simple—it follows the laws of behavior. Sometimes it follows obscure laws and sometimes lots of them at the same time, but it is lawful nonetheless.

The occurrence of automatically maintained challenging behavior presents a number of clinical problems related to efficiency in selecting interventions, as well as insuring effective interventions can be carried out in the natural context. Although a number of interventions are present in the literature, many of these demonstrations are carried out in tightly controlled clinical contexts. The following papers will provide suggestions for the efficient selection of interventions for automatically maintained behavior, as well as demonstrations of intervention methodologies that may be amenable to implementation in naturalistic contexts.

The target audience for this symposium will be practitioners who are working with clients/learners that engage in automatically maintained challenging behavior. Researchers interested in the assessment and treatment of automatically maintained behavior will also benefit from attendance.

Vocal stereotypy is a commonly occurring challenging behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is frequently maintained by automatic reinforcement and often interferes with skill acquisition. Matched stimulation (MS), and response interruption and redirection (RIRD) are two interventions that have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing the occurrence of vocal stereotypy with participants with ASD. Although both are effective, they may be limited by interrupted data-collection methods, and the cumbersome nature of the procedures. In the current study, a combination of MS in the form of noncontingent music and RIRD was more effective at reducing vocal stereotypy to support on-task behavior than RIRD alone when continuous data-collection procedures were implemented. The results suggested that the combined intervention resulted in greater suppression of vocal stereotypy and increased occurrences of on-task behavior in both participants. Additionally, RIRD required fewer implementations and had a shorter duration when combined with MS. Data suggest that the combination of MS and RIRD may be an effective intervention outside of controlled experimental settings.

Recent literature suggests categorizing behaviors maintained by an automatic function may increase treatment efficacy by allowing for faster identification of interventions that are likely to be effective. This has been demonstrated with automatic self-injurious behaviors (Berg, et al., 2016; Hagopian et al., 2015). To assess the generality of the model used by Berg et al., (2016), the current study examined its effectiveness for automatically maintained stereotypy in children with a diagnosis of autism. A functional analysis was conducted to determine that the stereotypy was maintained by automatic reinforcement. A concurrent operants assessment was also conducted with each participant as needed. An intervention based on the resulting pattern of responding was implemented, and data were analyzed to determine if the model's treatment recommendation was effective. The results varied, but the intervention prescribed by the pattern of responding was not always the most effective. The implications of and future directions for the application of this model to other topographies of automatically reinforced behaviors, such as stereotypy, will be discussed.

Response interruption and redirection (RIRD) is a common treatment used to decrease levels of automatically reinforced vocal stereotypy. During RIRD, when a learner engages in vocal stereotypy, they are interrupted and required to engage in a series of responses, which are incompatible with their vocal stereotypy (answering social questions, engaging in echoic responses), before being redirected to their current activity (Ahearn, Clark, MacDonald, & Chung, 2007). The current available literature on RIRD supports the efficacy of RIRD in controlled setting, but less is known about the effectiveness of RIRD during typical academic and vocational tasks in the natural environment (Martinez and Betz 2013). Using stimulus control procedures implemented in a classroom, Slaton and Hanley (2016) found that blocking motor stereotypy was more effective when chain schedules were used rather than multiple schedules. The purpose of the present experiment is to replicate Slaton and Hanley (2016) using RIRD to decrease levels of vocal stereotypy in students with Autism Spectrum Disorder during academic and vocational school-based sessions. Results suggest that chain schedules are more effective at increasing task completion and decreasing stereotypy for participants.

Approximately 25 % of self-injurious behavior is maintained by automatic reinforcement. This function of self- injurious behavior is significantly less understood than self-injury maintained by social reinforcement (Hagopian, Rooker & Zarcone, 2015). In 2015, Hagopian, Rooker & Zarcone conceptualized various subtypes of self injurious behavior based on patterns of responding during functional analyses and the presence of self restraint behavior. The current symposium will incorporate these seminal findings into applied research regarding the assessment and treatment of self- injurious behavior.

Practitioners in applied settings.

Self- injurious behavior that is maintained by automatic reinforcement can be categorized into three different subtypes. These subtypes are conceptualized based on the presence of self-restraint and patterns of responding during functional analysis (Hagopian, Rooker & Zarcone, 2015). In this conceptual framework, subtype 3 is the presence of self-restraint behavior. This specific subtype is often most resistant to treatment. Hagopain, Rooker & Zarcone (2015) found that of the 39 individuals with automatically reinforced self-injurious behavior, only 20.5% met the criteria for subtype 3. Banda, McAfee & Hart (2012) published a single case study in which an ABAB design was used to establish that rates of self-injury were significantly lower when self-restraint was allowed. Systematic fading of the self-restraint materials resulted in low rates of self-injury and no self-restraint. The current study replicates and extends on the work of Banda et al., (2012) in order to decrease severe self-injurious behavior and the use of self-restraint materials in an adult male.

Competing stimulus assessments (CSAs) have been used for nearly two decades to identify stimuli that effectively compete with automatically reinforced self-injurious behavior (ASIB; Fisher, O'Connor, Kurtz, DeLeon, & Gotjen, 2000; Jennett, Jann, & Hagopian, 2011). Competing stimuli are identified by comparing the rate or percentage of occurrence of ASIB in a control condition absent of any external sources of stimulation to conditions in which a stimulus is present. Stimuli that reduce ASIB to clinically significant levels are then characterized as competing stimuli. Some individuals who engage in ASIB also engage in self-restraint (SR), behavior that is incompatible with or prevents SIB (e.g., sitting on one's hands; Oliver, Murphy, Hall, Arron, & Leggett, 2003). If SR effectively eliminates ASIB, the identification of competing stimuli for ASIB becomes difficult. In those cases, measuring SR as the dependent variable and observing how stimuli alter both its occurrence and the occurrence of ASIB may be a viable option. The current study describes the use of a CSA to identify stimuli that compete with both SR and ASIB, and will discuss how covariation in SR and ASIB in a CSA might inform us about the relation between these responses.

Educational and behavior analytic programs for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and developmental delays often target discrimination training with auditory and visual stimuli. Several procedures may facilitate the acquisition of conditional discriminations. This symposium reviews three studies conducted with individuals with autism spectrum disorders that evaluated procedures, specifically different stimulus presentations, used to teach conditional discriminations. The first two studies compared the effectiveness of a sample-first and a comparison-first stimulus presentation. These studies were systematic replications of Petursdottir and Aguilar (2016). The third study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching auditory-visual conditional discriminations in sets of two, three, and four auditory-visual stimuli pairs. The implications of these procedures for practitioners and recommendations for future researchers will be discussed.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts providing and supervising ABA services for individuals with ASD.

This study evaluated two different stimulus presentations were during auditory visual discrimination training. Acquisition during a sample-first procedure, in which the sample stimulus was presented before the comparison stimuli, was compared to a comparison-first procedure in which the sample presentation was delayed and presented after the comparison stimuli. We extended prior research by a) evaluating the efficiency of the two stimulus presentations for two teenagers with Autism Spectrum Disorders, b) conducting the evaluations in tabletop format, and c) incorporating a prompt delay procedure. The results indicated that both participants learned more quickly in the comparison-first condition, a finding that differed from Petursdottir and Aguilar (2016) and recommendations derived from laboratory research. In the second phase, we evaluated if systematic exposure to stimulus presentations affected responding during subsequent comparisons. The role of individual learning histories and their effects on learning with different stimulus presentations is discussed.

Receptive identification trials involve reinforcement of a particular comparison selection (e.g., pointing to a picture) conditional upon the presence of a specific sample stimulus (e.g., a spoken word). Consistent with common laboratory practices and related clinical recommendations, Petursdottir & Aguilar (2016) found a reliable sample-first advantage when they taught children to identify birds and flags. More recent unpublished data suggest that this sample-first advantage may be less reliable when error correction is implemented. Our follow up studies investigated the use of picture prompts during error correction and have produced mixed results. Notably, all of our previous studies were conducted with typically developing children via laptop computers. Such questions about procedural minutia may not greatly affect acquisition for these children, thus the purpose of the current study is to compare acquisition under sample-first and comparison-first conditions (with error correction) for children with ASD using table-top teaching methods as is typically performed in EIBI settings. Participants were two boys (8 years, 5 months and 6 years, 7 months) with limited receptive and expressive repertoires. Results show a significant comparison-first advantage for both participants, and follow up data collection is recommended.

Clinicians and researchers use several teaching strategies that vary in terms of the number of comparison stimuli during training (e.g., blocked-trials procedure, the conditional-only method). Sidman (1987) argued that instructors should include more than two comparisons during conditional discrimination training to reduce the likelihood of false positive or false negative results. Researchers have yet to evaluate how the size of the comparison might affect the acquisition of auditory-visual conditional discriminations. The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching auditory-visual conditional discriminations in sets of two, three, and four auditory-visual stimuli pairs. Two children aged 3- and 6-years old who had been previously diagnosed with ASD participated in the study. The experimenter taught 12 relations in each of the experimental conditions. An adapted alternating treatments design was used to compare efficiency and effectiveness of teaching conditional discriminations in different set sizes. The results will be discussed in terms of clinical implications and directions for future research.

This presentation will introduce the latest thinking on the mechanisms of action of psychedelic compounds such as LSD and psilocybin. Dr. Carhart-Harris will present the results of his functional brain imaging work with compounds such as psilocybin, LSD, and DMT, and discuss what these findings tell us about how these drugs alter brain function to alter consciousness. He will also presenthis latest findings on psilocybin with psychological support for treatment resistant depression, including brain imaging findings suggesting how the treatment is working.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Dissemination of Applied Behavior Analysis is in an early development phase in mainland China. Service providers, higher education institutions, and practitioners are building capacity within the population dense country that has clearly identified needs for the science. This session will address the ethical challenges of dissemination of the science and practical strategies the panelists have utilized to address these challenges. Disseminating knowledge of applied behavior analysis and engaging in behavior analytic service where the science is emerging is rewarding, yet challenges unique to providing intervention in low resources geographical regions as well as cross-cultural requirements of those engaging in the dissemination work exist. The application of maintaining ethical professional and scientific relationships within the construct of cultural differences will be addressed. Participants on the panel include native and non-native professionals to China, all who have worked in-country for multiple years. Success will be shared as well as challenges that continue to exist.

BCBA, BCABA and other interested attendees.

Behavior analysis has made contributions in the development of evidence-based interventions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and there is a growing evidence base for behavior-analytic interventions for older adults with dementia (now called major neurocognitive disorder). The increased prevalence of dementia in people with IDD means that behavior analysts are likely to encounter people with a comorbid diagnosis in their work, and this under-represented population in the literature warrants further study. There is emerging evidence that a deterioration in stimulus control occurs in people with dementia. However, there is a paucity of applied and basic research specifically evaluating the factors influencing how stimulus control may change, and how these changes can be ameliorated. We may need to consider certain interventions that rely on unimpaired stimulus control, or ensure the salience of stimuli used during interventions. This symposium is comprised of two papers assessing issues of stimulus control in people with dementia and IDD. The papers will be followed by a discussion addressing the current applied and basic evidence for stimulus control deficits in this population, and possible directions for future research.

Behaviour analysts and behaviour analytic researchers interested in behavioural gerontology.

We conducted a review of the last 20 years of behavioral gerontology research with people with IDD who develop dementia and found a total of six behavior-analytic studies. The six studies were analyzed based on the seven dimensions of applied behavior analysis as articulated by Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) to determine overarching themes, and to conduct an analysis of the audiences likely reached by these publications. Based on the unique challenges we identified for behavior analysts working with people with IDD that develop dementia, we implemented a study to assess an alternative to functional analyses with this population. Experimental functional analyses require discrimination, which can be in deficit in people with dementia. Therefore, we will present the results of the use of conditional probability analyses as an alternative method of assessing challenging behavior. Although conditional probability analyses are correlational, functional analyses may not produce clear results due to discrimination issues.

This symposium will describe the application of Interview Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis (IISCA) to the development of functional analyses and function-based treatments. The first presentation will examine the predictive validity of open-ended interviews to develop hypotheses that are tested in experimental analyses to determine the function of problem behavior. The second presentation will review a treatment designed to address a problem behavior maintained by multiple reinforcers, one of which cannot be easily removed/terminated (access to a pool). The final presentation will compare the effectiveness of different procedures used to thin the schedule of reinforcement for an FCT program derived from an IISCA.

This symposium is intended for professionals who are board certified in behavior analysis.

Some researchers have argued against the use of indirect assessments such as interviews as the primary method to inform functional analysis design because interviews often yield inaccurate or incomplete information regarding the conditions under which problem behaviors occur. However, much of the extant literature on interviews has come from interview methods that involve close-ended questions (i.e., respondents are required to make a binary yes/no response). The extent to which open-ended interviews are limited in a similar manner is unknown and thus we investigated whether open-ended interviews could be used to inform functional analysis design. Four children who engaged in severe problem behavior participated. First, two raters independently interviewed a single caregiver for each child to determine if the open-ended interview would yield reliable correspondence between raters. Second, hypotheses generated by the two raters based on their respective interviews were tested in an analogue functional analysis. We found generally positive correspondence between raters as well as with functional analysis outcomes suggesting that open-ended interviews may have good predictive validity when designing functional analyses.

Children are required to transition from one location to another throughout their day. Problem behavior (e.g., tantrums, refusal) is often the result when children are asked to transition between activities in school (MacDuff, Krantz, & Mclannahan, 1993), between bedtime routines (Mindell, Kuhn, Lewin, Meltzer, & Sadeh, 2006), or from rich-to-lean environments (see e.g., Jessel, Hanley, Ghaemmaghami, 2016). We completed an Interview Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis (IISCA) for two individuals diagnosed with autism who engaged in refusal behavior when asked to leave the pool area. The results of the IISCA suggest that pool refusal behavior was maintained by social negative reinforcement in the form of escaping the demand to leave the pool and maintained by positive reinforcement to continue to access the pool area. Treatment consists of allowing brief escape (10 seconds) when pool refusal behavior was emitted plus reinforcement. The effectiveness of preferred edible items and tangible items delivered to the participants' contingent upon leaving the pool area and entering the changing room were evaluated during treatment. This study extends the literature in two ways. First, the study evaluates the efficacy of a function-based treatment following the completion of the IISCA for transition refusal behavior in novel context (i.e., pool area). Second, the study evaluates the effectiveness of delivering competing reinforcement (i.e., edible and tangible items) when a preferred location (i.e., pool) cannot be removed.

Many countries, including the US, the UK andNorthern Ireland, face continuing problems in developing literacy and reading skills in primary education with substantial numbers of children missing national literacy targets. Behaviour analysis of human development focusses on the need to specify key skills that comprise any higher-order activity and then train them explicitly in a program that is individualised for every child. In the case of reading, there is widespread agreement that key skills are phonemic awareness, use of phonics, fluency, guided oral reading, and acquisition of new vocabulary words. The Headsprout Early Reading program, developed by behaviour analysts, is an online package which targets each of the skills through intensive systematic phonics training. It thus makes use of computer-based instruction which, when used effectively, promotes higher levels of student engagement and enjoyment. A number of published studies of use of Headsprout have shown efficacy and efficiency in increasing the reading skills of individuals with autism and with typically developing learners within the classroom and home based settings. We have carried out several studies within mainstream schools in Northern Ireland using Headsprout to improve the reading skills of child at risk of failing to achieve literacy targets and have obtained encouraging results. The next stage is to achieve school district-wide implementation of this type of intervention. This requires us to meet many challenges in sustaining behaviour-based interventions in schools. Some of these will be outlined, and it will be suggested that, to improve our progress in this important task, we can draw on the huge literature on how to make interventions for autism effective and sustained.

All those interested in delivering behavior programs in mainstream education.

There are many known disadvantages to employee turnover such as decreased consumer satisfaction, increased effort to maintain clinical intergrity and increased costs to an organization to name a few. Given this, there are many advantages to knowing more about the factors associated with retention. In the presence of such information, directors of behavior analytic service organizations could begin to identify the precursors that lead to turnover and implement antecedent interventions that increase employee retention and satisfaction. The three papers in this symposium will focus on factors associated with employee turnover. Specifically, employee satisfaction, work place conflict and staff turnover will be the topics of the individual presentations. All presenters will share their data based results while highlighting the implications of their results on staff turnover and satisfaction in the workplace. In addition, each presenter will share suggestions for future research so that these important topics can continue to be addressed given the larger implications of efficient service delivery to our consumers.

Graduate students, practicing behavior analysts

This study took place as a post-hoc analysis in the context of a national accreditation process, designed to measure organizational health and clinical quality. A total of 68 service providers—who collectively employ approximately 6,000 clinical staff and service approximately 5,000 clients—were evaluated on over 50 clinical quality indicators. Two quality indicators explored are staff satisfaction with employment and caregiver satisfaction with behavioral treatment provided. The purpose of this analysis was to investigate the relationship of overall staff job satisfaction to compensation, career development, work engagement, relationship management, work environment, and scheduling. Staff satisfaction was also correlated with caregiver satisfaction with their child's treatment program, scheduling, staff, caregiver involvement and their child's progress. Trends in relation to caregiver ratings of providers and staff satisfaction will be discussed.

Workplace conflict is prevalent in healthcare and education, and has been correlated with lowered job satisfaction and burnout. In this study, we distributed a survey to 600 Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA's) through the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) to determine the rate and impact of workplace conflict for behavior analysts. Participants reported that they experienced the highest rate of workplace conflict with teachers, caregivers, colleagues, and supervisees. We found that the likelihood of voluntary turnover and lost cases are significantly related to self-reported rates of workplace conflict. BCBA's who are more likely to leave their current job report higher rates of conflict than those who are less likely to leave their job. Furthermore, BCBA's who report having lost clinical cases report higher rates of unresolved workplace conflict compared to those who have not lost a case. Also, there was no difference in the self-reported rate of workplace conflict for BCBA's who have been credentialed for a greater number of years, indicating that more years of experience in the field alone is not sufficient to reduce the likelihood of conflict. The results of our survey indicate that BCBA's would benefit from receiving formal training on how to resolve conflict that occurs in the workplace.

Employee satisfaction is a recognized factor that promotes increased retention of team members. With retention, increased consistency can be offered to consumers. Service organizations that offer services to children with autism have a particularly vested interest in producing this outcome given the deficits characteristic of learners on the spectrum. In addition, we have access to the principles of our science and tools offered by organizational behavior management (OBM) to examine employee satisfaction. Despite this, little research has examined these factors. This presentation will discuss the results of employee reported satisfaction, measured throughout the implementation of specific interventions aimed to increase satisfaction. Data were collected on satisfaction throughout baseline and intervention phases and intervention was evaluated with the use of a multiple baseline across service locations within the same organization. The data reveal that satisfaction, within our organization, was variable across the clinical positions with more senior team members reporting increased satisfaction and the specific variables that produced these outcomes were difficult to isolate. These results will be discussed in detail while reporting additional data that were collected on other measures of interest, such as attendance and retention. Future directions for those examining employee satisfaction will also be detailed.

While behavior analysts have focused their attention on a variety of socially important topics over the years, relatively less attention has been given to other topics, especially those which involve what may be considered complex human behavior. The first presentation focuses on one intersection of some of these topics, and addresses the topics altruism, selfishness, and the self. In particular, the first presentation aims to re-conceptualize the common distinction between altruistic and selfish behavior as well as the more general distinction between the self and others. While many topics are avoided because of their complexity, other topics may even be seen as beyond the scope of what a science of behavior could possibly address. The second presentation focuses on one such topic, that of Romantic Love. Indeed, while the topic may seem to be too difficult, complex, or in some way beyond that which the science of behavior could address, the second paper provides an alternative view. The discussant will provide commentary, identify common themes, and point to additional research needed such that an increasingly comprehensive natural science of behavior may continue to develop.

Advanced graduate students, BCBAs interested in complex behavior, researchers, teachers, etc.

We assessed a novel method to measure behavior frequency. Utilizing the Life Performance Research's Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) device and a data filter, we counted response frequency derived from Euler angle and linear acceleration data associated with instances of simulated self-injurious behavior. When compared to a frequency counts of trained observers, the response rates were equivalent. Visual inspection of graphs showing Euler angle, linear acceleration, and temporal location (determined by observers and the data filter) show the filter is accurate when compared to observers. The measurement procedure successfully differentiated between hits to the head and leg, as well as less forceful touches to those same areas. Taken together, the data show the feasibility of automatic measurement of behavior with the potential to improve aspects of research and practice in behavior analysis.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts,

We assessed a novel method to measure behavior frequency. Utilizing the Life Performance Research's Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) device and a data filter, we counted response frequency derived from Euler angle and linear acceleration data associated with instances of simulated self-injurious behavior. When compared to a frequency counts of trained observers, the response rates were equivalent. Visual inspection of graphs showing Euler angle, linear acceleration, and temporal location (determined by observers and the data filter) show the filter is accurate when compared to observers. The measurement procedure successfully differentiated between hits to the head and leg, as well as less forceful touches to those same areas. Taken together, the data show the feasibility of automatic measurement of behavior with the potential to improve aspects of research and practice in behavior analysis.

Developing Filters Using data generated from inertial measurement (IMU) units is a difficult, time consuming, and essential exercise. Here, we summarize the steps taken in developing a filter for one self-injurious response. We review raw IMU data and illustrate the process of identifying threshold values for counting. Once an IMU filter is created, there are a number of practical problems that must be solved. Battery life, Bluetooth connectivity, data storage, IMU placement, and many other variables affect the utility of measurement. Finally, we summarize our experiences with artificial intelligence filter development and various inertial measurement devices.

Philosophical doubt is one of the core attitudes upon which science should be based...and yet, we often hesitate to question what "is" within our field and science. The present symposium provides preliminary investigations to common practices within our field and provides analyses as to their viability in a field geared towards efficiency couched in evidence-based practice.

The target audience is RBTs and BCBAs who are beginner-moderate in their levels of experience specific to behavior-analytic practice.

Traditional video modeling and prompting accounts often supplement said interventions with stimulus and response prompts to promote the acquisition of some behavior. The present study investigated the extent to which video clip length alone impacts the acquisition of a novel skill via video prompting (i.e., in the absence of additional prompts). Results suggest that longer durations of clip length facilitated skill acquisition, yet gains were diminishing as the response requirement increased in the absence of additional prompts for four of four participants. The implications of video prompting are discussed.

Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) uses principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and applies it to the fields of business and industry. Within the human services field, there tend to be many skills deficits in direct support staff members. The use of strategies derived from behavior analysis and organizational behavior management can be applied to aid the performance of staff members within this field. In the current study, OBM strategies were used to increase daily data completion of several direct support staff members in an adult supported living organization in central Missouri. A multiple baseline across participants experimental design was utilized. Staff members increased daily data collection completion to near 100%, following antecedent and consequence interventions by behavioral staff members. Staff were provided with personally selected reinforcers for appropriate data completion. Keywords: organizational behavior management, human services, and direct support workers

The purpose of the study was to extend the research on Differential Negative Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DNRO). The procedure involved the removal of a stimulus (i.e., glasses in this case) contingent on the absence of a behavior that increases the probability of those alternative behaviors occurring in the future. Results indicate that the implementation of DNRO alone didn't facilitate acceptance of glasses-wearing behavior but required an additional reinforcement-based component to increase said behavior. The implications and viability of DNRO procedures alone are discussed.

Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and others have brought us innovation that both surprise and delight us. They not only produced new widgets, they are responsible for changing the way people live and work. Both advocated as essential the application of basic principles of science, engineering, and design in the creation of new technologies. Contrasted to reasoning from basic principles is reasoning from analogy. Much of what is created comes from this approach. In our initial design attempts we search for how others approached the problem. How did company X build an electric car? Reasoning from analogy may limit what we can do and prevent us from applying the full power of our science and technology in solving fundamental problems. Three products created at Headsprout, Inc. from 1999 to 2010 and the current approach taken by ChangePartner, Inc. today represent efforts to build applications at scale that rely on reasoning from basic principles. These efforts will be used to illustrate the power of the approach and suggest that searching for analogs, including, at times, previous applied research or applications, may be detrimental to applying the experimental and applied analysis of behavior at scale to new and interesting areas and problems.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Research has demonstrated that only roughly 63% of students beginning college complete a bachelors degree within 6 years (Berkner, He & Forrest Cataldi, 2002). Some proposed explanations of these data resort to blaming the types of students enrolled in college, stating that more high school students with lower achievement are being accepted into university settings (Berliner & Biddle, 1995). To better help educators, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U; 2007) specified goals and objectives for undergraduate educational outcomes. Behavior analysis poses a solution to this problem by offering a variety of methods that have demonstrated increases in academic achievement in higher education (Bernstein & Chase, 2013). The first presentation will focus on analyzing instructional content and arranging teaching strategies to promote concept learning in higher education. The second presentation will discuss the effects of SAFMEDS on college students performance as compared to practice multiple-choice questions, demonstrating one way to include fluency based instruction in the classroom.

The target audience for this symposium is any professional in the field of behavior analysis who is interested in or currently teaching behavior analysis, either at the university level or training level.

Techniques aimed at building fluency are thought to promote efficient learning and retention (Quigley, Peterson, Frieder, & Peck, 2017). One method for gaining fluency is a specialized method of studying flashcards called Say All Fast a Minute Every Day Shuffled (SAFMEDS). The aim of the current study was to evaluate the extent to which using SAFMEDS affected performance in a traditional college course. We compared exam grades of students assigned to study SAFMEDS to those of students assigned to practice multiple-choice questions. The participants were undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory course on behavior principles. Students were assigned home and in-class practices of either SAFMEDS or multiple-choice questions, and they were graded on fluency and accuracy during in-class performances. Nearly three times as many students enrolled in the multiple-choice sections received low exam grades (D or F letter grades) compared to students enrolled in the SAFMEDS sections. These differences occurred despite no significant differences in the GPA or academic standing of participants across groups. This research demonstrated a meaningful outcome of using SAFMEDS with college students and presents one method for arranging fluency activities in a traditional college course.

The indicators of high quality training of behavior analysts who will work as practitioners remain somewhat controversial. Some researchers argue that faculty research productivity is correlated to improved practitioner training (Dixon, Reed, Smith, Belisle, & Jackson, 2015) while others have argued for alternative quality indicators of training programs including exam pass rates (e.g. Ahearn, Green, Riordan, & Weatherly, 2015). An inescapable reality is that high quality doctoral training programs provide the essential faculty to enter into the training pipeline and as such promoting practitioner entry into doctoral training programs should be a consideration for improving the quality of practitioner training. Doctoral training programs in applied behavior analysis and related fields provide future scholars with advanced coursework, but also apprenticeship in research design and supervised college teaching. A panel of faculty from doctoral training programs in special education and educational psychology discuss the following topics: (a) if and why practitioners should consider a Ph.D., (b) selection of a Ph.D. program and faculty advisor, (c) developing a competitive application for doctoral programs, (d) funding Ph.D. program, and (e) life after the Ph.D. as faculty.

board certified behavior analysts; graduate students; faculty in doctoral degree granting programs

The causes of pediatric feeding disorders are often multifactorial and may include interactions between medical conditions, oral-motor difficulties, and behavioral mismanagement (Babbitt, Hoch, & Coe, 1994; Piazza, 2008). Feeding disorders can range from mild to severe relative to their impact on nutrition and growth. Mild problems might include self-feeding skill deficits or difficulty transitioning to age-appropriate textures (Piazza & Carroll-Hernandez, 2004), whereas more severe difficulties could involve total food and liquid refusal, which may lead to substantial weight loss, malnourishment, and growth impairments (Piazza, & Carroll-Hernandez, 2004). The purpose of the current symposium will be to review effective treatments for pediatric feeding disorders including antecedent interventions and caregiver training. The first presentation will compare variations of redistribution and bolus placement as treatment for packing. The second presentation will compare the effects of demand fading in terms of bolus placement and size, with and without escape extinction to treat food refusal. The third presentation will review the effects of simultaneous presentation of table textured foods to increase chewing and decrease latency to mouth clean. The final presentation will evaluate whether consumption would occur with caregivers following therapist-implemented nonremoval of the spoon with two caregiver-child dyads.

Individuals interested in learning more about the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders. For BCBAs, BCaBCs, RBTs, and any other practitioners.

Packing (holding food in the mouth) is a problematic mealtime behavior displayed by children with feeding disorders that results in prolonged meal durations and decreased caloric intake (Gulotta et al., 2005). Clinically, packing often emerges following treatment with nonremoval of the spoon, or bite persistence, which is a well-supported intervention for increasing acceptance and reducing refusal behavior. Redistribution represents the treatment with the most empirical support for reducing packing. The procedure involves the feeder collecting the food from the mouth with a utensil after the bite has been deposited and then placing it mid-tongue. Emerging evidence, however, also supports the use of an alternative bolus placement (e.g., flipped-spoon or Nuk presentation) as a treatment to decrease packing and latency to clean mouth (Stubbs et al., 2017). The current study presents data on brief protocol assessments conducted when packing emerged for two children participating in a day-treatment program for total food refusal. We compared variations of redistribution (e.g., different time intervals) and/or bolus placement within or across meal blocks to determine the course of subsequent treatment for each participant. The implications of conducting brief assessments for clinical decision making and the use of redistribution procedures to treat packing will be discussed.

Investigators have shown that manipulating placement and/or size of bite presentations may alter the response effort involved in eating and thus the likelihood of inappropriate mealtime behavior exhibited by children diagnosed with feeding disorders (Dolezal, 2006; Kerwin, Ahearn, Eicher, & Burd, 1995; Sharp & Jaquess, 2009). To our knowledge, no studies have systematically compared the effects of demand fading with and without escape extinction to escape extinction in isolation to treat pediatric food refusal. We conducted an assessment to determine the effects of varying bolus sizes and bite placements on the inappropriate mealtime behavior, compliance, and negative vocalizations of 3 children diagnosed with feeding disorders. Then, we used a combined multielement and reversal design to compare the effects of demand fading along bite placement and/or bolus size combined with escape extinction and escape extinction alone. Results showed that escape extinction was necessary; however, escape extinction combined with demand fading was associated with beneficial effects (i.e., more stable compliance and decreased inappropriate mealtime behavior and negative vocalizations) for all children. Interobserver agreement was collected during at least 33% of sessions and was above 80% for all children. Conceptual and clinical implications of these findings will be discussed.

Children diagnosed with a pediatric feeding disorder may show deficits with oral motor skills necessary (i.e., chewing, tongue lateralization) to consume table textured foods. These children may display skill deficits if they remain dependent on pureed foods for an extended period of time. To address these deficits, it is common to implement a skill training protocol. However, some children may learn the basic skills to chew and swallow but it may not transition to all foods or chewing/swallowing in a timely manner may be problematic. In order to increase consumption of these foods and decrease other behaviors such as gagging, children must learn to chew and swallow efficiently. The purpose of this study was to increase chewing and decrease latency to mouth cleans using simultaneous presentation. The first participant swallowed mixed textured foods without chewing and the second participant would pack soft table textured foods. For both participants, foods that were consumed efficiently were paired with foods that were not. The results of this study showed that when simultaneous presentation was implemented, chewing increased (first participant) and latency to mouth cleans decreased (second participant). These data are discussed in relation to skills training and achieving age-typical eating patterns.

Pediatric feeding problems can occur in upwards of 35% of typically developing children and 90% of children with developmental disabilities. Although the effects of a feeding problem (e.g., weight loss, malnutrition, death) represent drastic long-term outcomes, an increased occurrence of inappropriate mealtime behavior (e.g., aggression, disruption) contributes to increased family stress in the short term. Procedures relying on escape extinction (e.g., Nonremoval of the spoon) are common methods in treating feeding problems given that they are typically maintained by social-negative reinforcement. Although escape extinction is highly efficacious, it remains unclear to what extent children will eat with their caregivers following therapist-implemented procedures in clinics or inpatient-care facilities. The purpose of the current study was to directly test whether consumption would occur with caregivers following therapist-implemented nonremoval of the spoon with two caregiver-child dyads. In addition, we sought to test what procedures were required for caregivers to improve their feeding skills whether generalization occurred or not. Data suggest that some parents might not need to be directly trained. In addition, training (e.g., instructions, role play), when necessary, might be easier for caregivers following therapist-implemented feeding evaluations.

Scientists cite clinical trials hundreds of times while decision makers use clinical trials and meta-analyses as the foundation for policies affecting millions. By contrast, JABA papers live a silent and unassuming life. Historically, applied behavior analysis has disregarded the potential for an "applied behavioral synthesis." The vast majority of our empirical literature is composed of experimental analyses of molecular processes often evaluating the impact of discrete reinforcement-based procedures on few behaviors of interest over a limited period of time. We lack a conceptual framework to translate experimentally sound baby steps into service and treatment models that have to be comprehensive and longitudinal in nature. This talk will explore strategies for synthesizing behavior-analytic evidence that would be compatible with both the single-subject experimental tradition of applied behavior analysis, and the outcome research standards of mainstream clinical sciences. The end goal of this approach is to develop efficient channels to translate applied behavior analysis into service models that policy and health decision-makers could find acceptable.

Board certified behavior analysts, licensed psychologists, graduate students.

A diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically presents with deficits in communication, socialization, and play. This presentation aims to address the effects of systematic instruction aimed to increase social initiations during shared book reading and pretend play skills of young children with ASD. Results of the independent studies indicate that systematic instruction and reinforcement of targeted behaviors within pretend play and book reading activities can increase participation and skill repertoire. In one study, the effectiveness of an intervention to increase independent initiations of three young children with ASD during shared book experiences was examined using the multiple probe design. The intervention resulted an increase in verbal responses to adult initiations and children's independent verbal commenting with pointing to direct the adult's attention to an image in the shared book. Findings suggest that children with ASD can independently initiate and respond during shared book experiences when behaviors are systematically taught and reinforced. In a separate study, changes in toy selection, during a multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment, were targeted by teaching pretend play skills with a task analysis, the use of direct reinforcement, and stimulus-stimulus pairing procedures. Results indicate that exposure to toys and teaching a child how to play with the toy have an effect on the preference for that toy.

Practicing BCBAs

Children diagnosed with autism are known to have behavioral deviations in play. Children diagnosed with autism often participate in stereotypy rather than appropriate play due to a small repertoire of reinforcers (Koegel, Firestone, Kramme & Dunlap, 1974). Research regarding play skills has discovered that new choices can be conditioned through stimulus-stimulus pairing (Nuzzolo-Gomez, Leonard, Ortiz, Rivera & Greer, 2002). Egel (1981), found that children diagnosed with autism frequently struggle with motivation for educational activities. Children with a variety of reinforcers are more motivated, on-task, and have less satiation than when offered unchanging reinforcement. This suggests that if a child with autism does not have a large repertoire of reinforcers, she will be easily satiated on few preferred items and progress can stagnate. In the current study changes in toy selection, during a multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment, were targeted by teaching pretend play skills with a task analysis, the use of direct reinforcement, and stimulus-stimulus pairing procedures. Results indicate that exposure to toys and teaching a child how to play with the toy have an effect on the preference for that toy. The pairing procedure shows inconsistent results.

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder demonstrate delays in early social interaction skills, such as responding to and initiating interactions with others (Freeden & Koegel, 2006). The effectiveness of an intervention to increase independent initiations of three young children with ASD during shared book experiences was examined. Using the multiple probe design, children's responses and initiations with a social partner were measured during baseline, intervention, and mastery sessions with generalization probes to novel books occurring during each phase. The intervention resulted an increase in verbal responses to adult initiations and children's independent pointing and verbal commenting to direct the adult's attention to an image in the shared book. Findings suggest that young children with ASD can independently initiate and respond during shared book experiences across various books when behaviors are systematically taught and reinforced. Future research should investigate effects of the current intervention combined with shared reading interventions aimed to increase early literacy skills in young children with ASD.

More than five decades of research have documented the effectiveness of applied behavior analytic (ABA) treatment for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The ABA service delivery industry has proliferated accordingly and various models of ABA treatment have been largely influenced by the research and practice sites where they originated. As clinical practices have spread, many traditional practices that have been components of larger models have maintained, regardless of whether research has shown those individual components to be crucial. This symposium brings together two presentations that reevaluate traditional practices and discuss directions for future research and practice. The first presentation, by Lisa Stoddard, discusses the concept of purpose-driven understanding at the level of the direct implementer ABA therapist. The second presentation, by Erin Herbe, is a program evaluation of the effects of transitioning from all-trials data collection to first trial data collection in a multiple baseline across three children with autism. The symposium concludes with a discussion by Dr. Amanda Adams.

Board certified behavior analysts working with children with autism and interested in staff training and data collection issues

Procedural integrity has been emphasized as a critical piece of applied behavior analysis (ABA) service delivery and research, since the beginnings of our field. Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) emphasized the importance of ABA procedures being described with technological precision, so that they can be replicated by others. Accordingly, the need for consistency is almost universally emphasized when training entry-level ABA therapists. A common practice across service delivery agencies has been to train entry-level ABA therapists to implement treatment protocols with a high degree of precision but training entry-level therapists on the overall purpose of individual programs may be less common. This presentation will revisit this common practice and discuss potential strengths and limitations. A behavioral conceptual analysis will be made in terms of therapist attending behavior and what various training practices may inadvertently result in (e.g., therapists paying more attention to data collection than to the teaching interaction, etc.). Potential directions for research and practice will be discussed.

Ethics are paramount in human services, especially behavior analysis (Goldiamond, 2002). The Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) has developed a code of ethics to determine ethical behavior in practitioners (Board, B. A. C. (2014). The development of this skill set, in practitioners, is of the utmost importance to continue to move the field forward. Located within the code of ethics is section 5, titled Behavior Analysts as Supervisors (Board, B. A. C., (2014). The BACB has recently released new supervision guidelines that outline a more stringent process to allow supervision to occur based on data collected and analyzed. Within applied behavior analysis, psychology and other human services the use of behavior skills training (BST), fluency, and other proven teaching methodology much be used to establish competency of skills is well established (St. Lawrence, J. S., Jefferson, K. W., Alleyne, E., & Brasfield, T. L. (1995). This however has not been readily applied to ethical behavior decision-making (Trevino & Youngblood, 1990). This paper will discuss how BST and other proven teaching methods can be applied to teach competency to decision making when ethical issues arise in clinical practice utilizing restraint.

Practitioners and Clinicians

PBS was developed in the 1990s as a way to address challenging behavior and enhance the quality of life of individuals with varying disabilities. While the use of reinforcement is essential and one of the most powerful tools in the Applied Behavior Analysis tool box, when all reinforcement and other positive strategies have been explored and are not success in addressing dangerous, challenging behaviors other methods of intervention must be considered. Contingent restraint is an intervention that has been used to successfully decrease or eliminate self-injurious or aggressive behaviors with individuals with developmental disabilities. ABAI hold specific standards addressing the use of contingent restraint and all guidelines were adhered to during the implementation of a restraint protocol with an adolescent diagnosed with autism who engaged in severe self-injury and aggression. Functional assessment indicated both behaviors were maintained by escape. Aggression had an additional reinforcing component of making aggressive contact with staff and self-injury had an additional automatic component. The protocol was carefully monitored and over 180 days' results yielded significant decreases in both target behaviors with an increase in compliance and mastery of critical life skills contributing to an overall better quality of life for the participant and his family.

Restraint has been a controversial component of treatment plans and emergency safety plans in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (Bailey et al., 2010). At times restraint may be necessary to maintain safety for clients and for staff members. The literature supports that injury rates are lower for both staff and clients when restraint is used as a component of a behavior support plan rather than as an emergency procedure (Williams, 2010). When restraint is included in behavior support plans it is a primary ethical concern for clinicians to fade restraint in the safest manner possible. The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend on the methods used in Luiselli, Pace & Dunn (2006).

The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic. Opioid use disorder is largely maintained through positive reinforcing mechanisms (a euphoric high following use of opioid agonists like heroin and OxyContin), and negative reinforcement (relief from the prominent withdrawal syndrome following removal of the drug in persons with opioid physical dependence). Opioid use disorder is distinct from other forms of drug use disorder in that numerous FDA-approved medications are available to address the positive and negative reinforcing aspects of opioid use disorder, including provision of opioid agonists for an extended period (maintenance) or reductions in doses over time (detoxification) to enable relapse prevention treatment. Yet, despite these resources a large number of patients do not succeed in treatment. Our research is using behavioral pharmacological paradigms to better understand mechanisms underlying individual differences in opioid response. The overall goal of this research is to inform development of new medications and methods to more effectively tailor treatment regimens to individuals. This talk will provide an overview of some human laboratory studies being conducted to inform clinical treatment of opioid use disorder and will present the results from some ongoing behavioral pharmacological efforts to examine mechanisms underlying individual response to opioids.

Board certified behavior analysts, licensed psychologists, graduate students.

The symposium will outline a brief history of behavior analysis and emphasize the broad scope of its philosophy, its science, and its practice. While early behavior analysis aspired to find solutions for virtually all matters of human concern, modern behavior analysis has been subdivided into clinical, applied, and basic domains, and current research and training of behavior analysts tend to be focused on service provision in autism spectrum and other developmental disorders. Consequences of such narrow training will be discussed, first in terms of curriculum design and training missions, and then in terms of the practical implications of narrow training. To preserve ABAI's mission to contribute to the wellbeing of society, behavior analysts need training consistent with the regulatory frameworks supporting a broad scope of practice and the tools necessary to effectively address contextual factors that impact science and practice with diverse populations. The symposium is relevant to students, practitioners, and researchers who have an interest to train, practice, or study the philosophy and the science of behavior analysis broadly.

The symposium is relevant to students, practitioners, and researchers who have an interest to train, practice, or study the philosophy and the science of behavior analysis broadly.

While behavior analysis can be applied to all areas of human concern, it is difficult for behavior analysts to obtain training consistent with professional standards and regulations that govern working with clinical presentations other than Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (IDD). It is a tragic irony that the majority of evidence-based behavior therapies for psychological disorders have their roots in behavior analysis, yet it is rare for Association for Behavior Analysis International or Behavior Analyst Certification Board accredited training programs to produce graduates eligible to legally and ethically use these therapies. These training limitations reflect the failure of early leaders in our field to track professional practice metacontingencies, and it will take a substantial and coordinated effort by the behavior analysis community to realign our training programs with the demands of the regulatory environment. An overview of the regulatory landscape for broad scope of practice service provision will be provided and the essential elements of training programs for behavior analysts to be qualified to work in diverse settings and diverse clients as clinical psychologists will be described. Changing training programs will come at great cost, but will be necessary for behavior analysis to thrive beyond ASD and IDD.

In 1967, the year of the Detroit riots, Martin Luther King Jr. emphasized that behavioral science plays a role in social movements. He challenged attendees of the American Psychological Association's annual conference to examine their assumptions about what constitutes "maladjustment" in social conditions that demand change rather than complacency. He asked whether a failure to adjust might not be the contextually appropriate response. More than half a century later, we propose it is time for behavior analysts to heed MLK's call and investigate how social contingencies might influence and skew our views of "inappropriate" or "maladaptive" behavior and inadvertently perpetuate assumptions or practices that are inconsistent with the science and the philosophy of behavior analysis. Unexamined assumptions might affect how we treat people with marginalized identities, among them older adults and people with disabilities, people with persistent mental health diagnoses, women, ethnic and racial minorities, members of the LGBT community, and people with lower socioeconomic status. We suggest that broad training in behavior analysis is required to safeguard the field's humanism, and we will give clinical/applied examples to support our argument.

Selection is central in everything we do, from the highest-level decisions (which candidate should I vote for?) to the lowest (where should I move my eyes next?). So what determines when a stimulus will be selected for action, versus being ignored? Research on attentional selection has shown that stimuli with distinctive physical features (color, brightness, loudness, etc.) can exert control over our behavior even when this conflicts with the goal of our current task; for example, when driving we might be distracted by a loud noise from the back seat. Recent work has gone further by demonstrating that distraction is not purely a function of the physical salience of stimuli: it is also influenced by prior learning about association with reward. I will review evidence for this value-modulated attentional capture effect from behavioral studies, eye-tracking, and EEG, showing that rewards exert a rapid and pervasive influence on attentional selection. This effect is somewhat analogous to demonstrations of sign-tracking in nonhuman animals, and (much as for sign-tracking) preliminary evidence indicates it might be related to development of addictive behaviors. Finally, I will describe evidence suggesting that counterproductive effects of reward on attention can be reduced, if not overcome, via instrumental conditioning.

Behavior analysts interested in the psychology of learning and attention, and in psychological mechanisms of addiction.

Prompt-dependency is a common problem amongst individuals with developmental disabilities. Individuals who are “prompt-dependent” often appear to simply wait to be prompted rather than engaging in the target behavior, regardless of the power of the reinforcement available to them for completing said behavior. Because practitioners cannot simply allow the individuals they work with to wait indefinitely, prompting often becomes a necessary component in these situations. In this symposium, presenters will posit that we should re-examine the way that we look at prompts and instead of only treating them as an antecedent to the target behaviors, should also explore their impact as a consequence for the behaviors occurring during this “active-waiting” period. Is it possible that the prompts being used to encourage the performance of a target behavior are actually reinforcing the active-waiting behaviors that precede them? Presenters will discuss ways to analyze and treat prompts as consequential stimuli, or reinforcers, and the types of treatment procedures that may be informed by this re-labeling.

Practitioners

Prompt maintained behavior is a commonly reported concern for individuals receiving intervention services (Hume, Loftin, & Lantz, 2009). Reliance on adult prompts can contribute to poor long-term outcomes for adults with autism. This study will evaluate the use of signaled extinction (removal of adult prompts) with the use of a work alone card to promote independence and reduction of emotional responding during various activities in which the participant had demonstrated mastery. The intervention was selected following a functional analysis on prompt maintained behavior. Signaled extinction versus a control condition will be evaluated using multielement and reversal designs across different activities with an adolescent with autism in a school setting. The results are discussed in terms of the utility for adolescents and young adults with histories of prompt maintained behavior.

Traditionally behavior analysts have evaluated prompts in terms of their stimulus properties as antecedent stimuli that evoke a desired response. Indeed, Cooper, Heron, and Heward (2007) defines them as "supplementary antecedent stimuli used to occasion a correct response in the presence of an SD that will eventually control behavior" (p. 287). However, prompts, specifically their termination or presentation, can also be consequences of behavior. For example, the termination of prompts is often an element of the "demand" condition in functional analyses, which have been studied extensively (see Hanley, Iwata, & McCord, 2003 for a review). Moreover, prompts can be delivered as an element of error correction. However, research has not yet investigated whether prompts, apart from other procedures, can function as negative or positive reinforcers. Thus, the current set of experiments evaluates the effects of prompt presentation and termination on tantrum and choice behavior.

Improvement in skills for individuals with developmental disabilities and autism requires highly concentrated exposure to evidence-based interventions delivered with a high degree of procedural integrity. Thus, maximizing progress necessitates interventions be available across settings and that those professionals charged with delivery be well-trained. Accomplishing this requires identification of training methods that are not only effective but feasible within the natural contexts. Behavior skills training (BST) and Practice-Based Coaching (PBC) are two professional development strategies with evidence of increasing skills for service providers across a variety of contexts including schools, clinics, and day treatment programs. However, strategies aimed at increasing the efficiency and sustainability of both types of professional development are needed. This symposium will present studies that explore variations in both methods, such as group delivery and self-monitoring, to train day treatment service providers, teachers, and future behavior analysts in day treatment programs, schools, and clinics. Suggestions for future research and implications for practice will be discussed.

BCBAs who provide training and professional development for teachers and service providers in community centers and/or day treatment programs as well as BCBAs that supervice BCBA supervisees

Behavior skills training (BST) has been shown to be an effective strategy for teaching new skills. Current research indicates that feedback and modeling may be the most active components of BST for teaching some skills. Self-monitoring may be a viable option for sustained training effects, thus increasing the potential for continued skill across time. Given the evidence suggesting its efficacy for use as a training package, BST should be considered as an option for training future behavior analysts to implement behavior change strategies. Further, training future practitioners to engage in self-monitoring skills may enhance training and promote generalized skills across time. The current study compares two BST training packages, one with instructor feedback and one with self-monitoring, in an multielement design embedded within a multiple baseline across participants design to train masters level graduate students to conduct preference assessments. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of instructor feedback and self-monitoring on treatment integrity outcomes by determining whether instructor feedback and self-monitoring are effective strategies to promote desirable outcomes when training preservice behavior analysts to conduct preference assessments.

Evidence-based practices have the potential to improve outcomes for students with developmental disabilities yet these practices are rarely implemented accurately. For example, teachers are not supported during the implementation process and are rarely evaluated on the degree to which the specific intervention has been conducted as intended. Therefore, the exact implementation of an evidence-based practice is limited and has been characterized as "one shot" due to the lack of systematic follow-up necessary to sustain the evidence-base practice. Teachers have reported little follow-up training on the programs they were expected to use and therefore utilized the components that "worked for them." The failure to implement these practices to fidelity and sustain the use of these practices is considered to be a large part of the poor outcomes experienced by students in special education programs. Research notes that teachers must receive instruction and feedback from instructors in order to implement evidence-based practice (Kennedy & Thomas, 2012; Lane, Bocian, MacMillan, & Greshman, 2004). Furthermore, numerous researchers have documented increased implementation of evidence-based strategies when instruction, coaching, and feedback are provided. Practice-based coaching is one method for accomplishing this yet is often resource prohibitive when provided on a teacher-by-teach basis. Group practice-based coaching, however is one option to train teachers to a high degree of fidelity with fewer personnel resources. Utilizing a multiple-baseline design across groups of teachers, this study evaluated the functional relationship between implementation of practice-based coaching in a group format and increases in teachers' fidelity of implementation of discrete trial training for students with developmental disabilities. Implementation of practice-based coaching resulted in an immediate increase in percentage of steps implemented correctly for all groups with each individual teacher reaching the criterion of 85% accuracy within three coaching sessions. Social validity and implications for practice will be discussed.

Recent graduates and current graduate students working out the world have found innovative ways to communicate the science of behavior with a large ranging audience. These are there stories.

undergraduates, graduate students, teachers, practitioners

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by repetitive and invariant behaviors and impairments in social communication skills (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Deficits in social communication skills among individuals with ASD often affect both vocal and nonvocal communication. Social communication deficits can interfere with an individual's ability to develop and maintain relationships (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). This symposium will include four presentations related to social and communication skills in individuals with ASD. The first study conducted an assessment of conversation skills with college students diagnosed with ASD and provided intervention based on the three most significant deficits identified. The second study evaluated the effects computer-based training and role-play with peers on the conversation skills of adults diagnosed with ASD. The third study evaluated the effects of joint video modeling on the vocalizations and play actions of preschool children diagnosed with ASD. The final study compared the effects of response-contingent stimulus pairing and operant discrimination training on conditioning neutral vocal stimuli as reinforcers for children diagnosed with ASD. We will discuss the implications of the studies in terms of teaching social and communication skills to individuals diagnosed with ASD.

Clinicians, practitioners, researchers

Many individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) currently attend college, and increasing numbers of students with ASD are expected to enroll in the upcoming years. Within this population, pragmatic language and behavior is often a primary deficit. However, limited investigation of assessment and intervention for social language deficits in postsecondary students with ASD has resulted in a paucity of evidenced-based support for this population. In this study, we extended an assessment of conversation skills initially administered to a child and two adolescents with ASD (Hood, Luczynski, & Mitteer, 2017) to college students with ASD and provided intervention based on the three most significant deficits identified. Intervention consisted of Behavioral Skills Training (BST) with additional in-situ training if the skill did not initially generalize to novel conversation partners and settings. Results for one participant thus far suggest that extending the modified assessment to adults with high-functioning ASD may be appropriate as an initial evaluation of weak pragmatic abilities. Results also provide empirical support for implementing BST to improve conversations skills with this population.

Previous research has demonstrated that behavioral skills training (BST) is highly effective in teaching new skills to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but implementation may be challenging in a group format. In the current study, we combined computer-based training (CBT) and role-play with peers to simultaneously target the conversation skills of five adults diagnosed with ASD. Experimenters initially identified three unique conversation skill deficits for each participant. During training, participants received the definition, rationale, and video demonstrations of their individualized target behaviors via CBT. Participants then practiced the skills by speaking with other participants during 5-min conversations while receiving delayed feedback from the experimenter. Generalization probes with non-training peers and typically developing adults were conducted throughout all phases. Three participants mastered all three target skills, one participant mastered two target skills, and one participant mastered one target skill across eight, 2-hour sessions. Eleven of the total 12 skills targeted during the training generalized to novel peers and typically developing adults. Maintenance was assessed 6 weeks following the training conclusion. Ten of the 12 skills maintained at the 6-week follow-up session. Results have implications for developing effective, practical approaches for teaching conversation skills in a group format.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require explicit interventions that target pretend play behaviors with their peers (Ingersoll, 2010; Hume, Bellini & Pratt, 2005). In Joint Video Modeling (JVM) researchers present a video model to both a typical peer and a child with ASD simultaneously, and contrive opportunities to imitate behaviors observed in the video. JVM has been demonstrated effective for teaching scripted responses but gains in unscripted responses have not been observed. The present investigation, evaluated the effects of JVM with three preschool children with ASD in an inclusive preschool setting. A multiple probe across participants design was used to evaluate the effects of JVM on scripted and unscripted verbalizations and play actions during baseline, intervention and generalization probes. The participants demonstrated an increase in scripted and unscripted verbalizations during pretend play with typically developing peers. Consistent with previous investigations (MacDonald e 2009; Maione & Miranda, 2006) JVM may be an effective intervention for increasing novel pretend play among children with ASD.

Traditional applied behavior analytic treatment options for individuals with autism have been empirically supported and implemented in clinical practice for many years. The impact of these treatments have been pivotal for reducing challenging behavior and increasing skill repertoires for individuals with autism. Although these traditional methods have provided significant change for many people, as a science we must continue to explore new technologies and improve methodologies for teaching new skills and complex repertoires. One of these new technologies includes the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Relational Training System (PEAK), which is comprised of four assessment and curriculum modules that range from traditional verbal behavior to teaching complex relational skills through relational training. The current symposium will explore how the PEAK Relational Training System promotes relational learning and how these skills are correlated with measures of intelligence, executive functioning, challenging behavior, and other verbal assessments. Construct validity will also be examined for newly released PEAK pre-assessments. Additionally, samples of how the skills in the PEAK system align with normative age groups will be examined.The implications of these psychometric properties and relational responding for the treatment of individuals with autism will be discussed.

Clinicians, ABA Therapists, BCBA's, RBTS, Students of Behavior Analysis

When considering evidence-based treatments for clients, it is imperative for practitioners to research the validity of any assessments used. Utilizing assessment tools that are empirically supported and thoroughly researched aid practitioners in delivering effective and efficient interventions. The purpose of the present study was to examine the assessment components in the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge (PEAK) Relational Training System Direct Training Module for children with autism. Research is warranted on the psychometric properties of the PEAK DT module assessments to ensure practitioners have an accurate depiction of the utility of the indirect and pre-assessment packages, and their respective agreeance with direct assessment scores. With a better understanding of the statistical relations between factor scores, our field as a science can benefit by ensuring that we are administering assessments that best serve our clients, in addition to bridging communication gaps between applied behavior analysis and other scientific communities. Assessments were completed for 30 children with autism, with parents having completed indirect assessments, and pre-assessment and direct assessment packages completed in a clinical setting, and agreement was calculated across each PEAK DT Factor. Results indicate that the PEAK DT Preassessment yields moderate agreement with the PEAK DT Indirect completed by parents, and that the Preassessment appears to predict performance on the Direct Assessment module. IOA was collected across 40% of sessions and averaged 95%.

Given the rising number of individuals diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities or intellectual impairments, it is imperative that treatment address the behavioral deficits and excesses associated with these individuals' diagnoses. While treating these issues is of utmost importance, we also need to find effective, and efficient, empirically-based treatments. One method of potentially increasing the efficiency of training is to use derived relational responding to facilitate the acquisition of targeted skills. The current studies seek to assess how a sample of typically developing individuals compare to a sample of individuals with autism on a behavior analytic assessment: The PEAK Equivalence Module. (PEAK-E; Dixon, 2015). Two experiments were conducted to assess the performance of these individuals on the PEAK-E. The results of their performance were then analyzed to determine at what age various skills assessed by the PEAK-E Pre-Assessment might be expected to emerge in a typically developing population, and how the results of the PEAK-E Pre-Assessment with individuals with autism relate to the results of their typically developing peers. The results and implications of these findings will be discussed.

Establishing an appropriate mand repertoire is an important first step during interventions for individuals with challenging behavior, complex communication needs, or both. Although mands are the most frequently studied verbal operant from the functional taxonomy proposed by B.F. Skinner (Sautter & LeBlanc, 2006), much is still unknown about the instructional circumstances that are critical to their acquisition and maintenance. The first talk describes research that compared the efficiency with which practitioners might bring established mands under discriminative control (via multiple schedules) while maintaining low levels of problem behavior using arbitrary or naturalistic stimuli. The second talk in this symposium describes a study which evaluated the probability of mand acquisition during a modified functional communication training (FCT) program in which instruction was only provided when functional reinforcers were abolished. The third talk describes the antecedents and consequences necessary to bring mands for "when" under appropriate environmental control and highlights a training protocol that incorporated these variables into an effective intervention for three participants. The final talk describes research which evaluates the effectiveness of a training protocol designed to teach care providers to implement discrimination training with high fidelity. The symposium ends with a discussion that synthesizes emergent themes.

Master's and doctoral-level practitioners and researchers

Following FCT, it is common to thin the schedule of reinforcement through a multiple schedule in which components are signaled via "arranged," or arbitrary, SDs. For example, colored cards are often used to signal SD and S-delta periods. A few published studies have also reported the use of "naturalistic," or socially valid SDs, including caregivers talking on the phone ("busy") and caregivers reading ("not busy") (Kuhn, Chirighin, & Zelenka, 2010; Leon, Hausman, Kahng, & Becraft, 2010; Shamlian et al., 2016). Even fewer have reported comparisons between the types of schedule-thinning stimuli (cf. Shamlian et al., 2016). The current study replicates and extends the schedule-thinning literature by comparing rates of mand differentiation and problem behavior during schedule thinning following FCT with arranged and naturalistic SDs with a child with autism. The current study will also replicate procedures used by Betz, Fisher, Roane, Mintz, and Owen (2013) by evaluating the extent to which arranged and naturalistic SDs facilitate rapid schedule thinning (i.e., increasing the duration of S-delta periods without gradual thinning).

Children with autism spectrum disorders struggle with many verbal operants, including mands, and especially mands for information, as the relevant consequence is not an immediate tangible stimulus. The purpose of this study was to extend the work of Shillingsburg et al. (2011), Somers et al. (2014), and Landa et al. (2017) by teaching three children with autism spectrum disorder to mand, "when?" under appropriate antecedent and consequence control. In other words, the current study sought to teach children to request information in appropriate and relevant contexts. Trials were alternated between previously mastered mands for information, AO (item), AO (information), and EO conditions across 5 unavailability statements, 17 items, multiple instructors, and multiple settings. All three participants learned to mand, "when?" under appropriate antecedent control and demonstrated generalization with novel instructors and in natural situations. Other mands for information (i.e., "where?") were maintained. Recommendations for future research on manding for information will be discussed.

Behavioral coaching methods apply behavior analytic principles and strategies (e.g., positive and negative reinforcement, task analyzing skills, and behavioral skills training) and have been used to improve performance across a variety of sport and fitness skills (e.g., Luiselli, Wood, & Reed, 2011). Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of various behavioral coaching strategies to teach a variety of sport and fitness skills, such as soccer (Brobst & Ward, 2002), football (Harrison & Pyles, 2013; Stokes, Luiselli, & Reed, 2010), dance (Quinn, Miltenberger, & Fogel, 2015), basketball (Kladopoulos & McComas, 2001), and golf (Fogel, Weil, & Burris, 2010). This symposium reviews four studies designed to evaluate (a) the TAGteach intervention package to teach beginner yoga poses to novice adult yoga practitioners, (b) a negative reinforcement procedure to improve passing performance of female college lacrosse players, (c) behavioral skills training to improve field hockey hits of young players, and (d) auditory feedback to improve throwing a "right cross" in adult mixed martial arts students. Across all studies, results demonstrated the effectiveness of these behavioral coaching methods to improve independent performance of these sports and fitness skills. Results are discussed in terms of implications, limitations, and considerations for future research.

Graduate students Teachers and coaches Behavior Analysts

This study examined the use of negative reinforcement to improve performance of female college athletes. Twelve varsity lacrosse players who attended a private college in the Southeastern United States participated in the study. The team coaches wanted players to "put names on passes" defined as saying the name of a player who should catch the ball at least one second before the catch. A total of 100 passes were recorded during a practice and for every 20 passes that included a name, the players had to run one less of five mandatory end-of-practice sprints. The intervention was evaluated using an ABAB design. Results indicated that negative reinforcement was successful for improving names on passes but performance did not sustain when the intervention was removed. Players rated the intervention as acceptable but only 7 out of 12 thought it should continue to be used in future practices.

Thomas Gilbert’s book (1978) titled “Human Competence” took us beyond training toward a rigorous approach to improving performance in organizations. His behavior engineering model has guided behavior analytic research and applications with an emphasis on parsimony, elegance and usefulness of associated methodologies. Throughout the years, the powerful partnership between Tom and Marilyn Gilbert leading to the publication of Human Competence, and many revolutionary training modules and consulting reports perhaps has not received the well-deserved acknowledgement given its impact and influence. By drawing upon their pioneering work in behavior analysis, Marilyn Gilbert and colleagues will highlight the impact of this partnership by providing an overview and discussion of Tom and Marilyn Gilbert’s unpublished account of human competence during the latter part of Tom Gilbert’s life. Moreover, the presentations will highlight the foundational influence of Gilberts’ Human Competence on recent technological advancements in instructional design and behavioral systems applications.

Academicians, students, and practitioners who are interested in performance improvement in organizations.

This presentation will provide an overview of the Gilberts' contribution to instructional design technologies that have revolutionized teaching practices in many educational settings. Gilberts' model focuses on designing the environment in which the student learns instead of changing the student. With the behavior engineering model, those responsible for performance improvement and maintenance can diagnose for, make priorities among, and plan performance improvement solutions in the classroom.

Tom Gilbert replaced what he called "the cult of behavior" with a focus on valuable accomplishments produced by behavior, a major contribution that launched a seismic shift for those who followed. This shift has been challenging, not only for applied behaviorists, but also for ordinary people. We are more accustomed to observing and discussing behavior, whether precisely or not, than identifying the valuable accomplishments produced by that behavior, especially when the accomplishments are less tangible than deliverables or widgets, for example decisions, relationships, or recommendations. Another of Gilbert's major contributions, the behavior engineering model, extended the variables of behavior influence from contingencies of reinforcement to a framework including physical and social elements of the work environment, prior repertoire, variations in reinforcement value, and other factors that are seldom relevant in research with starved laboratory animals in simplified experimental chambers. But Gilbert's labels for the cells in his behavior engineering model were not self-explanatory, and open to interpretation, challenging consistent comprehension, communication, and application. The presenter has adapted and refined these two contributions—a focus on accomplishments and a more complete model of behavior influences—using simple visual models and user-tested plain English to enable rapid communication and collaboration among performance experts, their clients and stakeholders. This presentation describes developments based on Gilbert's contributions, as they have evolved over several decades, and summarizes practical implications for enabling leaders, managers, performance professionals, and individual contributors at any level and in any function in organizations to collaborate for continuous performance improvement.

Although only briefly mentioned in Human Competence, Tom Gilbert wrote extensively about his method for teaching learners new concepts, principles, facts and skills, which he called mathetics. Mathetics included a generic instructional delivery procedure with three phases: (a) demonstrating skills, concepts, and principles to learners; (b) guiding learners as they practice; and (c) testing students to see if they have achieved mastery. Mathetics also incorporated procedures for designing instructional materials, such as how to identify and organize stimuli and responses from instructional goals, and how to incorporate behavioral procedures such as shaping and back chaining during instruction. I will describe mathetics and how it has been adapted as the core of instructional delivery in Engelmann's Direct Instruction and our own Morningside Model of Generative Instruction (MMGI). I will also describe the content of two important unpublished chapters that Gilbert wrote, which contain new ideas and procedures for mathetical design and delivery.

In high reliability organizations (HROs), procedural adherence to highly structured work plans is crucial to achieving organizational goals and averting catastrophes. BP's oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico (Macondo) was a bellwether event signaling the importance of managing interlocking human factors in HROs. Gilbert's BEM and vantage points provide a strong foundation for behavioral systems engineering to establish and maintain adherence to work routines in highly engineered, highly technical environments (e.g., aviation, nuclear power, oil & gas exploration, medicine). Two behavioral challenges face managers of HROs. First, crews need to follow well established procedures with little deviation to achieve milestones. Second, on occasion, crews encounter anomalies not addressed in standard work instructions. During these crises, crews must stop following standard procedures, assess changing conditions and adapt their behavior to the unexpected events in order to avert catastrophe. Behavioral systems engineering integrates human behavior with automated systems to adapt complex processes to changing contexts. Thus management of human behavior is one factor in a highly engineered system that can be designed to respond to both challenges (maintain routines, adjust to crises). This paper considers Gilbert's analysis for designing control systems of crew members' behavior in HROs.

While the neurodiversity movement gains traction among individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, the behavior analytic literature is nearly silent on the topic. Lack of knowledge of the neurodiversity movement threatens to undermine behavior analysts ability to understand client goals while misconceptions about ABA found in some quarters of the neurodiversity literature can lead potential clients to be unnecessarily hostile toward behavior analysis. As such, an improved appreciation for neurodiversity has implications for the ethical provision of high-quality behavior analytic services. Symposium attendees will: (a) be introduced to the neurodiversity perspective and the primary concerns proponents of neurodiversity have with ABA interventions; (b) be able to articulate the commonalities between a behavioral worldview and a neurodiversity perspective that make the two natural allies; (c) be able to identify ways in which the neurodiversity perspective can be integrated into behavior analytic interventions; and, (d) be able to discuss the intersection between neurodiversity and the ethics.

Practicing BCBAs, BCaBAs, RBTs, as well as others with a general interest in autism, intellectual disabilities, and/or neurodiversity.

Neurodiversity, a movement closely allied with a general disability rights perspective, rejects a pathological view of autism and other diagnostic categories found in the DSM-5. Rather, the proponent of neurodiversity holds that "mental disorders" are a type of diversity, fundamentally no different than gender, race, or religion. The neurodiversity perspective is gaining prominence and there is growing literature exploring the implications of the neurodiversity perspective across a variety of domains. Unfortunately, a notable and unanswered strand in this literature is profoundly antagonistic toward applied behavior analysis (ABA), viewing ABA as an arch-nemesis of neurodiversity. In contrast to this strand in the literature, given ABA’s emphasis on environmental causes and the plasticity of behavior, ABA is a natural ally of the neurodiversity movement. The parallels between the neurodiversity perspective and ABA have important implications for the how behavior analysts should conceptualize and implement therapy. Understanding the parallels between the neurodiversity movement and ABA can be important for involving clients in the planning process and articulating these commonalities can help remove environmental barriers to the successful implementation of a behavior-change program.

In this paper autism is analyzed as a hypothetical construct to explain how an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis functions to derail scientific investigations of autistic behavior. To support this argument, we employ a series of behavioral phenomenological investigations to analyze potential sources of control over the verbal behavior of parents, who were asked to observe their children with autism and record explanations for each occurrence of problem behavior. Autistic behaviors were recorded cumulatively, and the parents' explanatory responses were then mapped onto the cumulative records to identify the controlling relations for each response. We then analyzed the parents' responses for mentalistic explanations for the children's problem behaviors. Parent reports are discussed in terms of the prevalence of mentalisms, the stimulus control exerted by autistic behavior, the relationship between parent and child, the conditioning of parents' observations throughout and across observation sessions, and how fictional explanations function for the speaker. We conclude with a discussion of the role of behavioral phenomenology in elucidating the histories of reinforcement provided by the verbal communities of parents of children with autism. The ethical implications of understanding the function of mentalisms will be discussed in relation to third-party involvement in services.

The term "neurodiversity" is frequently used to discuss autism spectrum disorder as a variation in functioning rather than a disorder of the individual. This arm of disability studies is directly in line with molar behaviorism, which seeks understanding through temporally-extended patterns of behavior instead of appealing to molecular causality. The explanations for autism, like that of all behavior, are found outside of the person. Given a particular history of reinforcement, the present environment may be either enabling or disabling; what Uexküll (1926) referred to as the "functional tinting" of controlling stimuli. The purpose of the present discussion is to describe a theoretical model for how autistic behavior is conditioned over time, with implications for behavior-analytic intervention. We use the word autism to describe teleological patterns of behavior that are distributively skewed from the Gaussian bell curve, and propose that the term autistic best describes the convergent multiple control over behavior that is otherwise perfectly neurotypical given the circumstances. Accordingly, our goal as behavior analysts is never to change the individual, but to demonstrate how environmental modifications can shift a population of responses back towards the center, thereby reducing the "tint" and increasing access to a greater number of environmental affordances. Reconceptualizing autism in this way can inform the individualized tailoring of behavior analytic services as well as help shape behavior analytic program objectives.

To receive special education services in the United States public schools, students must meet the eligibility criteria for one of the 13 disability categories designated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004). To access services, predefined criteria from one of these examples must adversely affect the student's academic performance to a "disabling" degree. But aside from qualifying the student for services, these disability labels serve a number of other functions for the students who receive them. Here we argue that the use of disability labels results in equivalence formations that relate the specific behavior of one individual classified with a particular category with all members of that set. Disability labels point to the history of reinforcement of the individuals who carry them, but they do not necessarily dictate a particular teaching methodology or instructional intervention. In this way, "disability" is examined as a function of the environment instead of a characteristic of the person. DSM-5 diagnositic classifications, special education categories, and insurance codes, all of which compose the infrastructure for providing access to much needed services may also be the antithesis of effective intervention. The ethical implications of this understanding of disability labels will be discussed in relation to a client's right to effective treatment.

The purpose of this symposium is to promote teaching the history of behavior analysis (HoBA) across the curriculum by giving it away. Many behavior-analytic curricula could be strengthened by teaching a stand-alone HoBA course or by systematically integrating HoBA with the content of other courses (e.g., on research methods, principles, application, theory, ethics). Few instructors, though, are historically trained to teach a stand-alone course or to integrate HoBA into their courses. This symposium is designed to help. It will consist of four presentations: (a) one on teaching HoBA as a course unto itself and one each on teaching HoBA in courses on (b) the conceptual foundations of behavior analysis (e.g., radical behaviorism), (c) the experimental analysis of behavior (i.e., basic principles, processes), and (d) applied behavior analysis (e.g., dimensions, interventions). The latter three presentations will address teaching HoBA as a one-week stand-alone unit in their courses and/or as integrated into the courses' other units (e.g., operationism, reinforcement, social validity). All four presentations describe assigned and recommended readings and rationales for including them. [Footnote: The symposium's title was inspired, in part, by George Miller's 1969 presidential address to the American Psychological Association.]

Instructors of behavior analysis courses wanting to integrate the history of behavior analysis into their curriculum and courses.

In recent years, emphasis has been placed on bringing the experimental and applied branches of behavior analysis together. Translational research helps to bridge the gap between basic and applied research. Translational research can take a number of forms, from extensions to humans and proof of concept research, to experimental analysis of applied practices to understand underlying mechanisms. The present symposium presents a range of studies from three different labs connected by the theme of translational research. Researchers will present work form the following areas: factors involved in token reinforcement effectiveness (Weyman), training structures that may reduce resurgence in differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (Diaz-Salvat), discrimination difficulty as a moderator for the effectiveness of the differential outcomes procedure, which uses specific reinforcement to enhance conditional discrimination learning (McCormack), and applications of the differential outcomes procedure to teach verbal behavior (Perez-Bustamante). These studies provide examples of research along the spectrum of translational research, consisting of extensions to humans, human operant studies, and clinical extensions of basic processes.

Pracitioners in ABA.

The differential outcomes procedure has been shown to enhance conditional discrimination learning in human populations, especially in clinical populations with learning or memory impairments. In animals, the effects of the procedure are more pronounced when subjects are pre-exposed to the stimulus-outcome pairings before training. In this study we compared the effects of pre-exposure to differential outcomes on tact acquisition of six primary school children with developmental disabilities. Differential outcomes pre-training was embedded in a receptive-to-expressive training structure similar to that used in early intensive behavioral interventions based on the UCLA model. That is, participants were exposed to the differential outcomes procedure prior to tact training via matching-to-sample listener training. Most participants showed faster acquisition of tacts when pre-exposed to the differential outcomes pairings, when compared to non-differential outcomes training. Additionally, participants also showed improved maintenance and generalization to a novel therapist. The study provides evidence for the effectiveness of the differential outcomes procedure in teaching verbal behaivour, as well as potential effectiveness of the differential outcomes procedure in teaching lasting and generalized behavior changed.

For decades, functional analysis and treatment has been the gold standard for identifying environmental causes of problem behavior and developing function-based treatments in human applied settings. While the extension of functional analysis and treatment of nonhuman animals is not new, it is also an area with unlimited opportunity for demonstrating species generality. This symposium presents data-based evidence of successful functional analysis, treatment, and extensions for compulsive behavior in a border collie, feather-plucking in a black vulture, and undesirable vocal behavior in a guinea pig. This symposium presents continued empirical evidence of the utility and feasibility of functional analysis and treatment to nonhuman species.

This symposium is geared toward any animal care professionals as well as professional behavior analysts working with animals (pets or exotics) or having an interest in applied behavior analysis in animals.

Feather plucking (FP) is a maladaptive behavior observed in captive avian species. This self-injurious behavior results in damage to and removal of feathers and skin tissue, resulting in animal welfare and financial consequences. The etiology and maintenance of FP have been hypothesized through medical and environmental processes, yet a definitive solution has not been found. The current study investigated the environmental variables maintaining the FP of a Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus), as well as evaluated a function-based treatment for this behavior. The behavior was found to be maintained by positive reinforcement in the form of contingent attention. Treatment consisted of noncontingent reinforcement followed by schedule thinning to shape up a treatment schedule more compatible with caretaker's schedules. Results further demonstrate the validity of function-based assessment and treatment with captive animals.

In an initial study, a guinea pig's loud squeaking (sometimes called "wheeking") was subjected to a functional analysis assessment and treatment. Loud squeaking occurred in the presence of an auditory stimulus of the rustling of plastic bags followed by food pellet delivery. A functional analysis was inconclusive, but indicated a possible automatic function. Treatment involved differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) that led to progressive reductions in loud squeaking. In 1-year follow up probes, occurrences of loud squeaking following bag rustling remained low. Subsequently, loud squeaking began to occur in previously unobserved conditions (i.e., opening of the refrigerator door). The current study examined procedures to assess and reduce loud squeaking in the newly observed conditions. Results from the previous and current study, as well as the practitioner's experiences on assessing and treating non-human animal problem behaviors are discussed. Implications are also discussed, including extending applied technologies to guinea pig owners, increasing satisfaction with guinea pig ownership, and reducing surrenders. Additionally, procedures and results indicate utility for functional analysis and behavior interventions for non-humans in a home setting.

Approximately 1 in every 4 children with autism experience significant behavioral challenges (Kaat & Lecavelier, 2013). Behavioral parent training has been demonstrated to be effective, especially when the principles can be applied within the context of family life (Lucyshyn et al., 2015). Unfortunately, only about one-half of parents complete such training, and many do not implement strategies consistently (Chacko et al, 2016). Stress has been suggested as primary contributors to this nonadherence (Dumas, Wolf, Fisman, & Culligan, 2009). Therefore, it may be beneficial to integrate practices known to protect parents against such risks? such as mindfulness (Singh et al., 2014) ? into behavioral parent training, an approach we refer to as Practiced Routines (PR). Two studies (a randomized comparison trial and single-case design) that evaluated the effects of the PR parent training program will be presented. The PR program teaches parents to apply comprehensive, function-based behavioral and mindfulness practices within the context of natural family routines. This training is designed to be delivered in three weeks with homework in between. Whereas the participants showed significant improvements in parent and child outcomes, both studies showed variability in responding. This may indicate that there is a need for adaptations in administration, including possibly multiple levels of intervention targeted to parents? and/or children?s needs. Abstract 1: A randomized trial was used to evaluate PR and an active comparison condition (Teaching Routines; TR). TR was a self-directed online program focused on using applied behavior analysis principles to teach daily routines (e.g., task analysis, environmental arrangement). The PR program included similar content, but focused more on functions and incorporated mindfulness practice. In addition, PR was facilitated by parent educators via online meetings. Seventy-seven parents participated in the PR group and 79 participated in TR. Outcome measures included child behavior ratings (adaptive and maladaptive), knowledge about ABA principles, parental stress, self-efficacy, mindful parenting, and family quality of life. Statistical analyses indicate that both groups experienced significant improvements across measures immediately following treatment and at follow-up. Post treatment, the PR group reported improvement in child adaptive behavior, which TR did not. Parenting stress reduction was evident at both post-treatment and follow-up for the PR group. Differences in knowledge were the only condition effects, with PR demonstrating significantly more knowledge gains at both posttest and follow-up. Data and examples of the program elements will be displayed, along with a discussion of methodological issues that could have led the results and implications for additional research. Abstract 2: A concurrent randomized multiple baseline across three mother-child dyads single-case design was employed to evaluate the effects of the Practiced Routines program delivered face-to-face. Three mothers and their children (ages three, five, and eight years old) with autism spectrum disorder participated. Data were collected during naturally-occurring family routines (playtime with sibling, cleaning up toys, and dinner). Increases in parent behavioral strategy use were observed for two of three mothers. Child challenging behavior decreased for two of three dyads. Visual analysis combined with a standardized mean difference analysis (Hedge?s g) revealed mixed results, with a medium effect found for increases in behavioral strategy use and small-moderate effects found for decreases in parent stress and child challenging behavior at the study level. One mother qualified for follow-up coaching, which involved performance feedback that further increased the level of her independent use of behavioral strategies. All three mothers rated the social validity of the program favorably. Implications for research and practice will be discussed.

Behavior analysts

A randomized trial was used to evaluate PR and an active comparison condition (Teaching Routines; TR). TR was a self-directed online program focused on using applied behavior analysis principles to teach daily routines (e.g., task analysis, environmental arrangement). The PR program included similar content, but focused more on functions and incorporated mindfulness practice. In addition, PR was facilitated by parent educators via online meetings. Seventy-seven parents participated in the PR group and 79 participated in TR. Outcome measures included child behavior ratings (adaptive and maladaptive), knowledge about ABA principles, parental stress, self-efficacy, mindful parenting, and family quality of life. Statistical analyses indicate that both groups experienced significant improvements across measures immediately following treatment and at follow-up. Post treatment, the PR group reported improvement in child adaptive behavior, which TR did not. Parenting stress reduction was evident at both post-treatment and follow-up for the PR group. Differences in knowledge were the only condition effects, with PR demonstrating significantly more knowledge gains at both posttest and follow-up. Data and examples of the program elements will be displayed, along with a discussion of methodological issues that could have led the results and implications for additional research.

A concurrent randomized multiple baseline across three mother-child dyads single-case design was employed to evaluate the effects of the Practiced Routines program delivered face-to-face. Three mothers and their children (ages three, five, and eight years old) with autism spectrum disorder participated. Data were collected during naturally-occurring family routines (playtime with sibling, cleaning up toys, and dinner). Increases in parent behavioral strategy use were observed for two of three mothers. Child challenging behavior decreased for two of three dyads. Visual analysis combined with a standardized mean difference analysis (Hedge's g) revealed mixed results, with a medium effect found for increases in behavioral strategy use and small-moderate effects found for decreases in parent stress and child challenging behavior at the study level. One mother qualified for follow-up coaching, which involved performance feedback that further increased the level of her independent use of behavioral strategies. All three mothers rated the social validity of the program favorably. Implications for research and practice will be discussed.

This presentation will discuss two parent-coaching interventions employed for a number of families in a private school for children with autism. We consider the two outcomes targeted (i.e., a generalized repertoire of managing contingencies of reinforcement, and children's healthy weight and body mass index) critical to address early in intervention, with important long-term benefits as they are maintained. Though the same general procedures are used across families within each intervention, a number of variables are individualized during implementation. This flexibility within a standardized framework allows delivery of parent coaching that is efficient, but also effective. First, we will discuss an intervention to teach parents skills of managing contingencies of reinforcement for their children with autism in various settings and contexts. Next, we will describe a multidisciplinary approach to teach weight management skills to parents for their children with autism. To conclude, we will discuss the benefits of this program-level approach to parent coaching interventions in the greater context of systems-based provision of behavioral intervention services. The presentation will thus offer both interventionists working directly with children/parents, and those in management/supervision roles, insights into useful parent coaching procedures for two very different skills related to autism intervention.

The target audience is BCBA-D's, BCBA's, or other behavior analysis professionals who directly teach children with autism, provide coaching to children's parents on interacting with and teaching their children with autism, are interested in behavior-analytic weight management interventions, and/or implement or are interested in behavioral systems analysis.

We employed a systematic approach to coaching parents of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to become skillful agents of behavior change across a variety of settings, contexts, and child behavior. Specifically, parents were taught to manage contingencies: (a) at school, at home, and in the community; (b) surrounding children's initiations, anticipated undesirable behaviors, and undesirable behaviors occurring in vivo; and (c) with expectations of child behavior and across specific activities individualized to child needs and parent concerns. Dependent variables were (a) percentage of opportunities during which a parent correctly managed contingencies, (b) percentage of intervals with children's on-task behavior, and (c) percentage of intervals in which children engaged in undesirable behavior (e.g., stereotypy, disruptive behavior). Treatment effects across parents are positive, with parents increasing contingency management skills from baseline to criterion levels across a variety of settings, contexts, and child behaviors with rapid acquisition across numerous successive phases. In all cases, these were associated with concomitant increases in children's on-task behaviors to criterion levels and decreases in child undesirable behaviors to zero- or near-zero levels. Variability in skill acquisition patterns across parents, settings, contexts, and child behaviors are discussed, as is the impact of each individualized condition sequence.

The school nurse, in collaboration from classroom teachers, teacher supervisors, and the school's executive director, implemented a parent-coaching intervention package to help reverse unhealthy trends in children's body mass index (BMI). Overweight and obesity, especially among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a growing national concern with imminent and lifelong health implications. Via routine school screenings, three children and two young adults with ASD were identified as overweight, obese, or underweight. Parents were coached to measure and report children's food consumption, increase the proportion of healthy foods in the child's diet by reducing servings of nutritionally poor foods (e.g., cookies, chips), increasing servings of nutrient-rich foods (e.g., vegetables, fruits), and increasing daily physical activity using a shaping procedure. Coaching at school and/or at home and supplemental teaching to increasing food repertoires at school were implemented based on individual student needs. Results indicate reversal of trend in BMI for all five students; two students achieved healthy-range BMI, and two achieved BMI designations healthier than those prior to intervention. Improved outcomes are predicted for the fifth student by time of presentation. Outcomes represent an effective, individualized, school-based multidisciplinary collaboration of behavior analysts, health professionals, and parents to manage unhealthy weight in students with ASD.

Early intervention literature recommends the use of pairing at the onset of treatment and as a component of ongoing therapy. Pre-session pairing is designed to function as an antecedent intervention to improve the therapeutic environment by decreasing interfering behavior during structured teaching (e.g., discrete trial teaching). Pre-session pairing consists of multiple types of interactions between a therapist and client in an unstructured format (e.g., play) and procedures are described as a therapist delivering preferred tangible items and/or activities to a client prior to introducing demands. Given the frequency with which pre-session pairing is utilized in clinical practice, the empirical support for the procedure is limited. It is currently unknown how pre-session pairing functions as an antecedent manipulation. The current symposium aims to further clarify the procedures effect on motivating operations and behaviors that are evoked by said motivating operations. The first study examined how pre-session pairing affects motivating operations for social positive and social negative reinforcement through the use of a progressive-ratio schedule. The second study examined how three therapeutic conditions (pre-session pairing, free play, and DTI-only) implemented as antecedent interventions can affect rates of acquisition of skills commonly targeted in early intervention programming.

Practitioners and individuals in academia are the target audience for this talk.

Quality of life may in part be measured by the extent to which our time is filled with satisfying work and leisure experiences. Development of independent broad leisure and vocational repertoires for individuals with developmental disabilities may require a range of interventions. This symposium will review a series of behavior analytic procedures used to enhance leisure and vocational repertoires and subsequently improve quality of life for individuals with ASD. The first paper will present on the effects of a procedure for transferring stimulus control over initiating leisure from a verbal directive to natural cues in the environment. The second paper will examine methods for increasing preference for leisure activities. The third presentation will review a case study in which behavior analytic technologies were used to produce job skills and ultimately to arrange for job placement. Clinical implications and areas for further research will be discussed.

BCBA's

Teaching leisure activities to mastery is an important first step in providing individuals with developmental disabilities with a broad-based leisure repertoire that can provide enrichment during periods of low structure. However, unless engaging with the newly acquired activity arranges new reinforcement, independent sustained participation in the activity may be unlikely absent arbitrary reinforcers. The purpose of the present study was to, in Study 1, evaluate whether teaching a leisure activity to mastery resulted in increased preference for the activity. Participants included two adolescent young men diagnosed with ASD. Preference was assessed using an engagement-based preference assessment, the Brief Response Restriction (BRR). If teaching the skill to mastery was ineffective at elevating preference for the activity we evaluated, in Phase 2, we evaluated the effect of embedding an existing reinforcer that would typically co-occur with the activity. We taught complex leisure skills to mastery for both participants and increased preference of all trained activities. Implications for development of broad-based leisure repertoires will be discussed. IOA was collected in 33% of sessions with an agreement score of 91%.

The job market provides unique challenges for individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as evidenced by poor outcomes with job placement (i.e., unemployment rates as high as 90%) and job compensation. Currently, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has provided limited contributions to more optimal outcomes, despite having an ideal technology. That is, there are a plethora of data showing the effectiveness of skill acquisition procedures pertaining to basic vocational skills (e.g., folding laundry, sweeping, envelope stuffing, etc.). By contrast, there is relatively little data on the effect of ABA therapy on job placement and job compensation. The purpose of this case study will be to outline how ABA technologies were utilized to establish both essential job skills (e.g., table setting, table cleanup, restaurant navigation, accepting feedback, etc.) and job placement for a 22-year-old male diagnosed with an ASD. Further, we will outline a model for managing the unique nature of job placement. The model provided will review employment matching, goal development, collaboration between service delivery teams, employee trainings, and transition planning. The outlined approach was shown to be successful across two job sites (i.e., a pizza shop and a coffee shop), as the participant has sustained employment with minimal support at the time of this study at both locations.

Behavior analysts shy away from addressing behaviors related to psychopathology, callousness and unemotionality, and anxiety. These diagnoses and their symptoms involve private events and are therefore difficult to operationally define, observe and measure. However, Friman and others have suggested that behavior analysts should not ignore these important areas because they will then be studied only by non-behaviorists. Unfortunately, non-behaviorists view aberrant behaviors in individuals with psychiatric disorders as symptoms of underlying constructs and use the diagnosis as a reason for these behaviors, proposing more global treatments such as therapies or medications. On the other hand, behaviorists view those behaviors as serving an environmental function that can be replaced with a more acceptable behavior serving the same function. The behavioral perspective would also include an analysis/understanding of establishing operations in the form of private events, physical sensations, bio-behavioral states, psychological feelings, covert tacts/mands and learning history with particular discriminative stimuli for reinforcement or punishment. The presenters in this symposium will present their analyses of these areas from a behavioral perspective and provide treatment strategies or research methodologies that are based on these analyses.

Behavior analysts, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, social workers, teachers, direct care staff, administrators

The development of anti-social behavior may be due to a decreased sensitivity to certain types of social reinforcement, as well as social punishment. One class of stimuli that is especially relevant to the development of prosocial interaction is signs of damage. Skinner proposed that aggression is primarily reinforced by inflicting harm, and that the reinforcement utility was learned, as well as innate. Signs of damage, such as screaming, crying, or the sight of bruises or blood, are said to function as such reinforcers. However, these signs typically occur at the end of a confrontation, and may instead be functioning as discriminative stimuli for preventing further attack. Interestingly, response similarities have been demonstrated between children with callous and unemotional (CU) traits, and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We consider work that has investigated the reactions to social reinforcement and signs of damage among children diagnosed with ASD and CU traits, and discuss the relevance with regard to the development of antisocial behavior, diagnostic classification, labeling, and treatment.

Up to 80% of children and youth with ASDs experience clinically significant anxiety (Leyfer, Folstein, Bacalmen, et al., 2006). Individuals with ASDs and comorbid anxiety are at increased risk for displaying externalizing behavior problems, social avoidance, and difficulties establishing/maintaining peer relationships across environments (Davis, Hess, Moree et al., 2011). New research is beginning to investigate the effectiveness or wearable biosensor devices to measure physiological indicators of stress and anxiety in naturalistic settings (Lakudzode & Rajbhoj, 2016). The purpose of this presentation is to describe how physiological information obtained from wearable devices can be used to alert clients or practitioners to the need for interventions and relaxation techniques aimed at recognizing the body's anxiety response. We will also provide case study examples to illustrate how these devices can be used to teach the individuals to self-regulate or use coping and/or relaxation strategies, which in turn could improve the ability of individuals to navigate life demands with greater effectiveness.

Behavior analytic research to date has revealed that gambling behavior is influenced by a variety of environmental variables, such as verbal behavior and the contingencies of reinforcement associated with the games themselves. For instance, while slot machines operate on a random ratio reinforcement schedule, structural variables (e.g., outcomes such as near misses or losses disguised as wins) have been shown to influence how people gamble. While emerging research on environmental variables continues, more information is needed in regards to functional relationships between environmental variables, verbal behaviors, and gambling. Therefore, the current symposium will highlight environmental aspects that control gambling. The first paper will discuss the effect of rules on blackjack. Four participants were exposed to two rule conditions to determine how rules may impact the degree to which gamblers 'let it ride' or place larger bets upon winning a hand. The second paper will discuss a new methodology useful in assessing the maintaining variables of gambling (e.g., access to social attention, escape from gambling termination, bonus points and rewards, and sensory stimulation). Finally, the third paper will discuss the effects of losses disguised as wins on preference for slot machines. Future directions for research and clinical practice will be discussed.

The target audience for the present symposium will be BCBA's, BCaBAs, and psychologists.

Gambling is a popular activity in the United States. Past research on gambling behavior has focused on rule following. The purpose of the present study was to (a) replicate the findings of Dixon (2000) and (b) extend the findings to risky choice making. Four participants, two male, were exposed to an electronic blackjack game and different rules throughout the study in a multiple baseline design. Participants were first exposed to a faulty rule followed by a correct rule in a multiple baseline design. Each participant first played without rules during baseline. Following baseline the experimenter told the participants a faulty rule, that let it ride bets increased the odds of winning. Following a period of play under the faulty rule, participants were informed that the let it ride bets did not increase odds of winning, and were in fact riskier wagers. All participants significantly increased risky betting during the faulty rules condition, and three participants decreased risky betting following the presentation of the correct rule. The present study replicated past findings by demonstrating that rule following can be weakened rather than eliminated through contact with contradictory rules.

Functional assessments are useful in informing treatment, but can often be time consuming. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and test a rapid functional assessment for gambling behavior. To assess the effect of different consequences on gambling behavior a multielement design with a withdrawal component was used. A concurrent random ratio and fixed interval 30s schedule was used to deliver reinforcement on four five-reel casino replica slot machines. The tangible machine provided points toward earning a preferred item. The attention machine produced conversation from an experimenter, while the escape machine provided additional play time. The sensory machine simulated a slot machine typically found in a casino environment. Five recreational gamblers were exposed to a forced choice prior to a ten-minute free play phase. Experimenters then restricted participants from the most played machine for two minutes before allowing access to all machines again. Results for four of five participants indicated two preferred machines of varying strength. Results for the fifth participant were undifferentiated. The results suggest that this functional assessment can quickly identify potential functions of gambling behavior, which would allow therapists to design and begin effective treatment more quickly.

"Losses Disguised as Wins (LDWs)" are slot machine outcomes in which the payout of a given spin is a fraction of the original bet. These losses are "disguised" when paired with visual and auditory stimuli associated with a win. The current research investigated the influence of LDWs on preference amongst game options as well as preferences between concurrently available slots. Naturalistic observation of multiline slot play revealed gamblers overwhelmingly preferred 20 lines, given the option between 20, 10, 5, and 1 line. An analysis of each of the 4 game options revealed LDWs parametrically increased as additional lines were played, despite no observed economic advantage. These data suggest LDWs may in part influence choice allocation amongst varying number of lines. This phenomenon was replicated in a laboratory setting where participants chose amongst concurrently available computerized slot machines where payout magnitudes were manipulated and systematically decreased for slots offering LDWs. Again players showed preference for slots with this game mechanism regardless of actual payouts suggesting gamblers attend to lights and sounds in some cases more than wins and losses. These findings have clear implications for treatment providers seeking to understand addictive mechanisms and slot machine preferences.

Although many clinical practices are requiring the Registered Behavioral Technician (RBT) credential, it is still uncommon to see RBT's working in the schools. Teachers and paraprofessionals can benefit from the RBT credential to give them the basic ABA knowledge that they need to manage behavior, develop IEP goals, build skills in students, and further their own careers. Select schools in the U.S. are embracing the RBT credential and working to provide the training and supervision for their teachers and paraprofessionals. Schools face certain barriers to doing this such as professional development time (particularly for paraprofessionals), cost, and buy-in from district leadership. This panel will discuss the essential needs for RBTs in the school system, the barriers to training and supervision, and challenges in scaling district wide. The ethical considerations for schools will be discussed as well as future directions for providing schools with the education and tools that they need to give teachers and paraprofessionals the ABA training that they need. School districts from Colorado and Connecticut will present their data and procedures for RBTs in their districts, as well as how they plan to utilize RBTs with students, and expand opportunities for staff to get the credential.

Behavior analysts of all levels working within school districts or working with school districts.

This symposium presents a series of three studies designed to examine the use of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) on teaching reading to both adults with intellectual disabilities and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The first paper was a clustered randomized comparison design was used to investigate the Edmark Reading Program (ERP) and to compare its efficacy in teaching reading outcomes in its table-top (n =16) and CAI (n=15) versions. The second paper evaluates the effects of Headsprout Early Reading in the developing of reading with six adults with learning disabilities. A multiple baseline probe design across participants was used. The third paper presents the outcomes of a parent led intervention. Participants across groups were matched according to level of entry of the reading intervention and were subsequently randomly assigned to either an experimental (n = 13) or control (n = 13) condition as recruited. The study used a between-groups design to evaluate the effects of Headsprout on the reading outcomes and print motivation of children with ASD.

BCBA

A clustered randomized comparison design was used to investigate the Edmark Reading Program (ERP) and to compare its efficacy in teaching reading outcomes using both table-top and software format. A sample of 31 participants with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder were assigned to conditions using cluster random sampling. Participants were exposed to ERP in one of two conditions, table-top presentation (TTI) or computerized assisted instruction (CAI), for one full school semester. Assessments of reading ability were conducted before and after exposure to ERP on word reading, accuracy, rate, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. This study demonstrated that when ERP, TTI and CAI formats were compared, there were statistically significant differences found in favor of TTI on reading accuracy, reading rate, and phonemic awareness, specifically first sound fluency. Results indicate the efficacy of the table-top presentation of the reading program in these particular reading outcomes. The findings are discussed in light of existing research and the cost-benefit of both presentations

Many adults with Intellectual disability can have difficulty gaining reading skills acquisition. A multiple probe design across six participants was used to examine the effectiveness of Headsprout Early Reading. Participants were assigned to dyads (based on baseline probe), with two participants placed on the same baseline. Accuracy of sprout cards was the dependent variable selected for decisions in relation to implementation. Results indicated that Headsprout Early Reading had high social validity across participants, their parents and facilitators of the program. Outcome results also indicated an improvement in reading accuracy and fluency for all participants.

A between-groups design was used to evaluate the Headsprout on the reading outcomes and print motivation of a sample of 26 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Headsprout was implemented by parents in their homes, who received training on in the identification of learning difficulties whereby additional support was provided to participants based on these specific learning problems. Results demonstrated that participants who received Headsprout showed greater gains in word reading, non-word reading, and the target sound and words of Headsprout. The results of print motivation demonstrated that only the print material specific to the program had an increase in preference at post-tests. Findings indicate that this reading program can be successfully implemented with children with ASD by parents in the home environment, with the addition of adaptations and learning support.

Technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate and is likely to continue to progress in a global society with high demands for efficiency. As technology evolves, new devices and new applications are emerging, which allow behavior analysts to develop more efficient, accessible, and personalized systems. The members of this panel bring considerable knowledge and experience in this content area and will advise on how various technologies (e.g., computer applications, e-learning, virtual reality, robotics, telehealth) can be leveraged to enhance application and dissemination of behavior analysis.

Behavior analysts that function as practitioners, supervisors, educators, innovators, and researchers.

The rise of entrepreneurship in behavior analysis and other professional arenas has created waves across the globe, changing forever the ways in which businesses operate. Social media has become a ubiquitous tool critical for marketing, branding, engaging and disseminating content. As LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook cement themselves into our personal and organizational lives, we must as a field approach with care and creativity in order to remain aligned to our unique models and ethical boundaries. In this panel we discuss our experiences in networking, ethics and finding our niche while using social media in behavior analysis.

Behavior Analysts in Practice, including but not limited to those with credentials from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB).

In spite of the growing knowledge and application of the scientific principles of behavior, these principles have not been extensively disseminated to the general population (Carr & Fox, 2009). The use of current technology to enhance the dissemination of ABA has been proposed by behavior analysts in the past (Axelrod, Moyer, & Berry, 1990; Plaud, 1996), and many behavior analysts have advocated for the use of conversational language rather than technical language (Bailey, 1991; Binder, 1991; Foxx, 1996; Lindsley, 1991; Rolider, Axelrod, & Van Houten, 1998). More research is needed to assess the impact of language used for disseminating ABA within specific cultural groups. Additionally, it is important to investigate what modalities (e.g., YouTube videos, interactive presentations, presentation slides, etc.) are most impactful in helping the general public learn about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), as well as which modalities lead to individuals making favorable statements about ABA. This symposium presents the findings from recent studies that assessed the perspectives of adults who were not affiliated with ABA, and explores the potential utility of Internet videos, presentation slides, and interactive exercises to disseminate key concepts related to ABA.

This symposium is appropriate for BCBAs and BCaBAs

The current study examined the effect of three different multimedia presentations about applied behavior analysis (ABA) on the responding of African American adults. Assessments measured participants' levels of factual knowledge about ABA before and after each presentation, which included two PowerPoint presentations (one interactive, one non-interactive) and an emotional narrative video about ABA. Participants responded to questions about their evaluations of each of the three presentation styles, as well as a final questionnaire comparing all three presentations. The results showed that all participants felt more informed about the field of ABA after participating in the study and that the majority of participants would recommend ABA therapy to their future colleagues, clients, family, and friends based on the presentations in the study. Additionally, correct responding on the post-assessment increased as a result of the successive presentations for the majority of participants, with the two PowerPoint presentations showing similar levels of effectiveness. Overall, the participants showed a slight preference for the Colorful Interactive presentation, which included videos of various ABA concepts and a response card activity. Implications for dissemination of ABA to the African American community will be discussed within the context of the study's results.

Language is a complex adaptive system (CAS). Its evolution, development in learners, and use are historically contingent and emergent. Its patterns emerge from social interaction in an environment, which both structures and is structured by iterative language use. Frequently-occurring patterns provide the system some stability; however, change is immanent in the system, brought about by its users co-adapting to an ever-changing environment. It is this co-adaptation that is the source of creativity and innovation in meaning making in a pragmatically appropriate manner. This view of language as a CAS represents a challenge to more traditional views of second language development. It suggests that there is neither linguistic innateness nor an endpoint to the development, certainly not one that is isomorphic with native speaker use. It at least partly explains why there is ubiquitous variability in the process and why given the nature of the process the learner's linguistic system is free to develop along alternative trajectories. These claims will be supported with both corpus and longitudinal developmental data.

Researchers and practitioners interested in theories of language and language development.

This symposium will include two presentations. The purpose of the first study was to evaluate the effects of a treatment based on the results of a trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) that utilized isolated and synthesized reinforcement contingencies. Across all participants, challenging behavior occurred during most during synthesized TBFA condition, but only occurred during one of the two isolated conditions. During the treatment evaluation, participants were taught three responses that corresponded to each of the conditions evaluated in the TBFA. All participants allocated responding to the response that matched one of the isolated contingencies, suggesting challenging behavior for was maintained by isolated reinforcement contingencies. The purpose of the second study was to evaluate the effect of demand fading on the resurgence of challenging behavior following functional communication training. Participants with autism who engaged in escape-maintained challenging behavior participated. During the treatment evaluation, functional communication training with demand fading was compared to functional communication training with a dense schedule of reinforcement. Resurgence of challenging behavior in each condition was assessed. Results indicate idiosyncratic responding across participants and suggest the need for further investigation of intervention variables that affect resurgence. The discussant will summarize implications for practice and directions for future research.

The target audience for this symposium is behavior analysts who work with children with autism and other developmental disabilities who engage in challenging behavior.

Various methods have been developed to enhance the efficiency of functional analyses. One of these methods includes synthesizing all variables suspected of maintaining challenging behavior into a single test condition. The purposes of the current study were to (a) compare synthesized and isolated reinforcement contingencies in a trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) and (b) to evaluate treatment based on the results of the TBFA. Three children with autism participated in the current study. Results of the TBFA were consistent across all three children. Challenging behavior was observed during most of the synthesized trials. However, when reinforcement contingencies were evaluated in isolation, challenging behavior was sensitive to only one of the two contingencies. To clarify the results of the TBFA, we implemented functional communication training. Each child was taught three mands that corresponded to the contingencies tested in the TBFA. During treatment sessions, children most frequently selected the response corresponding to one of the isolated reinforcement contingencies. Additionally, challenging behavior immediately decreased. These results suggest that challenging behavior for all three participants was sensitive to isolated reinforcement contingencies.

Resurgence, or the reoccurrence, of challenging behavior often occurs following successful treatment with functional communication training. It is important to identify treatment variables that reduce the resurgence of challenging behavior. The current study assessed the impact of demand fading (i.e., increasing the number of demands required prior to reinforcing mands) on resurgence of challenging behavior. Two participants with autism who engaged in escape-maintained challenging behavior participated in this study. Following the functional analysis, the efficacy of functional communication training was assessed within a reversal design. Throughout the functional communication training phases, the child participants were taught two mands during alternating sessions. In the second functional communication training phase, one of the two mands was associated with demand fading, while the other mand was associated with a consistently low task requirement (i.e., dense schedule of reinforcement). Following the treatment evaluation phase, resurgence was assessed in an extinction phase. Results of the resurgence evaluation varied by participant, with one participant engaging in challenging behavior across both conditions and the other participant not engaging in challenging behavior across either condition. We plan to conduct similar procedures with two additional participants and anticipate that data collection will be complete in February 2018.

Adolescents and young adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) frequently have the content knowledge and vocational skills necessary to participate with typically developing peers in educational and employment settings. Their full integration in these settings, however, can be negatively impacted by differences in how they participate in verbal communities and resolve both social and non-social problems they encounter. We will present two empirical studies conducted with adolescents with HFA, one in which we taught problem-solving strategies that participants then successfully applied to solve novel problems in the natural environment. In the second study, we applied a stimulus equivalence framework to intraverbal interactions, to describe a novel outcome measure for assessing derivational stimulus control over intraverbal behavior. In addition, we reviewed literature on altering the prosody behavior of individuals with HFA. We will provide recommendations for clinicians on how to develop problem-solving and social skills in individuals with HFA, and for researchers interested in furthering our scientific understanding of these topics.

We will be making recommendations appropriate for practitioners and researchers, particularly relevant to those who work with individuals with high-functioning autism.

To be successful in educational and vocational settings, individuals with disabilities must be able to use problem-solving strategies to determine effective and socially acceptable responses to problems that arise. We investigated the effects of teaching individuals with high-functioning autism (ASD) to discriminate problem and non-problem situations, and apply a problem-solving strategy in response to problems. During training sessions, participants were exposed to non-problem scenarios, problem scenarios they were not directly involved in, and problem scenarios including both social and non-social solutions. Participants learned to discriminate problems from non-problems, classify whether they were directly involved in the problems, and generate solutions to the problem scenarios during interviews that followed each training session. In addition, during in vivo scenarios that we staged prior to and throughout training, both participants successfully applied the problem-solving strategies learned to solve novel problems in educational and vocational settings. Data collected thus far suggest that it may be beneficial for clinicians to apply these procedures to teach other adolescents or young adults with autism an effective problem-solving strategy.

Conditioning stimulus control over intraverbals, the operant class of social behavior, is a primary function of the verbal community. Addressing intraverbal deficits, however, continues to be a challenge for researchers, due to the lack of precise measures, as well as practitioners, because of the sparse literature on establishing discriminations between various verbal stimuli. Applying a stimulus equivalence framework to intraverbal interactions, this paper describes a novel outcome measure for assessing derivational stimulus control over the intraverbal behavior of adolescents with high-functioning autism. Using two-sentence affordance narratives, we evaluated the relative control of reflexive, symmetrical, and transitive stimuli over participants' responses to who, what, and where questions. Results show a derivation gradient analogous to the generalization gradients described by Guttman and Kalish (1956). Across the three variations of Wh- questions, reflexive questions generated the strongest responding, while transitive questions provided the weakest levels of stimulus control. Error analyses show response prepotencies across each level of derivation. Implications for future research and practice will be discussed.

Differences in prosody behavior between individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their typically developing peers have been considered a central feature of ASD since the earliest clinical descriptions of the disorder (e.g., Kanner, 1943). Differences in prosody pose a particular concern for individuals with high functioning autism (HFA) who operate in environments designed for typically developing people. The purpose of this review is to examine the state of the literature focused on altering the prosody behavior of individuals with HFA and to provide recommendations for researchers who are interested in contributing to the scientific understanding of prosody.

Successful and thriving communities must adopt a strategic and adaptable approach health and wellbeing to create a sustainable culture of health. Now, while there is an increasing focus on mental health around the globe, is the time to broaden the reach of our science to support individual health and wellbeing. As behavioral scientists and practitioners, have the knowledge to apply our science to help individuals and the communities within which they live, learn, work, and play override their “default” actions, cultivate resilience, and develop supportive environments. In particular, the corporate world presents behavioral scientists with tremendous opportunities for large-scale interventions designed to increase psychological wellbeing, fueled by demand from lost revenue that could improve the lives of millions around the world. In this presentation, I will share my story and describe my experiences teaching others how to support everyday behavior and wellbeing using behavioral science. I will also share how my self-study in the area of acceptance and commitment training (ACT), along with my background in organizational behavior management (OBM), has enhanced my own life and has provided me with knowledge, skills, and tools to be a more effective teacher, coach, and consultant. Finally, I will share insights about the struggles I have encountered as an entrepreneur while conveying our science to those outside the field and how collaboration with other professionals is a key component to transforming culture on a large scale.

Professionals, including behavior analysts, working with behavior change in any context, interested in doing practical work to support the health and wellbeing of individuals and organizations; psychologists, behavior analysts, practitioners, and graduate students.

The acquisition of conditioned reinforcement for academic stimuli and subject areas is a critical educational objective—particularly conditioned reinforcement for reading and writing. When established, conditioned reinforcement for reading serves as an academic function, including increased reading comprehension repertoires. There are also academic benefits to establishing the reinforcement value of writing, as reinforcement for writing and the ability to write to communicate may not develop incidentally. Research has established conditioned reinforcement for writing through an observational procedure—specifically observing a writer communicating with his or her reader. It is also necessary to develop a functional writing repertoire, in which students come under the functional reinforcement of writing to affect the behavior of a reader. Functional writing can extend to other types of writing (i.e., writing math algorithms), where students contact the natural consequences of writing effective math algorithms and acquire functional reinforcement for solving new types of math problems. The purpose of this panel is to provide an overview of the protocols used to establish conditioned reinforcement for reading and writing and procedures for teaching functional writing repertories, as well as to explain the significance of such reinforcement value and repertories in the general education setting.

The target audience for this panel includes teachers as strategic scientists, as well as those interested in learning more about the application of behavior analysis in the general education setting.

Delay discounting is, most simply, the decline in the value of temporally remote outcomes. Delay discounting represents a true success story for the experimental analysis of behavior: A procedure, born in the pigeon laboratory, extended in literally thousands of experiments across species, populations, domains, and fields of inquiry. What exactly is it though? Questions linger among behavior analysts about the validity, utility, and meaning of the procedures and processes. This presentation will try to address those types of questions as well as talk about exciting new directions and applications of delay discounting to problems of human concern.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Behavior analysts have lamented the infrequent use of behavioral strategies in public schools. This symposium will focus on: the process used to implement and measure progress on individualized goals for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The targets typically addressed in the goals and the progress on goals as a result of training and coaching from two large-scale, Institute on Education Sciences, funded projects will be presented. One study focused on the implementation of Classroom Pivotal Response Training in 109 classrooms grades pre-K to fifth, and the second, the Center on Secondary Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (CSESA), measured the results from a multi-component intervention in 60 high schools and 547 students across three states. Both studies used Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) to measure progress with individual goals by developing a scalable assessment that enables comparison across goals and students developed by Ruble (2010). Working with teachers, target goals are created in observable and measurable terms using a 5-point scale. Sample single-case design graphs will be presented to supplement the GAS goal results. Information about ways to assist school personnel with the foundational skills of designing and measuring goals is important for all providing support in the schools.

Professionals working in schools with a BCBA

Autism interventions proven to be efficacious in controlled research settings are often not well integrated into school settings, demonstrating the need for adaptation for classroom use. Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching (CPRT) is a behavioral intervention for children with ASD adapted from Pivotal Response Training (Stahmer, Suhrheinrich, & Rieth, 2017). This paper provides an overview of a large-scale community effectiveness trial of CPRT and the use of Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) to measure student progress toward individualized learning goals. Randomized waitlist-control design was used with 109 preschool and elementary classrooms over three years. Teachers (n=109) and students (n=256) from 17 school districts participated. Individualized learning goals using GAS methodology (Ruble et al., 2010) were used to measure change in student functioning over each academic year. Data collection involved teacher interview, observation, and review of data collection records. Child participants were 5.8 years old (r=3 to 11), 83% male and 46% Hispanic with cognitive functioning in the low-average range (M=69.68; SD=20.67). Overall group differences were limited, however a factorial ANOVA with contrasts indicated students in the CPRT group demonstrated significantly more progress on social goals (t(64)=3.60, p<.001). Results indicate GAS is a feasible method for standardizing measurement of student IEP goals.

The Center on Secondary Education for Students with ASD (CSESA) recently completed an RCT to evaluate a comprehensive intervention model for high school students with ASD (n=547). The CSESA model targets four core domains: social competence, academics, independence and transition. Sixty high schools across three states (California, Wisconsin, North Carolina) participated in the IES funded project with 30 schools randomly assigned to the intervention (TX) and 30 to the services as usual (SAU) group. 303 participants across the 30 TX schools received a comprehensive intervention implemented over a 2-year period and 244 participants received usual services. Outcome data was collected at three time points and consisted of direct and indirect measures. This paper will present Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) outcome data for the TX vs SAU participants across the four domain areas and total. Each GAS goal was measured on a 5-point scale with 0 indicating no progress (baseline) and 4 indicating the goal was exceeded. Results indicate that post intervention GAS goals were higher overall (2.38 vs 2.18) and in each of the four target domains for TX vs SAU participants. Implications for using GAS as an outcome measure in large-scale projects and in schools will be discussed.

In recent years, research in the area of Equivalence-Based Instruction (EBI) has demonstrated that a variety of skills can be taught using basic EBI experimental preparations, including undergraduate and graduate academic content and behavior analytic skills. However, many questions remain (e.g., training/testing protocols, response-prompting, class sizes, reinforcement schedules, instructional feedback etc.). The three studies included in this symposium further investigated the use of equivalence-based procedures to teach typically developing adults complex socially relevant behavior (graphical analysis, identify medical conditions, and sight-singing). The three skills that were taught are ones that have proven to be very difficult to teach with traditional approaches. In addition, the three studies extended the literature to demonstrate that EBI can also result in the emergence of topographically dissimilar (e.g., selection-based vs. tact) responses. These emergent responses are analogous to the primary socially relevant skill for the target learner. In addition, inexpensive commercially available web-based applications were used for all training and testing.

Practicing BCBAs

Previous research has demonstrated alarmingly low interrater agreement when visually inspecting trends in single-subject designs (see Wolfe, Seaman, & Drasgow, 2016). Typical didactic instruction of visual analysis for behavior analysts has yielded poor and unreliable results (Roane, Fisher, Kelley, Mevers, & Bouxsein, 2013). As such, a refined technology to improve the reliability among behavior analysts is warranted. Recently, developing research has focused on the emergence of untrained and novel responding with the use of Equivalence Based-Instruction (EBI) (Rehfeldt, 2011) and multiple-exemplar training (MET) for a variety of academic skills. Blair et al. (in preparation, 2017) demonstrated the efficacy of EBI for teaching the visual analysis of graphs. The current study extended and replicated Blair et al. (2017) by using commercially available learning tools for the EBI training platform and also included transfer-of-function probes (i.e., tacts). Initial results suggest that these learning tools are effective in establishing equivalence classes with undergraduate student participants and resulted in better generalization than previous studies, and that written tacts emerged with high accuracy.

The current study evaluates the application of equivalence-based instruction to teach sight-singing two adults. Sight singing is defined as the singing of the correct notes as indicated on sheet music. Generally, this is considered a difficult task to master by learners of music. The purpose of this study is as follows: to extend the application of equivalence-based instruction to a relatively novel content-area (i.e., singing), assess if generalization occurs to a novel response topography (i.e., participant vocalization of identified note pitch), and to apply commercially-available technology to the instruction. To train sight-singing, equivalence-based instruction technology was applied using commercially available technology. Following an initial baseline in which all relations were assessed (AB, AC, BA, CA, BC, CB, and BD), match-to-sample (MTS) training was conducted using the commercially-available technologies. Equivalence tests and an evaluation of a novel response topography will be conducted. This study will determine if sight-singing can be taught using equivalence-based instructional procedures.

The current study evaluated the application of Equivalence-Based Instruction (EBI) to teach identification of symptomatic and asymptomatic head shapes in infants. EBI methodology employs match to sample presentation. In this study components were presented using commercially available computer based technology. This technology was used while maintaining instruction and application in an EBI model. The use of this EBI technology allowed the experimenter to quickly teach complex skills to a variety of individuals. Subsequently teaching nurses who generally interact with infants in a pediatrician's office provides the potential for earlier diagnosis of the targeted medical conditions that produces asymmetrical heads; craniosynostosis, and plagiocephaly. Craniosynostosis affects one child in every 2,000 children (Proctor, 2014). Plagiocephaly affects 20-25% of infants in the united states (CDC, 2017). Early diagnosis of craniosynostosis provides more treatment options, with the opportunity of lowering medical costs (Hashim, Patel, Yang, Travieso, Terner, Losee, & Mayes, 2014). The application of EBI will enhance the early identification of craniosynostosis and plagiocephaly in infants as well as demonstrate the use of a commercially available technology in the application of EBI.

Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) is an area of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) which uses behavior analytic principles to improve employee performance, staff training, and management strategies (Reid & Parsons, 2000). The field of OBM is moving towards taking on a systems perspective when analyzing possible solutions to organizational problems (Abernathy, 2008, 2014; Brethower, 2001; Diener, McGee, & Miguel, 2009; Methot et al., 1996; Tosti & Herbst, 2009) including when attempting to improve employee performance. This approach emphasizes aligning leader behavior to organizational goals to improve organizational outcomes. Additionally, use of OBM strategies included in training procedures have been shown to effectively produce overall changes in employee behaviors (Langeland et al., 1997; Methot et al., 1996; Shapiro & Kazemi 2017). Panelists will discuss an intervention to train organizational leaders in departments consisting of several levels of management to improve outcomes on measures related to service line strategic goals. Similar to the study conducted by Szabo et al. (2012), the intervention consisted of didactic training paired with modeling and role-play with feedback, regularly scheduled meetings and use of performance scorecards. Specifically, panelists will discuss an overview of the scorecard system implemented in a human services organization and the leadership training package designed to increase associates use of that scorecard system. Additional discussion will include how performance assessment tools were used to further evaluate regional needs in implementing interventions to improve management strategies related to targeted organizational measures on the scorecard system.

Managers Supervisors Company Owners

Soma Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) is a methodology that purports to build communication and academic skills in learners with autism and other diagnoses using intensive verbal, auditory, visual, and tactile prompts. Use of RPM is often accompanied by extraordinary claims that learners exhibited exceptional skill levels, and even genius-like talents, even though most had shown no signs of such skills before RPM was used and no scientific research supports those claims. This panel discussion will address the similarities between Rapid Prompting Method and Facilitated Communication (FC) and threats that both represent to the effective implementation of applied behavior analysis interventions (for example, when false communications produced via RPM or FC replace actual, independent communication, or those methods supplant proven intervention methods). Objective procedures for testing the authorship of messages produced via RPM or FC and the ethical and legal challenges they pose for ABA practitioners and school districts will also be discussed.

All ABA practitioners and educational professionals: BCBAs, BCaBA, School Psychologists

Amidst the ever-changing landscape of updated requirements for the Behavior Analyst Certification Board's Task List(s) and Experience Standards, agency directors often face organizational challenges balancing the needs of clients and their families, resource allotment, and third-party payers. The panelists in this session will highlight specific ethical and supervisory challenges that may exist when students working under BACB Experience Standards, human service operations (e.g., services for autism spectrum disorder), and a variety of payers (e.g., insurance, waivers, school funds, etc.) collide in the pursuit of socially valid behavioral treatment. Policies, procedures, training protocols, and parent handbooks can be developed with the purpose of supporting cooperation and increasing collaboration. When requirements change from any stakeholder, others must adapt and reflect the changes in practice. Building a culture that is responsive to change in many ways benefits the whole agency. Participants in this session will gain an understanding of recent BACB supervisory changes, related challenges presented by third-party payers, and creative solutions that have been developed in order to balance collaborative efforts.

BACB Supervisors, Agency Directors, Billing/Insurance Managers, University Contact Faculty for BACB Practicum Programs

Experimental functional analyses are generally underutilized in practice settings given concerns regarding the time required to complete an experimental analysis. Trial-based functional analyses developed in recent years can address this concern, however, the time required to train practitioners to conduct such analyses can also contribute to underutilization. The first study in this symposium presents instructional methods that can be used to efficiently train practitioners to implement trial-based functional analyses. The second study in the symposium addresses a common practitioner concern of encountering an extinction burst when the identified reinforcer for a problem behavior is first withheld. Data on the prevalence of extinction bursts in applied behavior analytic research between the years of 2000 and 2017 are presented and implications concerning behavior intervention plans are discussed.

practitioners and researchers

This study examined the effectiveness of detailed written instructions (WI) and a task analysis data sheet (TA DS) in training three undergraduate students with no previous coursework in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to conduct trial-based functional analyses (TBFA). This study extended previous research by using instructional materials that were written using conventional language and did not include information on the principles of ABA or the underlying rationale for functional analysis methodology. Although the WI and TA DS produced significant increases in performance and reliable data collection on the targeted problem behavior, small-group performance feedback training was necessary to achieve mastery across all trial types. Results offer a socially valid training package to teach paraprofessionals to conduct TBFAs in applied settings.

An extinction burst is a temporary increase in the rate of a previously reinforced behavior when extinction is first implemented. Previous research has suggested that extinction bursts may be less prevalent than is commonly believed by practitioners (Lerman & Iwata, 1995). The current study is a replication of Lerman and Iwata’s 1995 review. We analyzed 100 cases of extinction in peer reviewed publications between the years of 2000 and 2017 and found that only 14% of cases demonstrated an extinction burst, a number even lower than the 24% reported by Lerman and Iwata. Furthermore, only 8% of the cases we analyzed implemented extinction alone, compared to 50% in the Lerman study. Changes in conceptions of what constitutes a complete behavior intervention plan are discussed, as are implications for practitioners.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts supervise diverse service providers, those working toward their initial certification and those needing ongoing supervision (e.g., BCaBAs, RBTs), in different settings. Supervision may include behavior skills training with students at universities, teachers in schools, BCaBAs and RBTs in clinics and homes, and parents in homes and in the community. Effectiveness of the supervision may vary across these settings and supervisees (Dixon et al. 2016; Neely, Rispoli, Gerow, & Hong 2016; Stahmer et al., 2015). Thus, supervisors need to plan appropriate means of teaching and assessing in the various circumstances (Carr & Nosik, 2017). While the BACB provides extensive training and resources on the standards for effective supervision of those seeking certification, we have less information on how to adapt to the changing supervision needs across settings, especially for those who are receiving on-going supervision. Panelists will share their experience on various supervision scenarios they have encountered with diverse service providers in different settings. Panelists will discuss ethical issues that may arise during supervision and guidance on how to uphold the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts (Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2016). Participants are encouraged to ask questions and seek recommendations about their own experiences.

This presentation is geared toward BCBAs who are supervisors of RBTs and BCaBAs. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions about their experiences as a supervisor and ethical challenges involved in fulfilling the role.

As providers of quality education via online platform, we are consistently striving to excel and keep up with the changing nature of our students and technology. Over the years, each one of us has evolved as a teacher while navigating through uncharted territories of teaching ABA online. With the fast changing structure of technology, we have to adapt fairly rapidly and modify our content. It has been a great shaping process for us as teachers and we have acquired some many interpersonal, educational, and technological tools along the way. The aim of this symposia is to discuss what we have learned about teaching and delivery of instruction in an online format. We will also be discussing the unique and complicated challenges we face as compared to an on-campus program.

Academia, graduate students, supervisors, clinicians, and trainers.

The demand for quality online education for training future behavior analysts is at an all-time high; and we, as online educators, are required to ensure educational excellence. Over the past five years we have seen the characteristics of our students change dramatically. We often have students in our courses that are full-time employees who also have other multiple competing task demands with little time to engage in schoolwork during the typical 9-5 work day. As a result, we have had to adapt our teaching styles and strategies to fit their needs. We strive to create a learning environment that encourages positive interaction among peers and instructors. This presentation will discuss some of challenges we have faced in our quest to provide high quality instruction of applied behavior analysis coursework in an online venue. We will also discuss some "tricks of the trade" to engage students in the learning process thereby increasing their likelihood for success in the field of applied behavior analysis.

Alaska is the 43rd most internet connected state; only 78% of Alaskans have broadband coverage. Local studies highlight the significant cost for internet access in rural villages, the slow internet speeds (as low as 19.2 kbps in some communities), and intermittent quality of internet connection. Given these limitations, delivering a professional training program comes with significant challenges. How can we best train the future generation of behavior analysis in a state spanning over twice the area of Texas, with limited access to the infrastructure enjoyed by many in the continental united states? This presentation will highlight some of the challenges and successes of teaching online and blended courses at an open-enrollment Alaska university.

Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, and Hanratty (2014) developed a functional assessment format intended to be practical and efficient. The process begins with an open-ended interview, the information of which is used to inform the unique contingencies evaluated in an analysis with a single synthesized test condition and a matched control. This symposium includes a comprehensive evaluation of the reliability, validity, generality, and efficiency of the functional assessment model. Study 1 of this symposium evaluates the reliability of the open-ended interview used to design the subsequent analysis by comparing the results of multiple interviewers. In Study 2, multiple contextually relevant variables are assessed to determine the generality of the treatment procedures in natural settings informed by the functional assessment in a consecutive case series analysis. Study 3 evaluated the efficiency of the functional assessment by reanalyzing session duration to determine the extent to which analysis duration can be reduced without detriments in interpretations of functional control. Comparative validity measures of the practical functional assessment and a traditional functional analysis format were obtained in Study 4 by conducting both formats with each of the adult participants.

BCBAs, BCBA-Ds, BCaBAs, licensed psychologists, and other behavior analytic providers who are looking for information on how to conduct or how to teach someone to conduct a practical functional assessment and treatment model.

The interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA; Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, & Hanratty, 2014) is an efficient functional analysis that has led to the development of effective skill-based treatments for severe problem behavior (Ghaemmaghami, Hanley, & Jessel, 2016; Hanley et al., 2014; Santiago, Hanley, Jin, & Moore, 2015). The indirect assessment used in this functional assessment process takes the form of a semi-structured interview with caregivers that informs the design of a subsequent analysis. The reliability of the process of conducting an interview and designing an analysis from the interview has, however, not been assessed. This study aimed to (a) provide multiple measures of the reliability of the semi-structured interview and analysis design process and (b) assess the efficacy and generality of treatments derived from a functional assessment process on baselines established from an independent process. Results showed that reliability largely depended on the lens with which agreement was measured across two independent assessments; the assessment process was reliable on a general level but unreliable on a more specific level. The variability imposed by the unreliability of the assessment process did not negatively influence treatment utility, as the effects of the treatment designed in one context transferred to the other context.

Improving the analytic efficiency and control of functional analysis may reduce common barriers to its practical utility and increase the use of empirically-supported procedures for identifying the functions of problem behavior in clinical settings. We conducted this study to determine if the efficiency of the recently developed interview-informed, synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA) could be improved without detrimental effects on control. In Study 1 we reanalyzed IISCAs conducted for the problem behavior of 18 children. We reinterpreted rates of problem behavior during the first 5 min and 3 min of the 10-min sessions and evaluated any changes in the level of control (i.e., strong, moderate, weak). In addition, the first test-session of each full IISCA was reanalyzed at the varying session durations to determine the possibility of obtaining functional control over problem behavior in, what has been termed, the single-test IISCA. In Study 2 we conducted 8 consecutive IISCAs with 3-min sessions to validate the results of the reanalysis. We found that strong levels of control over problem behavior can be maintained when conducting IISCAs with sessions as brief as 3 min.

Interview-Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis is increasingly recognized as a viable method for identifying operant function (Ghaemmaghami et al., 2015, 2016; Hanley et al., 2014; Santiago et al., 2016; Strohmeier et al, 2016). However, Fisher, Greer, Romani, Zangrillo, and Owen (2016) found that, for some individuals, combined contingencies can lead to false-positive results. In the current study, we extend this research to adults with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in a day program; a population and setting relatively unexamined via functional analysis (Beavers, Iwata, & Lerman, 2013). Following initial interview and brief observations, we conducted both standard (Iwata, et al., 1982/1994) and interview-informed synthesized (Hanley et al., 2014) functional analyses in typical adult day program environments across participants. Using the results of the synthesized and the standard functional analyses, we evaluated hypotheses about environment-behavior relations using an intervention test analysis. In the intervention test we measured the occurrence of problem behavior when the putative establishing operations were present in the natural environment, and subsequently introduced intervention components until we achieved suppression of problem behavior. Participants' levels of problem behavior varied across the standard and synthesized approaches following treatment.

Adolescents and adults with high functioning autism and intellectual disabilities might struggle with academics and often have difficulties finding and maintaining employment. Research on strategies for addressing academic and employment difficulties with these populations is limited. The four papers in this symposium focus on identifying procedures that are effective for improving academic performance, increasing independence on vocational tasks, and teaching job-related social skills to adolescents and adults with autism or intellectual disabilities. The first paper evaluated the effects of instructor presence, instructor absence, and instructor fading on the on-task behavior and accuracy of pre-vocational task completion by three adolescents with autism. In the second paper, the authors evaluated the effects of teaching a series of rules on the independent problem solving of common work-related problems by three young adults with autism. In the third paper, the authors evaluated the effects of behavior skills training and textual prompts on job-related social skills of three adults with autism. The fourth paper involved evaluating a modified classroom response system that included error correction and feedback on the lecture comprehension and subsequent writing performance of eight adults with intellectual disabilities.

Individuals who do research in effectiveness of strategies to increase independence, social, and academic performance of individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities. Also those who do related clinical practice.

Despite the vast amount of research on increasing independence for individuals with autism, there is a lack of research on techniques for fostering independent on-task behavior and accuracy in the absence of an instructor. Though fading the proximity of an instructor has been shown in a few studies to produce independence in the absence of an instructor, no study to date has compared the effectiveness of different methods. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of three conditions on the on-task behavior and accuracy of adolescents with autism: instructor present (instructor remains with the participant throughout entire session), instructor absent (instructor does not remain with the participant), and instructor fading (systematic proximity-fading to complete removal of the instructor from the room). A pre-post generalization probe was conducted across locations. Maintenance probes were conducted 1 week, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks after the participant met criterion on the final fading and schedule thinning levels. After viewing the videos, a questionnaire based on the Treatment Acceptability Rating Form- Revised (TARF) was given to the teachers of each participant.

Learning skills to solve common workplace problems might reduce the number of individuals with high functioning autism who are unemployed or underemployed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a rule-based problem-solving strategy on the independent completion of vocational tasks by high functioning young adults with autism. In addition, generalization of strategy use to novel vocational tasks was assessed. Vocational tasks were grouped into three categories (missing items, depleted items, dysfunctional items) and each category included four tasks. To program for generalization, three of the tasks were taught. One remained untaught to assess generalization. To ensure participants only problem solved when there was actually a problem, each task had two types of scenarios: problem and typical. Effects of the strategy were evaluated in a multiple probe across participants design. Prior to intervention, very few of the steps involved in each task were completed correctly. Following introduction of the problem-solving strategy, all four participants independently completed the tasks when a problem was presented and responding generalized to untaught vocational tasks. Interobserver agreement was collected for at least 33% of all sessions and averaged 95% across participants.

In this study, we examined the efficacy of a treatment package for teaching several social skills that are critical to job success, such as responding appropriately to feedback and asking for a task model from the supervisor. Three adults diagnosed with an autism spectrum diagnosis, aged 19 to 27 years, participated. None of the individuals had been employed or had received training focused on job-related social skills. Initial training of each skill consisted of verbal explanations, modeling, and role-play with feedback, along with stimulus prompts to promote generalization to a different setting. Additional intervention components were introduced, as needed. Generalization across different social skills and evocative situations also was evaluated. Results indicated that the treatment package was generally effective in improving the targeted social skills and that stimulus prompts may be necessary for generalization to a job setting. However, generalized responding across social skills rarely emerged. These findings have important implications for preparing individuals with autism to function successfully on the job.

With increases in the number of post-secondary educational opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities, more research is needed on instructional strategies that would be beneficial for this population. Although classroom response systems are beneficial in that they allow all learners to respond and provide the instructor with immediate feedback about student comprehension, repeated contact with questions posed to the class may be necessary for some learners. The purpose of this study was to examine whether an error correction procedure, in which incorrect responses were followed with feedback and the opportunity to respond correctly, could improve lecture comprehension and subsequent writing performance of eight adults with intellectual disabilities. Classroom instruction included lecture plus a modified classroom response system, students were provided with cover letter templates, and conditions with and without error correction were compared. Data analyzed to date suggest that both error correction and no error correction conditions resulted in large improvements in content, and minor improvements in grammar.

According to a recent national report (United Health Foundation, 2016), 72% of American adults report that they engage in least one unhealthy behavior. Although having multiple unhealthy habits is less common (24%), about 70% of our increasing healthcare costs are related to care for Americans with multiple chronic medical conditions. The efficacy of using positive reinforcement to counteract risky or poor health-related choices is becoming increasingly well-known. However, despite decades of research focused on a variety of health-related behaviors, very little attention has been paid to using a fuller range of behavior analytic principles and procedures and there are still risky health behaviors that have not yet been addressed. This symposium will include four presentations that together present a more comprehensive picture of the potential contribution that behavior analysis can make in addressing public health and safety issues. Presentations will address the use of functional assessments for smoking, behavioral economic strategies to address the relatively new public health risk of cellphone use while driving, a long-term behavior maintenance strategy using wage supplement incentives to promote employment and abstinence with adults who have opiate use disorders, and the social validity of behavior analysis strategies among medical professionals, substance abuse treatment providers, and the general public.

Applied researchers; BCBA-Ds; BCBAs; BCABAs; Graduate students; Other healthcare professionals

The majority of U.S. teens admit to handheld cellphone use while driving, an increasingly common cause of crashes. We examined teens' willingness to reduce cellphone use while driving, perceptions of potential strategies to limit this behavior, and effectiveness of several interventions across 2 experiments. Teen drivers (n=153), aged 16-17, completed an online survey and a subset (n=32) were enrolled into a randomized trial that examined the effectiveness of opt-out, opt-in, or opt-out blocking plus parental notifications for reducing distracted driving. Teens were willing or somewhat willing to give up reading texts (90%), sending texts (95%), and social media (99%). They were not willing to give up navigation (59%) and music applications (43%). Strategies perceived as being "very effective" included financial rewards (75%), loss-framed financial incentives (63%), insurance discounts (53%), and automatic phone locking while driving (54%). The predominant reason for not wanting to use this technology was not wanting parents to monitor their behavior (60%). Results from the randomized trial will be available at the time of this presentation. Promising strategies for increasing acceptance of cellphone blocking technology among teens includes automated locking and text responses and permitting hands-free navigation and music combined with behavioral economic incentives to sustain engagement.

Poverty is a pervasive risk factor for poor health, often amplifying destructive effects of substance-use disorder. We describe an ongoing study evaluating abstinence-contingent wage supplements (ACWS) to promote abstinence and employment in chronically unemployed adults with opioid-use disorder. In Phase 1 (3 months), participants can work on job-skills training for 20 hr/week and earn ~$10/hr. Abstinence contingencies are introduced sequentially: Participants must provide opiate-negative and then opiate- and cocaine-negative urine samples to continue earning maximum pay. In Phase 2 (1 year), participants are randomly assigned to receive Individualized Placement and Support (IPS) supported employment (IPS ONLY) or IPS with ACWS. IPS+ACWS participants can earn hourly stipends for participating in pre-employment IPS and up to $320/week in wage supplements for maintaining opiate- and cocaine-abstinence and full-time employment. Assessments are conducted every 30 days, at which participants provide urine samples and self-reports of employment. Preliminary data indicate that IPS+ACWS promotes participation in IPS and employment. Of the first 34 participants in the program, 11/17 IPS+ACWS participants reported employment in the first 6 months of Phase 2 versus 4/17 IPS ONLY participants. ACWS, if informed by principles of stimulus control and reinforcement, may be a powerful intervention to reduce socioeconomic health disparities.

Contingency management (CM) interventions have strong empirical support for treating a wide range of risky health behaviors, but are seldom adopted by treatment programs. The purpose of this investigation was to survey substance abuse treatment providers, medical providers, and the general public about their beliefs regarding CM. We surveyed 600 participants that included a sample of medical treatment providers (MP, n= 200), substance use treatment providers (SUP, n= 200), and the general public (GP, n= 200). Data were compared across groups and across different health conditions in which CM interventions have been demonstrated to improve health outcomes. Results indicate that incentive-based CM programs are not widely used in physical healthcare settings (8% reported using incentive programs) compared to specialty substance use treatment settings (37.5%), and were rated more favorably among the GP (4.0 on an 1 to 5 Likert scale with 1= strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree) and SUP (3.7) over MP (3.4; F = 3.01, p < .001, R2= .07). Although the effect size was small, the average scores made the difference between supporting and not supporting an incentive program. Also, the greatest difference was observed for those strongly favoring incentive programs. For example, the number of participants that indicated they strongly agreed that overall they were in favor of incentive programs was 56 and 37 for the GP and SUP groups respectively, while only 11 MP strongly agreed. Preliminary results also suggest differences in favorability as a function of disease treated. For example, over 70 % of the MP said they would favor CM to treat obesity and smoking, but less than 40% would endorse use for marijuana, opiates, or other drugs. These findings indicate the need for improving the social validity of CM interventions, particularly among healthcare professionals.

Behavioral medicine has become a fertile ground for research in behavior analysis. Health related operant behaviors, such as walking, exercising, and eating have been shown to be sensitive to experimental manipulations. Altering the frequency, intensity and topography of health behaviors have been shown to impact serious health conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers (CDC, 2015). Additionally, 'impulsive' behaviors, like those measured by delay discounting, have been correlated with unhealthy behavior patterns. This symposium addresses many important factors to consider when undertaking a health behavior intervention: how to best measure and set goals for the target behavior, how to use contingency management to alter the frequency or intensity of the target behavior, and how to examine natural environmental variables, like time of day, that could alter the frequency or topography of health-related behavior. Finally, a discussant will summarize the contributions of behavior analysis to behavior medicine, and offer suggestions for further explorations

Behavioral researchers and practitioners interested in behavioral medicine and health related behavior change

The field of applied behavior analysis has numerous evidence-based interventions that facilitate effective teaching among individuals with developmental disabilities. In selecting and developing interventions, a component that is important for researchers and practitioners is the efficiency of procedural implementation. As such, the purpose of this symposium is to present efficient procedures, varying in topic, that have been effectively evaluated among individuals with developmental disabilities. This symposium is comprised of four studies. The first study will present a web-based program that was developed for the purposes of identifying video preferences and reinforcers among individuals with developmental disabilities. The second study will present findings of a systematic matrix training literature review for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The third study will present a 'bug-in-ear' coaching intervention for paraprofessionals working with children with developmental disabilities. Lastly, the fourth study will present the findings of a parent coaching treatment package that was implemented with a parent/child dyad. The authors will address the importance, efficiency, and limitations of their respective procedures.

The target audience for this symposium are practicing behavior analysts, program coordinators, and educators.

Matrix training is an intervention that systematically programs for the occurrence of generative outcomes, mostly in the area of language (Goldstein, 1983). A literature search was conducted to identify studies that have implemented matrix training for individuals with ASD. Twelve studies were reviewed and analyzed for four research questions: To what extent has matrix training been used with individuals with ASD? What skills were taught with matrix training? What matrix designs and accompanying evidence-based teaching strategies were used? What percentage of learning occurred through direct teaching and recombinative generalization? Overall, findings suggest that matrix training produced on average about 69% learning without any direct teaching in the areas of language, play, sentence construction, and spelling.

As the prevalence of children diagnosed with autism continues to rise, the need for high quality parent coaching practices to ensure generalization of skills targeting in early intervention services is pronounced. This study investigated the results of implementation of a parent coaching treatment package developed in alignment with adult learning and education theory, seeking to increase quality of life for families affected by autism. A multiple baseline across behaviors research design was used with a parent/child dyad. Results suggest that this intervention may be an effective and socially valid intervention for parents of children who engage in high rates of challenging behavior at home, and has the ability to increase parent implementation of target behavior skills taught in intervention. Parents identified intervention as having high acceptability and identified parent coaching treatment package as a highly effective intervention. Individual results discussed, as well as implications of this intervention as a whole.

In the moment feedback by a skilled coach can be an effective method of teaching educators to implement evidence-based behavior analytic strategies. Research suggests that immediate feedback results in more efficient learning than does delayed feedback, where the educator receives feedback hours, days or weeks after an observation. However, real-time feedback has historically required the coach to be at the site of the learner. If target educators are not geographically near the skilled coach, this may require a great deal of travel, bringing the true efficiency of the coaching strategy into question. Technology now provides the tools to observe and provide real-time feedback over the Internet, reducing or eliminating the need for the coach to travel. This study examined the effects of distant "bug-in-ear" (BIE) coaching on four paraprofessionals' implementation of incidental teaching, an evidence-based behavior analytic strategy, to teach novel communication phrases to children with developmental disabilities. Distant BIE coaching was associated with immediate, increased rates of correctly implemented incidental teaching components and an increased number of incidental teaching trials by the paraprofessionals, with corresponding increases in rates of target student communication phrases.

In this symposium, we will review strategies for identifying appropriate stimuli as reinforcers for individuals with developmental disabilities, and the parameters for the persistence of a targeted problem behavior when utilizing a reinforcement based intervention. The first presenter will share an assessment of preference and reinforcing value of social interactions via video presentation vs. picture presentation. Our second presentation will explore the correspondence between the results of a paired stimulus preference assessment and a progressive ratio schedule assessment. The third presenter will share data demonstrating the persistence strengthening effects of a reinforcement based intervention for automatically maintained behavior and a potential solution of this effect. Our final presenter will review data that suggests that resurgence of problem behavior during extinction following a reinforcement based intervention can mediated by programming a period of extinction prior to the implementation of treatment.

BCBAs

Pictorial depictions of social stimuli are most common for preference assessments of social interactions (Kelly, Roscoe, Hanley, & Schlichenmeyer, 2014; Lang et al., 2014). However, social stimuli are dynamic and videos may better depict the salient features of social stimuli (Synder, Higbee, & Dayton, 2012). The purpose of the study was to assess the preference and reinforcing value of social stimuli using a video-based preference assessment and subsequent reinforcer assessment. To date, two children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder between 3- and 5-years old participated in the study. The study was conducted in three phases. First, the experimenter interviewed caregivers to identify a list of preferred social interactions. Next, the experimenter evaluated the top six ranked social stimuli using a video-based, paired-choice preference assessment. Finally, the experimenter evaluated the reinforcing quality of high- and low-preference social stimuli using a concurrent operants, progressive-ratio reinforcer assessment. The video-based preference assessment results were predictive of the reinforcer assessment results. The results will be discussed in terms of future research directions and clinical practice.

Stimulus preference assessments are used to identify a stimulus hierarchy, in which stimuli are ranked according to their relative reinforcing efficacy. Paired stimulus preference assessments (PSPA) and progressive ratio (PR) schedules are a commonly used method to determine the relative reinforcer efficacy of stimuli. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the correspondence between and stability of PSPA and PR schedule data for the same six edible stimuli. The data in the PR did not reach steady state for any of the three participants, whereas the data in the PSPA showed a relatively high degree of stability for all participants. This was supported by findings from secondary analyses, such as Kendall's W coefficient of concordance, relative variance, and mean correlation between sessions. Further analysis showed a limited degree of correspondence between the PSPA and PR rank data. Additionally, there was a range of positive correlation across participants (0.10, 0.43, 0.63, 0.85) between the PSPA and PR data. Interobserver agreement was collected for a minimum of 33% of sessions with an average of 99.7% agreement in the PSPA and 95.2% agreement in the PR.

Reinforcement-based decelerative procedures (e.g., differential reinforcement of other behavior or DRO and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior or DRA) are commonly used in applied settings. Research has found that these treatments can decrease problem behavior but may increase response persistence. Behavioral momentum theory predicts that reinforcers added to a situation in which problem behavior occurs may contribute to its overall persistence. The present study compared a DRO with a modified DRO to determine whether modifying the delivery of reinforcement could decrease the persistence-building effects of the intervention. Participants were two students at a school and residential facility for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Interobserver agreement was obtained for 30% of sessions and was above 90%. In the standard DRO condition, reinforcers were delivered in the context in which stereotypy was observed after a specified interval had elapsed in the absence of stereotypy. In the modified DRO condition, reinforcers were delivered in a different location after that interval had elapsed. While the modified DRO was found to be less effective, greater behavioral persistence was observed in the context in which the standard DRO was implemented. These findings suggest that modifying reinforcement delivery with single reinforcement-based procedures may decrease behavioral persistence.

Resurgence of problem behavior may occur following the discontinuation of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA). One possible explanation is that dense schedules of reinforcement for the alternative response, and the ensuing shift in response allocation, makes it unlikely that the target response fully contacts extinction. We examined this possibility in an analog model of problem behavior with college students. Some participants experienced the conventional ABC resurgence paradigm (A=reinforcement of target behavior, B=differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, C=extinction of both responses; the resurgence test). Other participants experienced a four-phase sequence in which extinction of the target response preceded DRA. If resurgence occurs because the target response is not fully extinguished in the conventional paradigm, we would expect less resurgence when extinction is implemented before DRA (i.e., the four-phase participants). The results thus far confirm this, but only if the target behavior shows evidence of extinction during the initial extinction phase.

The current symposium will include studies that cover a variety of based and applied issues in the area of relational responding. In the first study, the experimenters evaluated whether the formation of equivalence classes of pictures of faces portraying happiness, neutrality, and anger in individuals with depression, and tested for transfer of function using a semantic differential. In the second study, the experimenters compared "direct" and "derived" extinction of avoidance responses in equivalence classes. In the third study, the authors assessed whether participants used verbal behavior to develop frames of comparison. Finally, the fourth study will review studies related to the application of relational training with individuals with autism.

Researchers and practitioners

A recent experiment with undergraduates verified that equivalence classes comprised of abstract stimuli and faces portraying happiness were more stable over time and exhibited stronger transfer of evaluative functions of faces to abstract stimuli, compared to classes with neutral or angry expressions. The present study is an ongoing replication with undergraduates with a high score in the Beck-depression scale. The Experimental Group (EG) learned matching-to-sample (MTS) relations to establish three four-member equivalence classes. Familiar stimuli from each class were pictures of faces portraying happiness (A1), neutrality (A2) and anger (A3). Remaining stimuli were abstract forms. After MTS tasks, participants evaluated the abstract D stimuli using a Semantic Differential (SD). A 30-day follow-up equivalence test and another evaluation of the D stimuli using the SD will be conducted for the EG. Preliminary results show that nine of the sixteen participants of the EG attained criteria for equivalence class formation. These participants rated D1 as more positive than the evaluation of A1 by the Control Group (participants with low score in the Beck-depression scale) and D3 as more negative than the evaluation of A3 by the Control Group. The maintenance tests are yet to be conducted.

Roche et al. (2008) compared "direct" and "derived" extinction of avoidance response in same/opposite derived relations. They found that "derived" extinction with C1 stimulus was more effective than "direct" extinction with B1 stimulus. However, C1 was presented in extinction more times than B1 and this could explain the observed effect. The present study compared "direct" and "derived" extinction of avoidance responses in equivalence classes, but with the same number of B1 and C1 presentations. In Phase 1, twelve undergraduate students established two four-member equivalence classes (A1, B1, C1, D1 and A2, B2, C2, D2). In Phase 2, B1 was paired with an annoying sound. In Phase 3, participants learned to emit an avoidance response to B1. In Phase 4, the other stimuli were presented to evaluate whether avoidance response would be transfer to stimuli of the same equivalence class. In Phase 5, participants were allocated in the "direct" or "derived" extinction group. Finally, the others stimuli were presented in the extinction transfer test. Only the "direct" extinction group showed transfer of extinction. These results differ from the Roche et al. (2008) findings. Future studies should control the number of stimuli presentation to compare "direct" and "derived" extinction.

The self-emergent properties of human language and cognition can be described in terms of a theory of relational density, with immediate implications for children with autism and related disabilities. The theory postulates that verbal networks demonstrate mass as a function of the molar properties of network volume (i.e., the number of relations) and density (i.e., the strength of relations). Consistent with Newtonian classical mechanics, mass exerts force that operates along with environmental events that can accelerate learning of new verbal relations. We will describe the utility of the theory with this population and present data from several studies that support its application. First, that the acquisition of new verbal skills can be modelled as a function of the volume and density of prior established verbal relations. Second, that by teaching new skills (i.e., increasing network volume and density), the acquisition of later skills is correspondingly increased. Third, that relating in general also exhibits greater acceleration through the direct reinforcement of multiple relational exemplars, or increases in overall relational network volume. We will conclude by describing immediate implications for how language development programming can be conducted considering new data, to accelerate learning through use of established behavior analytic training technologies.

Armies across the world have used both respondent and operant conditioning in initial training and task implementation for millennia. However, no military organization credits its use of such conditioning in the training of its troops. Grossman (On Killing, 1996), in his retrospective analysis of training is one of the very rare authors who stated that the US Army and Marine Corps rely on applications of the conditioning techniques of Pavlov and Skinner. The transition back to civilian life can prove difficult for those who have been deployed. The two studies presented here and their analyses are grounded in behavior analysis and standard celeration chart methodology. One presentation reports suicide data from all branches for all soldiers, those deployed, and veterans. Salem State University (Massachusetts, US) has implemented a program to assist returning military veterans with university success through the use of SAFMEDS cards (Say All Fast, Minute Every Day, Shuffled). Conclusions from both studies lead to the importance of using behavior analysis, both respondent and operant, with stateside, deployed and returning troops.

People who will be interested in this presentation include those with an interest in: military issues college teaching standard celeration charts