Association for Behavior Analysis International

Two components of discrete trial teaching (DTT) that have garnered attention of researchers and practitioners alike are prompting strategies and stimulus order and placement of stimuli. This attention has resulted in recommendations for best practice and comparative research. Despite the increase in research and publication of best practice recommendations, numerous questions still require empirical research. This symposium includes two papers which examine the conditions under which DTT is most effective and efficient to teach receptive and expressive language skills. The first presentation discusses the comparison of two different prompting procedures to teach expressive labels for individuals diagnosed with ASD. The second presentation explores effects of stimulus order and placement as it relates to the acquisition of receptive labels for individuals diagnosed with ASD. Practical implications and future research will be discussed. The discussant will provide further considerations on how this research can be used in clinical settings and what is needed in future research.

Multiple prompting systems are available to the practitioner to teach expressive labels. Comparative studies provide the practitioner with information about the strengths and weaknesses of different prompting systems. This information can be invaluable when selecting a system that may work the best for each learner. This study compared the relative effectiveness and efficiency of no-no prompting to flexible prompt fading (FPF) for teaching expressive labels for children diagnosed with ASD. An adapted alternating treatment design was used to compare the two procedures and a concurrent chains schedule was used to assess the participants preference for the two procedures. The results are discussed in the context of practice and future research directions.

Some have recommended counterbalancing the array of stimuli (i.e., target and non-target stimuli) and the order of targets when using discrete trial teaching to teach receptive labels (e.g., Grow & LeBlanc, 2013). Although this method of counterbalancing has been referred to as best practice (Grow & LeBlanc, 2013, p. 58), it remains unclear if counterbalancing leads to improved learning, maintenance, and/or generalization. The present study compared the acquisition of receptive labels across three teaching conditions (i.e., counterbalance, fixed, and teachers choice). The counterbalanced condition consisted of arranging the stimuli based on best practice recommendations (Grow & LeBlanc, 2013, p. 58). The fixed condition consisted of leaving the stimuli stationary throughout each teaching session. The teachers choice condition consisted of arranging the stimuli however the teacher chose. An alternating treatment design was used to evaluate the effects of each teaching condition across five children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The results are discussed in the context of practice and future research directions.

Aversive control has been implicated in clinical behavior analytic conceptualizations of psychopathology in a number of different forms. Aversive control involves both avoidance and conditioned suppression. Conditioned suppression is when a repertoire narrows under aversive control, such that avoidant behaviors dominate and an organisms positively reinforced behaviors decrease. Likewise, psychopathology is characterized by not only a range of avoidant behaviors, but also a disruption of goal-directed behavior, such that clinical behavior analysis tends to focus on shifting control from aversive to appetitive conditions. Conditioned suppression literature, however, has been directly examined primarily in animal behavior, and has not considered how derived relational responding might allow for transfer of suppression functions. The current paper will present data from a series of studies examining conditioned suppression in humans. Data supports both direct and derived conditioned suppression effects associated with aversive control with humans. Implications for assessment and treatment of psychopathology will be discussed.

Fear and avoidance characterize psychopathology in a number of different forms. This is purportedly attributable to how readily fear and avoidance functions are arbitrarily transferred to neutral or novel stimuli. In fact, several models within clinical behavior analysis emphasize aversive control through derived relational responding as pivotal in the development and maintenance of problematic behaviors. The clinical assumption that this is readily demonstrated by humans in therapy rooms does not mean, however, that it is easily reproduced in the lab. Multiple studies have demonstrated the transfer of avoidance functions across relational networks. The conditions under which transfer of avoidance functions does and does not occur, however, are not well understood. This paper will describe a series of studies which explore, in an iterative fashion, the boundary conditions of derived transfer of avoidance functions, along with a final successful demonstration of derivation of avoidance functions with apparent experimental control. Implications for continued scientific progress in understanding avoidance-based psychopathology are discussed.

Recent commentary at ABAI Conventions and in behaviorally-based popular media publications has highlighted the focus of applications of behavior analysis in developmental disabilities, particularly autism. While there is much to be said about the large-scale potential of our science and the value in diversification of our field, there is also much to be gained from the strong footing that we currently hold in organizations serving individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. Within these organizations we may be likely to find real-life laboratory settings in which we can begin to conduct research in other areas of social interest including but not limited to environmental sustainability, leader-employee engagement, influence of values on behavior, factors impacting unemployment rates and social justice, and the expansion and development of educational technology that utilizes our science to improve the learning of individuals with and without autism. This symposium will provide 3 data-based presentations outlining work that has been done within such a setting- a public charter school serving individuals with autism in Toledo, OH.

The importance of effective leadership practices in context of anthropogenic climate change is well established by policy negotiators and there has been an increasing trend of organizations creating leadership roles to address environmental issues (Karlsson et al., 2011). Organizational change efforts focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives often generate significant costs for organizations without contributing to desired results, and messages from leaders to stakeholders in organizations do not frequently align with performance related to those messages (Peloza et al., 2012). There has been limited research that systematically addresses how leader communication influences employee performance related to CSR goals (Brammer, Millington, & Rayton, 2007). Relational frame theory, a behavior analytic account of language, allows for analysis of verbal stimuli as motivating operations in context of leader antecedent communication to employee behavior. This study examined the relationship between a leaders verbal behavior and employee performance as related to individual employee values. In an analysis of employee reported values as related to human-caused climate change and effects of leader email communication on energy consumption based on those individual values, results provided compelling information about the potential utility of tailoring leader communication to employee values and provided findings that informed future research directions.

Professionals working on the Behavior Analysis field in Latin America come together to share their experience and objetives for the future.

Alcanzando is a not for profit organization that provides educational services based on the principles of applied behavior analysis to children with autism around the Spanish speaking world. This presentation is meant to share the data from their services over the last 8 years, to discuss ethical and cultural issues that had been encountered, as well as the solutions that have been and continue to be implemented. Data regarding acquisition of skills by students as well as staff will be shared.

Manos Unidas Peru is a registered Peruvian non-profit organization founded in 2008 as the first and only private/non-for-profit school for special education in Cusco, Peru. Today Manos Unidas Peru consists of three programs: ?Camino Nuevo? el Centro de Educacion Basica Especial Particular (est. 2009), The Inclusion Project for children in traditional classrooms (est. 2011), ?Phawarispa? vocational training program (est. 2014). This presentation is meant to share data regarding the obstacles encountered as well as roads to success built in these 8 years. Pre and post data of our students will be shared.

Centro Enigma is the first educational center founded in Ecuador to provide behavior analytic services to children in the Autism Spectrum. This presentation will discuss the Ethical and Cultural considerations as well as barriers we have encountered when providing services en Ecuador. Data from the programs for our students as well as staff will be shared.

Positive reinforcers such as social attention and tangible items are often included in preference and reinforcer assessments to identify effective reinforcers to be used in the treatment of problem behavior. It is also important for clinicians to evaluate the role of negative reinforcers during the assessment process, particularly for individuals with escape-maintained problem behavior. This study summarizes data collected from an indirect assessment about potential negative reinforcers, known as the Questionnaire of nonpreferred Events, Stimuli, and Tasks (QUEST), from twenty-five caregivers of children with severe problem behavior. The results of the assessment were then compared with the outcome of the childs functional analyses. Results indicated that 60% of the time, parents either identified items/events that consistently evoked problem behavior during an escape condition or reported demands were not a concern which was later confirmed during the childs functional analysis. Furthermore, 42.86 % of parents provided information idiosyncratic to their child that informed clinicians on how to design conditions for separate analyses which most reliably evoked problem behavior, such as specific Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), medical procedures, or receiving corrective feedback. The QUEST may be most beneficial to clinicians in identifying these idiosyncrasies prior to beginning the initial functional analysis.

A Norwegian national implementation strategy aimed to test and conduct a large-scale implementation of The Oregon model of Parent Management Training (PMTO) based on Gerald Patterson's Social Interaction and Learning theory. The program targets children with antisocial behavior and co-occurring problems and their families. A randomized trial demonstrated the effectiveness of the program, and identified central moderators, mediators and predictors. Fidelity to the PMTO model was found to predict child behavioral outcomes better than parent-reported treatment alliance. Several parents seemed to manage with shorter interventions, and the "Early Interventions for Children at Risk" program was designed for implementation in the municipalities. In line with findings from a study of the normative development of aggression, this adapted program targets children from the age of 3 years on. In sum, findings confirmed that PMTO principles and components could be successfully transported from US to real-world settings in Norway with sustained positive outcomes and maintenance of competent adherence. PMTO has been tested with positive outcomes in both individual and group trainings and in high and low dosages of treatment. The Norwegian project may serve as an inspiration for the testing and scaling up of evidence-based parenting programs in other countries, particularly in Europe.

Professionals interested in the effectiveness, implementation, and scaling up of parenting interventions for families with children with antisocial behaviour and co-occurring problem.

Despite the popularity of online coursework, little research exists to directly compare pedagogical strategies in the online higher education setting. In this symposium, two studies that investigated the effects of various online pedagogies are presented. In the first study, the authors examined the pair discussion component of interteaching in an online graduate rehabilitation course. The first condition included all key components of interteaching, whereas the second condition involved all components of interteaching, with the exception of pair discussion. The pair discussion condition resulted in higher student quiz scores, and social validity findings indicated the majority of students reported preference for interteaching with the inclusion of the pair discussion component than without. In the second study, a Psychology course was enhanced with elements of gamification (e.g., narrative, badges, goals, feedback). The authors compared the effects of the gamified online instruction to traditional online instruction. Results included mixed findings of effectiveness of the components of gamification compared to traditional online instruction. The implications of these two investigations to online teaching pedagogy will be discussed.

This symposium on “‘Talent’ Management in organizations and academia using behavioral assessments”, will include empirical reports of research in Organizational Behavior. The scope of the presentations spans across behavioral aspects of individuals, groups and organizations. The first presentation presents three different instruments that can be used to appropriately match employees to jobs including the decision-making instrument, perspective-taking instrument, and occupational interest scale. Thereby, improving the hiring, employee development, performance management processes. The second presentation explores how understanding the inherent interest required to be successful in academia can help aspiring academics make better career choices. The paper compares the interests of academics with those of aspiring academics- graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The paper also discusses the possible approach to alleviate the problem of low supply of open academic positions and a large demand for it. Both presentations present ways to successfully match candidates to jobs using assessments. The basis for this work is derived from understanding the inherent characteristics of the jobs and people who are successfully performing them.

One of the main problems that most academics face is the classic economic problem of supply and demand: the disproportionate number of Ph.D candidates and Postdocs seeking permanent academic positions (supply), the available academic positions (demand). This has created competition amongst aspiring graduates as they scramble to advance in academia. While other studies examine external factors that give these graduates a competitive edge, they fail to identify whether the candidates actually have the right interests to thrive in academia. Using the Core Complexity Solutions (CCS) Holland Interest Scale, this study identifies that academics are high in Social (S), Artistic (A) and Investigative (I) interests. The frequency of the SAI trend is 56% in group 1 (professors) and only 36% in group 2 (Ph.D., Postdocs). Of the six interests, the highest interests of group 1 (professors) members were never Enterprising or Conventional. However, highest interests of group 2 members ranged across all six interests.Understanding this information would also help students understand if academia is the correct career choice for them even before pursuing a doctoral degree. This only leaves a limited number of aspiring graduates to pursue academia, thus alleviating the supply side of the problem.

Visual analysis is a cornerstone of single-case research, which is the primary methodology used in applied behavior analysis. The three data-based papers in this symposium will explore various issues related to the visual analysis of single-case data. The first paper will examine how authors have described visual analysis procedures and how visual analysis compares selected to non-overlap indices using the literature on parent-implemented function-based interventions. The second paper will evaluate the interrater agreement among experts and between experts and the conservative dual-criterion method (CDC; Fisher, Kelley, & Lomas, 2003) on published multiple baseline designs. The third paper will describe the development of a systematic protocol for the visual analysis and a group design study to evaluate the effects of the protocol on interrater agreement in visual analysis.

Single case research (SCR) has a long history of being used to evaluate behavioral interventions and identify evidence-based practices. Visual analysis is the gold standard for the evaluation of single case data. However, visual analysis might limit the ability of researchers to quantitatively aggregate and compare the magnitude of findings across studies to evaluate evidence-based practices. Further, although multiple protocols for visual analysis exist, the procedures are not standardized, which might lead to differences in conclusions about functional relations. Several computational methods have been developed and are increasingly being applied to SCR to provide a quantitative summary of the effects. Criticisms of these methods point to their inability to account for replication or magnitude, likely disagreement with visual analysis, failure to correct or account for typical data patterns (e.g., trend) or serial dependency. The purpose of the current presentation is to summarize the literature and evaluate the visual analysis procedures used across the literature on parent implemented functional assessment (FA) based interventions. Results indicated that visual analysis terms were inconsistently used across studies. Further, visual analysis procedures were described inconsistently and with few details. The non-overlap indices were unlikely to agree with the authors independent visual analysis of the results.

Several studies have reported poor agreement among visual analysts. One way to improve reliability may be to standardize the process of visual analysis. To that end, we developed a systematic protocol that consists of a series of questions, and that calculates a score from 0 (no functional relation) to 5 (strong functional relation) based on the analysts responses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the protocol improves reliability compared with a rating scale. To date, 16 students and faculty who have taken a course on single-case research have participated (data collection is ongoing). We randomly assigned participants to the control group (n=9) or the protocol group (n=7). All participants rated 8 single-case graphs using the rating scale (pretest), and then rated the same graphs again using the rating scale or the protocol (posttest). We calculated the intraclass correlation coefficient for each group at each time point. At pretest, agreement was much higher in the control group compared to the protocol group. Both groups reliability improved at posttest, but the change for the protocol group was much larger, indicating that the protocol may improve reliability. Full results will be discussed along with implications for training and future research.

Persistent problem behavior with a propensity to relapse poses challenges to behavioral practitioners to develop more effective and durable treatments. Designing better treatments is difficult because a wide range of events contribute to behavioral persistence and relapse. Translational research offers a wide range of tools for isolating the processes involved in recurrent problem behavior and exploiting those processes when developing treatments. Basic research geared toward understanding problems of practical significance offers well-controlled conditions from which to assess systematically and thoroughly the learning and behavioral processes underlying treatment failures and successes. I will discuss how my colleagues and I have used basic research to understand the processes involved in the challenges of treating clinically relevant behavior.

Masters and Doctoral level BCBAs

This study investigated the perceptions of program coordinators of Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) approved course sequences. A survey about the content of these training programs was distributed via a BACB listserv, and 49 program directors responded. They reported on the coverage of an array of behavior-analytic content and the sources of their course readings. These participants also indicated whether content area coverage was sufficient, too little, or too much. There were many program directors who reported that particular areas do not have sufficient coverage (e.g., Behavioral Pharmacology, Biological Bases of Behavior, Organizational Behavior Management). Furthermore, several program directors reported that their course sequence does not adequately prepare students in basic research. These results suggest that the evaluation of behavior-analytic training content may be warranted to train well-rounded behavior-analytic professionals.

Skinner's (1957) analysis of language has much to offer clinicians interested in teaching verbal behavior to persons with autism. Much of the research in this area has emphasized the teaching of speaker behavior with less work dedicated to a thorough analysis of the contingencies operating on the behavior of the listener. Possibly due to this lack of attention, cognitive explanations of comprehension, understanding, and word recognition have persisted. A special form of multiple control called joint stimulus control may provide an alternative and cogent behavioral analysis of complex listener behavior. The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of the conceptual analysis of joint control and the basic and applied research that has followed. Video demonstrations of the teaching of joint control with participants from a recently published study and additional clinical applications will be presented to illustrate the implementation of joint control procedures in applied settings.

Behavior Analysts, Educators, Psychologists, Speech-Language Pathologists

Children with autism spectrum disorder characteristically have difficulties with generalizing acquired skills across contexts. Therefore, instructional practices often require explicit generalization programming strategies (e.g., incidental teaching, training natural behavior change agents, teaching multiple exemplars, programming common stimuli) to promote meaningful behavior change in children with autism. This symposium includes four data-based presentations and an overall discussion on creating natural learning opportunities for children with autism. Two of the presentations in this symposium, a single-case research study and a correlational study, primarily have implications for training parents and other natural change agents to use behavior analytic strategies. Data on parent and corresponding child outcomes are included. The other two presentations in this symposium, a single-case research study and a systematic review of the literature, primarily have implications for using naturalistic teaching and other generalization strategies alongside instructor-led teaching with massed discrete trials to promote learning. Data on skill acquisition and generalization are included. These presentations address teaching various skills to children including expressive language (e.g., tacting), receptive language (e.g., receptive identification), and adaptive skills (e.g., brushing teeth). This symposium will be useful for attendees with an interest in promoting early skill development and generalization for young learners with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Child reciprocal vocal contingency (CRVC) refers to the childs participation in reciprocal vocal interactions, which might aid speech and language development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Applied to CRVC, a positive operant contingency occurs when the probability of child vocalization after adult vocal responses is greater than the probability of child vocalizations after other antecedent events. In this study, we propose a novel measure of vocal reciprocity that provides an index for the contingency of child vocalizations on adult response to the immediately preceding child vocalization. We used automated vocal analysis and 3-event (child vocalization -> adult vocalization -> child vocalization) sequential analysis to measure CRVC from 2 naturalistic, daylong vocal samples from 21 low-verbal toddlers and preschoolers with ASD and nearby adults. These long vocal samples produced statistically significant (p < .001) average CRVC scores with a large effect size relative to zero (Cohens d = 2.8) that were stable across 2 days (ICC = .78), and concurrently correlated with consonant inventory in communication acts, even when chance sequencing of vocalizations was controlled (partial r = .59). Diverse consonant use in vocal communication is a vital part of a versatile expressive vocabulary. More research on CRVC is warranted.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a clinic based training package on parent generalization of applied behavior analytic (ABA) interventions to their home. Three parents of children with autism were taught to implement an ABA intervention using behavioral skills training plus video-based performance feedback. A multiple-probe across participants design was used to evaluate the effects of the parent training on the parents� implementation fidelity, as measured by the percentage of accurately completed items within a procedural fidelity checklist. Distal effects on child completion of target adaptive skill independence was evaluated. Results demonstrated that all parents met the pre-set performance criterion of 90% implementation fidelity within five sessions. Parent fidelity maintained at levels above baseline during follow-up phase. Preliminary child data indicates increased independence in completion of the adaptive skill. These results suggest that parent training using behavior skills training plus video-based feedback may be an effective method of promoting adaptive skill development in natural settings for children with autism spectrum disorder.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder characteristically demonstrate interest in a restricted range of activities and often fail to respond to alternative environmental stimuli. These characteristics act as a barrier to learning important life skills. Strategies that motivate learners with autism to engage in alternative activities warrant development and exploration. One such strategy is incorporating interests into the learning environment to establish motivation and promote participation. The purpose of this single-case research study was to evaluate the use of interests as receptive identification targets for children with autism in the context of an intervention with added components. Overall outcomes demonstrate added effects of the embedded interest condition that correspond to increases in various indicators of engagement and generalization for two participants, while a third participants data is inconclusive. The outcomes of this study have implications for sequencing educational objectives and adding naturalistic intervention components to promote skill acquisition and generalization in early language learning programs for children with autism.

Discrete-Trial Training (DTT) is an applied behavior analysis application for teaching new skills to young children with autism. It is one of the first behavioral and data-based approaches that has been described in the literature as highly successful for children with autism. A concern frequently cited in the literature on DTT, however, is that the isolated and repetitive structure of DTT results in skill acquisition without generalization. This presentation will describe the current research-base of DTT studies that have incorporated generalization strategies, including multiple exemplar training; introduce to natural maintaining contingencies; NET/incidental and milieu teaching; mediate generalization; program common stimuli; and general case instruction. We will also illustrate modifications to DTT interventions derived from the research literature. These illustrations will be supported by child data on skill acquisition and generalization. We will conclude with a discussion of challenges and recommendations for addressing generalization on a regular basis for children receiving DTT.

Healthcare visits and routines often evoke anxiety or avoidance responses by children and adolescents with autism. These responses interfere with the provision of medical or hygiene care and might result in the use of restrictive procedures or medications. Research on treatments for problem behavior that occurs during healthcare visits and routines is limited. The current symposium includes four papers directed toward filling this gap in the literature. In the first paper, the authors developed and evaluated procedures for identifying and treating anxiety across a variety of health-related contexts. In the second paper, the authors treated phobia of physical examinations with a simulated physician and observed generalization to the childs pediatrician. In the third paper, the authors assessed the function of problem behavior and evaluated the effects of a dentist-implemented intervention on problem behavior during routine dental exams. In the fourth paper, the authors evaluated procedures to increase cooperation with routine fingernail grooming and observed generalization to the adolescents father.

Many individuals diagnosed with autism also are reported to have anxiety. From a behavior analytic perspective, anxiety is an emotion (part of which is a private event) consisting of a group of responses emitted and/or elicited in the presence of a specific stimulus that signals an upcoming aversive event. Treatment of anxiety often consists of procedures such as exposure, modeling, and differential reinforcement. The purpose of the current study was to develop a method for identifying and treating anxiety in children with autism. Three individuals with autism were asked to complete a behavioral chain which historically evoked anxious responding to identify whether or not it was likely that anxious responding reliably occurred. Subsequently, anxious responses were treated via prompting and reinforcing incompatible responding (i.e., relaxation) using shaping and gradually exposing the participant to anxiety-evoking stimuli while prompting the incompatible responding. A multiple baseline across contexts design was used. Results of the research showed that individuals tolerated anxiety evoking contexts with minimal to no problem behavior after intervention. Interobserver data were collected in a minimum of 33% of all conditions and mean total agreement was always above 85%.

Phobias involve both elements of respondent conditioning (elicitation of emotional behavior) and operant conditioning (avoidance behavior) and successful treatment should involve addressing both elements. In the current study we were referred a young child with autism who engaged in severe problem behavior associated with physician visits. We addressed both operant and respondent components of this behavior problem by (a) conducting a task analysis of a physician visit with physical, (b) differentially reinforcing compliance with each step of the task analysis, and (c) gradually increasing the task requirement to obtain reinforcement within a simulated physicians office environment. Following mastery level compliance with simulated physical examinations with multiple-exemplar physicians, we observed successful generalization to the childs pediatrician conducting a physical in their office.

Oral healthcare is essential for the maintenance of healthy teeth throughout an individual�s lifespan. For most individuals, complex dental procedures such as fillings and root canals can be challenging events. For children with autism, even a simple dental procedure, such as an exam, can be difficult and might result in problem behavior that interferes with the delivery of dental treatment. Although problem behavior exhibited during complex dental procedures may serve an escape function, assuming escape as the sole function for problem behavior during routine dental cleanings might result in less than adequate interventions. The purpose of this study was to (a) identify putative functions of problem behavior exhibited by three children with autism during a routine dental exam in a dental setting; (b) evaluate the efficacy of having a pediatric dentist and trained dental office staff conduct a trial-based functional analysis; and (c) evaluate the effects of an intervention package on problem behavior and successful completion of a routine dental exam. Results of the study indicated that problem behavior was maintained by social negative reinforcement (escape) for all participants and that problem behavior for two participants might have been maintained by escape to attention. Compliance for all participants increased and dental exams were successfully completed with the introduction of an intervention package that addressed putative functions.

Many children with disabilities engage in uncooperative behavior (e.g., noncompliance, problem behavior) during routine hygiene and healthcare procedures (Collado, Faulks, & Hennequin, 2008; Ellis, Alai-Rosales, Glenn, Rosales-Ruiz, J., & Greenspoon, 2006; Schumacher & Rapp, 2011). Uncooperative behavior and avoidance responses during these procedures might have detrimental implications for the childs health (Collado et al., 2008) and might result in the use of restrictive procedures or medication (Shabani & Fisher, 2006). Caregivers of children with disabilities frequently report difficulty grooming their childrens fingernails. The purpose of the current study was to replicate and extend the procedures of Shabani and Fisher (2006) to routine fingernail grooming with an adolescent diagnosed with autism. Our results indicated that differential reinforcement alone was insufficient to reduce avoidance behavior during fingernail grooming. Differential reinforcement plus stimulus fading produced low to zero levels of avoidance responses, problem behavior, and negative vocalizations during fingernail grooming. These findings are consistent with those reported by Shabani and Fisher (2006). Additionally, behavioral skills training (based on Marcus, Swanson, & Vollmer, 2001) was used to teach the participants father to implement the treatment procedures. Implications for clinical practice will be discussed.

Play is one of the core deficits of children with autism. Impairments in play impact communication and language, cognition, and social and emotional interactions. Appropriate independent and sociodramatic play skills are critical to the development of social skills. Children who do not learn to play may miss out on opportunities for social interactions due to observable differences in their play. Increasing appropriate play has been shown to increase language skills while decreasing stereotopy and other problem behaviors. Play is an integral part of the development of typically developing children and should be an emphasis in behavioral intervention for children with autism. The ACI Play Protocol incorporates a systematic approach to teaching preschool-aged children appropriate play skills and language. Play components, which include appropriate play with figures (dolls/stuffed animals), adults, and peers are taught using individualized treatment packages. Specific skills included abstract play with and without objects, rotating between play schemes, combining items from 2 or more play schemes, initiating, responding and expanding on current play targets.

There is a connection between high quality play and cognitive competence, language acquisition, and proficiencies in social abilities for individuals with autism. Wolery, 2002, states more appropriate intervention strategies are identified through assessment of play. Interventions to increase one aspect of play for children with autism have been the focus in the field of behavior analysis. Studies have utilized a variety of interventions (antecedent manipulations, system of least prompts, video modeling) to increase the complexity of functional play, decrease stereotopy, or engage in pretend play schemes. Play should be a separate domain and used as the primary emphasis in assessing and program development for children with autism (Lifter, K. 2011). Learning the play activities and corresponding vocalizations of typical peers identifies developmentally appropriate programming for individuals with autism. The purpose of this study was to assess the pretend play skills of typically developing preschool-age children, ages 2 -5. Typically developing boys and girls were video-taped playing in a designated play room with 15 play schemes (e.g. ice cream shop, camping) engaging in independent and sociodramatic play opportunities. Researchers coded the play using a specified developmental play sequence to identify the play actions and vocalizations across the age spans.

Research identifies a number of complex stages in the typical developmental sequence of play (e.g. pretend-self, single scheme sequences). Teaching children diagnosed with autism appropriate play skills requires isolating the individual components within each stage of play to acquire, maintain and generalize the target skill. Deficits in play are linked to poor social relationships, limited expressive language and high rates of stereotypic behavior. The purpose of this study was to utilize the developmental sequence of play and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching a series of 9 components encompassing the first developmental stage of play. Least-to-most prompting was used to teach single play actions and vocalizations to 3 male children diagnosed with autism, ages 3-5. All 3 children were taught play actions to self, to figures, and acting as the figures across 3 categories; familiar (e.g. brush hair), observed (e.g. hold phone to ear), and community (e.g. give baby a shot). Abstract play, responding and initiating exchanges with peers were also targeted throughout the 9 components. A multiple baseline across participants was conducted. The outcome of this study demonstrated the efficacy of the 9 teaching components as steps to teach all 3 children single play actions with corresponding vocalizations.

Children with autism are often able to emit functional play skills under contrived circumstances, supporting that the deficit in spontaneous play is due to the acquisition, rather than the production of play. Individuals diagnosed with autism commonly engage in perseverative and stereotypic play. The purpose of this study was to utilize the developmental sequence of play and evaluate the effectiveness of using a systematic approach delineated into 9 teachable components. Individualized treatment packages incorporated the use of behavioral interventions including priming, script fading, or video modeling. Each participant was taught 7 play actions and corresponding vocalizations including responding, initiating, and expanding play while rotating and combining play schemes. A multiple baseline across participants study was conducted with 3 males diagnosed with autism, ages 5, 5 and 6. The outcome of this study demonstrated the efficacy of the 9 teachable components (independent play, active figure play and play with peers) from the developmental sequence of play to teach a chain of 7 actions and corresponding vocalizations to all 3 participants.

Trial-based functional analyses (FA) are highly pragmatic assessments because programmed trials are brief and experimental control can be established following minimal problem behavior. Given these advantages, trial-based FAs appear to be particularly well suited for teachers confronted with persistent challenging behavior in schools. Notwithstanding, relatively few studies have highlighted practical applications of trial-based FAs and little is known about how best to use this technology to generate optimal outcomes in applied settings. The first presenter will highlight a streamlined approach to data analysis that allows a single practitioner to serve as both therapist and data collector while using latency-based FA data as baseline for a systematic and comprehensive treatment validation process. The second presenter will highlight data extending this intervention model to a two-component compound-schedules trial-based FA conducted in a public classroom with other children present. The third presenter will discuss recent advances in synthesized contingency analyses, will highlight advantages of these analyses in school settings, and will present data demonstrating how these analyses might be conducted within a trial-based framework. The final presenter will highlight ways to triangulate the results of indirect, descriptive, and experimental analyses (including trial-based FAs) during the functional behavior assessment process in school settings.

Trial-based functional analysis (FA) procedures are a promising alternative to standard FA procedures when concerns about safety and/or sustained control over environmental variables are raised. However, research on teacher implemented trial-based FAs is limited and it is unclear how to use trial-based FA results as baseline for subsequent treatment evaluations; especially when challenging behavior is multiply controlled. The purpose of the current study was to train a public school teacher to conduct a trial-based FA while tracking latency to first response during each segment of each trial. During intervention, we used latencies to desired, and challenging, behavior from the onset of relevant establishing operations (EO; collected during the trial-based FA) as baseline for subsequent treatment validation procedures in which we systematically synthesized treatment components for each verified function into a single intervention. The teacher conducted 30 trial-based FA trials (10 trials per condition) with fidelity, and intervention was effective at reducing problem behavior and increasing replacement behaviors for our participant. Additionally, teacher report suggested that the results and procedures were socially valid.

Recent research has begun to explore variations in functional analysis methodologies including the use of trial-based models and more recently the use of synthesized contingencies in functional analysis of challenging behavior. In a synthesized contingency, multiple putative reinforcers are delivered simultaneously contingent upon challenging behavior. This is in contrast to more traditional functional analysis methodologies in which the each putative reinforce is delivered individually. Thus far, this research has produced mixed results regarding the validity of synthesized functional analyses with synthesized contingencies. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate an efficient and sensitive functional analysis model which capitalizes on a trial-based format with both synthesized and individual contingency analyses. Functional analysis procedures and results for participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The validity of the functional analysis results were assessed in a match-to-treatment fashion. Implications for future research and practice are presented.

Trial based functional analysis (TBFA) is a variation of functional analysis methods where brief trials across control and test conditions are interspersed within naturally occurring routines. This experimental analysis is particularly well suited for identifying the function of problem behavior in general education classrooms, and it can be implemented by teachers following minimal training. However, other functional assessment methods involving indirect and descriptive approaches are more common in educational settings, and there is not yet consensus about which assessment approach may be most appropriate in these contexts. We conducted functional assessment/analysis using four methods (indirect, descriptive, trial-based, and traditional functional analysis) with a 5-year-old female diagnosed with autism in an inclusive preschool classroom. Using the data from our four assessments, we (a) conducted a demand analysis of instruction and transitions within the TBFA to identify the function of the problem behavior and (b) implemented functional communication training within a reversal design to confirm the TBFA-identified function. Our results demonstrated a functional relation for a single behavior. These findings allow comparison of results across different methods of assessment, show how intervention can validate TBFA findings, and illustrate how follow-up analyses can improve the sensitivity of TBFA data in the classroom.

This symposium highlights three recent studies evaluating variables that affect the assessment and treatment of observational learning deficits by people with autism and developmental disabilities. In the first study, researchers compared the use of adult models versus peer models on the learning of long response chains via observational learning. All participants showed faster acquisition in the presence of peer models as opposed to adult models. In the second study, observational learning responses including attending, imitation, delayed imitation, and consequence discrimination were first assessed in all participants. A multiple baseline design across five tasks (i.e., hidden item, computer game, academic, construction toy, and building) was used to evaluate the effects of video modeling on the acquisition of observational learning responses. Post training measures showed that all participants learned to engage in observational learning responses across all five tasks with the implementation of the video model. In the final study, researchers incorporated known and unknown stimuli into observational learning training. When targets known to the participant were used, participants learned to continue to respond correctly despite correct and incorrect responses modeled by adults. When targets unknown to participants were used, participants learned to imitate modeled responses that were followed by reinforcement, and to say, I dont know when modeled responses were followed by punishment. All three studies demonstrate the importance of evaluating factors that contribute to observational learning and the value of incorporating observational learning protocols into instruction.

We compared the effectiveness of a peer and staff model on observational learning by four adults with developmental disabilities. An alternating treatment design was used to evaluate the effects of a staff-as-model and peer-as-model condition. Results indicated that all four participants acquired the skill at a faster rate in the peer-as-model condition. Generalization and maintenance of the skills acquired with both models was also evaluated. Implications of programming for observational learning in education and habilitation settings are discussed.

Observational learning is a critical repertoire that is likely necessary for the acquisition of certain social behavior and learning in educational settings. Catania (2013) defined observational learning (OL) as learning from observing anothers behavior and subsequently emitting behavior based upon the consequences that followed the models behavior. Although OL occurs early in typically developing children, research has found that OL may be limited in children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In MacDonald and Ahearn (2015) following an assessment of prerequisite skills for OL (attending, imitation, delayed imitation, and consequence discrimination), these skills were taught with prompting and reinforcement to children with an ASD who did not reliably demonstrate OL to produce OL across a variety of tasks. The purpose of this project is to replicate the assessment and treatment procedures in MacDonald and Ahearn and to examine whether OL can be assessed with video modeling. Following assessment of OL skills, three participants diagnosed with an ASD acquired OL with video modeling and demonstrated across- and within-task generalization. IOA was calculated in 33% of sessions across participants with a mean of 98%.

Although the number of behavior analysts is increasing in other countries, many families with a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) do not have access to high-quality service providers. However, increases in accessibility to and advances in technology provide a promising solution. This symposium includes three projects that evaluated the effects of training delivered by U.S.-based behavior analysts via telehealth on the accuracy and outcomes of adults implementing evidence-based treatments. Participants included parents and therapists of children with an ASD residing in various European countries. Adults were coached using components of behavioral skills training, including e-learning modules, in-vivo coaching, or a combination of these procedures. Direct-observation measures were used to determine the adults accuracy with implementing the target treatment and decreases in child problem behavior. Across the projects, successful outcomes were obtained. These studies provide evidence supporting the efficacy of behavioral skills training delivered via telehealth, regardless of adults native language and geographical location. These applications also serve as models for increasing access to certified behavior analysts in underserved areas of the world.

Even though evidence based Applied Behavior Analysis services are widespread in the United States of America, service delivery is still a challenge for some countries like Georgia-Sakartvelo in Eastern Europe. There is little appreciation that ABA can significantly contribute to childrens development, and there are very few trained specialists who can provide this service. One solution to the challenge of providing services to remote and underserved areas is to incorporate the communications technology of telehealth. This study is a demonstration that an intercontinental telehealth coaching improved the mastery of therapists intervention skills and increased targeted verbalizations by children with autism. Three therapists delivering and three children with autism receiving early-intervention services in Tbilisi participated. A bilingual consultant provided coaching to therapists in Georgia-Sakartvelo from Virginia, USA while observing home therapy sessions via communications technology. The multiple-baseline, across-participants design was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention. Therapists demonstrated improvements in two classes of behaviors: correct command sequences and positive consequences. The children demonstrated improvements in echoics and mands. Interobserver agreements for these results were 89%-99%. The study demonstrated that telehealth can be a good model for delivering early-intervention services to children with autism in underserved regions of the world.

A growing body of research demonstrates that medical and psychiatric concerns can affect the frequency and intensity of problem behavior for individuals with autism (May & Kennedy, 2010; Lowry & Sovner, 1992). This symposium will discuss how behavioral data collection and behavioral assessment may be beneficial in diagnosing and treating underlying conditions. Psychiatric disorders such as Panic Disorder, Anxiety, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can present behavioral symptoms, which can be measured to aid in diagnosis. It can be difficult to accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) due to the challenges inherent with the developmental disability (e.g. communication impairment) and the overlapping clinical presentation of ASD and certain psychiatric conditions. If the behavioral changes caused by these underlying conditions are accurately measured, however, these data may improve clinicians diagnostic capabilities. Thus, analyzing the environmental variables related to the individual's problem behavior will lead to quicker access to correct medical treatment, more appropriate pharmacological interventions for psychiatric conditions, and more robust behavior analytic treatments.

A population based study found that 44% of individuals diagnosed with autism have also been diagnosed with a comorbid emotional disorder (Simonoff et al. 2008). Although more than 70% of individuals with ASD are diagnosed with intellectual disability, the majority of research on psychiatric comorbidities in the ASD population focuses on individuals with average intelligence quotients (Matson & Cervantes 2014). Since most diagnoses are based on structured interviews and self-report questionnaires, the nature of ASD symptoms makes it difficult to accurately diagnose comorbid psychiatric issues, especially when the individual also has an intellectual disability (Lecavalier et al. 2014; Mazefsky et al. 2011). In this study, a synthesized functional analysis (Hanley et al. 2014) involving one control condition and one test condition (i.e. blocking self-restraint plus escape from a disruptive environment) was used to identify the function of combined inappropriate behaviors and also led to a diagnosis of panic disorder in an individual with ASD. In a second participant, daily data collection on target problem behaviors, responding to social initiation, acceptance of food, and compliance led to a diagnosis of PMDD. Data from additional assessments of anxiety disorder and depression will also be presented.

Although standard functional analysis (FA) conditions are often sufficient for identifying behavioral function, procedures may need to be modified for individuals who have rapid and idiosyncratic requests for various reinforcers. Previous research has indicated that certain individuals with these characteristics may have an adult compliance with mands function (Bowman et al., 1997). Despite the clinical utility for identifying when assessment for this function may be warranted, there is a paucity of research in this area and few guidelines for clinicians. Seven participants with autism and histories of severe problem behavior were included in this study. FA results revealed that all participants problem behavior was maintained by adult compliance with mands; however, unique data patterns were observed in other test conditions. The effectiveness of treatments was evaluated using reversal designs. Treatment primarily emphasized stimulus control for mands through the use of multiple schedules that alternated between periods of differential reinforcement and extinction, but were embedded within multilayered treatment packages. Results will offer guidelines for the assessment and treatment of behavior maintained by adult compliance with mands, and how procedures may differ from when they are applied to other functions.

The brief experimental analysis (BEA) model has demonstrated efficiency in quickly comparing multiple interventions to determine effects on academic skills prior to extended evaluation (Wilber & Cushman, 2006). However, additional research is needed to determine whether the BEA is efficacious for empirically identifying interventions to treat severe problem behavior, and whether results accurately predict interventions associated with the largest and most sustained treatment gains over time. This study included 3 participants diagnosed with autism who were admitted to an inpatient unit for the treatment of severe problem behavior. A BEA was conducted to determine potential interventions for escape-maintained problem behavior. Four interventions were briefly compared: non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) with food, NCR with toys, differential reinforcement of other and alternative behaviors (DRO/DRA) with food, and DRO/DRA with toys. Conditions from the BEA associated with the lowest rates of problem behavior were further evaluated during demand fading. Results from a reversal design indicated that treatment interventions identified within the BEA were successful at maintaining low rates of problem behavior over time; however distinct patterns emerged during demand fading for some participants. Discussion will focus on how to further apply the model to use data to select treatment components prior to extended evaluations.

Experimental functional analysis (EFA) is considered the gold standard of assessment when evaluating the function of a challenging behavior. There are numerous peer-reviewed articles demonstrating the use of what many clinicians consider a traditional EFA and variations such as trial-based functional analysis (TBFA), latency to first response, or EFA of precursor behavior. This symposium will highlight procedural integrity as it relates to implementation of EFAs. During the first discussion, Ridgway and colleagues discuss the frequency with which authors report procedural integrity during EFAs. Additionally, data will be presented regarding the frequency with which authors report recording of inter-observer agreement on procedural integrity data collection. Rue and colleagues will follow with a review of training board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) to implement an EFA. Specifically, the authors will present procedural fidelity data when novice BCBAs implement a traditional EFA and generalize to a TBFA. LoVullo and colleagues will present data demonstrating the impact of varying procedural integrity during a traditional EFA. The symposium will allow for a discussion of the importance of monitoring and reporting procedural integrity during EFAs and implications for practice.

The degree of procedural integrity of a functional analysis may impact the results obtained. As intervention procedures are designed based on the results of a functional analysis, the effectiveness of an intervention may be dependent on the degree to which the functional analysis was implemented with integrity. We reviewed studies on the functional analysis of problem behavior from 1961 to 2012 previously included in Beavers, Iwata, and Lerman (2013) and Hanley, Iwata, and McCord (2003) to identify the number of studies that include procedural integrity data and interobserver agreement data for procedural integrity data. Of the 110 studies reviewed thus far, 23 studies (21%) included procedural integrity data, 2 studies (2%) stated that procedural integrity data were collected, but were not reported in the article, and 2 studies (2%) reported that trainer behavior was monitored to ensure integrity, but no data were reported. Of the 23 studies that reported integrity data, eight (35%) included interobserver agreement data for integrity data. Eighteen (16%) of the 110 studies reported that the functional analysis was conducted by a trained individual, but only 8 of those studies included data on procedural integrity. Implications for practice and future research regarding procedural integrity will be discussed.

Results of a recent survey of over 600 behavior analysts indicated only 77% received formal training in the use of experimental functional analysis (EFA). Further, 63% of board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) indicated they never or almost never used an EFA in practice. The objective of the current study was to determine if BCBAs could generalize the ability to implement a trial-based experimental functional analysis (TBFA) following training focused on traditional EFA methodology. Three BCBAs with no experience implementing EFAs acted as participants in the study. The independent variable included formal training in EFA methodology. The dependent variable was level of procedural integrity during implementation of a traditional EFA and a TBFA measured in a multiple baseline design. Participants implemented the traditional EFAs during a mock assessment. Participants implemented the TBFAs in an applied setting with clients diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Initial results indicate that participants can implement traditional EFA methodology with relatively high levels of integrity. Results suggest two participants demonstrated challenges maintaining levels of integrity above 80% during the demand and control conditions. Participants will likely require additional feedback to maintain procedural integrity above 80% accuracy during TBFAs. Implications for training and practice are discussed.

An extensive body of literature exist promoting repeated readings as an effective practice for developing students reading fluency. Repeated reading (RR) procedures are consistent with the procedures recommended by Haring and Eatons (1978) Instructional Hierarchy for promoting students fluent responding to newly learned stimuli. An extensive body of literature also supports RR as an effective practice for promoting students reading fluency of practiced passages. Less clear is the extent to which RR allows students to read those same words presented in new passages. The current study employed a randomized-control design procedure in order to examine the maintenance and generalization effects of three interventions, each of which provided students with repeated opportunities to practice high and low frequency words. The condition differed in the extent to which words were practiced within the same versus different passages. Across the 130 students for whom data were analyzed, results indicated that increased opportunities to practices words lead to greater maintenance effects when passage were read 7 days later but minimal differences across conditions in students reading of target words presented within new passage.

We assessed childrens gains in oral reading fluency following intervention on 3 training passages that differed in word overlap (low, high, multiple exemplar) with an untrained generalization passage. We also calculated various classification accuracy statistics when predicting performance on the generalization passage from the training passages. Participants were 77 white third-grade students randomly assigned within classrooms to the three conditions. Results showed significantly larger gains on the training versus generalization passages with no significant differences between conditions. We also found a larger increase in the percentage of students who read the generalization passage with no errors after training on the multiple exemplar passage. Using cut scores of 100 words correct per minute at post-test, performance on the training passages had high specificity, positive predictive power, and negative predictive power in relation to performance on the untrained generalization passage. Sensitivity was low with more than half of the students who failed to achieve mastery on the generalization passage reaching criterion on the training passages. Implications for school-based intervention teams as well as future research are discussed.

In instructional texts, response differentiation and stimulus discrimination procedures are usually treated separately, but shaping inherently establishes discriminative control by proprioceptive and other stimuli automatically and differentially produced in the emission of effective and ineffective response forms; antecedent control by response-produced stimuli inheres in shaping. In many cases, effective shaping might not require a specification of the discrimination of response-produced stimuli generated under differential reinforcement; other problems might demand a more fine-grained analysis. One such problem might be that of altering the variability/stereotypy of a response form, in which differential reinforcement may be viewed as establishing the discriminative and conditional reinforcing potency of the stimuli produced in the inchoate emission of acts that are either similar to, or different from, those recently emitted. When control by such stimuli is weak, procedures specifically designed to enhance the SD and S? functions of stimuli produced by repetitive and non-repetitive acts might be of substantial utility. Recent experiments indicate that the differential reinforcement of repetition or non-repetition indeed generates discriminations of the criterion-defining dimensions of response-produced stimuli of effective and ineffective acts, not undifferentiated novelty, and that interventions designed to alter stereotypy/variability might be rendered more effective by the facilitation of such self-discrimination.

Researchers in basic behavioral processes, professional applied behavior analysts, advanced students

This presentation addresses some of the most common ethical issues behavioral practitioners encounter when providing home-based and school services. As the numbers of BCBAs have grown over the last few years and ABA services funding increased, behavior analysts are increasingly exposed to ethical dilemmas that may jeopardize their certification or license. The presenter shall complete a data based overview of some of the most common ethical complaints encountered by related human service professionals enforced by state regulatory boards. The presentation also highlights survey data based on ethical challenges experienced by practicing behavior analyst. The presenter will also provide analysis of state behavior analyst licensing regulations cross referenced to the BACB compliance code. Finally, the presenter shall provide strategies for dealing and responding to ethical issues commonly encounter by practicing behavioral professionals. This workshop addresses a variety of ethical and best practice issues: in-field supervision of paraprofessional staff, appropriate discharge/termination of cases, fraudulent billing, school consultation, documentation of services, informed consent, misrepresentation, punishment as intervention, and maintaining of clinical records.

Licensed BCBAs, graduate students.

Obtaining grant funding can provide opportunities to conduct meaningful research, facilitate collaborations with researchers in other fields, and may be pivotal for academic tenure. Due to the breadth of the areas in which behavior analysts conduct research, opportunities for funding abound. Behavior analytic training, however, may not include grant writing and development, and even behavior analysts who learn about such topics may have questions as they consider writing their first grant. This Professional Development Series panel will introduce attendees to the grant world and provide general recommendations for those interested in seeking grant funding. Three expert panelists will discuss how they have successfully navigated the grant world as behavior analysts. They will provide insight from their diverse perspectives across the basic to applied research continuum. These panelists will provide tips and recommendations from their unique experiences as behavior analysts in the grant world. The audience will then have an opportunity to ask their own questions and request advice from the panelists.

The behavior of staff and the environmental conditions in which staff work impact the quality of services being delivered and, subsequently, client outcomes. Recent research has documented that pre-intervention assessment (e.g., Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services; PDC-HS) can lead to improved outcomes regarding staff performance. This symposium includes recent studies that incorporate pre-intervention assessment activities to foster professional skills and service quality. Hodges et al. evaluate the psychometric properties of the PDC-HS and document its reliability and validity for assessing staff performance problems. Mueller et al. describe the Caseload Management Support System, a functional assessment and intervention guide, to help practitioners better manage their client caseloads. Grauerholz-Fisher et al. promote quality of care in an autism clinic by developing and implementing interventions based on several pre-intervention assessment activities. Finally, Merritt and DiGennaro Reed implement an intervention based on PDC-HS results to address staff tardiness in an autism school. The collective findings support the use of pre-intervention assessment to inform organization- and staff-level interventions.

The Performance Diagnostic Checklist Human Services (PDC-HS) is a 20-item questionnaire about possible antecedent and consequent variables that might be correlated with the occurrence of employee performance issues in human service settings. Items are organized into 4 domains based on contingencies that may maintain performance issues. We assessed the interrater reliability of the PDC-HS through independent administration to groups of raters with varying levels of behavior analytic competency (i.e., RBT, BCaBA, and BCBA) using video vignettes of potential employee performance issues in an autism therapy setting. Additionally, we assessed the test-retest reliability following a period of at least 2 weeks, along with the content and social validity of the video vignettes. Overall, the results suggest that the PDC-HS is a valid and reliable tool for personnel with varying levels of behavior analytic competency to assess performance problems. High content and social validity measures were obtained as well. Potential uses of the PDC-HS in various organizational settings are discussed, as well as limitations.

A nationwide survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com found that 20% of workers reported they arrive late to work at least once per week. Employee tardiness imposes financial costs on an employer and may have adverse effects on staff morale and the services the organization provides. To date only four published studies have addressed employee tardiness, and only one of these used a pre-intervention assessment to inform the intervention. The purpose of this study is to develop a performance management intervention to address staff tardiness based on the results of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS; Carr, Wilder, Majdalany, Mathisen, & Strain, 2013). Specifically, the study aims to reduce tardiness of teaching assistants employed at a school that provides educational services to children with autism. During baseline, the number of minutes that staff were late ranged from 0 to 222 (M = 17.53). Next, we will administer the PDC-HS to supervisors and participants (November 2016) and introduce a function-based intervention using a multiple baseline design across participants (December 2016). Results are anticipated to show that the PDC-HS is able to identify an effective intervention that maintains over time.

As behavior analysts it is our duty to provide quality care while following our ethical code, but there may be times where the environment makes this a difficult challenge. Our ethics state we must use language understandable by the recipients of our craft, however working in a border town often means providing services to families where English is a second language if even spoken at all. To overcome this challenge, we have implemented strategic staffing by having at least one team member who works with the family that can also speak the native language of the family, in addition to a lot of patience from all parties involved. The results fostered trust in our services and increased family participation in our programs. These results are likely able to be generalized, however providing services to a family that does not speak your same language should only be practiced when there is no better option.

Different cultural groups tend to have different ways of interpreting the world and the events that happen within it (Hill, Carjuzaa, Aramburo, & Baca, 1993; McIntyre & Silva, 1992). Verbal behavior is described as being being behavior which is reinforced through the mediation of the other people (Skinner, 1957). But what happens when the speaker and listener speak different languages, or have different cultural beliefs? What happens if the listener is unable to appropriate discriminate the speakers verbal stimuli in a way in which the speaker understands? Can the supervisor still reinforce the verbal behavior of the supervisee?As a Korean BCBA working primarily with Korean American families, I have experienced receiving supervision from a supervisor from an outside culture. Similarly, I have also provided supervision to supervisees who are from a different culture. From my experience, the literal language barrier is just one of the many considerations that must be given when attempted to bridge cultures and ensure a successful supervision experience.

Interteaching is a relatively new behavioral teaching method with a growing body of empirical evidence to support its efficacy. Interteaching promotes student preparation by requiring students to complete study questions which guide them through a unit of course materials prior to class. During class meetings, students are divided into small groups, and the majority of class time is dedicated to encouraging active student engagement via peer discussion of the study questions. Instructors facilitate discussions by moving among the groups and providing guidance and clarification on topics. Lectures are brief and focused on clarifying material reported as difficult by students following the discussion. The use of interteaching methods in higher education settings has resulted in higher exam scores, increased student participation in class, and more positive course evaluations. Students also report enjoying interteaching more than traditional lectures. This review will provide a summary of interteaching, a brief review of research in the area, and possible directions for future empirical inquiry.

Compared to lecture format, interteaching (Boyce & Hineline, 2002) typically results in higher-class attendance and student engagement (Saville, Zinn, Neef, Norman, & Ferreri, 2006). Interteaching encourages critical thinking, promotes better knowledge retention of course content, and stimulates higher student satisfaction and grades (Goto & Schneider, 2009; 2010). Still, this teaching format is novel and often uncomfortable for many university students and faculty when first implemented. This presentation will focus on a successful transition from traditional lecture format to interteaching in two classes: one section each of undergraduate and graduate level child psychopathology courses. Findings reveal a significant positive correlation between student grades on preparation guides and student ratings of the quality of their interteaching groups (r = .86, p < .001). Likewise, preparation guide grades are positively correlated with professor ratings of student activity within the groups (r = .49, p < .001). Results suggest students believe interteaching to be helpful to understanding lectures (74% say highly so), and they find clarifying lectures more beneficial when they are given the same day as the interteaching session on the topic. Additional data on pragmatic issues, along with study limitations and implications will be discussed.

Recent trends interrelating the global economy and socially significant practices pertaining to health, education, violence, immigration, and sustainability, highlight the role of behavioral variables as among the key factors influencing socio-cultural change. While behavior analysts have long held an interest in understanding and intervening on these complex socio-cultural phenomena, our ability to do so has progressed slowly, as we have attempted to analyze and assess the phenomena of interest. This symposium will provide a set of scholarly discussions and empirical demonstrations that are designed to aid our design of new models of stewardship and open opportunities for innovation while adjusting to growing social upheaval, and environmental crises.

Socially significant issues continue to gain attention on both the national and global stages, with recent trends associated with immigration, xenophobia, women’s rights, women’s pay, women’s general treatment, and sexual orientation/gay rights, among many others, capturing the spotlight, especially in political elections, both domestically and abroad. Other social issues have already been a part of the national conversation for decades, including obesity, poverty, and racism and discrimination, although the latter has reemerged as a critical example of social injustice. An important piece in the progression of our ability to address these issues is the assessment of implicit bias, which is now a common buzz word that can be heard daily on news radio (e.g., NPR) and in recent presidential debates. In addition to assessing and identifying implicit attitudes and bias, understanding some of the factors that contribute to the development of these implicit attitudes is also an important step toward ultimately developing interventions on the social issues of interest. This presentation offers empirical data on the assessment of various implicit attitudes among a large sample of medical students, and discusses ways by which these data may serve to inform eventual assessments and interventions pertaining to other socio-cultural issues.

In previous presentations, I have spoken about the actions of five individuals and the contextual variables that resulted in the creation of the Mexican Muralist movement—the largest movement of its type since the Renaissance. This revolutionary movement left an historic and public record of Mexico’s social and political circumstances in the first half of the twentieth century. In this presentation, I explain why the movement emerged in 1921 and declined by the mid-1950s. By drawing upon the behavior scientific perspective and associated units of analysis, I describe the murals and illustrate the contextual variables in the movement’s evolution. Many cultural phenomena present similar characteristics and this analysis might aid in understanding them.

Climate change is seen as an accelerating problem challenging the earths population with human behavior being a driver of change. Prevention of climate change fades as an objective not likely to be achieved before impacts soon affect millions of people. Attention turns to adaptation to new eco-systems as leaders seek policies that help populations respond to climate changes. Climate change is defined as a super wicked problem as (1) time is running out (2) those who cause the problem seek to solve it (3) there is no central global authority to manage solutions and (4) humans discount future consequences. This paper considers the behavioral dimensions of policies that might offer a step-wise, iterative approach to preparing communities for accelerating climate changes and enabling humans to adapt to what lies ahead. Policies that interlock behavior and constrain consumption of energy-demading resources are likely to transition populations from unsustainable lifestyles to more adaptive behavior. It is recommended that these policies originate within leading communities (early adopters), generate data allowing determination of benefit, are codified to permit replication, attract investors, and expand to mid and late stage adopters. This aligns with methodologies used in behavior analysis and offers a route towards globalization of effective behavior change technologies that constrain our path to an unsustainable future.

The symposium includes three presentations on training staff to implement behavioral technologies for consumers with autism spectrum disorder. The first study evaluated the use of video modeling with voiceover instruction and on-screen text plus performance feedback to train implementation of stimulus preference assessments. All staff mastered the preference assessments and demonstrated high levels of generalized responding. The second study evaluated the use of enhanced data sheets to reduce teacher error patterns related to teaching auditory-visual conditional discriminations. The results indicated that the enhanced data sheets resulted in a decrease in error patterns. The third study trained teachers to implement discrete trial teaching using behavioral skills training. All teachers implemented discrete trial teaching with high integrity and adequately trained paraprofessionals to implement discrete trial teaching. Presenters will discuss findings in light of previous studies and provide avenues for future research.

Behavior analysts frequently use stimulus preference assessments to identify putative reinforcers for consumers with autism spectrum disorder. The current study evaluated the effect of video modeling with voiceover instruction and on-screen text (VMVOT) and performance feedback to train staff to implement the multiple-stimulus-without-replacement, paired-stimulus, and single-stimulus preference assessments. Generalization probes with a larger stimulus array and with an actual consumer were conducted. The results indicated that VMVOT may be a useful prelude to in-vivo training approaches, as all staff mastered the preference assessments and demonstrated high levels of generalized responding. This outcome is discussed in light of previous staff training studies and avenues for future research.

Teaching receptive identification to learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) requires careful consideration. Simple instructional errors, such as arrangement of materials, can slow skill acquisition and unintentionally result in a learner response bias to position or stimulus. In the context of teaching receptive identification, best practice recommendations suggest rotating the target stimulus across trials, conducting an equal number of trials with each stimulus as sample, and counterbalancing placement of comparison stimuli in the array across trials (Grow & LeBlanc, 2012). In the current study, we evaluated the use of enhanced data sheets to reduce teacher error patterns related to practice recommendations for teaching receptive identification of skills to students with ASD. Three teachers participated in an evaluation of traditional and enhanced data sheets utilizing a multiple baseline design. Results indicate that participants were not consistently counterbalancing placement of comparison stimuli across trials prior to the implementation of the enhanced datasheet. Following implementation of the enhanced data sheet, placement of target stimuli and comparison stimuli were counterbalanced with 100% accuracy. Implications for use within the classroom will be discussed.

Behavior analysis is first and foremost the study of reinforcement and not all reinforcement is equal. The effects of many reinforcers are determined by their physical properties but for humans with sophisticated verbal repertoires, the verbal behavior of the subject can have substantial effects on the potency of reinforcers. The topic of values is rarely addressed by behavior analysis and yet most every human identifies with values in some way. Furthermore, some effective behavior analytic interventions, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, incorporate verbal behavior manipulations that directly target values, to significant effect. Despite the clear importance of addressing values, there is no consensus on what values are, if anything, in a science of behavior. This symposium brings together two papers that address this question, by analyzing values as verbal behavior that describes broad classes of potential future consequences and which has significant function-altering effects on later stimuli. Thus, values are conceptualized as verbal events that have motivating operation and rule functions. The symposium concludes with a discussion by Dr. Timothy Weil.

Contacting ones values and engaging in behavior consistent with those values has been associated with improved physical and mental health, increases in quality of life, and increases in overall well-being.?Values have long been implemented in psychological treatments, but there seems to be little known about valuing in terms of behavioral processes. For example, it is unclear how valuing affects behavioral variability and sensitivity to changing contingencies in one's environment.? Because valuing is a verbal process, it could function to dominate control of behavior, desensitizing individuals to potential contingencies that could support more effective action. On the other hand, appetitive control is traditionally with more broad and variable behavioral sensitivity across repertoires.? The purpose of this study was to examine the effects that derived values functions have on behavior in response to changing contingencies. Participants who underwent relational training to establish derived values functions for arbitrary cues performed better and showed more sensitivity to changing reinforcement than participants for whom cues were meaningless.

Children with developmental disabilities often emit avoidant behavior in the presence of stimuli associated with certain contexts and settings (Schumacher and Rapp, 2011). These conditioned aversive stimuli are often correlated with necessary medical procedures and personal hygiene routines, i.e., dental exams (Lee, Graham and Hughes, 2008); wearing of prescription prosthetics (Deleon et al., 2008; Richling, 2011); and haircuts (Schumaker and Rapp, 2011). Successful avoidance of these procedures can have deleterious effects on the health and well-being of the individuals emitting these avoidant behaviors. Missed or incomplete dental exams can lead to increased tooth decay and other related health concerns. Refusing to wear the prescribed prosthetics that would correct visual and hearing impairments for extended periods of time can delay development in various domains including motor and communication skills (Kiani & Miller, 2010). Refusing or receiving partial haircuts can lead to negative social stigmatization. This symposium summarizes the effects of treatment packages in increasing compliance with these necessary procedures.

Individuals diagnosed with intellectual disabilities often suffer from concomitant visual and hearing impairments (Nielsen, Skov, & Jensen, 2007; Kiani & Miller, 2010). This population often refuses to wear the prescribed prosthetics that would correct visual and hearing impairments for extended periods of time (Haugen, Aasved, & Bertelsen, 1995). These impairments can delay development in various domains including motor and communication skills (Rine et al., 2000, Kiani & Miller, 2010). This study investigates the effect of a treatment package on individuals compliance with the simultaneous wearing of eyeglasses and hearing aids. The treatment package consisted of noncontingent reinforcement, response cost and response blocking based upon the findings from the functional analysis. A component analysis was completed, which suggested that NCR was the necessary component to maintain wearing of both the hearing aid and eyeglasses for sufficient durations of time. The treatment package was then thinned from a continuous schedule to the terminal schedule which was based on an existing schedule within the participants 24 hr plan. These changes in behavior were generalized across environments and therapists.

Historically, children with autism spectrum disorder have difficulty with medical procedures including, but not limited to, routine dental exams. Lee, Graham, and Hughes (2008) found that more than half of the patients with autism exhibited uncooperative/negative behavior during dental exams. Research has shown that reinforcement schedules and shaping procedures can be effective in increasing positive behaviors and teaching skills. The current study examined the use of differential reinforcement during a dental desensitization program to increase compliance with dental cleanings across several students diagnosed with autism. Baseline was conducted for each individual to determine toleration of dental cleanings. Preference assessments were conducted to determine potential reinforcers. Differential reinforcement was implemented for completion of steps within a task analysis comprised of actions that are completed during a routine dental exam based on a set schedule of reinforcement. As progress was achieved, the schedule of reinforcement was thinned. Reinforcement has been thinned completely for one individual in the study. Differential reinforcement has proved to be effective within this desensitization program.

Minimal research has examined treatment effects for haircutting with individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities. No research has examined treatment effects for individuals who engage in high intensity challenging behavior to escape the task of haircutting. This treatment package aimed to increase independence with the skill of haircutting while decreasing the overall duration of the haircut and rate of challenging behavior. Prior to assessment, the participant engaged in high rates of challenging behavior when haircuts were attempted and duration of haircuts could extend up to 8 hours before completion. Multiple interventions had been unsuccessful in increasing independence or decreasing challenging behavior prior to this presented treatment package. The treatment package consisted of avoidance from aversive stimuli, non-contingent reinforcement (NCR), and reinforcement for engaging in independent haircutting. Results showed that the treatment package reduced levels of challenging behavior during haircuts, decreased the overall duration of haircuts, and increased independence with haircutting behavior. The treatment was successfully generalized across environments and the primary caretakers were faded in as therapists. Follow-up probes showed that the participant had maintained low durations with haircutting and low levels of challenging behaviors associated with haircutting for over 2 months.

While sexual behavior is not inherently problematic, contextually inappropriate sexual behavior can be harmful to both clients and communities. The purpose of this symposium is to present perspectives of those who have worked in the areas harmful or problematic sexual behavior, and to examine data-based decision making and ethical considerations for the clients and communities they serve.

A multi-component behavioral intervention (MCBI) was associated with a reduction in severe problem behavior, including harmful sexual behavior in some young people attending a residential program in a rural area of the UK. Those young people who adhered to the program earned access to the internet and social media and also participated in staff supported community-based activities such as attending college and work experience. These young people were also allowed to travel further from the school to go to, for example, the cinema, sports events, and restaurants. Those young people who did not adhere to the program by not demonstrating consistent levels of safe and appropriate were denied access to some of these activities. The ethical considerations of denying young people access to age-appropriate activities will be discussed.

The technology of Behavior Analysis has yielded significant societal benefits through structured, systematic services in controlled settings. However, there is an increasing need for services in homes, schools, and community settings. Access to well-trained, experienced interventionists in these settings is less likely than in clinical settings. This symposium examines novel approaches to the training, coaching, and professional development of a variety of interventionists available in these settings. As the quality of services offered by these agents in more naturalistic settings increases, target behaviors are more likely to be generalized and maintained thereby increasing the quality of life and long-term outcomes for our clients.

Social skills training is critical to the success of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, many schools struggle to find the personnel with the expertise to be able to deliver effective social skills instruction. In this study we identified typical school personnel to deliver a social skills intervention. Researchers trained the school personnel to deliver the intervention and measure the effect of the intervention on the social interactions of the students with ASD. The social skills intervention included picking up students from lunch and beginning a lesson. Then continuing the lesson on the playground and giving the student a goal to work on during recess. Students were observed and their behavior recorded during recess. We also measured the fidelity of implementation of the intervention and report on the level of support required for the school personnel to implement with fidelity. We found that with minor support, school personnel successfully implemented the intervention and had a positive effect on students with ASD

Most behavior analysts would agree that new technologies can help advancing behavior analysis. It is certainly appealing to integrate new developments in electronics and manufacturing techniques, such as 3d printing, into the study of behavior. Taking the steps to actually do it, however, can be challenging. Selecting the right tools from the vast array of choices and learning how to use them, aside from consuming time and money, could take behavior analysts away from their main interest: the study of behavior. During the time that I have been working with 3D printing and electronics, I have identified inexpensive electronic devices and have encountered and created free-distribution software that are not only readily available but can also be used with minimum effort. In this talk I will describe such components and software and will show how electronics and 3D printing technologies can be combined in the design of simple inexpensive devices that can be used for recording and reinforcing responses in basic or applied settings. The rationale followed to assemble such devices could be extended to integrate other electronic components that could help behavior analysts identify responses and present stimuli in varied and innovative ways.

Students and scientists with a knowledge of the principles of behavior analysis

The current study evaluated the effects of staff training using a video model with voice over instruction plus feedback to implement multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment and a behavior chain interruption strategy in a multiple-baseline design across participants. The dependent variable was the percentage of correct responses on undergraduate students implementation of a preference assessment and behavior chain interruption procedure. Procedural integrity, Interobserver agreement on procedural integrity and inter-observer agreement data were collected on 50% of sessions across all measures and ranged from 90-100%. The results demonstrated that in baseline there was low to no correct responses, baseline with written instruction demonstrated higher responding. Once the video model was implemented the participants reached mastery criterion on 100% correct steps within three sessions. A treatment extension was evaluated for skill acquisition of child participants diagnosed with autism from ages seven to nine. University undergraduate students scored 95% or higher for percentage of correct responses and both of the child participants met mastery criterion across two consecutive sessions within five sessions.

Discontinuous data collection procedures such as momentary time sampling (MTS) and partial interval recording (PIR) provide practitioners with an alternative to continuous data collection. However, many studies on the accuracy of MTS and PIR are not conducted in applied settings and do not consider human error. The present study compared the use of MTS and PIR in a classroom setting using three teacher-student dyads, aiming to identify the procedure that had the least methodological and human error when used by teachers collecting data on stereotypy. Methodological error was measured by comparing teacher-collected estimates to duration data coded from video. Human error was quantified by calculating teachers' treatment integrity (TI) of an instructional protocol and their interobserver agreement (IOA) for each discontinuous data collection method. This study also compared the social validity of these procedures by examining teacher perceptions and preference. Results indicated that PIR significantly overestimated the occurrence of stereotypy, while MTS yielded accurate estimates. All three teachers erroneously perceived PIR to be more accurate than MTS. Results for human error indicated that these teachers maintained high TI and IOA. Lastly, findings from the present study suggest that the factors that affect preference are complex and vary across individuals.

Usage-based theories see language as a complex adaptive system: the interaction between history the processes that shape how languages are passed from one generation to the next and human psychology the set of unique social and cognitive capacities that allow generations to learn a language in the first place. I will argue that findings from language acquisition research, typology, and psycholinguistics are converging on the idea that language is fundamentally built out of use and generalizations over those usage events. Interestingly, none of the fundamental mechanisms of the usage-based approach are required to be a language-specific adaptation. Language shows creativity, categories, and recursion because people think creatively, categorically, and recursively. I will discuss a range of experimental, corpus and observational work showing that understanding the developmental of language acquisition can benefit from integrating the developmental of non-linguistic faculties, such as executive control, categorization and social-reasoning.

Researchers and practitioners interested in theories of language

The current symposium will focus on extending previous research on the treatment of pediatric feeding problems. The first presentation provides an evaluation of treatment components designed to treat rapid eating. The second presentation focuses on extending reinforcement-based treatments for children of typical development who engage in selective eating habits. The third presentation provides an overview of reinforcement and extinction used to treat food selectivity in children with autism and provides data on changes in food preferences following those treatments. The final presentation also examines reinforcement and extinction in the treatment of food selectivity with a focus on changes in preference and generalization to untreated foods. Participants will obtain an overview of various treatments for feeding problems across different presenting problems and populations. Directions for extending prior literature and the current studies will be discussed.

Rapid eating is exhibited by both typically developing persons as well as individuals with developmental disabilities and is considered to be a potentially dangerous and socially inappropriate behavior (Favell, McGimsey, & Jones, 1980). The rather limited behavior analytic research on rapid eating has demonstrated that the use of prompts and vibrating pagers (MotivAider) may be an effective and unobtrusive intervention package to reduce the pace of eating (Anglesea, Hoch, Taylor, 2008; Echeverria & Miltenberger, 2013). This study evaluated the use of a vibrating pager combined with a rule for reducing the pace of eating in one adolescent female diagnosed with autism in a multiple probe design across two settings (clinic and home). The primary dependent variable was inter-response time (or time between bites). Results indicated that inter-response time did not increase from baseline levels until after a vocal prompt to wait was introduced. The participants eating pace quickly came under control of the vibrating pager and prompts were naturally faded in the clinic setting. Implications for promoting autonomy in individuals with developmental disabilities will be discussed.

This study extends the research on the effects of simultaneous and sequential food presentation methods with children who are picky eaters. The sequential presentation method examined in this study differs in portion size from previous examinations of this method. In this study, an age-appropriate sized portion of non-preferred food (NPF) is presented as an appetizer before the participants preferred food (PF) is presented. Participants were required to consume their NPF before gaining access to their PF (i.e., dinner). This Appetizer Presentation Method is compared to a simultaneous presentation method called, Total Meal Presentation. This presentation method closely resembles a typical meal in most households. In the Total Meal Presentation, a whole portion of both the PF and NPF were presented together on the same plate and the participants were allowed to eat what they choose. Two participants, Lars and Marshall are typically developing brothers, ages 6 and 3, participated in this study. The Appetizer Presentation Method, was effective in increasing consumption of NP foods for both participants. Data and participant characteristics will be discussed as they relate to the effectiveness of the Appetizer Presentation Method for varying levels of picky eating and food selectivity.

Food selectivity and refusal behavior remain a prevalent problem especially in children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Differential reinforcement combined with escape extinction is often used to treat food selectivity (e.g., Piazza, Patel, Gulotta, Sevin, & Layer, 2003). Escape extinction is effective in treating pediatric feeding problems, yet is often implemented across several foods simultaneously. Thus, the purpose of the current project was to examine the generalization effects of a nonremoval of the spoon procedure on generalized consumption to nonpreferred foods with similar or dissimilar properties as the treatment food. The current study evaluated implementation across one food at a time for four separate subjects and measured pre- and post-treatment preference changes. Implications for research and clinical practice for long-term treatments will be discussed.

Prevalence of speech errors in the autism population is placed between 24 and 33% ( Rapin, Dunn, Allen, Stevens and Fein, 2009; Cleland, Gibbon, Pepp, OHare, and Rutherford, 2010; Shriberg, Paul, et al., 2001). While several Behavior Analytic studies address early vocalizations and communication in the autism population, very few such studies address the profound articulation problems faced by children in the spectrum. Speech Sound Disorders present a formidable barrier to further speech development. This Symposium presents successes in this clinically important area with 3 experimental papers on specific behavioral technologies covering Sufficient Response Exemplar Training, Phonetic hand prompting methods and Precision Teaching procedures. A conceptual paper introduces a behavioral perspective to interpretation of speech sound disorders, their classification and assessment challenges.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at a higher risk of being affected by speech disorders and often require remedial intervention. SufficientResponse-Exemplar Training of vocal imitation was used to successfully teach two typically developing children to articulate several Norwegian words with blends (Eikeseth and Nesset, 2003). The present study extends and adapts these procedures to children with Autism. Participants were a 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, both with ASD and speech sound disorders. For each participant 3 sets of 10 words, with specific blends they had difficulties with in the initial position were targeted for training. Within stimulus prompts, shaping, chaining and supplementary prompts were added to the intervention. A multiple baseline across behaviors (word sets with target blends) demonstrated improvement in articulation of trained words and generalization of correct articulation to untrained words in both participants. This study provides support for the value of sufficient response exemplar training in addressing speech sound disorders in children with ASD.

Improving speech intelligibility in children with autism with limited vocal repertoires is the focus of many early intensive behavior programs. Phonetic hand cueing systems are commonly promoted in commercially available speech-language products (Carahaly, 2012; Kaufman, 2007; Strode, 1994), however; research on effectiveness is limited (Hall and Jordan, 1992, Jordan 1988, Klick, 1985, Stelton & Graves 1985). This study examines the effectiveness of phonetic hand cues as a stimulus control transfer procedure to improve articulatory precision in a six year old with autism and limited vocal behavior. Results revealed rapid acquisition of 20 hand cues, steady acquisition of 248 single word echoics when hand cues were used as an antecedent prompt, and an increase in words and phrases improved when hand cues were used as error correction during natural environment training. Results of formal assessment of speech production skills by an independent speech-language pathologist revealed a reduction in errors on the Hodson Assessment of Phonological Targets Third Edition from 194 to 57 errors over a 10 month period. Results confirm previous case study findings that phonetic hand cues may be an effective intervention in promoting speech production skills in children with autism with limited vocal repertoires.

Fluency Training emphasizes rate as a preferred response dimension (Binder,1996) with evidence that learning to perform a component skill accurately at high rates could lead to faster acquisition of composite skills (Binder 1996; Johnson and Layng,1994). KS a 17 year old girl with autism and profound speech sound disorder participated in this delayed multiple baseline across behaviors study. Single consonant- vowel sounds tu, and fu were targeted and trained using Precision Teaching procedures (Lindsley,1964) and Standard Celeration charting. Rate of correct responses accelerated from low levels in baseline to over 40 per minute with intervention. Errors decelerated to zero for tu and 8 per minute for fu. Non-timed assessments of articulation at the composite levels of words demonstrated improvement from 30% to 100% for words with tu and 0% to 47% for fu sounds. Intervention is scheduled to begin on ku sound with low baseline rates correct. Additional participants have been identified for replication. The role of cues within precision teaching sessions, setting a realistic aim, generalization to composite level or other untrained words will be discussed.

Articulation for better intelligibility in children with autism is a socially significant outcome for Behavior Analysts to target but has only a limited body of behavioral research. 24 to 33% of persons with ASD are likely to be affected by speech sound disorders (Rapin, Dunn, Allen, Stevens & Fein, 2009; Shriberg, Paul, Black and Santen, 2011). There have been clarion calls for Behavior Analysts to collaborate with Speech and Language pathologists given the unique expertise and insights each can bring to address the problem of profound articulation disorders in children with autism (Sundberg,2011; Hegde, 2010; Esch, B.E., La Londe and Esch, J. W, 2010). This paper will discuss the challenges Behavior Analysts face and offers insights from SLP literature on areas such as assessment of articulation disorders, transcription, data recording and development of task analyses to progress from sounds to words to intelligible phrase speech to sentence speech. A further examination of existing approaches to articulation problems and how they can be shaped for better client outcomes using behavioral principles and evidence based methods such as treating to optimal intensity, prompting, stimulus salience, shaping and chaining.

The Department of Behavior Analysis and Easter Seals North Texas have collaborated for almost ten years to provide high quality behavioral interventions to underserved children with autism and their families. The purpose of this symposium is to present an overview of the measurement practices of this intervention program at several different levels. The first presentation provides an overview of the treatment setting and current practices in data collection and analysis. These practices would be considered established and emerging procedures for measurement in autism treatment. The second presentation includes a methodological examination of moment-to-moment behaviors during therapeutic sessions. The third presentation involves a study of measurements to assess quality and progression during child and caregiver interactions. The final presentation includes a description of the development of a modified PLA-CHECK system for observation of groups of children and adults in the treatment centers. A senior researcher in behavior analysis, experienced in applied and translational research, discusses these data practices within the context of practice and research.

For almost ten years, Easter Seals North Texas Autism Treatment Program (ESNT-ATP) in partnership with the University of North Texas, has strived to find pathways to provide quality services to underserved families. In the State of Texas, funding options for ABA services are limited and fragmented. In 2008, ESNT-ATP was one recipient of a state grant to provide comprehensive, evidence-based services to underserved children and families; however, recent shifts in state funding for autism intervention have limited access to Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) for families living in poverty. This has lead ESNT-ATP to find new intervention pathways to effective interventions for traditionally underserved families. The determination of effectiveness lies in the efficiency, validity, and reliability of our measurement tools. An overview of each level of ESNT-ATP measurement is provided in this presentation: child progress, teacher performance, group engagement, and program outcomes. The measurement strategies are discussed in the context of providing effective and compassionate services under conditions of increasing resource restrictions.

This presentation will provide an overview of measures used to quantify the quality of adult-child interactions within the daily living activities of meal and play times. Specifically, this presentation will describe measures used within two daily living programs that focus on improving the overall social relationships and adaptive skills of children with autism. Yummy Starts is a focused program for children between the ages of two and nine that addresses positive behaviors related to food and the social milieu of mealtimes. Sunny Starts is a parent training program that focuses on enhancing the quality of family relationships for children ages three to five through play activities. In both contexts, learn units, child success in targeted goal areas, and synchronous engagement were measured. This combination of measures allows assessment of both progress and indicators of relationship happiness. Such measures may help behavior analysts better analyze the quality of life and social relationships for children with autism and their families across home and community settings.

Early screening and detection tools have allowed children as young as 12-18 months to receive an ASD diagnosis and thus begin treatment at or before their second birthday. It is well established that Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) programs can produce large gains in language, cognitive and social behavior resulting in remediation of the core deficits in children with autism. The purpose of this symposium is to present research and program models for early identification and treatment of ASD. In the first paper, Graupner and Sallow report progress data from infant siblings who began ABA treatment before 8 months. They discuss early symptomatology and patterns of learning for these infants. In the second paper, Chong and colleagues describe the Parent Observation of Early Markers Scale as a tool for early screening and they propose a model for selecting initial targets and training parents to deliver treatment. In the third paper, Brennan will describe services to infants with a diagnosis of ASD in Albania using case examples and illustrative video clips. Finally, MacDonald and Parry-Cruwys will describe differences in patterns of learning seen in children who begin treatment at 1 and 2 years old.

Early identification and treatment of children with ASD can impact outcomes for toddlers. The Early Skills Assessment Tool (ESAT) measures core symptomology of ASD, including imitation, language, joint attention, play, and stereotypic behavior (MacDonald et al., 2014). Data from their initial study revealed that greatest gains were seen in the children who entered treatment prior to their second birthday. In addition, these children were more likely to be performing at the level of their typical peers in joint attention and play after a year of intervention. The purpose of the current paper is to present the most recent data using the ESAT for children entering EIBI before age 3. Since the 2014 publication we have added data from an additional 31 children totaling; 23 1-year olds and 63 2-year olds again showing differential outcomes with the younger children again characterized by greater improvements on cognitive and joint attention measures than children who began treatment after their second birthday. IOA was collected in 75% of samples and averaged 98% (range, 90- 100%). These findings are discussed as they relate to the importance of early identification and treatment for children with an ASD diagnosis.

In addition to Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy, many parents explore complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Often parents research consists of comparing notes with other parents or individuals, in person or on the internet. For some, it is hard to understand that a recounting of experience is not the same as evidence from a scientifically designed study. In such promotion, harmful effects are often ignored in favor of hopeful outcomes. Autism Speaks reports that between 30 and 95 percent of children with ASD have been provided with some CAM treatment. As ABA providers, we are often not consulted about CAM treatments, although they can have a profound effect on the efficacy and implementation of ABA Therapy.

This single case study explores the effects of an intensive prednisone therapy on the behavior of a child with ASD who is receiving ABA Therapy. Prednisone is a synthetic corticosteroid drug, with significant adverse side effects, that suppresses the adrenal glands. Some neurologists prescribe prednisone to treat Autism Spectrum Disorders, specifically for language recovery in children with signs of language regression. This application, and the speculation that it could develop into a treatment for ASD, is based on prednisones noted effects on speech recovery when used to treat seizures and its effectiveness as a treatment for neuroinflamation. After consulting with a neurologist, the clients parents decided to begin a three-month, intensive, Prednisone treatment, during the course of ABA Therapy, with a hope of faster language acquisition. Although the client had been receiving ABA Therapy for six months before the start of this treatment, the parents were advised not to consult with or inform their childs BCBA and/or therapists, so that the ABA providers would remain unbiased in noticing positive or negative effects during and after treatment. Data will be presented on receptive and expressive language and behaviors targeted for reduction, as well as narratives on the physical and other side-effects.

Conducting functional analyses is the gold standard in the assessment and treatment of problem behavior. Modifications to standard functional analysis conditions have proven to be beneficial and necessary to identify maintaining variables of problem behavior. This symposium will present four papers showcasing variations to functional analyses and include functional analyses implemented by parents, classroom teachers, procedural modifications that include trial-based functional analyses, and comparisons of outcomes when implemented with the native compared to a second language. The first paper compared outcomes of clinician- and parent- implemented functional analyses with learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities. The second paper presents outcomes from parent-implemented trial-based functional analyses (TBFA). The third paper presents results from teacher-implemented brief functional analyses compared with teacher-implemented TBFA with students with an emotional behavior disorder. The final paper compares outcomes of functional analyses when implemented in the native compared to a second language with individuals with developmental disabilities. Implications and areas of future research will be discussed

Research supports that parent involvement is imperative, but literature is mixed about the best way to do this. Previous studies have identified different functions via functional analyses when parents have served as therapists in comparison to clinical or direct care staff. This study included clinician-implemented functional analyses and parent-implemented functional analyses across four participants. The functional analysis results across participants varied. For two of the participants, the same functions were identified across both functional analyses. With one participant, three functions were identified with the parents in comparison to one identified function with the clinician. The fourth participants analysis identified functions with the clinicians that were not evoked with the parent as therapist. Following functional analyses, two of the participants moved on to function-based treatment using both clinicians and parents as therapists. The variability in findings and suggestions on increasing parent involvement will also be discussed.

The application of traditional functional analysis (FA) to the problem behavior of those with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) has been limited. Trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) is an emerging methodology used to assess the function of problem behavior and offers several advantages over traditional FA methods. TBFA can be completed quickly, requires fewer resources than traditional FAs, can be conducted in the environment of interest during typically-scheduled activities, and involves less intense data collection methods. We attempted to address limitations of the existing literature base on TBFA by completing TBFA with students identified with EBD, modifying conditions to explore idiosyncratic variables, comparing the outcomes of TBFA and BFA, including classroom teachers during the TBFA, BFA, and intervention, assessing the efficiency of training teachers to conduct TBFA, and how often TBFA trials were abandoned. Results show that TBFA can be applied to those identified with EBD, conditions can be modified successfully, teachers can be trained to implement procedures across assessments with efficiency, and that few trials were abandoned. TBFA is a promising method for addressing the unique challenges of conducting FA to students identified with EBD.

Some Spanish-speaking students exhibit challenging behavior at home and in school settings. There are few studies that examine the impact of the language used during a functional analysis of challenging behavior. This study used a pairwise design to determine the effects of language on the outcomes of a functional analysis for two participants, both from Spanish-speaking families. Challenging behavior was assessed during 5-min sessions. A pairwise design was used, evaluating a control condition compared with a test condition. During each condition phase, the language used in the condition was alternated for each test/control pairing. For one participant, challenging behavior remained at near zero levels of responding during control conditions across languages, while challenging behavior was at a higher level during all test conditions across languages. For a second participant, challenging behavior was highest during both English and Spanish tangible conditions, and English control and escape from attention conditions. These results suggest that for one participant, the specific language used during a functional analysis may affect the outcomes, indicating that language should be considered when assessing the function of challenging behavior for dual language learners

Treatment relapse refers to the recurrence of previously extinguished behavior when changes to treatment occur. To date, behavior analytic research has provided an understanding of the basic behavioral processes that may predict treatment relapse; however, additional research is warranted regarding procedures for preventing relapse of targeted behavior. This symposium will present applications of translational and applied studies to the mitigation of treatment relapse. Andrew Craig and colleagues will present data on the evaluation of the influence of reinforcement of alternative behavior in the same and separate discriminative-stimulus situations on mitigating resurgence of targeted behavior in Pigeons. Valdeep Saini and colleagues will describe a human-laboratory preparation and clinical application of resurgence to demonstrate the relevance of including inactive control responses within a resurgence paradigm to differentiate between resurgence of targeted behavior and extinction-induced variability. The presentation by Henry Roane and colleagues will describe a reverse-translational evaluation of context renewal implemented first within a functional communication training intervention for individuals diagnosed with autism across home and clinic settings, and second within a human-operant arrangement. Michael Kelley and colleagues will present data on the demonstration of an ABA renewal paradigm with children diagnosed with autism followed by the implementation of a renewal mitigation procedure to reduce the recurrence of targeted behavior during the return to the A phase. Finally, Timothy Shahan will serve as the discussant to integrate the findings of these presentations into the broad theme of treatment relapse.

Basic and translational research on context renewal provides a model for studying treatment relapse following successful response to treatment in clinic settings. Two studies were conducted to evaluate context renewal under naturalistic conditions. In study one, context renewal using functional communication training was evaluated across home and clinic settings. The reemergence of destructive behavior, consistent with operant context renewal, was observed. A limitation was that during treatment at clinic, the children returned home before treatment was completed and taken into the home. To evaluate this limitation a reverse translational, human operant study was conducted. A concurrent-operant arrangement was used to simultaneously evaluate and compare ABA and ACA renewal, in which Context C consisted of Context B with brief returns to Context A. ABA renewal was observed, whereas under the ACA arrangement the target response persisted throughout the evaluation. The implications of these findings with respect to basic and translational studies of operant renewal and the treatment of severe destructive behavior will be discussed.

Renewal is a type of treatment relapse in which problem behavior reemerges after successful treatment. Renewal is characterized by the three-phase arrangement in which problem behavior is reinforced in Phase 1, extinguished in Phase 2, and extinction is continued in Phase 3. However, the contexts associated with Phases 1, 2, and 3 are manipulated to assess the extent to which stimulus condition affect responding, despite the continuation of extinction, in Phase 3. In the current study, 3 children diagnosed with Autism were exposed to ABA renewal, in which therapists exposed participants behavior to (1) reinforcement, extinction, and extinction and (2) contexts A, B, and a return to A. Results suggested that behavior reemerged in Phase 3, despite the continuation of the extinction procedure. Next, we assessed a renewal mitigation procedure to reduce the occurrence of problem behavior during reexposure to the A context.

Experimental behavioral economics is a combination of behavioral analysis and economic concepts, principles, and measures to model choice behavior at the individual level. Of particular interest is the bias for individuals to favor more immediate, but smaller rewards over larger rewards that would come later (i.e. delay discounting). This work has resulted in a wealth of research showing that discounting tasks and predictive mathematical models can quantify sensitivity to delayed outcomes. The focus for this symposium will be translational in nature and discuss related research findings for: (a) foundations and methods for understanding mathematical modeling of choice behavior, (b) considerations when comparing measures of discounting across studies, (c) simulated parent and teacher discounting of delayed treatment effects for children with problem behavior, and (c) patterns of caregiver discounting of delayed treatment effects in an outpatient setting providing manualized caregiver training and individualized, behavioral-caregiver therapy for children with challenging behavior.

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an extensively studied classroom management procedure that utilizes interdependent group contingencies to minimize student disruptive behavior. In the GBG, a class is divided into teams and contingencies are placed on students rule-following. Previous research has indicated that the GBG is effective with high school students in mainstream classrooms. The following study extended previous research by implementing the GBG with older high school students who have emotional/behavioral disorders and/or histories of delinquency. Results indicate that the GBG is an effective classroom management strategy with older students in more restricted settings. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Since the resurgence of interest in dog behavior in 1998, many claims have been made for unique social-cognitive skills in dogs. I will briefly review available evidence that dogs are able to respond to human behavior in ways that are not available to other nonhuman species. I conclude there is no well-established finding regarding dog's social-cognitive behavior that cannot be accounted for with species-general learning mechanisms. Notwithstanding an absence of special social-cognitive skills, even the most informal interaction with dogs suggests that there is something remarkable about their motivation to interact with people. I review several lines of evidence that indicate that during domestication dogs became much more motivated to interact with members of other species and more reinforced by that interaction. This started with Pavlov who noted a "social reflex" in his dogs and continues to the present day in a range of studies. I will consider dogs' play behaviors, proximity seeking to a human, and even studies of what behaviors lead dogs to getting adopted. In conclusion, the notion of the dog as "man's best friend" may be a cliche, but it is a stereotype with some observable behavior behind it.

Graduate-level behavior analysts and psychologists

Disruption is the act of changing cultural practices, and introducing new practices, that involve a greater emphasis on social responsibility and sustainability. I will discuss several facets of disruption as it pertains to entrepreneurship. First, I will provide an overview of disruption itself and why it matters, along with case studies from the entrepreneurial world. Secondly, I will address what many consider to be the primary obstacle to disruption, and to entrepreneurship, which is failure, or more precisely, the fear of failure, and strategies that others have used in the past to remove failure as an obstacle to success. I will also discuss how disruption can take place anywhere, and in any industry, toward the improvement of the human condition. Lastly, I will discuss characteristics that comprise the disruptive leader, along with common challenges such leaders face and the outcomes to which they strive.

Professionals, academics, and graduate students.

In many clinical setting, the success of ABA-based interventions requires interdisciplinary collaboration between professionals coming from a broad range of backgrounds. Notwithstanding, there sometimes is a clinical chasm between those responsible for the development of interventions and those who are responsible for their implementation. For example it is not unusual for direct support professional (DSPs) to be trained on interventions with very little information about the assessment and development process. In situations like these, DSPs may be difficult. This can impact social validity and treatment fidelity. The panel will discuss strategies they have used successfully to overcome such problems, and bridge the gap between staff responsible for developing and implementing ABA-based interventions. Experiences from interdisciplinary perspectives will be presented, including those of DSPs and Registered Behavior Technicians.

This symposium presents recent research related to teaching social and safety skills to individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. The first paper presents data on teaching children with autism spectrum disorder to identify the sensory perspective of others, as in, what they can see, hear, taste, smell, and feel. The second paper presents data evaluating and identifying the dose of instruction necessary for the Preschool Life Skills program curriculum to be a successful and efficient teaching tool for children with developmental disabilities. The third paper evaluates the use of teaching children with autism spectrum disorder to use a safe word in the acquisition of stranger safety skills.

Children with autism spectrum disorder often have difficulty with inferring the private events of others, and in particular, they have been found to have difficulty with perspective taking (Baron-Cohen, Leslie, & Frith, 1985). This study is employing a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design to investigate the use of a multiple exemplar-training package for teaching three children with autism to appropriately identify others sensory perspectives, that is detecting what others are experiencing through their five senses (i.e., touch, smell, taste, sight and hear). Data are currently being collected, and percentage correct responding to questions about what others can sense is being measured across sessions. Results thus far demonstrate that participants 1 and 2 responded at chance levels in baseline and participant 1 and 2 demonstrated an immediate increase in level and trend during training. Generalization to untrained stimuli and people is being programmed for and measured by saving exemplars and people used in baseline for retesting in posttraining and using multiple exemplar training during training. Participant 1 demonstrated generalization to untrained stimuli and people in posttraining.

The Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program was originally created to teach functional communication and social skills to typically developing children in an attempt to prevent the development of problem behavior. Children diagnosed with ASD and other developmental disabilities are also at risk for developing problem behaviors in daycare and school settings due to insufficient instruction and contingency management. Therefore, this population might benefit from PLS instruction. The current study aimed to evaluate and identify the dose of instruction necessary for PLS curriculum to be a successful and efficient teaching tool for children with developmental disabilities. We taught twelve preschool life skills to 9 participants across 4 instruction units. The units were instruction following, functional communication, tolerance of denial and delay, and friendship skills. Instruction was provided by means of a three-tiered instructional approach, which incorporated large group and class-wide instruction, followed by small group and individual instruction as necessary. Results indicated that intervention led to skill acquisition with all nine participants. The skills were also found to maintain four weeks after instruction ended.

This study addresses the statistic that most children are abducted by known individuals, not strangers, and examines the effects of a training package that employs the use of a safe-word. A safe-word is a tactic used to decrease the likelihood that a child will leave with a person not appointed by their parents. The study is being conducted in a lab room and various community settings (i.e., shopping mall, grocery store, parks, etc.) with five participants, ages 4-9 years old, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to measure participants responses to lures by way of a 5-point scoring system across conditions. Each participant was quasi-randomly exposed to a variety of different lures, each falling under one of the three different lure types: authoritative, assistance, and incentive. Intervention utilized a behavioral skills training to teach participants how to use the safe-word and to respond appropriately to a variety of known and unknown individuals who know and dont know the safe-word. Post-intervention probes suggest that this intervention was successful in teaching participants to respond differentially requests of adults who can provide the participant with the safe-word (trusted adults) compared to those who cannot provide the safe-word (familiar/unfamiliar adults). Follow-up probes will also be conducted to examine the maintenance of such an intervention.

Measurement of behavior is crucial to learning environments and serves as a reality check, it is viewed as the difference between opinion and actual change (Vargas, 2009). Due to the current legislation and reauthorization of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) there is a focus for teachers to improve the quality of programs by increasing the accountability for results (Christle, & Yell, 2010). Evidence-based practices that have been shown to be effective in classroom environments and aid teachers in collecting data include the use of self-management procedures and peers in the classroom. When students self-manage, teachers are free to attend to other classroom needs and instruction (Webber, Scheuermann, McCall, & Colemen, 1993). Peers may be able to observe and deliver consequences for another students behavior more often than the teacher (Strain, Cooke, & Apollone, 1976). This symposium will highlight two separate investigations that included the use of self-management and peers as components of the intervention. Effects of self-management procedures in the classroom and the feasibility of using peers in class wide and individual contingencies will be discussed.

Despite the increased demand for data collection in the special education settings, an agreed upon method for collecting data has yet to be identified. Two procedures that have demonstrated robust outcomes for collecting academic data for individual students are self-monitoring and peer management. Self-monitoring involves the student collecting measures on his or her own behavior(s) (Ferretti, Murphy, & Murphy, 1993). Peer management includes a student presenting prompts and providing feedback to another paired student (Dart, Collins, Klingbeil & Mckinley, 2014). The current investigation combined self-monitoring and peer management into a treatment package which was delivered in a staggered fashion to three dyads of students with moderate cognitive impairments during their independent math work time. Math performance on worksheets, fidelity of feedback, and positive math comments were measured for each participant. Overall results from the intervention suggest that only introducing a peer feedback treatment package will not produce significant increases in student performance on math worksheets. This presentation will discuss the use of add-on interventions and the need for consistency in instructional delivery as well as evidence-based curricula.

The U.S. Department of Education (2015) indicates that about 95% of students with special education eligibility are receiving some form of education in the general education setting. Past research indicates that students with disabilities tend to engage in more disruptive behaviors than their non-disabled peers (e.g., Murphy, Beadle-Brown, Wing, Gould, Shah, & Homes, 2005). If teachers are spending more time managing disruptive behaviors, time allocated to instruction is lost. Self-management is one evidence-based intervention that has demonstrated consistent effects for increasing on-task behavior and decreasing disruptive behaviors. Although feasible at the individual level, previous research has identified that class wide self-management interventions may be efficacious but not feasible to implement (Chafouleas, Hagermoser Sanetti, Jaffery, & Fallon, 2011). The purpose of the current study was to synthesize the research findings on self-management and group contingencies to make interventions at the class-wide level both feasible and efficacious. More specifically, the current study sought to compare the Self & Match system (Salter & Croce, 2015), a self-management intervention with a teacher match component, embedded within an independent and dependent group contingency, and observe the effects of the interventions on disruptive and on-task behaviors.

Employees in human service organizations engage in complex behaviors like problem solving, decision making, and leadership skills, on a regular basis (e.g., dealing with difficult employees, managing time and work tasks, and choosing appropriate measurement systems). Despite increased requirements for supervision for BCaBAs and RBTs, the effects are only as good as the supervisors and the systems in which they work. It is the responsibility of supervisors to train, monitor, and manage those behaviors. Although complex behaviors are common and important in human service organizations, they have received little attention in the applied behavior analytic literature. In this panel, strategies for defining, assessing, and intervening on complex employee behaviors in human service organizations will be discussed. Specific examples from research and practice will be provided to illustrate these strategies and systems and processing for supporting them will be discussed. Practical applications and areas for further development and research will also be highlighted.

Scientific research can be studied as investigative behavior. That involves inventing problems as well as solving them. It also involves finding better ways to do one's work. That activity has sometimes been called philosophy. Skinner himself said that behaviorism is a philosophy. I would add that the philosophy was part of a scientific research program. Skinner complained that his critics failed to understand his position, which was based on a hard analogy (not a metaphor) between the processes of learning and evolution by natural selection. Right thinking in the one provides clues to right thinking in the other. The advantage of getting rid of teleology in both is fairly straight-forward. Skinner paid less attention to the importance of getting rid of typological (essentialist) thinking about species and other groups of organisms. These have been treated as if they were abstract classes with essences rather than as concrete wholes. Variation has been screened out and persons have been treated as tokens of stereotypes. One result has been a misguided search for universals of human behavior.

Behavior analysts interested in the historical and conceptual foundations of B. F. Skinner's behaviorism, the relations between the behavioral and biological sciences, and analyses of the behavior of scientists.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one third of US adults have obesity and obesity and related comorbid conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease cost the United States at least $147 billion dollars a year. Childhood/adolescent obesity rates have nearly tripled since 1980 and despite the CDCs recommendations less than one-third of the nations youth partakes in the recommended 60 min of daily exercise. The studies in this symposium examined the effects of choice in physical activity on the duration of physical exercise in children, the effects of a token system on daily physical activity, as measured by pedometers, with adults with co-occurring diagnosis of developmental disabilities and psychiatric and behavioral issues and the effects of observational learning as a low effort method to increase the physical activity of children with ASD. The results of the study show how the principles of behavior analysis can be used to increase physical activity, as well as reduce aberrant behaviors such as physical aggression, property destruction, and stereotypy.

Childhood/adolescent obesity rates have nearly tripled since 1980 (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011) and it is important to find practical interventions to increase physical activity in children when addressing this problem. In this study, we examined the effects of a choice in physical activity on the duration of physical exercise in four school-aged children. Baseline conditions assessed the duration of time spent in each type of physical activity in the absence of any programmed contingencies. An alternating treatments design was used to compare the effects of choice, and a reinforcement contingency, on the duration of physical exercise. The reinforcement contingency was arranged so participants could earn one minute of access to preferred leisure activities for each minute they engaged in physical activity. On average, the inclusion of the choice component resulted in a greater increase in the duration of physical exercise than the contingency alone, for most participants. Furthermore, durations of physical activity were longer during all sessions with a reinforcement contingency than in baseline sessions.

Less than one-third of the nations youth partakes in vigorous physical activity, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) recommendation of at least 60 min of daily exercise for children (CDC, 2015). In addition to improved fitness levels, physical activity offers many other benefits to children, including but not limited to better overall cardio metabolic health, and decreased risks of mortality. These trends of sedentariness and little to no physical activity are more prominent in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) than in typically developing children. In addition, low levels of physical activity are correlated with higher levels of obesity. While only 13% of typically developing children fit the criteria for obesity, over 31% of children with autism are considered to be obese. A number of recent studies have demonstrated the importance of observational learning for children with ASD. This study utilized observational learning as a low effort method to increase the physical activity of children with ASD, in an outdoor structured playground. Six children, between 4 and 8 years old, with a diagnosis of ASD participated in this study, three were designated as peers (received direct reinforcement) and three were designated as participants (observed the delivery of reinforcement fro physical activity). All three participants demonstrated higher levels of physical activity in the presence of peer reinforcement and two out of three peers also demonstrated higher levels of activity with direct reinforcement. These data suggest that observational learning may be a viable intervention to increase physical activity in children with ASD.

Previous research has demonstrated that increasing exercise behaviors may be achieved through the use of self-monitoring, goal setting, and feedback. However, for many individuals these interventions may be insufficient or adherence may be challenging. No published studies have examined the use of the aforementioned procedures in combination with a token system in the developmentally disabled population for clients with severe aggressive behavior. The following paper will evaluate the effects of a token system on daily physical activity, as measured by pedometers, with adults with co-occurring diagnosis of developmental disabilities and psychiatric issues as well as significant behavioral challenges. All of the clients were residing in a community based residential setting. Prior behavioral successes of the clients on the token system will be reviewed as the foundation for the inclusion of exercise behavior in the token contingency. Concomitant effects on the frequency and duration of aggressive behavior will also be monitored throughout the course of the study. The success of the program will add to the body of research evaluating exercise as an antecedent intervention to reduce aberrant behaviors such as physical aggression, property destruction, and stereotypy.

Effective supervision practices have been a concern for the behavior analytic community leading to new, more rigorous guidance regarding supervision regulations outlined by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB: BACB newsletter, Sept. 2011, p.1). Despite this discussion, there is limited research or guidance on best practice in supervision of behavior analysts. Lack of research and appropriate technologies for consistent, high quality supervision is a potential liability for the field as a whole since having advanced training asclinical personnel is no guarantee one is able to effectively transfer both knowledge and skill to those they are supervising (Martin & Cannon, 2010). This issue can be compounded in rural areas where individuals may engage in one of the many distance-based education programs in fulfillment of the educational requirements of certification, but lack high-quality training and supervision opportunities. This panel will explore the unique challenges of providing an evidence-based training experience from a distance, lessons learned, and future directions for the field from the viewpoints of the researcher, supervisor, and supervisee. An emphasis will be placed on the use of a structured supervision curriculum and measurement procedures.

While research has demonstrated the efficacy of errorless learning, there is often an overreliance on trial-and-error procedures which often result in an increased number of errors and reduction in reinforcement density. Two experiments evaluated the formation of equivalence classes following instruction of conditional discriminations via errorless instruction (delayed prompt) versus trial-and error training (differential reinforcement of correct responses). In both experiments, and across three participants with Autism Spectrum Disorders, the errorless protocol required fewer trials-to-criterion, produced fewer errors, and resulted in more stimulus classes being formed (e.g., Table 1 from Experiment One and Figure 1 from Experiment Two). Experiment Three was conducted to evaluate the formation of equivalence classes following training of the prerequisite relations trial-and-error and an errorless protocol while holding the density of reinforcement constant (e.g., the delivery of reinforcement consistent from one training to the other). The results showed the errorless protocol superior in terms of trials-to-criterion, errors committed and stimulus classes formed. The results are discussed in terms of the role of errors in instruction.

With the ongoing demand for ABA services across the country, the need for well-trained direct staff continues to increase. Employers are tasked with providing comprehensive trainings to a large number of staff with variable skill sets. Equivalence-based instruction is well-established as an efficient technology that results in the emergence of new stimulus-stimulus relations, many without direct training. The current study makes use of equivalence-based instruction to teach direct staff to form four, three-member stimulus classes specific to the basic schedules of reinforcement. The initial conditional discrimination training necessary for the subsequent stimulus class formation was conducted via a Learning Management System. The Learning Management System was an online platform which staff could navigate through independently, receiving programmed feedback. Pilot data for two typically developing adults indicated that the reflexive relations were present at baseline, while the potential symmetrical and transitive relations were not present. It is anticipated that the training of two stimulus-stimulus relations will result in the subsequent emergence of four stimulus-stimulus relations per class. Procedures will be extended to ten direct staff members and stimuli will be presented on an online learning platform. The majority of testing and training phases will be conducted through personalized system of instruction modules in order to minimize trainer time. Statistical analyses will be conducted to determine if a statistically significant increase in accuracy from pre-test to post-test will be demonstrated.

The Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Special Interest Group invites you to formally recognize the contributions of Dr. Philip N. Hineline. Dr. Hineline's research interests have long focused on the Experimental Analysis of Behavior with extensions into Applied Behavior Analysis. Two former colleagues will review and reflect upon Dr. Hineline's career and his many contributions toward advancing our understanding of complex human behavior. Subsequently, Dr. Hineline will deliver comments reflecting upon his career, as well as his fifty years as participant-observer. Please join us to appreciate and celebrate the contributions of Dr. Philip Hineline.

The three presentations within this symposium describe the recent advancements in teaching appropriate play skills to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Each paper describes systematic approaches to improve the effectiveness in teaching in the areas of independent and social play. The first presentation is a quantitative analysis of interventions used to teach play skills to children with ASD. The second presentation will describe the use of technology based activity schedules to teach independent play skills to preschool students. The final presentation describes the use of video modeling training to increase pretend play behaviors for two pairs of participants with ASD. Implications and future directions for teaching various play behaviors will be discussed.

The development of play skills is thought to be an important part of human development. Children spend the majority of their time engaged in play activities (Boutot, Guenther, & Crozier, 2005). Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often present with substantial delays in the development of play behaviors. To our knowledge, the literature on teaching play skills to children with ASD has not been fully reviewed. The purpose of the current review was to conduct a quantitative analysis of studies that evaluated interventions to teach play skills to children with ASD. Fifty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. These studies were evaluated across 16 parameters (e.g., participants, dependent variable, preference assessment, independent variable, generalization, social validity, type of play). The majority of the studies reviewed were effective in increasing the target play skill. Further evaluation of the social validity of the outcome is warranted. Determining a means of measuring the participants newly acquired play skill relative to a child of typical development would be valuable information in understanding how socially valid the results are. Another interesting finding is that only eight studies conducted some type of preference assessment to identify the toys used during the intervention. Consideration of a childs preference for a toy might aide in the development of the play skill. In addition, more consideration should be made in programming for and assessing generalization across toys, people, and environments. Identifying effective interventions is an important step in promoting play skills within the contexts of natural play environments.

A visual activity schedule is a set of pictures or words that can be used to teach an individual with disabilities to complete a set of tasks. These schedules can help individuals with disabilities to become more independent and complete tasks appropriately. Children with autism often engage in behaviors that are repetitive or not appropriate when playing. Visual activity schedules have been used to teach a variety of skill and teach appropriate play. Typically, activity schedules are paper based; this study examines the use of an activity schedule taught on an iPad. This study included three young boys with a diagnosis of autism who were attending a university-based early intervention preschool. This study found that technology-based activity schedules are an effective way to teach play and the technology-based activity schedule was preferred for two of the three participants.

Video modeling has been used to teach a variety of play behaviors for children with ASD including solitary play (MacDonald, Clark, Garrigan, and Vangala, 2005; Paterson & Arco, 2007), and pretend play with typically developing peers and siblings (Reagon, Higbee, & Endicott, 2006; Macdonald et al., 2009). However, there is limited research on the utility of video modeling training when all participants have ASD. A multiple probe design across behaviors (pretend play scenarios) was used to evaluate the effects of video modeling for two pairs of participants. During all sessions, rate of vocalizations, play actions and completion of the targeted scenario was scored for all participants. In baseline, the participants did not engage in the targeted play scenarios and displayed low rates of contextually appropriate vocalizations and play actions. Following exposure to the video models, all participants displayed elevated vocalizations and play actions and completed the targeted play scenarios. Maintenance probes showed that play persisted once the videos were no longer viewed. These results extend the video modeling research by demonstrating that the intervention can successfully be provided to two children with ASD simultaneously.

Individuals with autism may exhibit persistent errors and biased responding during academic tasks, which may slow the skill acquisition progress. The proposed symposium will present data from three research studies on the evaluation of procedures improve skills acquisition in learners with autism. In the first study, Audrey Toricelli will present a study that used functional communication to decrease biased responding in learners with autism during receptive identification tasks. In the second study, Stacy Lauderdale-Litton will present a study evaluating three error correction procedures in the acquisition of response chains in learners with autism. In the third study, Douglas Stracquadanio will present an evaluation of different error correction procedures during sight word reading and generalization of effects to naturalistic instructional contexts for individuals with autism.

Biased responding is a common problem observed during academic instruction for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These learners may develop response patterns controlled by a different stimulus or an aspect of a stimulus rather than respond based upon programmed stimuli and contingencies. For example, when selecting from an array, the individual may always select the stimulus on the left. This faulty stimulus control often leads to stagnated progress during skill acquisition programming. Biased responding may be likely to occur during novel tasks because individuals with autism lack the means to effectively request help or additional information. The purpose of the present study is to a) demonstrate that biased responding can be a function of novel (unknown) stimuli and b) use functional communication training (FCT) to teach two learners diagnosed with ASD, who have demonstrated response biases, an expressive I dont know response when presented with novel instructional stimuli. Results indicate that responses biases emerge during presentation of novel instructional materials. In addition, FCT can be an effective tool to teach individuals with ASD a socially appropriate response to unknown instructional stimuli. Implications for generalizing FCT to natural settings will be discussed.

Many socially significant behaviors are taught to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by breaking a complex chain of responses into smaller, manageable steps. When teaching chained responses, various instructional strategies are used to promote independence. Past research suggests that the effectiveness of procedures may be idiosyncratic across learners (McGhan & Lerman, 2013). Therefore, individualized assessment is essential to determine the least intrusive, most effective strategy. Joe, a 14-year-old classified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and Zander, a 17-year-old with ASD, participated in an error-correction assessment. The assessment compared acquisition of chaining tasks across three error-correction conditions: error feedback (i.e., instructor stated, No thats no right when error occurred and reset materials), overcorrection (i.e., error in chain was interrupted, materials were reset, and student was prompted through the entire chain 3 consecutive times) and reset (error in chain was interrupted, materials were reset, and student was prompted through the chain 1 time) using an alternating treatments design. When examining trials to acquisition, results indicated that error feedback resulted in the first chaining task being acquired more quickly for both learners. Implications for future generalization of these results in each students classroom programming will be discussed.

Various error-correction procedures are used when teaching learners with autism. Procedures may involve providing feedback to the learner, prompting the correct response, or having the learner practice the response numerous times. Past research suggests that the effectiveness of the procedures may be idiosyncratic across learners. Therefore individualized assessment is paramount to find the least intrusive, most effective error-correction procedure. Two adolescents with autism participated in an adapted error-correction assessment (McGhan & Lerman, 2013). Baseline probes were conducted to identify three sets of three novel sight words for inclusion in the study. We compared acquisition of sight-word reading lists across two error-correction conditions: error-feedback (i.e., instructor stated correct response) and repeating trials until independent (i.e., student was prompted to say correct response and trials at independent were presented until student engaged in correct response) and a control condition (no reinforcement and no error correction) using an alternating treatments design. Results revealed that error-feedback resulted in higher rates of skill acquisition whereas no sight words were acquired during the repeat until independent or control condition. These results were replicated with the set of words that were previously trained using the repeat until independent condition. Implications for future generalization of these results to classroom programming will be discussed.

Behaviors maintained by automatic reinforcement can present a challenge and are often more difficult to treat than behaviors maintained by social reinforcement. This challenge is often due to the mechanism that is maintaining the behavior and the inability to fully control access to the automatic reinforcement.. This challenge is compounded by limited empirically validated treatment options. The current symposium will present two papers focused on developing innovative treatments for behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. The first paper focuses on the validation of a free-operant competing stimulus assessment (FOCSA) as an effective tool for identifying items which are highly-preferred, but also result in high-rates of stereotypy (HP-HS) and items which are highly-preferred, but result in low-rates of stereotypy (HP-LS). Results demonstrated the immediate effects of the HP-LS and HP-HS stimuli were correctly predicted by the FOCSA for each participant. The second paper focuses on the use of an activity schedule as a treatment for automatically maintained problem behaviors. Specifically, this study evaluated the use of providing differential reinforcement of an alternative behavior for completion of an activity schedule (without the use of differential reinforcement for the absence of the automatically-maintained problem behavior). Taken together, the results of both studies provide support for continued research on refinements and development of novel treatment approaches for behaviors maintained by automatic reinforcement.

Frewing, Rapp, and Pastrana (2015) described a free-operant competing stimulus assessment (FOCSA) wherein they compared conditional probabilities of participants? engaging in stereotypy while manipulating items to the unconditional probability of stereotypy. We conducted a series of experiments to further evaluate this assessment tool. In Experiment 1, we showed that each participant?s repetitive behavior persisted without social consequences. In Experiment 2, we used the same FOCSA to identify high-preference, low stereotypy (HP-LS) items for four participants and high-preference, high-stereotypy (HP-HS) items for four participants. To validate the results of the FOCSAs (Experiment 3), we used a three-component multiple schedule to evaluate the immediate effects of a HP-LS stimulus, a HP-HS stimulus, or both (in separate test sequences) on each participant?s stereotypy. Results of Experiment 3 showed that the immediate effects of the HP-LS and HP-HS stimuli were correctly predicted by the FOCSA for each participant. We briefly discuss the clinical implications and limitations of this study, as well as directions for future research with this FOCSA.

Clinicians work with a wide variety of families affected by autism and come to feel as if they are a part of the family and really understand that autism parents and families go through. This panel, made up of three parents who are also in the "field" and are parenting young adults, will discuss what it's truly like to raise a young person with autism. From angry, resentful siblings, to parental guilt, these topics and more will be discussed in a frank manner so the participants will have a better understanding of the autistic life. Marital stress, financial stress and the constant stress of losing services will be addressed. Please don't think you know what an autism parent goes through unless you have walked a mile in their moccasins.

There has been considerable interest in the use of Applied Behaviour Analysis methods as a comprehensive intervention model for children with autism in home and centre-based or school-based settings. Recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses suggest positive outcome data, especially for cognitive, language, and adaptive skills. In addition to a focus on social, language and other adaptive skills, ameliorating academic skill deficits (in reading, writing and maths) is often a component of these programs. However, within the research literature on interventions for children with autism, investigating the best methods of teaching academics has received limited attention. In this presentation I will describe an approach for extending what we know about the psychology of learning to the teaching of academic skills to more fully account for the full range of skills that may be lacking in children with autism. I will describe three distinct strands of research that have effectively taught reading, maths and handwriting skills to children with autism. This talk will provide a new framework for developing and evaluating academic programs for children with autism.

PENDING

The prevalence of disordered gambling in the United States, due in part to the large scale availability of avenues for gambling, both in person and online, has led to the study of treatments for pathological gambling. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which is based on the Relational Frame Theory (RFT) account of human language, is one form of intervention that has demonstrated its utility in the treatment of problem gambling. Although outcome data for ACT suggest that it is an effective therapeutic approach, there is limited research regarding the relational frames which underlie ACT core process therapeutic exercises (i.e. defusion, self as context, etc.) which comprise the treatment. The presents studies examine the effect of conditioning verbal relations in the context of therapeutic exercises on the participants responding during gambling tasks. This collection of studies will examine the role of experiential exercises on the defusion of rule governed behavior underlying gambling, contextual variables on impulsive choice behavior of gamblers, and mindfulness activities on suboptimal decision making in a gambling context. Implications of focused research on the relational networks underlying core processes of ACT in terms of broader treatment for disordered gamblers will be discussed.

Minimal information currently exists about best practices and implementation strategies for behavioral therapy for gambling disorders, particularly in community addiction treatment centers. Furthermore, therapeutic treatment models applying clinical behavior analytic social work practice to gambling addictions suggest the importance of identifying environmental factors maintaining gambling, to promote sustained absence. The current presentation extends previous work on clinical behavior analytic social work practice into addiction treatment centers. Group sessions conducted across mindfulness and acceptance based topics, derived from previous research on substance use disorders and gambling disorders, were provided to adult males attending a substance in-patient/out-patient community center in the Midwest, United States. Traditional behavior analytic strategies were modified and adapted to fit the community center culture, where attendance or participation in meetings was not required. Further, psychometrics related to mindfulness and acceptance (i.e., MAAS) were provided to attendees before and after weekly sessions, to determine any within-session effects. Identified barriers and solutions for overcoming data collection challenges in community mental health group settings will also be discussed. Finally, with graduate programs training social workers in the use of ABA, the current presentation will discuss the clinical utility of infusing clinical social work with clinical behavior analysis.

The current symposium centers around topics related to the necessary skills required to provide effective behavior analytic services, and the extent to which our field is potentially equipped to this end. Special attention will be paid to practitioners who support individuals who exhibit severely challenging behaviors in the home and community settings, however, each presentation includes implications for practitioners across a range of settings and populations. The first is a discussion paper on the recent increase in publications regarding the current standards for graduate training and the supervision of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), as well as the potential divide between science and practice within the field of behavior analysis. The second paper focuses on the outcomes of a survey designed to extend previous research on the various types of staff and supervisory training, as well as performance management procedures offered to BACB certificants actively working in the applied setting.

There has been a recent increase in publications related to increasing the standards for 1) graduate training programs in ABA (e.g., Dixon, Reed, Smith, & LaMarca, 2015) and 2) supervision of individuals pursuing BCBA certification (e.g., Turner, Fischer, & Luiselli, 2016). Carr (2016) suggested a potential deficit of over 55,000 BCBAs to meet the growing need for behavior analytic services, making these discussions related to the quality of graduate training and BCBA trainee supervision extremely important. However, there has been relatively less attention paid to issues associated with ensuring on-going training for individuals who have already completed graduate school and have obtained their BCBA. By definition, as the demand for behavior analytic services increases, it may be reasonable to expect increased expertise in the practitioner skill set maintained by BCBAs. The purpose of the current paper is two-fold: 1) to review the recent publications on issues related to training behavior analysts, and to extend this discussion to the on-going supervision of BCBAs, and 2) to provide suggestions for supporting the on-going development of BCBAs who are faced with increasingly complex clinical issues. These topics will be addressed with respect to recent publications regarding the potential divide between science and practice within the field of behavior analysis (e.g., Critchfield, 2015b).

The purpose of the current investigation was to extend previous research on the various types of staff and supervisory training and performance management procedures offered to BACB certificants. Reed and Henley (2015) surveyed 382 individuals to this end, and their results suggest several areas that require increased attention; in particular, half of the respondents indicated that they did not receive initial pre-service training and nearly one third of respondents indicated that they do not receive on-going training in their work setting. The outcomes of Reed and Henley's investigation provide several valuable avenues for future research and practice. It is important to note, however, that only 18.9% of respondents reported that they work in the home setting (the remainder worked in center/school-based programs). Community-based practitioners are operating under far different contingencies than those who work in a group setting, which directly impacts issues related to staff training and performance management. Moreover, the topography and severity of challenging behaviors may differ across the home and school settings for a given individual. As such, the purpose of the current investigation was to extend Reed and Henley to include 1) more BCBA respondents who practice in the home setting and 2) more data on the frequency and nature of training and supervision received and provided by the respondents (with particular attention to severely challenging behaviors). Potential benefits associated with establishing a more robust definition of on-going training and performance management will be discussed. Implications for the concept of "Continuing Education" also will be presented.

Behavior analysts working in clinical settings are in a unique position: through the role of developing and implementing behavioral interventions, their work often overlaps and intersects with that of clinicians from many other disciplines. For example, the assessment of motivating operations and antecedents often overlaps with the work of psychiatrists and nurses. The process of implementing and evaluating interventions often overlaps with the work of program management and quality assurance. From this vantage point, the behavior analyst may be in a position to impact interdisciplinary collaboration among these various professionals. The panel will discuss two specific cases where this occurred. In each case, the individual presented with multiple behavioral and medical problems for which solutions were initially difficult to identify. Only after focusing on interdisciplinary team building and communication were the clinicians involved able to develop successful interventions. Specialists from management, nursing, and behavior analysis will discuss the approaches they used to achieve this collaboration, as well as the unique interventions it produced.

The responses we call aesthetic are instances of synergetic phenomena�elements interacting with a transformative effect. Such effects are pervasive in nature, as when chemical reagents react to create another substance, DNA creates organisms, or photosynthesis creates leaves. This conceptualization of aesthetic responses as synergetic phenomena puts the spotlight on the behavioral priming histories of audiences (viewers, listeners, etc.) with respect to the interacting elements�sounds, visual stimuli, words, abstract concepts. actions, or sensations. Aesthetic responses are complex, surprise-tinged emotional reactions. Artists, composers, poets, writers, performers, architects, or chefs create aesthetic effects by assembling such elements as ingredients of �synergetic brews.� To create these brews, they use a limited set of concept manipulation devices. Key factors that determine the aesthetic impact of such synergetic brews are prevailing behavioral contingencies and potentiating circumstances that act much like catalysts for the synergetic interaction�for instance, socio-cultural factors. Mechner shows how synergetic effects based on the use of the described concept manipulation devices are manifested in diverse art forms and disciplines�music, visual art, literature, humor, architecture, science, etc. He also shows how some of these devices can be modeled in the laboratory, and proposes research strategies for increasing our understanding of the pervasive behavioral phenomenon we call aesthetics. Dr. Killeen will offer comments following Dr. Mechner's paper.

Intermediate; master's level (BCBA) or master's students.

Much has been written in the field of behavior analysis concerning collaboration with professionals in other disciplines. The general hypothesis of this literature focuses on how behavior analysts often come across as dismissive of other disciplines, using language that drips heavily with technical terms, and with an attitude of how we know best. Many suggestions have been made to behavior analysts as to how to be perceived in a more positive light and thus have better working relations with these other professionals. Some of these suggestions include monitoring our language more carefully by speaking at the level of the listener, act more open to ideas from other disciplines, and to become a conditioned reinforcer to make other professionals more receptive to our ideas. One of our biggest strengths is that of adhering to an analytic process when confronted with a behavior problem that is not easily solved. This analytic process (involving case formulation, operational definition of key terms, careful assessment, protocol development, implementation with carefully constructed data instruments, evaluation of the data, and ultimately changing the treatment protocols if not successful) is a process that most disciplines understand and implement to some extent. The purpose of this symposium is to present case studies of successful collaboration between behavior analysts and professionals from other disciplines. Specific strategies for behavior analysts to use in similar collaborative opportunities will be highlighted to aid in the accomplishment of the objectives of such cases.

Behaviorism and the philosophy of science dictates a set of attitudes and practices to which behavior analysts adhere in their work. Our approach to solving human behavior problems - operational definition of the problem to solve, careful assessment of its current state, functional assessment identifying the reason(s) for the problem, and a 3-term paradigm describing different potential approaches to solutions � has been shown to be effective when applied to a wide range of human endeavors. Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) noted that, �A society willing to consider a technology of its own behavior apparently is likely to support that application when it deals with socially important behaviors, such as retardation, crime, mental illness, or education.� However, to have that impact in all areas of society requires collaboration with professionals in these other disciplines and areas. Collaboration is a set of behaviors for which behavior analysts have been criticized. We often come across as too technical; hesitant to take into consideration the suggestions of other disciplines; and adhering to a philosophical position (of behavior) that is not held by many others in society or other professional fields. This presentation will discuss how behavior analysts can collaborate in ways that makes us more influential with other disciplines and, at the same time, permits the adherence to our philosophy and approach towards solving human problems.

Physical activity is important to child and adolescent health and development. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that youth between 6 to 17 years participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily. Healthy People 2020 objectives aim to increase the proportion of youth meeting the federal physical activity guidelines. This study examines if identifying and providing opportunities for youth to engage in preferred activities increases participation in leisure-time physical activity. Study participants were youth ages 5 to 15, who resided in a low-income housing complex and participated in an after-school program. The Assessment of Preferred Leisure Alternatives for Youth was used to identify highly preferred activities that were made available through the youth program. A reversal design using momentary time sampling was used to evaluate whether access to highly preferred activities increased the percentage of youth engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Preliminary data suggest an increase between baseline (M = 6.5%, range, 0% to 13%) and intervention phases (M = 66.4%, range, 25% to 85%). Results will be discussed to better examine the efficacy of using online preference assessments and interventions to increase youth physical activity in community-based settings.

Medication is often used solely or in conjunction with behavioral procedures to treat behavior problems in individuals with autism. However, the synergetic effect of multiple medicationsmay evoke otherdifficult challenges that must be addressed in addition to the original dangerous behavioral concerns. Data based decisions and consistent behavioral programming can be used in conjunction with medical oversight and review to systematically reduce medication use so that the individual over time is demonstrating appropriate behavior on the smallest level of medication necessary. This case study demonstrates a formal protocol used when reducing the number and amount of medications used with two adolescents with autism. They demonstrated such serious self-injurious and aggressive behaviors that they were dangers to themselves and others, and that resulted in both being on a cocktail of several different medications tomanagespecific problematic behaviors as well as other alleged psychiatric issues. The number and dosage of these medications were such that these two individuals were sedatedwhichinterfered with skill acquisition. Close collaboration with their medicalneurologists,along with consistent behavioral programming and comprehensive data collection, resulted in gradual reduction and elimination of medications along with continued low-to-no rates of the original target behaviors. The protocols were successful due to the collaboration, gradual pace of medication reduction, consistent implementation of the behavior intervention plans, and the systematic collection of behaviordata.

Procedural integrity (PI) is the degree to which techniques are implemented properly and should be maintained at a high level to ensure proper implementation of discrete trial training (DTT). We used a multiple baseline design across participants, and within session design to evaluate the maintenance of DTT skills taught through behavior skills training (BST) with three new behavior therapists at a home-based service agency. All participants learned to implement DTT through BST, and one participant maintained 100% correct implementation of DTT at the 2 week, 4 week, 6 week, and 8 week follow-ups. One participant maintained 100% correct implementation of DTT at the 2 week follow-up, but decreased below criterion at the 4 week follow-up. One participant dropped below mastery criterion at the 2 week follow-up. We taught these participants to implement self-evaluation via video recording. Following the self-evaluation program, DTT skills maintained for 6 weeks for one participant and for 7 weeks for one participant. These results suggest that skills taught through BST may maintain for up to 8 weeks; however, if skills do not maintain, self-evaluation may be a supplementary intervention to increase and maintain PI.

This study was conducted to determine the impact of terminology on the procedural integrity of behavior analytic programming. A group design was utilized in which participants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: Technical-Terminology (TT Group, n = 23) and Lay-Terminology (LT Group, n = 23). Participants were 46 individuals who were students at a local university (n = 36) or interviewees of a behavior analytic service provider (n = 12). In each condition, participants were provided with a behavior analytic program to teach intraverbal behavior: answering WH questions about Massachusetts. The TT Group received programming with technical behavior analytic terminology while the LT group received the same program with lay terminology. A paired samples t-test indicated that the lay terminology group had significantly higher procedural integrity than the technical terminology group (p = 0.079). Average procedural integrity scores for the lay terminology group was 60.49% compared to 51.72% for the technical terminology group. IOA of the participants procedural integrity was established. These results emphasize the importance of tailoring language to the audience and given context. Social validity data are reported, as well as implications that this study has on staff training and other areas of future research.

The use of cannabis (marijuana) for medical and non-medical purposes is expanding worldwide and now includes legal retail outlets for purchasing cannabis products in many areas. Retail cannabis products are varied with respect to dose and intended route of administration, yet the preponderance of scientific data is limited to analysis of the effects of smoked cannabis. This presentation will summarize data from a series of controlled human laboratory studies evaluating the dose effects of oral, smoked, and vaporized cannabis in healthy, non-tolerant individuals. Outcome measures to be described include subjective ratings of drug effects, cardiovascular measures, cannabinoid quantitation in biological fluid, and performance on psychomotor, memory, and divided attention tasks. Implications of the study findings will be discussed with respect to regulation of medical and non-medical cannabis products, drug testing, and education.

Masters and Doctoral Level BCBAs

This symposium presents four studies examining effects of various types of social and nonsocial reinforcers for the behavior of children with autism spectrum disorders and typically developing children. Effects of three types of social reinforcers (i.e., enthusiastic praise, neutral praise, and smiling faces) and one type of nonsocial reinforcer (i.e., geometric forms) were assessed. Results shows that for the children with autism, exited praise was more reinforcing as compared to praise given in a neutral tone of voice. In contrast, the two types of praise was equally effective for typically developing children. When given a choice between a smiling face and a geometric form, children with autism preferred the geometric reinforcer to a lager extent than was the case for the typically developing children.

In an expansion of Polick, Carr and Hanney (2012), the purpose of this study is to determine the effects of enthusiastic and neutral praise in skill acquisition by four children with developmental disabilities in this alternating treatment design with a concurrent multiple baseline. One skill with six objectives, three for each phase of treatment, was targeted for each participant. Skill acquisition was measured as a percentage of opportunity as well as sessions to mastery to determine which method resulted in faster skill acquisition. During one phase, enthusiastic social praise was delivered contingent on a correct response while neutral praise was delivered during the second phase. Enthusiastic praise was defined as varied pitch and intonation, volume or tempo as well as an animated tone of voice. Neutral Praise was defined as even and consistent pitch and tone. The same ten approved phrases were used as in both phases of treatment. No sensory input or gestures were provided during either phase of treatment. For all four participants, skill acquisition was faster when enthusiastic social praise was delivered by an average of 1.43 sessions. Anecdotal reports indicate that noncompliance was higher in participants during the neutral praise phase and Clients failed to meet mastery in more neutral praise targets. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.

According to treatment manuals, praise when used as a putative reinforcer should be given in an excited voice. However, no published study have directly evaluated whether excited praise is more effective than praise delivered in a neutral tone. To examine this questions experimentally, an application for a tablet to assess responding to social praise delivered in excited tone and neutral tone was developed. Two squares, one red and one yellow were presented simultaneously on the tablet screen. Whenever one of the stimulus was touched, it played an audio clip of social praise either delivered in excited tone or neutral tone. Participants were 10 children with ASD and 9 typically developing children. Dependent variable was number of touches on each type of stimuli within and across participants. Results showed that for children with ASD, praise delivered in excited tone was more reinforcing compare to praise delivered in neutral tone. For typically developing children, in contrast, both conditions were equally effective in controlling responding, and hence, equally effective as reinforcers.

This study assessed reinforcement magnitude of social and nonsocial stimuli in children with autism and typically developing children using a progressive ratio reinforcement schedule. An application for a tablet was developed to assess responding to social images and nonsocial images. A pixelated stimulus was presented on the tablet screen, and whenever it was touched, it played a video clip for two seconds. The video clip was either a social image (a face) or a nonsocial image (a geometric pattern). Participants were 10 children with autism and 10 typically developing children. Dependent variable was the reinforcement schedule reached before responding extinguished (i.e., break point), and rate of responding across sessions. Results showed that for nonsocial stimuli, the break point and the rate of responding was higher for the children with autism as compared to the typically developing children. For the social stimuli the break point and the response rate was for similar for the children autism compared to the typically developing children. Results suggest that nonsocial stimuli is a more potent reinforcer for the behavior of children with autism as compared to typically developing children. Potent nonsocial reinforcers may select stereotyped and repetitive behavior and defici verbal and social skills.

Choice has a varied history as a topic of research in behavior analysis. To the extent that ?choice? refers to exercising free will, it is incompatible with a determinist philosophy of science. Nevertheless, it is consistently among the most popular topics at this conference and in behavioral journals. It has yielded some of the most significant conceptual and empirical advances in behavior analysis. From factors influencing consumer behavior to the role of impulsive behavior in substance abuse, from mathematical elaborations on the matching law that serve as the foundation for quantitative models of behavior to client preference assessments, few areas of behavior analysis have escaped the influence of choice. In this symposium, four distinguished behavior analysts with different research backgrounds and theoretical orientations present their ideas about the contributions of behavior analysis to the study of choice, and the value of choice as a research topic for behavior analysts. Speakers will discuss what we have accomplished already and offer their thoughts about where the field might go in the future.

Choice can be readily conceived within behavior analysis as analogous to a concurrent schedule of reinforcement. Thus, choice can be viewed within the scope of basic behavior analysis. In the applied behavior analytic literature and in the practice of applied behavior analysis, choice has a long history as both a procedural detail and an independent variable. Using past data related to preference assessment and current data related to an NIH-funded study on the maintenance of Functional Communication Training intervention effects, the current presentation will review the impact of choice as a procedural detail in applied behavior analysis research and practice. Specifically, the utility of choice in various types of assessment will be documented as a means of designing more effective and long lasting treatments. In addition, the current presentation will discuss the use of choice as an independent variable, or component, in the treatment of severe problem behavior. Specifically, studies related to how incorporating choice into treatment components impacts treatment outcomes will be discussed.

Choices between dissimilar items are ubiquitous but how are these decisions made? Researchers are interested in this issue to gain insights into various pathologies, including substance use attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, etc., as well as learn about basic decision-making mechanisms. In all of these disorders, patients show a heightened preference for small, immediate rewards over and larger, later rewards, also known as delay discounting. Studies in rodents examining the neural correlates of these types of choice have used a procedure in which subjects choose between small, immediate rewards and larger, later rewards where the delay to reward increases systematically across trials in a session. This talk will compare this procedure to titrating procedures that are also used in the field. I will present data showing the degree of correlation between the procedures is actually limited, discuss reasons for this mismatch and review the data on the neural bases of delay discounting derived from both types of procedure to identify regions identified by both procedures as well as regions identified by a single procedure.

Many higher education programs teach courses online, face to face, synchronous, asynchronous and hybrid. Online instruction continues to increase in popularity as noted with over 200 colleges and universities offering online instruction (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014) with at least 120 schools offering full online programs (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). Convenience and flexibility are key benefits of online learning (Marks, Sibley & Arbaugh, 2005). Online learning eliminates physical barriers to education such as geographic distance, time constraints and household obligations (Hines & Pearl, 2004). There is however, little to no empirical data that investigates the effectiveness of online learning, nor the most effective method of delivery and whether those methods should differ from traditional classroom methods. With such diversity in formats, it is essential to assess what components are most effective for student learning. The multiple modalities allows for variation of instruction across each mode often allowing multiple methods within one course. This symposium will review four different methods of delivering instruction and report on the student learning measures.

Several studies have demonstrated that active learning techniques in classrooms are more effective than passive learning techniques. The current literature has several different definitions of what consists of active learning. Bijou (1970) suggests that behavior analysis develop an approach to education that is more scientific and omits the otherwise hypothetical constructs that presently govern educations overall impact on student performance. The purpose of this study is to offer a behavior analytic definition of active learning and passive learning, create terminology that better describes the process, and to compare the effects of engagement versus lecture instruction approaches to teaching. We used an alternating treatments design across participants to demonstrate differentiation in weekly quiz scores between the two types of instructions. We hypothesize that weekly quiz scores will increase during the engagement instruction sessions and that weekly quiz scores will decrease during the lecture instruction sessions.

Online graduate programs in applied behavior analysis have grown in recent years. One of the major differences between on-ground and online courses is the nature of class discussions that take place within those courses. Traditional classrooms involve discussions that allow for immediate instructor feedback, provide opportunities for repeated practice, and vocal verbal discussions of concepts. Online courses on the other hand, often rely on discussion boards as a way for students to discuss concepts and demonstrate knowledge. Advantages to the use of discussion boards may include increased responding from students who might not respond in a live discussion, increased opportunity for students to engage in written behavior, and fewer time restrictions for students and instructors. The current study examined the effects of replacing static discussion board requirements with optional synchronous video discussions during target weeks during the semester. Student allocation to discussion board and synchronous video discussion sessions, number of responses per week, performance on assessments, and reported preference were compared.

Teachers essentially have students turn their attention from whatever they are doing prior to instruction to present instructional tasks that are effortful and difficult. For many students, the suddenly imposed demands frequently evoke some behaviors that interfere with student learning and make it difficult for the teacher to teach. At the same time, these task demands frequently do not evoke the kinds of desired behaviors that are conducive to student learning. Managing the contingencies to promote appropriate task engagement and completion while minimizing classroom disruptions can be very challenging. Four studies will be presented that examined a variety of consequence-based and antecedent strategies to increase desired classroom behavior and decrease disruptive behavior. Specifically, the studies examined the effects of (a) different reinforcement schedules on math-problem completion using a token-based reinforcement system, (b) adding differential negative reinforcement to an instructional package to increase revisions in self-generated writing samples; (c) contingent negative reinforcement on problem behavior maintained by escape during instruction; and (d) combining demand-fading and choice making on task completion and aggression. The results will be discussed in terms of arranging classroom contingencies to maximize student engagement and task completion while minimizing escape-motivated behavior.

When teachers implement point- or token- based classroom reinforcement systems, they must make decisions about how to deliver the point or tokens. One important consideration is on what schedule teachers should deliver points, but few studies have evaluated the effects of different schedules of reinforcement in classroom settings. In this study, we used an alternating treatments design to compare the effects of the two reinforcement schedules that would be easy for teachers to implement in the classroom, variable interval (VI 60-s) and fixed ratio (FR 5), on math fact completion and on-task behavior for three third-grade students. Students exchanged two points for a backup reinforcer in both conditions, and point distribution rate was designed to ensure the amount of reinforcement was similar across conditions in order to isolate the schedule. The study was conducted during a math center in the students classroom while regular classroom activities continued. Although results varied somewhat across participants, the fixed-ratio schedule maintained a higher rate of responding with less variability compared to the variable-interval schedule for all participants. Results are discussed in terms of optimizing point- or token-based classroom management systems, with suggestions for evaluating persistence of responding in future studies.

This symposium explores how tacting correct and incorrect implementation of behavioral training procedures may enhance treatment integrity when carrying out those procedures. Train to Code (http://www.ai2inc.com) is an internet-enabled program that uses multiple exemplar training to teach trainees to tact behavioral events as an expert does, as they occur sequentially in a video. By definition, when trainees have achieved expert tacting performance with the targeted events, high inter-observer-agreement with the expert has been attained. Early in the evaluation of this program, we noted that when trainees learn to consistently tact steps an expert therapist takes when carrying out a behavioral training procedure, they show improved skill in carrying out the same procedure. This may be conceptualized as tacting if-then relationships in the environment (i.e., deriving self-rules) and then following those rules at a later time under similar circumstances (Fryling, Johnston, and Hayes L, 2011). We explore what behavioral principles and phenomena might be involved in such transfer, what practical considerations impact the success of this training, and provide two examples of the use of this approach to enhance skills in carrying out behavioral training procedures.

Train to Code is an internet-enabled program that uses multiple exemplars to teach trainees to tact behavioral events as an expert does, as they occur sequentially in videos. When the events to be tacted involve implementation of behavior analytic training procedures, we have found that, after trainees have achieved mastery (high inter-observer-agreement), they often carry out those procedures more correctly compared with their baseline performance (i.e., with improved treatment integrity). Since ABA interventions must be implemented with high treatment integrity to be effective, and this is a major issue in the field, we are excited that TTC may play a role in achieving this goal. In this presentation, we seek to identify behavioral principles that may account for this transfer, which we view as delayed observational learning. We also discuss behavioral phenomena that appear to be related to this finding, such as abstract control in simple and more complex (higher order) verbal relations, rule-governed behavior, self-talk in skilled performance in judged sports, and the role of tacting a model's behavior in imitating that behavior at a later time.

The purpose of the present study was to assess the feasibility of an observation and coding software system (i.e., Train-To-Code [TTC]) to teach university students implementation of Phase 3A of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). The software was used to develop a customized program that coached participants by presenting multiple exemplars of correct and incorrect implementation of each step of this phase of PECS. Participants were required to code specific behaviors in accordance with a taxonomy developed by the experimenters. The training program provided prompts and feedback in real time based on participants' level of performance and required mastery of seven levels of training, each with fewer prompts and feedback, until an expert level of unprompted coding performance was demonstrated. Four undergraduate students with no prior experience in the implementation of PECS were recruited. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of the training on treatment integrity performance during role-play with a confederate learner before and after training. Results showed improved performance relative to baseline following training, and maintenance of performance at 2-4 weeks follow-up. Implications of these findings for staff training in applied settings will be discussed.

ABA staff are typically taught quite differently from how those same staff members teach clients. Clients are individually evaluated for existing skills and knowledge, then Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) are developed that take into account a wide variety of important variables that impact the educational program designed for each individual client. Staff, on the other hand, are more typically taught using techniques more commonly found in classroom instruction and is not individualized. That is, they are taught in groups, are presented slide presentations and limited narrated video examples, and may participate in some discussion and/or even role playing. Ignored are individual differences in prior training or content exposures, the pace of delivery, and most other teaching/learning variables. Train-to-Code (TTC) is a software system designed to help individualize this process through highly adaptive and interactive process pacing, prompting, and feedback or error correction procedures. But that is only a beginning in individualization. The design of the content and task demands of those who supply content for TTC presents a whole new set of instructional challenges that should also be very carefully considered and individualized for each trainee. This presentation reviews data showing how critical this requirement really is.

The current investigation examined the effectiveness of a metacontingency package in two experimentations. In experiment one, the metacontingency was utilized by embedding activities with interlocking behavioral contingencies to examine its effectiveness on reciprocal social interactions in two females diagnosed with an Intellectual Disability. Results demonstrated an increase of the dependent variable by the metacontingency activities. The results of experiment one were the premise for experiment two, which was to examine whether the metacontingency activities that were effective in increasing reciprocal social interactions were an effect of the metacontingency or an effect of engaging in an activity together. Experiment two utilized two activity types, parallel and metacontingency activities, to determine their relative effect on self-talk behavior, reciprocal social interactions, and conversational units in two males diagnosed with an Intellectual Disability. Results suggested that there were no relative effects demonstrated by the two activity types on self-talk behavior, however results demonstrated an increased effect by the metacontingency activities relative to the parallel activities on reciprocal social interactions and conversational units.

Research has shown that typically developing children tact at a higher rate when deprived of social interaction as compared to when satiated. The purpose of this study was to further examine the effects of presession social interaction on the acquisition of tacts. The participants were three children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, who learned tacts following presession conditions of deprivation of social interaction, satiation of social interaction, and control. Maintenance probes were conducted 2 weeks and 1 month following training. A functional analysis of language demonstrated that the newly acquired words functioned as tacts. All three participants learned tacts more efficiently following deprivation of social interaction, as compared to satiation or control. This study extended the literature by demonstrating the effects of pressession social interaction on tact acquisition.

Past research has demonstrated that oral labeling can emerge following equivalence-based instruction (Groskreutz et al., 2010). We designed an equivalence-based protocol to determine if intraverbals would emerge following EBI. A pretest/posttest control group experimental design was used to examine the effects of teaching specific conditional relations among stimuli representing planets, on the emergence of untaught relations, as well as intraverbals (i.e., answering questions about the planets). Class A was the written name of the planet (i.e., Neptune, Mars, and Saturn), Class B was a picture representing each planet, and Class C was a fact about the planet (e.g., has rings made of ice). A match-to-sample protocol using a linear training structure was used. Pretests were conducted for all relations and with the exception of C-A, scored at or below 50%. During a pretest for answering questions about planets, the participant scored 0%. The participant responded correctly on 100% of the trials during the posttest of all relations and answered 70% of the posttest questions accurately. The teaching as usual control comparison included questions about a different set of planets (i.e., Venus, Earth, and Jupiter) and facts that were taught using discrete trial instruction. The participant could not answer any questions from this set of planets during the pretest. After the participant was directly taught to answer these questions, he was able to answer 70% of the questions correctly. Results indicate that, for this participant, accuracy of intraverbal responding that emerged following EBI was similar to that trained directly using DTI.

The symposium is on measuring behavioral development and intervention at proper place for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder . It focuses on the need of developmentally based behavioral instruments to assess the progress of autism. This allows for individualization in all cases to increase intervention effectiveness. The presentations in this symposium will discuss: a) a developmentally based behavioral instrument for early detection of autism and effective intervention; b) empirical study of autism developmental task instrument in predicting developmental difficulty of task items; c) a need for placing the person in the right place in a behavioral development sequence, to see if sequenced interventions are actually moving the child forward.

A new developmentally based behavioral instrument Autism Developmental Task Sequence has been developed. With the use of the instrument, the aim is to see the longitudinal and cross-sectional data on developmental progress in individual performance in a number of domains associated with autism spectrum disorder. All the questions in the instrument are task based. The answers to questions are asked ratings from a scale of 1(never) to6 (always). The items in the instrument are developed using the Model of Hierarchical Complexity to determine their developmental difficulty. The domains and subdomains are also based on the Model of Hierarchical Complexity. The instrument breaks these domains down to get an understanding/analysis of these impairments and their developmental progress. Each items are pre scored for their Order of Hierarchical Complexity (OHC) (Commons & Miller, 1998; Commons & Pekker, 2008). In each domain, the instrument’s items form a task sequence. The sequence is formed by determining the order of hierarchical complexity of the items and then putting them from easy to hard in order. A task actions is one order of hierarchical complexity more difficult than the task actions it is defined in terms of and sequences the actions in a non-arbitrary way.

Individuals with ASD face many challenges, including acquisition and generalization of new skills. While discrete trial training (DTT) remains a hallmark of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) programs, there remains a lack of research indicating optimal procedures for specific learners. The studies in this symposium assess elements of DTT that may lead to optimal learning outcomes, including generative instruction, presentation order, and treatment integrity.

The landscape surrounding cannabis use is changing dramatically. Legalized medical and recreational use is spreading, habitual use is growing, perceptions of harm are decreasing and the concentration of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient, is rising; consequently, increased problems associated with cannabis use have been predicted. A better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie cannabis use disorder and effective treatments are therefore needed. This presentation will describe the use of human drug discrimination procedures to determine the neuropharmacological mechanisms of the interoceptive effects of THC and identify targets for treatment. This research has demonstrated that GABA and voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC) are involved in the response to cannabis in humans. This presentation will then discuss the use of human laboratory drug self-administration procedures, combined with medication maintenance, as a strategy for determining the initial safety, tolerability and efficacy of ligands at these targets as potential treatments. Studies with the GABA reuptake inhibitor tiagabine and the VDCC ligand pregabalin will be described. Lastly, the presentation will include initial results from research that has integrated neuroimaging, non-invasive electrical brain stimulation and acute drug administration techniques to study cannabis-use disorder.

In this talk I will discuss how we can analyse "mental health" symptoms, the DSM and psychological therapies as behaviours-in-context. The main focus will be on the social, economic, societal and cultural contexts, and showing the historical invention and development of "mental health" metaphors as western societies changed. Along the way I will illustrate with examples drawn from my participatory research on the "mental health" of Indigenous and refugee communities. The discussion will also highlight what needs to be changed within behaviour analysis if it wishes to engage more in social and community research.

Academic and professional behavior analysts

Providing effective ethical treatment to clients with autism and/or other developmental disabilities across the lifespan requires collaborative interdisciplinary teamwork between parents, teachers, behavior analysts, and other service providers. Specifically, practitioners who work in diverse settings may need to understand different organizational cultures, relevant laws, applicable policies, perspectives, and procedures from others who do not come from a behavior analytical framework. Behavior analysts who are knowledgeable of how various environmental stimuli contribute or negate to collaborative efforts are in a unique position to contribute to the success of the collaborative effort. This symposium will provide an overview of the various entities that can potentially impact cooperation amongst teams across various settings (e.g., school based special education settings, home-based applied behavior analysis settings, residential adult service settings) and how these influence interdisciplinary team members perspectives. The application of the ethical code and generalization of ethical behavior and skills will be discussed in relation to relevant ethical scenarios.

Positive collaboration among educators and parents is a vital component when developing a successful Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for students receiving special education services. Parents of students diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) report overall negative perceptions of educators in terms of adequate preparation and knowledge of their childs unique disability. The breakdown in this partnership can be attributed to a lack of communication initiation from teachers, insufficient teacher knowledge, and differences in attitudes and opinions regarding the needs of the individual child/student. With the rapid increase in the prevalence of ASD in todays classrooms, it is highly probable that both general and special education teachers will encounter multiple students with ASD each year; however, most teachers receive minimal preparation in evidence-based practices for students with ASD. This presentation will provide recommendations for how the partnership between teachers and parents of students with ASD can be mended through high-quality training opportunities under the principles and guidelines of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

Behavior analysts frequently lament the lack of global impact of behavior-analytic philosophy and application, especially in "mainstream" domains such as general education, healthcare, or policy. This panel will share the achievements and challenges of a behavior-analytic program that is widely used in a mainstream context. Headsprout, an online program created by behavior analysts, teaches early reading and reading comprehension and is used in schools around the globe. Panelists will discuss how Headsprout became "mainstream," as well as the difficulty most "laypeople" have understanding the design behind the program and why it does not follow the approach used by most other instructional programs. Discussion will cover objections from traditional educators, the increasing requirements and challenges facing all instructional programs (regardless of philosophy), and how Headsprout has managed to maintain and increase adoption across the years (including effectiveness data and what has been learned through wide-spread implementation). Behavior analysis can make an impact through wide-scale applications, and the experiences of Headsprouts creators and implementers might help inform scientists and practitioners who aim for that goal.

Cloud based computer technology is now available for the management and enhancement of clinical practices in both urban and remote settings. This discussion will review aspects of this technology that are available for assessment, program implementation and documentation, staff training and practice management. Presenters will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of cloud base practice management, the steps required for transitioning to cloud base practices, and the potential for conducting in-house research, staff and program development. Finally, the potential for these services to promote the dissemination and utilization of latest research findings and practices and other benefits such as the networking of remote service providers will be discussed.

The field of behavior analysis acknowledges our responsibility to ethically provide services that support the autonomy of and maximize reinforcement for our clients, while also maximizing benefit to the community at large. Perhaps in no arena is this responsibility more pertinent than in that of sexual behavior. Cognizance around ethical issues as well as potential legal implications is of highest importance, especially in situations in which our clients have developmental disabilities. This panel will serve as a sounding board for common issues faced in the field as behavior analysts who address potential behavior change surrounding sexual behavior. Panelists will provide anecdotal information to inform best practices, surrounding the ethics of consultation and intervention, and the ethical considerations of each. Past Risky Business panels will serve as a brief touchpoint for this panel, as our panelists continue to bring us new and relevant information in the realm of sexual behavior.

Behavior analysts generally lack vocabulary to discuss aesthetic properties of artistic aesthetic stimuli and have to develop strategies for analyzing and synthesizing artistic information. Perhaps there are phylogenetic reasons why we find some things beautiful, but what explains acquired tastes. Palmer will explore the hypothesis that “aesthetic responses” entail Skinner’s concepts of multiple control, the “probe,” and saltations in response strength. Catania argues that, contingencies of three terms have operated throughout artistic creation and appreciation, and variations have been a major component in the evolution of the arts. Hineline explores patterns – spatial, temporal, sequential and coherence. While parsimony of mathematical arguments can make them elegant if they are completely coherent, musical sequences engage us by perturbing coherent patterns that have been established by histories of exposure. How do we systematically study the functions of artistic, aesthetic stimuli? Thompson concludes by touching on a. Artistic establishing operations which determine what creations will be more or less reinforcing; b. Discriminative Stimuli. C. Conditional Discriminative Stimuli that will facilitate the effectiveness of other discriminative stimuli in therapy, public health or education), and d. Artistic creation as reinforcing activities. Sponsored in part by the Behavior Analysis and the Arts SIG.

Existing research illustrates how qualitative research methods could be utilized in other fields, including educational research and behavioral sciences (Jacobs, 1987) and the following studies incorporate these methods to inform, evaluate, and measure outcomes of behavior analytic interventions. The first study included focus group data collected from Spanish-speaking caregivers to help develop a behavioral parent training (BPT) program for families with limited English proficiency. The results of the focus groups, as well as the results of the implementation of the BPT program are reported. The second paper examined the use of focus groups and interviews with parents, teachers, and school administrators to evaluate a school-based, comprehensive model to address the needs of students with autism. Feedback and recommendations to improve feasibility and acceptability were included. The third study reviewed the use of a qualitative measure of caregiver buy-in during admission in an outpatient program to address problem behavior. The relationship between caregiver buy-in and successful completion of the program will be discussed. The final study examined the use of structured observations, clinical interviews, and indirect assessments, along with quantitative measures to assess interventions for problem behavior. Results suggest that positive outcomes extend beyond reducing problem behavior.

Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been found to occur across a variety of ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups (CDC, 2010), further research is needed to evaluate how language and cultural barriers impact the effectiveness of interventions and modifications to standard practice (Baker-Ericzn, Stahmer, & Burns, 2007). Similarly, existing literature suggests that behavioral parent training (BPT) programs are considered a promising clinical and preventive intervention (Jang et al., 2011; Serketich & Dumas, 1996), yet very few researchers have examined the impact of BPT within specific cultural groups (Martinez & Eddy, 2005). In the current study, focus groups were developed to assess the barriers associated with accessing treatment options within the Latino community, and evaluate the perceived efficacy of BPT for caregivers with limited English proficiency (LEP) and a child with ASD. Participants were asked about previous experiences, perceived barriers to treatment, and suggestions for behavioral clinicians. Focus group transcriptions were thematically coded and used to inform modifications to staff training, service delivery, and curriculum for an existing, communitybased BPT intervention. The impact of the modifications will be monitored through assessing parent skills for 12 LEP parent-child dyads and both caregiver and therapist satisfaction and acceptability of service delivery.

Myriad behavior analytic strategies are considered evidence-based for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however implementing comprehensive intervention packages in public schools has been difficult. Implementation barriers, such as fidelity and buy-in, are especially challenging but not fully explored in the literature. To address gaps in intervention development and implementation, we developed Students with Autism Accessing General Education (SAAGE), a comprehensive, modular intervention for use by educators for students with ASD. Modules allow educators to support core and associated features of ASD and rely heavily on behavior analytic principles. SAAGE is implemented by a school team and a coach, who helps the team assess student needs, identify goals and select relevant modules. We used qualitative research methodology to obtain feedback on the model, via 9 focus groups and 3 interviews conducted with 22 teachers, 13 administrators, and 11 parents across four sites. Data were analyzed by thematic analysis; we achieved triangulation through multiple informants and independent coding. Results indicate overall positive feedback for SAAGE, as well as recommendations for fine-tuning the model. This feedback is being integrated to inform the final version of SAAGE, to support its feasibility, acceptability, and perceived helpfulness by prospective implementers and recipients of the intervention.

Past research has examined the effects of treatment integrity on the effectiveness of interventions for challenging behavior (Sterling-Turner, Watson, & Moore, 2002; Van Den Hoofdakker et al. 2007). Acceptability is a precursor to treatment integrity (Witt & Elliott, 1985), and acceptability may be thought of in terms of how bought-in a caregiver is to the treatment procedures. However, there has been only limited research on how to best measure acceptability or buy-in. In addition, the studies that have been conducted have used self-report (usually from teachers) and have generally assessed only pre- or post-treatment as opposed to analyzing buy-in throughout. This study extends the past research by examining caregiver buy-in (assessed by a 6 item, likert-scale questionnaire completed by a therapist observing the caregiver). In the present study, we analyzed data from this measure completed by the therapist at the second and third appointment of a 10-week outpatient behavioral treatment program targeting problem behavior. The caregiver buy-in measure was related to successful completion of the program, demonstrating the importance of considering caregivers buy-in to treatment procedures. Other aspects of reliability and validity (e.g., test-retest reliability) are also discussed.

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States with recent surveys estimating over 22 million current (past month) users. However, there is growing acceptance of its recreational use, evident by successful efforts to decriminalize and, in some states like Colorado, legalize use. In addition, although the full medicinal value of cannabis is not yet understood, such cannabinergic effects are of known benefit in the palliative care of anorectic patients undergoing chemotherapy or suffering debilitating conditions such as AIDS or Alzheimer?s disease. This has led to a broadening interest in the clinical utility of drugs that target the endocannabinoid system. In this regard, however, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, is generally acknowledged to produce some unwanted effects in humans. These include deleterious effects on several types of complex behavior, especially related to learning, memory, and vigilance. Employing operant techniques in nonhuman primates such as drug discrimination, self-administration, nociception assays, and touchscreen-based models of learning and memory, this presentation will highlight recent advances in the understanding of THC?s effects on complex behavioral processes and, as well, efforts to develop drugs that engage the cannabinergic system and retain medicinal value, yet produce lesser adverse psychoactive effects.

Behavior analysts interested in the behavioral effects of marijuana and the development of improved cannabis therapeutics.

We will present data pertaining to the reinforcing and stimulant properties of the major and minor nicotine metabolites, namely cotinine, anabasine and nornicotine, using the invertebrate Planaria as an animal model. The reinforcement effects will be assessed using the conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure. The stimulant properties will be assessed with two measures involving human observers: motility measured as the number of grid lines swam across over a 1cm2 grid placed underneath a Petri dish in a five minute interval, in different metabolite concentrations and stereotypy/hyperkinesias-abnormal stereotyped movements indicative of strong stimulant concentrations. Stereotypies were counted as number of occurrences per five-minute interval during exposure to different concentrations of the metabolites. The typical concentrations we assessed are .01mM, .03mM and .06mM for anabasine and nornicotine as these compounds had toxic effects upon the flatworms at stronger concentrations while cotinine allows for the use of much stronger concentrations of up 5mM.

It is unknown if Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches (MHCs) respond to chemical residues left from previous sessions with the same or different MHC. Understanding if performance might be in part due to past sessions would be of benefit to those who study MHCs. In Study 1 we used a Y-maze with removable sections within each arm. Using one male MHC as the subject, we alternated between which arm was scented and which was clean. To gather the female's scent, we housed her on a piece of cardboard for 48 hours. The results of Study 1 showed a minor preference for the clean arm versus the arm with the female's scent, therefore we decided to replicate the study and include the male's scent. In Study 2 we used a square apparatus with half of it covered in clean cardboard and the other covered with either the female's scent or the male's scent. We used 4 subjects, all dominant males, and two females for scent on the cardboard. Results from this study showed that there were both within subject and between subject differences for time allocation related to female and self-scents. The results also highlight the importance of cleaning apparati during cockroach research

The ongoing collaboration and coordination of research between the experimental and applied communities of behavior analysis is essential to the advancement of the science of behavior (Mace & Critchfield, 2010). Involvement of young researchers is vital to the maintenance and future development of translational work within the field. The panelists for this professional development panel is made up of established researchers in the field of behavior analysis whose research efforts span the basic to applied continuum. Panelists will provide examples of research they are conducting and review the current state of translational research in our field. In addition, they will identify potential barriers to establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships between basic and applied researchers. Panelists will also provide the audience with recommendations for the future directions of translational research and suggestions for how to incorporate basic research into applied settings. The audience will have the opportunity to learn about translational work and how researchers can pursue and further the field of translational research.

Applied Behavior Science can be utilized to affect a wide range of socially significant behaviors across diverse populations. Breaking into and establishing the practice in ?novel? fields or applications is often discussed among behavior analysts, but can be an overwhelming task and can leave one confused about where exactly to begin. This panel seeks to address areas, practices, and populations that can benefit from applied behavior science, and to discuss approach and entry into interdisciplinary work. The presenters will discuss their own work in diversifying the recipients and proponents of behavioral technology outside traditional funding streams and applications, including: education, neuroscience, online learning, sports/exercise, and local government organizations. An emphasis on an experimental analysis for their varied approaches and data on the success of their ventures will be presented. Following will be an open discussion with attendees on inviting other perspectives and future directions and implications for applied behavior science.

Perez-Gonzalez, Garcia-Asenjo, Williams, and Julio-Carnerero (2007) evaluated the effects of training multiple bidirectional (A?B) relations on the emergence of novel bidirectional relations with two children diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder. Results showed that although both participants demonstrated emergence of bidirectional relations, the participant who experienced immediate bidirectional training demonstrated emergence of novel bidirectional relations in fewer training trials than the participant who experienced extended unidirectional training (A==>B) prior to bidirectional training (A==>B and B==>A). The purpose of the current study was to replicate the basic procedures of Perez-Gonzalez et al. and extend their findings by evaluating the effects of an extended unidirectional training history on the emergence of bidirectional relations with four children with autism. We further extended Perez-Gonzalez et al. by (a) using simple antecedent stimuli (i.e., English ==> French translations), (b) reporting participant scores on expressive and receptive language assessments, (c) evaluating the effects of training history with two matched groups of children with autism, (d) programming for and assessing maintenance, and (e) assessing social validity. Novel bidirectional relations emerged quickly for both participants who were exposed to an immediate bidirectional training history. Emergence of novel bidirectional relations was impeded for one of the two participants who were exposed to an extended unidirectional training history. These results indicate that bidirectional relations should be trained immediately to avoid potential problems with emergence of bidirectional relations.

Strategies to promote the emergence of untrained verbal relations are of critical importance for learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study examined the effects of systematically training new relations on the emergence of intraverbal relations within the same set and across untrained sets using a multiple probe across behaviors (sets) design. Three sets consisting of three classes of stimuli were developed for each of the six participants with ASD. Training was sequentially introduced within Set 1 for listener responses by feature/function, tact feature/function, and bi-directional intraverbals. Following mastery of one relation within the set, probes were conducted to assess emergence of all untrained relations within set 1. Once mastery criteria were met through direct training or emergence for all intraverbal relations in set 1, probes were conducted to evaluate relations across all sets (1-3). The procedures were repeated with the remaining sets. Results indicated that some participants showed emergence of untrained intraverbal relations following training of the listener and tact responses, consistent with prior research. Some participants required training across multiple relations and classes before emergence of intraverbals was observed. These results highlight the importance of evaluating performance over multiple sets and the benefits of systematically programming for emergence within clinical work.

Instructive feedback (IF) is a procedure in which non-targeted information is presented to a learner during instruction for targeted skills. Previous research has demonstrated that students with autism spectrum disorder may acquire at least a portion of skills presented via IF. Although a promising instructional methodology for learners with ASD, few studies focus on learners who use an augmentative device for communication purposes. The purpose of the current investigation was to extend the IF literature related to students with ASD who use communication devices. Across all target skills, IF resulted in the acquisition of at least a portion of secondary targets without explicit teaching.

The word identity seems ubiquitous. It is a focus of contemporary social science, appears regularly in the media, and occurs increasingly often in everyday conversation, especially on college campuses and among the cultural cognoscenti. Typically, it is used as or paired with a descriptor - such as gender identity, ethnic identity, or identity crisis - and then offered as an explanation of some behavioral phenomena, including gender and ethnic differences, the results of presidential elections, and even B. F. Skinner’s enrollment in graduate school following his “dark year” as a fledging writer. While behavior analysts eschew such explanations, most people, including most behavioral and social scientists, are more interested in the temporally extended patterns of complex behavior subsumed by terms like identity than they are in the foci of much current behavior analytic research. Cogent behavioral accounts of identity and related phenomena are available, but typically garner little attention. Borrowing from these, a behavior analysis of identity is presented and then used to reflect on the identity of behavior analysis itself. If identity consists of patterns of behavior, it appears that our identity is changing. Within behavior analysis, the extraordinary success of the applied wing has overshadowed our identity as a basic behavioral science. Outside behavior analysis, our identity as a viable, comprehensive behavioral science has diminished. We appear to be having an identity crisis, and if it is important to retain our scientific identity, we need to address it.

Pending