Association for Behavior Analysis International

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

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

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

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

Board certified behavior analysts, licensed psychologists, graduate students.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Most children with autism spectrum disorders engage in problem behaviors (e.g., stereotypy) that are maintained by automatic (nonsocial) reinforcement. Given that researchers and practitioners typically have no control over the consequences maintaining these behaviors, assessment and treatment are often a challenge in applied settings. To address this issue, the symposium aims to present recent advances in both the assessment and treatment of problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement in children with autism spectrum disorders. The first presentation will discuss the use of a modified trial-based functional analysis to identify the function of automatically-reinforced behavior following ambiguous results. The second presentation will examine the effects of using a technology-based intervention on engagement in stereotypy and other challenging behavior in a girl with autism. Finally, the third presentation will present the results of a study on validating the algorithms of an app designed to support parents in the reduction of stereotypy in children with autism spectrum disorders. Altogether, the presentations will provide an overview of recent research on the assessment and treatment of automatically-reinforced behavior in this population.

The use of portable electronic devices to learn novel skills offers a number of benefits to individuals with autism including social acceptability and increased independence. A multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to evaluate the effects of iPod-based visual activity schedules with embedded video models on the academic skill acquisition of a young girl with autism. The participant engaged in stereotypy, which was reported to increase in the presence of the iPad, and other challenging behaviors during work. Results indicated that the intervention was effective at improving the participants performance of each academic task. Following the removal of intervention, the participant accurately performed two of the three skills without additional teaching procedures. Stereotypy remained stable and the participants engagement in challenging behavior decreased as she demonstrated acquisition of each academic task. Stimulus generalization across academic targets was demonstrated and skill acquisition was maintained during three-week follow-up probes. Implications for practitioners and directions for future research are discussed.

Communicative delays are a challenge commonly experienced by individuals with disabilities that have deficits within their verbal repertoires. The increasing prevalence of individuals with disabilities has led to an increasing relevance for empirically based treatments designed to address deficient verbal repertories. Facilitating the development of complex verbal operants and the emergence of derived stimulus relations is a crucial consideration for this population that can produce significant gains toward a robust and sophisticated verbal repertoire. The present set of studies will discuss the application of procedures taken from the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge (PEAK) curriculum to teach complex verbal operants to individuals with autism and traumatic brain injuries, two populations that frequently have delayed verbal repertories. The presenters will outline sets of procedures to teach abstraction of stimulus properties across sensory modalities using the Picture Exchange Communication System, as well as methods to promote the emergence of metonymical tacts of gustatory stimuli using stimulus equivalence in individuals with autism. In addition, the application of a set of procedures to teach complex verbal operants to individuals with traumatic brain injuries will be discussed.

Gustatory, olfactory, and tactile properties are features of stimuli that are encountered on a daily basis. Much of the literature focuses on the development of responding to auditory and visual properties of stimuli, however, there is limited literature available on the development of responding to other sense modalities, such as taste, smell and touch. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a set of procedures described in the PEAK-Generalization curriculum for bringing tact extensions of abstracted tactile properties under stimulus control. A multiple baseline design across skills was implemented with two participants with disabilities, in which correctly tacting tactile properties of Wet/Dry and Hard/Soft stimuli was reinforced. Baseline accuracy for correct responses was below 50%, and all participants demonstrated mastery following training (5 consecutive trial blocks at 100%). Generalization probes of novel stimuli were conducted throughout the study, and both participants demonstrated generalization of stimulus control to novel stimuli with the same tactile properties. Mastery of trained and tested skills were maintained following a 2-week period. The results have implications for procedures that promote the abstraction of stimulus properties other than that of visual and auditory.

Minimal research to date has explored the clinical utility of incorporating metonymical tact extentions into equivalence relations. The purpose of the current study was to extend previous research using the Promoting Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Relational Training System Equivalence Module (PEAK-E) to determine if stimulus equivalence with gustatory stimuli and metonymical tact extensions would emerge for three participants diagnosed with Emotional Behavior Disorder (EBD). A nonconcurrent multiple probe embedded within a multiple baseline across participant design was used. Participants were trained three, six-member stimulus classes (i.e., A-B, A-C, A-D, E-D, F-D) that included gustatory stimuli (A), images (B), spoken words (C), written words (D), metonymical tacts (E), and Greek letters (F) across flavor categories (sweet, sour, and spicy). Participant response selection and intraverbal vocal responses were collected across training and testing trials respectively. Two participants were tested on selection-based and intraverbal responses of novel metonymical tacts following training. During baseline probes, the mean percent of correct responding was 75%.Following training, all participants responded correctly on 90% of trials, and demonstrated acquisition of 25 untrained relations. Participants who completed testing for novel metonymical tacts did not demonstrate generalization of the tact extensions or an emergence of correct intraverbal responses.

Skill acquisition programs frequently include prompts to occasion behavior. Responses under the control of a prompt are then transferred to the discriminative stimulus or establishing operation that evoke behavior in the natural environment. Despite substantial evidence regarding the efficacy of transfer of stimulus control procedures, some individuals may not consistently engage in independent responding in appropriate settings. The current symposium presents a collection of studies that evaluated strategies to promote independent responding and reduce or prevent dependence on prompts. The first study compared the efficacy and efficiency of three interventions to treat prompt dependence for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental disabilities. The second study provided tactile prompts to reduce rapid eating in a child with autism and compared two prompt fading strategies. The third study investigated the effects of fading procedures to teach independent and varied play skills to young children with autism during free play on the playground. All three studies will provide a discussion of how best to promote independent responding and fade prompts from instruction.

Prior research has focused on identifying effective strategies to prevent prompt dependence from occurring during the training of novel skills, although it is unclear whether interventions are also effective for reducing pre-existing prompt dependence. The current literature has also indicated that the relative efficacy and efficiency of different interventions may be idiosyncratic across learners, suggesting the potential benefit of an individualized assessment. The purpose of the current study was to extend the literature on prompt dependence and assessment-based instruction by conducting an assessment to compare interventions for skills for which four participants with developmental disabilities consistently engaged in correct responses following prompts but did not perform independently. An alternating treatment design was used to compare the effects of differential reinforcement, prompt fading, and an extended response interval on independent correct responses. Thus far, the results indicate that fading the vocal prompt may increase independent correct responding, but differential reinforcement was the most efficacious and efficient intervention strategy. The results also support the extension of assessment-based instruction to identify interventions for prompt dependence.

This study assessed the effects of a vibrating pager (i.e., tactile prompt) on reduction of rapid eating in an adolescent male with autism. We replicated the procedures used by Anglesea et al. (2008) to slow the pace of food consumption with two extensions. The first extension was to examine whether the pager prompt could be successfully faded by altering the intensity of the vibration. The second extension was to compare the effects of fading by stimulus intensity vs. fading by stimulus frequency. An ABABCBCB reversal design was used to evaluate the effects of the tactile prompt on reduction of pace of eating (ABAB) and to compare the effects of fading the tactile prompt by intensity vs. by frequency (CBCB). Results showed that the pager was successful in decreasing the pace of eating to an appropriate level and the tactile prompt was successfully faded. Fading by frequency was ineffective in maintaining an appropriate pace of eating while intensity fading was successful. The intensity fading involved switching the pager from a high intensity, to a low intensity and to low intensity that was muffled.

Children with autism often have difficulty playing appropriately and independently. Activity schedules have been shown to be effective at teaching children with autism to play. Some individuals with autism engage in repetitive behaviors, especially on the playground. A previous study showed that activity schedules were effective at reducing repetitive or patterned behavior on the playground by teaching three students with autism to play appropriately and independently. This study investigated the effects of fading procedures on teaching independent and varied play skills to young children with autism during free play on the playground. All three participants engaged in more playground activities when they were taught to use the activity schedule binders. Two of the three participants were able to fade to more portable forms of activity schedules, and go through the entire fading sequence. One of the participants was only able to fade to smaller size pictures in the activity schedule binder.

As the number of behavior analysts practicing internationally grows, there is an increasing need for our field to navigate complex social and cultural differences while remaining in line with our fundamental philosophies and our professional and ethical guidelines. Across the United States and the world, differences abound in the acceptability of certain behaviors, the treatment of individuals with disabilities, the use of reinforcement and punishment, and the role of religious, educational, and governmental institutions. The expansion of our field into new markets and areas of practice has outpaced our ethics and compliance code, and many practitioners need to balance social validity and cultural sensitivity with professional guidelines. This panel discussion will bring together practitioners from around the world to share experiences in delivering behavioral services in an increasingly multicultural society. Topics to be addressed include the use of punishment, prioritizing treatment goals, selecting reinforcers, navigating religious and cultural beliefs, and legal and ethical compliance issues.

The present symposium explores new areas of treatment and provides a review of the efficacy and effectiveness of established treatments for severe problem behavior. In Study 1, the boss-hat protocol was implemented and destructive behavior was observed to decrease by an average of 96% across cases. Results of this study emphasize the importance of function-based treatment even when the function may momentarily fluctuate. Study 2 provides an updated review of behavioral treatments for self-injurious behavior and examined current treatment trends. Study 3 focused on the effectiveness of functional communication training (FCT) with contingency-based reinforcement thinning with 25 outpatient clinical cases in which the IISCA was applied during the assessment period. Results showed at least a 90% reduction in problem behavior across cases. Study 4 focused on the efficacy and effectiveness of FCT in published research to date as well as whether or not FCT has been established as an evidenced-based practice in the general field of psychology.

Standard functional analyses (FA) sometimes do not identify momentary fluctuations in the function of destructive behavior (Bowman et al., 1997). In such cases, individuals may mand for the reinforcer that is currently most preferred, and destructive behavior may be evoked if this mand is not reinforced. In the current study, following inconclusive standard FAs, we conducted a mand analysis with a test condition in which mands produced reinforcement only following destructive behavior and a control condition in which mands produced reinforcement throughout. We then evaluated a function-based treatment colloquially referred to as the boss-hat protocol in which we provided differential or time-based reinforcement of mands in accordance with multiple or chained schedules that included reinforcement-schedule thinning to practical levels. By treatments end, destructive behavior decreased by an average of 96% from baseline rates across all cases. We discuss these results relative to the importance of matching treatments for destructive behavior to operant functions even when those functions fluctuate from one moment to the next.

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) has been defined as behavior that produces physical injury to the own individual�s body (Tate & Baroff, 1966) and is a common behavior exhibited by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). However, overall rates of SIB among those with IDD are varied. Many treatments have been studied to reduce SIB, with applied behavior analytic treatments showing robust efficacy. For example, Kahng et al. reviewed peer-reviewed studies on the behavioral treatment of SIB exhibited by individuals with IDD from 1964-2000. Their results showed that behavioral interventions are highly effective at decreasing SIB, particularly when based on the results of a functional assessment. The purpose of the current study is to update and extend the review by Kahng et al. We reviewed and analyzed the current treatment trends for SIB exhibited by individuals with IDD from 2001-2016. More specifically, treatment trends as they compared to Kahng and et al.�s original review will be discussed.

Jessel, Hanley, and Ghaemmaghami (2016) recently evaluated the results of 30 interview-informed, synthesized contingency analyses (IISCAs) and found them to be an effective tool for identifying the functions of problem behavior across a wide variety of topographies, participants, and locations. However, Jessel et al. did not include data on the effectiveness of the corresponding treatments. In the current study, we collected and summarized 25 additional outpatient clinical cases, from analysis to treatment, in which the IISCA was applied during the assessment period. The IISCA identified socially mediated functions of problem behavior, which informed personalized treatments of functional communication training (FCT) with contingency-based reinforcement thinning. At least 90% reduction in problem behavior was obtained for every participant by the end of the treatment evaluation. The assessment and treatment process was socially validated by caregivers who rated the procedures highly acceptable and helpful, and the improvement in their childs behavior highly satisfactory.

This panel is a continuation of previous presentations at ABAI on Behavior Analysts Behaving Badly. An ethicist is one who is sought after for ethical advice and counsel; For this panel we have brought together three such behavior analysis ethicists who are regularly consulted on a wide variety of complex cases concerning the practice of behavior analysis. Difficult cases covering: the use of evidence-based treatments, boundaries of competence, conflicts of interest, terminating behavioral services, conceptual consistency, gifting, supervisory competence and testimonials that have come through the ABAI Hotline as well as other sources will be discussed. To demonstrate the range of approaches used and opinions offered, recent cases will be tendered and each panelist will offer their guidance, we will then debate the merits of our various approaches. Toward the end of the session we will open the floor to questions from the audience and again each ethicist will respond so that the range of tactics and strategies will be apparent.

It is not uncommon for individuals with developmental disabilities to present challenging food-related behaviors that can lead to social isolation and may pose long-term health risks. For example, the excessive consumption of calories following food stealing poses health risks such as obesity and diabetes. By contrast, vomiting responses under operant control that frequently occur can include malnutrition, weight loss, dehydration, and tooth decay (Lang et. al., 2011). During this symposium, each talk will provide insight on effective interventions identified in previous literature and then applied in practice to address clinically significant food-related problem behaviors. The first presenter will discuss challenges associated with addressing the food stealing of a child diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome and will highlight a function-based approach to intervention that incorporated differential reinforcement and schedule leaning. The second presenter will describe an iterative approach to intervention for projective vomiting when functional analysis results were inconclusive. Effective intervention ultimately consisted of a reprimand and positive practice and generalized across multiple staff throughout the school setting.

Given unrestricted access to food, individuals with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) may consume as much as three times more calories than that of individuals matched on age and body mass index. When food is unavailable, it is not uncommon for individuals with PWS to engage in problematic food seeking behavior such as food-stealing or pica. Because food-related challenging behavior is not uncommon for individuals with PWS and can lead to obesity and other long-term health complications, intervention is often warranted. However, efforts to decrease these behaviors, such as isolation during meals and strict monitoring of food consumption, can be socially stigmatizing. Ideally, effective intervention would decrease problematic food-seeking behavior without isolating the child or restricting access to socially important events; such as eating dinner at the dinner table with family members. Our participant was a 7-year-old girl with PWS that engaged in mealtime food-stealing behavior that precluded her participation in traditional familial mealtime routines. We conducted a latency-based functional analysis of food stealing in a clinic setting and then implemented an intervention that included a token board, function-based differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), and schedule thinning. The intervention generalized to the home setting across food preferences, therapists, and family members.

Vomiting is a common symptom of many illnesses and disorders. Typically vomiting requires minimal intervention and is resolved once the offending agent has been resolved (Scorza et al., 2007). However, chronic vomiting can be associated with a variety of conditions. In order to get a better understanding of vomiting a thorough evaluation should be conducted. Through the evaluation, signs and symptoms should be identified along with the underlying etiology of nausea and vomiting (Scorza et al., 2007) Vomiting may lead to an increase in medical complications/concerns and social isolation. Azarin & Wezolowski (1975) utilized positive practice and self-correction to address habitual vomiting in two individuals and saw a reduction in vomiting across both participants. A similar treatment was developed to treat projectile vomiting in a 16 year old male. Ten minute trials were conducted across the day and percent of opportunities for each trial was collected. A multiple baseline across staff members was used to demonstrate experimental control. The treatment was effective in decreasing the overall frequency of vomiting. In addition, most of the vomiting that continued to occur occurred in the practiced location (i.e. toilet).

Individuals with developmental disabilities (DD)often experience an increased need for instruction on transitional skills across their overall lifespan (The North Carolina Institute of Medicine, 2009). These skills often include independence in activities of daily living (ADLs), vocational skills, and complex social skills. The acquisition of these skills often leads to an increased quality of life, but due to the individualization required for training these types of skills, they can often be difficult to address. As such, this symposium will address issues in training three significant life skills. The first presentation will discuss a systematic replication of toilet training as conducted by LeBlanc et al. (2005). Recommendations for practice, and common oversights in the toilet training literature will be examined. The second presentation will address training vocational and job-related social skills. Considerations for training, and suggestions for future research will be highlighted. The final presentation will tackle issues related to sexuality. Methods for training healthy and safe sexual behaviors for individuals with DD will be discussed. Each author will emphasize overall implications of training these skills throughout development.

The importance of independent toileting skills cannot be overstated due to the vast benefits for clients and all those involved in their care. Improvements in quality of life include increased sanitation and comfort, substantial monetary gain, and greater access to various services and settings. Toilet training usually involves a sit schedule, increased fluids, reinforcement, urine alarms, positive practice, and functional communication training. While many studies have utilized a combination of these procedures, methods of implementation have varied. Furthermore, few studies have reported generalization to bowel movements. The current study examined the effects of a toilet training procedure (LeBlanc et al. 2005) on five developmentally-disabled children, using a non-concurrent multiple baseline design. Moreover, the current study also examined the potential for generalization effects to bowel movements, which is rarely addressed in the literature. Results will be presented as well as a discussion on data based procedural changes and solutions to practical barriers.

A commonly-faced, but sometimes disregarded and understudied issue for individuals with developmental disabilities is sexuality (Realmuto & Ruble, 1999). As such, adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities often mistake or ignore social cues in their environment, inhibiting their ability to appropriately navigate sexual interactions. These deficits in healthy sexual habits can lead to abuse, criminal consequences, and decreased quality of life (Swango-Wilson, 2010). A better understanding of sexuality will help individuals to increase confidence, independence, and optimize the quality of their sexual/social interactions. Thus, behavior analysts practicing in a variety of environments, should be vigilant to the most effective, empirically-validated, and contextually-relevant approaches to teaching individuals about their own sexuality in relation to the world around them. The current presentation will discuss practical considerations for comprehensive sex education, training healthy sexual habits, and pursuing sexual relationships. Further, this talk will highlight resources and recommendations for training, successful strategies, and areas for future research.

Despite a growing emphasis in autism-related services, a greater focus is needed on job-related skills training. Individuals with disabilities often struggle with social and other job-related skills, which may impact their marketability when applying for employment positions (Tomblin & Haring, 2000). Therefore, community-based transition programs and employment preparation need to be emphasized (Allen et al., 2010). In collaboration with a local intermediate school district, a Midwestern university developed the PROMOTES (Providing Realistic Opportunities to Mentor On-site Training for Employment Skills) Employment Project to support individuals with developmental disabilities, ages 16 and older, who are seeking or have obtained paid employment. Following year one of the PROMOTES Employment Project, the authors have identified a number of practical “do’s and don’ts” for clinicians seeking to prepare individuals with developmental disabilities for employment. Successful strategies and interventions identified during year one of PROMOTES will be examined in relation to the existing literature-base for employment-related skills training and instruction for individuals with developmental disabilities. Recommendations for job-related social skills and vocational training, implications for practice, and suggested research topics for job-related skills training will also be discussed for young adults with autism and developmental disabilities.

Stereotypic behaviors are common in individuals with autism. Interventions to reduce stereotypy are often sought as stereotypy can be socially stigmatizing and interfere with the acquisition of other appropriate behaviors. For many individuals with autism, reducing stereotypy can be challenging as it is often maintained by automatic reinforcement. The specific reinforcer can vary based on the type of stereotypy and can often be difficult to identify, limiting replacement behaviors that may be targeted. This symposium presents four studies evaluating interventions to reduce stereotypy in children with autism. The first two studies evaluated the effects of noncontingent access to music on vocal stereotypy, examining different characteristics of the music used. The first study evaluated high-and low-preference music, and the second study evaluated different genres of music. The third study evaluated the effects of a self-managed differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) on various forms of stereotypy. The final study evaluated the use of a stimulus control procedure on the reduction of stereotypy.

Vocal stereotypy is a behavior observed in individuals diagnosed with autism and typically presents as episodes of acontextual repetitive vocal sounds, words, or phrases. Previous research has evaluated noncontingent access to music to reduce vocal stereotypy; however, little information is typically given about the type of music used. As such, the current study evaluated the effects of noncontingent access to different genres of music on vocal stereotypy in three young male children. Classical, pop, and rock music were evaluated. Preference of each genre was also assessed to identify possible correlations between preference and effectiveness. Noncontingent access to music was effective in reducing rates of vocal stereotypy. Differential effects based on genre were observed, and pop music was found to be most effective.

Individuals diagnosed with autism may engage in stereotypy, or repetitive patterns of behavior, throughout their day. Stereotypy may interfere with social and learning opportunities, affecting the individuals inclusion in typical settings; therefore, it is important to implement procedures that will reduce stereotypy. It can also be beneficial in an applied setting to have the individual manage his or her own intervention, allowing the clinician or caregiver to attend to other tasks. As such, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of self-management of a momentary differential reinforcement of other behavior procedure on stereotypy in children with autism. In this study, children were taught to independently self-manage a momentary differential reinforcement of other behavior procedure. The results demonstrated that upon implementation of the self-management procedures, a reduction in stereotypy was observed from baseline to the self-management condition as well as during follow-up. In addition, fidelity of the implementation of self-management procedures remained high. The results of this study support the use of self-management of a momentary differential reinforcement of other behavior procedure in applied settings to limit clinicians and caregivers need for continuous monitoring of the individuals behavior.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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