Association for Behavior Analysis International

This talk will discuss how to induce observing responses for children who are pre-observers. These children typically don’t orient to other’s faces, listen to other’s voices, or attend to educational materials presented in pictures or objects. Without these foundational observing responses, everything else will fall short. It would be extremely challenging to teach them visual match-to-sample, conditional discrimination, let alone derived relations. Traditionally, these students rely heavily on prompts from their teachers and caregivers. They also require substantially more trials to reach their learning objectives. Our CABAS® research labs, which are affiliated with Teachers College Columbia University, have identified a sequence of verbal behavior cusps and developed the intervention protocols for those who are missing any of these cusps. This talk will focus on the recent advances in the study of observing responses and intervention protocols. These protocols are shown to be effective in establishing the conditioned reinforcement and increasing the children’s general awareness of their surroundings. In particular, children learn to select out people’s faces and voices as well as pictures and objects as discriminative stimuli from their environment. In consequence, they require fewer prompts during instruction and their learning rates also increase dramatically. Once these foundational cusps for verbal behavior are established, children will be ready to learn things they are not able to before (e.g., see-do, hear-do, bidirectional naming).

Board-certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students

Dr. Lin Du received her first MA in sociology from Nanjing University, China. She then earned her MA and Ph.D. in applied behavior analysis from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a CABAS® senior behavior analyst, associate research scientist, New York State Licensed behavior analyst, and BCBA-D. Dr Du is a research scientist and program supervisor at the Fred S. Keller school (a R&D lab for master and doctoral candidates in ABA and school psychology programs at Teachers College, Columbia University). She is also an adjunct assistant professor of behavior analysis at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her primary research interests are verbal behavior development of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). She has published two books, several book chapters and many peer-reviewed papers in the behavior analytic journals, including the Psychological Record, Journal of Béhavioral and Brain Science, Behavior Development Bulletin, Behavior Analysis in Practice, European Journal of Behavior Analysis, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, and International Journal of Behavior Analysis and Autism Disorder. 

This presentation will address the question of effective practices for the treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorder, from both an epistemological and a therapeutic perspective, and suggest the importance of a synthesis of two paradigms—behavior analysis and general systems theory—as a means of optimizing our assessment of the needs and the services provided to people with disabilities. Despite the development and the use of a wide array of behavior analytic practices that help all children with ASD to reach their full potential, a question that remains under-researched has to do with the effort expected from the child and his/her family and whether this effort can be somehow lessened without compromising the benefits. The answer to that question led to investigating the properties of another epistemological paradigm—general systems theory—its merits, its compatibility, and its complementarity to the discipline of behavior analysis. This presentation aims to demonstrate that the two paradigms are compatible and complementary and that their combination may lead to optimizing the therapeutic and pedagogical outcomes of behavior analytic practices. If we are to adapt a systemic perspective, according to which the joining of two or more systems leads to an outcome that exceeds by far the additive effects of those systems, it will be interesting to assess the potential emergent benefits of the synthesis of two compatible and complementary epistemological paradigms and how those translate into therapeutic outcomes.

Researchers and therapists in the field of autism spectrum disorder.

Functional communication training (FCT) has strong empirical support for its use when treating socially reinforced problem behavior. However, treatment effects often deteriorate when FCT procedures are challenged, leading to the recurrence of problem behavior, decreased use of the functional communication response, or both. Recent prevalence estimates suggest that treatment relapse is common in the clinic. Researchers have accordingly described a number of strategies for improving the long-term effectiveness of differential-reinforcement-based procedures (e.g., FCT), and quantitative theories of relapse (i.e., Behavioral Momentum Theory, Resurgence as Choice) provide falsifiable predications regarding modifications for mitigating treatment relapse. In this presentation, I share recent research on the prevalence of treatment relapse during routine, clinical service delivery and discuss our work on applying quantitative models of relapse to improve treatment durability. Future steps for advancing promising relapse-mitigations strategies will also be discussed, as will clinical considerations that limit the practicality of otherwise effective mitigation procedures.

BCBAs, applied and basic researchers

This panel will be a discussion of Dr. Brian Greer’s SQAB Tutorial on using quantitative theories of relapse to improve FCT.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

The rapid growth in computer technology means that nearly anything imaginable is either possible or will soon become possible. Behavior analysts, as specialists in learning and behavior, are uniquely trained to become strong collaborators on multidisciplinary teams focusing on projects to advance machine learning, simulation-based experiences, and much more. In this tutorial, I will discuss how we currently leverage such technology in my lab and integrate robotics, virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI) in our behavior analytic research. I will share the outcomes of some of our current research projects as well as my collaborative efforts on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) grants.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Designing skill acquisition programs requires careful consideration of variables that can affect the speed of learning. For example, the number and type of stimuli to include in an instructional set, sequencing of stimuli during instruction, the number of practice opportunities to arrange, and the selection of mastery criteria are important considerations when designing programs for learners. In this presentation, Dr. Kodak will synthesize research on these topics and provide recommendations for practitioners who are responsible for designing instructional programs. In addition, areas of additional research that can help improve the design and outcomes of skill-acquisition programs will be discussed.

Dr. Kodak is an Associate Professor in the Behavior Analysis program at Marquette University. She is a licensed psychologist, licensed behavior analyst, and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She has worked with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder more than 25 years. Dr. Kodak obtained her Ph.D. in School Psychology from Louisiana State University. She formerly served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Learning and Motivation. She currently serves on several editorial boards including the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, Behavior Analysis in Practice, and Learning and Motivation. Her research interests in the area of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder include increasing the efficiency of skill acquisition, treatment integrity, assessment-based instruction, verbal behavior, conditional discriminations, parent training, and computer-assisted instruction.

This study used independent ABAB withdrawal designs to determine whether BPT increased parent fidelity of implementation of function-based intervention which then resulted in decreasing rates of child challenging behavior while increasing rates of appropriate replacement behavior. Four participants aged 8-17 were included in the study with their parents serving as interventionists. The routines of concern were mealtime, toothbrushing, and room cleaning with various topographies of challenging behavior impacting the quality of these family routines. Each parent achieved high treatment fidelity with one session of BPT and bug-in-ear coaching. Three participants had an immediate decrease in challenging behavior upon the introduction of the intervention. Three participants showed reliable reversals to their challenging behavior with the withdrawal of the intervention and corresponding decreases in challenging behavior when the intervention was reintroduced. All parents reported high acceptability, ease of use, and contextual fit pre- and post-intervention. Results and implications for practice and future research were discussed.

Staff turnover can pose a significant problem for human service organizations. For Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) service providers, turnover may be particularly problematic due to the resources required for training. Accreditation organizations such as the Behavioral Health Center for Excellence® (BHCOE®) collect large amounts of organizational data that can point to trends in ABA organizations and provide a basis for problem identification and intervention. In this study, we evaluated BHCOE® data to examine potential predictors of staff turnover as well as staff and caregiver satisfaction in ABA organizations. Results of multiple regression analyses suggest that high rates of turnover among job classes (i.e., technicians and supervisors) correlate with each other’s turnover. Behavior Technicians are also more likely to turnover when wages are lower and caregiver satisfaction wanes. Staff satisfaction was not a significant turnover predictor but was generally predicted by caregiver satisfaction. These findings suggest that turnover and satisfaction are multi-faceted processes worthy of examination; we provide broad recommendations for improvement and avenues for further study.

This panel will be a discussion of Dr. Ellie Kazemi’s SQAB Tutorial on the utility of computer technologies in behavior analysis.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

We often solve problems by engaging in mediating strategies such as talking to ourselves. In order to accurately use and respond to these strategies, we must understand what we are saying. The term bidirectional naming (BiN) has been used to describe the integration of both listener and speaker behaviors that leads to speaking with understanding. In this talk, I will describe a series of studies showing that in the absence of either speaker or listener behaviors, participants often fail to solve problems in the form of matching-to-sample and categorization tasks. These results suggest that to solve complex tasks participants must be verbal. Thus, I will propose that the BiN repertoire is one of the most important skills learned during language development and must be prioritized in early intensive behavioral intervention.

Basic and applied researchers, clinicians.

Early intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder is historically rooted within two distinct theoretical foundations: behavioral and developmental sciences. Proponents of each discipline have traditionally held opposing views toward treatment, with little collaboration. A recent shift in autism intervention has led to the emergence of a group of interventions that incorporate elements from both developmental and behavioral science. These naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBI) have been used effectively in a variety of settings. This symposium includes a series of presentations describing the application of NDBI across a range of settings, with a focus on describing the integration of developmental and behavioral science. The first presentation will provide a broad overview of NDBI, including a description of its core components. The second will describe the implementation of NDBI in a hospital-based clinic setting, including data related to the characteristics of children enrolled in the program. The third will describe outcomes from a group-based delivery of NDBI for preschool-aged children. The final presentation will shed light on the actual use of NDBI strategies by describing the self-reported utilization of developmental and behavioral strategies from a large sample of applied behavior analysis providers.

basic

A recent trend in early intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder is the development of interventions that bridge both developmental and behavioral sciences. This new breed of interventions, Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI), merge best practices in these two previously opposing approaches to intervention. NDBI integrate behavioral learning theory and developmentally-focused strategies within natural environments. Several efficacious NDBI treatment models have been successfully implemented across a variety of settings with improved child and family outcomes. Yet, this approach has yet to be disseminated widely among behavior analysts. This presentation will provide an in-depth overview of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions, with an emphasis on how this approach can be incorporated into existing applied behavior analysis programs for young children with autism spectrum disorders. The presentation will include: a description of the theoretical background underlying the approach, the core components of NDBI, and examples illustrating its application. A summary of the evidence supporting the effectiveness of NDBI and recommendations for incorporating NDBI strategies into existing programs will be provided.

This presentation describes the clinical implementation of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs; Schreibman et al., 2015) in a hospital-based autism center. Parents of young children recently diagnosed with autism are coached on strategies to promote social communication. Different service delivery models (e.g., telehealth) and the strategies comprising the parent-mediated NDBIs will be discussed. Data will be presented about characteristics of the parents and children referred for, enrolled in, and who have completed one of the center’s NDBI programs. As enrollment in NDBIs is ongoing, we anticipate including additional data related to child social communication and other behaviors over time, and other factors potentially related to enrollment and completion of NDBI programs. Important considerations for implementation of parent-mediated NDBIs in a hospital-based clinic setting will be discussed, including advantages, possible barriers, need for modifications, and future directions for research and practice.

Group-learning models for young children with autism provide environments rich with opportunities for teaching social communication and interaction skills. Comprehensive preschool programs that incorporate naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention (NDBI) strategies have produced improvements in children’s social communication skills, social engagement, and core ASD symptoms (Stahmer & Ingersoll, 2004; Strain & Bovey, 2011). This presentation will provide an overview of an NDBI treatment model delivered within a group program for preschool-aged children with autism. A description of the treatment model and subsequent changes in children’s social communication skills for 20 preschool-aged children enrolled in the program will be discussed. Staff fidelity was measured using a direct observation fidelity tool designed to measure the core components of a group-based NDBI model. Fidelity was high and averaged over 87% accuracy across all NDBI components. Changes in children’s social communication were measured at baseline and following six months of intervention using the Social Communication Checklist, a curriculum-based measure of social communication. Improvements were observed across all domains, with significant improvements in the group’s overall social communication score (p < .05), social engagement (p <.01), and play skills (p <.05). Implications for research and practice incorporating NDBI into group-based treatment programs will be discussed.

Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs; Schreibman et al., 2015) are a class of early interventions for autism spectrum disorder with growing empirical support, however, their similarity to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) as delivered in the community is unknown. This online survey-based study characterized the self-reported utilization of developmental and behavioral intervention techniques in a large sample of ABA providers (n=368) and explored what aspects of provider background predict utilization. Respondents rated the extent to which they used each of a number of intervention techniques in a recent session with a specific child. ABA providers self-reported less use of developmental techniques than behavioral techniques, t(356)=-26.35, p<0.001. Providers with greater self-reported competency in NDBIs reported more frequent use of developmental techniques (Table 1); NDBI competency was not related to use of behavioral techniques, which were reported at high levels across providers. Point-biserial correlations indicated some trending relationships with training background such that providers with a background in psychology reported greater use of developmental techniques and those with backgrounds in ABA and special education reported less use (Table 1). Results suggest that further research on the similarities and differences between NDBIs and ABA delivered in the community is warranted.

Converging evidence pinpoints the basic conditions that people need to thrive—minimal amounts of coercion or threat, high levels of positive reinforcement for prosocial behavior, psychological flexibility, and environments that have minimal influences or opportunities for problem behavior. There is, however, a substantial gap between what we know about human thriving and the quality of social environments for millions of people. This symposium describes the creation of the Coalition of Behavioral Science Organizations, which ABAI helped to create. It is designed to foster the translation of behavioral science knowledge into widespread implementation of programs and policies that. By working in cooperation with other behavioral science organizations we can increase our influence on public policies advance the use of our knowledge. This symposium will describe the rationale and development for the Coalition of Behavioral Science Organizations and will then describe the progress that the coalition is made in promoting a long-term effort to improve individual and family well-being in neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage.

The attendees should have training in any area of behavior science, including not just behavior analysis, but also behavioral medicine, education, and prevention.

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities often demonstrate deficits in conversation and professional skills, and thus may have difficulty developing friendships and finding employment. The growing literature on social skills has evaluated teaching conversation and professional skills as well as using normative data to determine what skills should be taught. This symposium will begin with Sylvia Aquino presenting descriptive data on how individuals respond to preferred, neutral, and nonpreferred topics of conversations. The authors found that the frequency of comments and length of utterances changed depending on the type of conversation topic. The second presenter, Whitney Pubylski-Yanofchick will discuss teaching adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder to initiate and respond to professional emails. As a result of a sequential training progression from group instruction to individualized training with feedback and error correction, all participants learned to compose professional emails. Last, Brandt Kail will discuss teaching adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder to use virtual platforms and interact with others in a virtual setting. Using behavioral skills training, feedback, and reinforcement, all participants acquired the necessary requisite skills to be successful in virtual meetings.

BACB and SLP

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment where social and professional interactions are more likely to occur in a virtual setting than ever before. In this study, 4 adults with ASD were taught skills to improve participation in virtual meetings. Participants learned how to use their microphones and cameras more appropriately and to make encouraging statements to one another while discussing current events and vocational-based lessons via Zoom™. The experimenter used a multiple baseline design across behaviors to evaluate the effects of behavioral skills training, feedback, and reinforcement in the form of praise, virtual tokens, and gift cards to increase the targeted behaviors during 2-hour virtual sessions. Skills increased and maintained at levels substantially above baseline even after the experimenter faded the contingencies for appropriate responding and delivered reinforcement solely for attendance. Tests for generalization across instructors and activities yielded promising results. These findings suggest that adults with ASD can benefit from group-based telehealth ABA services to improve skills needed to interact successfully with others in a virtual format.

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience challenges securing and maintaining employment. One requisite skill to employment is professional conduct. Although there are a cluster of behaviors related to professional conduct, one skill in which unprofessional behavior can become apparent is writing and responding to professional emails. The purpose of this study was to teach adults with ASD to initiate and respond to professional emails. Our participants were five adult males diagnosed with ASD. All participants attended a university-based employment support program. We rated their emails on the level of professionalism. We used behavioral skills training to teach the participants via remote instruction to initiate and respond to professional emails based on vignettes. BST training components were systematically introduced from most efficient (i.e., group instruction) to most intensive (i.e., individual training with feedback and error correction). Following the BST group training, one of the five participants met criteria on responding to professional emails. Individualized training with feedback was conducted for all five participants for one or both type of email. At least two of the participants required a more intrusive, individual training with error correction, under which one participant met mastery criterion for both types of emails. The results of this study showed that it is possible to teach adults with ASD to initiate and respond to emails in a professional manner. This is one, of many, skills that individuals of ASD will need to master in order to obtain and maintain employment.

Behavioral economic methods are increasingly applied in various disciplines and areas of human and non-human research. Although these approaches have good support across populations and disciplines, relatively few researchers have extended this approach and perspective to assessments and interventions for individuals with developmental disabilities (e.g., autism). Such extensions are both timely and warranted for Behavior Analysts, as behavioral economic approaches have been particularly suited to evaluating complex response-reinforcer relationships under complex, real-world conditions. The papers invited for this symposium have been selected to provide a broad, scoping review of the current state of applied behavioral economics in assessments and interventions developed for individuals with developmental disabilities. Particular emphasis is based on the behavioral economic concept of demand and novel extensions of token economy procedures. The behavioral economic concept of demand is presented here in the context of individualized reinforcer assessments and functional communication training undergoing schedule thinning. Novel extensions of the token economy are also reviewed, evaluating the effects of loss aversion on responding.

Master's level behavior analysts

Methods for evaluating individual preference and choice are regularly included in Behavior Analytic research and practice. A variety of methods have been put forward to evaluate preference though these methods rarely evaluate choices under effortful, treatment-like conditions. A fundamental disconnect between these contexts invites the possibility that stimuli identified may not be preferred in treatment-like conditions and this can jeopardize the effectiveness of otherwise appropriate treatment. Recent attempts to address this disconnect have incorporated elements of Behavioral Economics. In this study, we systematically review the scope and range of Behavioral Economic procedures that have been formally evaluated in the literature. Studies were included in the review if Behavioral Economic elements were incorporated into assessments and interventions designed for individuals with developmental disabilities. Results indicated that the level of support for assessments and interventions incorporating Behavioral Economic elements is still emerging and additional research continues to be necessary.

Handling costs have been implicated as a determinant of preference for accumulated/distributed response-reinforcer arrangements. We evaluated three participants’ pre-session choice of accumulated vs distributed response-reinforcer arrangements. When the reinforcement parameters differed only with respect to their distribution (at the end of or during the session), all participants exhibited exclusive preference for the distributed arrangement. When a quality manipulation, in which the handling costs of reinforcer consumption in the distributed arrangement were increased, participants exhibited exclusive preference for the accumulated arrangement. These results are preliminary but suggest that increasing the handling costs associated with reinforcer consumption can produce shifts in preference.

Matching (Herrnstein, 1961) has been demonstrated with appetitive and aversive stimuli, including when appetitive and aversive stimuli are simultaneously presented (Farley & Fantino, 1978). Interestingly, in contexts where a single response produces both reinforcement and punishment, some research has demonstrated that a punisher subtracted more value than a reinforcer added (Rasmussen & Newland, 2008). We assessed the purported asymmetry of reinforcement and punishment for three individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). We established tokens as reinforcers and evaluated the effects of simultaneous token gain and loss schedule in a progressive manner. Losses gradually became denser to identify a schedule at which the individual would not respond. Finally, we demonstrated that the loss contingency was directly responsible for the cessation of responding, as responding maintained when an equal density of reinforcement was available for gain without the loss contingency. Mixed findings were obtained; however, these results suggest that an asymmetry between punishment and reinforcement is present for some individuals with ID. Suggestions for future research and implications for practitioners will be discussed.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of over 1.5 million people across the world and have changed the lifestyle of humanity, possibly, for years to come. In this context, specific behaviors that had received minimal or no attention in the past have been moved up the social validity scale overnight. In this symposium we will evaluate various interventions addressing some key COVID-related behaviors. Online teaching and internet use has exploded during the pandemic. The first study looks at the potential role of social media in facilitating academic performance during online university-level courses. There are essentially no experimental analyses in the literature evaluating whether social media engagement (in the context of closed Facebook learning groups) could be an important channel for multi-component behavioral interventions. The second study presents a telehealth mask-wearing training program for children with autism presenting mask-induced problem behavior. The study evaluates a caregiver-delivered intervention among an international sample of participants from Belgium, India, Mexico, and Costa Rica. In the final study we turn to face touching. Face touching is thought to account for tens or hundreds of thousands of Sars-CoV-2 infections across the world due to physical contact with contaminated surfaces. It has been suggested that face touching, a high frequency behavior, may limit the protective role of hand washing, which occurs inevitably at lower rates. In this third presentation we evaluate the suppressive effect of contingent vibrotactile stimulation on face touching in a group of typical adults as they go about their daily lives. In addition to the treatment evaluation side of the study, it also provided an opportunity to conduct a thorough quantitative and descriptive analysis of face touching in ecologically relevant settings. Overall, these studies give a perspective of the diversity of behavioral applications that can be brought to bear in order to mitigate the effects of the current pandemic.

Students, practitioners and applied researchers.

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus causing COVID-19 and is spread through close person-to-person contact. The use of face masks has been described as an important strategy in the combat to contain and slow down its transmission while a vaccine is not made widely available. We evaluated the effects of telehealth training for caregivers to teach mask wearing to children with ASD. Six participants with a history of challenging behavior associated with mask wearing were recruited from different parts of the world, and trained using a combination of graduated exposure, shaping and contingent reinforcement. By the end of the intervention all participants wore a face mask for a target period of 10 min without exhibiting challenging behavior, and generalized the skill to a novel mask and a community setting. The findings support previous tolerance training treatment evaluations in children with developmental disability exhibiting resistance to healthcare routines. Clinical recommendations and areas for future research are discussed.

Facial contact behavior is a high frequency, high duration behavior that contributes to the transmission of communicable diseases by interaction with contaminated surfaces. Studies indicate that the Sars-CoV-2 virus remains viable for hours on surfaces such as paper, plastic, or metals. Hand-face contact has a long history among mammals and primates and is likely maintained by sensory consequences. It is estimated that thousands of infections may be mediated by hand contact with contaminated surfaces with pathogens being subsequently transferred to mucous membranes by hand contact with the mouth, nose, or eyes. We used contingent vibrotactile stimulation as an intervention to reduce hand-face contacts in ecological settings. Ten consecutively recruited adults wore one or two bracelets that delivered vibrotactile stimuli following face touching. Stimuli were delivered through Bluetooth-connected devices that were calibrated for each participant. We also evaluated the social validity of the intervention and how various environmental events were related to the level of face touching. In addition, the study provides an opportunity to discuss the quantitative characteristics of face touching. The results indicated that the face touching can be reduced considerably with this simple intervention.

In elaborating a natural science capable of exploring social behavior and large-scale cultural structures and processes, Skinner (1953) defined culture “as the contingencies of social reinforcement maintained by a group.” Over several decades, Skinner and others expanded on this work. Glenn (1986, 2004) offered, and in collaboration with others subsequently refined the heuristic of the metacontingency for understanding the dynamics of collective behavior. This construct proved particularly helpful in organizational and similar settings in which desired outcomes were relatively specific, and steps required to achieve those outcomes relatively constrained. Contemporary culturo-behavior scientists, however, are gaining the capacity and carry the obligation to contribute to addressing critical social and environmental challenges. Explorations of possible integrations of emergent or revised scientific models have become essential. Included in this symposium are sometimes contrasting examples of such frameworks (e.g., ecosystemic, evolutionary, systems analytic, or return to behavior-centered interventions); discussion of commonalities and distinctions among them; and potential contributions of these perspectives to a transdisciplinary culturo-behavior science powerful enough to contribute to “conditions under which human beings will show the productivity, the creativity, and the strength inherent in their genetic endowment and which are essential to the survival of the species” (Skinner, 1975).

Master's level students, BCBAs, other behavioral professionals with graduate degrees.

Culturo-Behavior Science (CBS), a recently formalized specialization in behavior analysis, brings together principles and techniques from Behavior Analysis, Behavioral Systems Analysis, Cultural Selection/Analysis, and Cultural Systems Analysis in order to understand how cultural phenomena develop and change over time. Culturo-behavior scientists are united by the philosophy of radical behaviorism and by their commitment to the application of the natural science of behavior to advance our understanding of behavior in its social and cultural environments. However, often debated among culturo-behavior scientists is both the extent to which a systems analytic framework should be adopted in CBS, and the role that basic laboratory preparations play in enhancing our understanding of cultural phenomena. With much still to discover about how behavior science can contribute to solving some of the world’s most pressing problems, the goal of this presentation will be to describe strategies for incorporating the diversity of thought embodied in CBS into teaching, research, and practice in CBS.

This collection of applied and descriptive research studies push our science in China and Italy. The first paper titled All For One And One For All used behavioral observation techniques to determine socially valid performance criterion for attending behaviors in typically developing students during group instruction. The second paper used functional behavior assessment and a conditioning procedure to replace stereotype with toy with a student having autism in an international primary school. The third paper outlines current dimensions of applied behavior analysis research in China. The fourth paper tested the effects of a different intensity CABAS®-based intervention packages using an alternating (ABACA) treatment design for 9 children diagnosed with Autism, aged 2 to 6 years old in Italy.

Designed for Supervisors, Directors, and Administrators

The present study used functional behavior assessment and a treatment package including conditioning of toy play with a student with autism in an international primary school. The functional behavior assessment confirmed that the behaviors were being maintained through automatic reinforcement. The procedure was a partial replication from research conducted with adults and preschool students. Our student was 11 years old and had a long history of stereotypy behaviors and a limited community of reinforcers. This study tested for the external validity of the treatment package.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) was introduced into Mainland China at the beginning of the 21st century as a direct result of the rise of autism spectrum disorder. The following decades can roughly be divided into two phases in terms of the development of ABA in China. Phase one was the time period with a focus on dissemination of ABA practice in China and it lasted from 2000 to 2009. In phase two, which lasted from 2010 to the current date, initial research on ABA emerged in China while dissemination of ABA practice continued and accelerated. The objective of this presentation is to critically evaluate ABA studies conducted by Chinese researchers. For this purpose, the author conducted a systematic search for literature on ABA published by Chinese scholars. In this presentation, the author will use seven ABA dimensions (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968) to measure the quality of the ABA literature and present results from quantitative analysis and qualitative evaluation of empirical studies published by Chinese ABA researchers. The author will also attempt to explain the unique feature of ABA research published by Chinese scholars by analyzing relevant cultural contingencies. Based on these descriptions and analyses, the author will make recommendations for the future development of ABA research in China.

We tested the effects of a different intensity CABAS®-based intervention packages using an alternating (ABACA) treatment design for 9 children diagnosed with Autism, aged 2 to 6 years old. The study was conducted in a learning and research centre in Italy prior and during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and is still ongoing. The obligation to stop the CABAS® intervention created an opportunity to change the treatment frequency while keeping the treatment integrity for all participants, and provide the experimenters with an opportunity to collect data and compare them on the optimal treatment intensity. Condition A constituted high educational intensity where each participant received 1:1 intervention for 12 hours a week, while Condition B constituted 1:1 intervention for 3 hours a week (during the first lockdown), and during Condition C, intervention was delivered for 6 hours a week (during the second lockdown).The dependent variables in the study were the changes in participant’s ADOS-2 and CARS-2 scores prior and after each treatment change, and participants number of Learn Units to Criterion rate. The early results showed a significant difference between before and after the low-frequency package was implemented, for the total scores and each sub-test of both instruments. So far, results suggest that normative tests, together with individual graphs’analysis, can help differentiate between treatment effectiveness and efficiency for each child. Further research is needed in order to make more generalized conclusions into the optimal intensity of intervention, especially in countries, such as Italy, where children with Autism can’t attend special schools or have insurance-covered intensive treatments.

Many students with autism and other developmental disabilities have difficulty sequencing their own behavior during free-choice situations. Rather, they rely on adults to prompt them to engage in particular activities. Many do not interact appropriately with play materials or may select one activity and engage in it for an extended period of time. Photographic activity schedules have been shown to be an effective tool to teach children to sequence their own behavior and transition smoothly between multiple activities. Children learn to follow the visual cues in the activity schedule to make transitions instead of relying on adult-provided prompts. Activity schedules also provide a context for teaching basic and complex choice-making behavior. As children develop verbal behavior, social scripts can also be added and then later faded to promote social interaction. Activity schedules have been used successfully in a variety of settings with both children and adults with various disabilities. They are easy to use and can be adapted to most environments. In the present tutorial, participants will learn how to use activity schedules with clients/students as well as learn about recent research on using these techniques to promote complex social play.

Practitioners and applied researchers.

The difference between curricula and pedagogy is highlighted best when we consider what we teach versus how we teach it. There exists an interaction between development and instruction such that instruction can only be effective if the educator considers the learner’s level of verbal development. The ways in which we teach must cater to the current verbal developmental cusps found within the learner’s repertoire. While the progression of instructional objectives targeted within a curriculum will change as the learner acquires the necessary prerequisite skills to move forward, attention should be placed on modifying the ways in which we teach those subsequent objectives. Research in the field of verbal behavior development has proven time and time again that the acquisition of skills can be accelerated if the method of teaching is consistent with the capabilities that the learner exhibits, i.e. the presence of verbal developmental cusps within their repertoire.

Educators, Practitioners, and Researchers

Increasing attention has been focused on students who have adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and the impact on academic achievement. To address students’ intense emotional and learning needs, trauma informed practices are being implemented in hopes of changing the trajectory of their lives. This presentation will provide an overview of ACES and trauma informed practices that are also culturally responsive that can be implemented in a classroom setting. Special attention will be given to students living in poverty in which ACEs are more prevalent.

In their seminal article, Baer, Wolf and Risley (1968), stated that behavior analytic intervention is expected to result in strong, socially important, and generalizable behavior change which, in this case, should mean more positive adult outcomes in ASD. Unfortunately, despite a nearly three decade-long emphasis on evidence-based, behavior analytic intervention in ASD, adult outcomes remain poor “for almost any outcome you choose.” (Roux, et al, 2015, p. 8). While there may be several reasons for continued poor outcomes (including the challenge of simply defining “good outcome”), the potential of behavior analytic intervention to develop more positive adult outcomes has yet to be fully realized. Such outcomes, however, are well within the reach of our behavior analytic technology. But to do that, the contingencies governing our behavior will, most likely, need to shift. For example, we will need to shift from contingencies that reinforce the technical precision of our classroom-based interventions to contingencies the reinforce the somewhat less technical precision of community-based intervention (assuming the target has a fair degree of social validity). This tutorial will identify a number areas, both internal and external to the field, where a “contingency shift” may be necessary if the power of behavior analytic intervention to significantly improve outcomes for adults with autism is to be more fully realized.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Functional analysis of problem behavior (Iwata et al., 1982/1994) sometimes yields inconclusive results. Inconclusive results may be attributed to antecedent or consequence variables that are absent from the typical test condition(s) (Schlichenmeyer et al., 2013). Identification of these variables is essential for effective treatment; therefore, additional analyses are warranted to clarify relevant variables. This symposium describes assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior related to idiosyncratic variables (i.e. antecedents and consequences that differ from those within typical attention, demand, and alone test conditions). For example, in addition to maintenance by access to attention, escape from demands, and automatic reinforcement; problem behavior may also be maintained by multiple and combined functional reinforcers, adult compliance with mands, escape from prompts, or escape from attention. The four papers describe a process that involves: a) description of inconclusive multi-element functional analyses with typical test conditions, b) subsequent analyses to determine variables that evoked problem behavior, c) function-based treatment, and d) demonstrations of parent-conducted treatment and generalization. General considerations for scientist-practitioners will also be highlighted.

Participants should have some basic knowledge or familiarity with functional analysis methodology and research. Participants should have knowledge of typical function(s) of problem behaviors. Participants should have a basic understanding of how function-based treatments are derived from functional analysis results

When the traditional functional analysis produces inconclusive findings, this may warrant the need for additional analysis. One such analysis includes a test to determine whether an individual’s problem behavior may be maintained by adult compliance with mands (Bowman et al., 1997). The current study included a mands analysis and subsequent function-based treatment to reduce problem behavior exhibited by an adolescent with Down syndrome. Uniquely, his caregiver implemented all procedures, in the family’s home, with coaching by trained therapists using a telehealth model. Telehealth allowed access to relevant stimuli and naturally occurring contingencies, in which we could systematically train his caregiver to implement the treatment package. Results demonstrated that problem behavior decreased to low rates, functional communication increased, and his caregiver implemented the treatment with high fidelity across trained contexts. We conducted systematic probes across various contexts with some limited treatment generalization by his caregiver, initially. Following additional training with his caregiver to relevant stimuli and contexts, she demonstrated generalization of the treatment package, overall, which maintained for up to 4 months post-treatment. This case study provides preliminary findings on a systematic method to use telehealth to train caregivers to generalize a function-based treatment to relevant contexts.

Research has shown that parents of children with ASD are among the most stressed as compared to all other parents, including those who have children with other psychiatric conditions and developmental disabilities (Hayes & Watson, 2013). Parents of children with ASD are chronically stressed because the demands of the family environment often exceed the parent’s ability to cope. There are few evidence-based interventions available for professionals to use with parents of a child with ASD: some use cognitive therapies, such as meditation, some use social support to reduce stress and mental health problems, and others use implement parent training to improve child behavior. Few if any combine both mental health and behavioral approaches, and none of these are designed for implementation by school personnel. This presentation describes findings from a multi-year transdisciplinary investigation into the most common stressors for parents of preschool children with ASD attending a CABAS® model school. Specifically, in two studies we surveyed parents to determine their reported levels of stress and common stressors, as well as parents’ mental and physical wellbeing, self-care, and self-efficacy skills. In the first study we also examined mother-child interactions during free-play and demand situations in order to determine possible target behaviors for intervention. Implications of the findings and suggestions for interventions will be discussed.

Those interested in parent education and interventions to help parents cope with the stresses of parenting a child with ASD. These may include practitioners, educators, researchers, or parents themselves.