Association for Behavior Analysis International

This paper presentation will review progress made in one state agency across several projects of interest. A disproportionately small number of consumers engage in target behaviors that have the greatest intensity and resultant consequences such as admission to Crisis Stabilization Units (CSUs), emergency room visits, and incarceration. The Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) is a government agency who is tasked with funding and overseeing behavioral and medical supports for these “high watch consumers”. By creating a “High Watch List” of qualifying aberrant behaviors and/or acute medical episodes, APD can provide additional resources for these individuals in the form of more frequent oversight and technical assistance on individualized recommendations. In this way, a larger allocation of time and resources can be more focused to effect long term outcomes. Additionally, proactive recommendations to prevent future episodes can result in more stabilized living settings, consistent service delivery, and potential higher indices of satisfaction of services received by consumers. The results of this project has the potential for applicable state agencies to develop similar processes to serve consumers that have a disproportionately higher level of impactful behaviors that addressed successfully, can improve the quality of service provision while lowering long term costs.

Dog ownership has been shown to provide many benefits to humans, such as increased and regular walking, improved cardiovascular health, as well as increased social interactions. However, dogs can display behaviours that are problematic for their owners and their respective social environment. Such behaviours include jumping up on people or aggressive responses toward other individuals. In an effort to alleviate their dogs’ problematic behaviour, owners often reach out to companion animal behaviourists or trainers. However, the interventions’ effectiveness and their outcomes can be variable, especially if there are a lack of resources, such as time, skills, and finances. Unresolved problem behaviour in dogs often leads to a breakdown of the owner-dog relationship and may result in relinquishment and euthanasia. Therefore, our research is aimed at investigating the characteristics of behavioural interventions that may contribute to their ease of implementation and effectiveness (e.g., clicker training and time-based delivery of reinforcers). This presentation will introduce our work on systematically testing intervention components, such as modelling or feedback. We identified variables maintaining problematic behaviour through functional behaviour assessments, and implemented interventions based on respective information. Attendees will learn about the effectiveness of different intervention components, the time-based response-independent delivery of reinforcers (i.e., noncontingent reinforcement) and clicker training.

Applied behaviour analysts, animal behaviourists, students, and dog owners

As a long-time dog owner (since 1994) and a “Dog Trainer Certified According to Animal Welfare and Protection Legislation” (awarded by the Austrian Ministry of Health and the Messerli Research Institute), Nicole founded her own dog training business in 2008, Happy-Fellow® Coaching & Seminars. Since then she has worked with a range of clients whose dogs display problematic behaviours, such as fear-related behaviour, inter- and intraspecific aggression or stereotypic behaviours. Additionally to her work as a behaviour consultant, Nicole frequently teaches retrieving classes as a fun and stimulating activity for all dogs but also for dog-owner teams participating in retriever-specific competitions. Nicole holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Applied Animal Behaviour from the University of Portsmouth (UK) and a MSc degree in Applied Behaviour Analysis from Queen’s University Belfast (UK). Currently, Nicole is working toward her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences with an emphasis in Behaviour Analysis at Queen’s University Belfast. She conducts research on canine learning, human-dog interactions and owner training from a behaviour-analytic perspective.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most researched conditions within the field of psychology and education. While ABA-based early intervention is considered the most effective evidence-based comprehensive approach to increase skills and reduce problem behaviour in young children affected by ASD, behaviour analysis has yet to provide an analysis of the unique repertoires of children with autism. Instead, the most widely accepted explanations of learning deficits associated with ASD are almost exclusively non-behavioural. In this talk I will discuss the importance of a behavioural account for understanding the unique challenges associated with ASD. At minimum, such an account must be able to address three areas of cognition, widely understood to be compromised in ASD: joint attention, theory of mind, and executive functioning. Developing a comprehensive behavioural conceptual framework that addresses these areas would give behaviour analysis a seat at a table traditionally occupied by other disciplines. Behaviour analysis may then be seen not merely as a collection of techniques to decrease problem behavior or to produce isolated skills.

behaviour analysts, speech and language therapists, education professionals

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.

Humans are fortunate, in that their behavior can greatly impact their health. Many behaviors can promote health, wellness, and longevity (e.g., physical activity, healthy food choice, and treatment compliance.) However, there are also behaviors that negatively impact health and wellness (e.g., alcohol consumption, sedentary behavior, unhealthy food choices, risky sexual behavior). Unfortunately, the “unhealthy” behaviors are often associated with immediate and highly probable reinforcers, while the “healthy” behaviors have delayed and uncertain reinforcers. Two areas within behavior analysis can inform this competing reinforcer problem: contingency management and behavioral economics. Behavioral economic approaches allow researcher to characterize the value of reinforcers for health-related behaviors. Contingency management research primarily focuses on the use of differential reinforcement of health-promoting behaviors. This presentation will give brief backgrounds on these two areas in the context of health promotion. Data will be presented highlighting factors that impact the efficacy and feasibility of these interventions (e.g., reinforcer type, immediacy of consequences, cost of intervention, goal-setting criteria, and length of intervention.)

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students. 

Dr. Wendy Donlin Washington is an associate professor of Psychology at University of North Carolina Wilmington. She received her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Auburn University under the direction of Dr. Christopher Newland, and then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine working with Kenneth Silverman and Maxine Stitzer in developing behavioral treatments for drug abuse. She has conducted research in the areas of contingency management, behavioral toxicology and pharmacology, and behavioral economics. Her current research has focused on using behavioral interventions, like contingency management, to treat health related behaviors such as drug use and physical activity. She has served as Membership Board Coordinator for ABAI since 2016, is on the board of editors for Perspectives on Behavioral Science and Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

If we truly intend to improve and impact the world with behavior analysis, it is imperative for researchers and clinicians alike to embark on new areas in which the field of behavior analysis has the ability to address cultural injustices that limit marginalized populations, women, and black, indigenous people of colour (BIPOC). Our field has the ability to inform and create change that will have collateral impacts on society to combat systemic barriers that limit those without societal privilege. An overview will be conducted of current societal norms with respect to racism, healthcare, and economic inequalities and ways in which behaviour analysis can analyze contingencies to improve access and opportunities for marginalized populations. Behaviour analytic interventions centred around processes highlighting how to deconstruct racism, remediate the healthcare system using behavioral economics, and income inequality will be discussed.

Advanced. BCBAs and BCBA-Ds. Discuss how we can effectively implement behavior change at any larger scale, such as community wide… Our field has struggled to apply change initiatives beyond small groups and individuals.

Over the last several years, there has been a push for the field of applied behavior analysis ABA to become more inclusive to individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds and to adapt evidence-behavioral interventions to meet the needs of individuals from such groups. To address these issues, the field must (a) identify racial and ethnic groups that have been historically underrepresented in behavior analytic research, and (b) identify methods for adapting evidence-based behavioral interventions to meet the needs of individuals from CLD backgrounds and their families. Therefore, the purpose of this symposium is to present a series of research studies that examine the representation of individuals from CLD backgrounds in the behavioral intervention research and methods for adapting such interventions based on the cultural values and preferences of the individual and their families. Major findings of each study will be presented and discussed. Additionally, presenters will provide attendees with strategies to enhance the cultural relevance of behaviorally-based interventions in practice.

Participants should have a basic understanding of single-case experimental research and behaviorally-based interventions

English language development is a critical component for young children’s school readiness. In this study, we examined the effect of Read it again-Pre-K! (Justice, 2013), that is an evidence-based literacy curriculum designed to prepare young children’s school readiness on Korean Dual language learners’ English literacy skill. Adopting a multiple probe design, eight Korean Dual language learners received online synchronous daily instructions over 2 months during the summer before their entering to the Kindergarten programs. Through the intervention, all eight children demonstrated increases in the use of English vocabulary, story comprehension and oral fluency.

Interventions based on the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) have been shown to be effective in reducing challenging behavior and improving academic, social, and functional skills for students with disabilities. While some reviews have summarized participant demographics, the reviews have been limited to specific populations or interventions. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review was to analyze all single-case intervention studies that implemented behaviorally-based interventions for individuals across all disability categories disabilities between the ages of 6-22. Over 600 peer-reviewed articles were obtained via a systematic database search and were coded for specific demographic information. Demographic information, including race, gender, language intervention was delivered in, disability diagnosis, socioeconomic status, was extracted from each study and analyzed. Data were also extracted on the dependent variable, intervention setting, and intervention agent to determine the contexts in which the interventions were implemented. Additionally, the methodological quality of each included study was evaluated against the What Works Clearinghouse design standards. Results of the systematic review revealed major gaps in the implementation of behaviorally-based interventions for several racial and ethnic groups, transgender and non-binary students, and students who receive intervention in languages other then English. Implications for future research and recommendations for adapting behaviorally-based interventions based on individual participant characteristics will be discussed.

Between 10% and 15% of the population of individuals with intellectual and developmental disability engage in severe problem behavior. At times, many of these cases appear to be treatment-resistant. Therefore, clinicians may spend a disproportionate amount of time working and re-working assessment and treatment plans. It is imperative that the behavior analytic field continue working towards generating research that may expedite client recovery for these severe cases. The current symposium features two studies targeting different research gaps in the severe problem behavior literature. The first addresses the issue around the general absence of an objective operational definition for the term severe. The second describes an assessment strategy evaluating preference assessment stability across psychotropic medication adjustments in the context of a treatment facility offering intensive behavioral programming for adults with intellectual and developmental disability who engage in high-risk problem behavior.

Behaviour analytic research evaluating psychotropic medication impact on persons with intellectual and developmental disability is relatively limited. To our knowledge, studies have yet to evaluate the impact psychotropic medications may have on preference stability across clinically indicated medications adjustments, as well as the displacement of stimulus classes. The current study will recruit approximately three adults who resided in a treatment facility for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who engage in high-risk problem behavior. We will evaluate preference stability by conducting three types of preference assessments (edible-item, leisure-item, and combined-class) repeatedly across medication adjustments (e.g., medication increases, decreases, addition, and or removal). Once data collection is complete, we will use a Spearman rank correlation coefficient and a Kendall’s rank correlation coefficient to analyze preference stability, as well as visual analysis to evaluate displacement.

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may have a higher risk of injury or death than typically developing peers. Teaching safety skills may prevent injuries and accidents. Development these skills relies on environmental cues and problem-solving skills, which can be especially difficult for children with ASD to acquire. Previous research has evaluated the effectiveness of variations behavioral skills training (BST) for teaching children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (DDD) how to respond in the presence of unsafe stimuli. However, research evaluating teaching procedures other than variations of BST is limited in variety. While BST has shown to be an effective method to teach safety skills, acquisition of these skills is not evaluated with individuals with an underdeveloped skill repertoire. To our knowledge, no research has been conducted to evaluate procedures other than variations of BST to teach safety skills to children with ASD. The purpose of this study was to review the literature on BST used to teach safety skills with individuals with IDD and identify pre-requisite skills required to enhance the effectiveness of BST for safety skills. Results indicated that BST was more effective for individuals with a well-developed skill repertoire when compared to under-developed skill repertoires.

Our Ethics Code guides us to promote an ethical culture in work environments (7.01) and to not engage in discriminatory practices (1.05d). As behavior analysts we have the capacity to promote better work environments for marginalized groups that face discrimination because of their sexual orientation, gender discrimination, or skin colour. Factors that are known to be impacted include: recruitment and retention, participation numbers and representation of women and black, indigenous people of colour (BIPOC) in management positions, compensation for equal work and equal pay, microaggressions, and organizational policies and hiring practices that tend to favor biases towards white cis-gendered men (Cirincione-Ulezi, 2020; Iwata & Lent, 1984; Johns, 2013; Li et al., 2019; and Odum, 2000). Behaviour analytic interventions centred around processes highlighting equality, aligning organizational values amongst employees, as well as diversity appreciation will be discussed.

Supervisors and business owners

The basic and applied sciences of behavior analysis, and its practitioners, frequently refer to behavior principles. Indeed, one of the seminal text books in the field (Millenson, 1967) was entitled, Principles of Behavior Analysis. But what are these principles? Are they all clearly and well defined? Is there a widely agreed taxonomy of these principles? Furthermore, is the concept if a behavioral principle synonymous with the concept of a behavioral process or do principles and processes differ in some important way? Finally, how do behavioral principles (and possibly processes) fit into the concept of a behavior-analytic theory, and the ongoing development of a progressive science (both basic and applied) of behavior analysis in the naturalistic, functional-analytic abstractive, and monistic tradition of Skinnerian (radical) behaviorism? The primary objective of the proposed panel is to reflect upon these questions and to discuss and consider the need, if any, for the field grapple with issues as we seek to build an increasingly mature science of behavior that can articulate readily with other life sciences.

This discussion should improve the grasp of beginning and advanced behavior analysts of important conceptual issues.

Complex mission-oriented operational environments such as space exploration seem incompatible with the rigor and control that define the behavior analytic approach. Yet, the inherent risks, strategic value, and public investment in these missions require applying the best science available to enable success. This presentation will describe the parallels between behavior analytic principles and spaceflight operations, review selected historical and recent applications of behavioral science in astronauts and other teams in isolated, confined, and extreme environments, and describe opportunities for applied behavior analysis as part of integrated multidisciplinary efforts to enable future mission success in support of those who work, live, serve, and explore on the final frontier.

Scientists, lab/department/program directors, agency program administrators

The purpose of these four studies was to evaluate the effectiveness of caregivers as change agents in the implementation of communication training interventions, preference assessments, and functional analyses. The first paper evaluated the effectiveness of a brief video model on caregiver integrity of conducting mand training with three young children with autism spectrum disorder. Results suggest that all participants acquired and maintained integrity and manding increased for two children. In the second paper, parents of children with Angleman syndrome were trained via telehealth to use prelinguistic/enhanced milieu teaching. The results indicate that most participants implemented enhanced milieu teaching with at least 85% integrity. The third paper demonstrated that two parents could be trained via telehealth to conduct trial-based functional analyses with high integrity. Finally, the fourth paper used behavioral skills training via telehealth to train parents to conduct and implement interventions based on the results of functional analyses. Findings are discussed in relation to participants’ responses related to social validity.

The target audience for this event would be BCBAs and related practitioners (e.g., special education teachers, speech-language pathologists) with interests in training caregivers to implement communication and behavior interventions via telehealth or video modeling.

We conducted brief behavioral skills training via video telehealth to train parents to conduct preference assessments, functional analysis (FA) sessions, and intervention for in-home services involving their children who engaged in severe problem behavior. Parents were able to conduct all assessment and intervention well enough to identify preferred items and function of problem behavior. Furthermore, outcomes of intervention were successful. Social validity related to parents’ experience varied and will be discussed.

“Do no harm” is a core ethical principle that dates back to Hippocrates (Bailey & Burch, 2016). Although no well-intentioned behavior analyst knowingly does harm in their clinical practice, a lack of awareness may lead to more subtle forms of harm. For example, social skills goals may teach the client to camouflage autistic traits (Gerow et al., 2019, Koegel et al., 1974), which has been associated with lack of belonging and suicidality (Cassidy et al., 2019). Failure to consider past trauma may result in the use of contraindicated procedures (Kolu, 2020) and teaching skills that are not developmentally appropriate may cause stress and be experienced as traumatic (Burts et al., 1990). While the BACB Professional and Ethical Compliance Code requires BCBAs to practice within their boundaries of competence (1.02), respect cultural differences (1.05), and individualize programs to the clients unique needs (4.03), behavior analysts don’t know what they don’t know. In this symposium autistic advocates and BCBA allies will a) define masking and discuss long-term costs, b) explore strategies to teach social skills in a more affirming manner, c) examine current BCBA training, and d) offer a more ethical approach to training from a developmental lens.

BCBAs, BCaBAs, and graduate students with a basic understanding of the behaviors associated with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Masking does not, as yet, truly have a clinical definition. Rather, the term might be better understood by its roots: an attempt by the Autistic people to describe and start conversations about the (overwhelmingly common) experience of trying to appear neurotypical. Teaching Autistic clients to appear neurotypical has been one of the main goals of Applied Behavior Analysis since the days of Lovaas (Lovaas, 1981), so it is imperative to understand how the Autistic community views these goals and the effort required to meet them. This talk will attempt to (a) create a working understanding of what the Autistic adults mean when discussing masking, (b) offer the opportunity to empathize with the labor that masking requires, and (c) discuss the costs of masking long term.

Applied Behavior Analysis is known for its interventions geared towards the autistic community. The Behavior Analyst Certification Board quotes intensive Applied Behavior Analysis treatment as “the most successful approach for children with autism” (BACB, 2017). It has quickly become the gold standard approach to working with autistic individuals (CDC, 2019). Despite primarily working with autistic children, there are no requirements to educate ourselves on the autistic perspective. In our current course sequence, there is a lack of education regarding the issues that impact the autism culture, trauma, and human development as a whole. Some have argued that the medical model of disability is ableist because it defines “normalcy” based on neurotypical individuals, instead of taking the viewpoint from the neurodiverse person (We Can and Must Do Better, 2013). Behavior Analysts are responsible for involving their clients in the planning and consent for behavior services (4.02), and by the end of our graduate programs we are expected to be a master of the field and autism. This presentation will: examine the shortcomings of current Applied Behavior Analysis coursework from the perspective of a recent graduate and offer strategies for newly minted Behavior Analysts to better allies to the autistic community.

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.

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.

Opioid overdose is a major contributor to death among U.S. citizens. This study used a computer-based education program to teach out-of-treatment adults with opioid use disorder (N=40) about opioids; preventing, detecting, and responding to an opioid overdose; and FDA-approved medications prescribed to treat opioid use disorder. The education program contained three courses. Each course presented information and required participants to answer multiple-choice questions. All answers produced immediate feedback. Participants earned incentives for providing correct answers and progressing through each course. We evaluated the program using a multiple-probe design in which a test was delivered before and after participants completed each course. Each test contained 50 questions and was divided into three subtests that corresponded to questions from each of the education courses. Accuracy on each subtest increased reliably after participants completed the course that corresponded to that subtest. Accuracy on subtests was unchanged prior to completion of the relevant course and increases in accuracy were retained across tests that followed the relevant course. These increases occurred at similar rates across participants independent of education, employment, and poverty status. We hope that this study will contribute to the body of research aimed to prevent opioid overdose.

Sibling relationships are a unique and special bond throughout the life span. Having a sibling with autism may present some extra difficulties and barriers to form a close and meaningful relationship. While siblings play an important role in the child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) life, there is no consistent method for involving siblings in treatment for individuals with ASD (Shivers & Plavnick, 2014). This research project evaluated a novel treatment package including training siblings on play strategies in combination with a sibling support group to increase positive sibling play and perceived relationship quality. Using a concurrent multiple baseline design across groups, sibling dyads will participate in the eight week online STEPS program. Specifically, the intervention package includes an online implementation of behavior skills training (BST) on simple play strategies and participation in a sibling support group. Nine sibling dyads received BST via telehealth with coaching and feedback and half of the neurotypical siblings participated in an online sibling support group. It is expected that there will be a functional relation between the intervention package and increases in neurotypical sibling fidelity of implementation, increase in the percentage of reciprocal play, and increases in the level of neurotypical sibling initiations.

Angelman syndrome is a rare genetic syndrome that includes significant communication delays, often times presenting as a complete absence of vocal speech. Prelinguistic milieu teaching embedded into home routines has been shown to improve communication outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder. However, there is limited research in prelinguistic milieu teaching for young children with Angelman syndrome. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a telehealth parent training program specifically for families of children with Angelman syndrome. Parents were taught three groups of strategies including following the child’s lead, environmental arrangement, and mirroring and mapping language. We will present the effects of the training program on child vocalizations, joint attention, and use of augmentative and alternative communication within a series of multiple baseline across participant designs. Results show increases in child prelinguistic communication, use of augmentative and alternative communication systems, and slight improvements in responding to joint attention. Implications for future research and practice will be discussed.

Behavioral research has evaluated interventions to improve performance in a variety of sports and recreational contexts.This symposium includes four diverse empirical papers that explore the application of behaviour analysis in dance. The first will compare the effects of verbal and video feedback on the performance of beginner/intermediate level dancers. The second will investigate the impact of music choice on participants’ exercise duration in Zumba dance classes. The third will present a pilot evaluation of a recreational dance program with embedded behavior analytic components to support children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. The fourth will build on this previous presentation by discussing the facilitators and barriers of this behavior analytic informed recreational dance program for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Taken together, these papers will provide practical information regarding the implementation of behavior analysis in dance.

The purpose of this study was to pilot Dance with a B-E-A-T (Dance with Behavior Analysis and Therapy), a recreational dance program with embedded behavior analytic components to support children with neurodevelopmental disabilities (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities). Behavioral components included evidence-based instructional modifications and motivational strategies. Four children (3 females, 1 male) between 7 and 12 years old with neurodevelopmental disabilities participated in 1-hour sessions, across 8 weeks. The percentage of correctly performed steps on a task analysis assessed children’s gross motor performance across 10 dance and balance skills. Three children participated in the post assessment and showed 33.7% improvement in their overall gross motor performance. Self-efficacy and consumer satisfaction questionnaires were also completed. Self-efficacy scores were variable, but caregivers and children reported they were very satisfied with the dance program. Results are promising and support further development of behavioral components to support recreational programming for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Recreational dance programs with behavioural modifications can provide children with neurodevelopmental disabilities an opportunity to enjoy dance, which may in turn improve their motor performance, social skills, and perceived self-efficacy. Recreational programs often include multiple stakeholders, such as facilitators, participants, and caregivers. This case study builds on a pilot evaluation of Dance with a B-E-A-T (Behaviour Analysis and Therapy), a recreational dance program with behavioural modifications for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Through semi-structured interviews with three graduate students, who served as facilitators of this dance program, we aim to understand what components of the program facilitators found contributed to the program’s success, components that they perceived to be challenging, and any successes or challenges they experienced implementing the program. Interview questions posed to facilitators were informed by an inductive thematic analysis of previously completed interviews with caregivers of former program participants. Preliminary data from facilitator interviews suggest that facilitators perceived that behavior analytic and other therapeutic components were helpful for individualizing the program for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Facilitators also provided recommendations (e.g., thinning the schedule of reinforcement, including reliability training for data collection) to improve future implementation of this dance program.

This symposium will present a suite of talks intended to serve as a forum for introspective data analysis, reflection, and future directions for two distinct service provision models. Both models offer behavior analytic services to individuals who have a history of engaging in challenging behavior and who lack important adaptive skills necessary for success in school and society. The first model discussed in this symposium, an outpatient severe behavior clinic (SBC), developed a brief, family-centered service provision model to meet the unique needs of the surrounding communities. The SBC aimed to (a) identify the function of each client’s challenging behavior, (b) create an effective, function-based treatment plan, (c) train caregivers to successfully implement the plan at home. The second model discussed in this symposium, the Vanderbilt Behavior Analysis Clinic, operates under a threefold mission: (a) service delivery, (b) practitioner training, and (c) research. Across talks, presenters evaluate the extent to which the two programs meet their reported goals and discuss to need for routine program evaluation. Ongoing evaluation of program level practices ensures that practitioners monitoring services and making modifications as needed to promote meaningful outcomes for children, families, and future practitioners.

Audience members should have experience with functional analysis methodology and designing function based treatments. The talks in this symposium require audience members to be familiar with evaluating behavior-analytic systems at a program-wide level.

Interventions for the treatment of challenging behavior are often delivered intensively, over relatively short periods of time. In a focused service delivery model employed by a local, graduate-level training program, discharge occurs shortly after the reduction of problem behavior and the increase of appropriate alternative responding. While plentiful data exist documenting the immediate effects of intervention implementation on reduced rates of challenging behavior and increased rates of appropriate responding, less data document long-term effects of service delivery. In this study, 25 caregivers of children who participated in this model were contacted one-to-five years following discharge. Caregivers discussed their original expectations of services, experience participating in these services, and the current state of their child’s problem behavior. Social validity measures, as well as qualitative reports of caregiver perceptions of problem behavior and appropriate responding, are analyzed. The results compare perceived and empirical effects and suggest the persistence of service impact across several years.

The current symposium addresses procedural variables that may produce generative responding. The first study assessed the effects of varying non-critical features of stimuli during auditory-visual matching with adult participants to reduce variability and increase the likelihood of correct responding to untrained exemplars. The second study utilized instructive feedback, lag schedules, and naturalistic behavioral interventions to promote emergent language in children. The third study assessed the different outcomes associated with multiple exemplar instruction, namely, the interdependence between speaker and listener repertoires, and stimulus generalization across exemplars. Finally, the fourth study utilized a joint control intervention to establish bidirectional naming in children with autism. Taken together, these studies have important implications for those teaching language to individuals with disabilities.

practitioners, verbal behavior researchers

Little research has highlighted how evidence-based practices (e.g., functional communication training) might be adapted to meet the needs of children with disabilities from bilingual families. In our study, we served two children with disabilities and challenging behavior whose parents primarily spoke Spanish at home, and whose teachers primarily spoke English at school. Following traditional functional communication training (i.e., one language only), we systematically replicated the findings of Neely et al. (2019) by demonstrating that functional communication responses in the untrained language (i.e., English) did not emerge when trained functional communication responses (i.e., Spanish) contacted extinction in alternative-language contexts. Simultaneously, challenging behavior consistently resurged. After children received explicit training with both languages and were taught to change the language of request when initial attempts were unsuccessful (i.e., “repair the message” training), these same children successfully obtained near optimal rates of reinforcement in both language contexts and challenging behavior did not resurge.

Acceptance and commitment training (ACT) represents an extension of existing behavior analytic approaches to encompass a functional analysis of private events and experiential avoidance processes. Because this intervention model emphasizes function over form, applications of ACT may exist across multiple populations, extending the scope and depth of behavior analytic work. The first presenter will explore the relationship between existing language and cognitive training and the application of ACT-based programming through the "accept. identify. move" curriculum. The second presenter will then explore an ACT-consistent approach called values-based self-management applied with college students to improve psychological flexibility as well as academic engagement and performance. The final presenter will explore the ACT model with parents of children with disabilities to promote psychological flexibility and the pursuit of chosen values. The convergence of these three presentations show how ACT can be adapted across the lifespan to address barriers to psychological flexibility that may impact overall life quality for clients that we serve.

BCBAs

The use of language-based interventions such as acceptance and commitment therapy/training (ACT) to develop effective and flexible behavioral repertoires has been demonstrated across a variety of participant characteristics, topographies of behavior, and environmental contexts. Accept, identify, move (AIM) is one such intervention that uses the principals of ACT to increase psychological and behavioral flexibility in typically developing children and children with exceptionalities such as autism and/or developmental delays. Children presenting with exceptionalities have a wide range of verbal repertoires and a paucity of research exists to inform practitioners for whom the above interventions would be applicable or most effective. A mixed design, including pre-post measurements on verbal abilities and psychological flexibility and a multiple baseline across participants, was used to evaluate effectiveness of the AIM-based intervention regarding problem behavior reduction, participant defined committed action, and changes in psychological flexibility.

Self-management interventions, including techniques such as self-monitoring, self-recording, and environmental management, have demonstrated effectiveness with students in elementary and university settings (e.g. Dean, 1981 & Mooney et al., 2005), as well as a number of other areas such as physical activity (e.g. Saelens et al., 2000), weight management (e.g. Baker & Kirschenbaum, 1993), and substance abuse (e.g. Walters, 2000). Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) techniques and values-based interventions have been utilized with university students in a number of different arrangements, demonstrating the benefit of such interventions with this population (e.g. Paliliunas, Belisle, & Dixon, 2018; Chase et al., 2013; Sandoz, Kellum, & Wilson, 2017). Investigations evaluating the effectiveness of a values-based self-management intervention approach combining acceptance and values-focused therapeutic exercises with a self-management intervention for targeted behavior change, psychological flexibility, values-behavior coherence, and emotional regulation as measured by self-monitored behavior and ecological momentary assessment will be reviewed. The results provide initial evidence regarding the utility of combining these intervention techniques for improving the well-being of college students along a number of socially important outcomes.

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) results in not only a demand for effective treatment and intervention services for those diagnosed with ASD, but social, psychological, and financial stressors on the parents and caregivers of these individuals (Kogan et al., 2008). Limited investigations have evaluated interventions designed to both increase behavior management skills among parents and target their psychological well-being (Blackledge & Hayes, 2006). Two remote-implemented interventions utilizing an acceptance and commitment training (ACT) approach that target the psychological and behavioral well-being of parents and children will be reviewed. First, an evaluation of a treatment package for parents including remote ACT sessions and online behavior management training modules utilizing daily self-monitoring to measure effectiveness will be reviewed. Second, an evaluation of a remote ACT intervention for children implemented with parent involvement will be reviewed, examining the effects of the intervention on both parent and child well-being using between and within session measures. Results indicate the potential utility of remote ACT interventions to improve the behavioral and psychological well-being of both parents and children. Implications for the development and implementation of such interventions will be discussed.

The field of behaviour analysis has seen recent exponential growth however we are surrounded by punishment, inequality, injustice, and anti-science rhetoric. For our science to realize its far-reaching impact, we must conceptualize a society, like Walden 2, as our terminal goal and shape societal responses to that achievement. This panel discussion will discuss current systemic problems within culture and how we, as behaviour analysts, can establish systems that are rooted in data and behavioural science. Topics that will be discussed include utopian behaviour society, perspective taking, and compassion.

Advance ~ BCBAs and BCBA-Ds. Complex concepts that go beyond introductory literature or the course sequence.

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.

We present 2 papers that studied the relation of verbal development cusps on reading and math outcomes. The first paper tested the effects of Bidirectional Naming (BiN) on reading comprehension outcomes for first grade general education students in two experiments. The second paper studied the relation between Transformation of Stimulus Function (TSF) across saying and writing and the acquisition of math facts and math problem solving in middle school students across three experiments. In both papers, the presence of verbal behavior development cusps resulted in the advancement of academic repertoires for participants. These papers will be discussed in relation to the significance of BiN and TSF on academic outcomes for participants

Verbal Behavior Development BiDirectional Naming

Mobile phone use is ubiquitous in our society. While some people use it in a reasonable manner, others use it excessively and/or in a problematic manner (e.g., while driving). In this presentation, I will discuss what behavior analysis can do with the societal issue of problematic mobile phone use. From a behavioral economic perspective, problematic mobile phone use is fundamentally a choice controlled by competing reinforcement and/or punishment contingencies that involve a trade-off between multiple consequences (e.g., a smaller-sooner reinforcer vs. a larger-later reinforcer). Based on this conceptualization, I will illustrate how some behavioral economics principles, such as delay/probability discounting and demand analysis, can be utilized to understand, predict, and potentially control some forms of problematic mobile phone use, such as texting while driving, media multitasking, and excessive social media use. I will also argue that this conceptualization of problematic mobile phone use as choice can direct our attention to identifying the environmental/contextual variables that affect the choice, and that this conceptual/philosophical framework, along with strong data, is what behavior analysis can offer to other disciplines in an effort to combat the societal issue of problematic mobile phone use.

basic and applied behavior analysts; graduate students

Yusuke Hayashi is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the Pennsylvania State University, Hazleton. His current research interests lie in understanding basic behavioral processes, such as sensitivity to delayed/probabilistic reinforcers and valuation of reinforcers, as well as translating basic principles to solve societal problems, such as problematic mobile phone use. He completed a pre-doctoral fellowship at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as well as a post-doctoral training at the University of Kansas. He earned his Ph.D. in psychology from West Virginia University, his M.S. in behavior analysis from the University of North Texas, and his B.A. in history from Keio University in Tokyo, Japan (his unofficial minor was behavior analysis, though). He also enjoyed his carrier as an IT engineer before he crossed the ocean and headed toward Texas. Dr. Hayashi is currently an associate editor of European Journal of Behavior Analysis and an editorial board member of Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. He is active in publishing his work outside of behavior analysis, hoping to maximize the impact that behavior analysis can make on our society.

With federal laws and state policies in place to maximize access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities, students with autism or intellectual and developmental disabilities have gained increasing access to an inclusive education. However, there remain barriers to their learning in school, such as a lack of support for in-service special educators who work with these students, limited preparation of pre-service teachers in teaching these students, and inadequate understanding of how we can address the unique academic needs of students with autism and developmental disabilities. In this symposium, we present three papers that attempted to address these gaps. The first paper investigated the effects of an individualized coaching approach on supporting a special educator to implement systematic instruction with students with moderate to severe disabilities. The second paper examined how different variables (e.g., behavior analytic intervention components) may influence the effects of technology-aided reading interventions for students with autism. The third paper explored limitations of teacher preparation programs in training pre-service teachers to teach communication skills to students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Implications for research will be discussed and recommendations for practice will be offered based on the study findings.

Knowledge of Foundations in Applied Behavior Analysis and school-based support

Despite the wide usage of technology in educational settings, the overall evidence base of technology-aided reading interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has not been fully investigated. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to quantify the magnitude of effects of technology-aided reading interventions for students with ASD and determine if participant and intervention characteristics moderate intervention effects. Reviewed articles were systematically identified and evaluated for methodological rigor according design standards suggested by What Works Clearinghouse. Research studies that met the design standards were analyzed for effects using Tau-U. Results of this study found a moderate overall effect of .89 (95% CI [.83, .96]) for technology-aided reading interventions and variables associated with the use of time delay moderated reading outcomes.  

One of the most essential functions of schooling is to prepare students to communicate effectively across a diverse and expansive range of opportunities. Unfortunately, many students with disabilities, especially those with intellectual and developmental disabilities often face difficulties acquiring communication repertoires sufficient for gaining maximum benefit from their school experience and ultimately, achieving high quality of life outcomes (Carter et al., 2012). This problem reflects a confluence of barriers, including access to effective intervention practices. In this investigation, we surveyed 51 faculty who were involved in teacher preparation programs in the area of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) across a range of institutions of higher education. We asked participants to respond to questions related to the type, quality, and quantity of program content focused on communication instruction and supports for students with IDD. Overall, findings indicated that many programs included behavioral procedures within their curriculum but presented variability in the quality and quantity of teacher preparation in their application to communication instruction. Additionally, participants described barriers related to teacher preparation in this area. These findings will be discussed in relation to understanding teachers’ current repertoires and supporting their implementation of behavioral intervention strategies for improving student’s communication outcomes.

Noncompliance with basic health care can have profound effects on long term health and well-being for everyone, but especially for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Perhaps the factor most responsible for noncompliance is the fear associated with medical and dental procedures. This presentation will review both the respondent and operant conditioning features responsible for the disruptive behaviors that result and then briefly review the empirical literature to identify the most well supported approaches for preventing and managing distress and noncompliance during medical and dental appointments in the IDD population. Promising alternative and supplemental treatments will be discussed, and then step-by-step practice recommendations will be provided for preventing, managing and resolving noncompliance.

Applied behavior analysts, behavior therapists, behavioral technicians and caregivers who are responsible for direct care or overseeing programs designed to help those with IDD access health care.

Keith D Allen, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is the Director of Psychology and Professor in Pediatrics and Psychology at the Munroe-Meyer Institute and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  He completed his training in ABA at Western Michigan University and in clinical psychology at West Virginia University.  His clinical and research interests include parent training, pain and stress-related disorders in children, and management of noncompliance with medical/dental routines. He has published over 100 scientific papers and chapters on interventions to address behavioral health problems in children and adolescents and he has published a book on the science and practice of parent training.  He is a Fellow of ABAI, has been awarded research grants from NIH and the US Department of Education and has been recognized as both a Distinguished Researcher and as an Outstanding Teacher of the Year at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. 

The reemergence of extinguished behavior is broadly referred to as relapse. Relapse can be especially concerning in the treatment of problem behavior, as relapse can lead to eventual treatment failure. Two forms of relapse particularly relevant in the treatment of problem behavior are renewal and resurgence. Renewal is the reemergence of an extinguished response following a context change. Resurgence is the reemergence of an extinguished response following a worsening of reinforcement conditions for an alternative response. Mitigating relapse requires both advancing our understanding of the phenomena (often achieved through basic research) and further identification of treatment variables and their potential interactions (often achieved through applied research). The symposium is comprised of two basic and two applied investigations focused on the advanced understanding of relapse and relevant treatment variables and interactions. Findings from these investigations, areas for future research, and clinical implications will be discussed.

Target audience includes practitioners and applied researchers with a BCBA or BCBA-D, as well as basic researchers with at least a graduate degree. It is also appropriate for psychologists who conduct behavioral assessments and treatments.

The reemergence of problem behavior after extinction during context changes is referred to as renewal. Estimates for the prevalence of renewal for problem behavior maintained by social reinforcement indicate that renewal occurs in approximately 42% of observed context changes (i.e., location or person; Muething et al., 2019). However, when examining the reemergence of automatically reinforced problem behavior during the same context changes, extinction may not be an active component of treatment, and therefore any increase in problem behavior cannot be classified as renewal. Rather, contextual control may better explain this phenomenon. In the absence of extinction, context changes could result in increases in the automatically reinforced problem behavior based on different learning histories in different contexts. For example, returning to a home context where the problem behavior was previously observed may result in an increase. This study examined 38 context changes in a consecutive controlled case-series design (Hagopian, Rooker, Jessel, & DeLeon, 2013) for children with automatically reinforced problem behavior in an intensive outpatient program. Reemergence of problem behavior during those context changes was found in 12 of the examined changes (31%).

An increase in the frequency of previously extinguished behavior following a change to the context in which extinction took place is termed “renewal.” In ABA renewal, for example, a response that is reinforced in one context (Context A) during baseline and extinguished in a second context (Context B) during treatment may renew if stimuli associated with Context A are represented. The present experiment assessed whether fading from Context B to Context A during treatment reduces renewal of rats’ lever pressing when Context A is represented. Specific visual, olfactory, and tactile stimuli were associated with Contexts A and B. For one group, the stimuli that signaled Context A were faded systematically into the rats’ chambers across treatment sessions while Context-B stimuli were faded out simultaneously. A second group experienced the same fading procedure but in the opposite order: Context-A stimuli were faded out of the chambers across sessions of treatment while Context-B stimuli were faded in. A third group experienced a standard ABA renewal preparation as described above as a control procedure. Data collection is ongoing. Findings from this research may have implications for treatment strategies aimed at reducing renewal of problematic human behavior during context changes following treatment.

Observational learning is important in a child’s development because it allows behavior to be changed by the natural environment without experiencing consequences directly. This symposium will present a review of observational learning research with children with autism as well as cover two recent studies conducted with children with and without developmental disabilities. Both studies focused on the complex repertoire of responding to social contingencies applied to the behavior of others. In the first study, observed contingencies were applied to incorrect responses first and were shifted to correct responses and in the second study initially non-preferred stimuli were established as conditioned reinforcers via observational learning.

Intermediate

Observational learning is important in a child’s development because it allows behavior to be changed by the natural environment without experiencing consequences directly. Given the deficits in this repertoire often observed in children with autism spectrum disorder, effective procedures for teaching observational learning are needed as part of comprehensive behavioral intervention programs. The purpose of the current review was to provide a systematic, quantitative analysis of studies that evaluated procedures for teaching observational learning to children with autism spectrum disorder. We identified 12 studies meeting our inclusion criteria and coded them across 17 parameters. An analysis of this body of research is provided, along with recommendations for clinicians and directions for future research.

We tested the effects of an observational procedure on the establishment of conditioned reinforcement for observing books using multiple probe design across dyads with 4 preschoolers. All of the participants could textually respond to kindergarten or first-grade level high-frequency words, but observing books did not function as a preferred activity for them. The independent variable was the establishment of conditioned reinforcement for books using an observational procedure. During the intervention, the participants were paired into dyads. They observed a peer confederate reading books while the confederate received consistent social approvals from the experimenter; the participants did not receive social attention and were denied access to books during the intervention. The dependent variables were the rate of acquisition of textual responses, and the duration participants spent observing printed words. Results in the first experiment showed 3 participants had an accelerated rate of acquisition of textual responses after books functioned as conditioned reinforcers. Two participants spent a longer time observing printed words during the post-intervention sessions.

Behavior analysts often fail to realize that there may be hidden factors underlying behavior problems. By not identifying those hidden factors, behavior analysts may be overlooking important establishing operations that may make reinforcers more salient and result in increases in problem behaviors. In school-aged children, behaviors may include tantrums, off-task, noncompliance, and verbal and physical aggression. In college students, behavior problems include skipping classes, not completing assignments, not participating, not paying attention, and not studying. While behavior analysts may admit that people experience stress, trauma (sudden loss, abuse, racial trauma), anxiety and depression, behavior analysts may not believe that they have the skills to identify these hidden factors because they are not directly observable in the present environment. However, often there are important antecedents to problem behaviors that may have occurred in a different environment or time period and may be part of their learning history. This symposium will provide strategies for identifying each of these factors and provide examples of how to incorporate these factors to develop more effective behavior programs.

Behavior analysts, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, teachers who are able to define and give examples of basic behavioral principles: positive and negative reinforcement, punishment, motivating operations, discriminative stimuli

Early abuse and neglect can teach children to engage in functional survival behaviors. Living in a chaotic environment, with intermittent reinforcement for aberrant behavior, unpredictable aversive stimuli, deprivation of attention, care and comfort, and discriminative stimuli for punishment of expression of emotions, can create the setting conditions for unattached, callous and unemotional behaviors. The emotional and physical hurt and pain from maltreatment are so severe that they become an establishing operation for escaping negative emotions, making its reinforcement value more salient and stronger. By blocking or numbing the pain, sadness and/or anxiety so they cannot feel these emotions, children can be negatively reinforced and thus more likely to continue blocking those emotions. When they start to feel anxiety, pain or hurt, or even sad, guilty or ashamed, they escape those feeling by blocking them or becoming numb. Often what survives are anger and rage expressed in the form of aggressive behavior. This presentation will address ways for behavior analysts to discover these blocked emotions in children exhibiting behavior problems and assist children in acknowledging, experiencing, and coping with these negative emotions.

Underlying trauma can be an invisible elephant in a classroom. By the age of 12, many adolescents have lived through brain-altering traumatic events, which impact their perception of people, places, and situations. Science tells us that our brain changes with each experience we face. From birth to adolescence children are absorbing everything in their environment. Children forced to deal with daily traumatic events such as abuse, neglect, and abandonment can present with problematic behaviors in the school setting. Behaviors related to underlying trauma can present as withdrawal, verbal aggression, physical aggression, anxiety, and disruptive outbursts. As behavior analysts, we need to discern whether these behaviors are related to underlying trauma, lack of parental guidance, or a disability. Making this determination will be necessary to develop a trusting and effective working relationship with the student. Identifying if behaviors are rooted in sadness, fear, or shame related to underlying traumatic events, allows adults to address the problem with a broader perspective and in a manner that will prevent escalation. Addressing students who are combative or reclusive requires tactical approaches created with all variables in mind, even when they are not observable and occurred in the past.

In a survey by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (2012), anxiety is the most reported concern among college students followed by depression and relationship problems. In a more recent study (2020), college students are reporting even more stress and anxiety due to COVID-19. This presentation is relevant as more and more college students experience poor mental health due to the pandemic and the measures to protect against the virus (i.e., shelter-in-place restrictions, online learning vs. in-person learning). Trauma may occur as loved ones are being impacted by COVID-19. College educators and counselors may be the first line responders to notice problem behaviors and recommend strategies for prevention and intervention. As such, this presentation will inform audience members of ways to identify problem behaviors, develop operational definitions, gather indirect and direct information, and collect data in higher education settings. This presentation has the potential impact of assisting college educators and counselors in having difficult conversations with students/clients and utilizing applied behavior analysis to identify and alleviate trauma-based behaviors.

Time and practice are necessary for an orthopaedic resident to master the technical skills required to perform musculoskeletal surgery. Learning those skills is challenged by time constraints from work hour regulations, time pressures on both surgeon-teachers and resident-learners, and the limited tool-skills brought to the program by junior residents. The classical (apprentice) learning models used now, especially those that teach technical skills, are procedure oriented, involve emulation and self-shaping (learning) of complex activities and extend over the duration of the residency. These models can be tedious, discouraging and result in slow progress. In contrast, learning methods that employ positive operant learning can be reliable, quick, and motivating.

Operant learning is based on the fact that a behavior is more likely to occur if it is reinforced. Reinforcers used to mark the achievement of a task include acoustic stimuli or judgment-free communication and have been successfully used in a variety of human endeavors. Reinforcement, deliberate practice, and repetition let the learner rapidly progress from cognitive awareness of a skill to fluency of performance. For the learner, repetition is tolerated because the process is motivating (not unlike video games). Key to the success of this method is that complex skills (in this case the tool-skills) are analyzed and broken up into simpler skills, or “tasks,” and when learned to fluency, can be linked back together to form the complex skill. The skill can then be performed in any environment with an expectation of success.

However, to accomplish this, learning platforms need to be available that: 1) emulate the tool-skill to be learned, 2) tolerate high repetition learning and failure and 3) are available at a cost that is not prohibitive. Increasingly, surgical skills education is moving to the laboratory where residents can practice on models, cadavers and/or simulators to better prepare them for their OR experience. Unfortunately, the models used are often complex, procedurally based, and expensive, making it difficult to achieve individual learning goals and allow for the degree of repetition and deliberate practice necessary to achieve fluency.

For a skill to be fluent it must be able to be executed at the speed required by the environment it is to be used in. To build a fluent, complex skill, fluent, component (foundation) skills must be built first. This means, teach the tool-skills before you teach the procedures. It was our goal to design an innovative and inexpensive modular teaching program that allowed for meaningful repetition to achieve fluency with critical orthopaedic tools. This meant we needed to design and validate creative and challenging learning platforms that allowed for: 1) detailed task analysis, 2) use of positive operant learning methodologies, 3) meaningful repetition because they were cost sensitive, and 4) could be tolerated by both the learner and teacher, ultimately resulting in fluent tool-skills acquired by the learner.

This presentation describes why we designed it, the design details, and how we assessed our results so that these methods could be used in a variety of teaching environments.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Behavioral principles explain all operant behavior, and sports and exercise has been studied within our science. Individual exercise routines, collegiate and professional sports performance, and enhancement of coaching effectiveness has been empirically studied within our science. The proposed symposium will further that research by providing theoretical as well as research-based presentations on this topic. The matching law, as applied to sports and exercise, will be described. A study investigating the effect of an intervention to increase recess play in the public schools will be described as well. Lastly, a component analysis of the TAGTeach form of instruction - as applied to teaching volleyball skills - will be presented.

The importance of sports in America is reiterated annually on the first Sunday of February when more viewers tune in for the Super Bowl than those who vote in our presidential election (Schlanger, 2015). Sports play an integral role in our society and for the past two decades behavior analysts have utilized the matching law to analyze this cultural phenomenon. The matching law has traditionally been applied as a quantitative analysis tool in the experimental analysis of behavior; however, applications of the generalized matching equation (GME) have been translated to athletic performance. GME has been utilized to predict various operant choices in sports (e.g., shot type or play type) at both the individual and team level. In addition to further demonstrating the relevance of applied behavioral science outside of the classroom or laboratory, this review provides a summary of the application and utility of the matching law in sports, discusses limitations of the current literature, and provides recommendations for future research.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a behaviorally defined disorder. We are learning that ASD is associated with many medical co-occurring conditions such as sleep problems, gastrointestinal disorders, seizures, allergies, and anxiety, just to name a few. In addition, we are learning that there are underlying biological abnormalities with how the cells and body work. These medical and biological abnormalities may not only be related to ASD symptoms but, most importantly, may be impeding successful habilitation if they are not addressed. Thus, a multidisciplinary medical approach is necessary to evaluate and treat ASD in order to provide optimal outcomes.

Educational and behavior therapists.

Dr. Richard Frye is a Child Neurologist with expertise in neurodevelopmental and neurometabolic disorders. He received an MD and Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University and completed his Child Neurology Residency and Fellowship in Behavioral Neurology and Learning Disabilities at Harvard University/Children’s Hospital Boston. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and serves on several editorial boards. He has conducted several clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy of safe and novel treatments that target underlying physiological abnormalities in children with ASD. He is the Chief of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

This symposium involves three presentations. All three presentations involve different aspects of the operant conditioning of lake sturgeons (Acipenser fulvescens) – a species whose operant behavior has not been studied. It is important to study the operant conditioning of this species for several reasons. Most importantly, this species evolved around 200 – 250 million years ago and has changed morphologically so little in the time it has existed that it has been it has been called a “living fossil”. Thus, studying the operant conditioning of this species could contribute to our knowledge of the evolution of operant conditioning. Also important is the fact that this species is considered threatened so that studying its operant conditioning could help develop procedures that promote its survival. The first presentation in this symposium demonstrates that food can be used as reinforcement to operantly condition lake sturgeons to swim to a particular location in an aquarium. The second presentation demonstrates that darkness can be used as a reinforcer to condition lake sturgeons to swim to a particular location in an aquarium, and also to maintain the learned behavior on fixed-ratio schedules. The third presentation examines the effects of varying amount of light reduction as reinforcement for this species.

In an experimental tank (ET), two experimentally naïve lake sturgeons (Acipenser fulvescens) were operantly conditioned to enter one of four target areas where they received an auditory response-feedback stimulus (RFS) in the form of a click sound and – according to the prevailing FR schedule – 10 seconds of darkness. A multiple-baseline-across-subject’s design was used. Visual observation and a video-tracking system (VTS) monitored the number of responses emitted on each of the four target areas. The target areas were in the corners of the ET and had to be entered by the subject to constitute a response. The experiment involved the following phases: (1) no-feedback baseline (NFB); (2) discriminative stimulus baseline (DSB); (3) response-feedback baseline (RFSB); and (4) fixed-ratio (FR n). The data indicated a preference for the target area that produced darkness, which implies that darkness is a reinforcer for this species. This preference was indicated by a greater number of target area responses for the target area whose entry into produced darkness, and greater activity in and around that area relative to baseline phases. Furthermore, when the n of the FR n was increased the rate of responding also increased.

Effective training is crucial to ensure that professionals know how to execute their jobs and, consequently, to increase the quality of services within a professional organization. Training topics within an autism service provider organization are typically related to clinical, compliance, operations and professionalism and are necessary to be completed across job functions (e.g., clinical staff, human resources staff, etc.) during initial onboarding and ongoing training. Depending on the size, clinical model, and available resources within an organization, training needs may differ. That said, independently of these variables, every organization has a need to build and maintain training systems to: (a) ensure that training content is identified, (b) determine the training audience across function areas, (c) produce high quality training content, (d) implement training using best practices, (e) re-train staff when needed, and (f) verify training completion. The panelists will discuss topics related to establishing and maintaining training initiatives within small, medium, and large organizations, including themes related to training infrastructure needed and integration of companies within a larger organization.

At the conclusion of the presentation participants will be able to: (1) identify training needs within an organization, (2) identify training infrastructure used to establish and maintain training systems, and (3) identify best practices for training delivery.

The application of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Training (ACT) within conventional applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a topic that is receiving increased interest, attention and research. As ABA proliferates and the practice is applied to more diverse populations outside of young children and intellectual/developmental disabilities there is a commensurate need for a behavior analytic approach to address complex human behavior and the private contingencies of which they are a function. ACT appears to be the most popular among Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) likely because it is derived from behavioral principles, comports with seven dimensions of ABA and can be aligned with several sections of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s 5th edition task list. Despite these technical compatibilities, there remains well-founded hesitation among BCBAs regarding individual scope of practice and more importantly, scope of competence. This symposium includes two presentations that will review the state of ACT within applied behavior analysis, propose a framework for clinical training and competence, and will conclude with discussion.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts with a basic familiarity with Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT)

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.

Sexual behavior is a complex and wide-reaching topic. And though sexual stimulation is considered to be a primary reinforcer for most, there is frequently shame and stigma associated with sexual behavior, leaving it under-discussed within our field. This symposium examines an array of ethical considerations pertaining to sexual behavior, from direct client interventions and supports around assent and noncompliance, to scholarship and theory on sex and risk, to legal considerations in sex education and censorship, to dissemination of behavior analytic analysis as it benefits pleasure-based sex education at large. Presenters will discuss resulting data and their implications as applicable, and will discuss recommendations for future research, instruction, and applied projects.

Practicing BCBAs and BCaBAs

Because of the complexity of potential sexual repertoires and beliefs about sex at both the ontogenic and cultural level, it can be difficult to tact what “counts” as sexual behavior. Additionally, multiple factors impact the labeling of sexual behavior as “high risk.” Relational Frame Theory (RFT) provides an account of language as operant behavior (Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, & Roche, 2001). This presentation will examine different possible response classes and consequences which may be labeled as “sex” and which may be described as “risky” and will examine both derived beliefs and transfer of stimulus function when considering potentially risky sexual behavior. Relying on scientific knowledge both within and outside the field (BACB, 2019, 1.01), sex and risk will be examined as a biopsychosocial phenomenon, and the acquisition of these labels will comparably be examined through a contextual examination of selectionism at the phylogenic, ontogenetic, and cultural levels (Skinner, 1953). Harm reduction modalities will be considered as the impact of this language is examined.

The philosophy and associated methodologies of applied behavior analysis (ABA) have been applied across several contexts and populations including, but not limited to, addiction (e.g., Silverman et al., 2008), autism (e.g., Leaf et al., 2017), education (e.g., Keller, 1968), gerontology (e.g., Dwyer-Moore & Dixon, 2007), healthcare (e.g., Friman et al., 1986), human safety (e.g., Geller, 2005), intellectual disabilities (e.g., Passage et al., 2012), juvenile delinquency (e.g., Serna et al., 1986), space (e.g., Brady, 2007), sports (e.g., Luiselli & Reed, 2011), and sustainability (e.g., Bekker et al., 2010). In each of the contexts and populations with which ABA philosophy and methodologies have been applied, improvements have been observed. This is perhaps best exemplified with respect to ABA-based interventions designed for autistics/individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This is not to say that the application of methodologies based upon ABA has been without its faults. However, despite its faults, there have been countless success. The faults and the success should be discussed within the profession. The purpose of this panel is to highlight the many successes of ABA as it relates to interventions designed for autistics/individuals diagnosed with ASD while still acknowledging its faults and the need for improvement.

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.

The year 2020 thrust applied behavior analysis into an uncharted intersection of clinical practice, public health, and sociopolitical evolution. On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Two days later, COVID-19 was declared a U.S. national emergency. Already vulnerable individuals served by the behavior analytic community found their worlds turned upside down and inside out, routines violently disrupted, and many were suddenly cut off from essential behavioral health treatment. Practitioners were furloughed, laid off, or altogether let go. Many others chose unemployment, terrified of contracting COVID-19. On May 25, a nation already gripped by health and economic fear and uncertainty exploded in protest, sparked by the death of George Floyd. Unified like never before, our nation demanded reformation of the inequity and fundamental flaws in the criminal justice system and in our society as a whole. Using a behavioral systems approach guided by the Stockdale Paradox (Collins, 2001), cognitive-diversity hypothesis (Miller, Burke, & Glick, 1998), and simple notion of kindness, a small, privately owned agency utilized professional networks, local and state resources, and sheer determination to persevere, pivot, and redefine its commitment to its clients, staff, and our science.

Prerequisite skills/competencies: behavior systems; business strategy; corporate culture; diversity in the workplace; ethics; leadership/management; supervision.

The separation between educational research and practice has been gaining a lot of interest in the field. To bridge these two areas requires collaboration between both parties (Vanderlinde & Braak, 2010), shared experiences (Montgomery & Smith, 2015), and intensified contacts in the process of the research (Huberman, 1990). In the field of special education, the need for highly qualified educators, teacher attrition, and workplaces/institution play the key roles to improve the transfer of knowledge for the education communities (McLeskey & Billingsley, 2012). Education researchers must carefully consider the challenges that teachers may encounter in their daily work so that the research questions and interests can go beyond the basic science and theoretical debates. Social validity leads researchers to consider the needs of practitioners while the follow-up application research facilitates the delivery of evidence-based practices. In this symposium, we will explore how researchers explore the social validity in the cultural context of the practitioners and clients while teachers’ dilemmas are embedded in research.

professionals with teaching experience in social skills and experience with data collection will benefit from attending this symposium.

Social validity reflects the social significance of a behavioral investigation, which is a unique and vital component of a behavior intervention and research (Kazdin, 1977). It is essential for the survival of behavior analysis as a field and it connects closely with ethics (Baer & Schwartz, 1991). Wolf (1978) states that social validity reveals the social significance of treatment goals, acceptability of the treatment procedure, and outcomes of the treatment, which are often times, opinion based. Researchers and practitioners have provided recommendations about how to assess social validity (Carter, 2019), but how does this process look like in a specific cultural context such as autism treatment in China, where culture variables may influence consumer’s opinion regarding the social validity domains differently than other cultures? Based on the strategies suggested by Carter (2019) regarding assessing social validity, this presentation bring forward the challenges of assessing social validity domain with specific examples as well as recommendations for assessing the social validity of intervention in a given cultural context.

Visual perspective taking is the ability to discriminate whether one can see an object. A prerequisite of visual perspective taking is to identify the object another person is seeing. Conventionally, visual perspective taking task may start with use of cards (e.g., present a card of a person who gazes toward different directions), followed by generalizing to real persons in natural environments. This study included three different visual perspective taking tasks: cards, real person, real person in natural context. Six children with ASD between age of 3.5 and 9 participated in this study. The initial probe revealed most children, though not having achieved the mastery level, had relatively better performance with real human. When further conducting the training, the results showed that children quickly learned to track visual perspective from a real person, either in a lab or a natural setting. While acquisition of visual perspective taking with real person helped generalization to natural context, it did not affect the task with cards. In addition, operation of cards presented a great challenge on three of six children. This finding may stimulate practitioners and researchers to rethink the sequence and the use of cards in teaching visual perspective taking.

When making a decision about child progress, teachers who provide discrete trial teaching struggle with finding a proper balance between continuous recording (e.g., taking all trials data) and discontinuous recording (e.g., taking the first few trials data). Continuous data collection method provides comprehensive information, which leads to proper decision, yet it could be labor-intensive and potentially interrupt the natural flow of teacher-child interaction. Discontinuous data collection method allows the teachers to devote to instruction, yet it may lead to inadequate reference for student performance. Previous studies have examined the effects on child progress toward mastery and maintenance, which yields rather mixed results. This study reviewed the existing data across four children with ASD, eight different tasks, 174 sessions, and over 2000 trials. Given the mastery criterion of “80% accuracy for two consecutive days”, the results revealed a moderate match between all- and three-trial data collection method. It suggests the potential of using discontinuous data collection method.

The COVID-19 global pandemic of 2020 and the ensuing emergency guidelines had potential to limit the delivery of essential ABA-based Autism services. While literature outside of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has demonstrated efficacy of remote, video-conference modality for medical care, (i.e. telehealth or telepractice), replicable models of ABA-based telehealth were limited in ABA literature prior to 2020. In response to the public health crisis, a protocol modification assessment (PMA) and treatment selection matrix for modifying ABA programs for direct telehealth was developed and published in an emergency issue of Behavior Analysis in Practice (Rodriguez, 2020). The first panelist will present a model for training and implementation of the PMA in a multi-site provider organization, including confidence self-assessment results from the participating behavior analysts; the second panelist will present client outcomes in the form of pre- and post-implementation assessment change scores. A third panelist will share an innovative applied research approach to modification of a well-known curriculum (PEAK), in which the materials were transformed into an interactive video game that allowed for remote, highly engaging implementation. The panelists will offer guidance for future implementation and evaluation.

Participants should be familiar with the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts (BACB(R) 2014, including considerations for competence to practice and efficacy of services); a review of literature related to telehealth service delivery (e.g. Ferguson et al., 2019); and PEAK Curriculum (Dixon, 2008) and its applications (Belisle, 2018) will offer participants context for engagement.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, roughly 1400 clients were transitioned to telehealth ABA services across 50+ regions of a multi-site provider organization. Many clients’ services were shifted within 1-2 weeks of the emergency orders; some were transitioned within days. While the modality of treatment offered clear benefits (i.e. continuity of care; provisioning of essential services without the risk of viral transmission), telehealth ABA has not been evaluated widely. Questions of efficacy are central to ethical compliance and provision of evidence-based, medically necessary treatment; therefore, clinical outcomes are urgently needed in order to determine whether funders will continue to adopt telehealth once the pandemic ends. This presenter will show an initial view of aggregated outcomes data, using pre- and post-assessment assessment change scores. The Vineland 3 is the primary measure of clinical outcomes in this presentation; the author will make recommendations for complementary measures to be used in future analysis.

The sudden emergence and ongoing uncertainty of COVID-19 led many behavioral health organizations to reassess how they deliver applied behavior analysis (ABA) services as well as the skills that employees need to effectively execute their job functions. This reassessment for how services would be delivered resulted in ABA sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic that looked significantly different than ABA sessions delivered pre-COVID-19. In this symposium, we will share the results of three studies that measured the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of ABA services. The first presenter will discuss the importance of compassion and empathy as a soft skill for behavior analysts, and how those skills can be taught using Behavior Skills Training. The second talk discusses parental acceptance of Telehealth to replace in-person ABA therapy. The final talk discusses the impact of COVID-19 on ABA practitioner job satisfaction and their perception of care quality. All presenters will discuss the implications of their findings and future steps.

Practicing behavior analysts or patient's/caregivers of those who receive ABA services.

Addressing issues of disparity in access to treatment for children with autism has gained increased attention. COVID-19 has been documented to disproportionally affect disenfranchised populations in both its direct health effects and have a greater impact on the upstream social determinants of health such as financial well-being, access to education, etc. The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess known factors that affect autism treatment (e.g. severity of symptomology, behavioral excesses) and care-providers acceptance or rejection of ABA telehealth services at the onset of COVID-19. Rejection of telehealth resulted in the absence of any behavior analytic services to patients. This study reports on an initial convenience sample (∼100 patients) of a larger sample size (∼1500 patients) from a service provider in Southern California. A t-test for the convenience sample found significance for one variable but not others. Additional measures are being conducted and a randomized sample of the patient population is being analyzed. If particular variables are found to be significant in the randomized sample, interventions may be tailored to decrease the disparity and ensure more children do not experience a disruption in service should telehealth be required as a treatment modality.

The sudden emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to economies, businesses, and workers nationwide – including behavior analysis workers. During the pandemic, we administered a survey to all BACB certificants to identify the variables that best predicted perceived COVID-19-related change in service quality and the impact of COVID-19 on job status. Using regression analyses, we found that perceived negative change in ABA service quality was influenced most by low confidence using Telehealth technologies, changes in the setting of service delivery, and a higher number of cancelled sessions. Our findings also indicate that COVID had a greater impact on job status for respondents who were younger, had lower certification status (i.e., RBT, BCaBA), had lower positions in the company (e.g., frontline staff), and for those who worked in home and clinical settings. In short, this presentation highlights who was impacted most by COVID-19 and in what ways. Understanding this information opens the door to field-wide collaboration to develop and disseminate effective strategies to mitigate the negative impact of future events that have far-reaching economic impact.

The coronavirus of 2019 has wreaked havoc on the business world and overall economy, including organizations providing applied behavior analysis (ABA) services. Directors of ABA service organizations faced problem resolution at an unprecedented level and the need for leadership and effective decision making had never been more important. The pandemic and resulting shelters in place caused a flood of information and directors were forced to make decisions with multi-faceted implications for both the consumers they served and the employees who trusted them. This presentation will address the implementation of problem resolution within and across all aspects of an ABA organization. A COVID response plan was created by pivoting towards values and taking steps to maximize employee safety while continuing to provide access to medically necessary services and concomitantly ensuring measurement as scientist practitioners. This presentation will include details related to immediate and ongoing steps in relation to these outlined values. In addition, this presentation will share data collected through a variety of means including, but not limited to, employee and parent surveys, measures related to access within the different services provided and total hours of telepractice hours delivered across the organization.

The terms stimulus, response, and stimulus control are derived from the experimental literature. The term "prompt" arose within the applied field. There are many conceptual and logical errors in how trainers use these terms that often lead to ineffectual lessons. Similar problems can be found regarding error correction strategies and those that are described as "errorless." We will review many popular teaching strategies, including fading, most-to-least, least-to-most, etc., several error-correction strategies and a host of strategies described as "errorless teaching." The goal is to shake up many long-held and cherished beliefs about common teaching strategies.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

The need for expanded and applicable trauma-informed services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is paramount. This symposium will approach this need from three vantage points while reinforcing the concept of trauma-informed behavior analysis. First, trauma as “crisis” for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities will be presented due to the apparent high risk of experiencing traumatic events throughout the lifespan. Our second presentation will focus on the reinforcement of collaboration between trauma-informed care and applied behavior analysis. It is important that behavior analysts continue to improve their treatments for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) by considering the effects of past traumatic events. This paper describes behavior changes frequently reported in people with ID following exposure to trauma and proposes ways that these changes may be understood from a behavior analytic framework. When providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities, it is becoming more common to discuss those services with an approach to understanding the role of trauma in the lives of those being served. Yet, often, the role of the parents/guardians/caregivers, as well as the role of the provider are often overlooked. This talk will discuss the role of stakeholders and providers in enhancing the way we provide trauma-informed care.

Intermediate

It is important that behavior analysts continue to improve their treatments for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) by considering the effects of past traumatic events. People with ID experience high rates of exposure to traumatic events and therefore face increased risks of developing stress-related disorders (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]). Exposure to trauma often leads to behavior changes such as increases in problem behavior. However, current assessment and treatment strategies for stress-related disorders rely heavily on verbal communication, limiting their utility for most people with ID. Consequently, this population may receive treatment from behavior analysts without a way to assess the impact of stress-related disorders. Learned helplessness (LH) has been studied extensively in animals and may provide insights into a behavioral understanding of stress-related disorders in humans. These insights could lead to improvements in the treatment of these disorders in people with limited communication repertoires. This paper describes behavior changes frequently reported in people with ID following exposure to trauma and proposes ways that these changes may be understood from a behavior analytic framework. We will also suggest ways that the LH literature may improve assessment and treatment of stress-related disorders in people with ID.

Intermediate

The source of motivation for the time, energy, and resources poured into basic research is the assumption that what is observed in the contrived circumstances of the laboratory will be relevant and applicable to problems of importance in the “real world.” In psychology, the problems deemed to be of sufficient importance for the allocation of resources to basic research are primarily related to human behavior. However, much basic research in psychology is conducted with nonhuman animals. Modeling human phenomena with nonhumans is fraught with threats to validity that are frequently overlooked or ignored in the work of researchers in the fields of behavioral genetics, neuroscience, and even the experimental analysis of behavior. The thesis of this presentation is that the most significant act of “translation” from basic nonhuman research to human affairs occurs at the level of theory when modeling phenomena for study. The importance of theory in this regard will be considered in the context of several current nonhuman models of human psychological phenomena.

Behavior Science’s three interrelated domains of conceptual, experimental, and applied work represents an earnest effort by adherents of this science to participate in and work toward, a comprehensive science of behavior. Though the lion’s share of conceptual and experimental work occurs in the context of universities there are efforts in the applied domain to remain oriented to, and participate in, the refinement of both experimental and conceptual work. This paper provides examples of these efforts as well as outlines a framework for interested applied behavior scientists to adopt a balance of the three pillars of behavior science. The benefits of adopting such a framework are exemplified with particular attention paid to advantages when communicating with non-technical audiences.

Instructors, trainers, tutors, and supervisors have been designing and delivering remote learning experiences for a range of learners for many years. However, some of the common methodologies and modalities, and available resources may appear to be high-quality but many of these technologies often do not incorporate best practices of instruction based on the principles of behavior analysis. In addition, some of these technologies and systems that use best practices of behavioral education and training as demonstrated by recently published publications are not often widely known or implemented across a range of instructional and training settings. This tutorial will present attendees with common practical problems and hurdles related to remote training, and will also provide attendees with easily implemented solutions based on the principles of behavior analysis and that use free or low-cost and widely available technologies and applications. The tutorial will also include detailed demonstrations of some of these solutions directly related to practical skills of interest to a range of behavior analytic practitioners and supervisors across a variety of settings.

Faculty, supervisors, and trainers

Dr. Bryan J. Blair is currently an Assistant Professor at Long Island University - Brooklyn where he is also the coordinator of the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) graduate certificate and supervised fieldwork programs. He is a licensed behavior analyst and doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) and has worked with children and adults with developmental disabilities and clinical disorders for over 15 years in a variety of settings. He received an M.S. in ABA from Northeastern University in 2007 and a Ph.D. in ABA from Endicott College in 2017. Dr. Blair also provides digital technology consultation related to the practice of ABA. He has presented on topics in ABA and autism spectrum disorder at state, regional, and national conferences and has published research in peer-reviewed journals. His research and professional areas of interest include complex human behavior, improving learning outcomes, verbal behavior, staff training, parent consultation, instructional design, digital learning, and BCBA/Clinical supervision.

The world as we know it is changing and, in many ways, there are tremendous signs of growth for humanity. One such sign is the removal of boundaries for service delivery. Behavior analysts are contributing to this process in a remarkable way, for example, by taking advantage of developments in technology that allow us to communicate and collaborate in ways that were previously unthinkable. However, stepping into this new world requires us to notice differences in each other, and to work diligently to build bridges. To expect that the application of behavioral science is devoid of context and cultural norms would not provide desirable outcomes. Hence, several parameters must be considered when planning and implementing global access to behavior analysis. The aim of this symposium is to present two unique and successful collaborations that fostered equality, equity, and inclusion of recipients. Both papers will shed light on different aspects of service delivery and dissemination of applied behavior analysis in the international context.

Providers, program developers, researchers,

The awareness, acceptability, and availability of Speech and Hearing programs in India far exceeds the prevalence and awareness of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) programs. There are over 800,000 registered speech therapists (Indian Speech and Hearing Association, 2019), whereas BCBAs, BCaBAs, RBTs together add up to merely 86 (Behavior Analysis Certification Board, 2020). For a country with over 2 billion people, the number of behavior therapists is pittance. While this gap in the number of providers is discouraging, we believe practitioners of applied behavior analysis should find mutual synergy to collaborate and train speech therapists in the science of our field. This collaboration is intuitive given the remarkable overlap in both fields. The purpose of this grant funded project was to disseminate our science by training the students and supervisors of the Department of Speech and Hearing, which was housed within a medical college in South India. We implemented a two-day intense Functional Behavioral Assessment training workshop focusing on most commonly seen challenging behaviors in their speech sessions. This paper aims to cover the model we used for customizing the workshop for speech therapists in India so that it is more relevant and inclusive of their experiences and context. Recommendations for future collaboration of both fields and/or dissemination of behavior analysis technology in India will also be provided.

The current paper will describe the establishment of the first graduate level Verified Course Sequence in ABA in the United Arab Emirates in August 2019, and the concomitant challenges and opportunities that arose for the UAE national students and expatriate faculty. With the aim of building local capacity in the provision of ABA services and expanding the reach of behavior analysis beyond the field of ASD intervention in the country, the faculty and students have worked together in a range of interesting and rewarding ways. The paper will discuss cultural competence as an ongoing collaborative effort. The faculty has learned to work in a Middle Eastern culture, understanding the impact of local traditions and customs on teaching and learning. Meanwhile, the students have learned to navigate the world of behavior analysis by analyzing and questioning how the methods and guidelines “fit” with the populations they serve now and into the future, for example in the selection of socially significant target behaviors, in discussing the prevalence of culturally-specific pseudoscientific interventions and in their critical evaluation of ethical codes. The positive student-faculty collaboration fostered in the UAE provides lessons for behavior analysts who work in culturally diverse settings. In particular, this paper will describe our achievements in the dissemination of the science of behavior analysis through community outreach and high-quality student-led projects, supported by faculty.

Prerequisite skills include knowledge of echoic training, prompting procedures, standard celeration charts.

When behavioral services are utilized to reduce problem behavior, psychotropic medication is also often prescribed by attending physicians. When a comorbidity is present, coordinating services between disciplines can present special challenges. This presentation will describe the need to reduce confounds between different treatment modalities, and present some techniques to reduce those confounds while evaluating and promoting ongoing treatment effectiveness. We will review several of the medications that are most commonly used to address problem behavior, describe some of the most common side effects as well as secondary behavioral effects that can impact treatment planning and documentation. We will discuss some common symptoms of various comorbidities, list steps for data collection, and suggest techniques on how to most effectively report and utilize data in coordination with both medical and non-medical professionals. Finally we will discuss the ethical requirement to closely coordinate ABA and medical services, and explore some of the related issues that are likely to arise in clinical practice.

The target audience should have as prerequisite skills knowledge autism spectrum disorder, behavioral service delivery, and behavior intervention plan.

Disabilities are pervasive within the broader life context of impacted individuals, including challenges associated with stigmatization, disability progression, autonomy, and self-advocacy. This symposium will address these topics representing a next frontier in the evolution of behavior analytic service within person-centered care. The first talk will review stigmatization of persons with disabilities from within a derived relational responding framework, as well as how to predict and influence stigmatizing verbal relations. The second talk will describe a systematic intervention to address cognitive decline in the progression of dementia within the life-course of aging populations. The third talk will provide a translational model exploring the use of equivalence-based instruction to teach facts about medications that are necessary for ensuring autonomy and consent. Together, these talks go beyond addressing behavior challenges – to addressing skills that participate within the broader context of living with physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities from a behavior analytic framework.

BCBAs

What makes a person disabled is a much-debated topic with some focusing on the individual’s impairments (putting the onus of disability on the individual) while others focus on how the environment (both architectural and social) exacerbates an individual’s impairments and creates the conceptualization of disability (putting the onus of disability on society). No matter how a person with a disability (PWD) is categorized, they are met with healthcare, education, and work disparities that are perpetuated both unintentionally and intentionally. This paper examines the various ways disability and subsequently stigma arises from a variety of viewpoints both within and outside the tradition of behaviorism. Given an overview of behavioral research, much of which is line with non-behavioral conceptualizations track well on to, the author points to how Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS) may offer potential applications for the reduction of stigma towards PWDs. Three studies were detailed across relevant relational frames and their potential roles in the formation and defusion of stigma thereby extending the prior behavioral research on utility for potential, computer-based societal interventions.

With the aging of the Baby Boomer generation there will be an influx of older adults in the years to come that has never been witnessed before. While a longer life brings with it many opportunities, they are dependent on one thing: the individual’s health. Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias are of most concern since they are defined by decline in cognitive functions that lead to loss of independence. Interventions are needed to help aid in the wide-ranging impact dementia will have. One area of promise is the use of language training procedures such as Relational Frame Theory (RFT), a contemporary behavior-analytic account of complex human language and cognition. The current study examined the relationship between dementia symptomology, memory, and derived relational responding in 42 older adults, ages ranging 65-97. Moderate to strong correlations were found between the Mini-Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Exam, Wechsler Memory Scale, and the PEAK Comprehensive Assessment- Transformation. Results of this study suggest that participants with higher scores of dementia symptomology showed lower scores of memory and derived relational responding. The results of expand the current literature by evaluating all relational frame families and their relationship to memory and dementia symptomology. Implications, limitations, and future research will be discussed.

Acceptance and commitment training (ACT) is an approach to language and cognition that is growing in traction across several practitioners inside and outside of the field of behavior analysis. ACT has been seen to be effective in interacting with levels of stress, burnout, and psychological flexibility. Given this, there has been limited research demonstrating ACT in a variety of clinical settings. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and clients alike may experience distress and burnout. The following three talks will discuss three different implementations of ACT-based interventions across three different clinical applications. The first talk will discuss the potential value in an online-based ACT intervention targeted for behavior technicians and their levels of burnout and overt levels of values-based actions. The second talk will discuss an application of a two-day ACT-based workshop designed to interact with three BCBAs and their indirect levels of psychological flexibility and burnout, weekly reported values-based actions, and performance on a values based check in system. The third talk will discuss the application of an ACT-based approach to rigid habit following in an individual with a dual diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Intermediate

Within the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA), behavior technicians can be described as a highly valuable employee within their organization due to their direct one to one work with clients. Over time, a behavior technician’s level of burnout may increase due to the prolonged emotional exhaustion that accompanies the work. One possible intervention to incorporate into the workplace is acceptance and commitment training (ACT). ACT is an evidence-based intervention that focuses on enhancing six processes (i.e., self-as-context, values, committed action, contacting the present moment, defusion and acceptance) to increase psychological flexibility. While there is research on ACT in various modalities, one emerging method of delivery is through online-based modules. The present study evaluates an online-based ACT intervention targeted to behavior technicians while simultaneously teaching them to engage in overt behavior directly tied to their values. It is hypothesized that the online acceptance and commitment training will be effective in influencing a behavior technician’s perception of burnout, increasing psychological flexibility, and stabilizing and or increasing values-based behaviors.

Acceptance and commitment training (ACT) has been growing in acceptability within the scope of behavior analysis (Enoch, & Nicholson, 2020). Since the start of the current COVID-related pandemic, researchers have moved to include programs related to psychological flexibility to mitigate possible effects the current shelter in place may have on our wellbeing and potential feelings of stress (Fieberg, Gould, Ming, Watson, 2020). Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) are often described as those who have stressful jobs that could lead to stress and burnout. ACT has been shown to mitigate workplace stress and increase levels of psychological flexibility (Pingo, Dixon, & Paliliunas, 2019). The following study explored the potential effect a two-day ACT workshop may have on the weekly overt values-based behaviors a BCBA reports to have completed, indirect measures associated with psychological flexibility (AAQ, CAQ-8) and stress, and performance on a check-in system designed to help aid BCBAs to check in with the colleagues they supervise. Using a multiple baseline design across three BCBAs, the results suggest the ACT workshop affected overt weekly reported values-based actions. Results also suggest the workshop was successful in improving performance on the check-in checklist. Further implications and suggestions will be discussed.

The majority of current behavior analysts are working within the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) population (BACB, 2020). ASD is often comorbid with other diagnoses including obsessive and compulsive disorder (OCD) (Lewin, Wood, Gunderson, Murphy, & Storch, 2011). Behavior analysts may not have experience with individuals who have this comorbid presentation(Broadhead, Quigley, Wilczynski, 2018). Research demonstrating the application of behavior analytic treatment of behaviors associated with comorbid diagnoses are necessary in the development of our field’s overall utility. In this paper, we will demonstrate the efficacy of a treatment package utilizing acceptance and commitment training (ACT), and mindfulness-based training for the reduction of compulsive behaviors in an 11-year-old individual diagnosed with OCD and ASD. Sessions were conducted via telehealth for 2 hours each day, 3 days per week, across 4 consecutive months. A reversal design was utilized to test for treatment efficacy. In baseline, the participant was engaged in a variety of compulsive behavior in the bathroom for up to 9 hours per day. Results indicated that the treatment package was effective in the reduction of the duration of engagement in compulsive behaviors. Overall duration of engagement dropped from 9 hours to 45 minutes. Results, implications, and overall social validity will be discussed.

Data on participant demographics (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status) can be used to evaluate the existence of treatment disparities and other correlations between the impact of an intervention and sociopolitical location, yet these data are seldom reported in behavior-analytic studies. To date, no review has been conducted evaluating the reporting of demographic variables within the subfield of organizational behavior management (OBM). OBM interventions often involve multiple participants across levels of an organization, posing unique considerations for reporting demographic variables and potentially identifiable information in accordance with an organization’s preference for disclosure and human resource policies. Interventions in industrial/organizational psychology may encounter similar barriers to reporting demographic variables. Therefore, we reviewed articles published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (JOBM) and the Journal of Applied Psychology from 2015 to 2019 to evaluate recent trends in the reporting of demographic variables. All articles that included participants and presented data (i.e., both applied and laboratory research; N = 79) were included for review and were coded based on the setting, design, and reported demographic variables. The value of reporting demographic variables in OBM and suggestions for future reporting will be discussed.

Early diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are critical to maximizing early development (Brasher & Stapel-Wax, 2020). Prior evidence suggests that some communities within the ASD population are underserved and experience reduced access and quality of services (Bishop-Fitzpatrick & Kind, 2017). The purpose of the current study was to complete a retrospective clinical file review to identify possible disparities in access to therapeutic services. We scored demographic variables (e.g., age at time of initial contact, sex, race/ethnicity) and reported access to therapy services (e.g., applied behavior analysis, speech language pathology). We conducted visual and statistical analyses to determine correlations between demographic variables and reported access to therapy services. We discuss our findings and possible future directions for evaluating disparities to accessing therapy services in the ASD community.

As recent outcry emerged upon the murder of George Floyd, following Ahmaud Arberry, Breonna Taylor, and countless others, it became apparent that the world needed to significantly analyze core values and principles to address issues of systemic racism. The field of behavior analysis is no exception. While some major behavior analytic organizations have previously developed diversity policies, most chose to release statements specifically addressing racism and diversity in the wake of Mr. Floyd’s murder. Too, while there is a growing body of literature regarding cultural humility and diversity in behavior analysis, these discussions have not yet been informed by a collection of voices from the field. While the statements and literature are undoubtedly well-intentioned, they may lack actionable items and stakeholder input that research suggests are critical in sustainable development of societal and political processes. The purpose of this study therefore was twofold: to analyze responses from major behavior analytic and psychological institutions, and to analyze survey responses of clinicians and researchers on understanding demographic concepts related to diversity. Finally, an analysis of stakeholder feedback on how to increase diversity within the field of behavior analysis was conducted. We urge the field to use these data to better inform action items we can engage in to increase diversity and equity at all levels.

Medical students and healthcare professionals are at an increased risk for experiencing clinically relevant levels of distress (e.g., burnout, depression, and suicidal ideations), compared to the general population. The onset of clinically relevant levels of distress appear to emerge during the first few years of students’ medical education. If symptoms are left unidentified and therefore, untreated – students are likely to continue to practice maladaptive coping strategies during residency. These patterns of maladaptive coping are likely to recur throughout one’s career, which impacts the quality of patient care provided to diverse patient populations. Individuals are more likely to engage in brief immediate relational responding (BIRRs) under conditions of time pressure and stress. Without evidence-based approaches for managing BIRRs (i.e., implicit bias), medical providers are ill equipped to meet the needs of patients’ diverse cultural nuances, which contributes to the prevalence of healthcare disparities. This symposium will provide an overview of ways in which contextual behavioral scientists can measure, report, and teach about burnout and well-being with the medical student and healthcare provider populations – to help providers not only manage their biases towards themselves (i.e., self-stigmatization) but to also manage their biases toward their patients (i.e., implicit bias).

The methods of applied behavior analysis (ABA) have been incorporated into the field of education to produce socially significant and practical change in public school settings, particularly to improve the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs). Despite the fact that providing free and appropriate education to children with disabilities has been a public responsibility since 1975 (PL 94-142, IDEA, 2004), multiple barriers interfere with implementation of EBPs in school settings. This panel discussion will focus on current challenges behavior analysts face across different school districts in Virginia. The discussion will provide suggestions to prepare future behavior analysts and consider ways to retain current BCBAs in school settings. The targeted audience for this panel discussion are those currently working in public school settings and those supervising future behavior analysts in the public school setting. Identifying and discussing barriers to implement behavior change as well as possible solutions provides the field a basis to address wellness strategies and ensure behavior analysts are effective in supporting public schools.

The prerequisite skills fall within professional practice guidelines related to service delivery in the classroom, school, and system levels for students with disabilities in public schools. Audience should have competencies in the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code specifically in the guidelines as a Supervisor and Ethical responsibilities to the profession of behavior analyst and to the BACB. Supervision provided within defined area of competence and perform to advance the values and ethics of the profession of behavior analysis (6.01).

Aversive conditioning devices have been utilized for treatment refractory self-injury, aggression, and other problem behaviors for over 50 years. Early devices were not regulated or classified by the FDA. In 1979, ESDs were classified as Class II medical devices. All medical devices must go through an FDA approval process. There have only been two medical devices banned by the FDA (powdered medical gloves and implantable prosthetic hair fibers). In 2020, the FDA presented a final ruling to ban the use of the devices for the treatment of self-injury and aggression, but not the device itself. An overview of the regulatory history of electrical stimulation devices (ESD) with emphasis on the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED) is provided. Additionally, the methodological attacks on the ESD research which mirror common objections to single-subject research methodology in behavior analysis are discussed. For example, the use of small samples, demonstration of cause and effect without a randomized control trial, limits of generalization, and prosthetic versus curative independent variables. The strengths and limitations of ESD research and treatment applications are discussed in relation to the code of ethics. Ethical codes pertain to reliance on scientific knowledge, treatment efficacy, and punishment procedures.

For several decades, I have been manufacturing memories in unsuspecting minds. Sometimes these techniques change details of events that someone actually experienced. Other times, the techniques create entire memories of events that never happened: they create “rich false memories.” Collectively, this work shows people can be led to believe they did things that would have been rather implausible. They can be led to falsely believe they had experiences that would have been emotional or traumatic had they actually happened.

False memories, like true ones, also have consequences for people—affecting their later thoughts, intentions, and behaviors. Can we tell true memories from false ones? In several studies, I created false memories in the minds of people, compared them to true memories, and discovered that once planted, those false memories look very much like true memories: they have similar behavioral characteristics, emotionality, and neural signatures. Considered as a whole, these findings raise important questions: If false memories can be so readily planted in the mind, do we need to think about “regulating” this mind technology? And what do these pseudomemories say about the nature of memory itself?

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students. 

The transition from high school to higher education presents a variety of challenges and pitfalls for many students both with and without autism. Being a successful college student often necessitates that an individual be a versatile and fluent communicator able to collaborate with peers and faculty across a wide range of settings and contexts. Failure to develop the ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with others while in college can have long-term implications far beyond the classroom which can include social isolation and unemployment. Students across the nation routinely report that they do not feel as though they are well prepared for success in college. To date, there has been a limited focus within the behavior analytic research on developing approaches for effective support for college students with and without ASD. This symposium provides several models of explicit coaching and instructional strategies related to being a successful communicator across settings and contexts within a college setting.

Practitioners working with adolescents and adults. Educators/Administrators working in higher education. Prerequisite Skills: Strong foundation of understanding of basic behavior analytic concepts. Familiar with behavior analytic terminology. Familiarity with common behavior analytic research designs and ability to quickly interpret data presented via tables and figures.

An increasing number of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are pursuing postsecondary education at 4-year institutions. Research has shown that typically developing (TD) college students often experience stress and difficulties in transitioning to higher education, and the extent of these difficulties tend to be exacerbated by core characteristics of ASD among college students diagnosed with ASD. Moreover, many higher institutions are beginning to push for a transformation of instructional methods from the conventional lecture approach to an active learning approach, which often involves group discussions and activities with peers. In this context, weaknesses in social and communication skills may create additional barriers for students with ASD if they are frequently required to initiate and respond to social exchanges and collaborate with peers. To identify the needs of college students with ASD in active learning college classes, we conducted an ecobehavioral assessment study through direct observations of students with ASD and TD students to examine their instructional responding in active learning classes. Preliminary results from age- and IQ-matched ASD (n = 6) and TD (n = 17) samples indicate that there are no statistically significant differences in measures of instructional responding. Implications of study findings will be discussed.

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience challenges securing employment, which may partially explain overall underemployment or unemployment in this population. One of the first steps to obtaining employment is participating in a job interview. However, social communication deficits may interfere with an individual with ASD’s ability to participate in a job interview. The current study evaluated the use of behavioral skills training delivered via remote instruction to teach interview skills to four college students diagnosed with ASD. Results showed overall improvement during interviews as well as post-training generalization probes with a career development expert. These data suggest that an individualized approach to training may be an effective strategy to help adults with ASD successfully navigate job interviews.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty engaging in conversations with same-age peers. Deficits in conversation skills can hinder one’s ability to sustain friendships and may lead to social isolation. Research has shown that technology-based interventions can improve conversation skills and reduce the social stigmatization of individualized interventions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of telecoaching and online instructional modules on conversation skills for four high school and college students with ASD. A component analysis was conducted to determine the critical components of the intervention package. Results showed that telecoaching was associated with the most significant improvements in conversation behavior for all participants. Future directions and recommendations for clinicians are discussed.

Parent training has been shown to be beneficial for parents of children with ASD and those at risk for ASD in terms of child skill development and behaviour reduction. However, few studies specifically report parent implementation fidelity, or parents’ ability to generalize and maintain newly developed skills. In this symposium results from three studies that used telehealth or combined face to face and telehealth models to teach parents to support their child’s general skill development, to support the use of augmentative alternative communication systems, and to address sleep challenges will be presented. Talks will focus on strategies to facilitate parent and child skill generalization and maintenance, and practical considerations for telehealth service delivery. Finally, this symposium will explore what we do and do not know in terms of the quality and rigor of single-case experimental design literature related to parent training for child behaviour reduction.

Intermediate audience. Attendees should have an understanding of foundational behavioral terminology and single-case experimental design.

There is extensive research indicating that the Picture Exchange Communication System® (PECS®) is an effective functional communication system for children with autism spectrum disorder (e.g., Wong et al., 2015). However, little is known about how best to train parents to support their child’s PECS use. Similarly, little is known about how to train parents to use PECS via telehealth. The present study involved online mediator training amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study was to bridge the gap between PECS and telehealth research, and to explore strategies to help parents support their child’s PECS use at home. One father-mother dyad was recruited for the study. Researchers used behavioral skills training to teach parents and applied strategies of general case training to actively program for generalization. A multiple baseline design across skills was used to measure the primary parent’s treatment fidelity and a multiple probe design was embedded to monitor both parents’ fidelity in the natural environment with their child. Results demonstrated that the primary parent acquired target PECS skills within the training setting. However, not all target PECS skills were reliably demonstrated by parents’ in the generalization setting during follow-up. Implications for practice will be discussed.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate challenging behaviors and interventions based on applied behavior analysis (ABA) have been shown to be effective for reducing these challenging behaviors, often through multicomponent interventions. Previous research has shown that parents can be trained to effectively implement multicomponent ABA interventions with their children to address challenging behavior, but systematic reviews examining research in this area are lacking. The present study included a complete review of single case design studies of parent training in multicomponent ABA interventions to reduce challenging behavior in children with ASD and summarizes the state of the literature, specifically scientific rigor, risk of bias, and reporting of parent and child demographics, nature and format of interventions, functional assessment of challenging behaviors, and follow-up and social validity data. Results show that many studies have rigor levels that allow for initial evidence of treatment effects, and that risk of bias is variable across domains. Further, demographic information is commonly underreported, particularly with respect to parent participants, and generalization, maintenance, and social validity data are lacking. However, studies frequently report that interventions are provided in natural settings, and that functional assessments are typically conducted, often with parent involvement. Future directions are suggested.

The Behaviorists for Social Responsibility Special Interest Group (BFSR SIG) is interested in addressing B.F. Skinner’s question, “Why are we not acting to save the world?”. The mission of BFSR is to expand applications of behavior analysis and cultural analysis addressing global issues such as social justice, environmental justice, and human rights. The primary focus of BFSR has been on expanding the work of Biglan (1995) and Mattaini (2013), using a matrix analysis to identify the practices that support, oppose, motivate, and select the development and utilization of scientific behavioral systems to address social issues. The work of the Matrix Project has resulted in the identification of 28 societal sectors. Working groups, informed by the larger Matrix Project, further develop these sectors, apply the matrix analyses to important issues, and develop resources to affect change. This symposium will highlight the work of several of these working groups. The first presentation will provide an overview of the BFSR Matrix Project and will describe the development of an online training system to support BFSR Matrix Project volunteers. The remaining presentations will highlight the work that is being conducted by three BFSR working groups: sustainability; education, diversity, equity, and inclusion; and community resilience.

The year 2020 marked social upheaval not seen since the civil rights movement and the women’s rights movements of the 1950s through the 1970s. Two major events included the #MeToo movement and the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Behavior analysis did not exist as a singular field early in this struggle but may provide a research strategy that can participate within a broader scientific movement to understand social injustice and discrimination. The first talk will explore how relational frames and psychological flexibility are related to attitudes about social justice issues that exist today. The next three talks will explore challenges specific to women as a function of gender discrimination and social norms. First, we will explore how motherhood can lead to increased probability discounting with implications for employment and promotion of women in the workplace. Second, we will evaluate gender stereotyping may emerge and self-organize within relational density theory and the role of gender non-conforming exemplars in the development of a psychologically flexible view of gender. Finally, we will explore how modest and revealing clothing may impact the believability of sexual harassment claims by women in private and public contexts. These studies will be situated within a broader strategy to addressing social injustice and gender discrimination within Westernized cultures.

BCBAs

The current presentation will present data examining the relationship between derived relational responding, psychological flexibility, and perceived importance of various social justice issues. Participants from across the United States with differing self-identified political beliefs were asked to complete an online version of the PEAK Compressive Assessment Transformation-Expressive (PCA-T-E) module and a series of psychological flexibility questionnaires. Next, participants completed an online, paired choice preference assessment which presented them with twelve different social justice issues including racism, climate change, national security, and health care, and they were instructed to indicate which one they found more important. Based on their preference assessment results and self-reported political identity, participants were categorized as rigid or flexible based on how their ranked social justice issues aligned with their political views. Results suggest that individuals with flexible political views outperform individuals with rigid political views on the PCA-T-E assessment but show little differentiation in psychological flexibility, suggesting a relationship between language and political rigidity. Implications for further assessment and intervention aimed to expand flexibility are discussed.

Discrimination against women in Western cultures is evident within educational and professional experiences of women, as well as pay and promotion disadvantages experienced by women. Relational frames may contribute to implicit biases that operate within nested contingency systems. The present study attempts to explore the apparent self-organization of gendered relational frames from within a Relational Density Theory framework. We first modelled gendered frames within a two-dimensional geometric space. In a second phase, gender consistent and gender inconsistent information was provided for four hypothetical non-gendered people. We then modelled the gendered frames again along with the inclusion of the hypothetical people to see if gender consistent frames exerted gravity on unstated relations about the hypothetical people. Finally, participants were divided into two groups and were given gender information that either cohered or failed to cohere with the stereotypic gendered frames. Results show differences in the formation and erosion of stereotypic frames as shown within the geometric space. Results have implications for understanding the innermost layer of the nested model.

Sexism and biases related to women are important areas of empirical attention in the United States due to social issues involving prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination on the basis of sex. The study of implicit biases related to sex or gender has garnered interest, with contributions from behaviorally oriented researchers present within the past several years. We suggest that implicit bias is one relevant component of a model of sexism consistent with another proposed model of racial bias as described by Belisle, Payne, & Paliliunas (under review). First, peer-reviewed research related to implicit bias and sex will be reviewed in terms of this proposed model, additionally utilizing the theory-to-impact model described by Dixon, Belisle, Rehfeldt, & Root (2018) to evaluate the literature in the areas of theory, basic/translational, and applied research. Second, two empirical investigations measuring potential biases related to sex or gender using the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) and evaluation of relational responding will be reviewed and discussed in terms of implications for future research, highlighting the need for applied, intervention-focused research in this area.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered all aspects of our lives in unprecedented ways. Many ABA agencies and schools across the nation had to rapidly transition from a primarily in-person service delivery model to telehealth or distance learning. And yet the research on telehealth and distance learning with individuals with autism is limited to say the least. All four presentations in this symposium contribute to a much-needed literature base on this topic. The first two studies investigate the use of telehealth for the delivery of direct behavior analytic services. Study one uses an adapted alternating treatment design to compare the effectiveness of telehealth versus in-person services when teaching intraverbals. Study two uses semi-structured interviews to gather social validity information directly from the consumers of ABA delivered via telehealth. The next two studies investigate the use of distance learning for students with severe developmental disabilities. Study three compares the data on students’ IEP goals from before and after the transition to distance learning. Study four uses surveys to gather social validity information from parents and educators on the use of distance learning with this population. Results highlight both the potential applications and barriers of online service delivery models of behavior analytic services.

Service providers in educational or ABA agency settings.

Schools across the country and nation closed their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures impacted all students, as schools, educators, and families grappled with the realities of transitioning to distance learning platforms. The research on distance learning is still in its early phases. However, almost no research exists on educating students with severe disabilities and high behavioral needs using this technology. The present study collected survey data from students’ families and their educators on the feasibility and effectiveness of distance learning programs when working with students with severe developmental disabilities and high behavioral needs. Survey responses were collected from 40 parents, 11 teachers, and 59 paraprofessionals from a nonpublic school located in Southern California. Results indicated that parents and educators had generally neutral attitudes towards distance learning, although educators agreed that their students were obtaining educational benefits during distance learning. These findings contribute to a much needed literature base on distance learning and individuals with significant developmental delays and severe behavioral needs.

With the international COVID-19 pandemic, our nation's educational system was significantly impacted. Students in all educational settings were thrown into distance learning and taken out of their brick and mortar classrooms. While some research has been done on distance learning models, little has been done on distance learning with individuals with significant developmental delays and severe behavioral needs. Therefore, this population was left in uncharted waters as educators worked to develop curriculum to meet this population’s needs. The present study examined the effects of this transition on a significantly impacted special education population. Data was gathered by looking at students’ IEP goal progress prior to and after the transition to distance learning. A total of 419 goals across 84 students were categorized as “No Change”, “Regression”, or “Progress”. Analyses revealed that students maintained about half of the skills addressed in their IEPs and made progress on an additional quarter of their IEP goals. Students demonstrated decreased performance on the remaining quarter of their IEP goals. Findings contribute to a much needed literature base on the impact that distance learning has on students with special needs. Future work is needed to determine best practices for distance learning with this population.

Telehealth services within Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) have broadly increased in use. The current literature on telehealth shows the effectiveness of parent and staff training conducted through telehealth, yet there is no research evaluating direct services provided to children with Autism via telehealth. Given telehealth’s recent expansion, it is important to evaluate whether services provided via telehealth are as effective as the typically used in-person model. In this study, an adapted alternating treatment design is used to compare the effectiveness of direct behavior analytic services delivered through telehealth to direct behavior analytic services delivered in-person when teaching responding to intraverbal questions. Participants with a diagnosis of Autism that currently receive in-home ABA services and met criteria to receive direct instruction via telehealth were recruited for this study. Preliminary results show that telehealth is equally effective as in-person services. This is significant as it supports the ongoing use of telehealth for behavior analytic services, which expands access to those individuals living in more rural communities with limited access to services.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the landscape of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services has shifted dramatically. Telehealth services are being provided at a much higher rate than at any point in the past. While there is an extensive body of social validity research for direct ABA services, there is currently a paucity of research with regard to the social validity of telehealth services, particularly with respect to social validity data collected directly from the recipients of telehealth ABA services. This study collected social validity data in the form of a semi-structured interview directly from individuals receiving ABA services via telehealth. Participants are expected to include approximately 20 children, aged 8-18 with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Preliminary results indicate that a subset of clients prefer telehealth to in-person services, telehealth is easy to access, the switch to telehealth has generally not affected progress on goals, and that there may be a preference for a combination of telehealth and in-person services if that should become available in the future. The data from this study inform the delivery of ABA services via telehealth and shed light on the acceptability of this service delivery model for a subset of ABA recipients.

There is no shortage of literature demonstrating the effectiveness of various procedures (e.g., nonremoval of the spoon, differential reinforcement, physical guidance, etc.) addressing a variety of mealtime problem behaviors. There are however, gaps in the feeding disorders literature when it comes to the assessment of specific mealtime problem behaviors as well as the utility of less-intrusive behavioral procedures (i.e., protocols that do not include nonremoval of the spoon). This symposium will include four presentations of novel applications of evidence-based behavior analytic practices to address various topographies of food refusal. The first presentation will discuss the development and utility of an assessment designed to efficiently identify an effective physical guidance procedure to incorporate into treatment. The second presentation will discuss the use of a levels system, without the use of nonremoval procedures, to increase consumption. The third and fourth presentations will evaluate the use of a token economy to decrease packing and increase variety, respectively. The symposium will conclude with a discussion on how these novel applications of well-known behavioral strategies add to the body of literature on the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders.

The target audience for this presentation are BCBA's or other practitioners who provide clinical services, supervision, and/or conduct research on the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders. Audience members should have some pre-requisite knowledge of the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders.

Feeding difficulties occur in somewhere between 33 and 80% of children with developmental disabilities and can cause a number of health, developmental, and social concerns. The current study examined a 11-year-old boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder who was referred to an intensive outpatient pediatric feeding disorders program for significant food selectivity, limited volume intake, underweight classification, and inappropriate mealtime behavior (IMB). Treatment was implemented in the form of a levels system and a token economy, and a changing criterion design was utilized. Results indicated that with the implementation of the rewards system, the participant was able to consume 10+ new foods at an age-appropriate volume, as well as decrease IMB, increase volume intake, and gain weight to classify as a healthy weight. Additionally, caregivers rated treatment as highly acceptable. These results are significant in that escape extinction, which has been frequently studied and substantiated in the prominent feeding literature, was not necessary in the current study; instead, the implementation of a rewards system, which have been less studied in the feeding literature, was effective independently. Future implications will be discussed.

Children with feeding disorders may exhibit a wide range of problem behaviors, including packing (i.e., holding food in the mouth for a prolonged period of time). There are several treatment strategies in the literature to address packing, including texture manipulations, redistribution, offering a chaser, and reinforcement-based contingencies; however, these strategies may be difficult to implement and are not always effective. There is significant research regarding the use of token economies with individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities to increase prosocial and adaptive behaviors as well as decrease challenging behaviors. Limited research has been conducted on the use of token systems within feeding, particularly to address packing. Researchers in the current study conducted an evaluation of a token system to decrease packing and latency to swallow bites. The study included a 9-year-old female diagnosed with ASD and food selectivity in an outpatient setting via telehealth. Latency to swallow was high during home baseline session. The addition of a token system and visual cues led to reductions in latency to swallow. These results were maintained during 1-month follow-up.

A levels system is an intervention consisting of various evidence-based behavioral strategies that are implemented in a way that requires the individual to achieve a specific criterion of a target behavior, while decreasing problem behavior (Bauer et al., 1986; Hagopian et al., 2003). Specifically, the individual is provided access to reinforcers for meeting the behavioral criterion, and access to reinforcers is restricted for engagement in problem behavior. Historically, levels systems have been used to address severe problem behavior (Hagopian et al., 2003; O’Connor et al., 2003; Randall et al., 2018); however, there has been limited application of levels systems to address inappropriate mealtime behavior (Gonzalez et al., 2013). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the use of an individualized levels system to increase consumption of solids and liquids in a 12-year-old adolescent with a history of food refusal.

When nonremoval of the spoon and reinforcement-based strategies are ineffective at increasing acceptance, physical guidance or prompting procedures are considered. Physical prompts are effective at increasing acceptance in the treatment of pediatric food refusal (Borrero et al., 2013; Rubio et al., 2015). Typically, prompts are introduced sequentially, utilizing the least restrictive procedures first. However, it might be more efficient to evaluate all physical prompt options within the context of the assessment process. In the current study, a rapid assessment of physical prompts (RAPP) was completed in a multi-element design with 3 participants who were admitted to an intensive day treatment program for the assessment and treatment of food selectivity and refusal. Participants ranged from 2-5 years old and all had a history of food refusal. Data were collected on acceptance, inappropriate mealtime behavior (IMB), and negative vocalizations. Parents also completed a treatment acceptability survey. The physical prompt procedure identified as most effective (highest levels of acceptance, lowest levels of IMB) in the RAPP, and most acceptable to parents, was introduced into the treatment evaluation. Results suggest that the RAPP is an efficient and effective way to assess physical prompts prior to the initiation of treatment.

In the first paper, Palmer et al. trained students diagnosed with autism visual-visual matching-to-sample relations with meaningful stimuli, plus employing a class-specific prompt (colors) for different classes. Testing, after the prompt was gradually faded, documented the formation of equivalence classes and further testing the showed that prompts became members of relevant equivalence class. The second paper by Arntzen et al. include two experiments, one with three 5-members and the other with four 4-member to-be-formed classes. In the sorting tests, either five or four novel stimuli, respectively, were presented together with the trained stimuli. The results showed that more participants in first than the second experiment sorted the stimuli in a new class. The third paper by Vaidya and Silguero show that when creating equivalence classes showed a slower reaction time to incongruent compounds relative to congruent compounds providing a partial replication of the Stroop Effect with laboratory-created equivalence classes. Finally, Fields and Belanich used three-dimensional abstract objects and the simple-to-complex protocol to establish two 3-member equivalence classes in a linear series structure. Initial reaction times were long for the baseline trials, much shorter for the symmetry probes, of intermediate duration for the transitivity probes, and shortest for the equivalence probes.

Intermediate level. People attending need some basic knowledge about emergent relations.

According to Sidman (2000), all positive elements of a contingency should join equivalence classes. Research has verified this outcome by testing if sample and comparison stimuli, responses, reinforcers, and prompts becoming members of equivalence classes. Prompts as a component to errorless instruction, are supplementary stimuli to occasion the correct response, becoming another positive element in a contingency. The present experiment taught students diagnosed with autism visual-visual matching-to-sample relations with meaningful stimuli (i.e., US states). Class formation was tested using a sorting procedure and functioned as a pre-test/post-test design. Initially, the S+ stimulus on each trial was highlighted using a class-specific prompt (i.e., colors: class 1 = blue; class 2 = red; class 3 = yellow). Contingent on correct responding, the prompt was systematically faded until nine conditional discriminations were acquired, in the absence of the color prompt (A1-B1; A2-B2; A3-B3; A1-C1; A2-C2; A3-C3; D1-D1; D2-D2; and D3-D3). Following training, testing documented the formation of 3-four member equivalence classes. Subsequent testing revealed that the class-specific prompts (i.e., colors) became members of relevant equivalence class, established during training and testing, and expanded the classes to five members. Implications for teaching students with developmental disabilities and increased efficacy of instruction are discussed.

The original demonstration of the Stroop Effect found that participants’ reaction times to name a color (e.g., GREEN) was slower when the color and the color name were incongruent than when they were congruent. The robust effect has been documented numerous times across many laboratories. More recently, Vaidya & Brackney (2014) documented the slower acquisition of simple discriminations when the stimuli involved came from different equivalence classes than when they came from the same equivalence class. These data suggest that class-based conflict or cohesion may play a role in organizing the behavior of interest in these studies. In this study, we created equivalence classes comprising arbitrary stimuli and measured reaction times to class-congruent and class-incongruent compounds. The results showed a slower reaction time to incongruent compounds relative to congruent compounds providing a partial replication of the Stroop Effect with laboratory-created equivalence classes. This presentation will present some data and explore the possibility of interpreting the Stroop Effect in terms of cohesion or conflict among elements of naturally occurring equivalence classes.

Three-dimensional abstract objects labelled A, B, and C, matching-to-sample trials and the simple to complex protocol were used to establish two 3-member equivalence classes with A?B?C training structures. Participants “observed” the samples and comparisons by touch only. Classes emerged immediately for one participant and with a delay for the other, with errors occurring in the transitivity tests only. Even with errorless comparison-selection, reaction time (RT) duration and observing-response frequency across trial repetition declined systematically for most relational types. Since RTs and observing-responses were highly correlated, changes in the former most likely was driven by the latter. Initial RTs were long for the baseline trials, much shorter for the symmetry probes, of intermediate duration for the transitivity probes, and shortest for the equivalence probes. For all relational types, however, RTs dropped to the same asymptotic level with trial repetition. Many more observing-responses occurred to samples than comparisons. Immediate passage of AC transitivity tests was preceded by relatively high frequencies of sample-observing in prior BA, BC, and CB probes. When the AC probes were not passed, they were preceded by much lower levels of sample-observing. Thus, sample-observing was predictive of accurate performances on transitivity tests.

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.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Training (ACT) is expanding within behavior analysis. As such, behavior analysts are discovering how to grow their scope of competence to include ACT as well as how to effectively train others in its use. Moreover, behavior analysts are incorporating ACT into traditional behavior analytic methods to provide compassionate service delivery in areas such as parent training. The first presentation provides a qualitative review on the perspectives and recommendations from ACT experts regarding behavior analysts’ scope of competence within ACT. The second presentation presents data on the use of behavioral skills training (BST), along with self-practice, to teach behavior analysts ACT skills using the ACT Matrix. The third presentation examines the integration of ACT into behavior parent training (BPT) on parental implementation of behavior strategies. The fourth presentation explores how the use of ACT within the field of behavior analysis can bring humanity and compassion to research and service delivery.

The target audience is those who have an interest in acceptance and commitment therapy/training (ACT) and ways to incorporate it in behavior analytic work with competency and compassion. Audience members should have a basic understand of private events, rule-governed behavior, and derived relational responding.

In response to the increasing interest in Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT), the scope of practice in ACT for applied behavior analysis (ABA) practitioners has been discussed, and some guidelines have been suggested. The next step is to discuss the scope of competence for board certified behavior analysts® (BCBAs®) to incorporate ACT in their practices as part of their behavior analytic interventions in a careful, appropriate, and scientific manner. The current study compiled and analyzed 13 ACT experts’ opinions and recommendations on this topic through a qualitative data analysis of semi-structured interviews. Three major themes emerged: (1) understanding what ACT is, (2) required knowledge, skills, and training, and (3) establishing standards, guidelines, and measurements of competency. During the presentation, these topics will be discussed to suggest a future framework for developing standards, guidelines, measurements of competency criteria, and required training in ACT for behavior analysts. Some suggestions for behavior analysts to start gaining ACT competency and for the field to develop such future framework as a collaborative effort will be made.

The world is changing rapidly, global culture is in flux, and yet centuries-old inequities persist. The field of applied behavior analysis (ABA) is situated squarely within the purpose of serving humanity. This is evident to us, as the vast majority of researchers and practitioners in ABA have dedicated our careers to helping empower families living with autism and other developmental disabilities. While this dedication to serving humanity seems obvious to us in the field of ABA, it seems it has not been entirely obvious to others that we lead with our hearts. What’s more, there is a growing yearning inside the field of ABA to connect with other humans in more complete and fundamental ways. This presentation will make the case for embracing compassion in the field of ABA and discuss ways to use Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) to empower us to live compassion in our daily research and practice.

Applied behavior analysts are often responsible to work with individuals with autism and their caregivers to provide effective and empirically supported interventions and supervise the staff that provide the direct services. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an intervention behavior analysts can access as an effective treatment tool to teach skills aimed at increasing psychological flexibility for clients, caregivers, and staff. Additionally, self-practice has the potential to decrease stress and potential burnout for behavior analysts. Using a delayed multiple baseline design, the current research examined the efficacy of individual behavioral skills training (BST) for teaching behavior analysts ACT skills and intervention using the ACT Matrix through teleconferencing. The use of self-practice was an added component to the learning. Results indicated that all participants (a) acquired new ACT skills, (b) learned to use the ACT Matrix as a form of case conceptualization, and (c) found self-practice positively added to the learning experience.

Adolescence is a complex time period among individuals with developmental disabilities where social demands may compete with preparation for post-school outcomes, such post-secondary education, employment, and independent living. Social-related challenges and challenging behavior tend to persist for young adults to developmental disabilities. These challenges may pose as a threat to positive post-school outcomes (Ke et al., 2018; Kucharczyk et al., 2015). Unfortunately, current literature on interventions specifically targeting the needs of adolescents with developmental disabilities are often replete in nature. Therefore, the current symposium will present a series of studies that address limitations in the available research on this topic. Specifically, this symposium will include a series of studies that present the results of (a) a meta-analysis on challenging behavior interventions implemented in school-based settings and (b) two experimental studies evaluating the effects of technology-based social communication interventions, including self-monitoring using I-connect and tele-coaching for adolescents with autism. Results of all studies suggest that difficulties in social communication and challenging behavior can be effectively addressed with using technology-based and behavior analytic approaches. Presenters will discuss how the results of these studies can inform current practice of Board Certified Behavior Analysts® and future research.

Graduate students in behavior analysis, clinicians working with individuals with problem behavior, applied researchers

Challenging behavior tends to increase in levels during adolescence for individuals with developmental disabilities. If not addressed, this may lead to negative post-school outcomes for adolescents with developmental disabilities. The purposes of this meta-analysis were to examine the effects of behavioral intervention in reducing challenging behaviors of adolescents with developmental disabilities and identify the variables that could potentially moderate these effects. Searches for the meta-analysis were initially conducted in October 2017, October 2018 and updated in September 2020. This meta-analysis will include 30 studies that met standards for methodological rigor and experimental control. Preliminary analysis conducted prior to the recent update in search results indicated behavioral interventions were found to yield moderate effects for adolescents with developmental disabilities in school-based settings. Of the moderating variables, verbal ability, classroom setting, and planned reinforcement were found to moderate the effects of intervention outcomes with statistical significance. However, similar findings were not observed in behavioral outcomes based on the type of functional behavior assessment. Updated Effect sizes will be presented. Several implications for research and practice will be discussed.

Deficits in social communication often limit the ability of individuals with autism to communicate effectively, engage in meaningful conversations, and develop lasting relationships. While some of these skills may improve throughout childhood, difficulties in social interaction and communication tend to persist in adolescence. Unfortunately, there is limited research on social communication interventions for adolescents and adults with autism. According to prior research with children, the presence of an interventionist is often required to provide in-the-moment support. For adolescents, the presence of an adult facilitator can become a barrier in social interaction and pose as a threat for social stigmatization. Implementation of tele-coaching, however, may provide a mechanism to assist with development of core skills while also facilitating social independence. This study A multiple-baseline across participants design to examine the effects of tele-coaching on improving the social conversation skills of four high school students with autism. Four adolescents with autism participated in the study. Two conversation skills were targeted for each student with ASD. Implementation of tele-coaching resulted in the increase of targeted social communication skills and reduction of socially inappropriate behaviors across all participants. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research will be discussed.

Increasing numbers of transition-age youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are pursuing postsecondary education and will likely benefit from interventions to support them in college environments. This study used an alternating treatment design with a baseline and best treatment condition to examine the efficacy of a technology-based self-monitoring application, I-Connect, to increase the on-task classroom behavior of a male college student (age 19) with ASD. The study occurred in a large, lecture-style course at a public university. Self-monitoring prompts were delivered via a handheld tablet, and on-task behavior was measured used momentary time sampling procedures. The college student demonstrated an increase in on-task behavior when using the I-Connect application. He also decreased the percent of intervals with inappropriate vocalizations and stereotypic behavior. The college student and his professor reported overall satisfaction with the I-Connect application on social validity measures. Future research is needed to replicate this study with additional participants. Implications related to technology-based self-monitoring interventions to enhance the college experiences of young adults with ASD is discussed.

Healthcare settings, emergency departments (ED), and inpatient units can often be associated with stressors and triggers that may ultimately lead to increased levels of challenging behavior and noncompliance with medical procedures. Problem behaviors directly produce many negative effects on the individual who exhibits them including physical harm, exclusion and stigmatization, as well as reduced access to routine/preventative care (Davis & Gavidia-Payne, 2009; Hall, Bouldin, Andresen, & Ali, 2012). Problem behaviors can also be a source of frustration for providers who deliver medical care due to lack of knowledge and training on how best to serve children with behavioral health needs. Although behavior analysts are often familiar with training other disciplines on the use of behavior intervention strategies to decrease challenging behavior, healthcare systems present unique experiences and challenges when trying to disseminate effective behavior analytic strategies. The invited panelists will present three perspectives on working with children in healthcare settings. Topics will include providing clinical care through a behavioral consultation model, transdisciplinary training approaches and policy development for crisis prevention, applying antecedent- and reinforcement-based programs appropriately to improve treatment outcomes, and challenges with establishing applied behavior analysis (ABA) within medical settings.

Behavior analysts, healthcare providers,

Individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities often engage in challenging behaviors that require intervention. Function-based interventions have tremendous efficacy in most cases, but little is known about the utility of these interventions across long periods of time and outside of highly controlled clinical settings. Additionally, reinforcement-based procedures may not be effective in all cases, requiring exploration of alternative procedures. The first presentation in this symposium reviews the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of automatically-maintained self-injurious behavior (SIB) interventions along three dimensions: maintenance of intervention effects, longevity of the intervention, and schedule thinning of effective reinforcement schedules. Results note that limited available research program for these areas, indicating the need for additional research considering application of maintenance, longevity, and schedule thinning. The second presentation in this symposium presents data on punishment-based intervention to address challenging behaviors of clients in an intensive outpatient program. Data indicate an average percent reduction in challenging behavior of 79.26% at the end of admission, when compared to baseline percentages. Future research directions, including suggestions for component analyses, are discussed.

Most individuals who engage in challenging behavior respond to reinforcement-based systems. However, a small subset of clients do not. When their challenging behavior is causing a significant negative impact to development, the literature suggest implementing a stimulus avoidance assessment to guide consequence selections that are likely to serve as punishers (i.e., response reduction procedures). Past evaluations of treatment following a stimulus avoidance assessment has been limited to small samples. The current study conducted a consecutive case series analysis of clients in an intensive outpatient program for challenging behavior. All clients were admitted due to behavior that caused significant injury to themselves or others and/or their behavior did not respond to less intensive behavioral treatments. Of the records reviewed thus far, punishment was evaluated in 64 cases, with an average percent reduction in challenging behavior at the end of the admission (compared to baseline) of 79.26%. Several reinforcement-based approaches were exhausted before evaluation of punishment for all clients. Clients with a punishment evaluation were less likely to have challenging behavior maintained by social reinforcers. Caregiver acceptability and generalization of treatment effects are presented for a subset of participants. Future research directions, including suggestions for component analyses, are discussed.

Individuals diagnosed with various intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often exhibit restrictive and repetitive behavior (RRB; Richler, Bishop, Kleinke, & Lorde, 2007). For some individuals, these RRBs include self-injurious behaviors (SIB), which are likely to cause injury and lead to social stigma and social implications for the individual (Minshaw et al., 2014). Although interventions including noncontingent reinforcement and differential reinforcement have been found to be effective for treating this type of SIB (e.g., Carr & Durand, 1985; Vollmer et al., 1993) most research has been conducted in clinical settings with tight control over extraneous variables and dense schedules of reinforcement in place. Thus, questions regarding effectiveness of such interventions in more natural settings remain. We reviewed the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of automatically-maintained SIB interventions along three dimensions: maintenance of intervention effects, longevity of the intervention, and schedule thinning of effective reinforcement schedules. Summarized data are included in the table below.

The concept of the behavioral cusp was introduced in the late 1990’s. Since then, the concept has been widely accepted as fundamental to an understanding of behavioral development. Despite widespread use of the term within behavioral parlance, exploration of the concept and its extensions within the literature or experimental validation of the concept and its extensions have been somewhat circumscribed. There remains considerable potential to build more momentum in the development of the concept as well as expanding its versatility and overall utilization. The first presentation in this symposium will review the behavioral cusp literature. The second presentation will provide an overview of social cusps, an extension of behavioral cusps. A discussion reflecting on the concept will follow by an originator of behavioral cusp concept. This symposium is meant to lead into a separately scheduled panel discussion following the symposium, with panelists further discussing the past, present, and future of behavioral cusps.

Prerequisites include familiarity with behavior analytic terminology and concepts as well as single-case research design methodology.

Rosales-Ruiz and Baer (1996) introduced the concept of the “behavioral cusp,” or a “an interaction, or complex of interactions, that enables access to new reinforcers, new contingencies, and new communities of reinforcement and contingencies - and thus to new behaviors” (p. 165), extending the reach of behavior analysis into the developmental domain. Since the pioneering chapter and subsequent article were published (Rosales-Ruiz & Baer, 1997), several formative works have explored the behavioral cusp concept, expanding its application to novel domains as well as extending the concept itself. To date, no systematic reviews have been conducted examining the use of the cusp in the literature. Thus, the purpose of this presentation is to (a) broadly examine the ways in which the term has been used in the literature via systematic review, (b) identify and offer interpretations of trends in term use, and (c) discuss possible future uses that could benefit the field.

Alternating treatments designs can be used to evaluate multiple interventions and compare interventions. This presentation will address common interpretation errors that are associated with standard alternating treatments designs and propose solutions for each type of error. First, the presentation will focus on how researchers frequently conclude that an intervention or multiple interventions were effective, when changes may have been caused by uncontrolled threats to internal validity. A design solution to this problem, including a no-treatments series during the alternating treatments phase, will be described and analyzed. Next, the presentation will focus on misinterpretation associated with cumulative learning data. A proposed solution to this problem focus on supplementing repeated measures cumulative learning figures with figures that plot learning per session data. Discussion focuses on applied strengths of alternating treatments designs, effect size analysis, and how interpretation errors can adversely affect consumers of applied science.

researchers, graduate students, consumers of research

Christopher H. Skinner received his Ph.D. in School Psychology program from Lehigh University in 1989. While at Lehigh, he served as a special education teaching assistant for elementary students with Autism and as a teacher for 10th grade students with emotional/behavioral disorders. After finishing his Ph.D., Skinner was an assistant professor at The University of Alabama (3 years) and coordinator of School Psychology Programs at Mississippi State University (7 years) and The University of Tennessee (15 years). Currently, he is Professor at The University of Tennessee and teaches graduate courses in the School Psychology and Behavior Analysis programs. Skinner has co-authored over 200 peer-refereed journal articles and earned three national research awards including the Fred S. Keller Award for empirically validating interventions. Skinner’s accomplishments can be directly traced to his work with exceptional graduate students and practitioners. He is happiest when he is partnering with his students to work with educational professional to remedy presenting behavior or academic problems, while also conducting applied research. To simultaneously accomplish these goals, Skinner and his collaborators have relied single-subject design procedures.

The field of behavior analysis has defined its scope of practice through credentialing and licensure efforts. However, scope of competence in behavior analysis has received little discussion. Scope of competence refers to activities that the individual practitioner can perform at a certain criterion level (e.g., the functional analysis is conducted accurately and safely, a skill acquisition program includes critical program components and establishes accurate stimulus control). Given the successful efforts of behavior analysts in growth and recognition of the field, it is time for a robust conversation about scope of competence for the field of behavior analysis. This discussion can clarify how behavior analysts self-evaluate their own scope of competence and how they might expand their scope of competence if the needs of consumers requires practitioners to expand into new areas.

Board certified behavior analysts; graduate students.

Many people who could benefit greatly from ABA services cannot gain access to them due to lack of financial resources and insurance. Medicaid funding of ABA services is one mechanism to enable financially and socially disadvantaged people to benefit from ABA services. The session will involve discussions by behavior analysts from 4 areas of the United States regarding how behavior analysts have and could address public policy issues related to Medicaid programs funding ABA services. The activities and contributions of behavior analysts in 3 states and the Washington DCs will be presented. The sequences of events in each jurisdiction differ, but some general strategy recommendations will be addressed along with suggestions regarding with issues unique to a jurisdiction. Audience participation will be encouraged.

Attendees will be most likely to benefit from the presentations if they are not only knowledge regarding behavior analysis principle, ABA services, but also have some exposure to and/ or experience regarding public policy, Medicaid funding if possible.

Medicaid is an important source of funding for medically-necessary services for children with autism. Although State Medicaid programs vary in their reimbursement practices, children receive a variety of services that address core deficits and behavioral challenges in autism, some of which may not be covered under commercial insurance plans due to benefit exclusions or other limits under private insurance. Data from 2005 showed that only 29 states provided Medicaid reimbursement for applied behavior analysis (ABA). The District of Columbia was excluded from this study due to poor quality data. Therefore, the purpose of this talk is to examine the process by which ABA services are obtained and reimbursed through Medicaid in the District of Columbia. The impact of this process on service providers will be evaluated to help identify barriers to obtaining ABA-based treatments through Medicaid in the District. Finally, we will explore the relationship between state licensure of BCBAs and Medicaid reimbursement.

Behavioral fluency is defined as responses that are easily demonstrated whenever required, adeptly performed for as long as needed, not readily distractible, and performed proficiently in new environments. These outcomes are more likely to occur when responses are accurate and performed at high frequencies. SAFMEDS (Say All Fast Minute Every Day Shuffled) cards were developed as a practice procedure to help learners foster fluency. SAFMEDS are often used to help learners become fluent with definitions and concepts. Historically, SAFMEDS were created using cardstock and manipulated physically. In this symposium, however, we will introduce a new tool, the Fluency Flashcard App, that allows users to create fluency flash cards and run a SAFMEDS-like procedure electronically. Results from practice are displayed visually within the app on a quasi-Standard Celeration Chart in order to augment effective decision making. The first presentation will describe research related to behavioral fluency and SAFMEDS. The second presentation will highlight the role the Standard Celeration Chart plays in displaying data and making decisions. The third presentation will introduce the Fluency Flashcard App, provide demonstrations, and describe its development. The fourth presentation will depict an implementation of the app in a supervisory setting for students preparing for an exam.

N/A

A body of research exists that demonstrates fluency building, via building accurate and high frequency responding, is an effective way for instructors to enhance learner outcomes. In particular, when element skills are taught such that learners can emit them at high frequencies, those elements may then be more readily combined to enhance the likelihood that more complex skills will emerge. Many of these complex skills often require verbal discriminations in order for them to be emitted with ease. For example, one must often be able to adequately define terms and concepts in order to write effective treatment plans in clinical and instructional settings. SAFMEDS (Say All Fast Minute Every Day Shuffled) is a practice procedure that systematically builds the frequency of saying terms and definitions in a flashcard-like arrangement. Employing SAFMEDS using evidence-based frequency building procedures may result in the emergence of fluent skills. Research, and the related outcomes and limitations, pertaining to fluency building and SAFMEDS will be discussed.

What makes Fluency FlashCards so innovative? Individuals are used to studying in various ways. One popular method is using a common flashcards arrangement. Often, however, flashcards do not give the learner the results of fluent performance, but instead it is a quick cramming resulting in information overload. What information should go on a card? How does one make decisions about one's learning? How does one know when their studies are finished? The foundation of Fluency FlashCards is that it is not just a practice tool for learning like typical flashcard arrangements, rather it is a practice and decision making tool that builds skills to fluent performances. The foundation of the decision making is the Standard Celeration Chart. This presentation will take you into the inner workings of the app. It will describe what the Standard Celeration Chart is, what makes it different than ordinary graphs, and it’s benefits. It will describe how the daily per minute and timings charts are integrated into the app. It will also explain how the app uses frequency aims and celeration to aid in decision making.

Developing competent behavior educators for the next generation takes a multifaceted approach consisting of a well-designed board certified behavior analyst course sequence, effective supervision curricula, fluency building, competency, and application components. Our presentation will explore a model for developing future behavior analysts with these evidence-based practices. System examples will include the dual applied behavior analysis and Competent Learner Modell Certificate Program in partnership with Clarion University, consisting of a uniquely crafted scope and sequence curricular design with emphasis on component-composite analysis. Additionally, the Competent Learner Model’s Center of Excellence Supervision Curriculum will highlight a wrap-around supervision model and curriculum that provides an extension of the dual applied behavior analysis and Competent Learner Model coursework. The Fluency Flashcards App is an integral tool embedded in both of these systems to build fluency of verbal associations. Competency assignments then build skill acquisition around the verbal associations mistreated. Design development, usability, application, and limitations will be discussed at the system level. Individual uses and feedback from board certified behavior analyst supervisees will be highlighted.

This symposium includes four studies related to verbal behavior in individuals with varying repertoires. The first study investigated the effects of a speaker immersion protocol on the number of speaker responses (tacts and mands) emitted by 3 preschool students under naturalistic, not directly targeted, conditions. The second study investigated a method of teaching individuals to report the intensity of the non-painful tactile sensations rough and tight. The third study investigated the effects of female and male audiences on gender-biased verbal behavior using an online chat environment analog. The fourth study investigated the use of verbal behavior in the formation of comparative relations. Collectively, these studies will share the most up to date research on expanding the verbal behavior of those individuals with and without disabilities. Following the presentations, David Palmer will provide discussant comments.

Audience members should have a basic understanding of verbal behavior.

Intolerance, discrimination, and violence are examples of gender-related problems women experience worldwide. One common form of gender-biased behavior is verbal behavior (e.g., interrupting, sexual harassment, sexist jokes). Despite its ubiquity, however, the effects of audience gender on gender-biased verbal behavior have not been experimentally investigated within the field of behavior analysis. The current study employed a multi-element design to investigate the effects of female and male audiences on gender-biased verbal behavior using an online chat environment analog. The chat analog allowed access to self-editing behaviors, which are frequently covert, thus providing additional information about verbal episodes. Participants were 28 typically developing adults. Both overt and covert responses were recorded for the following behaviors: self-editing, disagreeing, interrupting, and pressuring. Differentiated responding across genders for disagreeing, interrupting, and pressuring was observed. Covert disagreeing occurred more frequently in the presence of male confederates, and covert pressuring occurred more frequently in the presence of female confederates.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the school environment for millions of students in the United States and has resulted in the need to learn new behaviors, such as wearing face coverings. Learning COVID-19 prevention behaviors are especially important for students with Down syndrome. They are more likely than individuals without DS are to contract COVID-19, and they are ten times more likely to die from the disease than individuals without DS (Clift et al., 2020; Malle et al., 2020). Thus, it is essential that students with DS learn critical preventative behaviors. This study evaluated whether a behavioral intervention package including video modeling (VM; Park et al., 2019) was effective in teaching students with DS to wear face coverings using a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across three students in special education classrooms. Preliminary results show that video modeling alone was sufficient for one student. However, for the other two students, variable-momentary differential reinforcement of alternative behavior was needed to increase the time they wore face coverings. Inter-observer agreement was collected across all phases. Limitations and future research directions will be discussed.

Pre-requisite skills: knowledge of multiple baseline designs and, knowledge of video modeling as an instruction strategy.

This presentation is oriented toward BCBAs who provide training and supervision or instruction in behavior analysis.

Social validity, as a component of the curricular decision-making process, provides a framework for behavior analysts to ensure that the skills targeted for acquisition are as important as the extent to which our instructional interventions are evidence-based and technically precise. Unfortunately, given the continued poor outcomes for adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), (e.g., Roux, et al, 2015) it would seem as though social validity may rarely be a part of that decision-making process. Among the reasons for this may be more readily available professional reinforcement for technical precision than for the selection of socially valid targets for intervention; a greater response effort required to target more socially valid targets in less controlled community environments, and; quite simply, the fact that many behavior analysts are tasked with, primarily, the reduction of challenging behavior and not the acquisition of socially valid targets. This panel will provide an overview of the relevant practice challenges associated with a focus on social validity across both the age and disability spectrum.

Intermediate - This presentation is intended for behavior analysts and related professionals with experience and/or interest in programming and intervention in support of improved outcomes for adults with ASD and ID.

There is increased attention to problems of societal concern that may disproportionately affect marginalized populations and communities. Disparities in access to services and cultural adaptations for underserved populations persists as a challenge in the field. The importance of addressing social determinants of health or common underlying factors that serve as setting events is discussed. Collaborative opportunities to address large-scale societal problems through cross-sector and multidisciplinary collaboration between applied behavior analysis and other disciplines including community psychology, prevention science, and public health are explored. As an example, a multisector collaboration to address youth violence using a behavioral community approach is presented. The presentation examines strengths, challenges, and opportunities to advance common goals for supporting change and improvements in population-level outcomes through multisector collaboration.

Those interested in addressing large-scale societal problems.

Interbehaviorism has a long history in behavior analysis. The developer of interbehaviorism, J.R. Kantor, advocated for a thoroughly naturalistic approach to both the philosophy of science and the science of psychology. In 1937 Kantor founded The Psychological Record, with B. F. Skinner serving as the founding editor of the journal’s experimental department. Kantor did not conduct experimental research, but rather focused on developing the theoretical and philosophical foundation for a comprehensive natural science of psychology more broadly. While interbehavioral thinking has persisted and influenced research and scholarship around the world, Kantor’s work has at the same time remained less well-known in a discipline that values empirical research over theoretical coherence. Some researchers have even dismissed the interbehavioral perspective specifically, due to its alleged lack of utility in working towards successful action in applied/clinical areas. Interest in interbehavioral thinking continues, however, and interestingly perhaps especially among those close to applied research and practice. This presentation provides a brief overview of this history, and in particular draws attention to the current interest in interbehaviorism and its potential future.

In a variety of settings, the requirements of funding sources (such as CMS and State Medicaid authorities) are increasingly enforcing the use of evidence-based practices where public funding is provided. The creation of the RBT credential which was accredited by the NCCA in 2016 created a great opportunity to improve the lives of persons receiving care in adult day settings, whether that be residential, vocational or of a day treatment model. The presenters are actively working in the I/DD and Autism space of human services, implementing "evidence-based practices" in a variety of states and settings. During the course of the past few years, the ability to train direct service staff in ABA principals has greatly reduced both staff turnover and injury on the job for the two agencies represented by the presenters. We will review where and how we began, with the assistance of Dr. Brian Iwata and how we continue to seek to train staff to competency in a field that previously had little evidence based practice despite decades of funding.

BCBAs and BCaBA seeking to understand how to implement an increased proficiency in existing (and planned) human service and health care organizations.

In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, schools across the world have been closed intermittently over the course of several months as an emergency measure to prevent spreading of the infection. During school closures, many students received instruction remotely either in entirety or under a hybrid model involving a mixture of on-campus and distance learning models. For some students, skill deficits may serve as a barrier to accessing instruction under these conditions. In the current study, special education teachers were surveyed to learn more about their methods for assessing and establishing preparedness for distance learning instruction with their students. A tool for assessment of technology-based prerequisite skills for distance learning was developed and administrated to special education students ranging from 1-12 grades. These data were utilized to create acquisition programs for specific skills hypothesized to impact student independence and engagement during distance learning sessions. These acquisition programs were then introduced with secondary level special education students. Results related to student assessment, acquisition of prerequisite skills, as well as social validity measures for teachers and students will be shared.

Goal setting is a well-established strategy for improving educational performance. Further, it is well documented that specific goals produce higher performance than goals that encourage a learner to “do your best.” This study examined the effectiveness of setting daily session-improvement goals across individual programs for learners diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). During the initial intervention phase, participants were provided a loose set of criteria to set goals for the learners they work with in order to compare the number of goals met to the number of programs run. Each of the participants collected daily data indicating each of these frequencies. Data were evaluated during staff meetings, where feedback was delivered and more specific criteria established for setting goals that resulted in an optimal percentage of goals met. Finally, these data were compared to the frequency of data-based decisions made that resulted in forward progress for learners in our clinic in order to evaluate optimal frequencies of data-based decisions for our staff.

The roles of basic and applied research have been the subject of much discussion in behavior analysis in recent years (e.g., Sidman, 2011). One view contends that innovation is possible through a translational research paradigm that synthesizes “basic and applied questions, literatures, and methods” (Mace & Critchfield, 2010, p. 293). This presentation will use Pasteur’s quadrant as a backdrop to describe the infrastructure of an OBM research laboratory designed to span the continuum of basic-to-applied research. To showcase the value of translational OBM research and its relevance for practice, data from use-inspired basic and applied research will be shared.

scientists, researchers, graduate students, OBM practitioners

Dr. Florence DiGennaro Reed, a board certified behavior analyst, received a doctorate in school psychology from Syracuse University. She also completed a clinical post-doctoral fellowship at the Institute for Child Development and a pre-doctoral internship in clinical psychology at the May Center for Education and Neurorehabilitation and the May Center for Child Development. Presently, Florence is an Associate Professor in and Chairperson of the Department of Applied Behavioral Science at the University of Kansas where she directs the Performance Management Laboratory. Her research examines effective and efficient staff training and performance improvement practices. Florence has published nearly 90 articles and book chapters and two edited books on a variety of topics including training, performance management, assessment, and intervention. Moreover, she has been an Associate Editor for Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Journal of Behavioral Education, and Behavior Analysis in Practice.

Culturo-behavioral science is rapidly evolving into a scientific enterprise aimed, in part, at understanding relations between behavior and cultural selection processes. In this enterprise, cultural selection processes are largely seen as occurring through metacontingencies in which selecting events increase the likelihood that culturants (i.e., interlocking behavioral contingencies, or IBCs, and the aggregate products they produce) reoccur. As such, metacontingencies do not only increase the likelihood of observing particular responses of multiple individuals but functional relations between such responses. While verbal behavior has been shown to be important for facilitating metacontingent control of culturants, how verbal behavior or activity participates in establishing functional relations within IBCs remains elusive. The purpose of this symposium is to outline two different approaches towards analyzing the contribution of verbal behavior in metacontingency interactions: (1) by conducting descriptive analyses of referential interactions that occur between participants and (2) by limiting communicative interactions between participants and making selecting events contingent on one individual responding to stimuli that only other individuals contact. Although these approaches are distinct, they both can inform how relevant verbal processes are to establish functional relations within IBCs. Experiments utilizing each approach--and their implications for conceptualizing cultural selection—will be discussed.

The main unit of analysis in metacontingencies are interlocking-behavioral contingencies (IBCs) measured by their aggregate product (AP) (Glenn et al. 2016). The experimental literature has demonstrated selection APs by factors external to the group (also known as “cultural consequences”). By contrast, social interactions occurring inside IBCs have received little examination, although they constitute a key element to understand different types of social dynamics. In this study interindividual performance and verbal interactions of individuals inside IBCs were examined. Communication between participants in dyads was experimentally manipulated such that some dyads wore noise-cancelling headphones while working together and other group of dyads used headsets to talk to each other during the experimental session. Verbal interactions were measured using video/audio digital recordings. Three type of instructions were presented to dyads to assess their effects on dyads performance under ambiguous circumstances throughout the task. Instructions varied in their degree of ambiguity in each condition: high (A), medium (B), and low-explicit rules (C). The order of rule presentation was alternated between groups. Our finding demonstrated significant differences in interpersonal performance between groups (verbal dyads vs nonverbal dyads). Overall, dyads spent more time engaging in cooperative verbal interactions than in any other type of verbal interaction, and similar acquisition patterns of these interactions were observed across dyads. The implications of these findings for futures studies related to the analysis of metacontingency will be discussed.

Experimental analyses of metacontingencies assess how interlocking behavioral contingencies (IBCs) that produce aggregate products are selected and replicated as a single, functional unit. Turn-based matching-to-sample procedures (TBMTS) can be used to examine metacontingent selection. In TBTMS, pairs of participants take turns selecting comparison stimuli in the presence of particular sample stimuli. Dependency relations are arranged so that, on each trial, one participant responds in the presence of a stimulus selected by another. Rewards ae delivered based on correspondence (i.e., when one participant responds to a stimulus only shown to the another) and noncorrespondence (i.e., when on participant responds to a stimulus other than that only shown to another). When correspondence produces more points, participants typically select the same comparison stimuli as their partner across all sample stimuli and demonstrate symmetrical responding. While this task produces data that are interpretable from a metacontingency perspective, it also can be interpreted in terms of verbal processes. This presentation will elaborate on data collected utilizing TBMTS from a metacontingencies and molar operant contingencies and discuss the implications of each for future experimental analyses of culture, the importance of verbal behavior, and creating sustainable cultural change.

This symposium aims to disseminate some current research on the delivery of interventions within the context of juvenile justice settings. It brings together four studies that focus on important considerations that are pertinent to the safe functioning of the facility and delivering beneficial interventions for the residents. The first presentation will review prescribing and deprescribing practices for residents and the implications of those practices. The next presentation will describe an evaluation of positive and negative resident-staff interactions which informed a subsequent intervention for improved staff practices. Presentation three will discuss a pyramidal training model using behavioral skills training to improve the use of praise by staff. The final presentation will describe a training protocol using behavioral skills training for staff to improve contraband searches in resident rooms. Collectively, these presentations will highlight some of the varied interventions that may be important to consider in the context of juvenile justice facilities.

Behavior analysts who work in juvenile justice facilities or are interested in learning about interventions within these settings would benefit from the presentations in this symposium.

It remains unclear whether practitioners can apply behavioral interventions to increase staff members’ appropriate interactions with residents within a juvenile justice facility. In Study 1, researchers compared staff behavior in three dorms (D1, D2, and D3) containing high levels of resident disruptive behavior to a dorm (D4) with consistently low levels of disruptive behavior. Staff in target dorms engaged in significantly higher rates of reprimands and negative statements than in D4. In Study 2, researchers trained staff in D1, D2, and D3 to increase contingent and noncontingent praise delivery. Results indicated praise delivery by staff increased slightly in each target dorm. In Study 3, researchers evaluated the extent to which measures of staff members’ and residents’ behaviors improved following training within each dorm. Subsequently, researchers compared the post-training behavioral measures from D1, D2 and D3 to D4 to determine the extent to which staff behavior in the training dorms was distinguishable from D4. Results of Study 3 indicated one or more staff behaviors improved in each training dorm. Residents’ disruptive behavior was unchanged in each target dorm. Staff members’ behavior in each target dorm continued to be distinguishable from staff members’ behavior in D4 on most measures.