Association for Behavior Analysis International

We conducted 2 experiments to test the effects of the establishment of reading governs responding and the writer immersion protocol on the emergence of functional reading and writing repertoires for 2 preschool students diagnosed with autism. In Experiment 1, we implemented read-do correspondence learn units to induce reading governs responding using a multiple probe design. The dependent variable was the number of correct responses to the reading tasks during pre- and post-intervention probes. Experiment 1 demonstrated that Participant A acquired the verbal behavior of reading governs responding through read-do correspondence learn units and Participant B demonstrated the reading governs responding cusp through repeated pre-intervention probes. In Experiment 2, we used a delayed multiple probe design across participants to test the effects of the writer immersion protocol. The dependent variable was the number of accurate functional components of writing, measured through the affect that the participants' writing had on the behavior of an adult reader (i.e., adult reader's correct responses to the directions written by the target participant). Results of the writer immersion procedure demonstrated significant increases in the percentage of accurate functional components of writing for both participants. Moreover, Participant B demonstrated criterion level of functional component of writing.

We used a multiple probe design across dyads to test the effects of an accelerated auditory match-to-sample (AM) procedure on the echoic responses emitted by 6 preschoolers with language delays who emitted faulty echoics. The dependent variables were the numbers of full, partial, and incorrect echoics emitted to 100 English word. The independent variable was the accelerated procedure of AM instruction implemented using Sounds the Same software application that teaches fine discriminations between words and sentences. Following pre-intervention probes, participants were assigned into 3 dyads based on the number of full echoics they emitted during the pre-intervention probe. We randomly selected 1 participant from each dyad to receive the accelerated AM instruction, and the other participant to receive the standard AM instruction as a control group. The participants in a dyad were yoked as we conducted post-intervention probe when either participant in a dyad mastered 4 or 8 phases of AM instruction. Five participants emitted increased number of full echoics regardless of the procedure. Thus, both procedures were effective in improving echoic responses. However, the accelerated procedure was more efficient in educational setting since it allows students to finish the intervention in a shorter period of time.

This study examines discrimination training of sign-language cues via operant-conditioning in two preschool-aged children. The study expands on existing literature on social referencing (Pelaez, Viru's-Ortega, & Gewirtz, 2012) by using American Sign Language as the discriminative stimuli to evoke appropriate differential responding in young children in an ambiguous/unfamiliar context. Two 3- and 4- year old preschoolers and a familiar adult participated in a discrimination training procedure using a single-subject, repeated withdrawal design. Different consequences followed the preschoolers reaching toward an unfamiliar object. During the training phases, a familiar adult experimenter used the sign expression for 'grab' and 'play' to signal positive reinforcement for the participant reaching for an ambiguous object. The sign expression for 'no' and 'play' signaled aversive stimulation for reaching. The pattern of change in performance between the baseline and the two treatment phases suggests that the participants learned to discriminate the cues and that they learned to reference the meaning of those signals. Interobserver agreement was 100% and was calculated for 35% of all trials. This presentation informs on methods to improve social communication deficits using discrimination training procedures in applied settings.

Worldwide prevalence rates of cavities range between 60% to 90% of children and approximately 100% of adults (WHO, 2012). Given this widespread prevalence of cavities across the lifespan, the Canadian Dental Association recommends that, on average, people visit their dentist every 6 months (2017). However, for those fearful of the dentist, regular visits can be quite problematic. The current presentation will provide an overview of the existing literature on treatment of dental fear and dental noncompliance. Over 85 articles were identified and results showed that 39 unique interventions have been evaluated across children, adolescents, and adults with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. These 39 unique interventions were classified according to the theoretical underpinnings of their interventions as: (a) strictly behavioral, (b) combined behavioral and non-behavioral, and (c) non-behavioral. Results will be discussed within the context of future areas of research that can be carried out to produce lasting effects that are socially meaningful to patients, caregivers, and dental staff.

Writer Immersion is a protocol that is utilized to teach the function of writing in children by arranging for students to communicate only via writing and observe the effects of their writing on naïve readers. The study sought to determine the effects of a protocol on the number of accurate 1) structural and 2) functional written components emitted by 2 elementary school-aged participants from a self-contained classroom in a public school. The participants were selected because pre-intervention results showed that they emitted technical structural errors and did not have the function of writing in their repertoires. We used a delayed multiple probe design across participants and the dependent variables were the numbers of correct structural components produced by the participants (i.e. capitalization, spaces, spelling, and punctuation) and the number of correct functional components drawn by a reader as a function of the participants' writing. The independent variable was a protocol in which the participants (writers) received feedback for their writing primarily through a naïve reader's response. The results indicated that the participants' accuracy in structural and functional components significantly increased after the intervention.

Children with emotional and behavioral disorder (E/BD) are more likely to show a variety of problem behaviors that affect learning process of students in general education classroom, and teaching capacity of teachers to students (Hansen et al., 2014). Previous studies showed that communication interventions are effective method for different types of problems in school settings (Billy et al., 2010). Moreover, some studies demonstrated efficacy and effectiveness of the building communication interventions based on the functional behavioral assessment (FBA) (Stahr, Cushing, Lane, & Fox, 2006). Because children with E/BD are more likely to show a variety of problem behaviors in school settings, a building communication interventions based on the FBA may be effective treatment for these children at universal, targeted and individual levels. This paper presents an overview of the application and evidence base for the building and using communication interventions in the treatment and prevention of problem behaviors in children with or at risk of EB/D. We then will provide short summary of the multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) and an overview of the FBA. At the end of the study, we will illustrate communication interventions at three tiers of school-based intervention levels with the FBA. Implications will be discussed.

Abstract Deaf high school graduates average five reading grade-levels behind their hearing counterparts. Literacy is a predictor of access to higher education and employment. Current research suggests that Phonemic Awareness is pivotal skill for all readers, necessary for decoding reading. Specific instruction in Phonemic Awareness is not currently an integral part of reading instruction in most manual-based educational programs (those using ASL) for instruction for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students. Precision Teaching, a behavior analytic instructional approach, has proven effective in remediation education for DHH students. The purpose of this study was to examine, the effects of using SAFMEDS, a Precision Teaching technique, to teach six 4-to-6-year-old DHH children to match visemes and printed letter patterns to English phonemes fluently. The experimenter employed a multiple-baseline-across-dyads experimental design. The data demonstrated all participants achieved or exceeded rates comparable to those of an expert responder on some or all learning sets, and that response rates increased significantly under the intervention in comparison to the baseline condition. Four participants also demonstrated clinically significant increases in phonemic awareness in pre-test post-test comparisons, averaging 26 percentage-point gains. Reading scores on pre/post standardized tests improved slightly for all participants who were tested.