Association for Behavior Analysis International

This study investigated the effects of self-monitoring and recruiting teacher attention on pre-vocational skills of students with autism. Previous research has demonstrated that the combination self-monitoring and recruiting teacher attention was effective for acquisition and maintenance of pre-vocational skills of students with developmental disabilities (e.g., Rouse et al., 2014). The current study extends previous research by examining the effectiveness of self-monitoring and recruiting teacher attention on the accurate completion of pre-vocational task steps, as well as appropriately following the steps to recruit teacher feedback for middle and high school students with autism. A multiple probe design across behaviors (tasks) was used to examine the effects of self-monitoring and recruiting attention on number of task steps completed accurately. The following experimental conditions were implemented: baseline, training, intervention, maintenance, and generalization. To measure the student's completion of each step, a 10-item task-analysis recording sheet was used. Results demonstrated that all three students acquired, maintained, and generalized each of their three target pre-vocational tasks.

Mealtime difficulties of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are well documented. Difficulties faced by parents often include rigidity around textures, color, and temperature with the result that children with ASD often have significantly restricted diets and/or challenging mealtime behavior. In addition, there is relatively little information available on mealtime interventions in natural settings with parents as the primary interventionists. The authors of this paper, a dually certified speech and language pathologist and board certified behavior analyst and an occupational therapist initially conducted a single subject research (SSR) mealtime study in the homes of four children with ASD using -among other evidence-based practices - the evidence-based practice of parent-implemented intervention (PII). Using a framework called Easing Anxiety Together with Understanding and Perseverance (EAT-UPTM) the authors created individualized mealtime plans that covered four areas of mealtimes: Communication, food, physical and social environments. Subsequently the same authors conducted a quantitative research study with 14 more families and six professionals across two States using EAT-UPTM. The SSR study contributed significantly to the subsequent quantitative study design. Both studies resulted in significantly improved parent reported measures of mealtime behaviors. Data for both studies will be presented and discussed. Implications for interprofessional practice, professional and parent training will also be discussed. The challenges of doing applied research in natural, messy, everyday settings will be also be discussed with emphasis on methods to ensure fidelity of implementation of the intervention by professionals and parents.

This study provides a model of program evaluation that can be used to compare treatment efficiency. Comparisons can be made across interventions (or lack thereof), across participants, or in relation to normative data. Assessment scores from the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) were utilized, however the model could be applied using other assessments scores or other quantitative data. Assessment results from clients of ABC Group were examined for potential inclusion. Only clients who were assessed at least twice, using the VB-MAPP were included. All included participants were children with autism ages 2-8 years old, most received clinic-based Applied Behavior Analysis services following initial assessment. Scores were plotted on a monthly per month Standard Celeration Chart and patterns of celeration were compared. Results indicate a trend of an initial burst of gains after initiation of services with the celeration of skill acquisition decreasing after 6 months to a year. Unintentional repeated baselines indicated that this pattern occurred only after ABA services began. Assessments were scored by multiple practitioners with little to no IOA.

According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans annually and 41,000 deaths occur from secondhand smoke. The cost of smoking-related illness is projected to exceed $300 billion per year. The purpose of this study was to increase smoking cessation using a cost-effective procedure that took place for one month. In experiment 1, one participant was provided with a cessation contract and as they met the criterion established weekly, they would access continuous amounts of reinforcement of $12.50 each week. In experiment 2, one participant was provided with a cessation contract and as they met criterion they would access progressive amounts of reinforcement starting at $5 and eventually reaching $20 by week four contingent on the cessation of smoking. Criterion was not met in baseline for either participants but was observed 100% during treatment for participant 1 and 75% for participant 2. The experiment suggests that the internet based cessation procedure was effective in decreasing overall rates of smoking and that the continuous schedule of reinforcement was more effective than progressive schedules. Future research should address how different amounts of total money offered could affect smoking cessation regardless of the reinforcement schedule.

Poor fidelity of treatment plan implementation is a significant barrier to effective treatment in applied settings. In consultative situations, when continuous supervision of staff running the behavior support plan is not feasible, fidelity is especially poor. Furthermore, direct care staff responsibilities are demanding and time constraints may also result in decreased fidelity of a multicomponent treatment plan. The effects of task clarification, job aids, and feedback were assessed on staff's implementation of a treatment plan consisting of multiple components across program sites. The treatment consisted of a package that included an incentive system, scheduled praise, and ignoring and redirection of problem behaviors. The plan was implemented for an adult woman with developmental disabilities who engaged in food seeking, food stealing, and a variety of other disruptive behaviors. The settings included the client's place of employment and day program. Prior to the addition of task clarification and job aids, an initial staff training and feedback were attempted. After the implementation of task clarification with job aids combined with feedback, improvements of the application of the treatment plan by staff were accompanied by a substantial decrease in the client's problem behaviors at both locations.

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) such as head banging, hair pulling, scratching and biting oneself are common among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to Soke et al. (2016), more than 30% of children with ASD in the United States, engage in some form of SIB. These forms of behavior can cause serious tissue damage as well as interfere with acquisition of skills being taught. The current study examined the effects of a differential reinforcement and visually cued alternative response procedure used to establish control of self-injurious behavior, finger biting, in the child's home. The procedure involved the provision of direct physical and verbal attention when finger biting was absent and theses forms of attention were removed for 15 seconds when finger biting occurred. The data indicate that this procedure was effective in decreasing the number of occurrences of finger biting during the training conditions, but this behavior was not eliminated. The results are discussed in terms of the function of finger biting, and establishment of stimulus control, social validity as well as future directions.

Abstract Time sampling procedures are compromise systems of measurement, which can accommodate routine practice as well as accurate measurement procedures. Momentary time sampling (MTS) is a system of observing a target behavior were a session of time is broken into equal intervals, where if the behavior is observed at the end of the interval the entire interval is scored. This research aimed to examine the relative accuracy between fixed- and random-interval MTS. It further examined data patterns in time delays 0, 12, 24, 36, 48 for 0, 10, 20, 30 seconds and 1, 3, and 5 minute intervals used during a 15-minute session of gum chewing behavior (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). Random intervals were generated by using the same number of observation points used in FI-MTS in variable points throughout the interval. Data shows that VI-MTS is similar to FI-MTS in terms of generating accurate data points and estimated duration. It was also found that both FI- and VI-MTS produced similar errors when increasing time between intervals.

Caregiver compliance with the implementation of behavioral treatment can greatly impact caregiver training, treatment generalization, and the accurate assessment of treatment efficacy. Although there is some literature evaluating caregiver compliance once treatment has been identified, very little research has explored the effects of caregiver compliance during treatment development. The current study described caregiver compliance with ongoing treatment evaluations as part of an inpatient admission for the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior in an 11 year old boy. A reversal design was then used to evaluate treatment effects with and without caregiver compliance. Results indicated that caregiver compliance was necessary for the reduction of severe problem behavior, even in the absence of the parent. The current study will discuss methods of data presentation that may increase caregiver compliance with treatment recommendations and provides a foundation for future investigations into caregiver non-compliance during earlier phases of treatment.

Engagement of direct support professionals (DSP) with individuals is a common concern among many adult residential programs (Mensell et al., 2002). In many cases, there is a considerable amount of time when the individual is not participating in meaningful, functional activities (Bratt & Johnson, 1988). Though inactivity is not a measure of the individuals' behavior, it highlights an important concern regarding the behavior of DSPs. As it stands, there are few solutions available in the current body of research focusing on methods to increase DSPs engagement with individuals in residential and vocational settings. Implementing structured schedules is a common intervention used with a variety of populations and settings. They have been used to increase the engagement in the daily activities of dementia patients (Engelman, Altus, & Mathews, 1999; Engstrom, Mudford, & Brand, 2015), to teach complex response chains in children with autism (MacDuff, Krantz, McClannahan, 1993), and to teach appropriate play skills in children with autism (Brodhead et al., 2014). Despite the widespread use of structured schedules, there has not been an exploration in the application of this technology to improving DSP's performance. The present study examines the effects of engagement integrity when implementing structured schedules with DSPs in an adult residential facility.

Ethical ambiguities present themselves at all levels of practice in Applied Behavioral work. It is important that all employees within a human service organization are prepared for many inevitable situations. Regularly updated BACB ethics codes, guidelines, and CEU requirements help keep the conversation present at the BCBA level as well as for supervisor-supervisee interactions. However, at present, there is little focus on the ethical compliance within the BACB certification system for front-line staff (RBTs) outside of the exposure within the 40 hour training requirement. This exposure may be insufficient to inform new professionals of the need to be knowledgeable of the BACB and organizational ethical guidelines or prepare them for ethically ambiguous situations. In addition, the current system of BACB certification lacks formal measurement and follow-up at the RBT level. Inevitably, it falls on the organization under which RBTs work to address this dilemma. This raises a conceptual question of how to develop abstract ethical problem-solving at the level of the front-line employee. The present review examines the current literature and practices around ethical training of front line staff. A preliminary approach for evaluating the ethical intelligence of RBTs working at a human service agency is presented followed by implications for the adoption of a future multi-level training model, linking front line staff duties to abstract ethical understanding.

Compliance and noncompliance are terms frequently utilized within behavior support plans to describe target behaviors. However, the definitions of these terms can vary immensely and may include on/off task behaviors or disruptive behaviors that may prevent an individual from engaging in a task. The interventions, even among home settings with parents as the interventionist, also tend to vary. The current review examined articles specifically related to parent training for children's compliance in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Analysis in Practice, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, Journal of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention, and Behavior and Social Issues. The key search terms were "compliance, defiance, instructional control, following directions, and caregiver training." The authors investigated definitions of compliance/non-compliance, trends in research over time and across journals, as well as types of compliance assessments and interventions. Additionally, the authors explored how often behavior analytic researchers have studied appropriate noncompliance like situations when children should refuse or protest requests (e.g. stranger danger).

Children with feeding disorders do not consume enough food or liquid to meet their caloric or nutritional needs, and in the case of food refusal, can result in placement of a feeding tube (Kerwin, 1999). Feeding disorders are often diagnosed in young children with complex medical histories and/or autism or related neurological disorders. Escape extinction (nonremoval) combined with reinforcement is a well-established intervention to treat food refusal. When these procedures alone are ineffective, physical guidance procedures (e.g., jaw prompt, finger prompt) have been shown to increase food acceptance and decrease refusal behavior. The finger prompt (e.g., Borrero, Schlereth, Rubio, & Taylor, 2013) has been evaluated minimally in the literature and needs further examination, because we believe it is commonly used by practitioners when more passive refusal occurs (e.g., teeth-clenching, lip-pursing) during nonremoval procedures. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess a variation of finger prompt procedure and caregivers' acceptability of it. Three children aged 1 to 6 years admitted to an intensive day program and their caregivers participated. We evaluated the finger prompt using a multiple baseline across participants design. Data suggest the finger prompt was effective to increase 5-s acceptance for all participants.

Multiply controlled problem behavior includes behavior which has two or more maintaining variables. Beavers and Iwata (2011) assessed the prevalence of multiply controlled behavior within the published, behavior-analytic literature, through 2010. An analysis of the results of Beavers and Iwata indicated that the prevalence of multiple control in the published literature was due to an aggregation of data, rather than multiple maintaining variables. In the current study, we attempted to replicate Beavers and Iwata's procedures. Specifically, we assessed the published literature from 2011-2017 within the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. We collected data on single and multiple response topographies, then analyzed and compared to find the prevalence of multiply controlled behaviors. The results suggest that, in the presence of aggregated data, relatively more of the functional analyses reviewed demonstrated multiple control. When data were not aggregated, relatively less demonstrated multiple control. A discussion of the implications and consistency with Beavers and Iwata is provided.

Author's Note This study is ongoing and authors anticipate data collection for a minimum of 5 additional participants as well as implementation of a concurrent operant reinforcer assessment for at least 3 of the participants. Abstract Preference assessments have been widely evaluated and utilized for individuals with developmental delays (Hagopian, Long, & Rush, 2004). However, in treatment of typically developing individuals, it is often assumed that self-report correlates with preference (Wine et al. 2014). There is particularly scant literature on behavioral interventions with detained adolescents who engage in verbal behavior. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the correspondence between a rank order report and verbal multiple stimulus without replacement assessment (MSWO) against an edible MSWO (DeLeon & Iwata, 1996) with adolescent males adjudicated for illegal sexual behavior. Authors calculated Spearman's rank order correlation (rs) across assessments. P1 showed a strong correlation between the edible and verbal MSWO (rs= .857) that was statistically significant (p=.014). Additionally, P1 showed a strong correlation between the edible and rank order (rs = .643) but this correlation was not statistically significant (p = 0.119). P2 and P4 showed strong correlations between all three assessments (rs =1) and all correlations were statistically significant (p<001). P3 showed a strong correlation between the edible and verbal MSWOs (rs =0.964) that was statistically significant (p<.001) and a strong correlation between the edible and rank order (rs =0.964) that was statistically significant (p<.001). References DeLeon, I. G., & Iwata, B. A. (1996). Evaluation of a multiple-stimulus presentation format for assessing reinforcer preferences. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 29, 519–533. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1996.29-519 Hagopian, L. P., Long, E. S., & Rush, K. S. (2004). Preference assessment procedures for individuals with developmental disabilities. Behavior Modification, 28, 668–677. doi: 10.1177/0145445503259836 Wine, B., Reis, M., & Hantula, D. A. (2014). An evaluation of stimulus preference assessment methodology in organizational behavior management. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 34:1, 7-15. doi: 10.1080/01608061.2013.873379

Cumulative record data presented by Deochand and Fuqua (2016) suggest that the number of individuals holding a certification of Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) has increased substantially in recent years. While Deochand and Fuqua's visual displays show clear changes in trend, the graphs do not provide any quantification of these trends, limiting the ability provide more precise descriptions of the field's growth. The current poster seeks to add to Deochand and Fuqua's analysis by charting the number of individuals with a Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) certificate on a standard celeration chart (SCC). Measurement of the different celerations are provided along with measurement of any changes in trend. This quantification is compared across the three major BACB designations (BCBA, BCaBA, and BCBA-D). The data are also projected to provide a estimation of the total number of future certificants within the next 10 years. Finally, the poster speculates on the implications these data may have for the further development of the field of behavior analysis.

Activity Based Intervention (ABI) (Johnson, Rahn & Bricker, 2015)) is a framework for delivering intervention services to young children in a naturalistic environment. ABI uses distributed trials to embed child goals in home and center based programs. Through routine, child directed and planned activities, therapists and interventionists planfully embed multiple goals throughout each activity across each session. ABI is differentiated from incidental teaching in that specific activities (e.g., lesson plans) are developed for each routine and/or activity that specifies how and when the embedding of a specific goal will be applied. Furthermore, the activity plans include a column for data collection that allows for cumulative analysis of child progress towards goals as well as evaluation of therapist/interventionists use of embedding. ABI can be used to teach initial skills and to promote generalization by applying the framework to a wide range of activities and by including other adults and/or children into the activities.

This study investigated whether an instruction could facilitate welfare-school students' effective treatment of changing diapers for wandering clients. Although they learned the way of changing diapers for clients lying in beds, they did not know effective ways of changing diapers for wandering clients. We carried out task analysis on effective ways of a change of wandering clients' diapers and developed the instruction based on the task analysis. Then we taught the students effective diaper-changing ways through the instruction. Seven role-play sessions were conducted for each student, the first three sessions as baseline, the next three as intervention, and last as follow-up. In each session they were required to change diapers of other students playing as wandering clients. The mean duration of each student's treatment was measured for wandering behaviors in sessions. The rating score for each student's treatment was independently estimated on five-point scale by two practitioners. Figure 1 shows the mean duration of their treatment for wandering behaviors in sessions and the rating score of each student. Five students improved on the rating score and all students decreased mean duration of their treatment. Thus, the instruction was qualitatively and appropriately effective for a change of diapers for wandering clients.