Association for Behavior Analysis International

Although the majority of behavior analytic applications have been carried out with clinical and special needs populations, behavior analytic procedures are also highly applicable with populations without disabilities or diagnoses. In the current symposium, four authors will present research on applications of behavior analysis with preschool children with and without disabilities. First, Kovar will present a study on teaching self-control to typically developing preschool children who demonstrated impulsivity. Second, Halfdanardottir will present a study on the translation and implementation of the preschool life skills (PLS) program with typically developing preschool children in Reykjavik, Iceland. In the third presentation, Glaze will describe a study on the potential aversive properties of a vicarious reinforcement arrangement with preschool children. Finally, Bernstein will describe a study on the assessment and treatment of age-inappropriate self-feeding (finger feeding) with seven young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. After the presentations, Nicole Heal will provide discussant’s comments.

Practitioners and graduate students

Demonstration of self-control in children has been correlated with attentiveness, academic achievement, and reduced drug use and body mass index later in life. Although some previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of teaching mediating responses to increase self-control, normative assessment has not been used to inform the selection of those responses. The purpose of the present study was evaluate the effects of mediating-response training on choices of four typically-developing 3- to 5-year-olds who demonstrated impulsivity. Responses trained were based on a descriptive assessment conducted with preschoolers who demonstrated self-control and included activity engagement, verbal behavior, and pushing the snack out of view. Stimulus preference assessments were conducted to demonstrate that toys used for activity engagement were moderately preferred. Following training and during maintenance and generalization probes with the classroom teacher, all participants selected larger delayed snacks over smaller immediate snacks and waited 5 min to consume them. Social validity assessments showed high ratings of goals, procedures, and outcomes.

Transition from preschool to elementary school can be difficult, especially for children that have not acquired school readiness skills. The preschool life skills (PLS) program was first developed as a class-wide teaching program, teaching typically developing preschool children important social and communication skills (Hanley, Heal, Tiger, & Ingvarsson, 2007). The aim of this study was to examine the impact of systematic teaching of school readiness skills in a preschool in Iceland. First, we compared the view of preschool and elementary school teachers in Iceland on important school readiness skills. Next, we translated the PLS program into Icelandic and adapted it to those skills that Icelandic teachers thought to be important. Finally, we implemented PLS in a preschool in Iceland for children who were starting first grade in elementary school in the fall of 2018. Results from the survey showed that both preschool and elementary school teachers in Iceland viewed instruction following and functional communication as the most important skills for children to acquire before first grade. The implementation of PLS increased the likelihood of the occurrence of instruction following and functional communication and decreased problem behavior for most children.

Children typically gain skills to appropriately self-feed by the age of two years (Carruth et al., 2004). Those with delayed skills are at risk for insufficient nutrition (Carruth et al., 2004) and developmental and growth delays (Manikam & Perman, 2000; O’Brien et al., 1991). Although the behavior analytic literature has addressed a multitude of treatments for pediatric feeding delays and disorders, relatively few studies have evaluated whether delays are maintained by motivational or skill deficits. The current study describes the assessment and treatment of age-inappropriate self-feeding (finger feeding) for seven young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Response blocking was used to assess whether the absence of appropriate self-feeding was a motivational or a skill deficit. Results suggested motivational deficits for three children and skill deficits for four children. Treatments informed by assessment results (i.e., backward chaining and differential reinforcement) were effective at increasing age-appropriate self-feeding for all children. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of pre-treatment assessment for both treatment efficacy and efficiency when working with young children in early childhood education and intervention environments.