Association for Behavior Analysis International

Presession attention is an antecedent-based intervention that may be used in classrooms to provide reinforcement for attention-seeking, often disruptive, behaviors as determined on a functional behavior assessment. Presession attentions works as an abolishing operations reducing the motivation for one to engage in certain behaviors by lowering the value of a reinforcer and providing satiation to the individual. The following presentation focuses on previous studies in order to determine whether this can be considered an evidence-based practice for students in a general education setting .

Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their ability to complete a specific task or accomplish specific goals. Special educator self-efficacy includes a teacher’s beliefs about their ability to perform tasks specific to educating students, such as implement effective instruction and manage disruptive behavior. Higher teacher self-efficacy is related to improved student outcomes and job satisfaction as well as reduced job-related stress (Klassen et al. (20210). Prior to and after completing a three-phase professional development series containing the 40-hour Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) curriculum, we administered the Autism Self-Efficacy Scale for Teachers (ASSET; Ruble et al., 2013) via a Qualtrics survey to 64 educators who teach students with autism. The ASSET contains 30 common tasks for teaching a student with autism (e.g., teach this student play skills). Teachers are to assign each task a score of 0 – 100 with 0 indicating they cannot do it at all and 100 indicating they are highly certain they can do the task. Prior to participating in the RBT professional development, teachers reported a mean score of 71.3 across the 30 prompts. After participating in the RBT professional development, the mean score increased to 85.1. Results indicate that professional development on behavior analytic interventions can improve educator’s confidence in teaching students with autism.

Conversational skills are important social behaviors for the establishment of communication and interpersonal relationships (Laugeson & Ellingsen, 2014). Individuals with autism experience difficulties in conversational skills which affects their quality of life and engagement in social settings. Video modeling is a common strategy utilized for teaching conversational skills to individuals with autism (Gardner & Wolfe, 2013). Self-monitoring is another procedure that can enhance learning and maintenance of a newly learned skill. This study aimed to improve the conversational skills of three adolescents with autism aged 16-18 who attended a special education high school. An intervention package including video modeling and self-monitoring was implemented via a reversal ABAB design. Its effects on conversational skills' response class (i.e., maintaining conversational turns, maintaining the conversational topic, responding to questions, asking topic-related questions) were measured during a 10-minute dialogue with the researcher using an event recording system. Data were presented as percentage of response. Conversational skills improved for all participants under the intervention conditions. Follow-up probing measurements of conversational skills in the natural setting once intervention commenced showed an average of 81%. The intervention was found effective in improving conversational skills. The monitoring forms may have constituted a discriminating stimulus for conversational skills.

Behavioral coaching strategies have been successfully applied in the dance context to enhance the performance of dance skills and promote the satisfaction of dancers. A scoping review of the behavioral literature that provides a description of the coaching strategies applied in the dance context and identifies gaps that need to be addressed has not yet been conducted. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses – Scoping Reviews process to guide the systematic search of these databases: Web of Science, PsychINFO, MEDLINE, ERIC, and Sport Discus. A combination of key search terms (‘dance or dancing’ and ‘behav* coaching or behav* analysis or behav* modification or behav* intervention’) yielded 209 findings. Identified articles are in the process of being assessed for inclusion based on the following criteria: (a) implemented a behaviorally based coaching method (i.e., alters observable and measurable behaviour) with dancers and/or dance instructors, (b) utilized an experimental or quasi-experimental design, (c) published in a peer-reviewed journal, and (c) written in English. All articles that meet these inclusion criteria will be summarized. Areas of strength in adopting behavioural coaching strategies in dance education and possible limitations to be addressed by future research will be discussed.

This research focused on the use of behavior skills training (BST) to train special education paraprofessionals to use token systems with high levels of fidelity in a classroom setting while observing effects on student problem behavior. A focus was placed on the accessibility of BST for busy educators with limited collaborative time. The primary author was the lead special educator involved in this study. The participants were two paraprofessionals with over 15 years of experience in education, but a range of 3-15 years working with individuals with disabilities. A multiple baseline design was utilized to teach three distinct components of token systems: setting up the environment, reinforcement delivery, and redirection from problem behavior. Results showed a distinct increase in staff fidelity following training, as well as a corresponding decrease in student problem behavior. This research came with positive implications for educators and the accessibility of evidence based training programs for relevant staff.

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of a computer assisted instruction to deliver discrete trial training of academic skills to students with significant intellectual disabilities. Based upon the principles of Applied Behavioral Analysis, discrete trial training was identified as an evidence-based practice in teaching skills to students with disabilities. The criteria for single-subject case research within a multiple baseline design across behaviors and participants was implemented for this study. The individual subject and the repeated measures across skills served as the experimental control to verify results. The multiple baseline design evaluated the effect of the intervention computer assisted to deliver discrete trial training to teach early literacy skills to students with significant disabilities. Results of the study indicated the use of computer assisted instruction in the delivery of discrete trial training is effective in teaching individuals with significant intellectual disabilities early literacy skills.

In the absence of early intervention, excessive difficulties with instruction following can impede children’s academic engagement, social-emotional development, and participation in organized activities. To capitalize on the effects of early intervention, in two evaluations, caregivers were trained via telehealth to deliver two antecedent strategies to increase instruction following in the home. Three caregivers of neurotypical children ages 3–5 participated. Dependent measures included initiation latency and compliance with high- and low-probability commands. In a preliminary analysis of a modified pretrial delivery procedure, caregivers jointly engaged with their child in a moderately preferred activity prior to the issuance of a predetermined command. Results showed that initiation latencies for low-probability commands trended downward for two of three children, while latencies for high-probability commands remained low for two of three children. In a second, more rigorous evaluation, the three low-probability commands with the highest latencies during pretrial delivery were further targeted with the high-probability command sequence. Using a multiple baseline across behaviors design, results showed increased levels of instruction following and decreased initiation latencies with low-probability commands for all three children. The current study extends previous research on telehealth-mediated behavioral supports by representing the first demonstration for pretrial delivery and the high probability command sequence.

Traditional methods of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education present barriers to the general curriculum for students with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). Students with NDD often require differentiated instruction to access STEM learning alongside their peers; however, research guiding equitable access to STEM education for this population is lacking. Most of the current literature focuses on teaching science vocabulary or content knowledge instead of science practice skills (e.g., asking questions, making predictions, and observing results) in the context of STEM education. As a result, traditional STEM instruction is often beyond reach for students with NDD. The purpose of the current study was to examine the efficacy of a multi-component intervention package used to teach science practices to students with NDD. The intervention package consisted of a video-enhanced activity schedule with embedded video modelling, multiple exemplar training, a graphic organizer, least-to-most prompting, and naturalistic reinforcement. A multiple probe design across participants was used to determine the efficacy of the intervention package delivered virtually to two students with NDD in the fourth grade. Further, a single case study comprised of a treatment and baseline phase showed positive preliminary evidence for using the intervention package for a student with an intellectual disability, although more high-quality research is required. The practical and policy implications of supporting students with NDD using a multi-component intervention package and future research directions will be discussed.