Poster Session #1
Reinforcement has long been recognized as an effective method for gaining compliance in a various array of settings and tasks. However, there is limited research examining the effectiveness of reinforcement scheduling methods used in the academic setting gain access to client compliance in an academic task. There is even less research targeting compliance in the academic setting of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using an ABAB design, the study demonstrated improved compliance in academic tasks of a child with ASD through scheduled 1:1 reinforcement and 2:1 reinforcement during sight word reading engagement. During baseline, initially the client was anticipating reinforcement. Once reinforcement was not given, the compliance dropped to zero percent. Reinforcement was given between each word if the client tried to say the word during the first intervention phase. Withdraw was implemented, and the clients compliance dropped back down to zero percent. In the second intervention phase, the client was given reinforcement between every two words. Reinforcement scheduling with a gradual fade proved to be an effective method of gaining compliance to sight word reading engagement.
Traditional Drill and Practice (TDP) has been recognized as an effect intervention for improving sight word accuracy. There is limited research measuring sight word accuracy using TDP without reinforcement. Also, there is limited research examining the effectiveness of TDP in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thus, the purpose of study was to improve sight word accuracy through implementing a brief experimental analysis (BEA) and evidence-based interventions. First, to gain compliance throughout the sessions, iPad reinforcement was given at the end of each session contingent on the completion of the task given that day. Second, the clinician conducted a BEA by administering TDP with and without reinforcement. A control condition was also administered in the BEA. Following the BEA, TDP with reinforcement was administered for the rest of the sessions, because TDP with reinforcement was more effective than the TDP without reinforcement until the client accurately recalled 100% sight words three consecutive times.
Mule et al. 2015 found Incremental Rehearsal (IR) to be effective for teaching sight words to children; however, previous studies have not applied IR to non-verbal children with autism, as the learners typically need to verbally respond to an interventionist during IR. Thus, the current study aims at increasing sight words acquisition of a 5-year old non-verbal child with autism using an adapted IR. The study utilized the ABAB single subject design. The baseline was established by identifying known and unknown words. The intervention started by modeling an unknown word. Then, 1 unknown word among 4 known words were presented, and the participant was given three opportunities to identify all of the 5 words by pointing to the words mentioned by the clinician. Once the client could identify the unknown word correctly 3 times it was considered known. This was repeated with each unknown word until the client could identify the entire set of sight words with 80% accuracy. The adapted IR was very effective, as evidenced by the Percentages of Non-overlapping data were 100 in both intervention phases. Limitations and future direction will be discussed.
Traditional drill and practice (TDP) incorporates the use of flashcards in order to help increase a students sight-word recognition. This technique is used when a student cannot immediately correctly identify a group of sight words presented to them (Mule, Volpe, Fefer, Leslie, & Luiselli, 2015). TDP is a well-studied exercise, but using this technique with a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is understudied. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to expand the literature to include children with ASD. A simple phase change design was used to explore the implementation of TDP. The student was trained using 40 unknown sight words across four phases of instruction. While preliminary, TDP was effective relative to baseline. This was further substantiated with progress monitoring procedures. Limitations and future direction will be discussed.
Repeated reading (RR) and listening passage preview (LPP) have been demonstrated to be effective for increasing a students reading fluency (Lee & Yoon, 2017). Paired reading (PR) has also been shown to be effective when helping improve a students reading fluency (Sharp & Skinner, 2008). While each has been extensively studied in the literature, there is little exploration using these interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was compare the effectiveness of each intervention for a child with autism using brief experimental analysis procedures. An alternating treatment design was used to compare the interventions. Overall, the student did better across all interventions relative to baseline; however, there was little differentiation amongst the interventions themselves. Progress monitoring data provided further evidence that the student improvement during the interventions. Limitations and future directions will be discussed.
Preschool Life Skills (PLS) is an empirically supported comprehensive program designed to foster prosocial skills in preschool children. PLS contains a sequence of thirteen skills that are critical to early school success and are taught using a class-wide approach. Although PLS has been extensively investigated across preschool Head Start settings, the literature contains limited research exploring the effectiveness of PLS in alternative settings and among children with disabilities. Thus, the current study aimed to expand the literature by examining the effectiveness of PLS in nonverbal children (ages 3 to 6) with Autism Spectrum Disorder over a four-week summer behavioral program at a university based clinic. Further, the current study examined which setting (i.e., class-wide, small group, or individual) was most effective in promoting independent or spontaneous emissions of these PLS prosocial skills within this population. The first five PLS skills were taught in sequence during a class-wide, small group, and individual circle time each day via instruction, modeling, role-play, and feedback. Observations were then conducted during evocative situations to measure the frequency of preschool life skills and problem behaviors. A multiple probe design was used to examine the effectiveness of PLS across skills and settings in nonverbal children with Autism.
Delays in speech are one of the most common features in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; Mitchell et al., 2006). Children with delays in speech often engage in pointing, grabbing, leading and problem behaviors before engaging in vocal mands (Drasgow, Halle, & Ostrosky, 1998). The current study aimed to test a low cost and efficient intervention by comparing the effects of contingent reinforcement and noncontingent reinforcement to increase mands. This study included three children diagnosed with ASD who displayed with communication delays. An alternating treatments design was used to compare the cumulative effects of contingent reinforcement (CR) with question present and noncontingent reinforcement with question present (NCR) on mand training; however, relative to a baseline control, both interventions were effective. Data suggest no significant difference exists between contingent reinforcement and non-contingent reinforcement on increasing spontaneous mands. Future directions and limitations will also be discussed.
One major characteristic of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction. This can include deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, and deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships. A problem that many with ASD face at the root of these social deficits is difficulty understanding emotions. The present study replicated methods from Conallen and Reed's (2016) study to effectively teach a child with ASD to label the emotions of others. Through an ABB'B"A design with follow-up generalization probes, the participant will be taught to name simple emotions (e.g., happy, sad, mad), match these emotions to appropriate illustrated situations, generalize these emotions to new situations, and label his own emotions. In the original study, participants were between the ages of 6 and 9, but the present study's participant was 11 years old. Preliminary data indicate that prompting the participant to match an emotion to the correct illustrated situation resulted in an immediate increase in percentage of correct matching. Further, once prompts were taken away and the participant had to independently match the emotion to the correct illustrated situation, percentage correct was still at a level higher than baseline.
Social play is a fundamental aspect of children's social-emotional and cognitive development from birth. However, children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) typically experience difficulties with this from early on in their childhood due to the nature of the disorder. ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by both social communication and interaction deficits, as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and/or activities. These characteristics of ASD make imaginative play and forming friendships through social play more difficult for children with ASD as compared to their typically developing peers. The present study used a multiple baseline design across skills to assess the effectiveness of a social play skills intervention package on increasing social play skills in early elementary aged children with ASD. The intervention package included the use of behavioral skills training and a token economy. The targeted play skills were taken from the "Playing a Game" lesson from McGinnis and Goldstein's evidence-based "Skillstreaming the Elementary School Child" manual used to teach essential prosocial skills to elementary aged children. Preliminary data shows that this behavior intervention package can be effective in increasing targeted play skills in children with ASD.
Preschool Life Skills (PLS) is an empirically supported comprehensive program designed to foster prosocial skills in preschool children. PLS contains a sequence of thirteen skills that are critical to early school success and are taught using a class-wide approach. Although PLS has been extensively investigated across preschool Head Start settings, the literature contains limited research exploring the effectiveness of PLS in alternative settings and among children with disabilities. Thus, the current study aimed to expand the literature by examining the effectiveness of PLS in verbal children (ages 3 to 6) with Autism Spectrum Disorder over a four-week summer behavioral program at a university based clinic. Further, the current study examined which setting (i.e., class-wide, small group, or individual) was most effective in promoting independent or spontaneous emissions of these PLS prosocial skills within this population. The first five PLS skills were taught in sequence during a class-wide, small group, and individual circle time each day via instruction, modeling, role-play, and feedback. Observations were then conducted during evocative situations to measure the frequency of preschool life skills and problem behaviors. A multiple probe design was used to examine the effectiveness of PLS across skills and settings in verbal children with Autism.
Play based skills are necessary for elementary aged children to gain access to play with same aged peers. In the elementary age group (age 7-10) these games can vary but a wide variety of skills are needed to be successful to engage in playing the game. This intervention aimed at teaching necessary play based skills to children with Autism. Students received intervention at an Academic and Behavior clinic four days a week for four weeks and received social skill intervention for one hour a day each day. The skills taught included setting up the game, discussing the rules, deciding who should go first, waiting turn, showing good sportsmanship, and cleaning up the game. An activity phase was conducted where students were able to earn tokens for appropriate play based skills as well as a free play condition where students were encouraged to use the skills taught but were not reinforced for engaging in skills. A multiple baseline design was used to teach skills one at a time across a four-week period. Results indicated that the activity phase of the intervention was more successful than the free play phase and also that the level of functioning of students impacted performance of play based skills.
A number of children with autism and related disabilities present with toileting issues (Stanberry-Beal et al., 2014), which may persist into adolescents. While many different interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in the literature, there are fewer studies focusing on parent consultation as the primary mechanism for treatment. The current study focused on parent consultation to improve toileting in a twelve-year old female with autism. A simple phase change design was used to explore chaining and shaping of small behavioral changes in her changing routine to evolve into independent toilet sitting and hopefully urinary output.
One of the strongest predictors of academic success in both reading and mathematics is mathematic achievement (Duncan et al., 2007). In order to be successful in mathematics one must have a solid foundation in early numeracy skills. Overall, there is limited research examining the effectiveness of Quantity Discrimination. This is particularly true for children with autism. The current student used a simple phase change design to explore the use of manipulative for improving quantity discrimination in a child with ASD. The child was taught to use manipulatives to discriminate various number quantities. Preliminary results suggest the child improved using the intervention relative to baseline. Future directions and limitations will be discussed.
Due to social skill and communication deficits, children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be more susceptible to lures or suggestions of strangers (Gunby, Carr & Leblanc, 2010) because they may fail to recognize and avoid the danger of the situation (Greenspan, Loughlin, & Black, 2001). The current study aimed to teach a 5 year-old male with ASD prerequisite anti-abduction strategies including 1) identifying himself by his first and last name and 2) verbally identifying his mother and father using errorless learning and corrective feedback. A simple phase change design was used. Identification by his first and last name resulted in an upward trend that appeared to be stabilizing at 100% accuracy. Results of the intervention targeting the participants ability to identify his parents across known and unknown individuals and by their first names indicated mastery. Phase 4 involved a delay in prompting when the asking the participant to identify his parents by their names. Preliminary results indicate that with the delay, the participant successfully identified his parents by their first names. Results indicated using errorless learning and corrective feedback might be effective in increasing these skills.
Relational Frame Theory (RFT) is an account of human language and cognition based off the science of behavior. Within the philosophy of RFT, there is a variety of relational frames that account for human language. Within this account, a complex verbal operant described by Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, & Roche (2001) is hierarchical responding. The frame of hierarchy includes relations in which certain things are contained within others, for example, part-whole or attribute-of, relationships. There is a current lack of research on this complex relational frame family within the literature. The present study used a single-subject multiple baseline design to evaluate a procedure promoting derived hierarchical skills in children with autism. Children were taught to identify how to sort objects based on attributes such as weight, color, or size. This program targeted the acquisition of identifying hierarchical relations through multiple features of objects. The results suggest that children with autism can sort items following a discriminative stimulus within a frame of hierarchy when presented with items of various attributes.
The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between the PEAK-Direct Training Pre-Assessment (PEAK-DT-PA) and the PEAK-Generalization Pre-Assessment (PEAK-G-PA) with the corresponding indirect assessments based on parent and therapist reports. Participants were administered the PEAK-DT-PA and PEAK-G-PA. Parents and therapist completed a 184-item skills checklist for each of the corresponding modules. The results of the study suggest that there was a strong correlation between the pre-assessments and the indirect reports from both the parents and the therapists for each module. Additional correlations and interrater reliability across factors and individual test items were also investigated. Finally, trends in interrater reliability between caregiver report and direct assessments suggest that caregivers reporting for participants with lower overall scores more reliably identified if their child had a deficit with an advanced skill, but could less reliably identify if their child had a more basic skill. The opposite trend was found for caregivers reporting on participants with greater overalls scores. Implications of these findings for clinicians and future research are discussed.
Many children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties identifying and labeling feelings or emotions of other individuals. This becomes increasing more complex when factoring in the context to which the behavior is occurring. The current study sought to use relational training to teach the identification of private events of others in context to three adolescent males all diagnosed with ASD. In a multi-element design, the participants were trained to tact private events of others in context using novel video-based scenarios. Two of the three participants were able to reach mastery criteria and maintain their responding for all trained, derived, and transformation of stimulus function relations. The third participant required multiple exemplar training of novel stimuli to increase his responding for all of the video-based scenarios. The results of the study support the utility of relational training for teaching children with autism to identify private events of others in context.
Relational Frame Theory (RFT) is a behavior analytic approach which focuses on the acquisition of human language and cognition. Within RFT, there are relational frames which includes deictic relations that are the basis of perspective-taking. There has been limited research regarding deictic frames and individuals with autism and other disabilities. The current study utilized perspective-taking tasks within a frame of here-there in order to evaluate the participants ability to derive deictic relations. A multiple baseline design across three participants with an embedded multiple probe was used. Individuals with autism were trained to complete perspective-taking tasks and were evaluated based on their ability to derive non-arbitrary relations and a transformation of stimulus function in real world applications. The results suggest that relational training can be utilized to teach individuals with autism to learn non-arbitrary deictic relations within a frame of here-there. Together, future research should evaluate the effectiveness of single-reversal deictic frames in more complex situations.
A variety of prompting procedures have been used to aid in the acquisition of aquatic skills. The effectiveness of within-session and across-session variations of prompting procedures for teaching aquatic skills was evaluated for one participant diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The first variation, within session, consisted of varying prompts within session contingent on correct responding. The second variation, across session, consisted of using most-to-least prompting and decreasing the prompt level based on a predetermined number of correct trials (i.e., changing the prompts across sessions). Prior to implementation of both treatments, the participant was evaluated using American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim level 1 and level 2 criteria. Both treatments were evaluated using a multiple baseline across skills. Data indicated that both variations were effective on the acquisition of aquatic skills; however, varying prompts within session led to a quicker rate of acquisition. Implications for using varied prompts during swimming instruction of clients with ASD is discussed.
Teens and adults with high functioning autism spectrum disorder often experience severe mental health difficulties and social isolation (Brugha et al., 2012; Matson & Williams, 2014). Many individuals with ASD often engage in rigid behavioral routines that may make it difficult to effectively adapt and respond to unforeseen changes in life, which may result in ill-adaptive avoidance behaviors in the future, all characteristics of psychological inflexibility (Pahnke, Lundgren, Hursti & Hirvikoski, 2013). The purpose of Club 57 is to provide an environment where teens and adults with ASD meet and socialize with peers, while receiving Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) services that promote engagement in behavioral repertoires consistent with valued living. Between February and June, Club 57 served a total of 31 individuals ranging in age from 12 to 28 years old. Pre/Posttest assessments were administered to 14 participants that indirectly measured levels of psychological inflexibility, experiential avoidance, social anxiety, and cognitive fusion. Overall, analyses of the assessment results found a statistically significant different in responses for three of the four assessments, suggesting an overall improvement in psychological flexibility. Given the number of teens and adults with ASD that experience anxiety, depression, and social isolation, programming that directly addresses these experiences will be discussed.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with adolescents and young adults with autism to change the function of verbal statements made about the self while talking about a negative thought. Throughout the study, participants will wear an Empatica wristband measuring physiological responses. Participants will determine a negative thought they have about themselves and discuss why they believe the thought is true. Participants will then receive a version of ACT and be asked to talk about the same negative thought. Verbal statements about the self and physiological measures before and after ACT will be compared. Preliminary anecdotal results for three typically developing adults suggest that ACT was effective in increasing self-as-context statements and decreasing self-as-content and reason giving statements. Additionally, the physiological data show stabilization while discussing the negative thought after receiving ACT, suggesting that ACT can change the function of verbal statements and affect physiological responses. While little research has been done on using ACT with adolescents and young adults with autism, the preliminary and expected results of this study suggest a clinical utility of ACT to improve the way individuals with autism interact with their thoughts.
Relational Training promotes the development of derived language and cognitive skills for children with autism or related disabilities. Relational Frame Theory is the behavior analytic perspective of human language and cognition that focuses on these derivations of language skills through families of relational frames. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a training procedure teaching the relational frame of opposition as well as promoting the derivation of untrained relations for children with autism. A multiple-baseline design was conducted across three participants was designed to teach the oppositional frame using culturally relevant stimuli for emotions. Furthermore, probes were conducted across baseline and treatment phases to test for the transformation of stimulus function for each participant. The results of the initial analysis indicated that the participants acquired the skill and support the efficacy and usefulness of relational training. Finally, these results have implications that advance the technologies within the field of behavior analysis.
Relational Frame Theory provides a behavioral account of language development that emphasizes non-arbitrary and arbitrary relations among stimuli. Of the applied literature surrounding derived stimulus relations, approximately 73% has evaluated developing coordinated relations; however, comparatively fewer studies have evaluated facilitating the development of other relational frame families. Facilitating the development of derived stimulus relations can have important benefits for individuals with deficits in their verbal repertoires. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate if relational training of arbitrarily applicable comparative relations conducted with two individuals with autism resulted in emergent, untrained combinatorially entailed arbitrarily relations. In addition, the study evaluated whether the function of combinatorially entailed arbitrary stimuli were transformed in terms of non-arbitrary stimulus properties across the participants. Two multiple-baseline studies were conducted to evaluate a set of procedures using arbitrary and non-arbitrary comparative stimuli. The percentage of correct responses during both studies baseline phases were below chance level of responding, but with successive training the participants were able to demonstrate the directly trained r and r relations, as well as the combinatorially entailed r and r relations. Additionally, both participants were able to match the arbitrary stimuli with non-arbitrary stimulus properties following training.
Positive staff interactions with clients can be difficult to maintain when working with adults with developmental disabilities who display challenging behavior. Research findings have demonstrated a common display of challenging behaviors within this population and some of the staff that work with these individuals display less than positive interactions which has led researchers to investigate the use of several behavioral approaches to improve staff interactions. One intervention that has been explored is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); however, there is limited research in applying ACT to this problem. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of ACT, specifically the use of mindfulness techniques in improving staff interactions towards developmentally disabled clients. Results of this study revealed that mindfulness techniques were effective at improving staff interactions towards clients, as indicated by an increased number of positive staff interactions, with continued practice of these behaviors during maintenance probes.
Understanding the development of language is vital to helping those with language delays or developmental disabilities acquire an adaptive verbal repertoire. Previous research has focused on stimulus equivalence as a means of acquiring generative language (Sidman & Tailby, 1982). One thing thats been shown to improve the processes of generalized imitation and stimulus equivalence is the behavior of Naming (Greer & Longano, 2010). The current study evaluated the differences between visual-visual and auditory-visual training of stimulus relations on acquisition of derived relations using adults with developmental disabilities. A naming assessment was also conducted to evaluate whether participants could acquire the skill of naming stimuli. Two of the four participants acquired the derived stimulus relations and provided names for all or most of the stimuli. The other two participants were not able to derive the stimulus relation but also could not provide a name for most or all the stimuli. This demonstrates the importance of naming behavior for the acquisition and development of language. Participants generally acquired the trained relations at a faster rate during auditory-visual training, providing evidence for the importance of naming stimuli during training procedures when teaching language skills. Future avenues of research and practice will be discussed.
Social skills are a common deficit in repertoires of individuals with autism. Common skills include initiating conversations, understanding facial expressions, and detecting sarcasm. While there is literature focusing on strengthening social skills of individuals with autism, the vast majority concentrates on children. These children eventually proceed through adolescence and adulthood. Thus, it is important to expand the literature regarding social skills in adolescents and young adults with autism due to the limited research within the population. Furthermore, few, if any, researchers have combined traditional behavior analytic methods with those of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to develop a curriculum targeting social skills. Participants of the current study will be taught particular social skills via task analyses while utilizing acceptance and mindfulness strategies. The ACT component will refine participants skills in accepting private events pertaining to the social skill, developing greater clarity regarding their personal values, and committing to behavior change. Preliminary data suggests that all participants have deficits in turn taking and flexibility during conversations. Additionally, they possess the language skills necessary for ACT interventions. Progress regarding mastery of skills will be measured via a multiple-probe across participants design. Implications regarding results from the treatment package will be further discussed.
Problem behavior that occurs during an ignore or alone condition of a functional analysis (FA) has often been described as being maintained by automatic reinforcement (Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1982/1994; Queriem et al., 2013). Challenging behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement presents difficulty when treating, for the reason that the events which evoke or reinforce the behavior cannot be observed or manipulated directly (Vollmer, 1994). A reinforcement-based treatment for automatically maintained behavior often includes the presentation of stimuli which compete with automatically maintained challenging behavior (e.g., Piazza et al., 1998; Shore, Iwata, DeLeon, Kahng, & Smith, 1997). The research base for treating automatically maintained behavior by presenting competing stimuli is robust (see e.g., Richman, Barnard-Bark, Grubb, Bosch, & Abby, 2015). However, no research has targeted automatically maintained disruption in a bathroom context toward the toilet lid cover. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of presenting competing stimuli to compete with toilet lid disruption.
Nowadays, it is thoroughly known that people with autism may have different visual pattern in front of social stimuli. This observational pattern has been studied by using eye tracking system and researches demonstrated that persons with autism seem to be focused on some parts of the visual stimulus, which doesnt permit them to identify the facial expressions. This pattern of particular behavior is called over selectivity. It occurs when an individual is confronted to a compound stimulus and he selectively responds to only one or a reduced characteristics of the stimulus. Nonetheless, the reason why these patterns are present was not thoroughly studied. Persons with autism spectrum disorders could have a better capacity in visual search task and an impairment in color perception. In order to avoid discrimination learning deficit as over selectivity, a large panel of procedure including errors reducing has been developed. Errorless learning with stimulus fading is a procedure in which the discrimination by fading in the S- across the training. By adding progressively the S-, errors are reduced and discrimination is acquired more rapidly than with a traditional procedure. We conducted a study with typical children in kindergarten implying an errorless learning procedure and a reversal with a classical discrimination training. We found that performances were superior in errorless learning and that children whom began with classical training have a blocking effect in errorless learning. According to abnormal visual perception in ASD, could the results be similar ? This study may have an important impact in applied setting.
Communication delays are a common feature of children with developmental disabilities. The degree of impairment is variable across children, with a complete absence of vocal language for some children. Interventions to increase communication in these cases can be difficult if the individuals do not reliably echo the speech of others and do not exhibit a variety of vocal sounds to be shaped (Petursdottir & Lepper, 2015). As such, an investigation into effective and efficient procedures to establish novel vocalizations for individuals with a minimal vocal repertoire is warranted. Previous research has suggested that language development may occur due to natural environmental events that condition vocalizations as automatic reinforcers (Bijou & Baer, 1965). Based on this theory, three procedures have been suggested for establishing vocalizations as automatic reinforcers: stimulus-stimulus pairing (e.g., Sundberg, Michael, Partington, & Sundberg, 1996), operant-discrimination training (e.g., Lepper, Petursdottir, & Esch, 2013), and response-stimulus pairing (e.g., Petursdottir & Lepper, 2015). However, the effectiveness of these procedures is unclear. The purpose of the current study is to compare the effects of these three different procedures on the establishment of novel vocalizations in individuals with a minimal vocal repertoire. To date, three young children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities have participated in this study. Preliminary results suggest response-stimulus pairing may be more effective for establishing vocalizations for one of the three participants. This research extends behavior-analytic literature by comparing three different procedures for establishing vocalizations as conditioned automatic reinforcers.
Children with autism may require remedial strategies to develop conditional discrimination repertoires. For example, Slocum, Miller, and Tiger (2012) used a blocked-trials procedure to teach identity matching to a child with autism. Unlike previous studies (Saunders & Spradlin 1989 & 1990, Perez-Gonzalez & Williams, 2002, Williams, Perez-Gonzalez & Queiroz, 2005), Slocum et al. did not require fading of the block size to obtain discriminated performance. We attempted to replicate and extend Slocum et al. to the teaching of auditory conditional discriminations. Our participants included four children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder with little to no auditory conditional discriminations prior to the start of our study. We began by replicating the sequence of intervention phases used by Slocum et al., including the use of a blocking procedure when a mixed-trial format was ineffective. However, we did not replicate the effects of Slocum et al.s blocking procedure for any of our five participants. Thus, we evaluated a series of supplementary interventions such as removing reinforcement for prompted responses, using partial physical prompts, and incorporating modified blocking procedures (e.g., mass trialing one target until mastery followed by fading the block size). Data collection is ongoing.
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are characterized by difficulties in social interactions and presence of repetitive behaviors and restrictive interests (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These characteristics can affect their daily functions and pose problems in obtaining and maintaining stable employment (Shattuck, et al., 2012; Taylor and Seltzer, 2012). This tendency increased for individuals with comorbid diagnosis such as Intellectual Disability (ID). In addition, their limited or lack of ability to engage in leisure activities can also affect quality of life (Garcia-Villmaisar, & Dattilo, 2010; Patterson, & Pegg, 2009). Given a handful of studies focued on this important skills, especially for adults with ASD and ID, the present study examined the effects of a most-to-least prompting procedure on independent leisure engagement of six adults with ASD and ID on the iPad. Additionally, this study investigated the impact of a visual schedule on the participants, independent transitioning between leisure activities on the iPad2. Further, a survey was conducted to explore social validity of the interventions, including social perceptions of the use of these commonly available devices and the stigma associated with these devices.
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often exhibit a lack of social interaction, language, and communication skills. Therefore, one of the critical study areas for researchers that are improving these skills for individuals with ASD. In recent years, technology-based interventions (TBI) have been used in children with ASDs education effectively via the use of iPad, iPods, Tablet computers, and software programs. Considering limitation of social interaction skills, communication skills, and language skills for children with ASD, TBI is an effective way to prevent lack of social communication and language abilities among such children. To the understanding of the effectiveness of TBI, it is vital to identify varied types of implementation in social communication skills. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review on the effects of TBI in social communication skills. As a result of this review, TBI appears to be effective for teaching social communication skills including initiating and maintaining the conversation, making spontaneous requesting, and social interaction skills in children with autism.
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the small group activities of children with ASD (8- to 12 years-old) by quantitative measures using Motion Capture System. Performance of children with ASD was compared with the following three experimental conditions; 1) iPad watching (with a therapist and other ASD children), 2) Card game & Toy play (with a therapist and other ASD children), 3) Active group play. The changing condition design was used to identify the effect of three conditions. The followings were served as dependent measures; a) Physical distance between ASD children, b) approaching to a ASD children, c) looking at a ASD childrens face and d) positive affect (ex: smiling, laughing). The result indicated that children with ASD were more interact in Active group play than in iPad and Card game & Toy play. Active group play facilitated social interaction among ASD children much more than iPad and Card game & Toy play. These results suggest that social interaction of children with ASD occurs more in the conditions with Active group play. This study represents an important step toward clarifying the effect of group dynamism on promoting social behavior of children with ASD and extending new intervention method.
Autism behavioral intervention involves, among other things, teach stimuli relations. A person with autism may demonstrate difficulties to match spoken sounds to their meaning. For example, to touch a spoon as an object, after hearing "spoon" as a sound. They also have difficulties in generalizing this learning to new stimuli without direct training (to touch different spoons as object and picture, after hearing "spoon" as a sound). Understanding that autism intervention requires intensive work, and it often can not be provided by the costs, the use of applications to teach this population enables intensive behavioral intervention training that can be given by parents and teachers. The present work aims at describing an application for iPad to teach relations between stimuli and to present the preliminary results of the use of this tool. An experimental multiple baseline study was conducted comparing trials with cards and Ipad to teach a child diagnosed with autism. Partial results point to the benefits of iPad to teach stimuli relations. The participant who didnt have sucess in listening discrimination training with cards,reach the target repertoire criteria after listening discrimination training with ipad aplication.
Motor stereotypy is a common, skill disruptive behavior exhibited by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Response interruption and redirection (RIRD) is the delivery of incompatible demands contingent on motor stereotypy, which is gaining support for reducing these behaviors. However, RIRD has limitations with generalization as behaviors often return to baseline levels post-treatment. Stimulus control (SC) training followed by generalization probing (GP) have been implemented with other behavior-reduction strategies to help counter these difficulties; however, studies are limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of RIRD in combination with SC training and GP using a changing-criterion design for eight children with ASD during their early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) programming. Eight children with ASD were assigned across four conditions: 1) experimental (RIRD + SC + GP), 2) traditional treatment (RIRD + GP), 3) clinical control (EIBI + GP), and 4) waitlist controls. Results demonstrated that RIRD + SC + GP produced immediate reductions in motor stereotypy to near zero rates during treatment, with reductions maintaining post-treatment. Participants receiving this intervention package also met mastery criteria across four generalization conditions in the clinic setting in fewer sessions compared to other groups. Results of this study extend the literature by emphasizing the utility of combining SC procedures and probing for generalization when implementing RIRD to reduce motor stereotypy. Considerations of using SC training and avenues for future research are discussed.
Vocal stereotypy which includes non-contextual vocalizations and socially inappropriate speech presents itself as a problem behavior in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Vocal Stereotypy functions as a barrier to efficient learning for the individual emitting the behavior. It also socially isolates the individual engaging in the behavior and restricts his access to social reinforcement. Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) has emerged as a well-documented method of increasing contextually appropriate vocalizations and decreasing inappropriate (non-contextual) speech and sounds. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the decrease in occurrence of inappropriate vocalizations that served no communicative purpose and was automatically maintained. The participant in the single subject study was a teenager with a diagnosis of ASD who exhibited high levels of vocal stereotypy. Each instance of vocal stereotypy emitted by the participant resulted in vocal demands being placed on him by the therapist in a clinical setting. The therapist withdrew the vocal demands once the participant successfully responded to three consecutive demands without engaging in Vocal Stereotypy. The follow up probes conducted by the specific therapist who had implemented the procedure earlier showed that Vocal Stereotypy was maintained at post treatment levels.
Inappropriate vocalizations (i.e., stimulatory vocalizations occurring out of context) of two adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability were tested under three different conditions using a single-subject alternating treatment design: 1)No Task/Activity, 2) Mastered Task, 3) Listening to Music through Headphone. Functional assessment showed that those vocalizations were maintained by a sensory function in some degrees for both participants. Participant 1�s vocalizations occurred the most under no task/activity condition and the least under the mastered table top task condition However, participant 2�s vocalizations occurred the most under the mastered task condition (matching tasks on iPad application) and the least under the music listening condition. Preference assessment conducted afterwards showed that participant 1 preferred the mastered table top task to the listening to music activity. However, participant 2�s preference between the mastered task and listening to music activity was undetermined. The presentation of preferred tasks or leisure activities as a way to decrease inappropriate stimulatory vocalizations is discussed as a possible effective intervention.
Escape is commonly found to be the function of refusal behaviors related to feeding; however it can sometimes be unclear whether an individual is attempting to escape the food item itself or the method of delivery. We evaluated refusal of an open cup with two 4-year-old boys diagnosed with autism whose only liquid consumption was a milk-Pediasure mixture from a baby bottle. When presented with an open cup the boys would turn their head away and engage in disruptions such as pushing the cup away and covering their mouth. A functional analysis using alternating liquids indicated that refusal behavior for both boys was maintained by escape. It was unclear for both whether refusal was maintained by the removal of an open cup or the removal of novel liquids. We extended the functional analysis using a milk-Pediasure mixture and presenting the bottle contingent on refusal behavior and noncontingently during presentation of the cup. For both boys, the extended sessions demonstrated that the cup itself evoked refusal behavior, even when containing a preferred liquid.
As more empirically supported practices are identified for children with autism, it is critical that we have strategies to translate these research findings into common implementation practices across a variety of settings. Devereuxs Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports-Autism (D-PBIS-Autism) model was developed to provide a framework to create this environmental context. D-PBIS Autism provides evidence based universal supports to all clients through Tier 1 interventions which build skills across the broad domains of communication, socialization, independence, and safety. Also heavily emphasized by the model are best practice staff training and performance management practices that ensure the integrity of implementation. For this study, Tier 1 performance indicators were measured across three distinct settings serving children with autism: a public school, a specialized private school, and a residential program. Outcomes demonstrate that high levels of program fidelity were achieved with implementation of recommended training, modeling, coaching, and performance feedback. Moreover, an analysis of program data in the residential setting found associated reductions in rates of aggression, elopement, and tantrums. In conclusion, the data provide strong support that the D-PBIS Autism model increased use of evidence-based practices in all three settings as well as reductions in targeted challenging behaviors.
Introduction: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) apart of core symptoms often demonstrate co-morbid problems, such as aggressive behavior. One of the physiological measures that might serve as an index of aggression is heart rate variability (HRV). HRV refers to the vagally mediated beat-to-beat change in heart rate. Lower HRV has been associated with impaired emotional and behavioral regulation and stress. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between heart rate variability and behavioral problems in boys with ASD. Methods: Thirty- two boys with autism spectrum disorder were included into the study. Parents completed The Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI-01) to assess frequency and severity of specific behavioral problems. HRV parameters, measured in supine position for the duration of 3 minutes were further analyzed. Results: Significant negative correlations between HRV parameters related to parasympathetic nervous system activity and the Frequency and Severity of Aggressive/Destructive Behavior subscale, but not for other subscales were observed. Conclusion: Our research showed, that boys with ASD, who also display more frequent and severe aggressive/destructive behavior show poorer autonomic regulation as evidenced by their lower HRV. This information can help us to plan and test interventions to improve behavioral and autonomic regulation.
Functional Communication Training (FCT; Carr & Durand, 1985) has been demonstrated to be an effective intervention for problem behaviors. FCT, which is a form of differential reinforcement, teaches an individual an appropriate alternative response that serves the same function of the problem behavior. A treatment protocol incorporating functional communication, tolerance to delays and denials and compliance training (Hanley, Jin, Vanselow & Hanratty, 2014) was implemented to 5 children on the autism spectrum who exhibited problem behavior (noncompliance, escape, self-injury). Preliminary results suggest that the treatment protocol was effective at reducing problem behavior and increasing functional communication, delay/denial tolerance and compliance for all children.
Though training parents to serve as change agents is an effective way to increase exposure to behaviorally-based interventions for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), parent training programs vary widely in approach and effectiveness (Lesack, Bearss, Celano, & Sharp, 2014). An emerging, though still limited, research base explores the use of manualized parent training within the ASD population (e.g., Bearss, Johnson, Handen, Smith & Scahill, 2013). As parents of children with ASD experience more parental stress than parents of children with other developmental disabilities or children who are typically-developing, addressing parental barriers to successful treatment is paramount (Hayes & Watson, 2013). The current study aims to improve parent treatment integrity within a manualized treatment by providing two essential needs of parents of children with ASD: evidence-based behavioral parenting strategies and support for parenting-related stress. Specifically, this study evaluates the effects of adding a parent-support component to a manualized parent-training program in a community-based sample of parent-child dyads, including a child with ASD who is between 2-5 years old and who exhibits disruptive behaviors (e.g., tantrums, aggression, non-compliance). Outcome measures include child disruptive behaviors, parenting behaviors, parental stress, and treatment integrity, with initial data collection supporting this addition as advantageous.
Developing a telehealth parent training program is important for parents who have limited access to evidence-based intervention for their children with autism. The authors developed a telehealth parent training program and this study showed that the training was effective in improving parents intervention skills and childrens early development. Five mothers and their children with autism participated. All materials were transferred via three apps: a video lecture, text information, and video clips. Parents were provided an iPod with the apps installed, and kept it for two months so that they could view the apps as often as they wished. The parents also received a 30-min telehealth consultation a month after they received the iPod. During the consultation, a trainer shared her desktop screen with a parent and observed the video probes submitted by the parent, and she provided childs target tasks, intervention examples, and corrective feedback on parents intervention skills. Parents intervention skills were assessed with a 10-item fidelity list, and childs language, early communication, and social skills were also examined. The results showed that parents improved their fidelity scores after the training, children improved their language, communication, and social skills after the training, and parents were very satisfied with the training program.
Developing a cost-effective parent training program is important to disseminate evidence-based intervention strategies to parents of children with autism efficiently. The authors developed a brief training program using an iPod and this study showed that the training was effective in improving parents intervention skills and childrens early development. Forty-six mothers and their children with autism participated. All materials were transferred via two apps: text information and sample video clips. Parents received a 3-hr didactic lecture and 30-min video feedback, and were given an iPod with the apps installed. During the didactic lecture, a trainer explained early communication development, 10-item intervention skills, and 20 ideas to improve communication skills. During the video feedback, a trainer and parent observed the video probes submitted by the parent, and the trainer provided descriptive reinforcement and corrective feedback on parents intervention skills. Parents intervention skills were assessed with a 10-item fidelity list, and childs language skills, developmental age and early communication were also examined. The results showed that parents improved their fidelity scores after the training, children improved their language comprehension, language production, developmental age, and early communication after the training, and parents were very satisfied with the training program.
Applied Behavior Analysis services have been provided to a wide range of people. The population of those receiving services is culturally diverse, yet little research has been done with diverse populations. Our purpose is to evaluate parent training when cultural concerns are taken into account in behavior interventions. Behavior analytic services will be provided to 3-5 Latino/Latina families with children diagnosed with developmental disabilities for whom problem behaviors are maintained by social positive or social negative reinforcement. Parents will be trained on the implementation of functional communication training (FCT). A questionnaire will be provided to the parents to identify cultural relevant information and preferences. This questionnaire will help guide services. Services will include functional analysis, preference assessment, FCT, and parent training. Data will be collected to measure possible effects of cultural sensitivities when providing services to families within the Latino/Latina community. It is hypothesized that culturally sensitive interventions will have more of an impact in the Latino/Latina community than non-culturally sensitive interventions.
When providing the best care for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), application of principles of behavior analysis have been experimentally demonstrated to be an effective approach to intervention. Although, a large portion of these interventions are taught and implemented by individuals who are not the childs parent or caregiver. Given the relatively large amount of time children spend in their homes, it is imperative for parents to understand and implement behavior plans to help maintain lasting change and thus programs targeting these needs are necessary. The current program has provided a brief parent education and training program in both individual and group settings among 17 caregivers. This poster describes a systematic program weve used at UGA to provide parent enrichment to parents and caregivers with the purpose of increasing their abilities to implement ABA based strategies.
Research shows that training of functional living skills is more effective and efficient in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) when generalization and maintenance of skills are programmed from onset of intervention. In this study, items from the Essential For Living Assessment were used to assess responding to dangerous stimulus (e.g., responding to potential poisons and fire starting materials, not talk to, walk with, get in a car with, or open the door to a stranger) and behaviors that may promote high levels of generalized responding (e.g., to hold and maintain contact with the hand of an instructor, care provider, or parent when directed to do so; to wait at a current location or a specific location when directed to do so ; to stop moving or engaging in a dangerous activity when directed to do so ) and target the safety skills. A multiple probe design with probe trials across behaviors was used to assess the effects of an in situ behavioral skills training package to teach safety skills to 2 children with low functioning autism. Preliminary results suggest the in situ behavioral skills training package was effective in the acquisition of the safety skills.
Although the abduction of a child by an unknown adult is unlikely to occur in a childs lifetime, the consequences are serious and devastating. In response to recent reports of an abduction in the area, we sought to replicate previous research on using behavior skills training (BST) to teach abduction-prevention skills to children with autism by demonstrating its efficacy during in-situ probes across four different types of lures delivered by unknown adults. In addition, because undesirable generalization to known adults may occur, particularly with children with autism, we extended this literature by testing the effects of our training on following matched instructions to leave with known adults. No feedback was provided during in-situ probes. Participants learned to engage in appropriate safety behavior when presented with a lure from an unknown adult; however, undesirable generalization was observed with the known adult. Discriminated responding across unknown and known adults was observed following discrimination training. These results generalized across settings and maintained up to 3 months for two participants.
Research suggests individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulties with daily living skills. Since interventions that integrate motivational and peer-mediated components have improved social communication in adults with ASD, it is possible that incorporating these methods into a self-management intervention may lead to improvements in daily living skills for this population as well. The purpose of this study is to assess whether the use of peer-mediated motivational components would increase the number of household, employment, and hygiene tasks completed per week. Two males ages 25 and 42 diagnosed with ASD participated, and data collection is ongoing for a third participant. A multiple baseline across participants with reversals design was used, where a baseline condition with a self-management daily living checklist without peer-mediation was compared to a peer-mediated intervention condition where individualized prompts were provided to complete the self-management daily living checklist. The preliminary results indicate that each participant has increased the number of daily living tasks with large effect sizes. This line of research shows optimism that improving daily living skills in adults with ASD may be highly profitable.
The increasing responsibility and trust to make independent choices marks the transition from adolescence into adulthood. The value of choice, notably the independence and identity affirmation associated with it, has reportedly led to greater self-determination and participation with the broader community. Adulthood symbolizes autonomy to make self-directed choices, yet research demonstrates that adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD) are routinely denied opportunities to exercise control in even minor aspects of their lives. One of the primary factors influencing consumer engagement in choice-making is staff practices. Given the link between choice opportunities and staff behavior, more research is needed in how staff members conceptualize, promote, and implement choice in postsecondary settings. The present study trained staff in a community day program to facilitate diverse choice-making opportunities for adult consumers. Researchers implemented a multiple-probe across-participants single-subject design to address the following questions: (a) Will a staff training package in choice-making increase the correct provision of choices offered by staff to consumers with disabilities?, (b) Will this training increase the diversity of choices offered by staff to consumers with disabilities?, and (c) Will staff members decrease incorrect choice attempts made by staff to consumers with disabilities? Researchers trained staff members in a designated choice sequence and provided coaching and feedback to staff members during their daily work routines. After receiving training, all staff members increased the frequency and diversity of correct choices they offered consumers as well as decreased incorrect choice attempts. Researchers discuss the potential implications of this training package and procedure within adult disability organizations, and the observed impact of this training on staff behavior.
Many individuals with autism and/or intellectual and development disabilities present with challenging behavior (McCarty et al., 2010). This study focused on improving problem behavior of adults with autism and/or intellectual and developmental disabilities receiving services provided by large behavioral health organization in the northeastern United States. This study examines the initial implementation of the data based teams and its impact on decreasing the frequency of problem behavior. The team met once per month to review 23 individuals. The review consisted examining the line graphs of daily data over the past sixty days of the three most problematic behavior of each of these individuals. The graphs were reviewed by the team to determine whether the problem of these individuals demonstrated trends that were decreasing, about the same or were increasing. Post intervention data was compared to pre-intervention data and there was found improvements in the percent of individuals who had all of the three targeted behaviors showing improvement, as well as, a decrease in the number of individuals whose problem behaviors were not improving.
One of the most important predictors of the level and quality of social inclusion of people with intellectual disability in the community is the type of housing. The aim of the research is to determine the quality of the achieved roles of adults with moderate intellectual disability, observed through the development of life habits in the areas of responsibility, interpersonal relationships, community life, employment, recreation and determine the effect of type of housing on the quality of achieved social roles. The sample in this study consisted of 67 persons with moderate intellectual disability, of both gender, aged from 18 to 56. The sample consisted of people who live in the family home and people who live in residential facilities within the supported housing program on the territory of Belgrade and Novi Sad, Serbia. For the purpose of determining the quality of life habits an instrument The Assessment of life habits - LIFE - H 3.1 Fougeyrolles et al., 2002.was used. Obtained results showed that the respondents involved in the program of supported housing have the higher level of Responsibility compared to respondents who live in the family home; the differences in other domains are not within the limits of statistical significance.
For individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), social interaction/communication deficits tend to persist into adulthood (Schall & McDonough, 2010); however, there is a paucity of research on social skills interventions for adults (Reichow & Volkmar, 2010). The current study used a single-subject, multiple probe design across participants to examine the efficacy of using Skillstreaming (McGinnis, Sprafkin, Gershaw, & Klein, 2012), a social skills curriculum, in increasing the social skill performance of three adult participants with ASD. Participants were able to quickly learn and perform their respective target social skill during training. Two of the participants were also able to consistently display their social skill during post-training analogue trials. One individual was able to display his target social skill (i.e., asking for a favor) on two out of the five post-training analogue trials, but declined to use the skill when the favor was for a want instead of a need. These results suggest that Skillstreaming was effective in teaching the participants the social skill steps; however, some individuals may need continued support and adequate motivation to perform the learned skill. Moreover, the participants and their support staff all indicated that they were highly satisfied with the intervention.
A 22 year old male with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) engaged in loud vocalizations, problem behaviour and noncompliance when required to sit while having electroencephalogram (EEG) leads glued to his face and head as required for medical testing in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU). As a result, a procedure using video modeling, in vivo desensitization and reinforcement of appropriate behaviour was introduced. Results show that over 10 sessions, the participant advanced from sitting and having leads glued onto his face and head for 2 minutes to 90 minutes with the behaviour consultant present and supporting. He was able tolerate the leads on for the length of the hospital stay. On the third day of hospital stay he pulled some of the leads off resulting in the hospital staff re-gluing all leads in a 90 minute session, this was 100 percent successful, and the behaviour consultant was not present. Generalization across people, environment and over time was displayed. The findings of this study indicate that video modeling, in vivo desensitization and reinforcement of appropriate behaviours are highly effective strategies to gradually expose an individuals contact with an aversive stimulus, as previously demonstrated by Luscre and Centre (1996), Neumann, Altabet and Fleming (2000) and Conyers and Miltenberger (2004).
Paraeducators and behavioral technicians play a critical role in teaching individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. They are often expected to implement instruction related to student goals, but do not always have access to the necessary education or training to effectively do so. Incidental teaching is an evidence-based strategy for teaching individuals to use novel communication in natural settings. To date, there is no research that examines the effects of coaching paraeducators to use incidental teaching with students in a school setting. This study examines the effects of bug-in-ear (BIE) coaching on four paraprofessionals implementation of incidental teaching to teach novel communication phrases to children with autism and other developmental disabilities in a K-12 private school. BIE coaching uses technology to allow skilled coaches to provide real-time, discrete feedback to adult learners working with students. Data show BIE coaching is associated with immediate, increased rates of incidental teaching delivered by paraprofessionals and increased rates of corresponding student communication phrases.
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with communication impairments often use augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) systems. Some AAC systems, such as the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS; Bondy & Frost, 1994), have been extensively researched and are considered evidence-based practice for individuals with ASD (Wong, 2013). However, many parents and practitioners are opting to use alternative AAC systems, including tablet-based applications, which currently lack sufficient empirical support to be considered evidence-based practice. Although emerging evidence is promising, little is known about the risks and benefits of these systems on vocal communication. The purpose of this study, which uses multiple-baseline design across participants, is to evaluate the effects of a tablet-based communication system (PECS IV App) on the vocal communication of school-aged children with ASD. Vocalization data are being collected from 4 children prior to transition to the PECS IV App (i.e., while using the PECS binder), as well as during and following the transition to the PECS IV App. Treatment fidelity data are being collected on training with the PECS binder and the PECS IV App. Results will be discussed in terms of implications for selecting and training AAC communication systems.
Augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) systems are often introduced to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and communication impairments. The use of speech generating devices (SGDs) as a method of AAC for individuals with ASD has an emerging evidence base. However, little is known about the effects of SGD use on the development of vocal speech for children with ASD (Gevarter et al., 2013; Schlosser, & Wendt, 2008). Specifically, the impact of the voice output feature on children�s vocalizations remains relatively unknown. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of two approaches to communication training using a tablet-based SGD: a) training device use with the voice output function activated, b) modifying the voice output to include a behavior chain interruption strategy. This study uses multiple baseline design across participants, with an embedded alternating treatment design (Barlow & Hayes, 1979) to determine whether one strategy is superior at increasing participant�s speech production. Vocalization data are being collected from 4 participants using two equivalent sets of reinforcers. Data are being collected while participants are training on the SGD (no voice output), and during the alternating treatment conditions. Results will be discussed in terms of implications for enhancing vocalizations during SGD training.
Previous research has demonstrated that using stimuli identified via daily brief preference assessments may produce more responding under concurrent-schedule arrangements than using stimuli identified via lengthy, pre-treatment preference assessments (DeLeon et al., 2001). To date, this has not been evaluated in the context of skill acquisition. Thus, it is unknown the extent to which conducting daily brief preference assessments impacts the rate of skill acquisition during discrete trial instruction (DTI). In this study, a 7-year-old male with autism was exposed to three reinforcement arrangements during DTI: #1 initial PSPA stimulus was provided as the reinforcer, #2 daily MSWO stimulus was provided as the reinforcer, and #3 praise was provided after correct responding as the control condition. Rate of skill acquisition was measured across conditions and results show that accuracy of responding was higher in the MSWO condition.
The current study evaluated the effects of gradual exposure on aquatic skills for 2 participants diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participant 1 was resistant to leaving the pool wall; this participant exhibited protests, grabbing, screams for help, and forcing herself under the water. Participant 2 exhibited grabbing, pinching, and protesting, while in deep water. Parents reported, however, that both participants had some basic swimming skills, but problem behavior interfered. A hierarchy of exposure to water activities was designed for each participant. Baseline data for both participants showed 0% correct for targeted skills in the hierarchy. During gradual exposure, contingent on completing a specified distance of swimming or duration of floating, participants earned a preferred activity. Treatment effects were evaluated using a multiple baseline across skills. Results for participant 1 showed that the data increased to 100% for reaching the wall and floating on the back. Results for participant 2 showed that the data increased to 100% for reaching the wall and floating on the front. In addition, for participant 1 floating on the back may have generalized to floating on the front, and for participant 2 swimming to the wall may have been generalized to floating on the back.
Individuals with feeding disorders may be excluded from social interaction at mealtimes. This study contributes a research based and data driven solution to improve the feeding habits of children with autism within a community clinic environment. Two participants were treated using simultaneous presentation with a fading protocol across three different food groups using multiple baselines. Preferred foods were presented on the spoon simultaneously with a small piece of a new target food and the size of the preferred food was gradually decreased until the child was eating only the target food. Results indicate that the protocol was highly effective for one participant who began to eat a wide range of new foods in daily life, including foods that had not been specifically offered in treatment sessions. The second participant was unable to attend appointments consistently and he did not generalise the treatment effects to daily life. However, he became more willing to try new foods in the clinic environment. This study offers conservative yet promising evidence that for some individuals, simultaneous presentation with a fading protocol may be a useful alternative method for treating feeding disorders when compared to inpatient hospital ABA services.
Feeding problems are common among 24 to 50% in children with typical development this percentage increase up to 89% in children with ASD. Feeding problems that never receive treatment do not change but are more severe with trace of time. Thus, it is important to know how to evaluate and design modification programs in order to decrease the number and severity of feeding problems. In this study, a systematic review was conducted in order to know the most common feeding problems and the kind of method used to evaluate these problems. The search was run in PubMed, Science direct, Scielo and EBSCO databases using the key words feeding problems evaluation, feeding in children with ASD, feeding behavior in children, selective ingestion, pediatric feeding disorders and eating behavior in children with ASD and typical development. The purpose was to classify the articles in one of two categories according to the method used for its evaluation, direct evaluation or indirect evaluation. Results showed articles in at least three common feeding problems, rejecting food, low intake and selectivity. Only one study was conducted in Mexico. It is necessary to start scientific and applied research in this country.
This study was developed to gather data through a survey tool on the current knowledge of practicing teachers regarding Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). As the rate of children diagnosed with ASD continues to increase, it is critical that we evaluate current teacher knowledge on general knowledge of ASD as well as specific areas like Role of Reinforcement, Academics, Social Skills, Communication, Behavioral Supports, Sensory needs and Motor Development. As the needs of children with special needs change, the preparation of teachers must also change. Results from this survey tool provide the readers with critical information regarding how well teacher education programs are preparing teachers for their role in educating students with ASD. The article outlines how the study was conducted, participant demographics and specific results in terms of trends across a variety of demographic variables. These variables include urban versus rural schools, socio-economic status, professional experiences and types of teaching environments. Specific data trends will also be identified in regards to the knowledge of and application evidenced based practices across the domains outlined.
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges and often require intensive support in schools. Unfortunately, evidence-based interventions for children with ASD are rarely implemented in school settings. Barriers to implementation are fueled by two often competing requirements of interventions: that they must address multiple skills or behaviors but also be flexible enough to accommodate both individual student needs and diverse school contexts. Students with Autism Accessing General Education (SAAGE) uses a systems approach to provide individualized interventions grounded in behavior analysis to students with ASD. The model employs active coaching and collaboration to build educator capacity by implementing intervention modules that are based on evidence-based practices to address the core and associated features of ASD. In this poster presentation, we provide an overview of SAAGE and present the results of a year-long feasibility study across 9 public schools in the United States. Overall, coaches and educators implemented SAAGE with acceptable levels of fidelity, and educators provided positive acceptability ratings of the process. Preliminary results indicate that modular interventions may be a feasible approach to supporting students with ASD. Intervention outcomes from one student-teacher dyad will also be presented as an exemplar.
The purpose of this study was to gather information regarding current Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) training and practices in educational environments (K-12) . Functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) are used to identify the function of challenging behaviors within the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA) (Smith et al., 2012). Accurate identification of the function of challenging behavior exhibited by an individual informs the development of effective treatment and instructional interventions (Beaver et al., 2013; Smith et al, 2012). The use of the FBA to assess behavior function has been adopted in policies and regulations at the organizational, state and federal levels in early intervention, school age, and adult services. In a number of settings, however, qualified behavior analysts are not conducting these assessments. In many schools, school counselors, special education teachers, school psychologists and other personnel are responsible for contributing to or developing the FBA (Villalba, 2005). In their discussion of the FBA process in schools, Conroy, Alter & Scott (2009) concluded that "FBA training provided has not been sufficient to develop the necessary skill level needed for school staff to implement these complex practices, and there is a dearth of studies related to training in school settings" (p. 134). In any effort to improve the effectiveness of behavioral interventions in school settings, it is vital to ascertain the level of proficiency and familiarity of those who will be conducting the FBA. Competence in conducting FBAs is an essential first step in developing effective intervention. Only when accurate FBAs are conducted is it be possible to develop supports and interventions that address the function(s) of behaviors that are considered challenging or that are limiting the quality of life of the individual. If it is unclear what level of training school personnel have; it would be important to understand the level of training, understanding and comfort with the FBA process by those commanded to complete it. The present pilot study used an anonymous online survey to assess the educational staff's preparation and comfort responding to student needs related to challenging behavior and their districts' FBA process in five school districts (N=177) representing rural, suburban and small city schools.
Metabolic Syndrome is a cluster of risk factors that raise an individual's risk for developing diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other health problems. These risk factors include: low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, high fasting blood glucose, high triglycerides, high BMI, and a large waistline. Metabolic Syndrome has become a more prominent topic in child and adolescent psychiatry with the increase in the prescription of antipsychotic drugs. Numerous studies have found the differential prevalence of metabolic syndrome associated with atypical antipsychotic drugs. In fact, atypical antipsychotics carry an FDA warning about metabolic risk. Specifically, there have been higher effects noted for antipsychotic medication on triglycerides, glucose, weight, and waist circumference. Many insurance companies now require monitoring for Metabolic Syndrome by psychiatric prescribers be performed and documented in the medical record. Additionally, it has been estimated that 80% of children and adolescents who are prescribed psychotropic medication are prescribed three or more medications (Connor & McLaughlin, 2005) and polypharmacy is common and increasing in routine psychiatric practice (Duffy et al. 2005). Often, these medication packages include more than one drug with metabolic abnormalities as a side effect. Antipsychotic drugs are among the class of psychotropic medications most commonly prescribed to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This, in conjunction with the growing polypharmacy epidemic, makes efforts to reduce polypharmacy in the ASD population even more crucial. In clinical practice, psychiatric practitioners and behavior analysts often make changes to an individuals' medication and behavioral treatment package without much collaboration between the two disciplines. Integrated efforts in the fields of psychiatry and behavior analysis are sparse in both research literatures as well as in applied settings. The Residential Treatment Facility (RTF) at Melmark specializes in the assessment and treatment of severe and treatment resistant challenging behavior for children with intellectual disability and co-morbid psychiatric/neurological disorders. The RTF provides intensive clinical services, using applied behavior analysis (ABA), as well as comprehensive psychiatric and rehabilitative care within a short-term residential placement. Data collection occurs 24 hours a day and is reviewed on an ongoing basis by a multidisciplinary team representing the fields of behavior analysis, psychiatry, psychology, and healthcare. This poster is an expansion of a previous retrospective analysis that looked at both reductions in polypharmacy as well as high risk challenging behavior within an ABA treatment model. This poster furthers that work to include the effect of reducing polypharmacy on specific metabolic risk factors including: weight, BMI, triglycerides, HbgA1C, and cholesterol. The poster will present retrospective medication, behavioral, and laboratory data from 48 individuals. Systematic manipulation of medication packages and dosage changes with frequent review and collaboration between clinicians and psychiatric practitioners, in conjunction with intensive behavioral intervention, led to a decrease in both challenging behavior as well as polypharmacy. Additionally, these efforts led to reductions in individuals' BMI, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HgbA1C as well as increases in HDL cholesterol. This poster serves to illustrate that targeted efforts to reduce polypharmacy within a structured ABA program can result in reductions the development of Metabolic Syndrome, while simultaneously achieving decreases in targeted high risk challenging behaviors.
Within the medical and social sciences communities, there has been a growing awareness over a number of years that exposure to traumatic events can have a significant impact on the person so exposed; given their characteristic behaviors, individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are particularly susceptible. As a concept that crosses several clinical fields, Trauma Informed Care (TIC) has grown in the number of published articles devoted to it, as well as in the resources allocated to provide TIC. As yet however, the field of Applied Behavior Analysis has not focused on this area in its published literature. We will briefly discuss the conceptualization of trauma from the existing non-behavioral clinical literature. We will then offer an alternative conceptualization of trauma based on empirically derived behavioral principles in order to develop a framework where behavior analysts can contribute our expertise. We will also highlight where treatment based on the principles and practices of Applied Behavior Analysis can be used to better define, understand, and effectively treat individuals with ASD who have experienced trauma.
Intraverbals are a type of verbal behavior that occurs when a verbal stimulus evokes a verbal response that has no point-to-point correspondence or formal similarity with the verbal stimulus (Skinner, 1957). One teaching procedure used to establish intraverbal skills is transfer of stimulus control procedure. Although a number of research studies have shown that transfer of stimulus control procedures appeared to be effective in teaching intraverbals for children with ASD, the gains observed in the training did not transfer, or generalize, to other people and settings. In this study, the researcher investigated the effects of transfer of stimulus control procedures and a peer prompting procedure on the acquisition and generalization of intraverbals across peers without disabilities using a multiple baseline across three conversation scripts design. Two children with ASD and four typically-developing children participated in this study. Upon the intervention, both participants demonstrated increased contextually-appropriate intraverbal responses in a few sessions. Results also indicated that the combined approach showed promising generalization outcomes related to increases in correct intraverbals. Additionally, both participants required decreased number of adult-delivered prompts to converse with their peers during peer prompting sessions, indicating that they would maintain social interaction in the teachers absence.
The number of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are raised in a bilingual environment has increased worldwide. Unfortunately, previous studies have not focus on this population. The purpose of this study was to examine whether utilizing mother language would facilitate the acquisition of the Japanese language for a child with ASD. A non-verbal 4-year-old boy with ASD in a Japanese and Russian language environment participated in this study. We used incidental teaching procedures to teach the child to request for desired items in the Japanese language. We conducted pronunciation assessment to identify the childs pronounceable sounds (PS) and hardly pronounceable sounds (HPS) in the mother language and Japanese. We utilized multiple-probe design across settings and cumulative record to analyze the acquisition difference between the items with PS and HPS. The results of this study showed that the childs request in the Japanese language for 4 items maintained for a month after the end of training. The child acquired the full spontaneous request for items with PS faster than HPS. This research provides an evidence to develop a teaching procedure to enhance communication skills for children with ASD in a bilingual environment.
The study examined the effectiveness of a teaching procedure developed to increase vocal verbal behavior in two preschoolers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The independent variable in the study was participants' emissions of pure tacts as defined as emitting vocal behavior corresponding to a stimulus, without a vocal antecedent. The dependent variable involved a tact teaching procedure incorporating shifting selection based responses to independent, pure tacts evoked by the presence of the environmental stimulus. The results of the study showed an increase in the frequency of pure tacts following the tact teaching procedure for both participants compared to baseline levels of responding. A multiple baseline design across participants was used and a functional relationship was demonstrated. The results of the study were discussed in terms of increasing "spontaneous language" in children with autism spectrum disorder.
While the number of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) is increasing, there is a critical shortage of BCBAs in many areas. As a result, individuals may be employed as behavior therapists despite a lack of training in applied behavior analysis (ABA). Without additional training, the services provided by these therapists might not be ideal. This presentation reports the results of a study conducted with behavior therapists enrolled in a distance Master of Special Education program in the southern United States. The course was part of a Verified Course Sequence, and all participants provided ABA services to clients with autism. The purpose of this research was to improve the skills of the therapists through video analysis, an intervention which required the participants to record and view videos of themselves delivering ABA services to clients for the purpose of self-improvement. To increase the social validity and generalizability of the study, the participants self-selected target behaviors and implemented all steps of the single-case study independently. The results of the study were positive and indicated that all participants were not only able to improve their skills in ABA but also maintain these skills and generalize them to a second target behavior.
Students with autism often receive support from paraprofessionals when little to no empirical evidence exists to support their use. Conversely, there is a large body of literature on the use of peer mediated instruction to increase social skills in individuals with autism. Support from paraprofessionals can be an inefficient system when promoting true academic success, as well as stigmatizing and often costly. Peer supports have successfully been used to increase academic and social skills in individuals with different disabilities, as well as social skills in individuals with autism, suggesting it could be a useful strategy to increase academic skills as well. A Tau-U for effect size was run to determine significance to add to the literature. Meta- analysis results for the eleven studies will be discussed including implications for practice and directions for future research.
Precision teaching is an evluative method that allows the measurement of teaching. One key elements of precision teaching is building fluent responding, characterized by accuracy and speed. Displaying fluent behavior has shown positive outcomes including retention, endurance, and application. A lack of fluency limits learners ability to apply what they have learned in schools. Many children with autism spectrum disorder display behavioral dysfluency that may prohibit advancement in both social and educational settings. The addition of fluency instruction to behavioral treatment of children with autism may be one particularly effective intervention to remediate fluency deficits. The purpose of this paper was to conduct a search for articles published in peer-reviewed journals that investigated the effectiveness of fluency based instruction for children with autism ages three through 21. Eight single-subject studies and 25 participants were coded according to a number of variables. Results of the review suggested that fluency based instruction was effective in teaching skills including reading, math, and communication skills for children with autism. The researcher describes strenghts and weaknesses of the reviewed studies, shares conclusions about efficacy of fluency based instruction and implications for practice, and proposes directions for future research.
The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of interactive whiteboard instruction on early numeracy skills of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Four students diagnosed with ASD between the ages of five to seven years old participated. They were taught early numeracy skills, specifically one-to-one correspondence and representation of numbers, using an interactive whiteboard (IAW) and discrete trial training (DTT). A multiple probe design across subjects was used to determine the effectiveness of the IAW instruction. It was predicted that students with ASD would acquire, maintain, and generalize the early numeracy skills taught using the IAW. Results revealed the IAW with DTT was effective for teaching early numeracy skills to students with ASD. The introduction of the intervention resulted in all participants meeting the established criteria. All students generalized the target early numeracy skills to a different setting and with different materials and the results were maintained over time. The findings of the study support the effectiveness of the IAW, coupled with DTT, to teach early numeracy skills to students with ASD. This study met the evidence standards for single case design addressed by What Works Clearinghouse. Implications for practice include the consideration of using the IAW to teach a variety of academic skills as well as developing interactive lessons based on each students needs. Future research should focus on generalization of skills gained using IAW instruction.
In the current study, an evaluation of using stimulus prompts for teaching receptive identification to students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder was conducted. Researchers conducted the study in a school setting. An alternating treatment design was used to compare the effectiveness of redundancy stimulus prompts and positional stimulus prompts.
Motor deficits can be fundamentally associated with the core symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This study was designed to examine the relationships between sociability and gross motor skill learning in a two-week physical activity (PA) program in China, using Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching (CPRT) as the intervention strategy. Participants were 15 male Chinese children with ASD (ages=8-12 years). Their gross motor skills were measured with the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 (TGMD) and their sociability was evaluated with the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) - Chinese version. Paired T tests revealed significant improvements on the TGMD scores after the program. To explore whether participants who were discrepant in their SCQ would respond differently to PA, we separated the participants on the basis of their SCQ Z-scores. Two subsequent regression analyses with the posttest TGMD as the dependent variable, and the pretest TGMD and SCQ as predictors revealed that SCQ was related to the posttest TGMD only within the group of high SCQ. Findings overall support the effects of PA on motor skill acquisition. Under CPRT strategy, children with high social-communication deficiency are more likely to show improvement on gross motor skills.
Robots, virtual environments and other computer based technologies are increasingly using to teach social skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Limited studies used robotic systems to explore the development of joint attention for children with autism. Findings show that, robotic systems have positive effects on increasing interaction skills in children with ASD. However, a few studies conducted to investigated what type of interactions they can afford when they saw a human with ordinary appearance and a life size robot appearance. Participants showed higher scores when the human appeared in robot costume. However, further researches are still needed in this area. Therefore, in this study, we focus on investigating how children with autism respond in two conditions with different appearances of a human; one when the human was dressed as an ordinary human and the other as a robot. 5 children diagnosed with ASD took part in the study. Quantitative methods were used to analyze the data. The findings of this study are consistent with the findings of previous studies. Furthermore, findings will be discussed during sessions as well.
Recent research suggests qualitative and quantitative differences in characteristics of females and males with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), with females demonstrating higher levels of externalizing behaviors, irritability, and fewer restricted repetitive behaviors (Frazier, et al., 2014; Kirkovski et al., 2013), but lower social skills deficits (Baker Van Ommeren et al., 2016). Unique characteristics and needs of females with ASD may necessitate unique intervention targets and intervention approaches. However, although the efficacy of many behavioral interventions is well-established for the general population of students with ASD (e.g., Wong et al., 2014), much less is known about the applicability of those findings to female participants with the disorder. We will describe the findings of a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis of single-case research, using a subsample of studies from the report by National Professional Development Center on ASD (NPDC, Wong et al., 2014). The findings pertaining to the following areas will be discussed: (a) representation of female participants in studies of of behavioral interventions (e.g., number, age, characteristics); (b) representation of females vs. males by intervention characteristics (e.g., type, dependent variables, setting, agent); (c) efficacy of behavioral intervention strategies for females vs. males with ASD. Results suggest similar gender ratios of 4 males to 1 female in studies of behavioral interventions as in general population, with females with ASD without intellectual disability being slightly underrepresented. Females were also underrepresented in studies of certain intervention types (e.g., time delay, discrete trial training) and outcome categories (e.g., social communication). Most interventions were effective for females with ASD. However, due to the low number of studies that included female participants, no intervention can be currently viewed as evidence based (using the Wong et al., 2014, definitions). We call for better representation of female participants in behavioral research, particularly in certain intervention and outcome categories, as well as better reporting of certain participant characteristics (e.g., race, communication skills). We discuss the possible need to modify the existing behavioral interventions to better fit females' characteristics.
The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of exposure and response prevention therapy with a child with Asperger's Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) The study used a changing criterion design with replication across two responses. A preference assessment was conducted along with pre-and-post intervention sessions and baseline. Results showed the participant met the criteria across all three studies with mastery. Keywords: Asperger's Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, ritualistic or repetitive behaviors.
A prior wait-list controlled study showed average group decreases in lability/negativity and behavioral outbursts for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using the Stress and Anger Management Program (STAMP), a developmentally adapted cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). However, individual response rate has not been examined for STAMP and could lend insight into ways to improve treatment for non-responders. We examined individual-level change in 18 young children (5-7 years old; 89% male) with ASD. Parents completed pre- and post-treatment measures of lability/negativity and related behaviors using a checklist and weekly monitoring. Treatment responders and non-responders were identified based on significant outcomes as assessed by Reliable Change Index for lability/negativity and 20% decrease in intensity, duration, or frequency of behavioral outbursts. Results indicated that 67% of children met criteria as a responder, showing meaningful improvement in at least two outcome measures. Wilcoxon signed rank tests showed significant increases for responders, but not for non-responders, in parent-reported confidence in their own ability and in their childs ability to manage the childs anger and anxiety. Results demonstrated that CBT can significantly decrease behavioral expressions of anger/anxiety in two-thirds of young children with ASD, and suggests need for research targeting parental efficacy to assist non-responders.
Background: Social skill is a multifaceted construct that is thought to be comprised of skills including emotional regulation, executive functioning (i.e., cognitive regulation), and empathy. In typical developing youth, previous studies showed that there were associations between them. Therefore, clarifying the relationship between emotional regulation, executive functioning, and empathy may provide valuable information for improving therapeutic interventions and rehabilitation capable of improving social skills in children. However, there has been very limited research investigating the relationship between emotion regulation, executive functioning, and empathy in children with autism. To address this research gap, the current study tested a model that explored if executive functioning mediates the relationship between empathy and emotion regulation in a population of children with autism. Methods: Participants were recruited from a sample of children diagnosed with ASD who were treated through the Resilience Builder Program, a manualized group therapy intervention conducted in a large private practice. Of these, 29 children (M age = 9.59 years, SD = 1.60; 86.20% male; 79.30% White) provided complete pre- and post-therapy data. Results: The proposed mediation model was analyzed with the Hayes PROCESS module in SPSS. The result indicated that there was a significant indirect effect, b = 1.16, 95% BCa CI [.39, 2.26], R2 = .31, which indicated that executive functioning was a significant mediator that explained 31% of the variance in emotion regulation. Discussion: The mediation model suggested that empathy had a significant effect in the development of emotion regulation in autistic children, and executive functioning served as one of the significant pathways that this relation occurred. This model could provide some insight for future studies of the mechanism of empathetic deficits in ASD and for designing new training plans. Specifically, our results suggested that treatments aimed at improving emotion regulation abilities in ASD children might focus more on trainings of empathetic abilities which contain executive functioning components.
Children with autism often display fearful responses and avoidant behavior during activities that are necessary for adaptive functioning, including hygienic routines. The participant in this study was an 11-year-old child with autism who, for many years, demonstrated anxiety and escape-related problem behaviors each time his family attempted to trim his hair using hair-clippers. This study evaluated the effectiveness of graduated exposure combined with differential reinforcement in eliminating the occurrence of avoidant behavior towards haircuts in a child with autism. The intervention was divided into three phases. Each phase included a gradual hierarchy of steps. The absence of avoidant behaviors at the completion of each step was required to advance to the next step. A changing criterion design was used to assess intervention effects. Results suggest the intervention was successful in reducing the participant�s avoidant behavior during haircuts. Treatment and results were generalized to the child�s mother in the school setting.
Texas State University Autism Summer Camp Abstract Texas State University Autism Summer Camp is the first of its kind in San Marcos, Texas. Established in 2010, this camp is a partnership between the Texas State University's Department of Health and Human Performance and San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District. This camp provides many children access to a quality summer camp experience designed to accommodate the special needs of children with autism. No child has been turned down because of the severity of his/her disability. Since 2010, this camp has provided a place for recreational activities for the underserved children with autism and hands-on experimental learning opportunities to Texas State University students. It has provided over 400 children with autism aged 4-12 living in San Marcos and its surrounding areas the opportunity to participate in a developmentally appropriate therapeutic summer program. About 40 Texas State students every year volunteer at the camp as part of a service-learning project providing involved students with experiential learning to meet genuine community needs. Every summer, Texas State University students serve over 3000 hours as camp counselors, work with children with autism one-on-one and assist in a daily activities like dance, music, games, swimming, drumming, yoga, and many other therapeutic exercises.
Reports of a recent national survey showed that young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at higher risk for unemployment than young adults with other disabilities (Shattuck et al., 2012). A successful job interview contributes to gainful employment, but individuals with ASD struggle with interviewing skills (Hendricks, 2010). Previous research has focused on training programs to teach job-interviewing skills, but few studies have evaluated procedures to improve responses to interview questions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of individual components of an interview-training package on responses to eight commonly asked interview questions by young adults with ASD. We used a multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate the impact of: 1) written instructions, 2) rehearsal and video self-feedback using a commercially available program, and 3) verbal feedback from a trainer. A generalization probe was conducted by a career counselor not involved in the study. Results show all participants required a remedial behavioral skills training session to answer all eight interview questions with accuracy. The skills generalized to an interview with a novel trainer and were maintained at follow-up. We will discuss the limited impact of each training component and areas for future research.
Due to the shortage of ABA line therapists in the community, there are still many families and individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities who are not receiving services to improve skills and behaviors. One of the goals of The Autism Program at the University of Illinois has been to train undergraduates across several different majors about autism and the evidence-based practices that improve outcomes for individuals with autism and their families. In 2017, The Autism Program made the decision to provide additional training to these undergraduate interns in order to teach them about Applied Behavior Analysis and to prepare them for careers directly or indirectly related to ABA services. The knowledge and skills related to autism and ABA and the projected career path of the interns were assessed before and after the internship experience. Results will be presented within this poster. Through direct experiences through locale agencies, RBT online training, practice sessions, and supervision by a BCBA-D, undergraduate interns have shown a change in career focus and interests, successfully passed the RBT examination, and become employed in agencies that provide ABA services. Through the efforts of The Autism Program at the University of Illinois to train individuals who may choose to enter ABA practitioner careers, thus providing individuals with autism and their families more access to quality services.
The teaching interaction procedure (TIP) is an evidence based procedure that has been utilized for the development of social skills. The TIP consists of labeling the targeted skill, providing a meaningful rationale for the importance of the skill, describing the steps of the targeted skill, modeling how the skill, and providing feedback throughout the TIP. Although the TIP has been used to teach a variety of social skills for children and adolescents diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or other social and behavioral disorders, its use has not been evaluated to train staff. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of a TIP to teach three interventionists the skills to implement a TIP to target the development of social skills for children diagnosed with ASD. The results of a multiple baseline design showed the TIP was effective at teaching all three interventionists how to implement a TIP with children diagnosed with ASD.
Parents who have a child with autism are confronted with situations affecting their well-being and their family life (Hurson, Pyne, & Kovacs, et al., 2014). Several studies underscore the need to intervene with them to help them adapt to the difficulties encountered (Karst, & Hecke, 2012). Training sessions have been developed to enhance their knowledge of the characteristics of people with autism and of effective educational practices (Bearss, Burrell, Stewart, & Scahill, 2015). Some studies (Jang, 2012; Vismara et al., 2012) report certain obstacles concerning these training sessions and propose an innovative development, through digital versions (Sanders et al., 2012). Enabling access to at-home training, online training is becoming an interesting and suitable modality. The program evaluated was offered to parents of children under six years old with autism, mostly on waiting lists for Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention services. In this mixed-design study, data were collected from 15 parents having completed the training. The results show the parents satisfaction concerning: content, learning of new concepts, relevance of the themes, and accessibility of the site. The analysis supports the social validity of the program and helps pinpoint some challenges and some conditions required for its implementation.
Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is one of the most widely used methods of intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While there is extensive research on ABA, it is unclear whether families are knowledgeable regarding its practice. We asked caregivers’ to rate their knowledge of ABA and report the source of said knowledge. Respondents were from across Ontario, with children ranging from birth to adulthood (n = 2,155). Using a 5-point likert scale we found that most caregivers reported being “somewhat knowledgeable,” see Figure 1. The most frequently cited sources were “Self-taught” (58.5%) and “Professionals” (58%). The least frequently cited source was “Other Ministries, Community and Social Service, Education, etc.” (8.2%), see figure 2. There was a significant difference in caregiver knowledge based on child’s age, F(3, 2,177) = 14.239, p < 0.001) with caregivers of children under 5 and over 18 reporting knowing less than caregivers of children between 5 and 17. There were also significant differences based on how families access ABA services, with those who pay privately reporting a higher level of knowledge F(1, 2,145) = 58.026, p < 0.001). The results will be discussed in the important context of knowledge translation and dissemination in relation to ABA and methods of caregiver engagement. There will be a focus on using this data to inform how ABA is discussed with families and the community at large.
Curriculum-based evaluation (CBE) has strong support in professional literature for K- 12 populations. Application of the technology is relevant in higher education, especially special education preparation. This presentation describes the process and results of research designed to identify and provide support to candidates who are at risk for program incompletion. CBE is a sophisticated assessment, instruction and evaluation framework, employing complex decision making processes and serves as a means of gaining reliable and valid data in a timely manner. For a CBE system to work, candidates must be able to be assessed in content areas repeatedly and easily so that teachers can make immediate and accurate decisions about the effectiveness of instruction and/or accommodation and modifications. Faculty participated in multiple steps, identifying key vocabulary terms representing concepts and knowledge. The corpus consisted of approximately 1,000 terms and definitions. A total of 100 words were randomly selected from the corpus for each administration across the program. Candidates matched the terms to the definitions as quickly as possible. Faculty noted that the assessment differentiated candidates progress in knowledge of vocabulary. Faculty also noted that individual scores supported instructors' perception of candidates progress throughout the program and were consistent with exam scores.
The Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology (RUPP) Autism Network developed a parent-training (PT) manual for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The manual contains clinician-administered sessions that teach caregivers behavioral interventions for child disruptive behavior. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) indicate that PT is efficacious for reducing disruptive behavior in children with ASD in research settings. Clinicians at the University of Rochester have been administering an adaptation of the RUPP PT intervention within a clinic setting (N=50 children with ASD and other developmental disorders). The current investigation aimed to (a) compare implementation in the current clinic setting to implementation in a previous RCT (Bearss et al., 2015) and (b) explore the effectiveness of the clinic-based intervention, despite protocol differences. Overall, we found some differences in the children who were served and the sessions that were selected. Nevertheless, disruptive behavior, assessed by the Home Situations Questionnaire-ASD, decreased by an average of 40% in clinic children, comparable to the average decrease of 35% in the RCT. Limitations of the current investigation include missing data and absence of a comparison group, but the results provide preliminary support for using PT in a clinic setting and indicate that additional investigation is warranted.
LiftEd is a mobile academic, functional skill and behavior tracking application for special education professionals. The application provides a comprehensive system for tracking, scoring, and analyzing learning based upon the principles of applied behavior analysis. LiftEd was designed upon the premise that best practices in service delivery for learners with autism should incorporate educational technology. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects implementing digital data collection on student learning and staff performance. LiftEd was implemented as a data collection intervention within diverse special education settings that support learners with autism across three major U.S. cities. Implications for the integration of LiftEd as a replacement to paper-based data collection systems were assessed across 100 + student and staff participants. The results of the study demonstrated that LiftEd accelerated learning outcomes for learners with autism and decreased the amount of training needed for paraprofessional staff to effectively deliver instruction and reliably monitor student learning. The results of the LiftEd intervention indicate that learning can be accelerated and practitioner training can be conducted more efficiently, ultimately promoting treatment integrity. The implications of the study help to identify best practices in instruction for individuals with autism through the use of educational technology.
The current study involves a review of published studies involving higher functioning people with autism. Over the last 20 years, many societal developments towards inclusion of people with autism have led to changes in legal frameworks, education and policy, school curricula and teaching methods, as well as changes in attitudes and knowledge on autism in educators, parents, employers, and professionals. These changes are reported to have had several effects on actual inclusion of people with autism in mainstream education and employment and inclusion related issues such as how to adequately educate and train people with and without autism to further facilitate inclusion. Also, higher functioning people with autism are also of interest to society due to economic benefits of many of talent. The object of the current review is to investigate whether these aforementioned developments can be traced by changes in the number, nature and aims of published research involving higher functioning people with autism1. Method: Web of Science and PubMed and relevant conference abstracts were systematically searched to identify experimental and applied studies involving higher functioning people with autism. Results: will become available Medio November 20172and will be presented by means of VOS-viewer images, bar charts and graphs. 1.(1) a cumulative increase in the number of publications on higher functioning people with autism (and whether this is significantly higher than for average or lower functioning autism); (2) the nature of journal studies a) from clinical and disability to educational and employment related scientific journals, and b) from psychiatric to more applied behaviour analysis journals; (3) the aims of studies over the years, not only aims to decrease of problem behaviours but also to increase behaviours and skills that facilitate quality participation. 2. The review is part of a larger research project for the Dutch government on Diversity & Autism, Ministry of Science and Education, the Netherlands).
Naturalistic interventions have been described as an evidence-based practice for children, youth and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Wong et al., 2014). However, the information concerning the specific use of naturalistic intervention for very young children with ASD is limited. This study aims, as to review the studies addressing the use of naturalistic intervention for young children with ASD. Method: A literature search was conducted to document the use of naturalistic intervention with ASD children under 6 years old. The research strategy replicated the one used by Wong et al. for published articles from 1990 to 2011, with an update for articles published from 2012 to 2016, and the addition of specific intervention strategy key-words. A total of 78 articles were retained after a first reading of titles and abstracts. Among those 78 articles, 61 were excluded because they did not meet all the selection criteria. The analysis includes information about age, developmental domains and strategies. Results: The 17 naturalistic intervention studies analysis reported effects on many developmental domains: social, communication, behavior, joint attention, play skills, academic and autonomy. It also showed that this type of strategy includes multiple components and is commonly accompanied by other instructional methods.
Given their role as a family member, friend, and even caregiver -- siblings are uniquely qualified in supporting their brothers and sisters with autism. Though few in number, studies have demonstrated how siblings can increase and improve the social and communication abilities of their brothers and sisters on the spectrum through the implementation of behavioral interventions. Using research-based programs such as video and live modeling and cueing, researchers have trained siblings three to thirteen years old as interventionists. In this added role, not only have siblings built their repertoire of behavior analytic strategies, but they have served as appropriate models and significantly helped their brothers and sisters increase reciprocal interaction and play abilities. With the added positive effect of improving the siblings relationships with one another, this review suggests furthering research and practitioners inclusion of siblings in behavior therapy to offer an additional and valuable resource that enhances the lives of children with autism.
Despite advances in evidence-based treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD),improving access to quality services remains a serious concern. Treatment models often require parents to commute to a clinic or have a clinician visit their home many hours per week. This format is not feasible for families who live in remote areas or do not have the resources to travel. To address this, recent studies have begun to explore parent-implemented interventions via an online format. This study examined a 6-week online course designed to help parents implement Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) with their child. Participants consisted of 20 toddlers with ASD ages 8-48 months. Brief presentations consisting of informational slides, videos, and quizzes were delivered through Qualtrics each week. Topics focused on strategies to elicit social engagement through playful interactions, child-selected materials, and positive behavior principles. Parents submitted weekly videos capturing their use of treatment strategies, which were coded for fidelity of implementation. Preliminary data from 3 families who have completed the course indicates that treatment fidelity significantly improved following intervention. These results suggest that an online intervention may be a feasible approach to disseminating PRT strategies. This innovative format has the potential to reduce disparities in access to evidence-based intervention.
Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show deficits in reciprocal social interaction, imitation, and empathy due to weaknesses in social skills. Students with ASD typically have very narrow interests and show deficits in engaging in recreational activities that involve social interactions with their peers. Board games involves appropriate turn taking and reciprocal social conversation. Most of the time students with ASD do not maintain long conversation and will usually answer in short phrases with prompts with others. Most of the time students with ASD fail to participate in playing simple turn taking games and often needs intensive training to accomplish such tasks while maintaining conversation with their peer group members. With visual supports students with ASD do learn such skills of simple conversation. The aim of this poster presentation is to highlight what research says and which practical strategies might work while using board games to improve social interactions of students with ASD in middle school classrooms.
In Quebec, EIBI programs are offered by large-scale community-based services. Rehabilitation centers (RCs) for persons with developmental disabilities (DD) or autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are mandated to offer these services to young children with ASD (MHSS, 2003). However, no specific treatment has been recommended. There is thus no consistency in the way EIBI has been implemented. This communication focuses on the nature of the EIBI models selected by the participating RCs (curriculums, intervention strategies, and parents involvement). Those data are part of a larger research project concerning the implementation and outcomes of EIBI offered by RCs in Quebec. Method: 15 RCs completed a questionnaire (translation and adaptation of Love & al. (2009) and adaptation of Gamache & al. (2010)). Written documents concerning clinical procedures used by each RC were collected and analyzed to describe multiple dimensions of comprehensive treatment models (CTM). Results: 18 program services were described (some RCs reported more than one EIBI model). A diversity of practices was observed. The majority of the RCs used at least one published curriculum and a wide range of intervention strategies. The involvement of parents across treatment planning and intervention phases are presented.
Behavioral and educational intervention service for student with autism in Ethiopia is still primarily provided by the two parent owned autism centers. The primary goal of these center is to address the students behavioral, developmental, social and academic needs, which is an intensive undertaking process that requires many hours each week of different instruction and therapies. In this process, it is crucial to assess intervention response on an individualized basis, especially in a country like Ethiopia where service is offered with limited resources and human power. However, the implementation of assessment to intervention response has received scant attention (Zeleke, Hughes, & Chiytio, 2017). The purpose of this study was to assess the standard and practice of intervention implementing plan for students with ASDs in Ethiopia. Using mixed method, data was collected from 120 students with ASDs, 12 program coordinators, 32 teachers, and 12 parents. Survey questionnaires, direct observation, focus group discussions, and individual interviews were utilized to gather information on the standard and practice of (a) intervention selection, (b) identification of reasonable strength of intervention, (c)implementing the intervention, (d) assessing progress, and (e) applying decision rules to the resulting data. Findings indicate that even though a substantial service provision practice that addresses students behavioral, developmental, social, and academic needs observed, lack of documentation on intervention plan and implemented interventions were marked. Implication on the role of plan implementation and how to assess response to intervention can be used to inform implementing an entitlement process in which services are integrated with assessment and a due process protection for students are discussed.
Sequential presentation and escape extinction are often used to increase consumption of foods in children with food selectivity (e.g., Kern & Marder, 1996). However, there are challenges associated with the implementation of extinction (e.g., extinction bursts; Azrin, Hutchinson, & Hake, 1966), which may make these procedures difficult to implement (e.g., McConnachie & Carr, 1997). Therefore, it is important to evaluate the effects of sequential presentation in the absence of extinction (Bachmeyer, 2009). We evaluated the effects of sequential presentation without extinction with single preferred stimuli (i.e., food, tangible, and attention), a combination of preferred stimuli, and a combination of preferred stimuli with increased access duration with eight children with and without developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders. Results suggest the delivery of a single preferred stimulus was effective for three of eight participants, the combination of stimuli was effective for three of six participants with whom we evaluated this procedure, and escape EXT was necessary for two participants.
Rumination involves the repeated regurgitation of food, spitting out, or the re-chewing and re-swallowing of food that was previously ingested (Severio, Monagas, Noel, & Hyman, 2015). The quality of life of an individual who ruminates could be negatively impacted as rumination can lead to malnutrition, weight loss, tooth decay, upper respiratory distress, halitosis, gastric disorders, aspiration, and choking (Fredricks, Carr, & Williams, 1998; Rhine and Tarbox, 2009; Wilder, Register, Register, Bajagic, & Neidert, 2009). Wilder et al. (2009) evaluated the effectiveness of antecedent-based interventions which resulted in a reduction of rumination. Antecedent-based interventions often involve providing the participant with stimuli, hypothesized to match the sensory reinforcement produced from the rumination response (Favell, McGimsey, & Schell, 1982; Piazza, Adelinis, Hanley, Goh, & Delia, 2000; Wierzba and Tiger, 2017). Piazza et al. (2000) found that providing matched hypothesized sensory consequences of aberrant behavior in comparison to unmatched, resulted in lower levels of the target behavior. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of matched stimuli in comparison to unmatched stimuli to reduce rates of rumination. Our findings suggest that in some cases the presentation of unmatched sensory stimuli may be more effective than matched sensory stimuli when reducing automatically maintained challenging behavior.
Noncompliance in the classroom setting is problematic for all students, and can especially be problematic for students with disabilities. Frequent noncompliance can negatively impact the personal, social, academic, and vocational success of children (Lee, 2005). One antecedent-based intervention that has empirical evidence for successfully increasing compliance is the use of a high-probability request sequence. This intervention involves the presentation of 3-5 requests in rapid succession that the student has a history of complying with, providing reinforcement contingent on compliance, and then issuing the targeted request immediately following the series of high-probability requests (Mace et al., 1988). A reversal design was used to assess the effectiveness of implementing a high-probability request sequence to address noncompliance in the classroom for three elementary students diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Results are displayed in a visual graph and include the percentage of compliant responses and the mean latency to respond to low-probability requests. In addition, generalization across interventionists and social validity measures are provided.
Level systems have been described as a framework which can be used to shape behavior through the systematic application of behavioral principles. Within level systems, an individual moves up and down through various levels contingent upon the emission of specific behaviors. While level systems have been evaluated across a wide variety of settings using group contingences, their use on an individual level has received considerably less attention. Furthermore, to date, the authors are only aware of one study that has utilized a level system with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of a level system to improve synchronous engagement (SE) with two dyads of children diagnosed with ASD. The results of an ABAB reversal design showed that the level system was effective at improving SE for both dyads.
Verbal processing has been proposed to be necessary for associative learning in humans. But there are no published reports of higher-order conditioning that test this hypothesis despite the existence of many behavioral programs for treating verbally deficient autistic children. Here we refuted the necessity of verbal skills for higher-order associative learning by examining conditioning in non-verbal autistic children compared to a control group of normal children. We employed a sensory preconditioning procedure that was quick and used no instructions. CS2-CS1 and CS3-CS4 trials were presented during phase 1, and CS1-US+ and CS3-US- trials were presented during phase 2. The CSs were colored geometric shapes, the US+s were entertaining video clips, and the US- an unpleasant sound. The conditioned response was looking at the location where the US+s had appeared. At test, non-verbal autistic children exhibited greater conditioned responding to CS2 than did normal children. Thus, verbal processing might be viewed as having a disruptive influence on the formation of associations and it seems to be unnecessary for associative learning. Moreover, the higher-order conditioning observed with eye-tracking systems in nonverbal autistic children could provide an opportuniy to develop behavioral programs based on sensory preconditioning tasks to enhance their abilities quickly and avoid the use of instructions.
With nearly all US states now having insurance autism mandates, more and more providers are turning to health plans as the primary funder of ABA services for Autism. This talk will lay out a template describing what providers need to know when facing insurance denials. We will use specific, real life cases and discuss how providers can address them. We start by looking at the specific written reason given for denial. Common reasons which we routinely encounter, many of which will be discussed include location (school vs home), disputes about hours of coverage, duration of the program, not benefitting from services, no longer needing services, parental involvement, as well as disputes about payment and coverage. When reviewing reports, health plans often look for descriptions of progress balanced with continued description of deficit and need. This can be highlighted in the appeal, depending on the stated reason for denial. Health plans typically cite their own guidelines in issuing denials, some of which are overly restrictive. A series of recent legal actions have brought some of this to attention -- shortcomings can be addressed and guidelines developed by professional bodies can be cited instead. When and what type of literature to cite and/or include will also be discussed. Even when done right, health plans typically uphold their own denials. Often the external review process is where "real justice" occurs. We will discuss what to include with external reviews, how the process works, and what types of plans are typically supported. Buiding relationships with state regulators and legislators is important. Finally, we will examine some of the laws which confer protection, including the Federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, and many sections in the Affordable Care Act.
Autistic traits may display a continuous distribution throughout the population. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of autistic traits occurring in university students and look for possible cognitive or behavioral differences between students of different study programs, as well as correlations with the biomarker 2D:4D. The AQ-10 was used as a quick screening tool in a sample of 369 Slovak university students (102 males and 267 females; mean age 21.9 years) of four programs: medicine, philosophy, natural sciences and management. There were no statistically significant differences in the frequency of autistic traits between students of different specializations, nor did we prove that sex of the students would play a role in the occurrence of autistic traits. No correlation between the AQ-10 score and the second to fourth finger ratio could be found. The 2D:4D ration proved to be significantly lower in males than in females in both right hand (mean: 0.96) and left hand (mean: 0.97) with an even greater difference when comparing neurotypic males with boys with ASD (mean: 0.95). This leads to the suggestion whether the AQ-10 is discriminative enough to be used as a reliable screening tool.
The field of Precision Teaching (PT) has long been synonymous with structured rate-building, often in the context of academic targets such as reading and arithmetic. While fluency is not marked by high rates per se, but rather application, endurance, and retention, many of the examples provided in PT literature are examples of high-rate academic learning targets. However, a little-known project of Ogden Lindsleys called The Behavior Bank may have been a technology which could carry PT principles far beyond rate-building for academic targets. This project was well ahead of its time in the 1960s. It was set up to be an international computer bank containing a large amount of information on a myriad of human behavior and performances. At the time, it was extremely costly (they had to rent time on a mainframe to input records) and did not gather the momentum needed. These issues will be explored, and will be exemplified through discussion of a broadly-applicable assessment tool currently in development at High Sierra Industries.
Fifty to 100% of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) experience difficulties with motor skills. Motor deficits can affect children's abilities to participate in physical activity and may also reduce opportunities for social engagement. Previous reports suggest that yoga may be an effective medium for improving motor skills in this population; however, instructional methods have been inconsistent or inadequately described. The present study used an AB design to implement an in-home yoga intervention and to examine its effects on the general motor skills of a 14-year-old with ASD. Yoga poses were instructed using a least-to-most prompt hierarchy. General motor skills were assessed pre- and post-study using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency Second Edition (BOT-2). Differential performance of yoga poses and upper-extremity muscle strength were systematically measured, the former through video-coding by trained, independent raters, the latter via a hand dynamometer. Preliminary visual analysis of the data suggests improvements in muscle strength, performance of yoga poses, and general motor skills. Yoga may offer a socially acceptable medium for improving motor skills and increasing physical engagement in children with ASD.
The explanation for self-injurious behavior (SIB) remains controversial and can often assumed to be related to an automatic function once other possibilities have been systematically ruled out. One hypothesis relates to whether SIB is influenced, or influences, biophysical activity and there are two competing theories in reference to physiological states of the person. These hypotheses suggest that individuals engage in SIB in order to regulate their arousal state-to either activate or reduce the activity of the central or peripheral nervous systems. Often the measurement of arousal states focuses on heart rate, but also in other areas such as salivary cortisol, and (electroencephalogram) brain activity. This study evaluated the patterns of heart rate in relation to various environmental contexts and activities. A 20 year old man with severe autism, and a significant history of severe SIB preceded by specific vocal perseverations wore a device on his wrist that measured heart rate while observers recorded these data throughout his program day for several weeks. Data collection focused on specific activities in which he was engaged (e.g. free time, demand situations, transitions). It is expected that the data will result in a marked difference in heart rate immediately preceding instances of the specific vocal perseverations, providing an indication that SIB is likely to occur, where no other obvious indication had been observed.
Individuals on the autism spectrum have difficulty forming and maintaining friendships or social connections with others (Rotheram-Fuller, Kasari, Chamberlain, & Locke, 2010). Some challenges that individuals on the spectrum face is a lack of initiation of interactions, difficulty interpreting both verbal and nonverbal cues, social pragmatics, perseveration on specific topics, difficulty interpreting nonliteral language, and impaired theory of mind (Weiss & Harris, 2001; Kransy, Williams, Povencal, & Ozonoff, 2003; Kerbel & Grunwell, 1998). These individuals often desire friendships and express loneliness and discontentment (Bauminger & Kasari, 2000). They are typically very much aware of the social challenges that they face, but have difficulty adapting to other peoples social expectations (Knott, Dunlop, & McKay, 2006). Challenges in maintaining social skills may lead to other difficulties including academic/occupational underachievement and mood and/or anxiety related challenges (Howlin & Goode, 1998). The friendship model was designed to promote the use of materials intended to facilitate social interactions and promote behaviors associated with successful friendships. The friendship model operationally defines different levels of types of friendships by dividing them into acquaintances, causal friends, good friends, and best friends. Characteristics of each level of friendship, such as how often you talk and what you should talk about, are clearly defined. Furthermore, it emphasis feasibility, respect, interest, empathy, nurturing, and diligence as qualities that are imperative for the formation and maintenance of friendships. Friendship formation is approached in a step by step model in order to target appropriate social boundaries and relationship progression. Social Scripts and Stories emphasizing the components of friendship are used to facilitate the development of these skills. They are used in conjunction with the friendship model in order to facilitate understanding of social attributes impacting friendship. The following intervention methods have the potential to be implemented: -Operationally defining friendship characteristics in a manner easily understandable to individuals on the autism spectrum. Specific aspects such as how much time to spend together, duration of conversation, and topics discussed are operationally defined. Intervention methods: -Providing scripts for social interactions, varied in order to enforce flexibility. -Presenting social relationships in a novel, quantifiable manner. Teaching individuals with social challenges to quantify the quality of friendships. -Generalization of turn taking to complex areas of social functioning such as communication by phone and sharing stories. -Empirically validated tools including social stories and role plays to promote social functioning. -Self-monitoring social behaviors in order to improve the quality of outcomes or consequences. -Teaches individuals to define the functions of bullying and other problem behaviors in others, and to respond according to the function.
This present study combined the use of differential reinforcement of other behaviors (DRO) with a response-based token economy system and a response cost to reduce motor and vocal stereotypy in a seven-year-old learner with autism. A whole-interval DRO procedure was initially implemented as an intervention for stereotypy reduction, with a separate motivational system used for correct responding during various skills acquisition tasks. Although this intervention was successful in decreasing stereotypy, appropriate responding to the skill acquisition tasks also markedly decreased. A response-based DRO procedure, combined with a motivational system and response cost, was then introduced. Correct responses to skill acquisition tasks in the absence of motor and vocal stereotypy were reinforced on an FR1 schedule. Any instance of motor or vocal stereotypy resulted in the removal of all tokens. After five sessions, the learner�s responses to skill acquisition tasks increased by 91%, with 45% of total skill acquisition tasks meeting mastery criterion. Overall, these results suggest the use of a response-based DRO motivational system with response cost to be an effective treatment in both the reduction of motor and vocal stereotypy and an increase in appropriate skills. Recommendations for reinforcement schedule thinning are also discussed.
