Association for Behavior Analysis International

Behavior analysts have been successful in teaching young children with autism language, social, and adaptive behavior skills under specialized conditions. However, we should continue to focus our efforts on helping children to perform these skills independently across settings with various behavior demands. Many young children with autism spectrum disorders are being included in public school settings with various levels of adult support. Often children with autism are removed from the classroom for specialized instruction. If children are absent from ongoing classroom activities, this may preclude them from experiencing many social and educational opportunities. When children with autism are able to perform more skills independently, including working or playing in groups, making transitions within and across activity settings and participating in inclusive educational settings, they may be more likely to encounter natural communities of reinforcement. This presentation will focus on empirically validated strategies for teaching young children with autism independent performance skills.

A core deficit in children with autism is their lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people. Joint attention involves two people actively sharing attention with respect to an object or event. Young children with autism may fail to develop this meaningful skill. For example, children with autism may not point to objects of interest or show toys to their parents. In addition, some children may fail to engage in reciprocal exchanges of conversation or initiate comments about interesting events in order to share information. This presentation will review responses that comprise joint attention and reciprocal language, and outline research-based strategies to teach these important skills. Video-taped examples will illustrate responses and teaching interventions.

This session will provide an overview of several pivotal response interventions, which attempt to identify pivotal areas that, when changed, result in positive changes in other areas. Pivotal areas discussed include responsivity to multiple cues, motivation to initiate and respond to social and environmental stimuli, and self-regulation of behavior. The trend to streamline intervention by targeting behaviors that will have a widespread effect on development rather than targeting individual behaviors one at a time will be discussed.

Recent years have seen a surge of interest in applied behavior analysis (ABA), particularly as it relates to the treatment of autism. The target of many misconceptions (e.g., ABA interventions produce only rote responding) behavior analysis is a natural science approach to understanding behavior and to change socially important behaviors in meaningful ways. Although the efficacy of interventions based upon the principles of ABA is well documented, one of the many, more persistent misconceptions is that such interventions are applicable only with younger learners. This presentation will provide an overview of efficacy of ABA-based interventions across a variety of skill/instructional domains with older learners. Particular attention will be paid to instructional strategies beyond discrete trial instruction (DTI).

This panel will center on elements of state-of-the-art educational and behavioral intervention for individuals with autism. Special attention will be paid to how ABA teaching strategies can be delivered to enhance the generalization of skills to the natural environment. Furthermore, we will review how social skills can be conceptualized, operationally defined, systematically taught, and evaluated for their social significance. We will also identify strategies to increase independence and reduce reliance on adults. Finally, we will discuss how the concepts of competence and quality of life should shape our intervention efforts when working with adults with autism. The panelists will also consider issues such as dissemination of information regarding best practices in these areas.

Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) is a specialized form of intervention designed for young children with autism, based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). It is considered best practice for young children with autism, based on a body of research literature which has demonstrated superior outcomes relative to less intensive intervention, eclectic intervention, and special education. Yet, outcomes remain highly variable across children. This presentation will make the distinction between efficacy (can it be shown to work under ideal conditions?) and effectiveness (does it work in the real world under typical conditions in community-based services?) and will review what the literature tells us regarding both, as well as the literature on predictors of outcome (why do some children do well but not others?). The presentation will include a discussion of recent and current research on the province-wide, publicly-funded IBI program in Ontario, Canada. Challenges in conducting and interpreting this research will be outlined, as well as implications for practice.

The demand for educational services based on empirically validated instructional strategies has dramatically increased over the last two decades, particularly for students with autism. Both public and private agencies are striving to create new educational programs, and to increase both the quality and availability of behaviorally-based services to meet this growing demand. Yet far too often, the planning process ends with development of a students IEP. Regardless of whether a program is being designed for a single student or a multi-classroom school program, effective educational programs require a great deal of planning and preparation beyond the goals and objectives identified in an IEP to ensure success. This presentation will provide an overview of the development, management, and leadership of ABA services for individuals with autism and related disorders. A model for organizational design and program planning processes will be outlined. The importance of an organizational hierarchy, time lines, motivational systems, and identification of key administrative and clinical leadership roles and responsibilities will be delineated. A method for determining staff credentials and staffing ratios will be discussed. Basic program criteria such as space requirements and site selection will be reviewed. Frequently asked questions such as how to design effective training protocols, classroom management systems, maintain parent involvement, and administrative support will be discussed. The need for program-wide data collection methods, accountability systems, and outcome measures will be described.