Association for Behavior Analysis International

A small but gradually growing number of parents of children with autism and developmental disorders are seeking help from behavior analysts in Japan. Though many parents' concerns often center around language and communication, exclusively due to their child's autism diagnosis, rather than more dangerous, disruptive of destructive behaviors. In some cases, life threatening conditions can be put off for treatment, such as anaphylaxis, in order to focus on their child vocally appearing more "typical." Behavior analysts need to conduct functional behavior assessment for finding existing target behavior to assess the child's and the Social validity of the intervention. Three children received training in language and communication; however, the caretakers did not realize that the environment they created actually reduced the children's social validity. Functional assessment and parent-training are key elements for their therapy. (Henley, Iwata, McCord, 2003). Finding the key problem behaviors and appropriate interventions can improve social validity for children. (Carr et al.2002).

Presenters will discuss the experimental analysis of change.

TBD

When we think about stability of behavior in the context of the experimental analysis of behavior, it has, at least, two meanings. The first is an antonym of instability. Using stable behavior as the criterion for changing experimental conditions is the standard practice of behavior analysts. Thus far, several stability criteria have been proposed and we have seen them in many behavior-analytic references. In our own work, we have experienced sometimes, however, circumstances in which it is difficult to meet a stability criterion. These circumstances raise the question of whether we ever achieve steady or stable behavioral states when experiments extend over a long period. The second meaning of stability is an antonym of variability. We use the terms discrimination and generalization to call a researcher's attention to a specific aspect of the same behavioral phenomenon. We use the terms sensitization and habituation to focus on different effects of the same stimulus. We use the terms stability and variability to emphasize the observer's perspective on the same behavioral stream. For example, some indexes of variability such as the U value have been used in the context of “variability as an operant” studies. Researchers have determined the final stable value of the variability-index by consulting the standard stability criterion, and then compared it with other values produced by other contingencies. But are there any contingency-operations that control stability like variability? Is maintaining an ongoing contingency the only way to achieve this? This point may be related to the issue of a behavioral unit for manipulating by contingencies. Do these two meanings, antonyms of instability and variability, reflect different levels of behavioral status or states? In this presentation, I first will summarize how behavior analysts have defined “stability” and proposed its criteria in their experimental situations. Following this, I will provide some examples from which we can consider the next step in addressing the issues of behavioral stability and its change.

The Heike monogatari reminds us that, “The knell of the bells at the Gion temple/Echoes the impermanence of all things.” So it is also that behavior is fleeting and impermanent. Most of what we study in the experimental analysis of behavior, we do by comparing steady states, ignoring or dismissing what interferes with or occurs between those periods of relatively invariant responding. In this presentation, I will consider what happens as the behavioral versions of the sounds of the Gion temple bells change with the passage of time. Although behavior analysis predominantly has been very usefully concerned with longer-term stable behavior, there is much of interest in the transitions and transient changes that are interspersed within more stable and enduring behavioral phenomena. This presentation reviews some experimental investigations of these more fleeting behavioral phenomena, things like transitions between schedules of reinforcement, extinction, momentary adjustments to dynamic environments, and changes in reinforcement over time.

Behavior dynamics is a field devoted to the fundamental question of what forces drive changes in behavior. Exemplars of different problems and approaches will be briefly reviewed. For example, the phenomenon of shaping is foundational to all of behavior analysis, yet this has received surprisingly little systematic analysis. Part of the difficulty here is the need for careful specification of the initial behaviors which are then subject to transformation into new behaviors through differential reinforcement. Typically, to address this problem, some steady-state "baseline" is established under some simple contingency and then a new contingency is introduced and the transition to a new steady-state performance is investigated. This, too, has received remarkably little attention, so that we understand relatively little about how the typical patterns of responding under commonly studied schedules of reinforcement actually emerge. A more common approach, exemplified by a fair number of studies, is to investigate transitions within sessions by repeated changes in the behavior-consequence relations to see how, for example, response rates track changes in available reinforcement rates. These studies have been subject to the most detailed mathematical modeling. Other approaches include explorations of feedback functions and, in general, complex contingencies wherein ongoing behavior-consequence relations modify how the contingencies control subsequent behavior.

Social and communication behaviors are imperative skills for the child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to acquire. We have found that these behaviors are related to each other, in that social behaviors enhance functional communication and communication is necessary for social skills refinement. This symposium includes four research studies that address state-of-the-art treatment strategies for socio-communicative behaviors in children with ASD. The first study uses a video modeling procedure to teach children with ASD to communicate assertive comments in bullying situations. The second study uses a play treatment program to teach the pre-communicative behavior of joint attention. The third study provides a sibling training program using the Natural Language Paradigm (Laski, Charlop, & Schreibman, 1988) to increase communication in children with ASD. Finally, the last study provides a functional analysis in which pro-social behaviors, such as child happiness behaviors, are assessed in traditional analog conditions, as alternative means of communication, other than problem behaviors. Taken together, this symposium shows the tie-in between social and communicative behaviors, as well as evidence-based procedures for treating children with ASD.

Deficits in play skills and joint attention are related to social communication deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study targeted appropriate play as a means of increasing joint attention. A multiple baseline design across participants was used with three children with low-functioning ASD. The Play Intervention Program included modeling appropriate play with toys and providing verbal prompts to promote play imitation, followed by opportunities for appropriate play and joint attention. Reinforcement was provided for joint attention that occurred within ten seconds of the modeled play activity. Play probes were then conducted to observe both skills. Rapid increases in appropriate play and joint attention were observed during the intervention phase as well as subsequent play probes suggesting that the intervention was the mechanism responsible for the observed increases. Generalization across persons occurred for joint attention. The Play Intervention Program increased both joint attention and play skills, and suggests that intervention on play skills promoted increases in joint attention.

Children with ASD often fail to develop functional communication (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). One way to ameliorate this deficit is to use naturalistic teaching strategies that capitalize on play to promote language production, such as the Natural Language Paradigm (NLP; Laski, Charlop,and Schreibman, 1988). In this study, a multiple baseline design across three dyads of children with ASD and their siblings was used to assess the efficacy of increasing verbal behavior using sibling-mediated NLP. In baseline, children with ASD exhibited very little verbal behavior during play sessions with their brother or sister. Following baseline sessions, siblings were taught how to implement NLP using a nine-step checklist adapted from Charlop-Christy and Kelso (1997). Results from the intervention sessions indicated that verbal behavior immediately increased following the introduction of sibling-mediated NLP for two of three participants, and that response maintenance and generalization across person were evident for one participant. This research further adds to previous literature that supports sibling-mediated interventions for children with ASD, and has widespread implications for including significant others in interventions that aim to improve communicative skills of children with ASD.

Behavioral momentum theory (BMT) provides a conceptual and quantitative model for predicting and potentially controlling the relative strength of problem and alternative responses targeted during differential reinforcement (DR) interventions. Quantitative equations derived from BMT provide a basis for modeling the effects of potential refinements of DR interventions, which can then be tested through empirical investigation. In addition, BMT makes specific predictions regarding variables that may lead to treatment relapse when DR interventions are not implemented with pristine procedural integrity (as when the child's functional communication response repeatedly fails to produce reinforcement because the child's mother is busy attending to a sick sibling). In this symposium, we will bring together several leading experts on translational and applied research based on BMT. Each presenter will describe one or more empirical investigations that have used either the conceptual or quantitative predictions of BMT to improve function-based assessments and interventions. The discussant will review the strengths and limitations of each study, identify the general behavioral principles and processes evaluated across studies, and provide directions for future investigation.

Previous research suggests that differential reinforcement procedures may inadvertently strengthen problem behavior resulting in relapse. The current study evaluated one potential solution based on Mace et al. (2010), which involved initially implementing functional communication training (FCT) within a context with a minimal history of reinforcement for problem behavior. Following initial treatment, we evaluated generalization of manding to the treatment context and then evaluated the maintenance of treatment during subsequent extinction challenges. Participants were four young children diagnosed with autism whose problem behavior was maintained by negative reinforcement. Parents implemented all procedures in their homes within multi-element and reversal designs with coaching provided via telehealth. IOA was collected on 34.2% of sessions and averaged 97.9% across participants. Following an extinction baseline, FCT was implemented in three training contexts that had minimal history of reinforcement for problem behavior. Common stimuli from the treatment context were incorporated into the training contexts to program for generalization. FCT was then implemented in the treatment context, and extinction probes were conducted intermittently throughout treatment. Results demonstrated little to no renewal of problem behavior occurred in the treatment context. Furthermore, little to no demand fading was needed to maintain treatment effects with minimal resurgence during extinction.

Nevin (1995) proposed the possibility of a convergence between behavioral economics and behavioral momentum theory in their capacities to reveal order over a wide range of data. Specifically, Nevin reanalyzed data that were expressed as elasticity of demand in the context of behavioral momentum and vice versa. Despite the differing approaches of behavior economics and behavioral momentum for explaining challenged responding, Nevin’s analyses suggest that behavior economics and behavioral momentum may be “partial substitutes” and complementary for explaining large amounts of data. In the current study, we directly exposed participants to escalating response requirements in the context of progressive-ratio schedules. These analyses revealed differences in the extent to which stimuli supported responding, despite similar preference ranks in standard preference assessments. Next, we established baseline responding on multiple fixed-ratio schedules followed by challenges such as extinction and distraction. Results are discussed in the context of the extent to which behavioral economic and behavior momentum arrangements produced similar predictions relative to response strength.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically display the core symptoms of the disorder, which consist of social and language impairments and repetitive behavior. In addition to the core symptoms, most children with ASD also display severe destructive behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injurious behavior), which represents a principal barrier to successful community life for these children. The most important advancement in the treatment of destructive behavior has been the development of functional analysis (FA), which is used to prescribe effective treatments, such as functional communication training (FCT). With FCT, the consequence that historically reinforced destructive behavior is delivered contingent on an appropriate communication response and problem behavior is placed on extinction. Although this straightforward approach to the treatment of destructive behavior can be highly effective, many pitfalls and practical challenges arise when this treatment is implemented by caregivers in natural community settings. In this presentation,we will present data and describe a line of research routed in behavioral momentum theory aimed at increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and practicality of FCT for individuals with ASD who display destructive behavior in typical community settings.

Treatment relapse refers to the recurrence of some condition following successful treatment. In behavior analysis, this occurs when a behavioral disorder has been successfully treated but problem behavior recurs following a change in treatment conditions such as lapses in treatment integrity, return to pre-treatment environments, or exposure to novel environments with no treatment history. Behavioral momentum theory (BMT) views treatment relapse as the persistence of problem behavior and is a function of the overall rate of reinforcement available in given context. Basic research on BMT models of treatment relapse will be reviewed followed by clinical research showing that non-human models of treatment relapse predict the occurrence and magnitude of treatment relapse and suggestion counter-intuitive variations of treatment that can lower the risk of relapse.

One important part of the mission and strategic plan of ABAI is to develop, improve, and disseminate best practices in promoting and recognizing behavior analysis. Much has been accomplished in the United States to achieve this goal, and dissemination efforts are increasing around the world. This symposium will include four presentations related to recent efforts to develop and promote sustainable, global, behavior analytic services and practices. Two presentations will describe specific examples from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and China. The third presenter will describe the development and worldwide dissemination of an Internet-based curriculum rooted in the principles of behavior analysis. This curriculum is already in use in eight countries. The final presenter will discuss considerations related to ensuring the sustainability of ABA services and how this is being addressed in the United Arab Emirates. The Discussant will summarize the challenges we face and the vision for the future global dissemination of ABA services.

The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) supports the growth and dissemination of ABA throughout the world. As a result, behavior analysts, through multiple efforts, seek to establish and expand applied behavior analytic services in regions where minimal or no services exist. The current paper will discuss recent advances in and challenges to the dissemination of ABA in the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Middle East, focusing on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Topics to be covered include: establishing approved course sequences, approved continuing education providers, and ABAI-affiliated chapters; the role of social networking in dissemination efforts; and an overview of relevant research from the region. The challenges of disseminating ABA in the GCC will also be addressed, including a discussion about communication barriers and ensuring cultural sensitivity.

The commitment to international dissemination of behavior analysis and ABA-based intervention services has long existed since SEEK Education, Inc., was founded in southern California in 2000 as an agency with a staff characterized by its broad diversity, culture, and language. We serve local families that have a variety of cultural backgrounds and speak various languages, as well as overseas clients. In the year 2000, we started to provide support for a parent support group in Taiwan by developing a center-based program in two cities, Tai-Chung and Tai-Pei, Taiwan. Additionally, we have built ABAI-affiliated chapters (Taiwan ABA and Central China ABA), followed by Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) coursework utilizing the alternative pathway approved by BACB in Taiwan and China. The presenters will discuss the clinical development and services implemented overseas and the challenges we have encountered for the last 15 years.

The New England Center for Children has been delivering behavioral education to students with autism for almost 40 years. In 2003, they began to compile their many lesson plans into an interactive database, the Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia® (ACE). Six years later, the program was moved to the World Wide Web, and now the ACE provides curricula and assessment tools to behavior analysts and special educators ineight countries and 18 states within the U. S. This presentation entails a description of the content of the ACE, the research that informs this content, evaluations of efficacy and validity, and recent research that is currently informing new content.

Disseminating ABA globally means developing systems to deliver and support the services locally. In many cases, the originators of ABA services in a given country are expatriates who may or may not have the intention of creating sustainable systems. In this presentation, we will describe our experience with bringing high-quality ABA services to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) along with the planning required to ensure sustainability of the services once the originators have repatriated. We will describe the long-term planning for higher education programs that will eventually lead to a fully sustainable, locally-managed service delivery system that will meet the needs of every UAE national child born with autism in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Such a sustainable service delivery and support system is expected to be a 25–30 year project that will involve establishing direct service, professional development, and higher education.

When we consider the interaction of behavior and reinforcers, the temporal relations between the two events are an essential element. To show how reinforcers come to control behavior, much research has been conducted on such topics as response-dependent versus response-independent reinforcement contingencies, immediate versus delayed reinforcement, and so on. These topics are closely related to controversies about the roles of molar versus molecular contingencies and of contiguities versus contingencies. This talk will review various behavior-reinforcer relations over a continuum ranging from the past through the present and into the future. In the long run, each response-reinforcer contiguity constitutes a contingency, and no contingency can exist in the absence of any contiguities. Thus, the question is about the conditions under which contiguities and contingencies work consistently. To address this question, we will compare animal and human behavior as well as positive and negative reinforcement.

TBD

Behavior analysts are often asked to train an increasingly diverse type of learner to conduct behavioral assessments and interventions. For example, parents with little background in behavior analysis may need training to effectively implement intensive behavior intervention or intervention for challenging behavior for their children. Similarly, practicing social workers with little background in behavior analysis may need training to effectively implement functional behavior assessments for their clients with challenging behavior. These learners often require creative instructional approaches, given their diverse needs. For example, the learners in need of training may not live near a university or training center where training can be achieved or may need to access training at a variety of times. This symposium will discuss several creative training programs designed to meet the needs of these of these ?nontraditional? learners. All of the presentations will include data on effectiveness of the training procedures. The discussant will summarize the overall findings of these studies and their implications for practice. Areas of future research that are necessary to better understand how to effectively train ?nontraditional? learners will also be discussed.

In Michigan, there is a shortage of Board Certified Behavior Analsyts (BCBAs) to deliver behavioral health services. Community mental health (CMH) agencies are in need of BCBAs to meet recent mandates to deliver behavioral health services to children with autism. Practicing professionals often attend workshops and seminar series for professional development (Steinert et al., 2006). However, experiential learning where opportunities for feedback are available may be more effective for training. Functional behavior assessment can be complex to administer, in part because of the variety of ways in which a functional behavior assessment—and specifically functional analysis—can be conducted (see Rooker, DeLeon, Borrero, Frank-Crawford, & Rosco, 2014). It is likely that experiential learning that provide opportunities for feedback may be most helpful for training practitioners to participate in such assessments and analyze the results for the purpose of developing behavior intervention plans. However, this kind of training can be impractical when attempting to train individuals across a large state. We used teleconsultation to provide training in functional behavior analysis and coaching to CMH staff on implementing functional behavior assessments. This presentation will describe the methods of training used and the outcomes of our project.

Autism affects about 1 in 68 American children. Research has shown that Early Intensive Behavioral Interventions (EIBI) is effective when implemented with fidelity. However, few empirically supported programs are available for training tutors and parents that include performance-based measures. We are conducting an integrated series of randomized clinical trials to evaluate web-based, e-learning programs and behavioral skills training in the implementation of EIBI protocols for technicians and parents. The two primary dependent variables are the Behavioral Implementation Skills for Play Activities (BISPA) and the Behavioral Implementation Skills for Work Activities (BISWA). To date, 12 technicians and 10 participants have completed pretest and posttest assessments on these measures. Technicians and parents in the treatment groups showed marked increases in performances on the dependent measures but their counterparts in the waitlist-control groups did not. All effect sizes were large (Cohen's d values between 3 and 11) and all group differences were statistically significant. The results provide strong preliminary support for the efficacy of our web-based training procedures, which can be delivered to technicians and parents anywhere in the world where a broadband Internet connection is available.

A growing number of studies have evaluated and supported the use of telehealth to deliver parent education and coaching in behavioral intervention to parents of children with developmental disabilities. However, few studies have examined the use of telecommunication technology to provide behavioral consultation across multiple family routines. This study evaluates the effects of performance feedback provided via video telehealth (e.g., Internet enabled iPads, wireless headset) on parent acquisition of intervention strategies across desired family routines for four parents of children with developmental disabilities who engage in challenging behavior. Based on the results of functional behavior assessment conducted via telehealth, interventions will be implemented by parents during typical family routines with performance feedback via telehealth. The effects of immediate performance feedback on parent implementation of intervention strategies and of parent implemented intervention on challenging and adaptive behavior will evaluated using individual multiple probe designs. Maintenance of parent skills will be assessed. Suggestions for future research will be discussed. This study is currently underway and will be completed Summer 2015.

The state of Iowa hired their first BCBA to systematically address the challenging behavior concerns in the state. The BCBA engaged several stakeholders in a multi-year project to accomplish one primary goal: to eliminate false positives (i.e., staff who did not possess the skills or expertise to adequately address challenging behavior) from developing behavior intervention plans (BIPs) using substandard or non-existent functional behavioral assessment (FBA)data. This talk will focus on the assessment and training of Iowa's Area Education Agency's (AEA) Challenging Behavior Specialist (CBS) teams to possess the needed expertise to appropriately assess (i.e., using FBAs) and in turn developed BIPs that helped children with challenging behavior to reduce those behaviors so that education can be delivered more often in the least restrictive environment (i.e., the regular classroom setting). The training goals (i.e., dependent measures) and the training provided (i.e., independent variables) will be detailed. The present and future of the project in terms of generalization and maintenance and how this project can serve as a template for a larger systems approach to addressing challenging behavior problems will be also discussed.

Experts from around the world will present and discuss the current status of behavior analysis in their respective regions.