Keynotes
Thursday

 

 

Beyond the Black Box: Acquired Brain Injury and Behavior Analysis

Harvey Jacobs, Ph.D.

 

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Harvey Jacobs, Ph.D., author of Understanding Everybody’s Behavior After Brain Injury: Don’t “Don’t!”® and Behavior Analysis Guidelines and Brain Injury Rehabilitation: People, Principles, and Programs will be speaking on the role of applied behavior analysis in the treatment of acquired brain injury.

 

Dr. Jacobs completed his initial academic training at Western Michigan University, earned his PhD in Psychology from Florida State University, a post-doctoral fellowship in Behavioral Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and was a Mary Switzer Research Fellow of the National Institute of Handicapped Research (presently NIDRR).

 

Jacobs has a long history of working with people challenged by disability. Currently in private practice, he has served on multiple medical school faculties, worked on-staff, in administrative roles and as a consultant to numerous programs and facilities. He has also served as principal investigator on multiple federal, state and private grants. His current interests include life care planning; rehabilitation for neurological, psychiatric, medical and intellectual impairments; behavior analysis; complex treatment issues; outcomes research; staff training; and program development. He works with diverse ages, ranging from pediatrics to geriatrics.

 

Friday

 

What You Don’t Know May Hurt Someone

Cathleen C. Piazza, Ph.D.

 

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Treatments for pediatric feeding disorders based on applied behavior analysis have the most empirical support in the literature, even though the results of several studies have shown that the etiology of pediatric feeding disorders is often complex and multifactorial. Factors that contribute to the etiology of a feeding disorder include medical problems, oral motor dysfunction, and nutritional and/or caloric deficits. Therefore, it is critical that the behavior analyst seek input from physicians, speech and/or occupational therapists, and dietitians prior to initiating treatment of a child with a feeding disorder. The first purpose of this presentation is to familiarize the audience with the potential risks associated with treatment of a pediatric feeding disorder. A second purpose is to teach the audience ways to mitigate these risks. A third purpose is to teach the audience why interaction with professionals from other disciplines is important for safe and effective treatment of a child with a feeding disorder.

 

The learning objectives of this presentation will be:

 

1) The participant will understand how to recognize a significant feeding disorder.

2) The participant will become familiar with medical problems that may contribute to the etiology of a feeding disorder.

3) The participant will become familiar with oral motor problems that may contribute to the etiology of a feeding disorder.

4) The participant will become familiar with nutritional issues that may impact a child with a feeding disorder.

5) The participant will learn what behavior analysts need to do to safely and effectively treat a child with a feeding disorder.

 

Posters

 

Acquisition of Conditional Discrimination Skills: Transfer of Stimulus Control from Matching to Listener Responding (TSCMLR)

Kayla Vogel, Jessa Love, & Shannon Clark (Building Bridges Therapy Center).

 

Acquiring conditional discrimination skills can be difficult for young children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Sundberg and Sundberg (2011) explain that conditional discriminations are complex skills in which one discriminative stimulus (SD) alters the evocative effect of another in the context of the same antecedent event, such that they collectively evoke a single response. For example, in the context of listener responding training when a child is instructed to select the appropriate item from an array based on an auditory instruction, the child must attend and respond to both the visual antecedent (the array) and the auditory antecedent (the spoken word) in order to select the appropriate item.

 

The present case analysis evaluated the acquisition of conditional discrimination skills for a four-year-old boy diagnosed with ASD receiving intensive Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services from an outpatient pediatric clinic. Since the initiation of services in 2013, the client had acquired many skills in the areas of manding, motor imitation, and echoics. Obtaining listener responding skills, however, was delayed. A Transfer of Stimulus Control from Matching to Listener Responding (TSCMLR) program was developed to supplement current programming. The TSCMLR program requires identifying a picture from an array of three using systematic fading of picture prompts to transfer stimulus control from matching visual stimuli to the auditory instruction. The TSCMLR program was effective in teaching conditional discriminations for listener responding tasks. Further research is needed to evaluate the generality of these procedures with other conditional discrimination skills and other individuals.

 

Acquisition of Early Vocalizations Using Elaborate Echoic Training Procedures. Natalie Donkersloot, Angela Carter, Jennifer Mrljak, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University).

 

Early vocal verbal behavior has been found to be a frequent deficit in children with autism and other developmental delays. Past research has found that echoic training increases vocalizations for children with autism (Greer & Keohane, 2009). The current study sought to improve the echoic training procedures that were previously used to teach early imitation of vocalizations to children with autism in an Early Childhood Special Education Classroom. The procedures were created by using data-based decisions to determine the appropriate sequence of targets and the number of targets that should be taught. This study was conducted in an ECSE classroom with two-three children. The children demonstrated a lack of early echoic behavior. The new echoic training procedures were categorized into sounds (vowels and consonants), sound combinations, and words. And then within each of the categories there were subcategorizes that were more detailed. Motivation to engage in echoic

behavior was contrived by using edibles and tangible reinforcers. Results are expected to demonstrate that the more systematic and elaborate echoic training procedures will result in faster acquisition and stronger generalization of vocalizations for children in the ECSE classroom. This study adds to the body of research on the advantages of using different echoic training procedures to increase early vocal verbal behavior in children with autism and other developmental disabilities.

 

Assessing and Establishing an Abstract Relation Between Tacts and Mands in Early Learners with Autism. Genae A. Hall (Behavior Analysis and Intervention Services; Behavior Analysis Center for Autism)

 

With the variety of experimental arrangements that have been employed and differing entering repertoires of the participants, it is not surprising that results of studies on tact-mand independence have varied. Tact-mand transfer appears to constitute an abstract relation between tacts and mands--a higher-order verbal relation. Assessing this relation appears to involve training specific verbal topographies as tacts, arranging effective mand conditions, and assessing whether the same topographies emerge as mands. If they do not, the learner is currently naïve with respect to this relation; that is, tacts and mands are functionally independent in his or her repertoire. In many learners, an abstract relation between tacts and mands may then be established via multiple exemplar training. The present study replicated and extended Hall & Sundberg (1987) by first assessing an abstract relation between tacts and mands in several early learners with autism. If this relation was absent, one or more tact-mand pairs were trained in an effort to establish it. For all participants, the present study specified 3 tact-mand targets for each of 3 chains (9 total) and probed all mands after all tacts had been trained to criterion. If mands did not emerge, participants were considered naïve with respect to an abstract relation between tacts and mands and received direct mand training on topographies previously trained only as tacts. After each mand was trained, the remaining untrained mands were probed, to assess the point at which transfer began to occur.

 

Auditory Discrimination Training for Children with Autism. Sarah Lichtenberger, Richard W. Malott, & Kelsey Rothermel (Western Michigan University)

 

Simple and conditional discrimination repertoires are critical components of many skills necessary for daily functioning, including communication, academic, and daily-living skills (Green, 2001). When auditory discrimination is not under instructional stimulus control it can result in delayed acquisition of new skills and limit academic progress. The purpose of this study was to teach auditory discrimination to children with autism who had little-to-no progress on classroom procedures that required auditory discrimination, such as selecting an object from an array when given the name of the object as the instruction. Auditory discrimination was taught starting with teaching a particular motor response in the presence of an environmental sound, then slowly introducing other sound and response pairings. The procedure used a variety of teaching methods based on the learners’ progress. Trial-and-error, shaping, and physical prompts were all used to aid in the acquisition of discrimination skills

 

Autism Spectrum Disorders: A State-wide Exploration of Service Providers Education and Training in Public Schools. Summer Ferreri (Michigan State University)

 

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the nature of training for educators who work with students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in the state of Michigan. Specifically, research questions investigated (a) the type of training provided to educational service providers of students with ASD, (b) whether training procedures aligned with evidence-based practices, (c) what is the relation between reported training in evidence-based practices and use of evidence-based practices with students with ASD, and (d) how these results vary by school districts. A systematic sampling process was used to collect information from 194 school professionals from various socioeconomic backgrounds and geographical regions statewide. Results and implications of these findings for research and practice will be presented.

 

A Case Study Evaluating Behavioral Interventions for the Self-Injurious Behavior of Biting. Lauren DeClaire, Brittani Rohrig, Kelly Kohler, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University)

 

Several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of behavioral techniques and interventions to decrease self-injurious behavior for individuals diagnosed with autism. The purpose of this case study is to assess the effects of past and current interventions and treatment packages to decrease hand biting for a nine-year-old boy diagnosed with autism. An alternating treatment design will be used to evaluate the effects of various treatment packages. Some past interventions have included the use of aversives, differential reinforcement of other behavior, non-contingent reinforcement, response interruption and redirection and penalty procedures. The current intervention will involve differential reinforcement of an alternative behavior while blocking the target behavior. Differential reinforcement of various alternative behaviors will be used in hopes of replacing bites. The goal of this intervention is to increase the replacement behaviors while decreasing the target behavior of biting.

 

Conditioning Reinforcers. Hilary Barns & Chelsea Cummins (Western Michigan University)

 

Behavior analysis often uses the consequence of a behavior to either increase or decrease the preceding action. When trying to increase behavior, a highly preferred stimulus is presented after the behavior occurs. However, there are times when no preferred stimuli can be determined, and thus desired behavior does not increase. The current study sought to strengthen and condition reinforcers for a child with autism. The student was chosen because he displayed passivity or low engagement with a variety of toys, and lack of interest in edible reinforcers. Previous research has shown that non preferred stimuli could become conditioned reinforcers by pairing the non-preferred stimuli with preferred stimuli (Greer, 1981; Greer, Dorow, & Randall, 1975). For our study, the participant was required to appropriately engage with a toy for a specified interval of time, after which, access to a highly preferred reinforcer was provided. This current study was beneficial to our classroom because there are many children who display limited amounts of toy play.

 

Decreasing Motor Stereotypy using Response Interruption and Redirection for a Child with Autism. Kristyn Blahnik, Kaley Barnes, Richard W. Malott , & Kelli Perry (Western Michigan University)

 

One of the characteristics often associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are stereotypical behaviors. Stereotypy can be defined as restrictive or repetitive motor behaviors such as rocking of the body, arm flapping, spinning objects, and placing objects in a line (Hirst, Hyman, & Reed, 2012). These behaviors may have a variety of outcomes, such as impaired social interactions with peers, delayed skill acquisition, and a lack of attending skills. The function of stereotypy varies and should be determined using a functional assessment. An intervention used by Eason, White, and Newsom (1982) targeted motor stereotypy in young children diagnosed with ASD displaying motor stereotypy. The participants were taught how to play with toys appropriately and the effects of the stereotypic behaviors were measured across settings and time. The current study will expand the results obtained in the previous study to include young children in an early intervention classroom who display a high frequency of motor stereotypy. Increasing appropriate toy play and decreasing stereotypy will allow the child to interact with peers using age-appropriate toys.

 

Detecting Hangover Effects in Rats: A Within-Session Analysis of Drinking Patterns. Miranda Bell, Eric J. French, Michael A. Brooks, & Mark P. Reilly (Central Michigan University)

 

The primary goals of this investigation were to offer a within-session analysis of alcohol drinking patterns, and to behaviorally assess putative “hangover effects” in adult male rats. In the first phase of the current experiment, rats had 30 daily sessions where an alcohol solution (10% Alcohol, 10% Sucrose) was presented in their home cage for 60-min followed by 30 days where a sucrose solution was present (10% sucrose). In the second phase, sessions were conducted in an operant chamber equipped with photo beams to record licks to the bottle spout containing the solutions, and the session duration was reduced to 30 min. For the first five sessions the alcohol solution was presented, followed by five sessions of sucrose solution presentations. Once complete, alcohol was again presented for 30 sessions followed by 30 sessions of sucrose presentations. The majority of drinking occurred in the first 10 minutes in the session. Additionally, a bout analysis indicated that drinking occurred in short bursts of rapid drinking followed by long periods of little to no drinking, with the probability of engaging in a bout higher in the sucrose conditions. Hangover effects were indexed by the magnitude of negative correlations between the amounts consumed in a session by the amount consumed in the previous session. In both phases, alcohol conditions had larger negative correlations than sucrose conditions—indicating sessions of high drinking were often followed by sessions of low drinking.

 

Do Parent Ratings Agree with Neuropsychological Tests of Children's Executive Functioning, Attention, and Working Memory? Miriam Goldstein, Carol Freedman-Doan, Heather Hennrick, & Amanda Ellis (Eastern Michigan University)

 

Executive functioning (EF), attention, and working memory (WM) are crucial skills for effective academic, occupational, and psychosocial functioning (Biederman et al., 006; Bull et al., 2008). In addition, these areas are central deficits among children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Barkley, 1997; Nigg, 2001). Neuropsychological tests and parent rating scales are two standard ways clinicians assess these skills and make diagnoses. However, integration of neuropsychological and parent-report data can be complicated by frequently low agreement between the two (Naglieri et al., 2005; Weiss & Totten, 2004; Payne et al., 2011). The agreement between parent ratings and neuropsychological test data has not yet been examined using the most recent versions of common neuropsychological tests and parent rating scales. The current study uses a mixed sample of community and clinic-referred children, aged 8 to 12 (estimated sample size: 30), to examine the agreement between children’ s performance on neuropsychological tests and parent reports of EF, attention, and WM. Parent rating scales include the Conners 3, BRIEF, and BASC-2. Neuropsychological tests include the Working Memory Index of the WISC-IV, the Conners CPT 3, and the Trail Making and Color-Word Interference subtests of the D-KEFS. Correlational analyses will include both global scores and scores on specific scales and indices. It is hoped that results will illuminate the extent to which these tests capture similar or different constructs, with implications for the ecological validity of neuropsychological tests and appropriate assessment and diagnosis of children presenting with symptoms of ADHD.

 

Effects of Altering Motivation in Pigeons Performing a Titrating-Delayed-Matching-to-Sample Task. Zachary J. Zimmermann, Erin E. Watkins, Rachel L. Burroughs, & Alan Poling (Western Michigan University)

 

In order to better understand the role motivating operations (MOs) serve in preceding and evoking behavior, it is useful to examine the effects of how manipulating motivation on tasks with known behavioral outcomes could influence performance. Given that altered stimulus control is responsible for changes in responding on tasks of generalization and discrimination, if stimulus control could be influenced by MOs, than perhaps stimulus discriminations could be improved upon by manipulating the relevant MO. To this end, the effects of altering motivation via food deprivation were examined in pigeons using a titrating-delayed-matching-to-sample task. Additional pharmacological variables were introduced to determine if performance could be improved and/or deficits could be attenuated. Results indicate that aspects of performance varied systematically as a function of level of deprivation alone, though not in combination with acute administration of scopolamine and/or nicotine. Further research on the effects of motivation on momentary responding is needed to more effectively analyze environment/behavior relations.

 

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Picture Prompts on the Acquisition of Receptive Language in Children with Autism. Gaige Johnson, Hanna Simons, Jennifer Mrljak, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University)

 

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of picture prompts in the acquisition of receptive language in the context of a receptive identification procedure. Receptive language training is the ability to listen to and understand what is being communicated (Miller, Carp, Petursdottir, 2009). Receptive language training requires acquisition of auditory-visual conditional discriminations, which is often an issue for children with autism because the child must attend to the auditory and comparison stimuli. Previous research has shown that receptive language training can be facilitated through the use of picture prompts (Fisher, Kodak, & Moore, 2007). The current intervention was a replication of the previously mentioned study and assessed the effectiveness of the picture prompts, which were systematically faded out as the participants successfully progressed through the intervention. Participants for this study ranged in age from three to five years old and were selected from an Early Special Education Classroom that follows a behavioral curriculum. Results are expected to demonstrate that the picture prompts will lead to faster acquisition of receptive language than with the use of the standard prompting strategies used in the past. Acquisition of receptive language will lead to the acquisition of additional skills that are necessary for these children to succeed not only in their current early childhood classroom, but other educational settings as well.

 

Examining the Operant Function of Feedback: An Evaluation of the Temporal Location of Feedback on Teaching Performance. Elian Aljadeff-Abergel (University of Haifa), Rebecca Wiskirchen, Kristin Hagen, Stephanie Peterson, & Mariah Cole (Western Michigan University)

 

Despite the common use of feedback in most training settings, it is not clear yet which behavioral function feedback serves. Most researchers consider feedback to function as a consequence and advocate for its immediate delivery in the form of in-vivo coaching or post session review. The literature suggests that when compared, in-vivo feedback is found to be more effective than post session feedback. Despite these findings, most supervisors are still implementing post session feedback due to its feasibility compared to in-vivo feedback. One way to overcome the difficulty of providing in-vivo feedback is to deliver feedback immediately preceding the next opportunity to perform. Delivering feedback prior to the next opportunity, as an antecedent to behavior might serve as an effective and feasible method to improve performance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the operant function of feedback by providing it (a) immediately preceding the upcoming teaching session versus (b) immediately following the teaching session. Feedback was provided on two teaching skills (error correction and praise rates) of undergraduate psychology students. Results of the study suggest that feedback provided before the teaching session was more effective at improving teaching skills than feedback that was provided after the session. These findings propose feedback functions more effectively as an antecedent to future performance as compared to a consequence for past performance. However, the behavioral mechanism that explains these results is not yet clear. Future studies should investigate whether feedback serves as a discriminative stimulus, rule, or other operant.

 

Exploring the Relationship between Employee Customer-Service Behaviors and Customer Satisfaction Ratings: A Follow-Up Study. Jenna Smelser, Tyler Foster, Kyle Cadieux, Brian Davis, Michael Palmer, Michael Fenner & Carl Johnson (Central Michigan University).

 

This experiment examined the relationship between observed customer- service behaviors and the customers’ opinions about the services provided. Data were collected from five coffee shops around the campus of Central Michigan University. Two establishments are locally owned, two are part of a regional franchise, and one is an internationally recognized brand. Observers were trained to measure customer-service behaviors and response products which included: smiling, greeting, eye contact, clean tables, clean counters, employee to employee discussions (non-work related), employee-customer discussions (non-work related), and a closing statement. Observers also measured various service-behavior time components and all measures were unobtrusive. After baseline customer satisfaction surveys were given prior to various behavioral interventions to measure perceptions of service. Surveys were continued through the intervention. Customer survey results and customer-service behaviors were correlated to determine which variables were most related to perceptions of customer service.

 

Functional Behavior Assessments via Remote Technologies. Denice Rios, Yannick Schenk, Stephanie Peterson (Western Michigan University), & Ian McElfish (Muskegon Community Mental Health).

 

Throughout the years, countless researchers have shown the efficacy of matching treatment of problem behavior to the identified function. Conducting functional behavior assessments ensures proper identification of function and, in turn, adequate treatment. However, conducting such assessments requires time and effort from qualified trained professionals. Currently, the demand for behavior analytic services far exceeds the number of individuals that can provide them. Specifically, in rural areas, the lack of access to qualified behavior analysts often results in the postponement of services for many families. In order to address this problem, researchers and practitioners have begun to provide such services like functional behavior assessments via remote technology. Providing behavior analytic services via remote technologies allows for families to gain access to professional services that they might not have otherwise received. In this poster, we evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of conducting functional behavior assessments via remote technologies. Specifically, we discuss a case study in which behavior analysts collaborated with community mental health professionals to provide ongoing consultation in conducting functional behavior assessments. In addition, we describe implications of this research as it relates to the effectiveness and accessibility of services for rural families. Finally, we discuss effective methods of conducting functional behavior assessments via remote technologies and implications for future research.

 

Graduate Training Programs in Behavior Analysis at Western Michigan University. Cynthia Pietras, Stephanie Peterson, Jessica Frieder, & Denise Ross (Western Michigan University)

 

The Master of Arts Degree Program in Behavior Analysis in the Department of Psychology at Western Michigan University (Western Michigan University) is nationally known as an exceptional program in applied behavior analysis. The ABAI accredited program prepares students to work in the fields of developmental disabilities, mental illness, substance abuse, community mental health, education, government, business, and industry. Students complete their course work in behavior analysis and gain practical experiences in both clinical and educational sites. The program is pre-approved by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board.

 

Increasing Observational Learning for a Child with Autism. Katelyn McGee, Sally Weigandt, Jennifer Freeman, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University).

 

Children with autism do not readily learn by watching others. Observational learning is learning that results from observing the responding of others and the consequences of such responding (Bridget & DeQuinzio, 2012). This may be a skill children need to be successful in a general education setting. The goal of this study will be to increase observational learning in a child with autism in order to help the child be more successful in mainstream education. The participant for this study is an 8-year-old boy diagnosed with autism. He has been receiving ABA therapy for 5 years and is currently in a general education classroom part time. This study will be using a single subject AB research design. Baseline data will be collected to evaluate how the child responds after seeing peers perform an action that leads to both highly preferred and non-preferred items. During intervention repeated exposure and simplification of the response will be used. Once the child has mastered imitation of a behavior that leads to a desired outcome, a second intervention will be implemented that will focus on labeling incorrect and correct responses of a peer in a classroom based setting at the Kalamazoo Autism Center.

 

Increasing Physical Activity in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Kate LaLonde, Brian MacNeill, & Alan Poling (Western Michigan University)

 

Although regular physical exercise is clearly beneficial, many people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) do not exercise regularly. The present study used a multiple-baseline across-participants design with a reversal to demonstrate that a treatment package comprising goal-setting and reinforcement substantially increased walking by young adults with ASD while at school. During the initial baseline condition participants were given pedometers to wear. Once each participant’ s number of steps stabilized, she/he sets daily goals for minimum number of steps taken and received access to valued objects or activities (reinforcers) for meeting those goals. By the end of the first treatment condition each of five participants was successfully meeting his or her goal and walking at or above 10,000 steps each day. Walking decreased when a return to baseline was implemented, then increased when treatment was reinstated. Social validity assessment indicated that both the participants and their teacher found the intervention highly acceptable. In a follow up study, participants were asked to wear the pedometers during nights and weekends. The same intervention was implemented and steps sufficiently increased. Future research for increasing healthy decisions in individuals with ASD will be discussed.

 

Increasing Undergraduate Tutor's Use of a Naturalistic Teaching Procedure. Brian MacNeill, Chelsea Roberts, Sarah Lichtenberger, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University)

 

One of the diagnostic criteria for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder is communication deficits (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). B.F. Skinner’s analysis of language and communication as verbal behavior has provided a guideline for which to address communication deficits in children with autism (Sundberg & Michael, 2001). The mand, or request, is typically the first type of verbal behavior that humans acquire (Bijou & Baer, 1967; Skinner, 1957) and should be the focus of early language training (Sundberg & Michael, 2001). A time delay training procedure has been shown to increase spontaneous mands in children with autism (Charlop, Shreibman, & Thibodeau, 1985). Additionally, Halle, Baer, and Spradlin (1981) trained teachers to use a time delay, which increased percentage of opportunities they used the procedure and mands in children who they worked with. The present study determined the effects of a time delay training procedure on undergraduate student behavior technicians’ use of the procedure and autistic children’s requests during teaching sessions. A multiple baseline design across teacher/student dyads was used. Phases consisted of a baseline and intervention which consisted of teacher training and feedback. The current study provided data to support the use of naturalistic teaching procedures in an Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) preschool classroom.

 

Increasing Vocal Manding in a Child with Autism Using a Prompt Fading Procedure. Jennifer Bulow, Carly Schroeder, Sarah Lichtenberger, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University)

 

Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder often show delays in developing a typical manding repertoire. Previous research has used various methods to increase manding. Some of these include the use of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and the use of an interrupted chain procedure. The purpose of this study was to use a prompt fading procedure described by Bourret, Vollmer, and Rapp (2004) to increase independent vocal manding in a young boy diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The setting was an early intervention classroom for children with Autism and other developmental delays. The expected results of this intervention are to see an increase in vocal manding for selected highly preferred reinforcers. This study will contribute to the current knowledge of training mands in the behavior analysis community and help to provide a procedure for training vocal mands for children in the early intervention classroom.

 

 

An Investigation of Preferences for Computer-Based Depression Treatments in a College Student Sample. Lauren Frye, Andrew C. Hale, Chelsea E. Sage, & C. Richard Spates (Western Michigan University)

 

Research has suggested that most depressed patients in the U.S. adult population seek depression treatment in primary care settings where the prevailing method of treatment is antidepressant medication. However, studies have also shown that many patients prefer alternative treatments when they are presented with multiple options for their care. The current study examined depression treatment preferences among college students, a population often at high risk for depression. First, participants completed an initial survey regarding their preferences for a selection of empirically supported treatments for depression. Next, they were shown informational videos on the experience of depression and six evidence-based treatments, and their treatment preferences were reevaluated. This presentation will include a subset of initial findings regarding various treatment elements found most appealing among computer-based interventions for depression.

 

Manipulative Imitation Without A Vocal Discriminative Stimulus. Brandon Kline, Valerie Spicer, Sarah Lichtenberger, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University)

 

Imitation is important skill for children diagnosed with autism, as it plays a possible role in social behavior and language acquisition (Young, 1994). Because of this, there has been a lot of attention in literature looking at different ways to teach imitation. Many procedures have involved different antecedents and consequences. For the purpose of this study, particular attention was paid to the antecedents of each trial. The procedure used shaping and had no vocal discriminative stimulus (SD), unlike the typical classroom procedure that involved physical prompts and the vocal SD “do this.” With imitation being the form of the behavior of the imitator being controlled by similar behavior of the model (Malott & Shane, 2014), you have to be sure you have imitation by making sure that the behavior isn’ t under the control of a third stimulus. The goal of this study was to have the form of the model becoming the salient SD and reduce the chance of a third stimulus having any stimulus control. The participant was a child in an early intervention classroom that is located inside a special education school. The child learned to imitate the given actions during the study. The results of this study show that many procedures can teach imitation and will add to the research on this subject by introducing a method that uses shaping. It also stresses the importance of individualization within the child’s learning curriculum as a way to ensure the use of the best procedures possible for that child.

 

The Mathematical Principles of Reinforcement in Concurrent Schedules. Travis R. Smith (Southern Illinois University, Carbondale), Eric J. French (Central Michigan University), & Eric A. Jacobs (Southern Illinois University, Carbondale)

 

Concurrent schedule performance has been a common metric to investigate operant choice. In the past 15 years more local analyses ("preference pulses", Davison & Baum, 2003; "reinforcement trees", Davison & Baum, 2000) have begun to characterize the molecular variables that determine choice. The present experiment attempts to further investigate the molecular response dynamics of rats responding under conditions where the relative and absolute rates of reinforcement were varied. Furthermore, the data were evaluated using Killeen's (1994) Mathematical Principles of Reinforcement (MPR) to determine whether the relevant parameters (specific activation, coupling, and response duration) were consistent with the MPR theoretical framework in concurrent schedules. Four rats allocated responses for sucrose solution deliveries scheduled by a dependent concurrent random interval (RI) schedule of reinforcement. The overall rate of reinforcement was manipulated within-session by varying the RI x s schedule value (x = 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32, & 48). The ratio of left to right reinforcement was varied between-sessions according to a pseudorandom sequence (1:9, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, & 9:1). Overall, the MPR model for RI schedules provided an excellent description of the response rate data. Furthermore, the data was well described by the generalized matching law (Baum, 1974), with sensitivity (a) estimates being lower with leaner overall rates of reinforcement (Alsop & Elliffe, 1988).

 

Measuring Quality of Life Variables in Older Adults with Dementia in a Special Care Unit. Erin Watkins, Christopher Walmsley, Taylor Weststrate, & Alan Poling (Western Michigan University)

 

Previous behavior analytic research has focused on increasing activity engagement in the geriatric population as a way of increasing quality of life. Researchers have also measured and defined increased happiness among the geriatric population through indices of happiness (e. g., smiles and laughter), and have found that increasing access to preferred items has often led to increases in indices of happiness. The purpose of this study was to extend data collection methods to better quantify behavioral data for dementia patients and to further explore data assessment of the geriatric population. Ten older adults living in a special care unit and who had exhibited signs of dementia served as participants. The present study used observational data collection methods to collect activity engagement data and non-activity data, as well as, data on indices of happiness. This allowed correlational assessment. Data collection included an observer report and self-report of indices of happiness for each individual during activity and non-activity periods of time throughout the day. With this, special care units can begin to more accurately index behavioral affects of special care patients.

 

Online Data and Information Reporting in Group Homes for Persons With Developmental Disabilities. Anna Marie Galay (Behavior Analysis and Intervention Services), Robert G. Vreeland (Behavior Analysis and Intervention Services), Genae A. Hall (Behavior Analysis and Intervention Services; Behavior Analysis Center for Autism), & Edcel Arceta (Behavioral Data Management)

 

Group homes in California for persons who have autism or other developmental disabilities and serious challenging behaviors have legal requirements for behavioral services, and for behavioral consultation by qualified behavioral consultants. Unfortunately, the number of consultation hours required is limited and, not surprisingly, the needs have often exceeded the resources. Data collection has often been sporadic and inaccurate, and behavioral treatment fidelity has been lacking. Report writing requirements have made it very difficult for consultants to allocate sufficient resources to other important activities, such as staff training and program development. This poster reports on a secure online data and information collection system that permits consultants, group home operators and supervisors to access data on a need to know basis, and it generates reports that are useful, meet legal reporting requirements and require far less consulting time to produce. Data and program notes are entered in the system at least daily, and they must be entered on that date to be reported on that date, it is not possible to “fill in” missing data or to back date notes. Preliminary data indicate that data collection and behavioral notes are more reliable, more accurate, and there is a resulting significant shift in the distribution of consultant services. The authors conclude that systems such as this one can greatly improve services to persons with autism and other developmental disabilities.

 

A Pilot Investigation of the Effects of a Computerized Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression in Older Adults. Kellie Reynolds, Shelbie Quakenbush, Michael Reynolds, Carmelita Foster, Lillian Slack, Galen Alessi (Western Michigan University)

 

Depression in older adults is associated with increased mortality and health morbidity. Behavioral Activation has been found to be an effective treatment for depression in a general population, but not much research has been conducted to test the effects with an older adult population.

 

This study examined the effects of a computerized Behavioral Activation treatment for those 65 years and older, who endorsed depressive symptoms. These effects were measured using the Beck-Depression Inventory-II, Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale, and a Geriatric Depression Scale. This study was conducted with two older adults.

 

Participant one reported improvements in activation and a reduction of depressive symptoms, as reflected in BADS and BDI-II score changes from baseline to follow-up, and in GDS score change from baseline to follow up. Participant two reported improvements in activation and a reduction of depressive symptoms, as reflected in BADS and BDI-II score change from baseline to the last session attended and in GDS score change from baseline to the last session attended. Calculated reliable change indices indicated that participant one showed reliable change for the BDI and BADS, while participant two was approaching reliable change for the BDI and showed reliable change for the BADS.

 

These results suggest that the computerized behavioral activation for depression treatment may have been related to increased activation and the observed reduction of depressive symptoms for the two older adult participants in this study.

 

Prevalence of Unwanted Sexual Experiences Among College Women. Elise E. Trim, Eliza S. McManus, & Amy E. Naugle (Western Michigan University)

 

According to nationally representative samples 20-25% of college women experience completed or attempted sexual assault during their college careers (B. S. Fisher et al., 2004). This is a common problem among college campuses nationwide, creating a need to better understand this unique population and the types of unwanted sexual acts they experience. This is especially true for college women as they are three times more likely than other groups to experience unwanted sexual acts (Fisher, Cullen, and Turner, 2000; Krebs et al., 2009). Research has consistently shown a strong connection between a past history of sexual assault and future unwanted sexual experiences (Messman & Long, 1996). Therefore, it is important to better understand this population to develop more effective prevention programs. The present study examined participant characteristics including demographic information, and the presence and type of any past unwanted sexual contact in both adult- and childhood. Participants were undergraduate females from a large Midwestern university. Data was collected using several self-report measures and demographic questionnaires. Implications relating to the relationship between certain demographics and past experiences of unwanted sexual assault will be discussed further.

 

Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) with Motor Stereotypy. (Aubry Dodge, Nicole Bauer, Kristin Wegner, Brittney Hughes (Building Bridges Therapy)

 

The purpose of this poster is to demonstrate the effectiveness of Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) as an intervention for reducing the frequency of motor stereotypy with a pre-school aged child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

 

The Revision of Procedures for Teaching Physical Imitation for Children with Autism. Mary Howell, Julie Young, Jennifer Mrljak, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University)

 

Many children diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities fail to acquire physical imitation skills despite current efforts in early intervention behavioral curricula. It is believed by various branches of psychology that imitation is established early in human development and that, in turn, it facilitates the acquisition of other important behavioral repertoires exclusive to humans (Hurley & Chater, 2005). The present study set out to improve the physical imitation procedure in a discrete trial classroom designed for children with autism spectrum disorder. The children chosen for this study were not progressing through the physical imitation procedure currently used by the classroom. Prior to this study, the procedure focused on only five target responses with no protocol to promote or test for generalization. The improved procedure focuses on a wider range of target responses, a more efficient prompting strategy, and includes a protocol to check for generalization of the skill before children are able to meet mastery criteria. The results of this study will help to improve the classroom curriculum by evaluating a variety of teaching methods to help children with deficits in imitation to develop and maintain a strong imitative repertoire.

 

Simple and Conditional Visual Discrimination Training for Children with Autism. Blaire E. Michelin & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University)

 

Numerous everyday living skills rely on an individual having an extensive conditional discrimination repertoire. Some children with autism show difficulty in acquiring conditional discriminations, which can lead to delayed progress through classroom curricula. Green (2001) stated that it has been demonstrated that teaching simple visual discrimination tasks help cultivate the development of more complex visual discriminations. Even though some children with autism show difficulty in acquiring conditional discriminations, these individuals can acquire conditional discriminations after training on simple visual discriminations. The purpose of this study was to teach two individuals with autism simple and conditional visual discrimination tasks. Once the simple discrimination procedure was mastered, a conditional visual discrimination procedure was implemented. Both children had previously mastered classroom matching-to-sample procedures, but the skills failed to maintain. Simple and conditional visual discrimination were taught using trial-and-error and within-stimulus prompts.

 

Teaching Simple and Conditional Discrimination to Children Diagnosed with Autism. Samantha Roan, Sarah Lichtenberger, Kelli Perry, Blaire Michelin, Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University)

 

Complex matching skills require conditional discriminations (Green, 2001). Conditional discriminations are significantly more difficult than simple discriminations due to the fact that a conditional discrimination requires the learner to discriminate each sample and comparison stimulus from every other sample and comparison stimulus along two or more separate dimensions (i.e. shape and color or color and sound). In contrast, simple discriminations require a discrimination along only one dimension (i.e. shape, color, or sound). Green (2001) further explained that teaching simple visual discrimination can aid in the establishment of these conditional discriminations. The purpose of the current study is to teach simple visual discrimination to a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder to aid in the development of conditional discriminations. The child demonstrated the discriminative skill under everyday visual stimulus control, but not under instructional stimulus control. Further, she showed extremely delayed progress through the matching procedures in the classroom curriculum. This study uses a variety of teaching methods, all without the use of vocal discriminative stimuli. The results of this study will help to accelerate the acquisition of complex matching skills in children with already delayed progress through a discrete trial curriculum.

 

Training Tolerance to Delay in Irrational Rats. Michael Fenner, Eric J. French, & Mark P. Reilly (Central Michigan University)

 

The current study investigates the utility of using a percentile schedule to train tolerance to delay to reinforcement in rats. Similar to traditional shaping procedures, a percentile schedule differentially reinforces some feature of behavior via criteria determined by an organism’s prior responses. However, unlike traditional shaping procedures, reinforcement decisions in percentile schedules are based upon ordinal properties of some quantitative dimension of behavior (e.g., inter-response times). This procedure was designed to differentially reinforce longer latencies between left and right lever responses. A unique feature of percentile schedule is a constant probability of reinforcement independent of behavior. Under this stipulation, a subject would maximize reinforcer density by maximizing response rate. However, they would maximize their local rates of reinforcement by systematically decreasing their response rate. If the percentile schedule if successful at shaping longer IRTs (i.e., lower response rate), it would suggest rats are differentially sensitive to reinforcer immediacy. In the first condition, the criteria reset each session, and in the second condition the criteria at the end of a session was reinstated at the beginning of the next session. In both conditions IRTs increased – with greater increases in the non-resetting condition. An analysis of each IRT indicated that in both conditions, within-session IRTs cycled through periods of long IRTs and periods of short IRTs. This pattern is consistent with joint sensitivity to the reinforcer density and reinforcer immediacy.

 

Transitioning a Child with Autism from Discrete-Trial to Group Skills Classroom. Katie Mahaffy, Kristi Dumas, Kelli Perry, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University)

 

Educational transitions, when a child moves from learning in one classroom or academic setting to another, can be especially difficult for children with autism. Intensive early intervention has shown to be an effective intervention for these children, but the long-term benefits of this treatment can be impacted by significant adaptations and new routines when moving from a preschool setting to another classroom (Hanson et al., 2001). While no single skill is a good determinant of success, the VB-MAPP Transition Assessment addresses a group of critical prerequisite skills to learning in a less restrictive environment (Sundberg, 2009). The current project presents a case study of the procedures utilized to teach these critical target skills to transition a child from discrete-trial learning to a group-skill based classroom. The VB-MAPP Transition Assessment was used to assess the student’ s performance in critical areas prior to intervention and throughout the study, but additional areas were targeted based on the intended next placement for the child. Results of this project will aid classroom teachers to objectively assess student’ s readiness to move into another classroom and implement curriculum that will teach and maintain critical skills for this transition.

 

The Use of Differential Reinforcement with Blocking to Reduce Elopement for a Child with Autism. Kristen Bodine, Jessica Russell, Allison Beveridge, Kelly Kohler, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University).

 

Elopement is a dangerous behavior because children who run away may encounter life-threating situations (e.g., traffic) (Piazza, 1997). Nearly half of children with an ASD elope, and more than half of these “go missing.” (Anderson, 2014). Results from previous research suggest that blocking may be an essential component in the treatment of elopement in individuals with autism. Furthermore, blocking, when used in combination with Differential Reinforcement has been successful in reducing elopement to a manageable level and in some cases to zero occurrences (Call, 2011). The purpose of this project is to reduce elopement for a four-year-old boy diagnosed with autism. Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior (DRI) with blocking will be used to decrease elopements. The DRI intervals will be gradually increased as he meets the pre-determined mastery criterion. After meeting the mastery criterion indoors, we will move the intervention to an outdoor playground n order to generalize the behavior to other, more functional settings. It is expected that the implementation of this procedure will greatly reduce elopements to zero or a manageable level.

 

The Use of Multiple Exemplar Instruction to Establish a Naming Repertoire in Children with Autism. Christopher Missias, Caitlyn Woodmansee, Sarah Lichtenberger, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University)

 

Naming is an important behavioral and developmental cusp which involves the simultaneous acquisition of speaker and listener capabilities (Catania, 2007). This is a critical skill by which children are able to learn incidentally, without direct reinforcement (Skinner, 1957; Horne & Lowe, 1996). The purpose of the study is to establish Naming skills in children who do not demonstrate the capability in the Early Childhood Special Education preschool classroom curriculum where the study was conducted. The procedure used to induce Naming was a slightly modified version of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) where tact and intraverbal skills were trained at the same time as the listener responding skills of pointing and matching. Prerequisite skills were determined to be certain matching and pointing responses, as well as basic listener capabilities (Greer & Ross, 2008). If children participating in the study did not demonstrate mastery levels of prerequisite skills, those skills were trained before the introduction of the MEI. The intervention continued with different training sets until participants were able to correctly tact the testing stimuli for 8 out of 9 trails. Results are discussed in terms of the benefit that a MEI procedure for the induction of Naming would provide for the ECSE classroom in which this study was conducted.

 

Using Reinforcement to Increase Appropriate Vocalizations During Independent Play. Kathleen T. Bardsley, Shannon L. Rupnow, Jennifer L. Mrljak, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University)

 

Language is important in a variety of settings including during play, which is an essential time for developing social relationships as well as other life skills (Baker, 2000). Behavior analysis has limited research on using unlearned reinforcers like food for appropriate vocal responses. Lovaas, Koegel, Simmons, & Long (1973), looked at the effects of using of edible reinforcers for appropriate speech and appropriate play and found that both behaviors increased as a result of the reinforcement. The current study used an AB design to assess the effects of giving a combination of highly-preferred edible reinforcers and praise to a five-year-old girl with ASD directly following every appropriate vocalization she made during play. We found that the child’ s use of appropriate vocalizations during play increased with the use of edible and social reinforcement. This research is beneficial to the field of behavior analysis as it sheds light on how effective unlearned reinforcers can be used to increase the frequency of appropriate vocalizations in children with ASD.

 

Using The Seven Steps to Gain Instructional Control in a Child with Autism. Jacob Adams, Roxanne Rayes, Jennifer Freeman, & Richard W. Malott (Western Michigan University).

 

Instructional control is the likelihood that a child will respond to a given direction. The Seven Steps to Earning Instruction Control (Schramm 2014) was designed to help develop learner cooperation in children with autism and other developmental delays. While using the seven steps, instructional control will be used rather than a traditional escape-extinction method for problem behavior. This project will use the Seven Steps to gain instructional control with Child A, a 9-year-old male diagnosed with autism and a motor-speech disorder. This child has an extensive history of discrete trial training (DTT) and applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy. This case study will involve taking a baseline of the frequency and duration of problem behavior and acquisition rate of targets, and then implementing the seven steps and measuring the frequency and duration of problem behavior and acquisition of targets.

 

Video-Modeling and Peer Mediated intervention to Teach Social Behavior in the Playground. M.Y. Savana Bak, Joshua B. Plavnick (Michigan State University), & Katie Johnson (Elliott Elementary, Holt Public School District)

 

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often struggle to interact with peers in unstructured social settings such as the playground at recess. This study examined a behavioral intervention for a seven-year-old boy with ASD to improve his social interaction with peers in the playground. We used video-modeling of desired behavior with added peer mediated intervention to teach the participant how to interact with peers on the playground. The intervention sought to increase the participant’ s time and positive social interaction with peers at recess. After the intervention, the participant’ s time at recess increased compared to baseline and he displayed the target behavior shown in the video-model. Additional, albeit unexpected, effects of the intervention included the participant learning and engaging in age-appropriate play behavior such as playing tag with his peers.

 

Western Michigan University's Hybrid MA Behavior Analysis Program. Denise Ross, Stephanie Peterson, Denice Rios, Cynthia Pietras, & Denise Ross (Western Michigan University).

 

The behavior analysis master’s degree at Western Michigan University (Western Michigan University) is nationally known as an exceptional program for individuals working with people with autism and other developmental disabilities. The ABAI accredited program is designed to produce qualified, engaged professionals who can move the fields of autism therapy and research forward. Western Michigan University is expanding its graduate master’s degree to the Metro-Detroit area via a hybrid program that will meet the growing demand for certified professionals. Western Michigan University’s hybrid graduate program is designed to support individuals working full-time who want to become Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) and earn a master’s degree in psychology.

 

What Ever Happened to the Verbal Summator? Thom Ratkos, Allaina Sheltrown, & Jessica E. Frieder (Western Michigan University).

 

Early in his career, B.F. Skinner developed a technique for evoking what he called 'latent' verbal behavior. By playing repeating nonsensical vowel sounds very quietly and telling subjects to listen for the message, large amounts of verbal behavior could be evoked. According to Skinner these responses emerged due to their own relative response strength in that individual’ s repertoire at that moment. After publishing a report on the technology in 1936, Skinner continued to make references to the verbal summator throughout his career. The technique was tested by clinical psychologists as a projective technique analogous to the Rorschach inkblot test, but it has since fallen out of favor. Skinner referred to the verbal summator as a formal probe in Science and Human Behavior, also discussing the relevance of the device in analyzing responses where the subject does not recognize the variables for which his behavior is a function of. The responses evoked are also not subject to self-editing. This poster will examine the technology and the implications for potential future verbal behavior research. Headphones with Skinner’ s original audio stimuli will be available to probe the latent verbal responses of visitors to the poster.

 

 

20-Minute Presentations

 

Are My Data Accurate? Improving Data Collection in Applied Behavior Analysis. Josh Plavnick, Savana Bak, & Julie Thompson (Michigan State University)

 

Collecting accurate data is essential to the science of behavior and practice of behavior analysis. However, systems to ensure observers collect accurate data are minimally used in research or practice. Automated data collection, which can significantly improve accuracy, is a core component of the experimental analysis of behavior that has been minimally utilized in applied behavior analysis. Although applied behavior analysts have exploited recent technological innovations to collect and store electronic data, the science could be enhanced with greater reliance on automated data collection. The present paper includes the results of a systematic review of automated data collection methods employed in applied behavior analytic research over the past five years. Results will be discussed within the context of the technology currently available to support automated data collection in applied studies and steps researchers and practitioners could take to increase the use of automated data collection in applied behavior analysis.

 

A Comparison of Accurate and Inaccurate Performance Feedback on College Students Doing Data Entry Tasks. Michael Palmer & Carl Johnson (Central Michigan University)

 

Performance feedback is ubiquitous in Organizational Behavior Management. It has been assumed that performance feedback must be accurate, but this assumption has not been empirically validated. This experiment tested objective feedback from previous performance, provided immediately before the next session, to determine if feedback must be accurate to improve future performance. A repeated measures between-groups design was conducted with college students engaging in a simulated bank-check-processor task. Six 45-minute sessions were carried out with the first session serving as a baseline before different types of feedback were presented to the experimental groups. The number of correctly completed checks and time off-task served as the primary dependent variables. The type of performance feedback served as the independent variable: accurate, 1/3 actual performance, triple actual performance, and no feedback. All earned pay for participating. Results indicated accurate and tripled feedback improved performance over the control and one-third feedback groups. Performance feedback also reduced time off-task across all feedback conditions compared to the control group. Survey responses indicated many participants could not detect the false feedback. Results suggest not underreporting performance and that data need multi-faceted analysis to fully understand performance feedback research.

 

Disentangling General Versus Condition-Specific Measures of Behavior Problems In Childhood Cancer Survivors. Alison Colbert, Natalie Morris, & Catherine Peterson (Eastern Michigan University)

 

Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) often exhibit a specific profile of behavioral and neurocognitive late effects (NCLE), requiring valid and clinically sensitive measures to examine outcomes specific to CCS. No measure to date has specifically examined behavior problems, although a general behavior problem index (BPI) was previously used to validate a CCS-specific measure of NCLE (Krull et al., 2008). The current study examined associations between population-specific (Childhood Cancer Survivor Study Neurocognitive Questionnaire; CCSS-NCQ) and general measurement of behavior problems (BPI) in childhood cancer survivors. Methods: To date (ongoing study), 44 parents of childhood cancer survivors completed an online survey measuring child behavior problems as well as demographic, treatment- and disease- related variables. Results: Correlational analyses revealed a moderate positive correlation between BPI and CCSS-NCQ total scores (r = .654, p < .000) and between subscales of each measure. Stepwise linear regression revealed that BPI Hyperactivity accounted for 35% of the variance in CCSS-NCQ Memory. BPI Hyperactivity and Peer Problems accounted for 49% of the variance in CCSS-NCQ Task Efficiency. BPI Hyperactivity accounted for only 8% of the variance in CCSS-NCQ Organization. BPI Externalizing was the only significant predictor of NCQ Externalizing, accounting for 41% of the variance. Similar results were found when demographic variables were entered as covariates. Conclusion: Results highlight the need for caution when using general behavior measures in specific medical populations. Professionals should consider the relative utility of general behavior measures in contrast to the value of condition-specific measures to better identify specific associations in outcome studies.

 

Effects of a Video Modeling and Peer Mediated Intervention Package on Generalization for Adolescents with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities. Mari MacFarland, Joshua Plavnick, & Marisa Fisher (Michigan State University)

 

Interventions targeting maintenance and generalization of social skills beyond the classroom setting are critical for adolescents with autism (Test, Smith & Carter, 2014; Odom, Duda, Kucharczyk, Cox, & Stabel, 2014), as many students fail to display such social skills outside of the instructional setting. To promote such generalization, we combined a peer-mediated intervention (PMI) with video-based group instruction (VGI) to target social skills for four high school students with autism and co-existing intellectual disabilities (ASD-ID). A multiple probe across social behaviors design was used to examine the effects of VGI-PMI on generalization of social skills to three natural settings within the same high school. We discuss the results of the current study, which suggest that the addition of PMI to VGI may have strengthened VGI, promoting response generalization and the generalization of acquired social skills to untrained settings. Implications for future research are also discussed.

 

 

Functional Analysis and Choice Assessment of Problem Behavior for an Adolescent with Aspergers Disorder. Marissa Allen, Rebecca Kolb, & Stephanie Peterson (Western Michigan University)

 

This presentation will describe the Functional Analysis and Choice Analysis methodology and results used to assess and treat problem behavior for an adolescent diagnosed with Aspergers Disorder. Results of the functional analysis indicated that problem behavior was maintained by multiple sources of reinforcement with the highest rates of behavior occurring in the tangible and escape conditions. A subsequent choice analysis indicated that problem behavior could be eliminated and compliance with demands increased when given the choice between engaging in problem behavior, not completing a task, or completing a task and accessing varying durations of electronic time contingent on the choice selected. Results for assessment and treatment, and implications are discussed.

 

Increasing Physical Activity in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Kate LaLonde, Brian MacNeill, & Alan Poling (Western Michigan University)

 

Although regular physical exercise is clearly beneficial, many people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) do not exercise regularly. The present study used a multiple-baseline across-participants design with a reversal to demonstrate that a treatment package comprising goal-setting and reinforcement substantially increased walking by young adults with ASD while at school. During the initial baseline condition participants were given pedometers to wear. Once each participant’ s number of steps stabilized, she/he sets daily goals for minimum number of steps taken and received access to valued objects or activities (reinforcers) for meeting those goals. By the end of the first treatment condition each of five participants was successfully meeting his or her goal and walking at or above 10,000 steps each day. Walking decreased when a return to baseline was implemented, then increased when treatment was reinstated. Social validity assessment indicated that both the participants and their teacher found the intervention highly acceptable. In a follow up study, participants were asked to wear the pedometers during nights and weekends. The same intervention was implemented and steps sufficiently increased. Future research for increasing healthy decisions in individuals with ASD will be discussed.

 

International Dissemination: A Two-Year Journey in a Lower Middle Income Country. Carmen Britton (University of Connecticut)

 

The goal of this paper is to raise questions about cultural competence and effective sustainable practices by highlighting the experiences of one behavior analyst during her U.S. Peace Corps Service in the Philippines (2010-2012). Included in the discussion are methods and barriers to personal and professional integration within communities (i.e. language training and increased cultural awareness), as well as barriers and assets regarding dissemination of applied behavior analysis (i.e. hierarchy of needs, staff and organizational capacity, and institutional barriers).

 

The paper will also discuss differences and similarities across residential service-delivery settings for children with developmental disabilities in the U.S. and in the Philippines. This paper highlights lessons learned during a two-year international development assignment that may be generalizable and useful for practitioners and researchers who are interested promoting applied behavior analysis in an international context.

 

Linguistic Recursion and Autoclitic of Order. Robert J. Dlouhy (Western Michigan University

 

Autoclitics of order, briefly described by Skinner in Chapter 13 of Verbal Behavior, are operants that sequence verbal responses. The order of the constituent responses is itself a discriminative stimulus for relations between them. Although Skinner did not expound on autoclitics of order, it can be shown that these operants can account for the classes of phrases in the verbal repertoires of a verbal community. A particular autoclitic of order is an operant that accounts for a particular type of phrase in a language. The responses that are ordered are not necessarily simple words, they may be products of other sequencing operants. Because of this, phrases often contain other phrases. Sometimes phrases contain phrases of the same type, a situation known as recursion. Using examples from several languages, this paper will demonstrate that the autoclitic of order can easily account for the complexity of phrases, including recursion. Significantly, this analysis can account for intraverbal dependencies which Chomsky claimed behavioral theory could not explain.

 

Mental Models of Interlocking Contingencies in Organizations. Sonia Goltz & Darnishia Slade (Michigan Technological University)

 

Teamwork is an important aspect of behavior in organizations. Interlocking contingencies play a key role in group behavior since the product of a behavior for one individual serves as an antecedent for the behavior of another. Verbal behavior, particularly group rules, facilitates the coordination of the interlocked behaviors (e.g., Houmanfar, Rodrigues, & Ward, 2010). Research suggests that team mental models serve as the basis for this coordination. Shared team mental models appear to be more critical than mutual performance monitoring for a team for a team to be effective (Fransen, Kirschner, & Erkens, 2011). Effective teamwork is thought to be a function of a shared mental model about how the team functions as well as a shared mental model about the materials and strategies needed to be successful at the task (e.g., DeChurch &Mesmer-Magnus, 2010).

 

An integrated framework of mental models proposes that they increase in inclusivity and complexity (Poonamallee & Goltz, 2014). In this paper, we discuss how behavioral contingencies and metacontingencies could be integrated into this analysis. Individuals’ increased attention to interlocking contingencies may play a role in the movement from a more egocentric mental model to a more cosmic-centric one. We believe that more narrow mental models tend to focus on a limited set of contingencies operating in the situation, particularly at the local level. Broader mental models focus on contingencies that are interlocked and operating at multiple levels. This analysis suggests a need for research into how people form mental models of interlocking behavioral contingencies.

 

Meta-Analysis of Mobile Technology for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Frances A Vitale, Mari MacFarland, & Joshua Plavnick (Michigan State University)

 

The use of mobile communication devices (e.g., iPod, iPad, tablet PC’ s) has become ubiquitous as part of instructional programming for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Although popular, several questions about the efficacy of including these devices in treatment programs for individuals with ASD should be addressed. Research is needed that clarifies the devices used, the applications (“apps”) used, the consumers who use the devices, and the training required in using the devices. Accordingly, we conducted a meta-analysis of the autism intervention literature that has used mobile communication devices and related apps with individuals with ASD. The meta-analysis reported outcomes for 66 studies covering five domains: (a) academic, (b) communication, (c) social, (d) adaptive skills, and (e) behavioral skills. In addition, a wide variety of devices, apps, and behavior intervention procedures have been used by teachers and therapists in the extant literature. We discuss the outcomes of the meta-analysis within the context of implications for educators, therapists, and others providing services to individuals with ASD.

 

Self-Care Behaviors in Children with Severe Food Allergies. Lauren Harrison, Sarah Rice & Catherine C. Peterson (Eastern Michigan University)

 

Background: Approximately 5.9 million U.S. children suffer from a severe food allergy (Gupta et al., 2011). Managing food allergies away from home involves strict allergen avoidance, carrying medication, not participating in school lunches, and other behaviors which, if complied with, may result in distress and social isolation from peers (King et al., 2008). It is clear that allergy management significantly impacts affected children’s quality of life; however; little is known about the actual rates of self-care behaviors, as well as variables that predict whether or not one will comply with physician-recommended behavior. Objective: To examine self-care behaviors (e.g., firmly refusing problem food; knowledge of epi-pen use, etc.) in children with food allergies. Methods: An online survey was administered to 280 parents (72% female) of children with food allergies. Frequency analyses were used to indicate the most common self-care behaviors reported in this sample. Correlations were used to explore the associations between these self-care behaviors and demographic and allergy severity variables. Results: Commonly reported self-care behaviors included telling others about one’s food allergy, knowing foods to avoid, and checking ingredients. Correlation analyses indicate significant associations between the five most common self-care behaviors and older age of the child and severity and recency of reactions (e.g., reaction in the last 6 months and reactions severe enough to cause hospitalization). Conclusions: The clinical implications suggest key behaviors that physicians and parents should address, and these results may inform interventions targeting this population, especially as children progress into adolescence.

 

Teaching Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Reject Peer Pressure. Marisa H. Fisher, Mari MacFarland, & Josh Plavnick (Michigan State University).

 

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience social impairments, increasing their susceptibility to social vulnerability, including peer pressure. Unfortunately, few empirically supported instructional strategies exist for high school students with ASD; and, even fewer programs incorporate training in terminating negative interactions. This presentation will discuss successes and difficulties with developing a program to teach adolescents with ASD to resist peer pressure. First, a focus group with seven typically developing peers identified common peer pressure scenarios. We developed videos in which two peers modeled optimal responding in such scenarios. Five students with ASD then participated in 3 weeks of peer-mediated video-based group instruction sessions. Pre and post-intervention, peer confederates approached students with ASD and delivered a peer pressure bid. During intervention, the facilitator described peer pressure scenarios, showed participants three video examples of responding to scenarios, and students practiced correct responding with peer mentors. Each week, students with ASD participated in group discussions pertaining to their experiences with peer pressure. Though adolescents successfully displayed the skills during intervention and in situ, discussions suggest students did not apply the situations to their own life experiences. Difficulties with generalization and issues assessing responding to peer pressure for students with ASD will be discussed.

 

Teaching Social Perception Skills to Adolescents with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities Using Video-based Group Instruction. Tiffany Kaid, Sudha Sankar, & Josh Plavnick (Michigan State University)

 

Although extensive research demonstrates effective methods of teaching explicit social skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID), the majority of this research targets responses to discriminative stimuli presented by adults in a highly structured format (Garcia-Albea, Reeve, Reeve, & Brothers, 2014). Less attention has been paid to teaching adolescents with ASD or ID to fluently perform social skills associated with more natural interactions with peers in high school settings (Carter et al., 2014; Reichow & Volkmar, 2010). The present study investigated the effects of using video-based group instruction (VGI), which is a social skills training program designed for adolescents with ASD, on the acquisition of social perception skills by 5 high school aged students with ASD and/or ID. A special education teacher implemented 45-50 min VGI sessions 4-5 times a week. Typically developing peers were included in the study to interact during various role-play scenarios and provide opportunities for participants to demonstrate the target behaviors. A multiple probe design across behaviors was used to assess the effectiveness of VGI for training the targeted social skills. Results suggest VGI leads to the acquisition and reliable performance of the targeted social skills.

 

50-Minute Presentations

 

Aligning Behavior Analytic Mathematics Instruction To The Common Core State Standards For Students With Moderate To Severe Disabilities. Julie Thompson (Michigan State University)

 

Aligning instruction to grade-level common core state standards (CCSS), although potentially challenging for teachers, offers varied opportunities for individuals with moderate to severe disabilities to build fluency in fundamental mathematics skills and concepts necessary to successfully navigate life after school. Counting and cardinality has historically been the main focus when teaching academics to students with severe disabilities. These skills are the foundation on which success in the other mathematics content domains is built. Therefore, it is important to provide opportunities to achieve mastery of these concepts. Fortunately, counting and cardinality practice can be embedded into all the mathematical content domains in the CCSS. In addition, the focus on “real world” applications of mathematics allows for functional instruction using mathematics standards. In a Practice Guide for What Works Clearinghouse, Gersten et al. (2009) identified explicit systematic instruction as critical for teaching mathematics. Further, students with severe disabilities benefit from repeated opportunities to practice, systematic prompting and feedback, graphic organizers, task-analytic instruction, and Direct Instruction to master these skills. A brief review of the “big ideas” of CCSS mathematics will be discussed followed by a review of the literature on teaching mathematics to students with moderate to severe disabilities. Specific behavior analytic strategies and examples of instruction aligned to the CCSS mathematics to teach students with moderate severe disabilities will be provided.

 

 

Behavioral Feeding Intervention For Children With Growth Delay/Short Stature and the DSM-5 Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) Diagnosis. Amy K. Drayton & Kim Renner (University of Michigan Medical School)

 

The replacement of Feeding Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) has shone a spotlight on the feeding problems that occur amongst older children and adolescents. This new “ARFID” label has especially opened the eyes of our medical and mental health colleagues who take a traditional approach to behavioral health issues and/or treat traditional eating disorders (i.e. anorexia and bulimia nervosa). Colleagues who put a strong emphasis on diagnosis now have a way to talk about and identify their patients whose“quirky” eating habits are impacting their physical growth and psychosocial functioning. Behavior analysts, who have always shunned DSM diagnoses, have been treating kids all along whose “quirky” problems do not fall into neat diagnostic categories, and the realization of this by our colleagues in other fields has opened up ne w sources of referrals. The diagnostic criteria for ARFID and its impact on the field of pediatrics will be discussed briefly. Behavioral treatment strategies for patients with growth delay/short stature will then be outlined through case examples.

 

A Selective History of Applied Behavior Analysis Based on Things That Are On or Near My Desk. James T. Todd (Eastern Michigan University)

 

A good history of applied behavior analysis would most likely date its practical origins to the mid-1950s, with increasing formalization through the 1960s, reaching a kind of professional maturity with publication of the first issue of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis in 1968. In such a history, we would find carefully researched facts drawn from reliable sources by trained observers. This well-curated information would give us a better understanding of how the field came to be what it is, and why we are now doing what we do. For instance, would discover why so much of what we do involves autism, and why there are so many fewer rats around than our textbooks might suggest. My offering is not that kind of history, but a more haphazard one, based on information near enough to me to reach. Having noted that some of the items on and near my desk not only arrived there before my students’ enrollments, but before their births, I realized that I am working within a bona fide historical site. Assuming a selective process in which items of the highest relevance to my academic work in behavior analysis are those within the easiest reach, I will attempt to reconstruct certain critical aspects of the history of applied behavior analysis, including its relationship to autism, from the information that is available to me by virtue of proximity. Any biases are introduced into this analysis by the accident of availability should be more than compensated for by the unique juxtaposition of facts and findings afforded by the lengths of my arms With luck, through this method, we will discover some things about the field of applied behavior analysis that we might not have previously considered, rediscover elements of it that we have let fall away, and find roads to explore that our standard histories might not inspire us to take. (Note: This is an updated and revised version of the paper given at the 2014 Michigan Autism Conference.)

 

Collaboration Between ABA Providers and Schools: Why Can’t We Be Friends? Amy E Hund (Total Education Solutions).

 

There is plenty of research demonstrating the potential contribution of BCBAs to schools and research to support an inter-disciplinary approach to improve outcomes for students in all settings. Despite this, in Michigan, there are currently few BCBAs collaborating with schools, and there is research showing a lack of training for professionals on how to collaborate. This presentation will provide an overview of a collaborative model being implemented by Total Education Solutions, including data on teacher and student outcomes, and suggestions for improving collaborative models between schools and BCBAs.

 

A Comparison Of Two Variations Of A Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing Procedure On Novel And Infrequent Vocalizations Of Children With Autism. Andrew J. Bulla & Jessica E. Frieder (Western Michigan University)

 

Despite the growth in a behavioral technology for the treatment of autism, a small population of individuals with autism fails to develop functional language. One procedure used for inducing vocalizations in non-verbal children is a stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) procedure. In an SSP procedure a vocalization is paired with a reinforcer over a period of time to establish the vocalization as a learned reinforcer, and any utterance of the target vocalization is believed to be automatically reinforced thus increasing the frequency of the vocalization. Past research has yielded mixed results with the SSP procedure, and more research is warranted to identify the key components of the procedure that are necessary to produce an effect. This study extended the literature in two ways, by (1) comparing two variations of the SSP procedure; a 5:1 condition in which the target vocalization was emitted five times and presented with one delivery of a reinforcer and a 1:1 condition in which the target vocalization was emitted one time with the delivery of one reinforcer, and (2) comparing the effects of a SSP procedure on the frequency of novel and low frequency vocalization. Results suggest that both pairing procedures were effective in increasing target vocalizations over baseline levels, and target vocalizations could be brought under the control of more direct acting contingencies. Additionally, results suggest that infrequent vocalizations may be increased to higher frequencies more easily than the novel vocalization. Implications for applied work will be discussed, and how results relate to previous research findings.

 

Data Collection, Progress Monitoring, Social Validity, & Treatment Integrity: Accountability in the Development of Effective Behavior Intervention. R. Marc A. Crundwell (Greater Essex County District School Board, Windsor, ONT) & Kim Killu (University of Michigan-Dearborn)

 

With federal mandates to develop and implement programs for students with disabilities who have behavior problems that impede their educational performance, school personnel are faced with increasing responsibility for developing effective individualized behavior plans. Developing interventions that appropriately, efficaciously, and efficiently address the relationship between learning and behavior is a complex task that requires accountability, responsibility and collaboration among multiple disciplines and personnel. The role of team members in data collection, ongoing progress monitoring, social validity of the interventions, and overall treatment integrity are addressed in the context of effective Behavior Intervention Plan development.

 

Increasing Parent Involvement in EIBI Programs for Children with Autism. Lori Warner (Ted Lindsay Foundation HOPE Center, Beaumont Children's Hospital), Lesly Hendershot, (Ted Lindsay Foundation HOPE Center, Beaumont Children's Hospital), & Jamie McGillivary (The Healing Haven, Berkley, Michigan).

 

A growing body of literature is demonstrating the effectiveness of behavioral parent-training models of intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders (e.g., Anan et al., 2007; Johnson et al., 2007; Sallows & Graupner, 2005). Involving parents more actively in treatment increases their motivation and helps generalize child outcomes. However, time-intensive behavioral parent training programs are scarce, and many protocols involve specific skill sets, such as reciprocal social interaction (e.g., Ingersoll ), behavior management (e.g., Bearss et al., 2013; Hanley et al., 2014), toileting (e.g., Kroeger & Sorensen, 2010 ), feeding (e.g., Mueller et al., 2003) or sleep (e.g., Jin et al. 2013). It is unclear what the optimal amount and type of parental involvement will be for any given child. This breakout session will describe the development and rationale for several different EIBI treatment models incorporating various levels of parent involvement. We will present preliminary data from an innovative parent training program, and discuss creative ways to overcome barriers to effective parent involvement in ABA programs.

 

Media Myths About Time Out and What We Can Do About It. Amy K Drayton & Lindsay Deling (University of Michigan Medical School) & Katherine Harris (Eastern Michigan University) & Jeremy Albright (Methods Consultants of Ann Arbor).

 

Time out from reinforcement (a.k.a. time out) has been a focus of behavior analytic research for five decades, and there is a vast literature demonstrating its effectiveness in reducing many types of behavior. It is also one of the few discipline strategies recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, time out is frequently portrayed in both traditional and new media as ineffective and/or harmful to children. Some of these claims are based on accounts of “time out” that barely resemble the behavior analytic procedure. Other claims are based on tangentially related research findings stretched beyond reason. Claims in the media about time out will be reviewed and compared to the empirical literature. New data will be presented to refute the claim that time out is harmful to children.

 

Michigan Medicaid/MIChild Autism ABA Benefit. Lisa Grost & Morgan VanDenBerg (Michigan Department of Community Health)

 

The Michigan Medicaid/MIChild Autism Benefit launched in April 2013. The presenters will provide an introduction to the Medicaid/MIChild Autism Benefit from referral, diagnostic evaluation, and finally to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) service delivery. The presenters will emphasis the policy areas to increase clarity of the benefit that is much prescribed at all levels, along with providing an overview of the managed care system in Michigan. The presenters will discuss key items identified after 22 months of implementation of the Medicaid/MIChild autism benefit, recommendations for improving compliance and practice, as well as, suggestions for providers as they continue to develop infrastructure and quality ABA service programs.

 

Notes from a Rambling Radical Behaviorist: Autism for Parent's, Practitioners, and Ivory-Tower Intellectuals. Richard W. Malott, Jessica Korneder, Kelly Kohler, Kelli Perry, Joseph Shane, Sarah Litchenberger, Jennifer Freeman, Jennifer Mrljak, & Blaire Michelin (Western Michigan University)

 

Presented with a maximum of standard English, and a minimum of acronyms and esoteric terminology. “Deep thoughts” about:

 

• The pros and cons of inclusion.
• Self-stimulation.
• To play with toys or to flap hands.
• Giving a damn about other people.
• Searching for the behavioral roots of really “slow learning”—the most difficult 15%.
• Learning to learn.
• Naming.
• And maybe a few other topics.

 

Research on Identifying Verbal Units in the Context of Ongoing Conversation: Some Preliminary Data and Suggestions for Future Research. Robert G. Vreeland & Genae A. Hall (Behavior Analysis and Intervention Services; Behavior Analysis Center for Autism)

 

Skinner (1957) wrote, “When we come to consider other types of verbal operants, we shall find that the behavior functions mainly for the benefit of the listener…The mand, however, works primarily for the benefit of the speaker” (p. 36). Hall (2005; Hall & Vreeland, 2009) elaborated on this distinction by proposing two superordinate functional categories of verbal behavior--controlling versus mediating verbal relations. Mands often serve a controlling function and the other verbal operants a mediating function, but mands may be mediating at times, and the other verbal operants may be controlling. Hall & Vreeland (2009) proposed that this possibility may partly account for the perceived difficulty in reliably identifying verbal operants in complex utterances (Salzinger, 1991; Donahoe & Palmer, 1994). Results of preliminary studies utilizing both transcripts and video recordings of conversations (Hall &Vreeland, 2007; Vreeland & Hall, 2009) support the notion that trained observers can reliably tact controlling and mediating verbal units within ongoing conversation. Despite these promising results, data analysis in such studies has been enormously time consuming, and a sustained effort in this line of research has been difficult. However, recent developments in a software program called Train to Code (Ray & Ray, 2008; Ray et. al., 2011) has made it possible to train reliable observers to code and analyze data from videos much more rapidly. The authors discuss the future of research in this area in light of these developments, and attempt to clarify issues in terminology and definitions that have arisen since earlier studies.

 

Contact Name: Robert Vreeland

Contact Email: robertvreeland@me.com

 

Persisting Cognitive Complaints Following Mild Head Injury: Neurological or Psychiatric Symptoms? Laszlo Erdodi, Christopher Abeare, &

Jaspreet Rai (University of Windsor)

 

A small minority of individuals who sustain uncomplicated mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) report cognitive deficits long after the post-acute phase of recovery. This phenomenon has been identified as post-concussive syndrome (PCS). Although cumulative empirical evidence suggests that a full recovery is the normative outcome after mTBI, a subset of these individuals continue to present with a wide range of self-reported deficits in attention, memory, executive skills, emotional self-regulation and other aspects of adaptive functioning. One way to better understand the predictors of the long-term sequelae of mTBI is through making comparisons between this group and other relevant patient groups on tests of interest, such as performance validity tests. Data were collected from 106 patients clinically referred for neuropsychological assessment at a Northeastern academic medical center. The main diagnostic categories were PCS (n = 23), epilepsy (EPI, n = 29), psychogenic non-epileptic seizures r(PNES, n = 20) and psychiatric disorders (PSY, n = 34). The majority of patients in the PCS and PSY groups demonstrated a non-credible level of cognitive impairment as evidenced by high failure rates on performance validity tests. The PNES group had a mildly elevated failure rate, while the EPI patients performed largely within normal limits. The potential implications of these findings to clinical practice and the health care system are discussed.

 

A Review of Abstract or Conceptual Control in Skinner's Book Verbal Behavior. Genae A. Hall (Behavior Analysis and Intervention Services; Behavior Analysis Center for Autism)

 

Non-behavioral researchers and theorists have long claimed that behaviorists cannot account for behavior that occurs for the first time without direct training. Within the field as well, Tonneau (2001) and Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, and Roche (2001) have asserted that Skinner’ s (1957) book Verbal Behavior focuses solely on trained relations and ignores complex emergent responding. Specifically, Hayes et al. (2001) argued that in light of Relational Frame Theory, “Many of the most prominent Skinnerian ideas about human complexity must be put aside or modified virtually beyond recognition.” Other behavior analyst such as Alessi (1987), Sundberg (1996), and Michael, Palmer and Sundberg (2011) have challenged this view by illustrating numerous ways in which Skinner’ s analysis of verbal behavior accounts for simple and complex emergent relations. This paper summarizes Skinner’ s treatments of abstract tacting and tact extension and describes the relevant behavioral processes generically, so that abstract control may be discussed in relation to other verbal operants, including mands. Since Michael’ s (1982, 1988, & 1993) analyses of motivating operations have clarified the role of antecedent stimuli in manding, it is now possible to discuss abstract mands and an abstract relation between tacts and mands. This paper also discusses abstract control in an intraverbal conceptual task and topography-based stimulus equivalence. Overall, this paper attempts to illustrate how basic behavioral terms and concepts, like those presented in Verbal Behavior, may potentially account for any type of emergent or novel verbal relation, obviating the need for new terms and an entirely new conceptual framework.

 

Selection by Consequences as a Causal Mode. Jay Moore (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee).

 

Selection as a process consists in cycles of (a) variation in the characteristics of members of a population, (b) differential interaction of these members with the environment as a consequence of the variation, and (c) differential replication of the members as a consequence of the differential interaction. Behavior analysts suggest selection applies to the analysis of an organism’ s behavior just as much as to an analysis of its morphology. The three levels at which behavior analysts apply the principle of selection to the analysis of behavior are (a) phylogenic, (b) ontogenic, and (c) cultural. Much of traditional psychology is committed to postulating antecedent causes of behavior, particularly where those causes are assumed to be mental. This presentation argues that a science of behavior is well-served by setting aside concerns with antecedent causation as a causal mode in favor of selection by consequences.

 

Sexual Behavior and Individuals with Autism and Developmental Disabilities: A Review of the Research and Interventions. Steven P. Sparks, Sean P. Field, Christopher Walmsley, & Jessica E. Frieder (Western Michigan University)

 

People with autism spectrum disorders, as well as those with other significant developmental disabilities, are often at increased risk of engaging in risky sexual behavior in the form of lack of hygiene, practicing unsafe sex, not knowing how to appropriately consent or deny sexual advances, and exhibiting sexual behavior that causes emotional and/or tissue damage. Although there have been efforts to bring awareness to this issue, there is currently a lack of research aimed at addressing the high level vulnerability of this population. This talk will provide attendees with a review of current literature related to sexuality education and increasing sexual safety for those with autism and other developmental disabilities. Several procedures, including behavioral skills training, sex education, and video modeling will be reviewed along with the various outcome measures as a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of sex education training for individuals diagnosed with autism. Implications for the field and future directions for research in this area will be discussed.

 

Using Antecedent Strategies To Support Active Participation During Small Group Direct Instruction in Mathematics With Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Julie Thompson (Michigan State University)

 

Students with ASD require specialized academic interventions that are feasible and durable for school settings. Direct Instruction (DI) curricula may be effective for teaching students with ASD due to the explicit features of the DI programs that match the learner characteristics of individuals with ASD. In addition, DI programs offer the potential for teaching children with ASD in small group contexts, which is a necessary empirical and practical step for this population. This paper will present two studies designed to investigate the effects of proximity fading and task breaks on responding during small group direct instruction in mathematics with students with ASD. Four students with ASD participated in the first study; one student served as a peer model and three received the intervention. Results indicated a functional relation between the intervention and participant responding. An English Language Learner required a Spanish cognate directive to increase responding to an acceptable level. In the second study 4 younger students with more significant intellectual disability were included. Results from this study did not indicate a functional relation between the intervention and participant responding. Similarities and differences between the studies will be discussed. Implications for research include considerations for teaching diverse learners with ASD, identifying prerequisite skills for successful participation in group instruction, pairing social contingencies with high interest reinforcers to bring group responding behavior under more natural contingences of reinforcement, and identifying optimal group size for group instruction.

 

What Does That Have To Do With Me? How Philosophy and Practice Interact and Guide Radical Behaviorism. Sean Field (Western Michigan University)

 

Practicing behavior analysts are likely to be familiar with the guiding dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis as outlined by Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968), and possibly the methodological and empirical standards of practice in the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. Potentially of less familiarity are the guiding philosophical stances of radical behaviorism and the ways in which they inform and are informed by the legs of practice of this scientific viewpoint. While the details of any philosophy and their underlying arguments may not spark an immediate interest for those in the applied realm, they remain a critical aspect of what practitioners do in their every day actions. Whether you work with young children with Autism, adults with Developmental Disabilities, dogs, organizations, or rats, these issues are central to the work and behaviors we engage in on a daily basis. As such, the goal of this presentation is to discuss these philosophical stances, including their meaning and their impact on practice, in a clear and accessible format so that practitioners in all domains may be able to develop a greater understanding of the philosophy that underlies their work.

 

When Imitation is Unsuccessful: Identifying and Teaching Prerequisites for Imitation Skills in Learners with Autism. Michelle Fuhr & Nicole Gannon (University Pediatricians).

 

Imitation and matching skills are often the first skills we target with a new client when implementing a Discrete Trial Applied Behavior Analysis approach. However, some children have demonstrated challenges learning imitation and matching due to their significant developmental and cognitive delays. Spending a significant amount of time on teaching matching and imitation with little to no progress can impact overall progress in treatment. Case studies will be discussed in which specific skills were identified as prerequisites to matching and imitation, and such skills were taught at the same time as matching and imitation. A discussion will entail how the prerequisites were identified through the assessment of typical peers. Presenters will compare data of the prerequisites with the emergence of imitation skills. The client's data demonstrates how teaching the prerequisites correlates with learning attending and imitation skills, as well as additional developmentally appropriate skills. Recommendations for identifying prerequisites will be included.

 

 

80-Minute Symposia

 

Behavior Analytic Assessment Measures: Methods To Our Madness

 

This symposium will feature four presentations that discuss assessment of behavioral processes relevant to clinical behavior analysis. Ostarello et al. will discuss the assessment of negative reinforcement and how it may relate to psychological functioning, as an extension of the quantitative matching law. Abadie et al. will discuss issues of scaling and validity in the context of a discounting task, in which participants made choices between keeping the status quo, versus experiencing some amount of their idiosyncratic social barriers for some gain in social functioning. The analysis by Stanton et al. will examine relationships between several behavioral measures of educational engagement, and their applicability towards effective assessment of valued living. Ellison et al. will evaluate whether measures of social anxiety and social functioning relate to a social distance discounting task, with implications for establishing a behavioral assessment of social processes.

 

Chair & Discussant:  Thomas J. Waltz, (Eastern Michigan University)

 

Reported Barriers to Social Functioning and Negative Reinforcement: Are They Related? Lauren Ostarello, Thomas J. Waltz, Cory Stanton, Grant Ellison, Brenton Abadie, & Rachel Armstrong (Eastern Michigan University)

 

Access to reinforcement is a central component of a behavioral conceptualization of psychological health. Clinical extensions of the matching law advocate improving the frequency of positively reinforcing behavior patterns to improve wellness for those with stressors including and beyond depression. An under investigated dimension of a reinforcement-based account of clinical well-being is negative reinforcement. This paper will involve an exploratory analysis of the relationships between self-reported negative reinforcement and measures of wellbeing in a convenience sample of 133 college freshmen. The first aim of the analysis is to characterize the relationship between negative reinforcement and a version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ) that focuses on barriers to social functioning. The AAQ assesses negative reinforcement-based coping that is central to the psychological inflexibility model within Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and strong correlations will provide convergent validity to the negative reinforcement-based coping interpretation of the AAQ. Previous research on the AAQ has associated psychological inflexibility with a wide range of difficulties. The second aim of the analysis will be to explore whether measures of negative reinforcement hold similar relationships with measures of well-being.

 

Exploring Validity Issues in Novel Discounting Tasks. Brenton Abadie, Rachel Armstrong, Thomas J. Waltz, Cory Stanton & Grant Ellison (Eastern Michigan University)

 

The majority of the research on discounting has been restricted to the area of monetary outcomes, which has limited value for translation in to clinical areas.  Clients can often experience a range of immediate inconveniences when presenting for treatment (e.g., a high degree of effort or exposure to uncomfortable experiences) while potentially facing slow gains in relief. The current paper attempts to replicate this cost-benefit dilemma by administering a contextual task to participants that explores choices between clinically-relevant gains and related distress. Using a hyperbolic discounting model, we examined the highest level of social distress a participant was willing to endure vs. the status quo (having nothing change) for a variable increase in social functioning, with distress levels being related to the participant’s response to a social barriers questionnaire. Given this is a new application of discounting with novel content, the presentation will focus on evaluating issues of validity.

 

Multiple Measures of Educational Behavior: Towards Effective Assessment Tools of Valued Living. Cory Stanton, Thomas J. Waltz, Rachel Armstrong, & Grant Ellison (Eastern Michigan University)

 

Contemporary behavior therapies, such as Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) and values-based Behavioral Activation (BA), emphasize the role of values clarification in guiding individuals towards pleasurable and meaningful activities to engage in. BA posits that engagement in positively reinforced activities are a vital component in mood improvement. ACT focuses on valued living engagement as a meaningful outcome in and of itself, separate from symptom reduction paradigms. At present, there is a continued need for research and development of effective behavioral assessment tools that are consistent with contemporary behavior therapies. This presentation examines empirical data from several measures of educational engagement in a college freshman sample, including a modified version of the Pleasant Events Schedule (PES), an educational discounting task, and a version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-2 (AAQ-2) with language adjusted to reflect engagement with educational tasks. Implications for process evaluation and assessment in therapy as well as future research directions will be discussed.

 

Social Affiliation, Anxiety, and Behavioral Decision-Making. Grant Ellison, Thomas J. Waltz, Brenton Abadie, Lauren Ostarello, & Rachel Armstrong (Eastern Michigan University)

 

Social distress and anxiety are typically accompanied by impulsive attempts to regulate these experiences. These attempts provide some short-term relief, and in the long term tend to narrow one’s life space. Behavioral decision-making assessments provide insight into whether an individual’s choice patterns may be influenced by proximal factors to the detriment of more distal contingencies. When individuals are provided with a dilemma, discounting characterizes how the value of a reinforcer decreases as another variable (e.g. delay, risk) increases. Rachlin & Jones (2006) suggested that the degree of social affiliation an individual shared with another could be demonstrated with a dimension with which a reinforcer could be discounted. It was expected that individuals with stronger social networks should discount sharing resources with a wider range of affiliates, less than those with more narrow social networks. This presentation discusses the analysis of data examining the relationship between measures of social skills and anxiety, and a variety of discounting measures that focus on social functioning. The results will have implications for strengthening the link between behavioral theory and social anxiety.

 

Decreasing Repetitive Behaviors Through Increasing Self-Awareness in Children Diagnosed with Autism

 

This symposium is a review of three case studies with the use of self-awareness to reduce repetitive behaviors in children diagnosed with low to moderate autism spectrum disorder. Most of the current research suggests different strategies to decrease the occurrence of these behaviors when the function is sensory, or are automatically reinforced, including, blocking, providing enriched environments, and using competing reinforcers. Research has also focused on putting the behaviors on stimulus control to indicate when access is permitted and when it is not. There is limited research when the behaviors are maintained by escape, attention, or access to tangibles. In order to tailor the intervention it is important to identify the function maintaining the behavior. The research that is available typically involves individuals with higher order skills where they are taught how to self monitor their own behavior. Even less literature is available on how these behaviors can be reduced when the function is not sensory in "lower functioning" individuals such as those with limited expressive language where comprehension of self monitoring in the same sense cannot be used. This study describes 3 examples of treatment plans that have reduced repetitive behavior when the function is not sensory by teaching the child increased self-awareness of the behaviors.

 

Chair: Rachel Ulrich (University Pediatricians Autism Center)

Discussant: Rachel Ulrich (University Pediatricians Autism Center)

 

Decreasing Repetitive Behaviors Through Increasing Self-Awareness in Children Diagnosed with Autism. Amber Navarro (University Pediatricians Autism Center)

 

Case study #1 involves a 4.8 year old male diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The client suffers from high amounts of repetitive language and stereotyped motor movements that inhibit learning opportunities, major deficits including expressive and receptive language delays, and lack of social and play skills. His initial cognitive assessment was completed at 33 months of age, and results indicated delayed developmental functioning, with greater impairment in receptive language, visual reception, and fine motor skills relative to expressive language. All domains scored in the Very Low range. A Functional Analysis was conducted on the client’ s repetitive behaviors and found that his behaviors were a function of access to attention and escape from tasks. This case study focuses on the process involved in teaching self-awareness skills, in addition to increasing appropriate requesting, and antecedent intervention methods to decrease the frequency and duration of intrusive repetitive motor movements. These methods were successful in increasing appropriate methods of accessing attention, and significantly decreased the occurrence of a variety of stereotyped behaviors.

 

Decreasing Repetitive Behaviors Through Increasing Self-Awareness in Children Diagnosed with Autism. Jodi Davis (University Pediatricians Autism Center)

 

Case study # 2 involves an 8 year and 11 month old male diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The client presents with severe deficits in communication, lack of play and social skills, and presented with aggressive and maladaptive behaviors. The behaviors targeted were spitting which is any saliva that leaves the mouth, and knocking which is contact of the knuckles to any surface. The client was assessed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales – 2nd Edition. This tool measures the personal and social skills of individuals from birth through adulthood, it assesses behavior in four domains: Communication, Daily Living Skills, Socialization, and Motor Skills. The client scored in the very low range for all. Another assessment tool used to assess the clients skill was the ABLLS-R. This tool is based on a criterion-referenced set of skills that can evaluate a child's learning repertoire and to assist the therapist in tracking child's progress throughout treatment. The client was assessed in 25 skill areas; and found deficits in cooperation and reinforcer effectiveness, visual performance, expressive language, daily living skills, intraverbals, spontaneous vocals, receptive language, imitation, requesting, vocal imitation, play & leisure, generalized responding, social interaction, fine and gross motor skills. This case study focuses on creating a treatment plan that utilizes self-awareness strategies to reduce repetitive behaviors.

 

Decreasing Repetitive Behaviors Through Increasing Self-Awareness in Children Diagnosed with Autism. Carly Bacinski (University Pediatricians Autism Center)

 

Case study #3 involves a 7 year and 10 month old female diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The client suffers from moderate delays in communication, social skills, and severe externalizing behaviors. The client's behaviors can be observed as aggression towards others, crying, and property destruction. The client was assessed with the DAS-II (Differential Ability Scale, Second Edition) in September 2014. Her Global Conceptual Ability (GCA), or general ability to perform complex mental processing that involves conceptualization and transformation of information, was in the 10th percentile. This classifies her as Below-Average relative to same-aged peers. In June of 2013, a functional analysis to determine the function of the client's aggressive behaviors was performed. The function was ruled as access to tangibles and a specific behavior plan was put into place based on the function. This case study focuses on creating a treatment plan that utilizes the strategies of self-monitoring and self-awareness of one's own behaviors to help reduce those aggressive behaviors in an individual diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Self-awareness skills coupled with teaching the individual the skills to request the alternative behavior helped to reduce the intensity and frequency of aggressive behaviors in client #3.

 

Efficacy of Parent Training with Regards to Intensive Behavioral Intervention Services.

 

Due to recent changes in legislation, an increased number of families are now gaining access to Applied Behavior Analysis services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This has amplified the need for didactic parent training to help facilitate the generalization of treatment goals to the home environment and provide families support in order to be successful in treatment. To start, we will review the literature on current Applied Behavior Analysis parent training and/or parent education services. Second, will discuss the benefits of parent training in relation to initiating intensive behavioral interventions for families, for example accepting of the diagnosis, acceptance of therapy, absenteeism, completing homework assignments, and incorporating Applied Behavior Analysis in everyday life. To determine the effectiveness of our seminars we will analyze and assess pre-test and post-test rating scale results from the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC), Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, and Treatment Evaluation Inventory Short Form (TEI-SF). Lastly, we will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our current program to determine future content areas to modify parent education seminars.

 

Scott McPhee (University Pediatricians Autism Center)

Discussant: Jay Mitzel (University Pediatricians Autism Center)

 

 

80-Minute Panel Discussion

 

Introducing the 4th "R" of Education: Reinforcement. Stacy A. Gatz (Eaton RESA, Michigan State University), Addam Wawrzone (Michigan State University), & Dana Billings (Eaton RESA, Michigan State University).

 

Chair & Discussant: Stacy A. Gatz

 

What are the challenges of conducting sound ethical behavior analysis in a school setting? From getting one's foot in the door to having one's behavior plan accepted and implemented with fidelity in the classroom, the hurdles of introducing behavior analytic principles in the education setting are many. Join our discussion about what it takes to work effectively in schools and to ensure the delivery of essential early intervention amid rules, regulations, and resistance. Having worked in education for the last 15 years, and most importantly, having experienced the struggles of practicing as a BCBA in an education setting firsthand, the presenter is very familiar with the frustrations of educating educators and promoting ABA within the public school system. As an active participant in the discussion, you will learn how to prepare yourself for the challenges that lay ahead as a consultant to your school district. After all, behavior happens everywhere, even where gold standard curriculums are found.

 

 

 

Workshops

 

Introduction to Clinical Behavior Analysis. Claudia Drossel, Ph.D. (University of Michigan Health System) & Thomas J. Waltz, Ph.D. (Eastern Michigan University)

 

Full day workshop

Fee: $55

 

This workshop will introduce attendees to behavior analytic case conceptualizations of common problems in clinical settings (e.g., resistance to implementing treatment plans or following recommended medical or behavioral change regimens, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, dual diagnoses). Attendees will participate in an in-depth review of the functional approach to verbal behavior and its application in everyday interactions. Attendees then will gain a behavior analytic understanding of the underlying concepts and associated techniques of contemporary behavior therapies, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Behavioral Activation, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Functional Analytic Therapy. Through exercises and problem-solving with case examples, participants will learn to maintain functional fidelity to a case conceptualization while tailoring interventions to individual clients.

 

BAST: Behavior Analysis Supervision Training. Theodore Hoch, Ph.D. BCBA-D (George Mason University)

 

Full day workshop--Requires 8 hours attendance to count for BACB Supervisor Training Requirement

Fee: $TBD

 

In-person version of the BAST BCBA Supervision Training required by the BACB for BCBAs who supervise after January 1, 2015.

 

 

Commercial Displays

 

QBS Inc.

 

QBS, Inc. provides quality behavioral solutions to complex behavioral problems. Using evidence-based procedures supported by decades of scientific research in the field of applied behavior analysis, QBS offers behavioral training, consultation, and software for residential and day treatment programs, psychiatric hospitals, schools, nursing facilities, families and agencies who provide services to adults, children or adolescents.

 

Safety-Care Behavioral Safety Training, trained in thousands of provider settings, is the only crisis prevention course providing staff with a combination of behavioral competencies and crisis prevention and management skills. With applied behavior analytic content throughout, staff acquire the best of prevention skills.

 

Autism Home Support Services.

 

Autism Home Support Services (AHSS) partners with parents, their schools, psychologists, social workers, physicians and therapists to determine the families’ needs and to ensure the care and therapy is enhanced. ABA is the cornerstone of our care and our support staff is available to families 24/7 in-home and via technology. Our highly trained staff is hired locally and matched with each family to ensure consistency and a positive experience by all. Our experienced Care Team Members are empathetic, screened, and experienced and will work with insurance carriers whenever possible. The use of technology adds value for the collection and access to data and for the potential for 24/7 visual support from experienced supervisors and Behavior Technicians. Parents access their child’ s development plans and reports online and meet with the Care Team regularly.