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| The Influence of Motivating Operations on Assessment and Treatment Outcomes for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities |
| Tuesday, May 26, 2009 |
| 9:00 AM–10:20 AM |
| North 129 A |
| Area: DDA; Domain: Applied Behavior Analysis |
| Chair: Mandy J. Rispoli (University of Texas at Austin) |
| CE Instructor: Simon Dymond, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: In this symposium we present recent research regarding use of motivating operations when working with persons with developmental disabilities. The first paper examines the influence of language of instruction on functional analysis results for students with severe disabilities. Results are interpreted with respect to language of instruction as a motivating operation. The second paper investigates the influence of presession satiation on challenging behavior and on the value of reinforcing stimuli. Implications for future research and clinical practice are presented. The third paper evaluates the manipulation of motivating operations on the acquisition and generalization of functional communication training. Results highlight the importance of considering motivating operations when implementing functional communication training. Finally, the fourth paper examines the speed of acquisition for academic and functional tasks under the influence of different putative motivating operations for young children with developmental disabilities. Results suggest that motivating operations may influence the acquisition of novel behaviors and should be considered when designing and implementing instructional programs. |
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| Investigating Language of Instruction as a Motivating Operation with Individuals with Severe Intellectual Disabilities |
| MANDY J. RISPOLI (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Mark F. O'Reilly (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Russell Lang (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Jeannie M. Aguilar (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Austin Mulloy (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin) |
| Abstract: The number of individuals with severe disabilities in the United States who come from Spanish speaking homes has increased dramatically in recent decades. However, behavioral assessments for this population are most frequently conducted in English. This discrepancy between the individual’s home language and the language used in behavioral assessments can have serious implications for the validity of assessment results and for subsequent treatment recommendations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate functional analysis results with respect to the language in which the assessment was conducted for individuals with severe intellectual disabilities. Participants were exposed to five analogue functional analysis sessions consisting of four conditions (attention, escape, tangible, and play). Functional analyses were conducted in English and in Spanish using a reversal design. The sequence of instructional language was counterbalanced across participants. Results are discussed with respect to language of instruction as a motivating operation for challenging behavior. Suggestions for future research and implications for clinical practice are presented. |
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| An Examination of Effects of Manipulating Motivating Operation on Reinforcers for Children with Developmental Disabilities and Challenging Behavior |
| Mark F. O'Reilly (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), SOYEON KANG (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Russell Lang (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Mandy J. Rispoli (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Jeannie M. Aguilar (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Christina L. Fragale (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Sonia Denise Baker (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin) |
| Abstract: Allowing a child to satiate on a preferred tangible prior to instruction has been shown to reduce challenging behavior maintained by access to that tangible during instruction. Previous research has suggested that the mechanism of action for this decrease is the abolishing effect of motivating operations. This study examined the abolishing effect on reinforcers used during instructional sessions. The participants were four children with developmental disabilities whose challenging behaviors were maintained by a specific tangible. In pre-session satiation conditions the participants were given access to this specific tangible until they rejected it three times. In the following instructional session, both the newly rejected item and an item identified as less reinforcing in a previous preference assessment were offered to participants. Data demonstrates that challenging behavior was reduced during instruction and that the child was more likely to select the novel non-rejected item over the previously high preferred item as a reinforcer following satiation conditions. Implications are discussed in relation to the potential for incorporating motivating operations in the instruction of individuals with developmental disabilities and regarding a methodology for identifying behavioral indicators of satiation. |
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| A Systematic Analysis of the Influence of Motivating Operations on Functional Communication Training and Generalization |
| TONYA NICHOLE DAVIS (Baylor University), Mark F. O'Reilly (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Wendy A. Machalicek (Portland State University), Mandy J. Rispoli (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Russell Lang (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Jeffrey Michael Chan (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin) |
| Abstract: In this study we examined the influence of presession access to a reinforcer on communication intervention and generalization for three children with developmental disabilities whose challenging behaviors were maintained by access to tangibles. In the first phase of the study the consequences maintaining challenging behavior and their associated motivating operations were isolated. In phase two we assessed the duration in which the child interacted the preferred tangible before he/she demonstrated satiation. In the third phase of the study, we taught replacement mands and systematically examined the influence of motivating operations by presenting various durations of access to the reinforcer prior to intervention sessions. Four durations of presession access were administered, based upon the mean latency to satiation: (a) no presession access to the reinforcer, (b) presession access equaled 25% of mean latency to satiation observed in phase two, (c) 50% of mean latency to satiation, and (d) 75% of mean latency to satiation. Finally, we probed for stimulus generalization of these new mands while systematically examining the influence of presession access to reinforcers utilized in phase three. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of including motivating operations during functional communication training. |
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| The Influence of Motivating Operations on the Efficiency of Discrete Trial Training |
| JEANNIE M. AGUILAR (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Christina L. Fragale (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Russell Lang (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Mandy J. Rispoli (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin), Mark F. O'Reilly (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin) |
| Abstract: There has been a steady interest by behavioral researchers in examining both the functional properties and clinical applications of establishing (motivating) operations with individuals with developmental disabilities. Motivating operations have been shown to be critical variables when developing and interpreting behavioral assessments (e.g. preference assessments), intervening on challenging behavior, and examining the interaction between various biological conditions (e.g., health variables, genetic syndromes) and operant behavior. This study adds to the motivating operation literature by evaluating the influence of motivating operations on the acquisition of skills. Four students with developmental disabilities who received discrete trial training during their regular school routine participated in this study. The speed of acquisition for academic and functional tasks was evaluated while under the influence of different putative motivating operations in an alternating treatment design. Results suggest that motivating operations may influence the acquisition of novel behaviors and should be considered when designing and implementing instructional programs. |
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