Association for Behavior Analysis International

As behavior analysts, it is important to stay current in technological advancements to ensure their effective use. The four studies in this symposium applied various aspects of technology for prompting, reinforcement, and data collection. In the first study, classroom clickers were used to increase quiz scores in college students. The second study used self-directed video prompting on iPads to increase vocational skills in young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In the third study, an electronic token economy application was compared to a tangible, traditional token economy in pre-adolescents with autism. The purpose of the final study was to compare direct observation methods such as momentary time sampling and partial interval recording of interfering behavior such as stereotypy, self-injury, aggression, and disruptions with the use of a tablet-based application. Collectively, all studies demonstrated effective and innovative use of technology with individuals with varying skill levels that may be useful in clinical applications.

An alternating treatments design was used to examine the effects of using classroom clickers in a teacher preparation class. On alternating class sessions, the students participated in one of two conditions, no clickers and clickers. During the no-clickers condition, the instructor delivered lectures using PPT presentations with accompanying guided notes, called on individual students to answer questions throughout the lecture, and required students to work on their group projects for about 20 to 25 minutes at the end of the lecture. After working on their group projects, the students took a 12-item quiz that covered the material from the lecture. The quizzes contained 10 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions. During the clicker condition, all classroom procedures were the same, except that the students used clickers to answer questions as a whole class throughout the lecture. When presented with a PPT slide with a multiple choice question, the students each used an individual electronic clicker to select the correct response. Then the students and instructor were able to immediately see the poll of responses on the LCD screen and receive immediate feedback. Results demonstrated a clear functional relation of clickers on higher mean quiz scores.

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities struggle to find integrated employment because of their challenges with vocational task acquisition and completion. In this study, self-directed video prompting on iPads was used with three adult male participants with intellectual and developmental disabilities completing vocational tasks. A multiple probe across tasks design was used to examine the effects of the intervention on the accuracy of vocational task acquisition in integrated employment settings. Prior to intervention with self-directed video prompting in the integrated employment setting, a multiple probe across participants design was used to determine the effects of a training package for teaching iPad usage consisting of modeling and least-to-most prompting on a training task. All three participants acquired device usage in two to five trials. A functional relation was demonstrated for all three participants. The participants acquired three new vocational tasks in the course of the study and demonstrated generalization to new materials, settings, or people in two of their three tasks.

The present study compared two different token systems to teach tacting to three pre-adolescents with autism. The token systems used were the iReward application for the iPad, in which star tokens are graphically displayed on the screen, and a more typical token board in which star stickers are placed with Velcro on to a clipboard. An adapted alternating treatments design was embedded in a multiple-probe across participants design. Results indicated that both electronic and tangible token boards increased the percentage of correct tacts by participants. However, the electronic token system resulted in more rapid acquisition of tacts for two of three participants. Additionally, there was 100% agreement for both interobserver agreement and procedural integrity measures. Social validity measures demonstrated that typically developing peers, parents, instructors, and staff members found the electronic token system to be as practical, fair, acceptable, and reasonable as tangible token boards. In addition, participants themselves reported that they preferred using the electronic token boards over tangible token boards. These results indicate that electronic token systems may provide parents, teachers, and caregivers a means of reinforcing the behavior of individuals with autism that is more portable, practical, and socially acceptable than tangible token systems.