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| Innovations in the Assessment and Treatment of Stereotypy |
| Sunday, May 30, 2010 |
| 9:00 AM–10:20 AM |
| 217B (CC) |
| Area: DDA/AUT; Domain: Applied Behavior Analysis |
| Chair: Marc Lanovaz (Centre de Réadaptation de l'Ouest de Montréal) |
| CE Instructor: Trina Spencer, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: The symposium includes a series of presentations on the effects of various treatments on immediate and subsequent engagement in stereotypy. That is, each study used the three-component multiple-schedule combined with other single-case experimental designs in order to examine changes in stereotypy when the treatment was being implemented and when the treatment was withdrawn. First, Lanovaz and Sladeczek examined how manipulating the intensity (i.e., volume) of music altered immediate and subsequent engagement in vocal stereotypy. Second, Argumedes and Lanovaz compared the effects of differential reinforcement of other behavior and noncontingent matched stimulation on engagement in stereotypy. Third, Richling et al. evaluated how preference and structural similarity altered the effectiveness of various stimuli at decreasing stereotypy. Finally, Carroll et al. conducted two experiments to (a) identify whether noncontingent music functioned as an unconditioned abolishing operation or an unconditioned establishing operation for various forms of stereotypy, and (b) condition motivating operations by pairing a neutral stimulus with noncontingent music presentation. The results of each study will be discussed in terms of the utility of the procedures to assess and reduce both immediate and subsequent engagement in automatically reinforced behavior. |
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| Effects of Manipulating the Intensity of Music on Vocal Stereotypy |
| MARC LANOVAZ (McGill University), Ingrid E. Sladeczek (McGill University) |
| Abstract: Some researchers have shown that music may decrease immediate engagement in vocal stereotypy (e.g., Lanovaz, Fletcher, & Rapp, in press; Rapp, 2007; Taylor, Hoch, & Weissman, 2005). However, how manipulating the different physical properties of music (e.g., timbre, intensity) alters its effectiveness at decreasing the immediate and subsequent duration of vocal stereotypy remains unknown. We used a three-component multiple-schedule combined with a reversal and a multi-element design to examine the effects of manipulating the intensity (i.e., volume) of music on the vocal stereotypy of three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Although both low and high intensity music decreased immediate engagement in vocal stereotypy for each participant, preliminary results suggest that the high intensity music produced more reliable changes in the behavior than the low intensity music. Additional data are being collected to confirm this observation. The importance of examining the various properties of stimuli used to decrease automatically reinforced behavior are discussed. |
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| Comparing the Effects of DRO and Matched Stimulation on Immediate and Subsequent Engagement in Stereotypy |
| MALENA ARGUMEDES (Université de Montréal), Marc Lanovaz (Centre de Réadaptation de l'Ouest de Montréal) |
| Abstract: Implementing treatment procedures with dense schedules of stimulus delivery (e.g., FT 10 s) to reduce stereotypy across extended periods of time may interfere with engagement in appropriate behavior (e.g., attending to instructions) and alter the value of the consequence. As such, it is often impractical and even unadvisable to apply dense schedules across entire days. However, if a treatment with a dense schedule reduces both immediate (i.e., when the treatment is being implemented) and subsequent (i.e., when the treatment is withdrawn) engagement in stereotypy, the procedure may be implemented for short periods of time prior to critical tasks. We used a three-component multiple-schedule combined with brief reversals to examine the effects of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) and noncontingent matched stimulation (NMS) on immediate and subsequent engagement in stereotypy in two children with autism. Although DRO was effective for one participant, the results suggest that, under the same schedule, NMS produced higher immediate reductions in stereotypy than DRO for both participants. Noncontingent access to preferred stimuli also produced reductions in subsequent engagement in stereotypy, suggesting that functionally matched stimuli were identified. The implications of the results are discussed in terms of assessing the most effective procedures to decrease immediate and subsequent engagement in stereotypy. |
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| Decreasing Immediate and Subsequent Engagement in Stereotypy: The Effects of Providing Competing Stimulation Based on Structure and Preference, Preference Only, or Arbitrary Selection |
| SARAH M. RICHLING (University of Nevada, Reno), John T. Rapp (St. Cloud State University), Regina A. Carroll (Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center), Ethan S. Long (The Bay School), Gregory J. Swanson (The Bay School), Stephanie Sheridan (St. Cloud State University), Kimberly Enloe (St. Cloud State University), Diana Maltese (St. Cloud State University) |
| Abstract: The immediate and subsequent effects of providing stimuli to compete with stereotypy were evaluated with 15 participants using a three-component multiple schedule. For each participant, competing stimuli, which were provided continuously and noncontingently during only the second component of the multiple schedule, were selected based on (a) the individual’s preference for an item and the structurally similarity of the item to the product of the individual’s stereotypy, (b) the individual’s preference for an item only, or (c) arbitrary selection of one or more items (i.e., not based on the results of a preference assessment). Although analyses are ongoing, these results to date suggest that alternative stimuli typically decreased immediate and subsequent engagement in stereotypy when selection of the stimulus was based on the criteria of (1) a structural match and (2) the individual’s preference. By contrast, the same was not true for selections that were arbitrary or based only on individual’s preferences. These findings suggest the alternative stimulation that is both structurally matched to an individual’s automatically reinforced behavior and preferred by that individual is likely to be functionally matched to the product of automatically reinforced behavior. |
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| Some Effects of Unconditioned and Conditioned Motivating Operations for Stereotypy |
| REGINA A. CARROLL (Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center), John T. Rapp (St. Cloud State University), Ethan S. Long (The Bay School), Sarah M. Richling (University of Nevada, Reno), Gregory J. Swanson (The Bay School), Stephanie Sheridan (St. Cloud State University), Kimberly Enloe (St. Cloud State University), Lauren Shrader (St. Cloud State University) |
| Abstract: The effects of unconditioned and conditioned motivating operations (CMOs) on multiple forms of stereotypy displayed by 6 participants were evaluated in two experiments using a three-component multiple-schedule combined with a reversal design. The results of Experiment 1 showed that noncontingent access to music in the second component functioned as either an unconditioned establishing operation or an unconditioned abolishing operation for one or more forms of stereotypy for each participant. The results of Experiment 2 showed that after the repeated pairing of a neutral stimulus with noncontingent access to music, the presentation of the previously neutral stimulus during the second component altered the value of one or more forms of stereotypy for 4 of 6 participants. These results suggest that the neutral stimulus acquired properties of a CMO. The results of both experiments are discussed in terms of the use of CMOs in the assessment and treatment of automatically reinforced behavior. |
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