Association for Behavior Analysis International

Leisure activities have been linked in providing an opportunity for individuals with developmental disabilities to acquire adaptive skills which are necessary for successful inclusion in the general public. Teaching individuals with developmental disabilities to engage in leisure activities is widely acknowledged in improving communication skills, social interaction skills and also providing an opportunity for behaving appropriately in society. Studies involving individuals with developmental disabilities have mainly focused on interventions on feeding and self-care and leisure activities have been somewhat an afterthought. Leisure activities for individuals with disabilities are often selected by their caregivers. This literature review analyzed studies that used video modeling, a non-intrusive behavioral antecedent intervention, to teach individuals with developmental disabilities to engage in leisure activities. Participants in the study were individuals 3 years and above with varying diagnosis that fell under the generic term developmental disabilities. The studies used single-case designs that were evaluated using guidelines of the What Works Clearing House (2017). Studies published from 2001 to 2018 (n =10) were identified. For individuals with severe developmental disabilities, preference assessments should be conducted to identify their preferred leisure activities so that they may engage in leisure activities of their choices.

A 12-year-old male was referred to a severe behavior applied behavior analysis (ABA) clinic for the assessment and treatment of self-injurious behavior (SIB). The client has a rare diagnosis, Bainbridge-Ropers Syndrome (BRPS). BRPS was first described in 2013, and has only been identified in approximately 30 individuals in the literature (Koboldt et al., 2018). BRPS is due to changes in function of the gene additional sex combs-like 3, ASXL3. This gene instructs cells in various organs at different stages of development (Bainbridge et al., 2013), and this mutation is problematic for growth and functioning. Due to the limited amount of individuals currently diagnosed with BRPS, there is a need for increased evidence to support appropriate and efficient assessment and intervention strategies. The client seen in the severe behavior clinic was considered an early learner and due to difficulties related to his diagnosis of BRPS, assessment and treatment of his SIB was challenging. Through various functional assessments tailored specifically to the client, the treatment team was able to identify an appropriate function of his SIB and behavioral interventions were found to be effective for the client based on visual analysis of the data.

Disrobing is a socially stigmatizing behavior impacting people with developmental disabilities. It can be a difficult problem to manage in community settings which may lead to social isolation, poor integration with peers, or placement in restrictive settings (Carlson et al., 2011). Traditional functional analysis (FA) procedures rely on measuring repeatability of a behavior while testing isolated functions (Iwata et al., 1994). Disrobing poses a challenge for this methodology since repeated occurrence would require a therapist redressing the client, potentially providing additional attention, which may serve as a confounding variable (Thomason-Sassi et al., 2011). For disrobing, and other behaviors that cannot be repeated due to practical or ethical concerns (e.g.: elopement, vomiting, severe SIB), latency-based functional analyses can be used to identify function. However, latency-based FAs may take time for the participant to detect the contingencies, which uses additional time and resources and may fail to adequately identify automatically maintained behavior. The present study examined the use of an extended latency-based FA on disrobing for an adult in a residential setting. In test conditions, the participant was instructed to put on clothing. Following the initial disrobing, the participant contacted the contingency and was redressed. Latency to disrobing was measured for before and after the contingency. Results indicated that behavior is likely automatically maintained because behavior was evoked at approximately the same latency throughout all conditions, irrespective of the presence of the potentially reinforcing contingency.

To better understand parent trainings on challenging behavior interventions for parents that speak a language other than English, we conducted a review of the existing literature. We conducted a database search and ancillary searches. Six studies evaluating parent training in challenging behavior interventions in a language other than English were identified. The articles identified were analyzed to determine the types of trainings that had been used and to determine the impact that these trainings had on the child’s challenging behaviors. Across the articles, there were 151 parent participants and 151 child participants. The most common language of parent training was Chinese. The existing literature shows that weekly group parent trainings were most commonly used. The scarcity of articles highlights the need for more research in this area. Specifically, future research should evaluate the efficacy and social validity of research supported challenging behavior interventions with parents who speak languages other than English. Implications and directions for future research will be discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of pseudo self-monitoring on rule infraction behavior in a child with ADHD who showed rule infraction behavior in a teaching situation using a card game. Pseudo-self-monitoring is a procedure in which a participant monitors the behavior of another person imitating the participant (Wada and Takeuchi, 2019). The participant was a child with ADHD, 16 years old. As a method of this research, we created a video of the behavior of others imitating the participation behavior in a teaching situation using a card game. Several scenes in the video were presented to the participant in random order for evaluation. The frequency of rule infraction behavior was averaged 66.4% during the baseline, averaged 20% during the intervention phase, and averaged 24.8% during the probe phase. In other words, it was shown that pseudo self-monitoring was effective in reducing the rule infraction behavior of children with ADHD, and that the effect was maintained.

Antecedent choice-making interventions involve offering an individual a choice in how to complete a task prior to the onset of that task. In order to better understand the possible relationship between antecedent choice making and challenging behavior, a review of the existing literature on the use of antecedent choice-making interventions to reduce challenging behavior was conducted. A systematic review of the literature identified 30 articles in which antecedent choice was implemented to reduce problem behavior. The studies were summarized according to characteristics of the participant, antecedent choice intervention, problem behavior, and other dependent variables such as task completion. In addition, the included studies were analyzed according to the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC; 2017) Single Case Research Design Standards. The literature indicate that antecedent choice-making interventions involve both within-activity choices such as choice of activity materials or setting as well as across-activity choices, such as the order of activities. Initial results indicate the effectiveness of choice-making interventions to reduce challenging behavior. Results will be further analyzed and discussed.

Current research has identified poor post-school outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities; in fact, poorer than any other disability group. Employment support such as vocational skill training can improve outcomes and increase opportunities for paid employment. With recent advances in technology, a myriad of technology devices and programs offer relatively inexpensive and portable forms of support to vocational training programs. Moreover, today’s ubiquitous use of technology allows for the use of technology supports in a way that may not be as stigmatizing in the work setting relative to more traditional forms of support. The purpose of this review is to summarize the literature regarding the use of technology in vocational skills training programs. Articles identified via a systematic search of the literature are summarized according to (a) participant characteristics, (b) vocational skills targeted, and (c) technology device characteristics. In addition, the included studies are analyzed according to the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC; 2017) Single Case Research Design Standards. Results will be further analyzed and discussed.