Association for Behavior Analysis International

SABA Award for Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis: Kurt Salzinger: The Consummate Behaviorist in the Lab and at Home

This award will be accepted by Dr. Salzinger's wife, Deanna Chitayat.

The health problems that result from our own behavior will increasingly become among the most important challenges to health. For example, alarming increases are already being observed in addiction, obesity, and medication non-adherence. However, efforts to improve these conditions and disorders are hindered by the poor efficacy of most of our treatments. This lack of efficacy, I would argue, results from insufficient understanding of the controlling variables. This is a unique opportunity for those interested in basic science and the underlying theory to make important contributions as translational researchers. I will illustrate these unique opportunities with the application of behavioral economics to important health behaviors.

Dr. Warren Bickel joined the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute in 2011 and serves as Director of the Addiction Recovery Research Center and Co-Director of the Center for Transformative Research on Health Behaviors. In recognition of his extraordinary contributions to research and scholarship achievements, Dr. Bickel was recently awarded the Virginia Tech Carilion Behavioral Health Research Endowed Professorship. He has taught and led research programs at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the University of Vermont, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  NIH has funded Dr. Bickel’s work continuously since 1987. Dr. Bickel is an accomplished scholar and researcher whose accolades include receipt of the 2011 APA International Don Hake Translational Research Distinguished Contributions to Basic Research Award and the 2012 Brady-Schuster Award for Outstanding Behavioral Science Research in Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse, Division 28 of the American Psychological Association.  Dr. Bickel was honored to be the recipient of the 2016 Nathan B. Eddy Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. Dr. Bickel was Editor of the journal, Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, has co-edited five books, and has published over 400 papers and chapters. Dr. Bickel’s work is frequently cited and receives national and international recognition.

To make the exhortation "change the world with behavior analysis" a concrete reality, we need the behavior analyst figure to be known, well-estimated and respected by civil society and governmental institutions. At the beginning, we tried to get this approaching the insiders (especially psychologists and educators) to convince them of the goodness of our scientific and evidence-based approach, in order to increase the number of professionals.

Past failures. Unfortunately, to achieve this result we chose to act mainly in universities and public schools, through the publication and spread of experimental research articles and books addressed to psychologists and educators, not to mention all the presentations in congresses and conferences. In time this strategy turned out to be ineffective. In fact, in many countries still nowadays, despite thousands of debates and explanations, only few patients with special needs benefit from ABA treatments, as well as only few companies benefit from performance management, as well as only few hospitals benefit from behavior-based safety, and so on. To demonstrate this, in several countries still there is no law about, or in favor of, behavioral technologies.

A new successful strategy. Starting from the late ‘90s, a small group of ABA practitioners and scientists changed approach in order to get better results in the spread of behavior analysis. They chose to teach ABA to final users rather than to intermediaries (psychologists and educators) and so they started introducing ABA to new categories of professionals as dentists, managers, engineers, medical doctors and industrial safety consultants. The principles and methods of marketing were used to involve new professional categories and, in this way, always more users started to ask to the politicians for more behavior analysis.This unusual strategy demonstrated to be astonishingly better than the previous one. In recent years, in fact, politicians that used to be deaf to the effectiveness proofs brought about by behavior analysts started to care and to pay attention to the demands of professional categories (made by citizens and then voters). Many final users are now demanding for more ABA in their work environment. About this, a list of the actions required to replicate our experience will be presented.

The “ultimate strategy”. Even if the aforementioned marketing-of-a-science tactics are powerful, a faster and more comprehensive strategy it’s in place currently. Our present aim is to influence the state laws writing process in order to change the behaviors of all the stakeholders at the same time. State laws are in fact nothing but conditional statements that, specifying an antecedent, a behavior to be performed, and a consequence (usually a punishment for non-compliance), with the help of prominent judges and politicians could boost a national-level ABA capillary dissemination. Results of this last strategy application will be presented too.

Fabio Tosolin is the behavior analyst and consultant that since the ‘80s has been introducing, spreading and applying Behavior Analysis and Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) principles both in Italy and Europe. In 1985, he founded his own consulting company, FT&A, that is specialized in Performance Management, Learning Technologies and Behavior-Based Safety (B-BS), for the last of which he’s also a referent of European level. His company counts hundreds of PM and B-BS processes implemented in plants and construction sites in Italy and around the world. He is currently professor of Human Factor in HSEQ Management at the Safety Engineering Master’s Degree course, Faculty of Industrial Processes, at Polytechnic of Milano and president of the Italian Associate Chapter of ABAI, made of both the oldest and largest Italian Behavior Analysis Scientific Societies (AARBA and AIAMC). Since 2003 he’s also chair of the European Scientific Conference on OBM, PM & B-BS, held by AARBA.

Founded in 1960, Oregon Research Institute (ORI) is a non-profit, independent, behavioral sciences research center with an international reputation as a leader in research to help people lead healthier lives. ORI scientists embody the belief that the solutions to many of society’s most pressing health and social issues lie in our ability to understand and influence human behavior. ORI researchers apply fundamental behavior analysis and behavior change principles to develop and scientifically evaluate evidence-based interventions to promote health and wellbeing and to prevent and/or treat important behavioral health problems. ORI’s research focuses on (a) promoting healthy child development through interventions to improve parenting skills in at-risk families, improve school environments and instructional practices, and improve peer environments in and outside of school; (b) promoting psychological health through interventions to prevent and treat depression and eating disorders; (c) promoting physical health through interventions to improve diet and exercise throughout the lifespan and to reduce obesity; (d) preventing and treating substance abuse, through interventions focused on nicotine, alcohol, opioids, marijuana, and other drugs, and (e) implementing and disseminating evidence-based behavioral interventions into real-world settings, such as schools, healthcare settings, service agencies, whole communities, and public policy. ORI is funded by research grants from the National Institutes of Health and Institute on Education Sciences, and has 43 scientists and 50 active research projects. ORI is committed to scientific freedom and scientific excellence and provides a collegial and supportive research community for early career scientists and seasoned researchers alike.

Carol Metzler, Ph.D., received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Oregon. Dr. Metzler is a Senior Scientist and the Science Director at Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, Oregon. As a scientist at ORI, she conducts research on parenting practices and child development, and evaluates the efficacy of family interventions for reducing or preventing behavior problems in children. She is particularly interested in research on promoting a public health framework for improving parenting practices and in evaluating the effects of delivering parenting information through non-clinical technology-based approaches. She is currently involved in projects to develop and evaluate technology-based approaches to providing parents of young children with parenting education and support, through video and the internet, and to integrate these parenting programs into pediatric primary care. In addition, Dr. Metzler is also engaged in efforts to summarize what is known about evidence-based programs for children and families and to investigate how these programs can be effectively moved into practice through better integration of science, practice, and policy. As Science Director at ORI, Dr. Metzler works to build awareness of the research done at ORI, build collaborative partnerships between ORI and other research and practice entities, recruit new scientists to ORI, and ensure that ORI continues to provide an optimally supportive environment for world-class behavioral research.

In cognitive and developmental psychology, executive function refers to repertoires related to goal-directed behavior such as attention, inhibition, working memory, flexibility, emotional self-regulation, problem solving, organization, planning, and time management; and skills deficits in these areas have been attributed to the frontal cortex of the brain. From a behavioral perspective, all executive functions involve behaviors which should be able to be strengthened using behavioral principles of learning. For example, according to Skinner, self-control involves two repertoires of behavior: (a) the controlled self, involving normal, ongoing behavior and (b) the controlling self, involving behavior one has learned to control normal behavior. Children with autism have been documented to display deficits in executive function skills. This symposium presents recent research related to teaching executive function skills to children and adolescents with autism. The first paper presents the effects of a treatment package on teaching planning skills. The second paper evaluates procedures for teaching adolescents with beginning time management skills, such as making, following, and adjusting their personal schedules. The final paper presents data investigating the effects of procedures for teaching problem-solving skills.

BCBAs and other certified or licensed professionals

It has been demonstrated that many individuals with autism present with significant deficits as it relates to various executive functioning skills. Difficulties with planning in particular have been well documented in the literature; however, little research exists seeking to remedy such deficits in the behavioral repertoire of learners with autism. With the use of a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design, the current paper examines the acquisition of planning skills with adolescents with autism. Participants with little to no planning abilities were taught to identify a desired outcome in relation to a given activity, the steps and materials needed to complete the given activity, his or her progress toward completion of the plan, and to subsequently complete the plan and specified activity across multiple exemplars. Results indicate the acquisition of planning skills by the participants and will be discussed in terms of the utility of the present procedures within research-practitioner settings. Suggestions for future research and interventions for individuals with autism will be provided.

A dearth of research exists for teaching adolescents with autism to engage in beginning time management skills. This study used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effects of a treatment package consisting of multiple exemplar training, error correction, self-monitoring, and reinforcement for teaching adolescents with autism to make and follow schedules. Results from the first two participants demonstrated that they learned to make, adjust, and follow schedules. During posttraining, performance levels remained high even when various components of the treatment package were removed.

This study evaluated the effect of the “Bump Inspector” Treatment Package on conflict resolution skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Three children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ages 6 and 7, were selected for this study due to prior reports of conflict resolution difficulty and deficits involving flexibility. For this study, a multiple baseline design across participants was used to determine if the intervention increased conflict resolution skills and corresponding actions. Results from the one participant showed completed thus far show that the “Bump Inspector” Treatment Package increased conflict resolution skills in the participant. Findings from the social validity questionnaire revealed that parents of this participant saw clear increases in conflict resolution skills and corresponding action behaviors and that the child seemed to have more courage and independence in the scenarios requiring flexibility.

The high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence involves the presentation of high-p instructions followed by the presentation of a low-probability (low-p) instruction. Researchers have used this procedure to increase compliance across a variety of behaviours, including academic skills, social skills, medical tasks, and food acceptance. Given the broad applicability of this procedure, it is important to identify the procedural variables within the high-p instructional sequence that produce the most meaningful outcomes. The first presentation will compare 2 iterations of the high-p instructional sequence, high-p with a preferred food on a spoon and high-p with an empty spoon, to increase food consumption. The second presentation will (a) compare the effectiveness ofpraise versus edibles as the consequence for compliance with high-p instructions and (b) determine if the number of high-p instructions can be faded from 3 to fewer instructions. Both papers will be discussed within the context of clinical implications and suggestions for future research.

Graduate students

Teachers and coaches

Behavior Analysts

1. Describe the variables of the high-probability instructional sequence that influence the effectiveness.
2. Describe the application of the high-probability instructional sequence to increase food consumption
3. Describe the application of the high-probability instructional sequence within a multicomponent treatment package.

Food selectivity is defined as a child or youth refusing to eat a sufficient variety of foods based on type, texture, or other dimensions (e.g., colour, packaging). It can have a substantial negative impact on family stress, child nutrition and health, and can lead to inappropriate mealtime behaviours. The high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence is a non-intrusive procedure that involves the presentation of three high-p instructions followed by the presentation of one low-probability instruction. To date, only eight studies – with mixed findings – have examined the effectiveness of the high-p instructional sequence to increase young children's consumption of food. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of two iterations of the high-p instructional sequence, high-p with a preferred food on a spoon and high-p with an empty spoon, to increase food consumption in two children with autism spectrum disorder and food selectivity using a multielement design within a reversal design.

To replicate and extend previous research on the high probability request sequence, the first research question was: What are the effects of praise versus edibles as the consequence for responses to high-p requests? In a reversal design with a child with CHARGE Syndrome, there was initial but not sustained experimental control demonstrating higher responding with edibles compared to praise. The second research question was: To what extent can high-p requests be faded from 3 to fewer per low-p request? After demonstrating experimental control with 3 high-p requests, an attempt to fade to 2 high-p requests failed. In a final analysis, experimental control was demonstrated by providing varied reinforcement in the form of videos identified in presession preference assessments. In 20% of sessions, IOA was a mean of 99.1% for high-p requests (range, 93.3% to 100%) and 100% for low-p requests. Results are discussed in terms of continually assessing motivating operations.

This symposium presents recent research related to teaching perspective-taking skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The first paper analyzes the effects of in-vivo teaching procedures, multiple exemplar training, and a visual perspective teaching procedure in a multiple-probe across participants design to teach children with ASD, with limited language repertoires, to view the visual perspective of others. The second paper presents data on teaching children with ASD the perspective-taking skill of identifying what they and others know and do not know, and to explain how their knowledge was obtained or why it was not obtained via sensory perspective-taking (i.e., seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling, etc.), within a multiple baseline across participants design. The final paper evaluates the effects of video-based instruction on teaching a generalized problem solving strategy within and across false-belief categories for shared and differing perspective-taking with individuals with ASD in a multiple-probe across participants design.

BCBAs and other certified or licensed professionals.

A prerequisite skill related to the development of perspective taking skills is recognizing that others may have access to different visual information, which is known as visual perspective taking (Howlin, Baron-Cohen, & Hadwin, 1999). There is limited behavior analytic research on methods to teach children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) visual perspective taking. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the effects of in-vivo teaching procedures, multiple exemplar training, and a visual perspective teaching procedure in a multiple-probe across participants design to teach children with ASD to view the perspective of others. Four experimenter-defined categories (i.e., line of sight, item appearance, array appearance, and item rotation) were used to teach perspective taking skills. The results demonstrated low levels of visual perspective taking in the baseline conditions with participants quickly demonstrating mastery criterion after intervention was introduced. Interobserver-agreement and procedure integrity data were taken on at least 50% of the sessions across all conditions and were 90% or better. This study contributed to the existing literature by providing more information on procedures for teaching visual perspective taking to children with ASD that have limited language repertoires.

Perspective-taking skills such as predicting the future behavior of others based upon their beliefs and creating false beliefs in others for the purpose of adaptive deceptive behaviors such as keeping secrets and surprises and bluffing during games requires one to be able to identify what information others know and do not know (e.g., she does not know we are having a surprise birthday party for her, so she thinks nobody remembers her birthday). The current study evaluated the effects of a multiple exemplar training package that included rules, error correction, and reinforcement on teaching children with autism to identify and explain information that is known and unknown to themselves and others based on each individual’s perspective across the five senses (i.e., she knows or does not know because she can or cannot see, taste, feel, hear, or smell the relevant stimulus). Results of this study thus far indicate that the treatment package was effective in teaching the first of three participants to identify known and unknown information of self and others, as well as how such knowledge was obtained or why it was not obtained. Furthermore, generalization across untrained stimuli and people was observed during posttraining.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of using video-based instruction to teach a generalized problem-solving strategy for perspective taking. Specifically, four participants with autism spectrum disorder were taught (a) a rule and when to use it to assist in the identification of shared or differing information and (b) to use that information to respond to perspective taking questions embedded in videos. Multiple exemplars of shared and differing perspective scenarios were used to promote differential responding to shared and differing perspective tasks, and generalized problem solving within and across false-belief categories (i.e., false identity, unexpected location, misidentified object). Responses were assessed during in-vivo probes of false-belief and shared-belief tasks. After learning the problem-solving strategy, all four participants responded correctly to trained and novel shared- and false-belief tasks. Strategy used generalized to within and across category video and in-vivo probes. Generalization was also observed in everyday contexts.

Instructive feedback (IF) is an effective strategy for increasing the efficiency of instruction. When presented within a discrete trial format, prompting and reinforcement are provided based on the learner’s response to primary targets, and no programmed consequences are provided based on the learner’s response to secondary targets. Several variations of IF have been evaluated in the literature and the effectiveness of these variations may relate to the underlying behavioral mechanisms that contribute to the effectiveness of IF. The studies in this symposium will examine the effectiveness of variations of IF and discuss how variations may relate to the mechanisms underlying the acquisition of targets exposed to IF. In the first study, Tullis and colleagues evaluated two arrangements of IF – one in which secondary targets were presented before a praise statement and one in which secondary targets were presented after a praise statement. Kopchak and colleagues examined two forms of IF. In one form, secondary targets and probes shared similar words. In the other form, secondary targets and probe questions did not share similar words. Zemantic and colleagues examined the effect of context by comparing the presentation of secondary targets in an instructional setting and a novel setting.

The content would be appropriate for practitioners to apply to clinical practice and graduate students.

Although typical discrete trial instruction procedures are effective for teaching tacts to children with autism, they are often time consuming. Using a secondary targets procedure can help increase instructional efficiency. The purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of two variations of a secondary targets procedure on the acquisition of auditory tacts by children with autism. In one variation of the procedure, the secondary target expansion phrase and the probe question contained shared features (i.e., similar words). In the other variation, the secondary target expansion phrase and the probe question did not contain shared features (i.e., no similar words). In addition, the emergence of listener and speaker categorization were evaluated. All three participants learned to correctly tact the auditory stimuli (i.e., the primary targets). Participant 1 responded correctly to probe questions for only the shared features condition. Participant 2 responded correctly to probe questions for both the shared features and no shared features conditions. Participant 3 did not respond correctly to probe questions for either of the conditions. Listener categorization scores were higher than baseline levels for all participants following tact training. Speaker categorization scores were higher than baseline levels for Participants 1 and 2.

Instructive feedback involves including extra stimuli (i.e., secondary targets) within instructional trials in order to increase the efficiency of instruction. No programmed consequences are provided based on the learners’ response to secondary targets. A number of behavioral mechanisms may play a role in the effectiveness and efficiency of instructive feedback, including the context. The current study evaluated the effect of context on the acquisition of secondary targets taught through instructive feedback in an instructional (high demand) and novel (low demand) context for two children with autism spectrum disorder. Both participants acquired secondary targets when presented in a high demand context when presented with primary targets. However, in the absence of primary targets, the low demand context was more effective and efficient for one participant, whereas the high demand context was more effective and efficient for the other participant. Both participants demonstrated generalized responding to novel therapists and untrained Wh-questions. Responding also maintained during probes conducted 2- and 4- weeks post mastery. Future directions for research and clinical applications of instructive feedback procedures are discussed.

Elif Tekin Iftar, Ph.D, is a professor in Special Education at Anadolu University in Turkey. Dr. Tekin-Iftar received her Ph.D. degree in 1999 from Anadolu University. During her doctorate studies she received a scholarship from Turkish Academy of Sciences and pursued part of her doctoral education at University of Kentucky. Dr. Tekin-Iftar received her full professorship in 2009. She served as a director of Research Institute for the Handicapped in Anadolu University between 2007-2014. Her current research and clinical interest include the behavioral treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities, single case experimental research methods, and professional development. Dr. Tekin-Iftar received Distinguished Young Scientist Award and Scholarship from Turkish Academy of Sciences in 2003. Dr. Tekin-Iftar has published over 25 international peer-reviewed journal articles, over 20 book chapters, coauthored a book, and served as editors in three books named as Single Case Research Methods in Educational and Behavioral Sciences, Applied Behavior Analysis, and Educating Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Her research has been published in Exceptional Children, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Journal of Special Education, Research in Developmental Disabilities, and Autism. Dr. Tekin-Iftar currently serves on the editorial board for Exceptional Children. Dr. Tekin-Iftar teaches research methods in education, applied behavior analysis and single case experimental designs at graduate levels. She served as supervisors for many doctoral students in Turkey. She founded Association for Behavior Analysis Turkey (ABATurkey) Chapter as an affiliation of Association for the Behavior Analysis International and she serves as president of ABA Turkey. She founded a graduate program entitled as “Applied Behavior Analysis in Autism” which is the first and only program in its kind in Turkey. She received a postdoctoral scholarship from The Scientific and Research Council of Turkey and visited University of North Caroline in Charlotte for a year. She is the mother of two daughters.

“Safety skills” is an umbrella term consisting of a wide variety of skills. Research has shown that all children have the risk of being injured perhaps fatally because of the intentional and unintentional accidents. Children with autism spectrum disorder face two or three times the risk of injury or abuse compared with those of their same age peers. Ensuring children’s safety is, and should always be, a concern for parents, teachers, and society. However, it is well-documented that teaching safety skills to children with autism spectrum disorder is often neglected both clinically and experimentally. In a relatively new study, it is indicated that (a) although parents and teachers found safety skills instruction important and necessary, they use natural occurrences as teaching opportunities and prevention behaviors rather than providing systematic instruction and (b) neither parents nor teachers have enough knowledge and experience for teaching safety skills (Sirin & Tekin-Iftar, 2016). However, research has shown that when taught systematically, children with autism spectrum disorder could acquire safety skills and perform them over time and across persons and settings. During the presentation, Turkish parents and teachers’ opinions about teaching safety skills to children with autism spectrum disorder and a series of research studies investigating the effectiveness of prompting strategies, videomodelling, and Social Stories in teaching safety skills will be shared with the audience. Implications of these research studies will be discussed.

Behavior analysts; Psychologists; Special education teachers; Graduate students.

Behavioral treatments for chronic pain have amassed an impressive and progressive record of success. As with any area of clinical science, challenges and shortcomings have also been identified. These include difficulties in maintaining clinical effectiveness from clinical trials into large scale implementation efforts, unclear identification of specific intervention components that are clearly linked to improved adaptive outcomes, and lack of clarity with regard to the necessary and active ingredients of effective treatment. Overall, these problems highlight the practical difficulty of translating research into practice. They also helpfully illuminate several potential avenues for improvement, including the need for: (1) a precise delineation of what constitutes treatment success and differentiates it from treatment failure, (2) lucidity in the specification of processes by which treatment is hypothesized to work followed by explicit tests of these hypotheses, and (3) methods to promote the generalization and continuance of within-treatment adaptive behavioral changes to the non-treatment environment. This presentation will describe Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as one potential model that can aid in helpfully progressing down these avenues. In particular, the potential for augmenting patient behavior that displays an open, accepting, and non-struggling response to pain will be highlighted, as this area perhaps differs most markedly from other approaches where a primary focus may be on better management of pain and distress. Furthermore, the importance of identifying important and meaningful areas of living to pursue with pain present will be evaluated, as this has the potential to naturally promote generalization and longevity of treatment gains. Based on the data presented, it seems feasible for individuals with complex and potentially disabling pain to respond to that pain with acceptance and willingness, choose important areas of living that are of personal relevance, and take effective action to improve quality of life. Importantly, these responses are possible when pain is low, but crucially also when pain is elevated or even at its maximum.

Clinicians and researchers working with chronic physical health conditions or who are interested in such conditions.

Physical activity is a key factor in numerous important health outcomes; however, research reveals a concerning worldwide trend of physical inactivity (Guthold, Stevens, Riley & Bull, 2018). The World Health Organization (WHO; 2018) estimates that physical inactivity contributes to 3.2 million deaths per year, making it the fourth leading risk factor for mortality. Despite well-publicized recommendations from health organizations (e.g., WHO, Centers for Disease Control) and an increase in access to fitness-related technology (e.g., fitness trackers), these trends of sedentary behavior have not improved since 2001, and more than one in four adults worldwide fail to meet recommended levels of activity (Guthold et al., 2018). On a positive note, advances in technology present an opportunity for behavior analysts to extend behavior-change techniques to an important health-related behavior. Presenters from three different research labs will share outcomes from behavioral interventions employing goal-setting, incentives, and technology for increasing physical activity in adults.

The target audience for this symposium is behavior analysts who are researchers or practitioners and are interested in using technology to facilitate interventions with health-related target behavior and/or are interested in using incentive-based interventions for increasing physical activity.

Globally, only 25% of adults engage in enough regular physical activity (PA) for overall wellness (World Health Organization, 2018). Despite the substantial health benefits of PA, populations with intellectual disabilities (ID) are substantially inactive, even more so than their typically-developing peers. Recent research suggests approximately 90% of adults with disabilities are not active enough (Oviedo et. al, 2017; Ptomey et al., 2017). In consideration of these findings, the goal of the current study was to use a treatment package to increase the daily PA of adults with ID living in community-based settings. The treatment package included a Fitbit® to measure and monitor overall PA, goal-setting, one-on-one “coaching” sessions, and incentives contingent on meeting a pre-established physical activity goal. Due to the extreme sedentary nature of adults with ID, physical health benefits (e.g., weight loss, decreased blood pressure, lower heart rate) from increased PA may take an extended period of time to manifest. As such, any potential increases in quality of life (e.g., affect, mood, preference) that may occur in the meantime will also be measured. Findings of this study, recommendations for ongoing interventions, applications to other settings, and limitations will be discussed.

Physically inactive adults are at a greater risk of developing noncommunicable diseases (e.g., stroke, cancer, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes) and premature death compared to their physically active peers. Consequently, physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Previous research has investigated the use of contingency management interventions (e.g., contracts, lotteries) to increase physical activity in adults. In the current study, we randomly assigned participants to one of three groups (i.e., contingency management, noncontingent reinforcement, or self-monitoring). Participants wore Fitbit® Alta HR fitness trackers, which provided data on various indicators of increased physical activity, such as calorie burn, steps, and active minutes. The goal of the current study was to further investigate the use of contingency management interventions to increase physical activity in adults.

Gamification is the application of game elements, such as points and competitions, to real life - and behavior analysts did it for years without thinking of it in this manner. When video games became immensely popular, gamification reached whole new scholarly levels as well. Some behavior analysis principles have long been incorporated, and that continues to be the case. Compared to health and education, sustainability gamification is more recent, but just as critical. What can behavior analysts working in sustainability learn from the current state of the field of gamification? What can we contribute? In this symposium, we survey the field, examine some sustainability examples, offer suggestions, and provide perspective on gamification in the context of other sustainability/climate change initiatives.

Behavior analysts at all levels

Competing Stimulus Assessments (CSA) have been used across a number of client populations, behavioral functions, and topographies of problem behavior. The growing body of research, however, has localized most applications and demonstrations of related treatment effectiveness to intensive service delivery settings. As is the case with other behavioral technologies, CSAs should be further examined in settings such homes, community venues, and schools. Such demonstrations may be useful in enhancing the external validity of the CSA and ensuring they can be carried out accurately and efficiently. Utilizing established methodology, we carried out CSAs with multiple adolescents with development disabilities attending a private school for individuals with specialized education needs. Across participants, target behaviors encompassed multiple functions and topographies. CSA procedures were successfully implemented in the educational setting and within the confines of the students’ daily school schedule. Results also included successful identification of competing stimuli for the participants; furthermore, decreased rates of problem behavior followed treatment. Procedures and results will be further discussed in the context of CSA innovations and behavioral assessment treatment transportability.

The target audiences for this talk include practitioners who serve individuals with developmental disabilities in home, community, or school settings; and researchers who are focused on or who are interested in focusing on examining assessment and treatment procedures outside of intensive, more controlled settings.

Many individuals with developmental disabilities experience deficits with communication and social function to such an extent that treatment and services focus heavily communication training. Individuals with developmental disabilities also often experience greater behavioral dysfunction than other populations, which can produce behavior that interferes with skills training, home life, and school activities (Gurney, McPheeters, & Davis, 2006; Dekker, Koot, Ende, & Verhulst, 2002). Due to the extent it interfered with skills training and posed health complications, problem behavior (mouthing, rumination, pica, and motor stereotypy) maintained by automatic reinforcement was assessed for 4 individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities. Competing stimulus assessments were conducted and revealed multiple stimuli that competed with problem behavior, after which related treatment was devised and carried out by educational staff (teachers and teacher assistants) during each participant’s school day. The training of educational staff on assessment and intervention rationale, treatment implementation, and data collection are also discussed.

As schools witness what behavior analysts are capable of doing, they are hiring behavior analysts in increasing numbers to help develop and evaluation interventions with students experiencing behavior and academic problems. In some cases, behavior analysts are delivering direct services, a professional role for which they are well prepared. In a lot of cases, however, schools are calling on behavior analysts to serve as consultants, which is a new role for many of us. A consultant serves in an indirect role by trying to help someone else (e.g., a teacher) help a third party (the student). A consultant typically has no authority over the consultee, but must engage the consultee in such a way that their combined efforts empower the teacher to improve students’ academic achievement and behavioral self-control. The purpose of this presentation will be to help behavior analysts adapt their assessment and instruction/intervention skills to a school-based consultative role. I will present research-based strategies for (a) how to efficiently embed functional assessment principles and practices in the consultation process, and (b) manage the contingencies under which teachers are operating to maximize effectiveness.

Behavior analysts practicing in schools

Behavior analysis is on the cusp of a major change in the way we think about our most fundamental process: Reinforcement. Whereas the law of effect stipulates that reinforcers control behavior because of their special function in increasing a behavior’s strength, an alternative approach casts reinforcers as stimuli with current value to the organism, but no unique function in changing behavior. Under this approach, behavior is controlled by relations between stimuli, depending on the affordances and dispositions of the organism. This tutorial explores some of the data that has led us to change the way we understand control by current environmental conditions. First, the tutorial examines some of the evidence for prospective control, when reinforcers are absent, or temporally distant, or when reinforcer effects are inconsistent with strengthening. Next, I explore how quantitative models can provide a testable explanation of control by the likely future, as extrapolated from the past. Finally, the tutorial considers the implications of a shift from understanding control in terms of retrospective response-reinforcer pairings to prospection on the basis of the perceived structure of the environment, and argues that in conjunction with quantitative models, prospective control need not invoke an inner organism.

This talk is aimed at behavior analysts interested in new ways to measure and describe apparently changes in behavior, and/or in new approaches to understanding how reinforcers affect behavior.

Sarah Cowie obtained her Ph.D. in 2014 at the University of Auckland, under the supervision of Professor Michael Davison and Dr. Douglas Elliffe. Since graduating with her Ph.D., Sarah’s research has explored how past experience translates into control by the present and the likely future.

The papers in this symposium are about teaching complex verbal behavior to individuals with various ability levels. The first paper presents an instructional program aimed at teaching children with autism to understand metaphors. The second paper describes teaching children to mand for information via observational learning. The third paper involves teaching applied behavior analysis to non-ABA professionals.

ABA practitioners, graduate students, non-ABA professionals, academic researchers (applied researchers)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an instruction on the acquisition and generalization of metaphor understanding for children with autism spectrum disorder. Three students (two boys, one girl, 5 to 8 years old) participated in this study. A combination of a multiple probe design across two behaviors and three participants was used. The metaphors were categorized by topography: the metaphors involving physical features and the metaphors involving abstract properties. The instruction consisted of intraverbal training with picture prompts. The results indicated that the instruction was effective to establish the acquisition and generalization of metaphor understanding for the two students who completed the entire study. They also maintained the acquired metaphors up to 2 months following the completion of the instruction.

The PEAK-DT curriculum utilizes discrete trial teaching methods to establish a wide variety of basic and verbal skills, but these methods may not be required to teach skills with more advanced learners or to target sporadic missing skills. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of a behavioral skills training procedure on extended social interactions which combined skill targets across six PEAK-DT programs.During baseline, a 14 year old boy diagnosed with autism attempted to start a conversation (1), tell a joke (2), and engage in conversations to get to know someone better (3) and talk about what he and a partner were doing (4), completing few steps in each interaction type.Administered sequentially across interaction types, a behavioral skills training intervention consisting of instructions, video modeling, feedback, and rehearsal produced steady acquisition, mastery, and maintenance of all four interaction types.The results demonstrated mastery of responses in PEAK-DT programs 1A- Eye Contact, 6B- Greetings and Farewells, 13O- Intermediate Intraverbals, 14M- Advanced Intraverbals, 14T- Verbal Report: Tacting Behavior, and 14Y- Telling a Joke, suggesting that behavioral skills training may be useful in training sporadic missing skills.

Nearly a quarter of individuals with a diagnosis of autism, remain non vocal-verbal even after 8 years of age (Lord, Risi, & Pickles, 2004; Wodka, Mathy & Kalb, 2013) and those with speech impairments and minimal verbal skills have less favorable outcomes in life (Anderson,2007). A 6-year 8 months study (2010-2016) with children with autism (n=126) was successful in inducing 7 first instances of speech in 105 (83%) of the participants, Awasthi (2017), using Mand and Intraverbal Training procedures. Drawn from this large cohort study, the first 3 studies in this symposium offer newer perspectives on the technologies that minimize the number of children remaining non-vocal, and reviews its effect on older non-vocal children. Details on the form of 734 first speech instances as words and syllables are also discussed. The fourth study, building upon previous research from behavioral sciences and Speech Language Pathology literature Presents video self-monitoring to improve procedural integrity in speech production training.

Behavior Analysts and Speech Language Pathologists

The current study spanning 6 years and 8 months, reviews the technologies developed for the emergence of speech in non-vocal children with autism and examines the effectiveness of sign mand training and intraverbal training and the role of stimulus stimulus pairing and motivating operations in inducing first instances of speech in non-vocal children on the autism spectrum. A total of 126 non-vocal children between the ages 1.4 years to 13.5 years participated in 4 experiments that used delayed non-concurrent multiple baseline design across subjects. The technologies were effective in inducing first instances of speech in 83% participants. The time to vocalization, vocals across operants, type of vocal emergence, age of vocalization and the relative successes of the technologies used are explored.

A 6-year 8 months study (2010-2016) with children with autism (n=126) was successful in inducing 7 first instances of speech in 105 (83%) of the participants (Awasthi, 2017). This retrospective study examines a) the form of speech emergence (syllables, word approximations, words) in this large cohort and b) the form of emergence under different stimulus conditions. A total 735 first instances of speech were recorded (first 7 vocals of each participant). Of these, initial vocals emerged as words in 341 instances (46%) and as word approximations or syllables in 394 (54%). When speech emerged as mands, 66% were words and only 34% were word approximations or syllables. The percentages were 57% and 43% respectively for intraverbal fill ins. With part echoic-part mands, only 19% were words and 81% were word approximations or syllables. Sounds that started with /b/, /m/, /p/, /c / /k/ and /o/ accounted for 54% of the first instances of speech. These results suggest a pattern of speech emergence in children with a diagnosis of autism undergoing behavioral interventions for speech emergence. Identifying, recording and classifying the type of emergence could help with clinical decision making for further interventions and serve as a starting point for new lines of research.

Non-vocal-verbal children with Autism, aged between 1.8 years to 13.5 years participated in a large cohort study (n=126) spanning 6 years and 8 months, that was successful in inducing first instances of speech using mand and intraverbal training procedures in 105 (83%) participants, Awasthi (2017). Of these, 7 were older children with autism (8y 2m to 13y 5m). Of these 6 acquired first instances of speech while 1 left the study thirty weeks into intervention. Vocals emerged for 3 with mand training alone, 2 with delayed addition of intraverbal training and for 1 with simultaneous introduction of both. Of the 6 who were successful, the first speech instance emerged within 30 days of intervention with 4 but took more than 150 days with 2 others. The mean days to acquisition of all 7 instances of speech was 181 days (range 58 days to 359 days) taking an average of 25 days/ vocal. A recast of their data in 2 non-concurrent, delayed, MBL graph format confirms the effectiveness of these interventions in inducing first instances of speech in older non-vocal children with autism.

Contingency management (CM) promotes drug abstinence using monetary incentives contingent upon drug negative urine samples, but only about half or fewer of substance users exposed to CM respond by initiating abstinence. Thus, there is a need to understand individual differences in abstinence initiation. We are conducting a randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating whether the medication bupropion (Wellbutrin®) enhances response to CM for cocaine abstinence among methadone patients with cocaine use disorders. Data collection for the effects of medication is ongoing, but we have conducted preliminary analyses to determine whether individuals who initiate early abstinence differ systematically from individuals who fail to initiate early abstinence. Thus far, 25% of the sample achieved six consecutive cocaine-negative urines within the first six weeks of CM (i.e., prior to randomization; early abstainers). Early abstainers were not distinguishable from other participants according to cocaine use disorder severity, demographics, or performance on neurocognitive assessments. Early abstainers showed significantly greater proportion of cocaine-negative urine samples post-randomization relative to those who did not initiate early abstinence. These data emphasize that considerable and persistent differences exist in response to CM. In addition, cocaine use disorder severity, demographics, and other baseline characteristics may be insufficient to predict early abstinence during CM.

Attendance at cardiac rehabilitation significantly reduces the risk of morbidity and mortality following a cardiac event. However, certain populations of patients, such as lower-socioeconomic status patients, are unlikely to attend or complete the recommended course of rehabilitation. In a clinical trial, 130 participants were randomized to either usual care control or to earn incentives on an escalating schedule for completing up to 36 outpatient rehabilitation sessions. Incentivized participants completed significantly more sessions of cardiac rehabilitation and were twice as likely to complete the program. In this secondary analysis of the trial, we estimated the impact of the intervention on ED, Inpatient and Outpatient expenditures, number of visits and length of stay (LOS). Group differences were evaluated 12 months after patients’ qualifying event. Expenditures were modeled using a two-part model (TPM), since we expected that the probability of incurring any expenditure was independent of the amount of expenditure; number of visits and LOS were modeled by using negative binomial regressions. Models controlled for sociodemographic factors, smoking status, and severity of illness. Preliminary results indicate that the intervention group had, compared to the control group, lower mean expenditures for ED and outpatient, but not inpatient services.

Children with feeding disorders may pack or expel food when they lack the oral-motor skills, the motivation, or both to swallow. Utensil manipulation such as presenting bites on the tongue with a Nuk or flipped spoon is a treatment that researchers generally implement after these behaviors emerge. One exception is Wilkins et al., (2014) because they implemented utensil manipulation during initial treatment of pediatric feeding disorders. In the current study, we extended previous utensil-manipulation studies by comparing the effects of (a) upright-spoon presentation; (b) Nuk presentation; and (c) flipped-spoon presentation on 2 product measures of swallowing, 15- and 30-s mouth clean, and expulsion during the initial treatment of feeding disorders with 5 children. We also monitored lip closure during upright-spoon presentation and following bite deposit in all conditions to evaluate whether utensil manipulation corresponded with improvements in this oral-motor skill. Nuk presentation produced the highest levels of 15-s mouth clean and the lowest rates of expels relative to upright-spoon presentation and flipped-spoon presentation across children. We discuss the data in terms of potential reasons why utensil manipulation improved feeding behavior and how measures of oral-motor skills might predict the necessity of utensil manipulation during initial treatment.

Previous literature supports the use of demand fading in conjunction with differential reinforcement of alternative behavior to increase food consumption and mitigate potential emotional responding often observed in escape extinction of inappropriate mealtime behavior (Dolezal, 2006). However, demand fading can occur across many dimensions (e.g., bite placement, bolus size, bite quantity; Kerwin Ahearn, Eicher, & Burd, 1995; Knox, Rue, Wildenger, Lamb, & Luiselli, 2012; Penrod, Gardella, & Fernand, 2012). It is unclear which dimension is the most effective and efficient to fade along to increase consumption and decrease inappropriate mealtime behavior. We used a combined multielement and reversal design to assess the effects of demand fading across bite placement and bolus size plus differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, with and without escape extinction, on compliance and inappropriate mealtime behavior. So far, results indicated that compliance increased across both demand fading dimensions only after we added escape extinction. Initial rates of inappropriate mealtime behavior were lower across both demand fading dimensions with escape extinction compared to escape extinction alone, suggesting that demand fading can help attenuate some potential side effects of escape extinction. Implications of incorporating demand fading into escape extinction are discussed.

The clinical significance of lip closure as it relates to pediatric feeding disorders has not yet been empirically evaluated. From an oral motor perspective, in typically developing infants, lip closure helps to keep food within the mouth, and the skill becomes more efficient as the child develops (Carruth & Skinner, 2002). Unfortunately, this behavior does not always emerge in children with feeding disorders, as they do not follow an age-typical eating progression. This may result in an “open mouth posture” when depositing food. It is unclear whether this behavior is actually an avoidance response or a result of limited oral motor skills. For children with limited oral motor capabilities, this may also result in higher levels of expulsion and/or packing (Wilkins et al., 2014; Sharp, Harker, & Jaquess, 2010). Previous researchers have demonstrated that antecedent manipulations such as an alternative bite placement on the middle of the tongue may compensate for these deficits (Girolami, Boscoe, & Roscoe, 2007). However, bite placement alone does not necessarily address the issue of poor lip closure. Therefore, increasing lip closure may be an alternative antecedent manipulation that may also compensate for a lack of oral motor capabilities. In the current study, we successfully increased lip closure and decreased biting on the spoon in a 6-year old boy with a feeding disorder using physical guidance and fading. As a result of this manipulation, we were able to increase oral intake and decrease tube feedings.

This symposium will address advanced topics in the stimulus control of behavior in the experimental and applied domains. All presentations, two experimental and two applied, investigated how a variety of stimulus conditions impacted the formation of stimulus classes under. The first presentation manipulated the physical properties of stimuli to form generalized equivalence classes (money equivalences) to induce new applied repertoires (purchasing skills) that emerged in novel settings. The second presentation compared contingent and non-contingent reinforcement during errorless instruction and determined that the influence of a “hidden contingency” accounted for errorless learning in the absence of contingent reinforcement. The third presentation evaluated different training modalities on the subsequent formation of equivalence classes. The results suggested that stimulus control topography coherence theory may require revision. Finally, the fourth presentation investigated whether or not prompts used during training entered into equivalence classes and expanded those classes. The results indicated that class-specific prompts became members of relevant classes and could be used to efficiently expand those classes. The outcomes of these studies are discussed in terms of the development of novel forms of stimulus control and improving the efficacy of instruction of complex behavior.

Graduate students conducting research in the areas of complex stimulus control and derived relational responding; Individuals designing instruction for children with and without autism and developmental disabilities,

This experiment explored how training influenced the formation of 3-node 5-member equivalence classes during the simultaneous protocol. The baseline relations were established concurrently (CONC) or serially (SER) on a trial and error basis, or serially and “errorlessly” with a constructed response matching to sample procedure (CRMTS). After training, test blocks were administered to measure class formation. Test blocks trials contained all baseline relations and probes for symmetry, transitivity, and equivalence. The error percentages while acquiring the baseline relations were highest during concurrent training, lower during serial training, and lowest during constructed response training. Yet, similar percentages of participants formed classes in each training condition. Thus, the likelihood of equivalence class formation under the simultaneous protocol was not influenced by training modality or prevalence of errors during baseline acquisition. In addition, transient stimulus control topographies that emerged during training did not subsequently resurge during testing, thus, their resurgence did not account for failed class formation. Because the error and resurgence findings were not consistent with stimulus control topography coherence theory, it might have to be revised to accommodate to the data reported in this experiment.

Delay and probability discounting refer to the devaluation of an outcome as a function of the delay or probability with which the outcome occurs. Discounting rates inform researchers how people make decisions and have been shown to differ between individuals with unhealthy patterns of behavior and control groups. But, everyday choices are not devoid of context and many questions remain about what choice is sensitive to across contexts. This series of talks examines how discounting can be influenced by one’s previous history and current state of access to the commodity under consideration. In addition, these talks highlight novel discounting methodology and data analytic approaches that may allow researchers to better understand what discounting looks like across different groups. Populations discussed will be women with food insecurities, MTurk participants, and the classic undergraduate student. Topics discussed will be amount/delay sensitivity to alcohol; how the size of one’s bank account and intermixing gains and losses influences discounting; and classic population comparisons in discounting rates. Together, the talks that comprise this symposium highlight advances in: methods for measuring discounting, group differences in discounting, and analytic techniques to understand discounting.

Graduate students in behavior analysis; Behavior analysts working in feeding; behavior analysts working with substance abuse populations

Food insecurity, or inconsistent access to foods that meet nutritional needs, has been linked to delay discounting for money, a behavioral measure of impulsivity. The purpose of the present study was to examine differences in delay and probability discounting for food and money outcomes in women with varying levels of food insecurity. Ninety-two women were recruited from a community sample. Participants completed delay and probability discounting tasks for food and money, food security measures, and measures of demographic and health-related variables. Results revealed that food insecure individuals showed significantly higher rates of delay discounting for both food and money compared to food secure individuals. No significant differences were found with probability discounting. These results indicate food insecure individuals are relatively more impulsive for food and money than those of food secure status but not necessarily different in risk-taking. In addition, impulsive behavior may be an underlying mechanism of obesity-related health outcomes in food insecure populations.

Heavy alcohol use on college campuses is a major concern, as it can result in academic problems, assault, alcohol use disorders, and death. One hallmark of excessive drinking is elevated discounting rates of alcohol compared to money. Differences in discounting rates could be due to differences in sensitivity to magnitude of rewards and/or delay. Recent analytic techniques may provide a better understanding of these behavioral mechanisms, and their effects on choice. We used the multilevel modeling technique to evaluate discounting of alcohol and money with undergraduate college students. This approach examines group and individual discounting rates simultaneously using a multilevel logistic regression and nonlinear models. It has been recommended for use, as it is sensitive to magnitudes of reward and relative delay, which are considered separate contributors to choice. We found subjects had differential sensitivity to reward magnitude and delay when discounting of alcohol compared to money. Findings suggest these analytic techniques may lead to the enhanced understanding of these behavioral processes needed to successfully target and decrease alcohol consumption on college campuses.

Previous studies have investigated how drastic changes to income influence delay discounting (e.g. Bickel et al., 2016). Additionally, while researchers have investigated how choices change as a function of the absolute magnitude of an outcome (e.g. Green et al., 1999), no studies have investigated how choices change as a function of magnitude relative to the amount in a participant’s bank. We investigated how endowing participants with a bank of varying amounts influenced choice within delay discounting tasks. 60 undergraduate psychology students completed 4 delay discounting tasks. Each task presented one of two different amounts for the delayed choice alternative (i.e., $3000 and $500,000). In addition, each task presented one of two relative bank amounts (i.e., 1/4 or 4 times the delayed amount). Discounting of the delayed amount was significantly greater when the bank amount was smaller than the delayed amount (e.g. $750 bank; $3,000 delayed amount) only in the small delayed amount ($3,000) condition. When the delayed outcome magnitude was large ($500,000), the bank amount did not have a statistically significant effect on discounting. Our results suggest contrived economic context influences participants’ choices under conditions in which an outcome is delayed.

Children with autism have deficits in language, communication, social interaction, and perspective taking skills. Storytelling integrates this cluster of skills as it requires an understanding of narrative structure, the use of complex sentences, and it naturally occurs in social contexts. For example, narratives have been used to teach children with autism to tell personal experience narratives (Favot et al., 2018), increase the complexity of the sentences used to tell stories (Petersen et al., 2016), and to take another’s perspective (Gillam et al., 2015). We will present a summary of the currently available data-based research that used storytelling activities to teach various skills to children with autism, many of which are published in non-behavior analytic journals. The results of the systematic review will be discussed while giving special attention to the specific teaching procedures used to promote storytelling, the dependable variables (e.g., social skills, academic skills, perspective taking, and communication skills), and the methodological rigor used to investigate the effect of the intervention. Implications will be discussed as they pertain to academic and social programming for children with autism and directions for future behavior analytic research.

Applied behavior analysis is concerned with improving or solving socially relevant problems (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968; Fisher, Groff, & Roane, 2011). A socially relevant problem for service organizations and training institutions is ensuring employees and trainees acquire minimum competency to meet job expectations and to be eligible for employment. The purpose of this symposium is to provide examples of behavior analytic training applications in applied and university settings. The first paper provides an example of how behavior analytic training strategies were incorporated into a state mandated medication administration training. The number of organizational medication errors, number of opportunities to pass a written exam, and number of opportunities to pass a competency exam were examined to determine training outcomes. The second paper provides an example of an organizational training to improve outcomes of a functional behavior assessment. The third paper provides an example of university supported training for special educators to conduct trial-based functional analyses and develop function-based supports. The fourth paper provides an example of training for university students learning to conduct functional analyses.

Practitioners, educators, and administrators who design and implement employee and university training programs specific to behavior analysis.

Melmark is a multi-state human service provider with premier private special education schools, professional development, training, and research centers. Training at Melmark is designed to increase the professional skills of employees, which in turn increases life outcomes for the individuals we support. Melmark trains based upon the principles of competency based instruction, performance-based instruction (Brethower & Smalley, 1998) and behavioral skills training (BST; Reid, Rollyson & Parsons, 2012). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of added material (i.e., 8-hours of video-based instruction), increased opportunities to respond during the training (i.e., fluency-timings, guided notes), and behavior skills training. Additionally, employees observing competency of the medication administration process were retrained using principles of fluency-based methods, active student responding, and behavior skills training. The outcomes of the trainings are discussed in light of medication errors, testing, as well as initial and maintenance observations. Impact on the organization will also be discussed.

This study explored methods for training behavior analysis students to conduct functional analyses. Students (n=5) in a behavior analysis graduate program were first taught to conduct one condition of a trial-based latency functional analysis using three 30-minute sessions including instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. Performance following training was significantly better than baseline measures, however the criterion for competency was not met for all participants. Students (n=3) that did not demonstrate competency with the behavioral skills training alone were then provided 3 additional 10 minute training sessions using TAGTeach methodology. This additional training was sufficient for all students to attain competency. The same treatment integrity checklist used during training was then used to check for generalization in the students’ applied settings. All students (n=5) performed at mastery criterion under applied settings. Results indicate that behavioral skills training combined with TAGTeach training may be an effective way of training graduate students to conduct complex behavior analytic analyses.

Physical activity is one of the most critical actions Americans can take to improve overall health. Despite the wide range of health benefits physical activity can provide, it is estimated that more than 60% of U.S. adults do not reach the recommended amount of weekly physical activity and 25% do not engage in any physical activity. Effective intervention is needed to increase physical activity in U.S. adults. This study examines the effects of self-monitoring, peer-monitoring, and peer yoked contingency on physical activity in adults. The study is currently in progress and results have not been determined at this time.

There has been growing interest in the representation of women and other minorities in the field of behavior analysis given the inception of the Women in Behavior Analysis conference and the special issue on Women in Behavior Analysis published in Behavior Analysis in Practice, an ABAI-affiliated journal. This symposium reports data regarding representation of women in academia within behavior analysis by examining research productivity and publicly available salaries. The first paper entitled, “Participation of Women in Behavior Analysis Research: Some Recent and Relevant Data,” reports an increasing trend of women publishing in major behavior analytic journals compared to historical data. The second paper, “The Gender Pay Gap for Behavior Analysis Faculty: It’s Big and Bad,” reports a shocking discrepancy amongst female and male professors employed at ABAI-accredited universities based in the United States relative to other disciplines. We discuss implications of these findings for women in academia and in the field of behavior analysis.

Professors, graduate students, instructors of behavior analysis, and supervisors of individuals pursuing behavior analytic certification

Pain is a classic or, perhaps, rather a modern scientific conundrum. It is, by definition, a subjective experience. One of the confusing or difficult problems comes about by reducing the experience to a singular objective entity that can be quantified. How and why this is done will be discussed in two ways. One in relation to contemporary accounts of basic pain research agendas and what seems like the (re)discovery of the brain and conditioning (respondent, operant) mechanisms. The other by placing the issue in the applied context of trying to reliably and validity measure pain experience in individuals with communicative difficulties associated with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Behavioral scientists; practitioners providing services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Application of basic statistical measures (e.g., t-tests, ANOVA) to single-subject designs have been a source of conflict in Behavior Analysis because, in part, these tests aggregate behavioral variability across subjects and time, eliminating much of the data that behavior analysts find important. Multilevel modeling (MLM) is a statistical technique that addresses these concerns and is commonly used when data are naturally clustered (e.g., student clusters in classrooms, which are also clustered in various schools across a district). With MLM, the value of a statistical parameter for a specific case depends on the levels of the each cluster for that case. A single subject can serve as a cluster of data and, therefore, MLM can provide subject-by-subject predictions. In a single-subject or small-n design, statistical comparisons based on the IVs of interest are enhanced when the models have already accounted for intrasubject variability. In theoretical modeling of behavior, subject-by-subject model parameters can be obtained while simultaneously accounting for group-level patterns in the data. This tutorial will demonstrate using MLM to analyze experimental data from a single subject design and also to conduct subject level model fitting. The analyses will be conducted in R, a popular, free software package for statistical analyses.

Researchers, research-practitioners, students

Dr. DeHart received his B.A. and Ph.D. from Utah State University under the mentorship of Dr. Amy Odum. In July of 2017, he began his current position as a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Warren Bickel at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. Dr. DeHart’s primary research interests include the behavioral economics of addiction and other health behaviors including cigarette smoking and obesity as well as the application of advanced statistical methods to behavioral data. His early research investigated novel methods of reducing impulsive choice using framing and financial education and his dissertation applied structural equation modeling to better understand the effects of delay length and outcome magnitude on delay discounting. His current research interests are twofold. First, he is interested in measuring the abuse liability of different risky products including tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes and how demand for those products can be changed using public-health narratives. Second, he is interested in understanding the relationship of delay discounting to various health behaviors. In this line, he has applied advanced statistical methods including structural equation modeling, machine learning algorithms, and mixed-effects modeling. Dr. DeHart’s work has been recognized by various popular media outlets including the Wall Street Journal and he currently serves on the editorial board for the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Jonathan E. Friedel is a research psychologist in the Bioanalytics Branch at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. As part of the Organizational and Behavioral Research Team, he works on several grant funded projects focused on worker safety in laboratory workers, distracted driving, and data analytics for organizations using behavior based safety. He is currently the primary investigator for a grant funded project designed to use behavioral economics to quantify the factors that affect safety-related decision making in small businesses. He obtained his PhD in experimental psychology from Utah State University where he focused on delay discounting and behavioral economics. He obtained a MS in Behavior Analysis from University of North Texas.  

Skinner (1957) defined the tact as a verbal response under the functional control of a nonverbal antecedent stimulus due to a history of generalized conditioned reinforcement. However, control by nonverbal stimuli over vocal verbal responses often emerges in the apparent absence of prior reinforcement. This phenomenon has been documented, for example, in research on on receptive-to-expressive generalization, stimulus pairing observation procedures, and instructive feedback, and it requires explanation in an operant account of language. It is commonly proposed that undocumented reinforcement of overt or covert echoic responses in the presence of the nonverbal stimulus plays a role in emergent tact control. In this presentation I will review research from my own lab and others that has addressed this hypothesis by measuring or manipulating the occurrence of echoic responses during learning trials. I will evaluate the extent to which the results support a functional role of echoic responding in emergent tact control and discuss alternative explanations of the phenomenon, including relational operants and stimulus correlation effects.

Behavior analysts; scientists

Research and practice related to function-based interventions for problem behavior have evolved significantly since behavior analysts began working with children with problem behavior. One example is the synthesis of establishing operations and reinforcers in both functional and treatment analyses. The current symposium will focus on examples of the effects of synthesized reinforcement contingencies, and will present data related to (a) efficient analysis and treatment processes conducted in a school setting, (b) the application of a skills-based treatment package without extinction to reduce severe problem behavior, (c) a treatment model in which children and/or parents are continuously provided the choice of participating in treatment or leaving the therapeutic context, and (d) training parents to teach their children functional life skills in an effort to minimize emerging problem behavior and prevent severe problem behavior.

Behavior analysis practitioners, researchers, and educators.

Many individuals diagnosed with autism demonstrate deficits in verbal, academic, and imitation skills. Various programs have been developed to improve these skills; however, it is important to ensure that these programs are effective, socially valid, and produce generalizable repertoires. Study 1 reviewed the literature on teaching imitation in 20 studies with a total of 166 participants with autism. The authors found that contingent imitation may improve skills adjacent to imitation including language, play, and joint attention. Study 2 addressed the adaptive skill of using a debit card with adolescents. After using multiple exemplars, the participants generalized the skill to the community over a four week period. Study 3 evaluated a recently developed error correction program for discrete trial instruction that involved losing opportunities to earn more-preferred items following a mistake. Not only was the program found to efficiently improve mastery of targeted tasks, it was also preferred by participants and caregivers. Instructor error during discrete trial instruction, such as delays to reinforcer delivery, can also impact skill acquisition of the student. In Study 4, the authors systematically manipulated different delays to reinforcement across multiple reinforcer classes to evaluate the effects of programmed treatment integrity failure. These studies provide evidence for multiple programs that can be used to build skills for those diagnosed with autism.

BCBAs, BCBA-Ds, BCaBAs, licensed psychologists, and other behavior analytic providers who need to learn different techniques for skill-building with clients diagnosed with autism.

Imitation training is a critical component of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) programs for children with autism. While extensive research has informed procedures for teaching imitation under tight instructional control, there are not comparable empirically-derived procedures for teaching imitation in the natural environment. Contingent imitation (i.e., the instructor imitating the child’s behavior) is a naturalistic strategy incorporated in reciprocal imitation training (RIT). The present review evaluated the literature using contingent imitation to teach imitation in children with autism across 20 studies, published across 14 journals, with a total of 166 participants with autism. Effects reported include increases to imitation (i.e., vocal, motor, object), language, play behaviors, and joint attention. A nonoverlapping points (NAP) treatment analysis indicated this research has produced variable effect sizes. However, more research is warranted, and directions for future research on contingent imitation are discussed. This review will apply a conceptual analysis of generalized imitative repertoires to its discussion of whether contingent imitation may facilitate skill acquisition and influence motivating variables.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate deficits in performing generalized responses that occur in natural environments. Previous research has discussed the importance of teaching adaptive skills to adolescents with ASD that generalize to the natural environment to increase independence throughout adulthood. To address such deficits, Horner and colleagues (1982) recommended using general-case analysis strategies to identify the full range of stimulus variations and required responses; then creating multiple teaching exemplars that facilitate for generalization of the target skill. To date, general-case analysis and multiple exemplar training have not been used to teach individuals with ASD to use a chip debit card. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to address limitations of previous studies that did not implement generalization strategies to teach adolescents with ASD adaptive skills. A multiple-probe design was used to demonstrate skill acquisition across teaching and generalization probe exemplars for three adolescents with ASD. Pre- and posttest probes were conducted at stores in the natural environment to assess generalized responding. All participants acquired the target skill following video modeling and multiple exemplar training, generalized their responding to the natural environment and maintained their responding during a four-week posttest probe.

Being able to do the right thing in the right context is an essential skill for every species. A fundamental learning process related to behaving appropriately is the capacity to engage in conditional discriminations. As with all forms of learning, many factors can influence conditional-discrimination performance. In this symposium, we will consider several variables influencing conditional-discrimination performance in pigeons and humans across both simple and conditional discriminations. The first presentation examined discrimination of the presence versus absence of prior reinforcement on the development of variable-response sequences in pigeons. The second presentation examined the effects of static versus dynamic samples during simple and conditional discriminations with humans. The third presentation examined the effects of comparison-set size on performance during auditory-visual conditional discriminations in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The final presentation examined the use of quantitative analyses to characterize error patterns during conditional discriminations in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Practitioners, teachers, applied researchers, translational researchers, and basic researchers

When teaching auditory-visual conditional discriminations, some of the available teaching strategies (e.g., blocked-trials procedures, conditional-only method) vary by number of comparison stimuli present during training. Sidman (1987) argued that instructors should include more than two comparison stimuli during training to reduce the likelihood of false positive or false negative results. However, researchers have yet to evaluate the effects of comparison size on acquisition of auditory-visual conditional discriminations. This study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching using sets of two, three, and four stimulus pairs, using an adapted alternating treatments design. Three children aged 3- and 6-years old, diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, participated in the study. Experimenters taught 12 relations in each experimental condition. For one participant, the 3-array presentation was most efficient, and for the other participant, the 2-array presentation was most efficient. The results will be discussed in terms of clinical implications and directions for future research.

Effective training procedures for caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are essential for effective treatment. Additionally, improving efficiency and ease of access to this training through technological advancements will lead to quicker access to effective treatment. This symposium includes applied research on training technologies involving telehealth and virtual reality to increase access to effective assessment and intervention for children with ASD. The first two studies involve the use of telehealth in behavior skills training (BST) with real-time instruction and feedback. The first study focuses on training preference assessment methodology for staff working with children with ASD. The second study focuses on training intervention to decrease disruptive sleep behavior skills in parents of children with ASD. The second two studies involve the use of virtual reality in training skill acquisition (i.e., discrete trial training) and behavior reduction (i.e., functional communication training) procedures to pre-service and in-service teachers working with children with ASD. Discussion of results from both telehealth and virtual reality training studies will follow.

Target audience includes practitioners, researchers, and graduate students working with children with autism spectrum disorders interested in understanding advancements in technology related to training.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) engage in sleep disruptive behavior (SDB). Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of treatments for SDB, including positive bedtime routines, bedtime passes, faded bedtime, and extinction (Freeman, 2006; Vriend, Corkum, Moon, & Smith, 2011). When training parents to manage SDB, it may be important for the therapist to coach parents and provide feedback on their use of the procedures immediately prior to, during, and following the child’s bedtime. Having a therapist in the home at night may be intrusive for the family and impracticable for the therapist. Telehealth technologies would allow therapists to provide immediate coaching and feedback to parents and to collect procedural integrity data without having to be physically present in the home. In this study, therapists remotely delivered components of behavior skills training to teach parents to implement individualized, function-based treatments for three children with autism who engaged in SDB. All of the children engaged in less SDB and slept longer after the parents implemented the treatment with high integrity. Parents indicated that they were satisfied with the telehealth treatment services. These findings replicate and extend the literature on the efficacy of telehealth technologies to train parents.

Effective, efficient, and accessible staff training procedures are needed to meet the service delivery demand for treating individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous research using behavioral skills training (BST) to remotely train staff to conduct preference assessments has been found to be effective, but required up to 6-hours of trainer time per trainee (Higgins, Luczynski, Carroll, Fisher, & Mudford (2017). The purpose of the present study looked to evaluate the effectiveness of delivering a single component of BST, real-time feedback, via telehealth to train newly hired early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) staff to conduct multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessments. A nonconcurrent multiple-baseline- across-participants design showed that remote real-time feedback was associated with short training time and minimal sessions to achieve mastery. Generalization and maintenance probes indicated these skills were transferable to other preference assessment stimuli and learners diagnosed with ASD. Social validity ratings indicated that this was a socially acceptable training procedure.

Effective training procedures include Behavioral Skills Training (BST) involving written and verbal instructions, modeling of the skill, rehearsal of the skill, and feedback on the performance. This training typically involves hours of in vivo experience in which trainees and students with ASD are exposed to risk (e.g., behavioral issues such as aggression, errors in teaching performance). Including BST in a virtual reality (VR) context involving virtual individuals with ASD characteristics and behaviors, may be an effective training method that reduces risk. The purpose of this study was to examine if training students to do functional communication training (FCT) in a VR environment is effective. We trained 13 college students to implement FCT for attention and escape functions using a virtual reality environment. Preliminary results show that VR BST was effective at increasing correct steps performed of FCT to mastery criterion levels with all participants. Future researchers should examine generalization and maintenance of these procedures.

Pediatric feeding disorders range in severity from mild selectivity to complete refusal. If left untreated, pediatric feeding disorders can result in serious health ramifications including malnutrition, growth delays, and developmental delays. In this symposium, we will describe treatments for disordered feeding that involve differential reinforcement, simultaneous presentation plus nonremoval of the spoon (NRS), synthesized reinforcement, and a variation of the finger prompt. Harrison and colleagues will present a study on the evaluation of how to best select an effective reinforcer for the treatment of food selectivity. McHugh and colleagues will present a study comparing a commonly used occupational therapy treatment (food chaining) to an empirically supported behavioral treatment (simultaneous presentation plus NRS) for the treatment of food selectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder. Gover and colleagues will present an extension of the use of shaping with synthesized reinforcers and partial extinction in treatment of pediatric food selectivity. Rubio and colleagues will present a study evaluating the efficacy and acceptability of a variation of the finger prompt to food refusal in children with feeding disorders.

Researchers and practitioners.

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior is a widely used procedure to increase consumption of nonpreferred foods in children with food selectivity (e.g., Allison et al., 2012; Anderson & McMillan, 2001; Kern & Marder, 1996; Najdowski, Wallace, Doney, & Ghezzi, 2003). However, the types of reinforcing stimuli used varies across studies, including edibles, tangibles, attention, or a combination of edibles, tangibles, and attention. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the use of a progressive ratio reinforcer assessment to identify a reinforcer that will most effectively increase the acceptance of nonpreferred foods. First, we conducted a progressive ratio reinforcer assessment using an arbitrary task. Then, we evaluated the effects of differential reinforcement using an edible, a tangible, a type of attention, or a combination of the stimuli as the reinforcer. We compared the effects of each reinforcer to the outcome of the progressive ratio reinforcer assessment to determine if this assessment accurately predicts the most effective reinforcer to be used during treatment for individuals with food selectivity. Preliminary results suggest the progressive ratio reinforcer assessment predicted the most effective reinforcer to be used during differential reinforcement with food selectivity for one participant.

Feeding disorders can range from mild (e.g., food selectivity by taste or texture) to severe (e.g., total food refusal). If left untreated, feeding disorders can result in serious health ramifications, including malnutrition, growth delays, and developmental delays. Recent studies comparing commonly used occupational therapy (OT) treatments and empirically supported applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatments found that the ABA treatments were effective for all participants while the OT treatments were ineffective for all participants. We used a multielement design to compare a modified version of commonly used OT treatment, Food Chaining, and an empirically validated ABA treatment, simultaneous presentation plus nonremoval of the spoon, to treat the food selectivity of 2 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For both participants, consumption of the target foods only increased during the ABA-treatment condition. We subsequently faded the size of the preferred food within the simultaneous-presentation arrangement, moved to a sequential-presentation arrangement, and then thinned the schedule of reinforcement. We will discuss the results within the context of treatment implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research.

Gover, Hanley, Marcus, Ruppel, and Landa (in prep) described an assessment and treatment process addressing the food selectivity of five children with and without developmental disabilities. The process involved (a) indirectly and directly assessing food preference and problem behavior associated with mealtimes and (b) incorporating assessment results into a treatment process that relied on differential and synthesized reinforcement of successive approximates to eating. This paper extends that research by evaluating the process across novel populations including a group of three typically developing siblings using a group contingency and a young boy with autism who engaged in total food refusal and relied on a g-tube. Implications for practitioners and areas for future research will be discussed.

Driving gasoline powered cars contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants. This study used an ABAB reversal design to examine the effects of immediate feedback on non-ecofriendly driving behavior (i.e., hard braking, hard accelerating). An “Automatic” device was installed in each participant’s car to measure specific parameters of driving, including accelerating, braking, and fuel consumption. During the baseline condition participants received feedback after driving by logging in to the Automatic application on their smartphone. During the immediate condition participants received feedback from the “Automatic” device while driving. All three participants had an overall decrease in episodes of hard accelerations/hard brakes during the immediate feedback condition compared to the delayed feedback baseline condition.

Idling vehicles pollute the air around the vehicle and the exhaust can enter school buildings through air intakes, doors, and open windows. Children are especially vulnerable to vehicle emissions because of their developing lungs, smaller lung surface area, and higher inhalation rate. Emissions can lead to serious health conditions like asthma and allergies (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2003). Along with health conditions, idling vehicles also cause wasted fuel, wear and tear, and wasted money. Given these factors, we designed a study to decrease vehicle idling during school dismissal. We conducted a non-current multiple baseline design across three schools to evaluate the effects of a treatment package on the percentage of 10-s intervals during which vehicles were idling 15 minutes prior to dismissal. The treatment package consisted of providing drivers with a written policy and rationale along with verbal instructions as well as stimulus prompts in the form of “No Idling” signs placed on school grounds. Idling decreased across the three schools with the implementation of the treatment package, however data remained variable. The mean percentage of intervals scored with idling decreased from baseline to treatment. The importance of implementing behavior change for a sustainable world programs within schools will be discussed, as well as the challenges of such programs.

Coral bleaching negatively impacts the biodiversity and functioning of reef systems and has become a worldwide phenomenon. Benzophenone-3 (BP-3; oxybenzone) contributes to coral bleaching, decline of coral growth and death (Downs et al., 2015). Oxybenzone is also harmful algae, fish and mammals. Oxybenzone is commonly found in sunscreen lotions to protect against the harmful effects of ultraviolet light. Danovaro et al. (2008) reports that 6-000-14,000 tons of sunscreen is discharged into the coral reefs each year. The level of oxybenzone concentration deemed toxic to Hawai?I’s coral reefs is 62 parts per trillion (PPT). Downs et al (2015) tested levels of 700+ PPT. Hawai?i has banned the use of sunscreens containing oxybenzone effective 2021. This presentation will describe a project with dual goals of educating people and getting them to switch to mineral-based, oxybenzone-free sunscreen. Because there were not enough brands that communicated or connected with Hawai?ian culture, I decided to develop my own mineral sunscreen. After two years I successfully obtained FDA approval for Ko?a (Hawai’ian word for coral) sunscreen. To date, I have traded more than 80 free 2-oz. samples of Ko?a sunscreen for more than 150 bottles of reef killing sunscreen. I also organize sunscreen drop offs to ensure the reef killing sunscreen goes to the state-run incinerator and never make its way to the ocean and landfills.

Functional-analysis methodology allows researchers and clinicians to identify the functional variables maintaining severe destructive behavior (e.g.., self-injurious behavior). Several researchers have expanded upon Iwata et al.’s (1982/1994) initial functional-analysis paper to improve the efficacy and efficiency of functional-analysis procedures, including combining individual consequences (e.g., escape to attention) within test and control conditions (i.e., synthesized contingency analysis) as opposed to the traditional approach of evaluating individual contingencies (e.g., escape alone, attention alone). Recently, Hanley et al. (2014) detailed an approach to developing and assessing destructive behavior known as interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis, which uses caregiver or other stakeholder report and observation to inform the test and control conditions within the synthesized contingency analysis. Though several studies have shown that such an approach can result in brief assessments and clinically significant treatment effects (e.g., Jessel et al. 2018; Rose & Beaulieu, 2018), other studies have highlighted possible limitations to the methodology, such as including potentially irrelevant reinforcers during assessment and treatment (Fisher et al., 2016; Greer et al., in press). This symposium collects applied and translational comparisons of individual and synthesized contingencies from different research groups to further evaluate the correspondence between the approaches, including the benefits and limitations of each strategy.

The target audience for this symposium is comprised of researchers and clinicians who conduct functional analyses within their research and practice, or other behavior analysts who wish to learn about the potential benefits and and limitations of individual and synthesized contingency analyses.

Recent research on the interview informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA) has extolled its benefits relative to traditional functional analysis (FA; e.g., efficiency; Slaton, Hanley, & Raftery, 2017) while other research has focused on its shortcomings (e.g., false-positive outcomes; Fisher, Greer, Romani, Zangrillo, & Owen, 2016). One limitation of prior comparisons is investigators could not ascertain with surety the true function(s) of the participants’ problem behavior for use as the criterion variable. We conducted a translational study to circumvent this limitation by training a specific function for a surrogate destructive behavior prior to conducting an FA and synthesized contingency analysis (SCA) of this response. The FA correctly identified the function of the target response in all six cases and produced no iatrogenic effects. The SCA produced differentiated results in all cases, and produced iatrogenic effects in three of six cases. We discuss these finding in terms the mechanisms that may promote iatrogenic effects.

As a sub-discipline of ABA Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) relies on applied research to drive new procedures and refine existing techniques. This symposium features data from four applied studies across a number of domains. Two presentations focus on different aspects of feedback: temporal location and building rapport. Another presentation will focus on a variation of token economies where guests provide tokens to employees. The last study examines a method using the principles of gamification to encourage professional development in line-level employees. Attendees of this symposium will be able to use the information presented to refine practice and generate new lines of research in OBM.

Practicing behavior analysts, researchers, and graduate students in OBM.

Most pediatric feeding problems are maintained by negative reinforcement in the form of bite or meal termination. Nevertheless, escape extinction-based interventions have undesirable side effects (e.g., extinction-burst) which have motivated researchers to further develop and evaluate interventions that do not rely on escape extinction. The studies herein examined the evidence for the effects of the high-probability instructional sequence on feeding in children, and evaluated the effects of a full, hierarchically organized instructional sequence on generalized food consumption in a typically developing boy with food selectivity. In a final clinical case study, clinicians evaluated the effects of differential reinforcement of acceptance using high preferred foods on acceptance, gagging, and expulsion in both restricted- and free-operant arrangements for a boy with developmental delays. The evidence base for the high-probability instructional sequence suggests the intervention can improve feeding, but the authors call for further research to clarify when and for whom the intervention is effective. Delivering an instructional sequence in which the final step was consumption of a nonpreferred food, consumption of nonpreferred foods increased and the researchers observed generalization. In the clinical case study, differential reinforcement of acceptance with high preferred foods increased self-fed acceptance of nonpreferred foods and this improvement coincided with reductions in gagging and expulsion. These data will be discussed in the context of apparent trends in research on behavioral interventions for feeding problems over the last decade.

Researchers and practitioners focused on feeding interventions

The high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence is an intervention commonly used to increase compliance. It involves delivering a series of requests with a high probability of compliance prior to the delivery of a request with a low probability of compliance. Researchers have evaluated whether the high-p sequence can increase compliance with low probability (low-p) mealtime demands to consume nonpreferred foods in children with pediatric feeding disorders, for example, by delivering multiple high-p mealtime demands to consume a preferred food prior to the delivery of a low-p mealtime demand (e.g., to consume a bite of a nonpreferred food). The effects of the high-p sequence have varied across studies, and a systematic synthesis of the literature to guide practice and further research is lacking. We conducted a systematic multistep search and identified seven studies that met inclusion criteria. We then extracted data on participant and study characteristics and compared the literature to the 2014 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC): Standards for Evidence-Based Practices in Special Education. Preliminary results suggest that (a) the high-probability instructional sequence can improve compliance with low-p mealtime demands in young children with feeding disorders but more research is needed to clarify when and for whom the intervention is likely to be effective, (b) additional research should examine the effects of the high-p on feeding in older children or adults with disabilities as more intrusive procedure such as escape extinction-based procedures become inappropriate, and (c) the evidence does not meet the CEC’s standards for an evidence-based practice.

Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) with high-preferred food can improve feeding problems in children with autism and food selectivity. However, clinical case studies of the effects of DRA in the absence of escape extinction-based procedures such as the nonremoval of the spoon are limited, especially for free-operant feeding arrangements. The current clinical case study evaluated the effects of a Fixed-Ratio 1 schedule of DRA on acceptance of nonpreferred foods in a boy with developmental delays and food selectivity in clinic and home settings. We conducted the first treatment evaluation in a restricted operant arrangement targeting feeder-fed bites. We then incorporated mastered foods from the restricted operant arrangement into an evaluation of DRA for self-feeding in a free-operant arrangement. The results suggest that (a) DRA using high-preferred foods increased self-feeding of nonpreferred foods in a free-operant arrangement without escape extinction, (b) the effects generalized across foods, and (c) increased self-fed acceptance coincided with a reduction in expulsion and gagging.

Obesity rates in children who live in the United States have increased 17% in the past few decades and affects approximately 1/3 of U.S. children (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2012). Occurrence of obesity in children with disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), were found to be 40% higher than for children without disabilities (CDC, 2014; Hinckson et al. 2013; Curtin et al. 2010). Regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is likely to reduce many risks associated with obesity in children (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). The Observational System for Recording Physical Activity codes (OSRAC; Brown et al., 2009) was used to determine the lowest percent of MVPA across five different contexts (i.e., control, outdoor toys, indoor toys, empty field, fixed equipment) for three preschool children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Photographic activity schedules were used to increase the number of different activities completed and percent of MVPA in the two lowest responding contexts for all participants.

Missouri Division of Developmental Disabilities is addressing the shortage qualified behavior analysts, increasingly challenging behaviors and continued emphasis on positive, person-centered supports that improve quality of life through an organizational behavior management approach. Three systemic level interventions applying behavioral principles on a meta-level to a state system of services for intellectual disabilities will be discussed. These systemic interventions involve data, systems and practices to improve outcomes for individuals and services, especially Applied Behavior Analysis services across multiple providers, regions and situations. Thinking and applying behavior analysis on a meta-level is sometimes confusing and difficult, these projects utilize a public health, three tiered prevention model, and are demonstrating significant results. The projects involve prevention of crisis and problem behaviors through increasing implementation of strategies aimed at improving quality of life by service agencies, state level interventions that maximize limited skilled resources and evaluate easily available population data and variables, and the use of peer review to improve behavioral services at an individual level.

Intermediate and Advanced behavior analysts involved in administration or management or who are interested in working at a governmental level.

The public health model that emphasizes prevention and the overall health of a public rather than emphasizing the poor health of one, or poor health issues specifically. In contrast, traditional healthcare focuses on the health of one individual. The model addresses strategies and practices that maintain the health of the public and works to increase these as a primary prevention effort. We suggest that ABA tends to align with traditional healthcare in that a large effort in training new practitioners and in the provision of services focuses on deviant or problem behaviors rather than conditions necessary for healthy and desirable behaviors. The Missouri Division of Developmental Disabilities has adopted the public health model to focus on practices or services that result in higher quality of life for individuals and developing state level systems to promote and maintain these. Implementation science informs us as to the necessary efforts and conditions that change momentary interventions to “a way we do business”. Data for agencies adopting the process at a high degree of fidelity suggests that broad scope strategies can reduce behavior problems in the agency to a significant degree.

State systems such as Developmental Disabilities and Intellectual Disabilities spend a significant portion of the allotted funding on relatively few individuals who have significant challenges and needs. Approaching this issue with the public health model is helpful in moving efforts towards large-scale interventions maximizing limited resources. These include efforts such as implementing systemic changes like improved data collection and analysis, sharing data strategically, targeted training, intensive review of restrictive strategies and peer review committees. Missouri’s process of behavioral system analysis and systemic interventions will be discussed and the data for the past two years will be shared.

Peer review committees can effectively provide consultative feedback that both improves the behavior support for the person and quality of services in general. Missouri Division of Developmental Disabilities has a voluntary peer review committee. This process involves community behavior analysts reviewing plans and data using a standard checklist for individuals in high-risk categories. Data from this process includes the items on the checklist missed and post review changes in high-risk outcomes. Data for the checklist and commonly missing elements will be reviewed. The checklist items will be demonstrated as best practice standards referenced to ABA literature and BACB and state funding agency requirements. The data suggest that peer review improves both the plans and reduces the likelihood of an individual continuing to experience high-risk outcomes.

Bi-directional naming (BiN) is a verbal behavior cusp. Initially, listener and speaker behavior are acquired independently and BiN represents the joining of listener and speaker repertoires. In this symposium, three papers will discuss the sources and outcomes of BiN. The first two papers describe experiences that induce BiN. Hotchkiss, Karanian, and Fienup analyzed two intensities of a tact protocol and the effects on inducing BiN. Hawkins, Gautreaux, and Chiesa examined the effects of a history of multiple exemplar instruction on joint incidental BiN. The third paper examined the outcomes of a BiN repertoire. Longano, Harms, Wilczewski, and Ishikawa examined the acquisition of novel tacts under direct instruction and incidental learning conditions and found faster acquisition during incidental learning opportunities.

participants interested in learning about the sources and outcomes of bi-directional naming, or the joining of speaker and listener repertoires

Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming (Hawkins, Gautreaux, & Chiesa, 2018) is a subtype of Common Bidirectional Naming (Miguel, 2016). Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming is defined as the emergence of both untaught listener behaviour and untaught speaker behaviour following an incidental language experience providing the names of novel items. No direct teaching is involved in the acquisition of the names of these novel items. We evaluated the effectiveness of Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) on the induction of Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming with a group of ten older children and young adults, aged 6-18 years, diagnosed with autism and a learning disability. A multiple probe design was used to test for the acquisition of Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming. One participant acquired Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming following the MEI procedure. Four participants met the criteria for Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming prior to the MEI procedure being implemented. Five participants did not meet the criteria for Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming post-MEI intervention. The potential of tests producing false negative scores and the effects of multiple testing were discussed. It was also suggested that additional prerequisite behavioural cusps may need to be present prior to implementing procedures to induce Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming.

We investigated the rate of tact acquisition under two experimental conditions, direct tact instruction and the presentation of Naming experiences. Two experiments were conducted using ABAB design counterbalanced across nine participants. Under the direct tact instruction condition, instructors presented a picture, without a verbal antecedent, and delivered social praise contingent on correct responses and a correction procedure (prompting the correct response and representing the picture) contingent on incorrection response. During the naming experiences phases, the instructors presented the picture and said the name of the picture while the participants were attending to the picture. After, we conducted probes to determine if the participants acquired the tacts presented during the naming experiences. Results from both Experiments showed faster rates of acquisition under the naming experience conditions. Participants with Unilateral naming and/or Bidirectional Naming acquired language in the form of tacts at higher rates incidental, whereas, the participants who did not demonstrate Unilateral naming did not.

The three talks in this symposium describe studies in which equivalence-based instruction (EBI) was used to teach classes of animal features, food portion estimation, and verbal operant academic content. The first study was a replication and extension of O’Neill, Rehfeldt, Ninness, Muñoz, & Mellor (2015). Computer EBI was compared to studying from flash cards to teach Skinner’s verbal operants to college students. In the second study, which was an extension of prior studies in which EBI was used to teach portion estimation of food items, non-food items were used during training to increase portion-size estimation accuracy. Preferred and non-preferred foods were used to assess generalization of portion-size estimation accuracy. In the third study, which was a replication of Keintz, Miguel, Kao, and Finn (2011), EBI was used to teach three classes of animal features and to evaluate the emergence of visual-visual and auditory-visual relations and speaker behavior by children with autism spectrum disorder. Together, the three studies in this symposium extend the content domains and procedures that can be used to establish equivalence classes of relevant content.

The target audience is practitioners who work with children with autism, and those who use equivalence-based instruction to teach socially relevant content.

The present study compared the effects of computer-based stimulus equivalence-based instruction (EBI) to that of studying from flash cards to teach Skinner’s verbal operants. Ten undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in an introductory course in Applied Behavior Analysis served as participants. One group was exposed to EBI and a comparison group studied a set of flash cards with all the stimuli presorted into correct groups. Four classes of verbal operants (mand, tact, intraverbal, and echoic) were taught. Each class consisted of 4 stimulus members (name of the term, a colloquial definition, formal definition, and vignettes). Generalization of class-consistent responding was assessed for participants in both groups via a series of sorting tasks, written tests, and computer-based matching tests. Both IOA and treatment integrity data were at least 99%. The results of this study showed that participants of both the EBI group and the flash cards group formed classes across all testing formats. The results of this study did not align with past research in showing efficiency of EBI compared to studying pre-sorted flash cards in establishing academic skills with advanced learners. Overall the EBI group performed at a level that was 10-15% above that of the control group.

Researchers have previously taught individuals how to more accurately estimate portion-sizes of foods using equivalence-based instruction (EBI). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate whether non-food items could be used during training to increase portion-size estimation accuracy. Preferred and non-preferred foods were used to assess generalization of portion-size estimation accuracy. Foods were identified through an assessment and varied per participant. Two non-food items were used for training and one novel non-food item was used to assess for generalization of portion-size accuracy. Three classes of stimuli were taught using EBI (i.e., ¼ cup, ½ cup, and 1 cup). The members of each class were represented by portion-size measurement aids, amounts on paper plates, and measuring cups. All participants more accurately estimated each portion-size of non-food items after training sessions. Accurate estimation also generalized to preferred and non-preferred foods for all participants. IOA and procedural data were at least 99%.

The purpose of this study was to replicate Keintz, Miguel, Kao, and Finn (2011) by evaluating the effects of EBI on emergence of visual-visual and auditory-visual relations and speaker behavior by children with autism spectrum disorder. We extended Keintz et al. by evaluating a many-to-one training structure, evaluating the emergence of auditory-auditory relations, and teaching language skills commonly targeted in early intensive behavioral intervention with early learners. Specifically, we taught three 4-member classes of stimuli: donkey (Class 1), seal (Class 2), and cricket (Class 3). Members of each class were the pictures of the creature (Stimulus A), creature’s spoken name (Stimulus B), sounds made by the creature (Stimulus C) and pictures of the creature’s habitats (Stimulus D). Results for all participants increased from low levels during baseline sessions to 86% or higher following EBI. Emergence of speaker behavior was also observed for all participants (i.e., tacts of pictures, tacts of sounds, intraverbals related to sounds and habitats, intraverbal fill-ins, echoics). Interobserver agreement for listener and speaker pretests across all three participants ranged from 94%-100%. Interobserver agreement for teaching relations and listener/speaker post-tests across all three participants was 100%. Percentage of correct implementation of the teaching/training procedures was 100%.

This symposium includes three data-based presentations focused on applying behavior-analytic procedures in higher education settings. All presentations will focus on improving student performance in the classroom through the use of active teaching strategies and creative assignments. In the first presentation, Daniel Wagner will present a comparison of a novel assignment and a traditional assignment to increase undergraduate behavior analysis students’ performance on quizzes and their dissemination skills. Next, Christopher Le will present a comparison of preprinted and write-on response cards in an undergraduate applied behavior analysis course on exam scores, learning gains, and participation. Finally, Kendra Guinness will present an evaluation of the effects of a personalized system of instruction including self-paced tutorials comprised of instructions, video models, practice, and feedback on students’ accuracy in APA formatting. Each presentation will address implications for the behavior analytic teaching strategies in the classroom.

BCBAs, Faculty, Educators

Though many have argued that behavior analysts should be trained as behavioral translators, translating our science and technology to others in a way that disseminates what our field has to offer (Foxx, 1985, 1996; Lindsley, 1991; Morris, 1985; Reed, 2014; Schlinger, 2014), little research identifying how to teach such repertoires exists. In this study, we designed the Giving ABA Away assignment to begin to teach this dissemination repertoire to undergraduate students in behavior analysis. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of this dissemination assignment, in which students were asked to describe a behavioral concept to a layperson audience, in comparison to a more traditional assignment. This study utilized a counterbalanced within groups design with pre- and post-assignment evaluations to assess student comprehension of the concepts and dissemination skills. Results showed positive effects of the dissemination assignment on student learning outcomes as compared to the traditional assignment. Implications for educators will be discussed.

Formatting documents according the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines is an essential but difficult skill for undergraduate psychology students. Undergraduate faculty report that their students make frequent APA formatting errors in a variety of domains including citations, quotations, and headers (Mandernach, Zafonte, & Taylor, 2016). The current study evaluated the effects of a personalized system of instruction (PSI) on the accuracy of APA formatting with undergraduate students using a multiple probe design across four units (title page, abstract, body, and references). Participants completed self-paced tutorials comprised of textual instructions, a video model, multiple practice opportunities, and immediate feedback. Results thus far indicate that after low to moderate levels of accuracy in baseline, accuracy rose to high levels immediately following training. Generalization was also measured by evaluating the APA formatting accuracy of actual lab reports the participants submitted in an introductory psychology class. Interobserver agreement was recorded for 33% of sessions (M = 89%; range, 73%-100%). Social validity with students and faculty will be discussed.

This panel will be a discussion of Dr. Jonathan Friedel and Dr. Brady DeHart’s SQAB Tutorial on the utility of statistics in behavior analysis.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Behavioral interventions for pain typically target individuals and when loved ones are involved, their roles are often conceptualized as information providers or reinforcers of pain behaviors. At the same time, a growing literature on supportive behaviors such as partner responsiveness, emotional validation, and empathy has suggested that interventions may be more effective if these types of behaviors are incorporated into treatment. Dr. Cano will provide an overview of correlational and experimental research on empathic behaviors in pain and describe a new intervention for couples that is based on this research. Evidence of intervention feasibility and acceptability will also be presented to describe the challenges of intervention development. Finally, Dr. Cano will share a set of lessons learned to inform work aimed at bridging the gap between basic behavioral and clinical intervention research.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

The number of certified behavior analysts in mainland China is increasing at a drastic pace every year. Despite this growth, its nature of service delivery, the focus of target service recipients, and the presence of a comprehensive professional standards make behavior analysis a developing profession that is unlike others in China. In this critical phase of development, practitioners’ adherence to ethical and professional standards becomes an even more critical key for its future success. While it is important to understand the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts, one must demonstrate the interpretation of this Code through everyday practice. In a country with a vast diversity in beliefs, customs, and other cultural variables, this interpretation may not be apparent at times. The central theme for this symposium is working with practitioners in mainland, China. From a theoretical perspective, the presenters will first illustrate the ethical challenges that behavior analysts may face while providing services in a variety of settings in China. The audience will then learn about two empirical studies that demonstrate the use of data-based decision making to guide practitioners’ service delivery in the context of direct teaching and supervision in mainland, China.

Undergraduate, graduate, or practitioners in the field of behavior analysis

Over the past decade, educational and therapeutic services driven by Applied Behavior Analysis has gained more and more attention in mainland, China, particularly in the area of treatment for autism. Despite this increase in recognition and acceptance, the quality of service for students with special needs varies drastically across settings. This variation is caused by a need for more quality training courses, current misunderstanding toward students with special needs and their educators, and the availability of alternative, and often nonscientific treatment options. Behavior analysts provide services under clear and comprehensive professional and ethical guidelines. However, when cultural variations come into play, practitioners may require additional guidance with decision making during service delivery. From a conceptual analysis of behavioral perspective, this presentation will focus on the ethical challenges that behavior analysts may encounter while working in different educational and therapeutic setting in China. Potential directions and recommendations for future research and practice will also be discussed.

The emerging Western model of professional training and service delivery in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) leads to a continuous debate between universal designs and localized decisions in China, a country with over 75,000 preschools with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Sun & Allison, 2010; Zhang & Ji, 2005), who receive alarmingly uneven service quality given the high demand of treatment (Xu, Yang, Ji, Xu, & Wang, 2014). Even for those who claim the use of ABA procedures in teaching receptive labeling, one of the fundamental skills for preschoolers, the decision-making process is not typically based on data, but is rather on routines or personal preferences. In this study, two discrimination methods were compared in teaching students with autism. The first method is simple conditional discrimination (SCD), which involves a total of nine steps to gradually increase task difficulty over time. The second method is conditional only discrimination method (COD), which includes presenting the target task from the onset of the intervention (Grow, Carr, Kodak, Jostad, & Kisamore 2011). The data suggested COD resulted in more efficient acquisition while SCD fostered gradual improvement. The results provide data driven guidance for Chinese ABA practitioners in the decision making process of ASD program design.

We present the effects of behavior analytic interventions that resulted in increased supervisor and technician expertise and an analysis of organizational intervention components. The data show that the implementation of a rule governed organizational system to train clinicians supports increases in academic literacy, communication and social skills for pre-school and elementary age clients diagnosed with autism and related communication disabilities in 1:1 settings. In this model, the data generated through measurement of each individual’s responses drive the system. Clinicians are trained through modules that provide in situ opportunities specifically related to the accurate implementation of clients’ programs, choice of strategies and tactics, materials and selection of new objectives. Supervisors collaborate across clinics to improve the accuracy of the feedback delivered during Teacher Performance Rate and Accuracy (TPRA) observations for verbal development protocols. Researchers report more complex data analyses, improved verbal behavior about the science, and increases in rate of learning for the clients taught using a Rule Governed Algorithm which included a Verbal Behavior about the Science Protocol package. We analyze organizational components, discuss relevant measures to consider within the organization, and present meaningful client and staff outcomes when considering a systems approach using data-driven procedures and interlocking contingencies.

BCBAs and Program Supervisors

ABA service providers recognize the need for effective operating procedures and supervision practices that produce quality outcomes. Complex interactions between supervisors and supervisees should result in effective treatment through accurate instruction and delivery of behavioral interventions. The CABAS® model is a data-driven, research-based system that takes into account the interdependent relationship between teachers, students and their parents, and school supervisory personnel, whose primary function is to train and mentor teachers to continually apply the principles and tactics of the science of behavior to ensure student success (Singer-Dudek, Speckman, & Nuzzolo, 2010). We sought to develop a standardized system of individualized instruction for administrators, students and clinicians utilizing components of the CABAS® model in a private ABA clinic and develop a measurement system to develop the quality of the product. We implemented Learn Units, TPRAs, a Decision protocol, the VBDR assessment, developmental protocols and performance-based modules. This data collection describes the components implemented, a procedural analysis of systems implemented, data analysis for staff and clients and future considerations regarding data driven operating procedures.

Skinner remarked that verbal responses are “true” or “objective” when the correspondence with a stimulating situation is sharply maintained. Lanza, Starr, & Skinner (1982) developed an “animal model” for the study of variables involved in correspondence: a pigeon “reported” to another about the color of a hidden disc, by pecking a specific key. Having access to the color, the experimenter could investigate contingencies leading to distorted reports. This presentation will address a series of studies with human participants recently conducted in our lab, with variations in this method. Participants reported about previous behavior or played card games in which they reported the value of their cards. A recent study developed a videogame with different audiences asking about the participant’s previous behavior. Several independent variables have been investigated. Correspondence was enhanced by reinforcement of corresponding responses, punishment of non-corresponding responses, probability of response checking, and modelling of corresponding reports by confederates. Non-corresponding reports increased with reinforcement for specific reports (reinforcing reports of correct responses regardless of correspondence), punitive audiences, and modelling of non-corresponding responses by confederates. This series of studies has progressively refined experimental methods and increased the range of variables investigated, contributing to clarify the determinants of correspondence.

Researchers or students interested in basic and translational research on verbal behavior.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is used to teach individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a variety of settings. While there are many benefits for clients receiving sessions in a clinic-based setting, one area that deserves attention from clinicians is generalization. The gains made by clients have a significantly greater impact when their skills are demonstrated in situations in which training did not occur. Assessing and planning for the occurrence of generalization are key components of quality programming for individuals with ASD. Clinician cannot “train and hope” that skills will generalize to other locations, parents, etc. In this symposium, research on generalization from three different perspectives will be discussed to provide more information to clinicians programming for generalization. In the first talk, a literature review on the amount and type of generalization measured in research studies on individuals with ASD will be shared, along with a discussion of the factors leading to successful generalization. Following this discussion, the effects of a parent training program on parent-child interactions and parental self-efficacy will be reviewed. Lastly, data will be presented on the generalization of treatment gains made in the clinic setting, to parents in the home.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts

A significant problem among children who engage in pediatric food refusal is packing (i.e., pocketing or holding accepted food in the mouth), which could hinder successful treatment. Previous research has identified effective treatments to reduce packing; however, an assessment model to guide treatment decisions is lacking. In the present study, a multielement design was used to identify conditions under which low levels of packing occurred for four children with pediatric food refusal. Results were used to empirically inform treatment selection to decrease packing for three children. Assessments indicated that packing was related to texture, food preference, or response effort and subsequently informed individualized treatments, which led to decreased levels of packing. Results suggest that this model may be useful in the design of treatment packages for children who engage in packing at clinically problematic levels.

For interventions to make meaningful changes in the lives of clients and their families, they should be generalized to home settings. These two presentations address challenges faced during generalization to family implementation. The first is on a pyramidal approach to training in which primary caregivers learn how to implement an intervention, and then train others in their family to use it as well. The second is on the use of static or dynamic symbols to indicate when reinforcement is and is not available within a multiple schedule. A discussant, Dr. Andrew Samaha, will provide inside and commentary on these presentations.

Behavior analysts who work with children with challenging behavior.

Functional communication training (FCT) is effective in reducing problem behavior. Some limitations to FCT include manding excessively (e.g., every 10 seconds) or at inappropriate times (e.g., when parent is making dinner). Multiple schedules using static signals have been used to decrease these limitations while maintaining low levels of problem behavior and appropriate levels of functional communication responses (FCRs). Dynamic signals in the form of Time Timers® have also been shown to maintain appropriate levels of problem behavior and FCRs. Presently, no research has examined the comparison of static and dynamic signals within the context of FCT. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to compare the effects of static and dynamic signals (i.e., Time Timer®) during multiple schedules consisting of reinforcement and extinction components following FCT. Four children with an autism spectrum disorder participated in this study. Results showed that for three out of four subjects dynamic signals resulted in faster and more consistent discriminated responding.

A key element of a successful student is the ability to be an independent learner. Over the past three decades of research, Verbal Behavior Development Theory (VBDT) identified the pre-requisite cusps and capabilities (i.e., Bi-directional Naming, Observational Learning, Transformation of Stimulus Function across saying and writing, and Social Listener Reinforcement) that a student needs to acquire prior to becoming an accelerated independent learner (AIL). As an AIL, the student requires minimal direct instruction from the teacher, leading to acquisition of academic materials at their own pace. For over a decade, AIL classrooms demonstrated the effectiveness in student performance across Pre-K to middle school grade classrooms in a public-school district general education and self-contained special education classrooms. In this presentation, I will discuss the development of the pre-requisite cusps and capabilities necessary for an AIL along with the effects of the presence of these cusps on how lessons are designed and taught to these individuals.

Bullying has received unprecedented attention from legislators, media, and the general public. Studies of the phenomenon have widened the lens from focusing solely on perpetrators and victims to examining the role of peers who are almost always present when bullying occurs. These “bystanders” often remain passive or even join in, which can maintain or increase the bullying behaviors. To inform prevention and intervention efforts, it is important to understand the factors associated with bystanders’ attitudes and actions. In this presentation, findings from a program of research examining the behavior of peers in bullying situations and the factors that predict the likelihood of actively defending (directly or indirectly) in bullying will be highlighted. The measurement, validation, and application of a five-step model of bystander intervention in bullying will be shared. Implications for practice, including the importance of shaping prosocial norms and explicitly teaching the 5-step bystander intervention model and offering multiple intervention options according to individual and situational variables, will be suggested.

Researchers, educators, mental health professionals (focus on children and adolescents in schools)

We evaluated the utility of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist- Saftey (PDC-Safety) (Martinez-Onstott, Wilder, & Sigurdsson, 2016) by comparing the effectiveness of a PDC-Safety indicated intervention with a PDC-Safety non-indicated intervention. The interventions targeted participants’ hand washing behavior at a clinic serving children with intellectual disabilities. Failure to wash hands at appropriate times could pose health risks to both behavior technicians and clients, so efforts should be made to increase the likelihood of hand washing. Based on the results of the PDC-Safety, a lack of antecedents was the variable contributing to unsafe performance. The indicated intervention, which consisted of a prompt, was effective to increases safe performance, although two of three participants required additional intervention components. The non-indicated intervention, which consisted of increased access to materials, was ineffective. Results are discussed in terms of the utility of the tool to identify effective interventions to increase safe performance in a variety of settings.

Scientists are reluctant to discuss metaphysics, preferring to apply the methods typical of their disciplines to questions of current interest. However, a natural science of human behavior raises special problems in that it treats objectively topics which the wider community treats subjectively. Furthermore, the recent debate about the status of private events in the experimental analysis of behaviour is about the presuppositions of the science, and thus its metaphysics, rather than about specific findings. Arguably, we have been using a "Skinnerian metaphysics" without regularly examining it in detail or considering whether there are alternatives that are consistent with the most fundamental precepts of the experimental analysis of behavior. Leslie's paper will identify those fundamental precepts and argue that the core ideas consist only of "antirepresentationalism" and a commitment to behavior principles that relate environmental regularities to systematic behavior change. These embrace a wider range of behavioral phenomena than currently without reducing empirical rigor. Clavijo Alvarez’s paper will scrutinize the ontological assumptions and differences in the debates on privacy, realism versus an anti-realist perspective, and mechanism versus contextualism, and recommend the neutral monism of Russell and others as an ontology that may be acceptable to the whole behavior analysis community.

This symposium reviews fundamental issues that should be considered by all behavior analyts at or above masters level, including practitioners.

Some of the arguments used by members of the Behavior Analysis community indicate that their ontological assumptions differ. Sometimes the divergence is subtle as, for example, in the controversy around the notion of privacy and its role in explaining behavior. Privacy was the way in which Skinner and the radical behaviorists dealt with subjectivity. They were committed, however, to a particular ontology. Others, by starting from different ontological assumptions, necessarily have a different stance on the subject of privacy. In other cases, the controversy has been openly about ontological concerns, as in the dispute between those with a realistic view versus those with an anti-realist perspective, or between those who support a mechanistic approach versus those who support a contextual one. Nonetheless, Radical Behaviorists and Behavior Analysts do share beliefs including a certain degree of environmental determinism, the importance of behavior as the relevant data and, broadly, rejection of mentalism. Some of the main postulates of neutral monism, the ontology of Mach, James, and Russell, could offer ontological assumptions that can eventually be shared by most members of the Behavior Analysis community. This presentation examines these assumptions and their possible implications for a behavioral interpretation of behavior.

Jennifer L. Austin, Ph.D., BCBA-D has been applying the science of behavior analysis to improve outcomes for children and their teachers for over 20 years.  Both her research and clinical work focus on how behavior analytic assessment and intervention strategies can be applied with typically developing children, as well as examining what adaptations may be necessary for making our science “work” in mainstream classrooms.  She has worked with numerous schools in the US and the UK, focusing primarily on those in disadvantaged communities.  Dr. Austin received her PhD from the Florida State University and currently serves as Professor of Psychology and Head of Behavior Analysis at the University of South Wales.  Prior to moving to the United Kingdom, Dr. Austin served as faculty at the University of South Florida, California State University, Fresno and the University of Houston, Clear Lake.  She is the President of the UK Society for Behaviour Analysis and a former Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavior Analysis in Practice.

Current statistics regarding problem behavior and academic attainment confirm that schools need behavior analysts more than ever. However, many schools that could benefit from our services do not know we exist (or have misconceptions about what we do). Further, our enthusiasm for helping schools enact meaningful changes in student and teacher behavior may cause us to miss some important contingencies that might impact our effectiveness as behavioral consultants. Drawing on work conducted at the University of South Wales, this presentation will identify some tips for “opening the school doors” for behavior analysis. It also will identify some common mistakes that behavior analysts make in schools, including such areas as functional assessment strategies, intervention planning and approach, and data collection. Importantly, it will provide some potential solutions to these problems, as well as identifying some interpersonal skills that might be useful in improving our efficacy in both mainstream and special education settings.

Behavior analytic practitioners working in schools (particularly early career behavior analysts)

This tutorial will provide a general introduction to some technologies available for manipulating gene expression in mice. Technologies for manipulating gene expression can be used to investigate the neurobiological contributors to behavior. Results obtained from studies in dopamine receptor knockout mice on the role of dopamine receptors in food’s reinforcing efficacy will be used as an example of use of a global knockout approach. Results obtained from studies in Alzheimer’s transgenic APPswe/PS1dE9 mice on the role of beta amyloid in cognitive decline will be used as an example of a transgene approach. Additionally, the tutorial will discuss emerging technologies that allow precise control over the timing and location of modification of genetic expression. These emerging technologies allow behavioral researchers to investigate the role of neurobiological variables on behavior from a developmental perspective and to address questions regarding the role of particular brain regions in behavior. Genetically modified organisms provide a promising avenue for fruitful collaborations between behavior analysts and geneticists, neuroscientists, and scientists in other complementary areas.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities are likely to experience difficulties socially interacting with their peers during natural routines, including play times at school or home. Additionally, children with developmental disabilities may have difficulty forming friendships or report lower quality of friendships as well as increased loneliness, peer rejection, or bullying. Social behavior and social play are important areas of child development and may require explicit intervention procedures and supports. This symposium is comprised of four presentations of original datasets. Each study evaluated an intervention to increase social skills between children with ASD or other developmental disabilities and their typically-developing peers. The interventions targeted social skills including responding to peer bids for joint attention, taking turns during imaginary play activities, recess skills, and taking game turns during playdates. Intervention components consisted of environmental arrangement, prompting, reinforcement, use of video scene displays in an augmentative and alternative communication device (AAC), and direct instruction (DI). Key takeaways are that children and their peers may require systematic teaching procedures in natural environments in order to fully benefit during social routines.

This event is appropriate for practitioners and researchers working in classrooms or homes of children with developmental disabilities.

Children need opportunities to practice social skills outside of school, and a common means for this is through playdates. There are few studies examining methods to teach children with ASD social skills during playdates and have included children with advanced language skills, such as the ability to ask questions to peers. In the current study, we examined a parent-implemented packaged intervention aimed at embedding instruction in early social skills during playdates in the home of the child with ASD. A concurrent multiple-probe across parent-child-peer triads single-case design was employed. Data were collected on parent treatment fidelity and frequency of child and peer mands (e.g., requesting a turn) and child and peer responses to mands (e.g., passing the game die). During the coaching phase, parents were taught the steps of the packaged intervention, which included a social narrative, activity schedule, environmental arrangement, prompting, and reinforcement strategies. Parents were taught to embed social skills instruction within the context of game play. During baseline, low levels of treatment fidelity, child, and peer behaviors were observed for all three triads. Upon implementation of coaching, an immediate increase in level of independent correct steps of treatment fidelity was observed for triads one and two. An immediate increase in level and trend was observed for child behavior and peer behavior for triad one. An immediate increase in level and trend was observed for child behavior and peer responses, with moderate changes observed for peer mands for triad two. A small change in level was observed for parent, child, and peer behaviors in triad three. Due to emergence of child challenging behavior and a decreasing trend in target behaviors for triad three, a procedural modification was employed. Following the procedural modification, an immediate increase in level was observed in parent treatment fidelity, and moderate changes in level for child mands and peer behaviors were observed. This pilot study suggests that training parents of children with ASD to implement evidence-based strategies with their child and a peer may be an effective means to support early social skills, but that child challenging behavior and communication needs may affect outcomes.

The purpose of this symposium is to present theory and research focused on improving the responding of individuals with autism to the emotions of others. To engage in social referencing, empathy, and helping individuals must be able to respond to the verbal and non-verbal emotional displays of others as discriminative stimuli. Individuals with autism display challenges orienting toward and responding to these social stimuli and behavior analytic instruction can be been used to alleviate these deficits. This symposium will begin with a discussion of social referencing from a behavior-analytic framework. The second paper presents a demonstration of the effects of discrimination training on the differential responding to joyful and fearful expressions within social referencing. The third paper will focus on the effects of a teaching package to train empathetic responses by adolescents with autism using socially mediated reinforcers. The fourth paper will present a comparison of group and individual instruction to teach empathy and helping.

BCBAs, BCaBAs

During social referencing, infants as young as 6 months of age look to others when confronted with unfamiliar or unexpected events in the environment as a means of determining how to respond to such events. Typically, approach or avoidance responses are learned by responding to positive and negative affective cues of the parent or caregiver (e.g., smiling and frowning). Unfortunately, social referencing repertoires are limited, delayed, or completely lacking in children with autism. Despite these documented social deficits, to date there has been only one published study that has focused on ameliorating social referencing deficits in children with autism. In this study we used a multiple baseline design across three participants to determine the effects of discrimination training, verbal instructions, and manual guidance on the differential responding of children with autism to fearful and joyful expressions. All three participants learned to discriminate the expressions presented within the context of social referencing but generalization to others was limited. A discussion of social referencing and future directions for research will be presented.

Previous research has demonstrated that children and adolescents who show empathy and towards others are likely to increase their opportunities for future interactions with peers and family members. This study extended the work of Garcia-Albea, Reeve, Reeve, Kisamore, LeBlanc, and Brothers (2015) to teach empathetic responses to four adolescent males with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A treatment package consisting of video modeling, audio and manual prompts, behavior rehearsals, and socially mediated consequences was used to teach empathy. It further programed for generalization using a three-component generalization strategy (i.e., general-case analysis, multiple-exemplar training, and experimenter-defined categories). Each empathy category was comprised of nine compound discriminative stimuli, that programmed for generalization from trained to novel compound discriminative stimuli. A multiple probe across participants design was used to assess the effectiveness of the treatment package and the degree of empathetic response acquisition across participants.The results indicated the effectiveness of the treatment package and empathetic responses maintained in the absence of the treatment package. Further, the skill generalized from trained to novel compound discriminative stimuli and from untrained to a novel empathy category.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have deficits in language and social skills that make it difficult to learn to initiate and respond to others. Individual and group instruction have been used to teach different social behaviors but confounds have been noted in the research in how skills have been assessed. A two by two factorial design was used to compare group and individual instruction to determine which form of instruction was more effective to teach eight children with ASD empathy and helping skills. Four of the participants were taught empathy and helping with group instruction and the other four were taught empathy and helping with individual instruction. Video models were presented either individually or in a group, questions were posed to participants, and in-vivo assessment trials were conducted individually in separate rooms. Generalization probes were conducted using a novel empathy and helping scenario and maintenance data was collected one week, two weeks, and four weeks after the completion of the intervention. All participants learned helping and empathy skills, generalized these skills to novel situations, and maintained them, however, no differences was found between group or individual instruction.

Behavior-analytic teaching procedures have been shown to be effective in promoting the acquisition of important skills in children with autism. Research that specifies the critical features upon which this success depends may lead to refinements in our instructional design, and improvements in outcomes for the children we serve. This symposium consists of four studies that compare procedural variables in skill acquisition arrangements for children with autism. These procedural variables include the within-trial sequence of sample and comparison stimulus presentation, the within-session timing of an opportunity for the learner to choose a reinforcer, and the criteria for introducing multiple exemplars and initiating differential reinforcement of unprompted and prompted correct responses.

Researchers and practitioners who evaluate or implement instructional programs to children with autism or intellectual disabilities.

Auditory-visual conditional discriminations (AVCD) occur when behavior comes under the control of auditory stimuli (e.g., a vocal sample) and a related visual stimulus (e.g., a picture in an array) in the environment. The sequence of procedures in AVCD training may vary; this study evaluated two common sequences by comparing sample- and comparison-first presentation format. A sample-first training format involves the presentation of an auditory sample stimulus before the array of visual stimuli, and a comparison-first format involves the presentation of the array of visual stimuli before the auditory sample stimulus. The study used a multiple probe design across two stimulus sets with an embedded adapted alternating treatments design. Four individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder participated. Results show that all eight comparisons for the sample-first condition were efficacious and seven of the eight comparisons for the comparison-first condition were efficacious. The comparison-first condition was the most efficient procedure in four of the eight comparisons. In two of the comparisons, both sample- and comparison-first procedures were equally efficient. Implications and future directions will be discussed.

Multiple exemplar teaching (MET) has been shown to improve the likelihood that a learned response will occur in situations that are different from the training environment. The purpose of this study was to compare effects of two methods for programming MET: serial and concurrent training. Two young men with autism spectrum disorder were taught to follow prepositional spoken directives using serial and concurrent presentation of multiple exemplars. Trials to mastery and generalization to untrained, natural environment locations were evaluated using each method. One participant met mastery criteria more quickly using concurrent training. Both training methods resulted in generalization to untrained, natural environment locations for both participants.

Providing choice of reinforcers has shown to be an effective and efficient strategy to increase skill acquisition (Toussaint, Kodak, & Vladescu, 2016). However, less is known about the differential effectiveness and efficiency of providing choices before or after task responding. We sought to replicate and extend Peterson, Lerman, and Nissen (2016) by evaluating reinforcer choice using auditory-visual conditional discrimination acquisition targets with three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. We assigned three unknown targets to each condition and taught the targets using a constant prompt delay with a gesture prompt. During the antecedent condition, participants selected the putative reinforcer prior to earning tokens. During the consequence condition, participants selected the reinforcer following earning tokens. Antecedent and consequence choice responding was evaluating using an adapted alternating treatment design embedded within a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design Results showed acquisition of targets across both the antecedent and consequence condition for two of three participants. However, consequence choice condition appeared to be more efficient for all three participants. These data provide preliminary support that providing choice prior to task responding, a commonly used strategy with children with autism spectrum disorder, may not result in the most efficient responding.

Cognitive impairment and type 2 diabetes often co-occur: individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders are 1.5 to 2.7 times more likely to have diabetes than the general population, and there is a 1.5- to 2-fold increased risk that older adults with diabetes will develop a major neurocognitive disorder, such as vascular dementia. Adults with cognitive impairment and diabetes tend to receive substandard diabetes care, putting them at increased risk of complications and hospitalization. Consequently, approximately 33% and 9-17% of individuals with type 2 diabetes and cognitive impairment experience episodes of hyper or hypoglycemia, respectively. Problematic glycemic control associated with poorly managed type 2 diabetes can function as an antecedent, contributing to increased frequencies of behavioral problems when neurodevelopmental or neurocognitive disorders are also present. This symposium will present a behavior analytic approach to diabetes management, including a structured task analysis, and discuss barriers and facilitators to diabetes management, particularly the role of specific cognitive deficits, family care partner behavior, and the structure of food environments.

Behavior analysts working with children or adults, particularly those with impaired cognition and comorbid medical concerns.

Managing type 2 diabetes entails significant patient involvement to perform many daily self-care tasks, such as monitoring blood glucose, taking medications, and maintaining a diabetic diet. Chronic and poorly managed type 2 diabetes -- with frequent episodes of hyper- and hypoglycemia -- often is accompanied by functional decline, including changes in sensory acuity due to diabetic retinopathy and executive functioning, i.e., initiating complex actions, organizing, and planning. Decreased motor skills and difficulties learning, attending, or remembering may also occur. These types of changes further diminish individuals’ ability to direct and engage effectively in their diabetes care. Available neuropsychological testing data can supplement a task analysis and provide further useful information about the types of difficulties that may interfere with tasks necessary to self-management of diabetes. Common neuropsychological changes in type 2 diabetes will be discussed, along with the specific instruments used to measure these changes, and their potential impact on behavioral intervention strategies. When possible, neuropsychological testing should be integrated with behavioral analytic case conceptualizations, to facilitate intervention planning.

Eating well is critical to health for all people, and this may be particularly true for individuals with type 2 diabetes. Given the relevance of behavioral economics and discounting to everyday food choices and obesity as a general public health problem, impaired cognition -- accompanied by decreased influence of larger later outcomes over behavior -- presents unique challenges when arranging or structuring a food environment to support adherence to diabetes management. Extremes of blood sugar - both high (hyperglycemia) and low (hypoglycemia) - have been associated with accelerated functional decline and behavioral disturbances. Hyperglycemia has been linked to the development of physical impairment and increased risk for delirium or psychosis. Hypoglycemia has been associated with increased difficulty tracking contingencies over time, impairment in immediate and delayed stimulus control, decrements in motor control and gait, and break down of behavioral chains. The impact of glycemic control on the functional status and behavior of those with comorbid diabetes and cognitive impairment will be reviewed. Contingency management interventions designed to increase the likelihood of glycemic control by targeting the food environment will be suggested.

Psychological flexibility is a central mechanism of change for therapeutic techniques that emphasize the relationship between human language and psychological suffering. Psychological flexibility can be described as persistence with or changing of behavior, in accordance with values-based contingencies, while contacting all stimuli, both public and private, in the present environment (e.g. Bond, Hayes, & Barnes-Holmes, 2006). In the context of Acceptance Commitment Therapy or Training, interventions are designed to increase this flexibility among individuals, including children with behavioral needs, and methods of assessment are necessary to examine the effects of such treatments. First, we examine the relationship between self-reports of psychological flexibility and language ability for a sample of children with and without autism and discuss the implications of this data in terms of treatment. Then, we explore psychological flexibility assessment measures currently available specifically for children, and relationship of these, such as the Children’s Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire, to other common measures of child behavior. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of possible future directions in the assessment of children’s psychological flexibility.

The current investigation evaluated the relationship between complex Derived Relational Responding and psychological flexibility in individuals of various ages diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) or a related developmental disability. The Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge (PEAK) Relational Training System Transformation pre-assessment was used to measure Derived Relational Responding while psychological flexibility was measured using the Children’s Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (CPFQ) which was reported by participants themselves and their caregivers. As data collection is still in the early stages and complete statistical analyses cannot yet be conducted, preliminary data suggests a relationship between the PEAK-T and CPFQ: Child and CPFQ: Caregiver assessments. Specifically, with a strong relationship between the PEAK-T and CPFQ: Caregiver assessment. These findings suggest that increased derived relational responding likely results in improved psychological flexibility as reported by the child and their caregiver which suggests a clinical utility in improving relational responding in individuals with ASD.

Body image involves the experience of one’s body, and body image disturbance occurs when one’s experience of body image is particularly painful and disruptive to daily living. Body image flexibility seems to be an important component for reducing body image disturbance. In recent years, there has been an increase in the interest of using self-help manuals as an alternative to interpersonal therapy for treating body image disturbance. The presented study aimed to help individuals struggling with their body image utilizing a self-help book based in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Participants who reported body image disturbance during prescreen evaluations were invited to partake in an eight-week self-help program designed to increase body-image flexibility and reduce maladaptive body-image coping strategies. Changes in target behaviors were assessed via self-report data collected online at five different intervals: 1) prescreening (baseline); 2) midway through the readings (week 4); 3) upon completion of the readings (week 8); 4) 4-week follow-up (week 12); 5) 16-week follow-up (week 24). In general, participants exhibited improvements in body-image flexibility and reductions in body-image avoidance behavior over the course of treatment and beyond. Individual-level outcomes will be presented in detail and further implications discussed.

Behavior analysts are in the unique position to build bridges that cross cultures and to respect diversity in meaningful measurable ways. We can reach across professions, across disciplines, and across age groups to address patterns that harm any population. We can translate procedures from other fields, and design and sequence measurable objectives without relying on psychological constructs. This symposium will share an analysis and solutions for challenges that arise from exclusionary cultural diversity practices and the great need to provide diversity training. Behavior analysts can contribute to policy and practices that affect the LGBTQ community. We discuss the need to develop culturally competent assessment and treatment interventions for those diagnosed on the autism spectrum. We examine the current and historical make up of the leadership in our own international organization. The constructional approach is presented to help define and facilitate how behavior analysis can move us forward in addressing these issues.

College professors BCBA practitioners

The worldwide impact of autism creates a need to develop culturally competent assessment and treatment interventions that can be implemented in a variety of cultures. The literature on interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has identified behavioral interventions as being very effective in Western cultures. However, there is little research about behavioral interventions in non-Western cultures. Culture can affect a person’s beliefs about the cause or origin of ASD, which types of treatment the person seeks, and the goals/outcomes the person expects. Western ABA providers working with individuals with ASD from diverse cultures need to develop and maintain multicultural competencies to better understand the needs of the people with whom they work and to be able to modify interventions to be more effective in non-Western cultures. This paper discusses the impact of culture on the diagnosis and treatment of ASD, barriers to accessing ASD treatment services in non-Western cultures, the existing research gap regarding the cross-cultural implementation of ABA, current ABA efforts to address diversity issues in the field, and recommendations for future research.

Inclusive practices for students, teachers, and families help create an inviting school culture. All families need to experience a safe and welcoming environment. Stereotypes of gender may limit life experiences, limit access to meaningful consequences, and limit available alternatives. In 2016, the first-ever national survey was administered to parse high school students by sexuality. The two new questions added to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control survey asked students about (1) their sexual orientation and (2) the gender of their partners. These data show that 1.3 million teens, about 8% of all high school students in America, report being lesbian, gay, or bisexual. This presentation will present a behavior analytic approach to define bullying and other social interactions that lead to exclusion. We will share resources that promote inclusion and teach students to create allies, and to recognize the undesirable role of the bystander. Behavior analysis provides us with the framework to design and arrange these complex social contingencies.

As a field, Applied Behavior Analysis is expected to be able to produce socially significant changes in the lives of individuals from diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds. While behavior analysts strive to provide the best care to their clients, only minimal support may be available to help behavior analysts develop the skills needed for effectively bridging gaps that exist when providers and clients share little in terms of cultural understanding. This challenge is particularly well illustrated when reviewing the sociocultural backgrounds of those comprising major leadership groups, such as the Behavior Analysis Certification Board and Association for Professional Behavior Analysts, as well as when accounting for the frequency of related presentations at major conferences. Without a concentrated effort to both develop field-wide leaders from diverse communities and promote appropriate diversity and sensitivity training for practitioners, consumers of ABA services may find it difficult to find behavior analysts with whom they can effectively communicate. As our field naturally results in contact with people from all walks of life, it is important for practitioners at every level to have a solid understanding of the issues surrounding diversity within the Association for Behavior Analysis International.

Although the majority of behavior analytic applications have been carried out with clinical and special needs populations, behavior analytic procedures are also highly applicable with populations without disabilities or diagnoses. In the current symposium, four authors will present research on applications of behavior analysis with preschool children with and without disabilities. First, Kovar will present a study on teaching self-control to typically developing preschool children who demonstrated impulsivity. Second, Halfdanardottir will present a study on the translation and implementation of the preschool life skills (PLS) program with typically developing preschool children in Reykjavik, Iceland. In the third presentation, Glaze will describe a study on the potential aversive properties of a vicarious reinforcement arrangement with preschool children. Finally, Bernstein will describe a study on the assessment and treatment of age-inappropriate self-feeding (finger feeding) with seven young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. After the presentations, Nicole Heal will provide discussant’s comments.

Practitioners and graduate students

Demonstration of self-control in children has been correlated with attentiveness, academic achievement, and reduced drug use and body mass index later in life. Although some previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of teaching mediating responses to increase self-control, normative assessment has not been used to inform the selection of those responses. The purpose of the present study was evaluate the effects of mediating-response training on choices of four typically-developing 3- to 5-year-olds who demonstrated impulsivity. Responses trained were based on a descriptive assessment conducted with preschoolers who demonstrated self-control and included activity engagement, verbal behavior, and pushing the snack out of view. Stimulus preference assessments were conducted to demonstrate that toys used for activity engagement were moderately preferred. Following training and during maintenance and generalization probes with the classroom teacher, all participants selected larger delayed snacks over smaller immediate snacks and waited 5 min to consume them. Social validity assessments showed high ratings of goals, procedures, and outcomes.

Transition from preschool to elementary school can be difficult, especially for children that have not acquired school readiness skills. The preschool life skills (PLS) program was first developed as a class-wide teaching program, teaching typically developing preschool children important social and communication skills (Hanley, Heal, Tiger, & Ingvarsson, 2007). The aim of this study was to examine the impact of systematic teaching of school readiness skills in a preschool in Iceland. First, we compared the view of preschool and elementary school teachers in Iceland on important school readiness skills. Next, we translated the PLS program into Icelandic and adapted it to those skills that Icelandic teachers thought to be important. Finally, we implemented PLS in a preschool in Iceland for children who were starting first grade in elementary school in the fall of 2018. Results from the survey showed that both preschool and elementary school teachers in Iceland viewed instruction following and functional communication as the most important skills for children to acquire before first grade. The implementation of PLS increased the likelihood of the occurrence of instruction following and functional communication and decreased problem behavior for most children.

Children typically gain skills to appropriately self-feed by the age of two years (Carruth et al., 2004). Those with delayed skills are at risk for insufficient nutrition (Carruth et al., 2004) and developmental and growth delays (Manikam & Perman, 2000; O’Brien et al., 1991). Although the behavior analytic literature has addressed a multitude of treatments for pediatric feeding delays and disorders, relatively few studies have evaluated whether delays are maintained by motivational or skill deficits. The current study describes the assessment and treatment of age-inappropriate self-feeding (finger feeding) for seven young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Response blocking was used to assess whether the absence of appropriate self-feeding was a motivational or a skill deficit. Results suggested motivational deficits for three children and skill deficits for four children. Treatments informed by assessment results (i.e., backward chaining and differential reinforcement) were effective at increasing age-appropriate self-feeding for all children. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of pre-treatment assessment for both treatment efficacy and efficiency when working with young children in early childhood education and intervention environments.

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP, 2018), 44% percent of children under age 18 in the United States are considered economically disadvantaged. Research suggests that these children are more likely to experience academic challenges than children who are not economically disadvantaged. This presentation will describe the academic needs of economically disadvantaged learners, historical contributions of behavior analysis to improving educational outcomes, and the current needs that behavior analysis can address. Implications and recommendations for practitioners and researchers will be discussed.

This study used the observer effect as part of a teacher training package by evaluating the effects of peer observations on an observing teacher's implementation integrity of components of a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) system for four middle school teachers. The primary dependent variables were the number of praise and corrective statements made by the teachers to their students, and how closely the teacher approximated a ratio of three praise statements to every one corrective statement. Secondary dependent variables included the number of behavioral expectations set by the teacher for the students, and the number of office referrals written by the teacher. Results suggest that peer observations increased intervention integrity of target classroom management behaviors for three of four participants and that participants were highly satisfied with the procedure. Implications for teacher training in schools, and how the findings relate to the observer effect, are discussed.

Struggling older readers often have difficulty with early decoding skills (Tolman, 2005; Toste, Williams, & Capin, 2017). If they are unable to master decoding, they may have difficulty with more complex skills, such as passage reading fluency. The current study extends research on reading fluency for older students by evaluating the combined effects of a phonics procedure and a fluency-building strategy on their reading fluency. Participants were older students with below grade level reading performance who had deficits in oral reading fluency and decoding. Dependent variables were the number of correctly sorted word patterns and the number of correct words per minute read in a passage and on a word list. During the intervention, a modified word sort procedure was used to train students to sort and read words containing the target word patterns. Following the initial word sort procedure, fluency building was employed by training word reading to a fluency criterion. Connected text passages were used to assess participants’ fluency when reading passages that contained the word pattern. A multiple-probe design across responses was utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on the decoding skills and oral reading fluency of participants. Results showed that participants’ decoding and oral reading fluency increased following the intervention.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder have deficits in appropriately manding for information using Wh-questions, although this question-asking repertoire is a valuable skill within social interactions and academic programs. Furthermore, mands for information provide the learner with necessary information in order to obtain access to preferred items and leisure activities (e.g., the location of a missing toy or where a snack might be stored). To ensure that mands are under correct antecedent control, previous behavior analytic studies have included conditions with both establishing (EO) and abolishing operations (AO); however, research on the mand ‘where’ is limited in this format. Thus, the present investigation utilized a prompt delay to teach two children with autism to mand for information (i.e., the location of a preferred edible) under a relevant EO but not when an AO was in place for such information. Prior to and following training, generalization probes were conducted in new locations as well as with novel therapists and materials. Clinical suggestions and future research considerations will be reviewed.

The interrupted chains procedure has been used to teach children with limited verbal repertoires to independently mand for missing items required to complete a task. Previous research has included interrupted chains to teach children with autism autoclitic mand frames for information about the location of missing items and persons in possession of the missing items (e.g., Lechago, Carr, Grow, Love, & Almason, 2010). We extended previous research by (a) measuring generalization of autoclitic frames both within and between tasks with multiple missing items that the participants could tact, (b) assessing whether or not the autoclitic frames would emerge following tact training of previously unknown items, and (c) evaluating if the participants could be taught to mand for the appropriate information to evoke the autoclitic frame for unknown items (i.e., “What am I missing?”). Following training, the two boys with autism who participated in this study were able to independently mand for known missing items without direct teaching and mand for information about unknown missing items.

For most children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), manding for information is an important skill that must be systematically taught. Although previous studies have evaluated interventions for teaching the mands Where?, What?, When?, Who?, and How?, to date no studies have demonstrated effective procedures for teaching the mand, “why?” The purpose of this study was to teach three children with ASD to mand, “why?” under relevant establishing operation (EO) conditions in three distinct scenarios: restricted access to preferred items, unusual events, and observation of emotional responses. A trial-unique procedure (Williams, Johnston & Saunders, 2006) was used for all scenarios to increase the value of information provided during all trials. A preference assessment was conducted for all three participants for one scenario in the study. The intervention was evaluated in the context of a multiple probe design across scenarios. Generalization was programmed for by interspersing generalization probe trials during each session. Generalization was assessed using novel preferred items, novel scenarios, and novel people. All three participants acquired the mand “why?” for all three scenarios. Generalization and maintenance were demonstrated for all three scenarios. Social validity measures were conducted to assess the goals, procedures, and outcome of the study.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty developing complex verbal behavior, including question-asking. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a procedure to teach two children with ASD to ask “Why?” Typically, Why-questions are followed by causal information that describes the reason an event occurs. For this reason, we established causal information as a reinforcer by denying access to items without providing a reason. Participants were prompted to ask “Why?” and were provided information that led to access of preferred items. To ensure that “Why?” only occurred when information was valuable, we included a condition where access to items was restricted, but a reason for denied access was provided. Both participants learned to ask “Why?” when information was needed and refrained from asking “Why?” when information was not needed. Results from this study suggest that this procedure was successful in teaching children with ASD to ask “Why?”

By the end of 1999, the first year in which the Board Certified Behavior Analyst® certification was available, there were 4,707 Board Certified Behavior Analysts® (BCBA®), and by the 10th year, in 2009 there were 5, 731 BCBAs. Fast forward to August of 2018, and there were 29,104 BCBAs; a 400% increase in the past nine years. This means that not only are there increasing numbers of individuals actively pursuing certification, but a flood of novice certificants in the workforce. Whereas our field places a particular emphasis on providing high quality supervision during an individual’s accrual of practical experience hours, it is equally critical to ensure that individuals, post-certification, continue to provide excellent clinical services. It is especially true when one considers that 76% of individuals who responded to a 2016 job task survey from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® reported their primary-practice areas were providing clinical services to individuals with Autism and Developmental Disorders. Merriam-Webster defines supervision as: “the action, process, or occupation of supervising; especially: a critical watching and directing (as of activities or a course of action).” This is a functional definition, not topographical. In other words, supervision is not defined by the level or title of the parties involved (e.g., pre or post-certification), but by the purposeful activities that take place. This talk focuses on a tiered conceptualization of, and approach to, providing effective supervision that ensures the initial and continued development of robust clinical repertoires.

This talk is targeted to individuals who are responsible for providing supervision of fieldwork experience, on-going supervision of clinical services, and designing or managing supervision practices, as well as for individual who will become supervisors in the near future.

Impulsive behavior has been termed a “transdisease” process because it is a key component in numerous clinical disorders. Deficits in attending certainly qualify as well. Experimental measures of both are grounded in choice, one of the two conference themes in 2019. These processes will be examined from multiple perspectives but all with the goal of understanding their behavioral and pharmacological mechanisms and correlates. The first paper will examine correlates among attending, impulsive behavior, and short-term remembering in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. The second will examine how reinforcement magnitude and probability influence methylphenidate’s effects on risky decision making. The third will examine the role of baseline levels of impulsivity in determining the effect of d-amphetamine. Together, these papers will present, in a single setting, these multifaceted concepts using different experimental models. They will also summarize how impulsive behavior and attending relate to other important phenomena such as short-term remembering dementia, and the broader context in which the choices are made.

Scientists and practitioners interested in current thinking about the determinants of impulsive behavior and attending. While the studies are basic they have very clear transnational and applied implications.

In 2017, an estimated five million Americans were living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a progressive neurological disease that interferes with cognitive function, reduces quality of life, and is a significant economic burden to society. There is a need for pharmacotherapeutics for AD-associated cognitive impairment, the development of which requires preclinical models of AD-associated cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to evaluate cognitive impairment in a mouse model of AD-associated amyloidosis. APPswe/PS1dE9 double transgenic (Tg) male and female mice and non-transgenic (non-Tg) littermates were trained on a delayed-matching-to-position (DMTP) or 3-choice serial reaction time (3CSRT) task. Mice were tested either continuously or intermittently from approximately 2 to 18 months of age. In the DMTP task, accuracy declined with the delay between sample lever presentation and choice opportunity although there was little evidence of between-genotype differences in performance. In the 3CSRT task, accuracy declined with duration of the signal stimulus and impulsive responses decreased as the time before the signal stimulus increased, but there were no between-genotype differences in accuracy, impulsive responses, or omissions. Potential factors contributing to lack of impairment in DMTP/3CSRT performance in the APPswe/PS1dE9 double mouse model of AD-associated amyloidosis will be discussed.

Psychomotor stimulants can increase activity and impulsivity under non-clinical conditions but have the opposite effects in individuals with ADHD. This suggests a baseline-dependency in which a drug stabilizes an aspect of behavior by decreasing high-probability events while increasing low-probability events. Baseline-dependent effects on delay-discounting can be examined experimentally using inbred mouse strains that have different behavioral profiles and also by arranging conditions that yield different levels of discounting. BALB/c mice show greater sensitivity to reinforcer magnitude and delay than C57Bl/6 mice, making these two strains ideal subjects for examining baseline dependency on both measures. The presence of delay-specific stimuli can also influence the degree of magnitude- and delay sensitivity. These gene X environment interactions can be exploited to identify a common basis for the effects of a psychomotor stimulant. Across strains and stimulus conditions, d-amphetamine decreases both magnitude and delay sensitivity when they are high and increases it when it is low. The effects of this drug, both in an experimental model and in clinical settings, depends critically upon the baseline conditions under which behavior is maintained.

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is passionate about promoting truth-oriented behavior, rational thinking, and wise decision-making. He currently serves as the President of Intentional Insights, a nonprofit devoted to popularizing these topics. Its main current focus is the Pro-Truth Pledge, a project that aims to reverse the tide of lies and promote truth in public discourse through combining behavioral science and crowd-sourcing. He is also the CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts, Inc, a boutique consulting firm that uses behavioral analysis to improve organizational performance. He has a strong research background with over 15 years in academia, including 7 years as a professor at Ohio State University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He published dozens of peer-reviewed publications in academic publications such as Journal of Political and Social Psychology and Behavior and Social Issues, and currently serves on the Editorial Board of the ABAI journal Behavior and Social Issues. He writes frequently for a broad audience, most notably his national bestseller on truth-seeking The Truth Seeker’s Handbook: A Science-Based Guide, and is currently writing From Post-Truth to Pro-Truth: Fighting Misinformation with Behavioral Science. Pieces by or about him regularly come out in prominent venues such as Time, Scientific American, Psychology Today, Newsweek, The Conversation, Inc. Magazine, CNBC, and elsewhere. He has appeared as a guest on network TV in the US, including CBS News and affiliates of Fox and ABC, and internationally, such as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and on US and international radio stations such as NPR, WBAI (New York City), KGO (San Francisco), 700WLW (Cincinnati), KRLD (Dallas), AM980 (Canada).

We have witnessed an alarming deterioration of truth in democracies around the globe, especially in the political arena. This presentation describes a behavioral analysis-based intervention, the Pro-Truth Pledge, which combines behavioral science research with crowd-sourcing to help address this problem. The pledge asks signers – private citizens and public figures – to commit to 12 behaviors that behavioral science has shown to be correlated with an orientation toward truthfulness. Pledge mechanisms have been shown in other contexts to lead private citizens to engage in more pro-social behavior. For public figures, the pledge offers specific incentives to behave in concordance with the pledge, with rewards in the form of positive reputation for honesty and truth-telling, and accountability through crowd-sourced evaluation and potential aversive consequences contingent upon deception. A study conducted on the pledge and published in the journal, Behavior and Social Issues, has demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing the sharing of misinformation on social media. These preliminary findings suggest that the pledge offers an important behavioral analysis-based intervention for addressing at least some of the problems caused by fake news and post-truth politics.

Any attendees interested in how to use behavioral analysis to address the current global problem of misinformation in democracies

According to the BACB, between 2016 and 2017, one of the most frequently violated categories is that of “improper or inadequate supervision or delegation.” Specifically, this category reflects ethical deviations to Compliance Codes 5.0 (Behavior Analysts as Supervisors) and 10.05 (Compliance with BACB Supervision and Coursework Standards). The RBT credentialing process includes the passing of a competency assessment, which is to be completed by a BACB certificant that has met supervision requirements. Additionally, once credentialed, the RBT must obtain ongoing supervision for a minimum of 5% of service hours delivered. This presentation will review common ethical issues RBTs encounter during the credentialing process, as well as in the field, especially those resulting from inadequate supervision. Practical strategies for alleviating these issues and promoting the provision of adequate supervision will be shared.

The use of applied behavior analysis (ABA) in public schools has gained traction, primarily touted as a practice for supporting students with disabilities. However, the application of ABA principles is the foundation of high-quality instruction across skill levels. For example, positive behavior support methods applies a system-wide approach to support positive interactions and decrease challenging behaviors through the application of methods such as antecedent interventions and group-based contingencies. Likewise, academic instruction that incorporates systematic, direct instruction and personal systems of learning support acquisition across students with an array of skill levels, including those that have advanced skill levels and those that are behind grade-level. Further, the data-driven nature of the science facilitates ongoing progress monitoring at individual and group levels to guide educational decision-making. This symposium will explore the influence of ABA on teaching including comprehensive models, individualization of instruction, and inclusive practices for students with and without disabilities. The role of continuous measurement of student and teacher behavior to support acquisition of math and reading skills will be explored. In addition, application of component analysis procedures to identify the necessary features of an effective classroom will be discussed. Additionally, the role of research in identifying effective evidenced-based practices to support inclusion of individuals with autism will be examined, including gaps in our knowledge.

BCBAs Teachers

Federal policy, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), mandate students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment. Additionally, policy and social justice advocates support inclusive models of education. In an effort to support skill acquisition and ameliorate challenging behaviors, a plethora of evidence-based interventions have been identified. However, little is known about which specific interventions are most effective in inclusive environments and for which target skills. The purpose of this study was to systematically review and synthesize high-quality single-case research evaluating the effectiveness of evidence-based practices implemented in inclusive environments. Additionally, meta-analytic methodology was employed to identify study and participant characteristics that differentially impact the effect of evidenced based practices. Findings indicate that a large portion of our evidence-base regarding effective interventions in inclusive setting targets social-communication skills and the evidence for academic interventions is scarce. Additionally, the majority of the evidence is conducted in elementary schools rather than secondary. Additional participant characteristics and intervention components were explored. Implications for practice and areas for future research will be discussed.

Researchers and clinicians rely heavily on the matching-to-sample procedure (MTS) to establish conditional discriminations. In an MTS trial, a visual or auditory sample is presented, followed by several comparisons (pictures or objects). The selection of the correct comparison leads to reinforcement while selection of the incorrect one leads to some form of correction. Clinically, MTS is used for teaching a variety of skills, including listener behavior, categorization, math, and reading. An important characteristic of MTS is that samples and comparisons become substitutable for each other (i.e., equivalent). Understanding the variables responsible for the development of equivalence classes has been the topic of investigation in the field of behavior analysis for almost 50 years, generating an enormous (and complicated) body of research. This research has led to the development of at least three theoretical accounts to explain meaning and symbolic behavior, as well as has informed clinicians on how to take advantage of the MTS procedure to produce a multitude of generative/novel performances. This talk will serve as a first introduction to the concept of stimulus equivalence and its ramifications for both research and practice.

Basic researchers, students, board certified behavior analysts, and licensed psychologists.

Obstacles for training behavior analysts in Latin America, where educational resources are scarce, transcend the language barrier. While it seems reasonable to expect that an increase in behavior analytic programs to train qualified clinicians will increase the availability of higher-quality ABA services for citizens in need, other leading factors need to be considered and addressed simultaneously in order to promote the correct desired change that could benefit, and not impair, the current organization of the system. Some of these factors might include the promotion of continuing professional development, ethical practice and professional regulation of the field. Panel participants will discuss their experiences training behavior analysts with diverse backgrounds across Latin America. They will examine the current environmental contingencies disadvantaging the systematic and responsible growth of the profession and provision of high-quality services in these countries, and identify what behaviors from all stakeholders can have the greatest impact on these desired results. Most importantly, they will analyze the antecedent- and consequence-based solutions that could support and maintain these desired changes in the long-term.

Supervisors, faculties, practitioners interested in international dissemination

Azrin and Fox (1971), LeBlanc et al. (2005), and Lomas Mevers et al. (2018) empirically evaluated procedures for toilet training individuals with disabilities. More recently, Greer et al. (2016) demonstrated a treatment package for toilet training typically developing individuals. The current symposium will include four presentations on replications, component analyses, and extensions of common toilet training practices.

This presentation is for any behavior analysts who might be toilet training clients.

To date, most of the research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has focused on males; therefore, little is known if there are differences in the manifestation of ASD between males and females. One example involves daytime enuresis, a behavioral issue commonly observed in children with ASD (Von Gontard, Pirrung, Niemczyk, & Equit, 2015). Intervention for daytime enuresis typically involves systematic fluid loading to increase opportunities for voiding, a progressive sit schedule with positive reinforcement for successful voids, and return to sitting upon episodes of incontinence (Lomas Mevers, Muething, Call, Scheithauer, & Hewett, 2018). The goal of this study was to conduct a consecutive case series analysis of outcomes of an intensive toileting program for treatment of daytime enuresis in children with ASD. We examined treatment outcome data from 2014 until 2018 and compared outcomes between males and females. Results demonstrated low significance between outcomes of males and females in terms of procedure modifications and final criteria met, and high significance in terms of performance during 6-month follow-up with males significantly more likely to have positive, long-term success. Results will be discussed in terms of the physiological and behavioral aspects that might affect females performance during intervention for day time enuresis.

LeBlanc et al. (2005) described an effective, intensive outpatient procedure to decrease urinary incontinence among children with autism. This procedure included programmed consequences for appropriate urination and self-initiation, the provision of increased fluids, the use of a urine sensor to detect accidents, training a mand for elimination, and overcorrection contingent upon inappropriate urination. In the present study, we replicated and abbreviated LeBlanc et al.’s procedure by omitting the use of a urine sensor and overcorrection contingent upon accidents. We used a multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate the effects of the abbreviated procedure with three young children who were nonresponsive to non-intensive toilet training procedures. The results suggest that the procedure was effective to decrease urinary incontinence among all three children. Further, it took less time to implement than the procedure described by LeBlanc et al. Results are discussed in terms of the utility and efficiency of the procedure for a variety of populations and settings.

Young children between the ages of 13-30 months begin to have the skills necessary to begin the process of toilet training. However, delayed toilet training of typically developing children has become a trend (Simon & Thompson, 2006). Delayed training can have negative health, financial, and social implications. To date, we have systematically replicated the intensive toilet training procedure described by LeBlanc et. al (2005) with seven children (ages 22-58 mo) with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities for whom the treatment package described by Greer et al. (2016) was not immediately effective. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline was used to evaluate the training procedure, which consisted of a graduated sit schedule, reinforcement of successful urinations and self-initiations, increased fluids, communication training, a urine sensor and alarm, and positive practice for accidents. Results showed that the LeBlanc training procedure was effective for rapid performance acquisition that generalized and maintained in the preschool classroom for 5 of 7 subjects. Results are discussed in terms of treatment efficacy and efficiency, generality of procedures across populations (children with and without IDD), and social validity of treatment procedures in early childhood education and intervention environments.

Behavior Analysts working with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, especially in early intervention type settings, are commonly asked for assistance in toilet training. Most of the current research in applied behavior analysis on toilet training interventions for children with ASD are replications and/or modifications of Azrin & Foxx (1971) or LeBlanc et al. (2005) procedures. These procedures differ from what is commonly used for typically developing children. For example, Greer et al. (2016) evaluated the effectiveness of three typical components presented within a toilet training package for typically developing children: a 30-min sit schedule, placing subjects in underwear, and differential reinforcement for remaining dry and eliminating in the toilet. These components were evaluated both in isolation and together in a treatment package with 19 typically developing and 1 child diagnosed with ASD. The primary purpose of the current study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the three aforementioned components, that are typically used in toilet training procedures for children, but in this case for children with ASD. If these procedures were ineffective, a secondary purpose was to evaluate elimination patterns to allow researchers to identify modifications necessary for individualized toilet training.

Demographic and cultural variables undoubtedly influence the global adoption and success of behavioral services, but limited research exists in this area. The authors of Study 1 identified reasons for the appointment cancellations of 43 children in an outpatient ABA program. Common barriers included those related to socio-economic status (e.g., work conflicts, instability in living situation), emphasizing the importance of considering stakeholder characteristics in service delivery. The authors of Study 2 conducted a review of articles recently published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and found that demographic variables were generally underreported. The authors will describe obstacles to and rationale for fully reporting demographic variables in future publications. The authors of Study 3 analyzed the efficacy and social validity of a training program to teach function-based approaches to parents and practitioners in Chennai, India. The authors will discuss the cultural variables relevant to this region that were considered during the development phase of their study. The authors of Study 4 successfully extended tele-health services to families located in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Both efficacy and social validity data will highlight the outcomes of the authors’ global outreach efforts. Finally, Elizabeth Fong will discuss these four studies in relation to our need for a more effective science of cultural and demographic influences.

Practicing behavior analysts

Research has shown that children diagnosed with developmental disabilities exhibiting severe problem behavior benefit from Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. Because ABA therapy often places a heavy emphasis on caregiver involvement and consistency of treatment practice, the effectiveness of therapy may be compromised if excessive cancellations occur. The current study identified common reasons for appointment cancellations. This allowed us to examine potential barriers that may be intervened on to increase the likelihood of treatment success. Attendance records of 43 children being seen in a weekly outpatient ABA program that focused on parent training for problem behavior were reviewed. Frequency of cancellations were measured, grouped into categories, and ranked from highest to lowest. Preliminary data collected over twelve weeks indicated that scheduling conflicts, illness, and scheduling miscommunications were the most frequent reasons that cancellations occurred. These variables were discussed in terms of possible interventions that could be used to decrease cancellations and subsequently increase success of intervention for parents at high-risk of experiencing barriers to appointment attendance.

Describing participants’ demographic variables (ethnicity/race, socioeconomic status (SES), gender/sex, age, etc.) may be important for identifying how such variables may impact behavioral interventions and for identifying patterns across research articles. We evaluated the extent to which studies published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis for the last five years included demographic variables of participants. Any mention of information regarding age, gender or sex, ethnicity or race, SES, diagnosis, functioning level, scores on standardized tests or assessments, educational levels, and culture for any participant in the study was coded. The data were analyzed as the percentage of experiments mentioning a broad demographic variable (e.g., SES), and number of individuals mentioned in an experiment with a specific characteristic within the broader demographic category (e.g., low income). Generally, demographic variables were underreported, which may limit the broader impact of those publications. Obstacles to and rationale for fully reporting demographic variables are explored.

Dissemination of evidence-based practices to individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities requires effective, acceptable and efficient training of many care givers. One solution to this problem is to develop and evaluate pyramidal caregiver training whereby one level I staff acquires staff training skills and then trains multiple level II staff thereby changing the behavior of students and clients with autism and intellectual disabilities. This symposium will present three empirical papers. In the first we will report the effects of training teachers to teach classroom assistants in multiple applied behavior analytic skills in a special school. In the second we will present the effects of pyramidal training on staff acquisition of five applied behavior analytic skills over a 10-month period. The third paper will report the results of a randomized controlled trial in which staff working with adults with autism and intellectual disabilities were trained in applied behavior analytic skills. This symposium will show that pyramidal training is an effective, efficient and acceptable form of disseminating applied behavior analytic skills in applied settings.

Small children who live in long-lasting stress and anxiety, whether they be victims within their own homes or refugees suffering on a more global level, develop neurobiological impairments. The brain is plastic and “user dependent”. A child is born with 100 billion nerve cells, but only 15% are connected to other cells. During the first three years, 250.000 new connections are performed per hour in the child’s brain. The architects are the genes, but the constructors are the parents and the child’s social network. Positive experiences stimulate the myelination process in the cells axons and the myelin sheets increase the velocity of the nerve impulse. Long-lasting stress and anxiety reduces the myelination process and influences brain activity. Four brain structures are important for the brain’s reactions to stress and anxiety. The presenter will discuss the specific impacts that stress and anxiety have on each of these brain structures and the ensuing affect they have on the child’s development of crucial abilities necessary to successfully navigate the world. It is of great importance that sources of stress and anxiety, e.g. violence, abuse and neglect, but also war- and refugee experiences are quickly brought to an end. The role of child protection agencies, either by parent training interventions or by taking the child out of the family, is crucial. Likewise, the reception and caretaking of refugee children preventing neurobiological impairments will have life-long consequences for these children’s schooling, education, employment and mental health. The presenter will also briefly highlight parenting strategies and therapeutic interventions that can help to reduce the risk for these vulnerable children.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; social workers; graduate students.

3. Research employing single choice paradigms suggest infants show a preference for prosocial others and those who are similar to themselves. This study (two experiments, N = 44 infants, aged 8 to 15 months) replicated and extended previous work by including (a) within-subject repeated measures and (b) an experimental manipulation of a plausible demand characteristic. In both experiments, (a) infants chose between two foods, (b) watched a puppet show in which one puppet expressed a liking for one of the foods and a disliking for the other food followed by a second puppet who expressed the opposite preferences, and (c) chose between the two puppets. Results for the first-choice trial indicated a majority of infants did not choose the puppet who liked the same food as the infant (i.e., the similar puppet). Within-subject repeated trials also indicated a majority of infants did not choose the similar puppet but a majority did choose a puppet presented on the same side. Findings suggest infants may not display very early preferences, for similar others and supports recommendations made by others, including publishing null findings, standardizing data collection and reporting methods, and examining individual differences by employing within-subject designs with repeated measures.

Tummy time is an activity intended to strengthen infant motor development by placing them in a prone position. However, many infants may find this time aversive, often evoking noncompliant behavior and tantrums. Previous studies have used preferred tangible items during tummy time to reduce challenging behavior and improve head elevation. We extended this previous research by comparing the effects of a more-preferred stimulus (i.e., toy penguin) in comparison to a less-preferred stimulus (i.e., mother attention alone) selected from a preference assessment with two typically developing infants. During the preference assessment, items were placed to the side of the infants’ sight while they were seated in a comfortable position and the percentage of eye contact with each item was used to establish a hierarchy of preference. During the treatment comparison, the infant was placed in the prone position and the items were situated just above the infants’ view to ensure that seeing the item required holding the head up. Although both treatments improved head elevation and reduced tantrums, the caregiver selected the treatment using the more-preferred stimulus during a concurrent-chains preference assessment.

Annually, approximately 3,500 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly in the United States, and many of these deaths are due to unsafe sleep positioning or environments (Centers for Disease Control, 2018). To promote safe sleeping and infant development, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that caregivers put infants on their backs for sleep and on their stomachs to play, known as “tummy time.” In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of an educational video on 120 current and expectant parents’ knowledge of the AAP’s positioning recommendations. The video was associated with a significant improvement in participants’ knowledge from pre- to post-test. We also identified that participants’ reasons for positioning their babies unsafely for sleep and for limiting tummy time was largely associated with infant intolerance. In this presentation, I will: (a) discuss the implications of our results and the role of behavior analysis in addressing infant safe-sleep and tummy-time behavior and (b) describe a new intervention to teach parents of high-risk, hospitalized premature infants about safe sleep and tummy time.

The field of Applied Behavior Analysis has produced a wealth of information on interventions to produce socially significant behavior change. As a result, many individuals seek the services of Behavior Analysts, most notably, services for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Although there is a high demand for Behavior Analysts to consult with clients and create successful interventions for behavior change, once the Behavior Analyst’s consultation ends, the interventions are not often continued. Sustainability of behavioral interventions is a key factor in the maintenance of behavior changes within a setting. Sustainability of system change also requires building the capacity for on-going services. This panel will feature individuals working on various aspects of building capacity and creating sustainable programs. Panelists will speak on their success with creating sustainable programs for individuals and teachers that lasted after consultation ended. Panelists will also discuss strategies used to produce sustainable behavior change at the group, organization, and system level.

Intermediate/BCBAs; Behavior Analysts interested in creating lasting change.

This study examined the use of video modeling and video feedback to evaluate how each procedure may improve pitching skills of baseball players in a community Little League. A multiple baseline design across participants with an ABC sequence was used to evaluate the intervention. In Phase 1 of intervention, the effects of video modeling were assessed. In Phase 2, the effects of video feedback were assessed for participants who did not show adequate performance improvement during Phase 1. A follow-up phase was conducted to examine maintenance of skill performance after a successful intervention. The results indicate that video modeling had little to no effect on performance, and video feedback was the important component to teaching pitching skills.

“Mindfulness” originated from the Pali word sati and the Sanskrit word smirti, which refers to an individual’s awareness, attention, remembering (Neale, 2006). Despite its popularity, majority of mindfulness investigations have employed indirect measures in determining its effects (e.g., Batalo 2012; Rabiee., 2014). This symposium presents three recently completed research studies on the impact of mindfulness on behavior, which included direct measures of behavioral effects; specifically, its effects on creativity, charitable giving, and emotional regulation were measured. Adults within the general population, both novice and more experienced meditators, were included in these studies. In light of the results obtained and based on the body of previous research on the behavioural effects of mindfulness, applied implications and future research recommendations will be outlined.

The symposium will be geared towards undergraduate and graduate students in behavior analysis, BCBA and BCBA-D researchers and practitioners in education, healthcare, and applied clinical work.

The present study investigated the effects of mindfulness practice on creative performance of adult participants classified as novice and experienced meditators across four computer tasks. Novice and experienced meditators’ mindfulness and creative performance across divergent, convergent, recombination, and block design were measured while exposed to neutral activity and mindfulness conditions. Participants’ self-reported levels of mindfulness was measured based on the difference between pre- and post- tests scores on the Mindfulness Awareness Assessment Scale (MAAS) and Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Scale (KIMS) across conditions, whereas direct measure of mindfulness was recorded using an iPhone app during mindfulness and maintenance conditions only. Across creative tasks, rate of both novel and redundant responses, duration of task completion, inter-response time (IRT), and latency to the first response were measured per session. Following steady state creative performance in the final mindfulness condition, participants’ mindfulness and creative performance were tested for maintenance. Across meditators, difference scores from the MAAS and KIMS did not yield significant changes between conditions, and difference scores maintained for both the MAAS and KIMS during maintenance tests. Finally, measures of rate, duration, IRT, and latency of creative performances yielded undifferentiated outcomes. However, some dimensions of creative performance maintained following without structured practice.

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of LovingKindness Meditation on charitable giving and written statements about self and others. The study measured charitable giving by counting the amount of total dollars donated in baseline, LovingKindness Meditation, and control condition sessions. Written statements about self and others were measured by administering a writing prompt at the end of each of each session in each of three conditions mentioned above; written statements were categorized as positive, neutral or negative. The results of the study indicate that two out of three participants donated more money in the LovingKindness condition as compared to the baseline or control condition. Additionally, two out of three participants showed higher frequencies of positive statements about self and others in the LovingKidness condition as compared to the other conditions. The overall frequency of negative statements was low for all participants, except for one participant who showed the lowest frequency in the LovingKindness condition.

The Go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli is an alternative to matching-to-sample to establish equivalence relations between abstract stimuli. The present study is the first to investigate whether the Go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli would produce emergent relations among dictated word (A), picture (B) and printed word (C) and the emergence of textual behavior (CD) using a multiple probe design across sets of words. Three preschool children were exposed to five phases: (1) Pretest of BC, CB and CD relation, (2) Pretraining with known stimuli, (3) AB and AC training, (4) Posttests of BC and CB relations and (5) Posttest of the CD relation. During AB and AC training, compound stimuli (formed by auditory and visual stimuli) were successively presented on each trial. Responses in the presence of “related” compounds (A1B1, A2B2, A1C1 or A2C2), but not in the presence of “unrelated” compounds (A1B2, A2B1, A2C1 or A1C2) were differentially reinforced. The results showed that all children achieved the learning criteria and showed the emergence of BC, CB, and CD relations for all sets only after AB and AC training. The Go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli is an effective alternative to establish reading comprehension.

This panel will be a discussion of Dr. Caio Miguel’s SQAB Tutorial on derived stimulus relations.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Daniel M. Fienup is an Associate Professor of Applied Behavior Analysis at Teachers College, Columbia University.  He received his Master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis from Southern Illinois University and his Ph.D. in School Psychology from Illinois State University.  Dr. Fienup and his students conduct research on instructional design and educational performance.  Dr. Fienup is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Behavioral Education and The Analysis of Verbal Behavior.  He also serves on the editorial board for Behavior Analysis in Practice, Perspectives on Behavioral Science, the Psychological Record, and Behavior Development.  He serves on the Licensed Behavior Analyst New York state board and is a past board member of the New York State Association for Behavior Analysis.

The purpose of this meeting is to discuss some of the core practices and guidelines for the Committee on Publication Ethics, or COPE, with an eye toward common issues or dilemmas encountered by the editors of the ABAI journals. The panel will share insights from their experiences as authors, reviewers, and editors, and will also advise newer authors on those common policies and practices that are necessary to ensure that behavior analysts pursue publication with integrity.

ABAI members interested in publishing.

Organizations providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities often face challenges when developing and implementing effective staff training. For instance, in some regions of the country, funders require direct care staff to hold certification as a Registered Behavior Technician™ (RBT®). Behavior Skills Training (BST) provides an evidence-based methodology that can be used to train a variety of skills necessary of a direct care staff member. Data collected during pre-service training (e.g., pre and post feedback surveys, competency assessment scores) offer a source of information regarding training practices that are best for an organization’s needs. For instance, training curriculum, format and duration can be modified based upon the information gathered from such assessments while still maintaining the integrity of BST. The focus of this panel will be a comparison of training models across four organizations (home-based, center-based and educational services) inclusive of a discussion regarding the utility of continual assessment during the training process to inform further development of a pre-service training program. Objectives: 1. Describe development of competency measures to meet the unique needs of an organization 2. Describe models that include training for required RBT certification. 3. Describe scaffolding of training for staff member pursuing advancement 4. Describe a variety of data collection methods that can be used throughout the training process to make informed decisions regarding future training directions.

BCBAs, LABAs, Business Owners, Training Coordinators

There is growing concern among citizens around the world at the rise in the election of populist governments, increase in authoritarianism, and degradation of democratic rights, institutions, and norms. Meanwhile, the use of nonviolent resistance to defend the rights of minorities and oppressed communities, advance environmental and human rights campaigns, and to preserve democratic freedoms and institutions is being applied with increased frequency. However, as a field, nonviolent resistance continues to be neglected, and as a technique and type of social and political action, the phenomenon is not well understood, including by policymakers, journalists, academics, or citizens or institutions in our societies. This dearth in understanding is dangerous. New research suggests that although the frequency of nonviolent struggle is increasing, its effectiveness is decreasing. This is being attributed to opponent learning and innovation, as well as the fact that as in the past, such struggles often rely on intuition, chance events, improvisation, and people acting without clearly identifying their objectives or understanding what is required to achieve them. As behavior scientists have begun shifting significant attention to social issues, and given their recent growing emphasis on cultural level change, they could become valued partners in shaping more effective strategic action. One important potential area for collaborative work is in researching constructional (Goldiamond), constructive (Gandhi) options for shaping socially and environmentally sustainable communities with the strength and knowledge to resist threats to democracy, and support human rights. In light of the growing exploration of nonviolent resistance to address the various political challenges faced by citizens around the world, a top priority now is to expand the capacity of practitioners of nonviolent action to plan and implement wise strategies that can guide their actions and maximize their effectiveness. By drawing from selected contemporary and historical movements, this presentation will explore the lessons that can be gained from global movements to face current challenges in the fight to advance human rights and defend democratic rights, institutions, and norms.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.