Association for Behavior Analysis International

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Nursing Room - Southeast Level 1; Mamava Pod

A private space for nursing. Please download the free Mamava app on your mobile device to unlock and use the pod.

Collaboration in the field of behavior analysis in the context of autism provision is frequently discussed in terms of interdisciplinary collaboration with other professionals. While this practice is essential to providing effective services to individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), collaborative relationships should extend to others beyond the interdisciplinary context, for example the community stakeholders. Therefore, this panel will discuss collaboration strategies used in successful service delivery and academic programs. These strategies widen the scope of traditional interdisciplinary models to include collaborative relationships with: (a) direct consumers; (b) indirect consumers; (c) members of the immediate community: and (d) members of the extended community. Focusing on building relationships to promote applied behavior analysis (ABA) as a science for behavior change on a broader level which goes beyond direct care.

Challenging Conversations.... there is certainly no lack of these within the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. Whether you are mediating staff relationships, interacting with critical payor sources, or speaking with a family that just received their child's first diagnosis, learning how to handle challenging conversations in our field is often only learned through years of experience. Challenging conversations can pose undue stress, anxiety, and burnout within our field. Our goal is to address challenging situations with a solution-focused mindset while incorporating essential components like compassionate care, perspective taking, and cultural sensitivity during problem solving. In this panel we will discuss different challenging scenarios and conversations faced from the perspectives of different types of practitioners in the field of ABA and autism. The panelists will share hard-learned navigational tools to prepare you for diverse challenging scenarios and teach you how to handle these conversations with confidence.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students. 

Autistic children/children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often benefit from behavior-analytic interventions to teach verbal operants. Incorporating instructive feedback, which involves embedding additional targets, can increase the number of targets learned within teaching sessions. The instructive feedback targets, often referred to as secondary targets, are included in the antecedent or consequence portion of a primary target’s learning trial. Although the learner is exposed to the secondary target, there is no response requirement nor reinforcement of responding in the presence of the secondary targets. Acquisition of secondary targets is assessed in probes. This symposium includes three presentations that utilized instructive feedback with children with ASD. Aram et al. embedded secondary targets of play statements within discrete-trial instruction and assessed whether learners emitted play statements in a play context. Laddaga-Gavidia et al. embedded secondary targets of tacts of stimulus features and assessed whether secondary targets were acquired and if intraverbals emerged. Campbell et al. used a digital platform to deliver intervention with instructive feedback and assessed acquisition of primary and secondary targets. Descriptions of the studies and implications of the results will be included.

Intermediate: some familiarity with verbal behavior

We used an adapted alternating treatments design to determine the effects of embedding play statements as secondary targets into the primary instruction of tacts on the emergence of those play statements outside of tact instruction. We measured acquisition of tacts as primary targets and play statements as secondary targets presented in the consequence portion of discrete trial instruction. Data showed that Participant 1 learned both primary targets and secondary targets during discrete trial instruction with instructive feedback. Additionally, Participant 1 demonstrated those play statements outside of the discrete trial session during play session probes, replicating the results of Grow et al., (2017). Participant 2 did not learn the secondary targets and acquisition of primary targets was slow and required modifications. Results highlight the need for an individualized approach to incorporating secondary targets into play interactions.

Autistic children exhibit a number of problem behaviors, including aggression and stereotypy, that can be disruptive, dangerous, stigmatizing, and hinder skill acquisition (Chevalier, 2012; Cunningham & Schreibman, 2008). These behaviors continue to be a target of treatment for this population and treatment approaches need to be compared. Additionally, innovative treatment approaches need to be explored. The present symposium focuses on four studies that target the reduction of common maladaptive behaviors that autistic children and adolescents exhibit. In Study 1, autistic children are taught breathing and relaxation techniques to reduce the frequency of aggressive behavior by targeting precursor behaviors as an antecedent intervention. In Study 2, a Matched Stimulation (MS) procedure was compared with a Preferred Stimulus (PS) access procedure to reduce stereotypy while in Study 3 the effects of both procedures upon post intervention sessions and ancillary behaviors will be reported. Finally, in Study 4, motor stereotypy was targeted using matched stimulation (MS) compared with a response interruption and redirection (RIRD) procedure. These four procedures and the data from these studies presented in this symposium will be wrapped up by the Discussant who relates the current findings to the treatment of autistic children’s problem behaviors.

Some professional experience with autistic children/teens and/or behavioral programming

Stereotypy has remained a persistent interfering and stigmatizing behavior for autistic children despite numerous interventions addressing its remediation. A needed addition to the literature are comparative analyses of effective programs and further examination of their use. This study presents a treatment comparison of an antecedent intervention, Matched Stimulation (MS), with a consequent intervention, Response Interruption and Redirection (RIRD) and their effects on the stereotypy of six autistic children. A multi-element design with a multiple baseline design as an additional control was used. Generalization probes and follow-up measures were also taken. Results showed that for five of the six participants, stereotypic behavior decreased from baseline levels as a function of the MS intervention. Stereotypy was reduced completely for several sessions for three participants. Evidence that generalization across setting and maintenance of treatment effects occurred was limited. The importance of conducting comparative analyses and the implications of this study in an applied setting are discussed.

Autistic children engage in rigid, repetitive, stereotyped behavior (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Stereotypic behavior is often targeted for reduction because it can interfere with appropriate behavior and engagement with learning opportunities (Cunningham & Schreibman, 2008). Research has demonstrated matched stimulation’s efficacy in reducing motor stereotypy during periods of continuous, non-contingent access (Gunter et al., 1993), but no previous study has examined the implementation of matched stimulation (MS) in short intervals while the participant is engaged in a work session. The present study used a multi-element multiple baseline design across five autistic children (ages 9-14) to examine the effectiveness of a non-contingent MS intervention on motor stereotypy during a work session. As a comparison, a preferred stimulus (PS) intervention was used to determine the efficacy of MS; in these sessions, participants had non-contingent access to highly preferred stimuli during a work session. Compared to baseline and PS sessions, four of five participants demonstrated a decrease in stereotypic behavior during MS sessions. These findings demonstrate effective functional matching for participants thus improving evaluating techniques for reducing motor stereotypy in work sessions. Moreover, these findings highlight the effectiveness of MS in reducing motor stereotypy during learning sessions.

In their seminal article, Stokes and Baer (1977) called for purposeful generalization programming as part of behavior-analytic treatment. They asserted that generalization should be considered an active learning process in itself, rather than a passive phenomenon that occurs as a by-product of another behavior-change process. Despite this call, purposeful programming for generalization of treatment outcomes remains limited. Even more alarming, generalization programming within the treatment of severe challenging behavior is often overlooked. Given the significant and detrimental impact that severe challenging behavior can have on an individual, their family, and society, it is imperative that practitioners attempt to incorporate functional and relevant treatment components. The purpose of this symposium is to disseminate guidance on methodologies to promote generalization within the treatment of severe challenging behavior. Topics covered will include a review of recent generalization literature, the use of multiple schedules to promote generalization, and the use of parent-based interventions to further support generalization of their child’s treatment gains.

Participants should have a basic understanding of generalization as well as its common methods ofprogramming and evaluation. Participants should have some familiarity with functional analysis and function-based treatment. Participants would also benefit from a basic understanding of functional communication training and signaled availability.

Using a consecutive controlled case series design (Hagopian, 2020), we evaluated rates of functional communication responses during a multiple schedule arrangement when schedule thinning criteria were based on rates of challenging behaviors. Multiple schedules are often used in conjunction with teaching a functional communication response. A common issue that arises once the communication response is established is that the individual continues to engage in the response during times in which the reinforcer is unavailable (Kuhn et al., 2010). To address this concern and to make treatment more practical, clinicians often use a multiple schedule arrangement to facilitate systematic schedule thinning. For this study, we reviewed the treatment data from 18 individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enrolled in an intensive outpatient clinic. Rates of functional communication responses were evaluated during signaled available and unavailable reinforcement within a multiple schedule arrangement when schedule thinning criteria were based on rates of challenging behavior.

The purpose of the study was to exam the effectiveness of an outpatient treatment for adolescents with problem behavior in the context of the Italian public healthcare system. Assessment and treatment of problem behavior is well documented in private and publicly funded settings in the United States; however, to our knowledge, there are no studies reporting effective treatments in the Italian healthcare system. Our study included three participants with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities that were referred for services for aggression and crying. Parents and caregivers reported that problem behavior interfered with skill acquisition and social interaction. A functional analysis and a corresponding behavioral treatment were carried out for all participants. Functional communication training (FCT) was implemented in one weekly for two participants and two weekly sessions for the third participant. All sessions lasted 90 minutes in duration. Significant outcomes were reported for all participants in terms of reduction of PBs and increase of alternative responses, and for two participants results were generalized to people and settings, differently from the original training conditions. Namely, an 80% or greater reduction in problem behavior was reached for all participants, as well as an increase higher than 80% the functional alternative response, with respect to the baseline level. These findings suggest that an outpatient model is feasible and effective in the Italian public healthcare system. Specific adaptations of functional assessment and treatment in public health system are discussed.

Applied behavior analysts, researchers, educators, psychologists,  other professionals in the field of ABA and neurodevelopmental disabilities

“Who we are” operates at the intersection of relational verbal behavior about oneself and generational histories of cultural selection that affect members of communities and groups. Solving “who we are” is not only at the center of a radical (i.e., all encompassing) science of human behavior, but is necessary to solve important social challenges of our time. The first speaker will discuss the progression of a behavioral understanding of culture and community from Skinner to the present culturo-behavior science movement. This work will highlight the formation of ideology that can desensitize behavior to direct contingencies of reinforcement and define convergent and divergent values systems that influence individual behavior both within and between groups. The second speaker will propose a dynamic model of relational behavior, Relational Density Theory, as a way to interpret shared relational frames inherent within our culture that negatively impact communities with an emphasis on prejudice based on gender and race. Relational frames that maintain prejudice and discrimination are likely vastly complex and interwoven leading to extreme resistance to change and rejection of competing information. Our final speaker will discuss implications of relational verbal behavior for disability communities, both within and outside of these communities, that ultimately impact the quality of life of disabled persons. Influencing relational frames surrounding disability will take much more than person-first or disability-first language and may necessitate rethinking entirely how we frame disability within our communities. Taken together, this symposium attempts to redefine our view of culture, relational framing, and the role of behavior analysts therein, lest we fail to seize this opportunity to influence large scale social change.

Behavior analysts, students, and faculty

In his seminal works, BF Skinner left a trail of breadcrumbs concerning the way that ideological conditioning desensitizes behavior to direct contingencies of reinforcement. This can have either desirable or disastrous results, depending on the circumstances. Skinner suggested that respondent, operant, and verbal conditioning all participate in the types of control that cultural agencies exert during ideological conditioning. Nevertheless, Skinner left analysis of the precise ways that such verbal conditioning emerges for future generations. RFT extends Skinner’s analysis by defining the behavior of valuing as verbal behavior that participates in a hierarchical network of verbal relations. In this talk, I contend that ideologies emerge as systems of values, a complex latticework of verbal relations that inhere within coherent verbal networks that are constructed over a lifetime, and which become increasingly inconspicuous as more relations get added. I trace the development of one such ideology and show how this results in a coherent sense of agentic self. Although ideological conditioning is valuable, situations in which it is over-extended abound. To this end, I discuss implications derived from an RFT analysis that pave the way to undermining unwanted ideological verbal relations. Lastly, I discuss implications for the emerging field of culturo-behavior science.

INTRODUCTION Africa is the richest continent on earth in terms of natural resources and culture. Africans are a happy and resilient sect of people despite the developmental vicissitude of the continent. POPULATION OF AFRICA The current population of Africa is About 1.4 billion and is equivalent to 16.72% of the world population CHALLENGES Human capital is one of African most valued assets across its societies. While this assert remains, Africa has fallen behind because its people, despite their historical abilities in science, have not done this in an organized manner. THE THINKING OF AFRICANS AND THE BLACK RACE To be at peace with our neighbors is African’s greatest goal. To share one’s wealth and prosperity with one’s neighbor is an insurance against interference by people of the world - this is our world and is our perception of humanity! APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS IN AFRICA It is the unexplored forest that is often labelled or regarded as snakes dominated habitant. Despite African’s recurrent pernicious social experience, the continent remains resilient, but the growth of ABA in Africa remains stunted. CONCLUSION At the end of this paper presentation, attendees will be able to describe different ways Africans express themselves based on their culture, cross cultural communication style, and how this knowledge can be integrated in the practice of the science of applied Behavior Analysis in Africa to improve the total quality of life of the service consumers.

BCBA, BCaBA, QBA, QASP, SLPs, clinical psychologists

Stimulus equivalence has been a lively research area for more than 50 years starting with the Sidman (1971) study. Since then, a huge number of experiments with variety of procedural variants have been published. The presentation will discuss some of the variables influencing the establishment of baseline conditional discriminations and the emergence of untrained relations during testing. Overall variables such as training structures, training and test protocols, and simultaneous vs. delay matching-to-sample, and details like concurrent vs serialized or sequential presentation of baseline trials and number of training trials will be discussed. Also, additional measurements in stimulus equivalence research as reaction time and sorting will be examined.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Individuals diagnosed with developmental and intellectual disabilities can experience a number of challenging behaviors (i.e., restricted food intake, rapid ingestion of food, tow walking, aggression, self-injury) which may result in physical health and safety concerns (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Valentino, LeBlanc, & Raetz, 2018). Symposium attendees will experience practical applications for individuals diagnosed with developmental and intellectual disabilities who exhibit various challenging behaviors. More specifically, the rapid consumption of food will be evaluated under the application of an electronic cueing device. While the additional bite presentation method, under-loaded spoon is used to examine increasing food consumption and decreasing challenging behavior. Considerations for assessing and treating toe walking includes the introduction of shoe inserts. Additionally, preliminary data will be disseminated from a reoccurring COVID vaccine clinic for individuals who exhibit severe and significant challenging behavior.

Intermediate

Children who exhibit feeding difficulties, such as avoidant and restricted food intake disorder (ARFID), often fail to consume an adequate volume or variety of foods, resulting in not meeting their daily nutritional or energy needs (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Applied-behavior-analytic treatment components to address inappropriate mealtime behavior and encourage acceptance of the bite most commonly include escape extinction, differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA), and stimulus fading (Ledford et al., 2018; Saini et al., 2019; Sharp et al., 2017; Volkert & Piazza, 2012). Once the food enters the mouth, additional problematic behaviors may occur, possibly due to skill or motivational deficits that will result in decreased oral intake, such as expulsion and packing (holding food in the mouth without swallowing; Sevin et al., 2002). Previous research has evaluated the impact of alternative bite presentation methods including flipped spoon and Nuk brush in comparison to upright spoon on expulsion and packing (Ibañez et al., 2021; Milnes et al., 2019). This consecutive controlled case series assesses the clinical application of an additional bite presentation method, under-loaded spoon, to increase food consumption and decrease problematic behavior which interfere with mouth clean for children with ARFID.

The rapid consumption of food is a prevalent concern amongst individuals with intellectual disabilities (Favell, McGimsey, & Jones, 1980; Lennox, Miltenberger, & Donnelly, 1987). Rapid ingestion of food can create significant health and safety issues including choking, aspiration, food regurgitation, and vomiting (Anglesea, Hoch, & Taylor, 2008; Echeverria & Miltenberger, 2012; Page, Griffith & Penrod, 2017; Valentino, LeBlanc & Raetz, 2018). Furthermore, staff resources are heavily used to prevent these health and safety issues. The use of an electronic cueing device has been used in recent studies and has been effective in reducing the rate of eating in adults and children to normative levels (Echeverria & Miltenberger, 2013; Page et al.,2017; Valentino et al., 2018). This study will examine the effects of a cueing device on the rate of eating in adults with intellectual disabilities across three target foods. Furthermore, this study will also investigate the effects of the cueing device on rate of eating when the proximity of direct care staff is faded.

Toe walking is relatively common among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and if untreated, can contribute to a number of physical problems. Previous research has suggested that toe walking may vary by walking surface. Some (e.g., rough) surfaces may inhibit toe walking, whereas other surfaces may encourage it. In the current study, we first conducted a functional analysis screening to verify that toe walking exhibited by two young children with autism was maintained by automatic reinforcement. Next, we assessed toe walking on a variety of surfaces, including tile, artificial grass, and grip tape. Finally, we placed inserts of the surface associated with the lowest level of toe walking into each participants’ shoes. The inserts were effective to nearly eliminate toe walking by one participant and reduce toe walking to low levels for the second participant. To decrease the second participant’s toe walking further, we added a hand-on-shoulder procedure, which was also effective. We discuss the results in terms of the putative mechanisms responsible for the reduction.

Children with autism and developmental disabilities are at high risk for contracting and being hospitalized for COVID-19. Although there are several vaccines available for public distribution, children with autism and developmental disabilities often engage in severe challenging behavior (e.g., aggression, destruction, self-injury) preventing their successful completion of such invasive medical procedure and increasing their and others’ risk of harm in the process. We developed a recurring vaccine clinic to provide those engaging in severe challenging behavior and their families an outlet to receive the COVID-19 vaccine safely and efficiently. The clinic has a 100% vaccination rate for patients thus far. Caregivers also reported highly satisfactory experiences and that the clinic increased their accessibility to the vaccine.

The need for continued research on interventions for daily living and vocational skills is highlighted by low rates of independent living and employment for adults diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This symposium will examine video prompts as one promising tool for promoting greater independence in these skill domains. The first presentation will review the research literature on point-of-view video prompting for teaching daily living skills to individuals diagnosed with ASD. Gaps identified by the literature review will be addressed in the other presentations. The second presentation will include a case study to demonstrate how video prompts can be used to promote the acquisition and generalization of job fair skills for young adults with ASD. The third presenter will review a study on the effects of video prompts when implemented as a self-administered antecedent for daily living and job-related skills during video conferencing sessions. Finally, the impact of having participants develop video prompts to learn the target skill will be covered. Each presentation will highlight how the implementation of video prompts can be individualized to meet the goals of individuals with exceptional needs.

The target audience for this presentation includes practicing behavior analysts (BCaBAs, BCBAs, BCBA-Ds), graduate students in behavior analysis, and Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs).

Individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are underemployed and often fail to achieve independence in activities of daily living. Greater independence in both arenas relate to improved quality of life. Video models and prompts are one tool that have been successfully used to teach vocational and daily living skills to this population. Video modeling presents a model of a person doing steps of a particular task. The participant observes an action, performs the action and receives feedback if it is incorrect and praise if correct. The student watches all steps of the task and performs the steps until they learn the skill. The present study had the novel component of having the participants themselves, high school students with ASD, make the videos to learn the target skill. Typically, a teacher or researcher creates the video for the participants. The data show positive effects for in terms of skill acquisition and student satisfaction with the intervention.

Considerable research has demonstrated the utility of various behavioral training strategies (e.g., behavioral skills training, interactive computerized training) to teach individuals to perform a variety of novel skills; however, there is relatively less research on training parents and school staff to perform novel skills, collect data, and analyze results – and even less so when the training is conducted remotely. This symposium includes four diverse empirical papers that explore the application of behavior analysis to teach a variety of skills to parents at home and staff members in school-settings, both remotely and in-person. Alami and Zonneveld will present a study evaluating the effects of a telehealth behavioral skills training package to teach parents to implement a behavioral feeding treatment at home to increase their children’s consumption of low-preferred foods. Jones and colleagues will present a study evaluating the effects of a remote behavioral skills training package on training special educators to conduct a multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment, collect and analyze the data, and implement the results in brief teaching sessions. Nichols and colleagues will present a study evaluating the necessary and sufficient components of a previously validated interactive computerized training package for staff. Finally, Silva and colleagues will present a study evaluating the effects of a behavioral skills training package to train school personnel to implement a behavioral feeding treatment for three students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The results of each will be discussed within the context of limitations and implications for future research and clinical applications.

Attendees should have a familiarity of behavior analytic terminology and an understanding of single-subject experimental research designs.

The demand for Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) increased by 1,942% from 2010 to 2018, and the number of newly credentialed BCBAs is closely tracking that trend. Training and supervising professionals in the implementation of behavior-analytic interventions is a significant part of a BCBA’s job description. Interactive computerized training (ICT) is a staff training package that consists of instructions, modeling, interactive activities, and feedback and has been successful in training multiple behavior analytic techniques. The multiple components included in these training packages can make the creation of new training programs labor intensive. However, the dissemination and replicability of these training packages can be beneficial for both trainers and trainees. Thus, in this study, we conducted a component analysis of the different instructional components that make up the ICT package in an effort to determine which training components were most critical to the success of a previously validated ICT. Two undergraduate students were taught to how to implement and teach activity schedules with an adult confederate. Video training alone was unsuccessful for both participants. While one participant was successful with the complete ICT alone, the other participant required verbal feedback to meet criterion.

Behavioral interventions, including escape extinction and differential reinforcement, have shown to be effective interventions in treating feeding challenges in pediatric populations. Schools present a promising setting for treating feeding difficulties due to the large number of students served daily. However, limited research exists examining the implementation of behavioral feeding interventions in schools. Further, it is unclear to the extent that special educators and school-based clinicians have been trained to implement behavioral feeding interventions in school settings. In this study, we used behavioral skills training (BST) to train school personnel to implement a behavioral feeding treatment package for three students diagnosed with autism. All students presented with challenging mealtime behavior and a limited food repertoire prior to starting the treatment. The treatment package incorporated non-removal of the spoon, bolus-fading, and differential reinforcement. Results indicate the treatment package was highly effective in increasing acceptance of non-preferred foods and that BST was an effective approach in training school personnel to implement a behavioral feeding treatment package in a school setting.

Classrooms are complex environments that require teachers to implement a variety of classroom management strategies to minimize problem behavior and maximize learning time. Given the difficulty of implementing behavioral interventions in the school setting, there is a need for teacher training and support. This symposium consists of four presentations that examined the impact of educator-implemented interventions for students with developmental disabilities. The first study evaluated using a team-based consultation model for function-based assessments and interventions (the Prevent-Teach-Reinforce; PTR model) to improve school professional and student behavioral outcomes. The second study evaluated the impact of antecedent exercise (e.g., Brain Breaks®) on disruptive behaviors and academic engagement. The third study was a meta-analytic review that synthesized single-case research in which school-aged students with disabilities received multicomponent function-based intervention implemented by natural change agents in the classroom setting. The fourth study was a review of empirical studies in which educators serving school-aged students with disabilities were trained on implementation of function-based interventions.

The target audience members for this symposium are practitioners and researchers.

While individualized, function-based treatment plans have been identified as an effective method for minimizing challenging behavior in schools, schools continue to lack accessibility to school-based professionals who are competent to develop such plans for students. Thus, the current study evaluated the effect of multi-component coaching on school professionals’ facilitation of Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) as well as its collateral effect on teachers’ implementation of function-based interventions and student outcomes. Three school professionals (i.e., behavior specialists and student support staff) were trained to facilitate the PTR process through a 2-phase coaching process, which included co-facilitation followed by independent facilitation. A total of six teacher-student dyads from three schools participated in this study, in which three of the dyads were involved during co-facilitation and the other three dyads were involved during the independent facilitation. Results indicate that a multi-step coaching process is effective in training school professionals to implement PTR independently with fidelity, although some limitations exist. School professionals effectively produced desired behavioral outcomes for students in school even when the PTR process was implemented independently. School professionals, teachers, and students found the PTR process, interventions, and coaching to be effective and favorable.

Educators serving students with disabilities are often tasked with implementation of behavioral supports, specifically individualized or function-based behavioral interventions. When implemented with fidelity, interventions addressing student function are among the most effective practices for reducing problem behavior and promoting positive behavior change for students with disabilities. However, researchers have indicated that many educators struggle to consistently implement intervention procedures due to a lack of sufficient training prior to and during delivery of intervention. This can then lead to a decreased effectiveness of intervention and negatively impact student outcomes. The purpose of this review was to identify and evaluate single-case research which educators serving school-age students with disabilities were trained to implement function-based behavioral interventions. A total of 13 studies representing 37 participants were identified and reviewed to describe characteristics of (a) participants including educators, trainers, and students, (b) components of training, and (c) modality and dosage of training. Overall, majority of educators served as special education teachers and received no training on behavior change procedures prior to participation in study procedures. Implications for practice, future directions for research, and limitations are described.

Paraprofessionals are often expected to implement behavior reduction programming, but frequently lack the experience creating optimal learning environments. One strategy paraprofessionals can use as a proactive measure to decrease the likelihood of noncompliance and problem behavior is teacher child interaction therapy (TCIT). TCIT involves training teachers positive attention skills such as describing activities the child does, reflecting what the child says, imitating, and praising the child’s behavior. Behavioral skills training (BST) has been used to teach numerous skills to paraprofessionals, but research for how BST can be used to teach paraprofessionals how to decrease noncompliance and problem behavior of children with autism is necessary. For our study, we evaluated the effects of BST to teach paraprofessionals rapport building skills. We conducted BST with a confederate child, then assessed the effects of our intervention with both a confederate child and a child from the paraprofessional’s classroom. Because the goal of teaching paraprofessionals these rapport building skills was to increase positive interactions and decrease the likelihood of problem behavior, we also evaluated problem behavior and child proximity to our trainees at pre- and post-training. We programmed for/assessed generalization and assessed social validity of our procedures by giving teachers and supervisors a questionnaire.

Given it’s addition to the BACB 2022 Code of Ethics, the current symposium discusses the hot topic: assent and its implications to human and animal learners alike. The first talk introduces a contingency analysis, followed by a concept analysis of assent, consent, and compulsion. The second talk follows-up on those analyses and introduces relevant examples and nonexamples familiar to clinicians in applied behavior analysis. The third talk introduces strategies to evaluate programs where assent is not present, but the program is needed. It also introduces intervention strategies to gain not only learner assent, but begin to construct the needed repertoires for learner autonomy. Finally, the fourth talk will focus on the animal trainer’s personal background and his experiences with assent. Specifically, how quality of life for the animal improves with experiences where assent is present. These four presentations taken together, will provide a fresh nonlinear contingency analytic informed perspective on assent and consent.

A solid foundation in the basic principles of Applied Behavior Analysis is required.

Given the critical and variable features of assent, consent, and compulsion discussed previously, this talk will present the rational sets of examples and nonexamples related to each (Layng, 2019; Markle & Tiemann, 1990). The presence or absence of the critical attributes will provide differentiation in example/nonexamples of assent, consent, and compulsion. Within this analysis, variable attributes determine whether criteria are met for true or apparent consent/assent. This critical discrimination between true and apparent is at the heart of ethical clinical practice. Examples of true assent will be contrasted against apparent with a focus on helping the clinician reveal the critical contingencies actually operating at any given moment. An emphasis will be placed on the practical everyday situations encountered by clinicians working with Autism Spectrum diagnosed learners. This discussion will establish a framework that will allow the clinician to determine if true assent has been obtained. Further, this framework can be applied in any setting across all learner types.

Given the concept analysis and examples and nonexamples of assent, this talk will examine what clinicians can do when learner assent is not present. It is suggested that clinicians apply a cost/benefit analysis of program participation and nonparticipation to determine if the program benefits a learner’s overall growth and development. If it is determined that the program is beneficial for the learner, clinicians can ask a few guiding questions to help program for program participation. The questions relate to behavioral objectives, entry repertoires, and programming sequences (Layng et al., 1976). The answers will help clinicians create programs that build on learners' entry repertoires that lead to full participation in the program. These programs are individualized for the learner and may include shaping, chaining, the use of conjugate schedules, and streamlining reinforcement systems (Rosales-Ruiz & Hunter, 2019). This talk will present examples of programs that utilize this process to obtain assent.

Procedural integrity (i.e., the extent to which procedures are implemented as designed) is an important area of research and practice in behavior analysis. This symposium includes four data-based presentations centered around procedural integrity. The presentations will inform selecting a measurement system for procedural integrity, how integrity errors affect common interventions, how frequently researchers report integrity measures in behavior-analytic articles, and perceived barriers and facilitators that influence reporting integrity described by behavior-analytic researchers.

Supervising BCBAs Behavior-analytic researchers

Procedural integrity describes the extent to which a procedure is implemented as designed. Although scholars have called for consistent inclusion of integrity data since the 1980s, integrity measures remained infrequent through the early 2000s, and evaluations of the details of integrity reporting were not conducted. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to characterize procedural integrity reporting in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) between 2006 and 2020. We identified 649 experiments published in JABA that mentioned the terms integrity or fidelity. For each experiment, we first determined how authors described integrity. Then, for experiments that collected integrity data, we gathered data on the extent to which authors reported how frequently integrity data were collected, how they calculated integrity values, and the details of the obtained integrity coefficients. Most coded studies measured integrity of the independent variable and there was a slight upward trend from 2006 to 2020. We also noted increasing trends in descriptions of the frequency of integrity-data collection and how integrity values were calculated. Obtained integrity values were almost always reported as percentages, and above 90%. These findings suggest promising trends, but suggest the need for continued growth in the completeness of integrity reporting in JABA.

Behavior Analysis is a field that values continuous quality improvement. Continuous quality improvement is demonstrated within our field’s importance on conducting research to find answers and then implementing the strategies associated with those answers. Behavior Analysts are obligated to modify their practices as new strategies are identified that will be most beneficial for their patient’s outcomes. However, the implementation of new strategies requires change – and change is hard. To continue improving and bettering the treatment provision for our patients, and the clinical systems for our staff, we must strive to lead meaningful change by communicating and planning in a way that increases the reinforcing value of change among our colleagues. Successful change can be fostered through the creation of values, the development of a vision, the creation of a plan, and by evaluating the application of that plan. When these steps are put into place, the aversiveness of change lessens (fear is reduced and discomfort decreases).

Advanced audience members should have responsibilities of supervising other BCBAs and making organizational decisions that will impact the role of the BCBAs they supervise as well as the treatment of the patients served within the organization.

An exploration of the application of ABA based intensive parent education programs in the child welfare population. This talk will encompass a review of outcome data in child welfare program developed and managed by Board Certified Behavior Analysts, revealing socially significant impacts to child abuse recidivism rates in Florida. A review of the program history, development, curriculum and methodology will be presented. A call to action and road map for replication of the project in other states will be presented as well.

ABA practitioners with a BCBA or BCaBA certification, who are actively practicing in the applied setting.

This presentation will provide an overview of an interdisciplinary graduate program designed to produce master’s-level graduates with expertise in using behavior analysis effectively in schools. The Department of Special Education and Literacy Studies and the Department of Psychology at Western Michigan University share the collaborative program to prepare special education teachers and behavior analysts to meet the high-intensity needs of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The five-year project, funded by the Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education worked to prepare and graduate two cohorts of scholars, a combination of those working towards a master’s degree in special education and a teaching endorsement in ASD and others with a master’s degree in behavior analysis. All graduates were prepared for certification as Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs). This presentation will share the top ten lessons learned throughout the program's implementation. Topics covered will include the project’s curriculum and graduate practicum experiences, common challenges teachers face when implementing evidence-based assessment and interventions in the school setting, challenges in supervising aspiring BCBAs in the school setting, and case studies of successful implementation of applied behavior analysis by teachers in the school setting.

This presentation describes the complex nature of human-animal interactions and captures the dynamic interconnection of five constructs, some established and some novel, to characterise safe, ethical and sustainable [best] practices in the management, handling and training of non-production animals. It interdigitates the Five Domains Model for animal welfare assessment, four possible operant mechanisms that interactions may follow, the three influences of attachment, arousal and affective state, and the two contrasting ethologies (human and animal), with a One Welfare approach. This 5-4-3-2-1 framework reveals that while arousal and affective state influence behavioural outcomes of operant conditioning, the trainer’s choice and application of the operant quadrants have a further and cumulative influence on attachment, arousal and affective state. The power of this approach is that, on one hand, it marries optimal interactions with the highly prized attribute of trust in animal–trainer dyads, which may be, at times at least, a manifestation of trainers as attachment figures. On the other hand, it reveals sources of disruption of human-animal and animal-human attachment that promote negative affective states which are incompatible with safe, ethical and sustainable practices. By bringing these constructs together, the 5-4-3-2-1 Framework aligns the Five Domains Model with the ultimate animal welfare aim of One Welfare. As such, it may also serve as a notional checklist for reflective practitioners who ascribe to the One Welfare approach and aim to achieve safe, ethical and sustainable animal management, handling, training and keeping practices.

This panel is a continuation of previous presentations at ABAI regarding behavior analysts grappling with ethical issues in the profession. This year we will focus on implications of the new Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts for professionals in the field. For this panel we have brought together four behavior analysis ethicists whose guidance is regularly requested through the ABAEthicsHotline.com To demonstrate the range of approaches used and opinions offered, recent ethics questions from both behavior analysis professionals will be presented, each panelist will offer their guidance, we will then debate the merits of our various and sometimes differing approaches. Toward the end of the session we will open the floor to questions from the audience and again each ethicist will respond so that the range of strategies and tactics will be apparent.

The target audience is practicing behavior analysts with at least the BCBA certification and some experience implementing the BACB Ethics Code.

A small proportion of patients with intellectual disabilities (IDs) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit extraordinarily dangerous self-injurious and assaultive behaviors that persist despite long-term multidisciplinary interventions. These uncontrolled behaviors result in physical and emotional trauma to the patients, care providers and family members. A graduated electronic decelerator (GED) is an aversive therapy device that has been shown to reduce the frequency of severe problem behaviors by 97%. Within a cohort of 173 patients, we have identified the four most common patterns of response: (1) on removal of GED, behaviors immediately return, and GED is reinstated; (2) GED is removed for periods of time (faded) and reinstated if and when behaviors return; (3) a low frequency of GED applications maintains very low rates of problem behaviors; and (4) GED is removed permanently after cessation of problem behaviors. GED is intended as a therapeutic option only for violent, treatment-resistant patients with ID and ASD.

The audience should be familiar with treatment options for severe problem behaviors.

The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (BACB, 2020) requires certificate-holders to practice within their boundaries of competence (1.05), behave in an equitable and inclusive manner (1.08), involve clients in planning and consent (2.09), and individualize behavior-change programs to best meet the diverse needs, context, and resources of the client (2.14). The ethics code (2020) includes disability in the professional responsibility standard for cultural responsiveness and diversity (1.07). Although the field of behavior analysis has acknowledged the need for culturally responsive practices and made calls to action to improve training programs (Beaulieu, 2019; Couto, 2019; Fong et al., 2017; Miller et al., 2019; Najdowski et al., 2021, Levy et al. 2021) and nearly 73% of certificate holders work in the area of Autism Spectrum Disorder (BACB, 2020), little attention has been given to including disability, neurotype, and ableism in behavior analytic training and practice. This symposium will illustrate the importance of considering neurotype when designing behavior analytic intervention (Dawson, 2004; Lynch 2019), share actions taken by a behavior analytic training program to increase awareness of neurotype, and discuss ethics and future directions.

Intermediate and/or advanced: BCaBA, BCBAs, BCBA-D

As an SLP-BCBA, I have collaborated with many professionals in both fields. Too often, with emerging communicators, the only skill targeted is the accuracy of vocal imitation, leading to slow or scattered progress. Emphasis on speech alone can also lead to a breakdown in the clinical partnership between the SLP and the BCBA. This presentation will detail other skill areas important to becoming an effective communicator, and actionable treatment strategies to target those areas.

BCBAs or BCaBAs that struggle with initiating and maintaining collaborative care with other disciplines, including SLP

Being part of a committed and satisfying relationship is frequently cited as one of the most deeply held values of both men and women in?the United States and other westernized countries. Moreover, relationship infidelity is cited as a?frequent cause of?dissatisfaction and the termination of committed relationships. A contextual behavioral model suggests that choices around?infidelity?are contextually bound, where antecedent strategies like avoiding arousing events with strangers and behavior relational strategies such as practicing mindfulness could?abate arousal functions and reduce the probability of infidelity. In the present study, we?evaluated these contextual factors in a randomized control trial design.?Participants completed a probability discounting task under the hypothetical situation of being in a relationship?at either 75% or 25%?relationship?satisfaction?and?reported?how likely they were to?engage in infidelity?as?an inverse function of?likelihood of getting caught. Half of the participants then completed the same task a second time after watching a 5-minute?arousing scene from a movie identified for each participant in a preference assessment. The other participants completed the second task after completing 5-minutes of mindfulness. Results showed that the overall?probability?of infidelity was higher with lower relationship satisfaction?and the arousing scene produced even greater discounting rates. Mindfulness may have served as a protective behavior the reduced probability discounting.?Results have implications for a contextual view of?infidelity.?

Individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities often face stigma related to sexuality, sexual expression, and reproductive health. Common misconceptions include beliefs that people with disabilities cannot maintain healthy sexual or romantic relationships, are unfit to bear children, do not have sexual desires, and do not need to learn about sex because they will not understand the content. As a result, many neurodiverse individuals do not receive sexuality education which may cause more significant psychological distress and inflexibility. To promote psychological flexibility related to sexuality among neurodiverse individuals and address sexual stigma among caregivers, the current study compared Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to psychoeducational approaches using a randomized control trial design. In study one, individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities attended a three-day ACT and sexuality group workshop focused on sexual and gender identity, consent and boundaries, and reproductive health. After attending the workshop, participants reported increases in sexual empowerment and interpersonal psychological flexibility compared to those who received the educational curriculum. In study two, parents and caregivers of individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities attended a two-hour ACT group workshop to reduce negative attitudes related to individuals with developmental disabilities and sexuality. The findings of both studies suggest ACT is an effective intervention for increasing psychological flexibility related to sexuality in neurodiverse individuals and their caregivers. The implications of utilizing psychological flexibility approaches in conjunction with sexuality education for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities will be discussed.

In Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) research, ensuring the validity of the intervention is a critical concern. Thus, reporting various types of validity data (e.g., internal, social) is strongly encouraged by most ABA publications. However, frequency and scope of these reports has not been widely measured in some journals. Procedural integrity, also referred to as treatment integrity, describes how well an independent variable was implemented and represents an index of confidence in the relationship between the independent and dependent variables (i.e., internal validity). Social validity measures, such as procedural acceptability, assess the degree to which the intervention is important to consumers and hints at variables that might lead to lasting change and adoption. The present symposium reports trends in procedural integrity and procedural acceptability reporting within two behavior analytic journals. The three presentations comprise data on 1) treatment integrity reporting in Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2) procedural acceptability reporting in Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (JOBM), and 3) procedural integrity reporting in JOBM. Each presentation will highlight current and historical publication trends, as well as discussion of potential variables contributing to variance in measurement and reporting of various validity data. In addition, future directions for research practices will be discussed.

Researchers whose projects are related to ABA and subdisciplines (e.g., Organizational Behavior Management; OBM), as well as practitioners, supervisors, and managers who regularly consume behavior analytic research to inform their daily practice.

Procedural acceptability measures can be used to inform and improve the long-term viability of interventions in Organizational Behavior Management (OBM). However, little is known regarding the use of procedural acceptability assessments across studies employing OBM methodology. In the present review, we evaluated the use of procedural acceptability measures across all articles in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (JOBM) for the first decade (1977–1986) and the most recent decade (2010 to 2019). We coded each article for industry, organizational performance problem type, participant type and reported use of procedural acceptability measures. Formal procedural acceptability measures were reported in 20% of articles included from the first decade and 35% of articles included from the most recent decade of JOBM. The use of procedural acceptability measures appears to be on an increasing trend, but the frequency of reported use of acceptability measures differed across industries. Furthermore, most articles included limited information on how acceptability was assessed. Unique considerations for the use of procedural acceptability measures in OBM and recommendations are discussed.

In behavior analytic research, procedural integrity refers to the extent to which the independent variable is implemented as described. Collecting and reporting data on procedural integrity is important for assessing the internal validity of a study; it assists in verifying that the independent variable, and not an extraneous variable, is responsible for intervention effects. Previous research suggests that data on procedural integrity are infrequently reported in behavior analytic studies. In organizational behavior management in particular, no recent evaluation of the reporting of data on procedural integrity exists. In the current study, we examined all empirical articles published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (JOBM) from 2000 through 2020 to examine reporting of data on procedural integrity. We found that only 23.7% of studies reported these data. Furthermore, we found that 43.8% of studies appear to be at high risk, meaning they included multiple person-implemented intervention components and no measure of procedural integrity. We conclude by offering some possible reasons as to why the number of JOBM studies reporting these data is so low and by suggesting some ways to increase the collection and reporting of procedural integrity data.

Many individuals were unable to receive medical services as due to the coronavirius-19 pandemic. The present study sought to determine a method to deliver behavior-analytic instruction directly to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder via an online format. Treatment was conducted initially in a clinical setting and consisted of mand training and discrete-trial instruction delivered at various distances (next to the participant, 3ft, 7ft, and outside the participants room). Participants were provided with a tablet through which instruction was delivered while the experimenter shared their screen or presented instructions on camera (i.e., virtually). During mand training, a preferred video was played, paused, and the client manded for the continuation of the video. Discrete-trial instruction was comprised of the presentation of skills in training interspersed with mastered tasks. Results suggest that training in a clinical setting across varying distances was effective to establish telehealth as a modality for therapists to deliver treatment directly to clients.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often exhibit deficits in daily living skills, including toileting skills. Previous studies have evaluated components of common toilet training practices, including differential reinforcement, sit schedules, fluid loading, underwear, and wet alarms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether it would be possible to coach caregivers via telehealth to implement the toilet training treatment package as described by Perez et al. (2020) with high integrity and whether this would result in positive outcomes for children. Three caregiver-child dyads participated in this study. A researcher coached caregivers on the implementation of the protocol using a modified behavioral skills training approach via telehealth. Caregivers submitted data daily and weekly audio recordings for treatment integrity checks. The sit schedule fading was individualized to meet the needs and preferences of each family. All caregivers implemented the protocol with high integrity. Two participants met the mastery criteria at the 90-min sit schedule and maintained performance at the 1- and 6-week maintenance follow up probes. The third participant had interruption of treatment due to family circumstances. The utility of telehealth coaching and adaptations to meet the individual needs of clients will be discussed.

The number of individuals who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Taiwan has been increasing (Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2019), but education professionals in this country lack the resources and training necessary to serve this population effectively. Telehealth is a promising modality for disseminating this training worldwide. To promote the dissemination of applied behavior analysis (ABA) in Taiwan, three teachers from a private school in Taiwan were first trained to implement discrete trial teaching (DTT) with their students and then were trained to teach another educator at their school. The experimenter conducted behavioral skill training (BST) through telehealth to evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of this training modality. Results indicated that the training was effective and that the participants successfully implemented the procedures across multiple students in their classrooms. These findings replicate and extend the current literature suggesting that the use of telehealth is an effective and socially valid method for disseminating ABA to countries with limited resources.

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic in North America resulted in consumer hoarding of goods such as hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and water, rendering them difficult to purchase. From a conceptual standpoint, this event presented a natural experiment on closed economy influences on consumer demand. This study examined the relative sensitivity of hypothetical commodity purchase tasks during two periods of the pandemic—start of pandemic versus 1-year later—using a within-subject design. The first purchase task was conducted in March 2020 immediately following the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic and stay-at-home orders issued in the US. We conducted a follow-up purchase task using the same participants (mTurk) in March 2021 when stay-at-home orders were no longer in place and vaccines were available in the U.S. Participants included 287 mTurk Workers. Purchase of the target commodities was compared with purchase of control commodities that can be interpreted as substitutes or complements for the target commodities. Results indicated differences in demand during these two periods. We discuss how these two periods can be interpreted as closed and open economies, as well as the implications of purchase task sensitivity to these natural market fluctuations.

Individuals dependent on tobacco are more likely to be dependent on alcohol and vice versa and while behavioral economic methods have proven useful in understanding valuation for various drugs of abuse, little research has applied these methods to examine how drug valuation changes under withdrawal states. The current study examined changes in behavioral economic demand for alcohol and cigarettes drugs under hypothetical withdrawal states for alcohol or nicotine. 260 participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk who reported smoking daily and drinking at least 2 drinks per week were included in the final analysis. Participants completed a series of purchase tasks for cigarettes and alcohol under baseline and hypothetical withdrawal conditions from both drugs independently. Findings from nonlinear mixed-effects modeling suggest demand intensity decreased under both withdrawal states for both drugs and change in demand elasticity decreased (drug valuation increased) for both drugs and under both withdrawal scenarios, demonstrating a cross-substance bidirectional effect of alcohol or nicotine withdrawal on abuse liability of both substances. Although additional research should examine if similar results are observed under experiential conditions, the current results may have implications for continued co-use of these drugs, as well as for treatment targeted at polysubstance use.

Effective interventions for problem behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury) are susceptible to relapse when treatment conditions change. For example, resurgence – increases in a previously reinforced and then extinguished target response – can occur with changes in parameters of reinforcement for an alternative response. Moreover, methods for decreasing a target response during treatment can differentially impact resurgence when treatment conditions change. Translational research on resurgence could facilitate the development of methods to better understand and mitigate relapse for individuals presenting with severe problem behavior. This symposium includes four presentations: Carolyn Ritchey and Sean Smith will present data from separate crowdsourcing studies evaluating predictions of a quantitative model of resurgence, Resurgence as Choice in Context (RaC2). RaC2 predicts differential resurgence as a function of (1) alternative-reinforcer rate and magnitude (Ritchey), and (2) duration of exposure to target and alternative reinforcement (Smith). Next, Cinthia Hernández and Carlos Flores will present data from a study with rats examining effects of parameters of target-response reinforcement during a simulated treatment phase on resurgence. Finally, Kate Derrenbacker will present data from a study with mice evaluating effects of alternative-reinforcer rate on resurgence. Dr. Rusty Nall will serve as discussant.

Previous exposure to literature on (1) laboratory models of relapse (e.g., resurgence) and/or (2) quantitative modeling of behavioral data would be useful.

Problem behavior can be decreased by means of extinction and reinforcement of an alternative behavior. However, when both types of responses are placed under extinction conditions, previously decreased behavior can recur. Under such procedure, target responding is decreased during a second phase by means of extinction. Similarly, behavior could also be decreased by means of changes in reinforcement parameters. In the current study, we explored the latter possibility by exposing rats to a resurgence procedure, in which target responding during phase 2 was decreased by means of extinction, magnitude, delay and frequency of reinforcement between conditions. For all rats, target-responding decreased when changes on reinforcement parameters were introduced; however, it only decreased to near-zero responses under extinction conditions. Resurgence was observed for all rats during the latter condition, while it partially occurred in the rest of the conditions for some of the rats. Our results suggest that abrupt parameter variations, which yield near-zero responses, are required prior resurgence could occur during test. Additional data suggests that resurgence can be observed after target-responding is thinned by gradual changes on reinforcement parameters.

The purpose of this symposium is to present relevant research regarding emergent stimulus relations and the mediating processes that may influence their emergence. Data will be presented by Joao Lucas that suggest equivalence classes formed through intraverbal bidirectional naming might depend on additional sources of verbal control. Next, Robbie Hanson will present data on the possible influence of echoic and/or tact mediation on equivalence-class performances. His results seem to support verbal mediation via tact and intraverbal behavior. Next, Eliana Buss will present data on the visual mediation hypothesis that suggests that directing participants to use visualization may cause untaught relations to emerge more easily. Lastly, Reagan Cox will also present data on the visual mediation hypothesis that suggests that when verbal mediation is blocked, speed of responding on a test for emergent relations is unaffected. All of these studies presented together will provide the audience with a broad spectrum of data on emergent stimulus relations and the factors that affect their emergence.

The target audience for this symposium is researchers in the area of behavior analysis and specifically verbal behavior. The audience should already have a basic understanding of verbal behavior.

Bidirectional naming (BiN) is a model that explicitly relates verbal operants with equivalence class formation. For instance, Ma, Miguel and Jennings (2016) successfully established equivalence classes through intraverbal BiN. There, authors trained intraverbal using a fill-the-blank vocal task with multiple sources of control. The verbal stimulus provided during intraverbal training contained a sample name, alongside a relation autoclitic, and a contextual stimulus. Therefore, the intraverbal BiN may not be a sufficient condition for establishing equivalence. In order to test if the contextual stimulus was critical for their results, we’ve conduced a replication. In a pilot version, participants were eight college students exposed to a reversal design, but during intraverbal training, we’ve excluded the contextual stimulus. Our results show that, even though all participants mastered intraverbal relations, only two out of eight passed equivalence post-tests with a 90% criterium. Importantly, all participants failed the intraverbal emergence post-test. This difference between intraverbal and non-verbal emergence during post-tests is an indirect fallout of the absence of contextual stimuli, since during intraverbal post-tests, participants had no environmental clue about which relations were being tested. Our results suggest equivalence classes formed through intraverbal BiN might depend on additional sources of verbal control.

Previous studies have shown that the successive MTS (S-MTS) procedure, in which one stimulus is presented at time with a “go” (touch) and “no-go” (refrain from touch) response requirement, is an effective approach for establishing visual-visual, visual-auditory, and auditory-auditory conditional relations with college students. Results of these studies suggest the possible influence of echoic and/or tact mediation on equivalence-class performances. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to extend previous findings to non-verbal auditory stimuli. Eight college students learned to conditionally relate nonverbal auditory stimuli into three 3-member classes. Following training, all participants met emergence criterion for symmetry and six out of eight participants met emergence criterion for transitivity/equivalence. Further, all participants responded with either an experimenter-defined tact or a unique tact, and five participants related these names intraverbally. Although these results replicate previous findings with stimuli that cannot be echoed, they seem to support verbal mediation via tact and intraverbal behavior.

Climate Change and Human Health. What can Behavior Analysts do? Lincoln Kamau Carbon Purple and Autism Resources & Therapy Center of Massachusetts Abstract: Climate Change is the greatest single threat to human health on the planet today. Air pollution alone is estimated to cause 7 million deaths a year. That is at least double the number of people who died globally from COVID-19 in 2020 (WHO, 2020). B.F. Skinner was concerned with the application of behavioral science to solve important human problems, such as overpopulation, nuclear war, pollution, opportunities for minorities and more (e.g., Skinner, 1987, 1971/2002). He maintained that the solution to these problems required the modification of behavior and, therefore, a technology of behavior. Given the threat climate change presents to humanity, but also cognizant of the effective technologies’ behavior analysts have in their tool kit, this presentation will challenge behavior professionals to embrace a range of micro and macro-level interventions such as targeted feedback, environmental arrangements, group contingencies, renewable energy use, food production, waste recycling and reduction etc. to increase and improve sustainable practices. Behavior analysts will also be challenged to collaborate with other experts and policy makers to improve sustainable practices in a variety of areas including environmental conservation and preservation, renewable energy, emission control and transportation. The Environmentalist Behavior Analyst: Identifying Opportunities and Feasibility of Behavior Analytic Careers in Sustainability Julia H. Fiebig (Ball State University; AGI), Jessica Ghai (Boston University), Holly Seniuk (Behavior Analyst Certification Board) Abstract: The effects of climate change are primarily issues of social and environmental justice. They are symptomatic of a lack of sustainable and regenerative systems that could offer a stable social foundation for the entire population, without exceeding the ecological ceiling of the earth’s resources (Raworth, 2017). While most behavior analysts work within the fields of education and human services, a growing number of practitioners and researchers recognize the urgency to expand work into other sectors. Environmental sustainability is one area that continues to grow as a legitimate professional opportunity for behavior analysts. Given the complexity and urgency of this Super Wicked Problem, there exist a vast number of issues that behavior analysts can meaningfully impact. This paper presents the array of environmental sustainability issues behavior analysis can help solve as well as a systematic framework for those behavior analysts thinking of focusing their behavior analytic work on sustainability. An overview of an iterative process is offered, inclusive of values clarification, evaluation of situational needs and assets, and creation of an action plan. This process creates opportunity for the behavior analyst to consider how they may augment, or shift, their work to critical issues of environmental sustainability and justice. Meg Martineau (New England Behavior Analysts for Sustainability) The Ripple Effects of Committing to Sustainable Action at your Place of Work Abstract: One of the largest challenges facing our society is the climate crises, yet there are very few BCBA certificates where this is their area of focus. The primary area of focus for BCBAs continues to be in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (Behavior Analysis Certification Board, 2021). As the climate crisis unfolds, the demand for behavioral based climate solutions will continue to grow. Behavior analysts have the opportunity to make a significant impact on climate change initiatives at their place of work, home, or community. This talk will describe the implementation of a behaviorally based climate solution based on a community-based social marketing framework (Mackenzie-Mohr, 2017). This presentation will describe the implementation of a school wide composting program, discuss how behavior analysts already possess leadership skills in sustainability efforts, and describe the larger ripple effects created through targeted actions.

Intermediate: Individuals who are interested in learning more about how behavior analysts can become more involved with sustainability efforts. The talk will focus on immediate actions that can be taken to make a positive change and will also, look at long-term efforts of each author for improving sustainability practices.

Effective behavior change is difficult to achieve in schools due to a multitude of variables, including high caseloads and limited time for staff training. Establishing treatment integrity and social validity are often overlooked as essential to this process. Although behavior analysts are trained to engage in a thoughtful process of assessment, intervention design and implementation, and data analysis, they often do not assess a key component: contextual fit. Contextual fit involves identifying environmental variables that will both enhance and potentially interfere with the success of an intervention. These variables include the values, needs, and skills of the change agents as well as the resources available at the school. Contextual fit, then, is the extent to which behavioral treatment matches the aforementioned variables. In this presentation, contextual fit will be defined and discussed as a way to maximize outcomes with teachers, students, and families and enhance ethical practices. Relevant research will be reviewed and ethical considerations will be discussed.

Intermediate - practice behavior analysts in school for more than 1 year.

A few researchers have demonstrated the effects of using behavioral principles during music therapy on client’s pain management and work tasks (Kenny & Faunce, 2004; Madsen & Madsen, 1968). Very few researchers have discussed or conducted research on the application of behavior principles for piano teachers. The purpose of this presentation is to articulate the application of behavior principles during a two-hour workshop demonstration at a regional piano conference for piano teachers. The following basic behavioral principles were discussed and demonstrated for a group of 33 piano teachers. The principles of behavior are; creating a task analysis, the use of chaining, reinforcement, learning trials, providing opportunities to respond, behavior specific praise, stimulus prompting, motivating operations, as well as behavioral momentum. The presentation will also include a discussion of how the behavior principle of generalization and maintenance (i.e., general case analysis, multiple exemplars etc.) can help with the preparation of a piano recital. After the completion of the workshop, the attendees were asked to complete a social validity survey to obtain information about their perception of the acceptability and usefulness of the behavioral strategies. Results will be provided for nine out of the 33 conference attendees.

The audience should have a solid foundational knowledge of the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis. Attendees should be fluent in concepts such as motivating operations, stimulus prompting, chaining procedures and behavioral momentum.

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB®) was established in 1998 in order to certify individuals who are practicing within the field of behavior analysis. To protect the rights and dignity of consumers, practitioners and society the BACB® has established the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts (BACB, 2020). The ethics code is important as a guiding document to early career and seasoned practitioners within the field. The ethical responsibilities set forth by the BACB (2020), though essential, may seem impossible to uphold given the wide spectrum of potential ethical violations. With the increase in social media use for professional activities, there’s an increased likelihood of encountering potential violations. Additionally, how one navigates ethical violations may vary from practitioner to practitioner. Further, the consequences that one faces with ethical violations seems to vary. Thus, the purpose of this panel is to have an open discussion about the code of ethics, how professionals can navigate the code of ethics, and what protection (if any) does the code is provide in protecting our clients/consumers and practitioners. The panel will be interactive between the panelists and audience members.

The audience members should have in depth knowledge of the BACB cod and the audience members should have completed their supervision training.

Today, approximately one in 54 children are identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), compared to one in 150 in the year 2000 (Centers for Disease Control, 2020). This increasing prevalence has resulted in the adult system being flooded with individuals with ASD, who will require services and supports following the completion of their educational entitlement. Across longitudinal and cross sectional studies, findings show adults with ASD struggle with achieving independent living, employment, maintaining friendships, managing co-occurring mental health conditions, and have poorer quality of life (Billstedt, Gillberg & Gillberg, 2011; Roux, Shattuck, Rast, Rava, & Anderson, 2015; Sosnowy et al, 2019). The impact of stigma associated with traditional behavior analytic teaching techniques and various mental health conditions can be significant barriers to achieving these outcomes. Some of these stigmatizing experiences may be particular to ASD because core ASD symptoms (e.g. repetitive behaviors, lack of social awareness) can be disruptive in nature. Although public knowledge about ASD has increased (Dillenburger et al. 2013), the general public often lacks information needed to recognize disruptive behaviors as signs of ASD, which makes stigmatizing experiences more likely for individuals, caregivers, and support staff. With the decreasing costs and increasing capabilities of ubiquitous devices (e.g., web cameras, smart-phones, Skype®, FaceTime®, apple watches, remote signal devices), these stigmas can begin to be addressed in unique and effective ways allowing behavior analysts and behavior technicians to continue to improve outcomes.

The audience should have a basic understanding of function-based treatment and practical applications of behavior analytic process such as functional assessment, prompting hierarchies, and community-based instruction.

Almost 40% of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with a comorbid anxiety disorder (Zaboski & Storch, 2018). However, many individuals are misdiagnosed or do not receive the appropriate co-morbid diagnosis as both obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and ASD describe behaviors that are intrusive and repetitive, making it difficult to differentiate between them. The American Psychiatric Association (2013) described the distinction between the symptomologies by indicating that with OCD, the urges build in intensity and can cause significant distress to the person experiencing them which differs from the experiences of those just diagnosed with ASD. This can present many challenges for practitioners who are attempting to identify, disentangle, and treat behaviors using function-based treatment. This study using a single subject multi-treatment design, looked to use a portable device to measure the electrodermal activity through skin conductance responses (SCRs) of adults diagnosed with ASD and OCD. The researcher monitored, using real-time feedback (and during typical daily activities), each individual's SCRs to identify the potential stimuli evoking an obsessive or compulsive observable response (motoric or verbal). Each individual was then systematically desensitized to each evocative stimulus, until generalization was achieved and there was no longer a co-occurring biological response to the target stimuli.

Obtaining and maintaining employment within the community is one of the greatest challenges when working with adults with autism. Often there are false community perceptions surrounding the competence and ability of individuals with disabilities that can be exacerbated by traditional prompting and the clear presence of support staff. In the United States, individuals with disabilities make up almost one-fifth of the American population, but they are unemployed at a rate that is twice that of people without disabilities (Erickson et al., Disability statistics from the 2014 American Community Survey (ACS). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Yang Tan Institute (YTI), 2016).When a job coach needs to deliver a clear prompt, this often requires the job coach to either provide a verbal direction from some distance (thereby increasing reliance on verbal directives) or increase their proximity to the individual (thereby encroaching on the individual's workspace and potentially coworkers). One way to reduce both the stigma associated with needing a support staff and the intrusiveness of this staff is through the use of technology. Remote tactile prompting in the form of vibrating pagers and watches has been demonstrated to be successful in increasing on-task behavior and social interactions with individuals with ASD (Finn et al., 2014; Milley & Machalicek, 2012). This study demonstrates the successful use of remote tactile prompting to increase the on-task work behavior of adults with ASD.

The Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts (2022) code 1.07 states that behavior analysts should “actively engage in professional development activities to acquire knowledge and skills related to cultural responsiveness and diversity”. The APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct indicates that “Psychologists are aware of and respect cultural, individual, and role differences, including those based on age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, and socioeconomic status, and consider these factors when working with members of such groups” (American Psychological Association, 2017). Cultural humility has been discussed as it relates to behavior analysis at both individual and institutional levels and has been defined as “…a lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and critique to address power imbalances and develop mutually beneficial and nonpaternalistic partnerships with communities” (Tervalon & Murray-Garcia, 1998 as cited by Wright, 2019). Thus, it is paramount that students develop a foundation and understanding of cultural humility and responsiveness during their training. To discuss this, a panel of experts will answer questions and discuss how students can continually commit to acquiring the knowledge and skills related to cultural responsiveness and diversity.

Increasingly, applied behavior analytic services are disseminated worldwide. While recipients of behavior analytic interventions continue to increase in diversity, there has been limited literature on the efficacy of culturally adapted services for individuals from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, for practitioners, there is minimal guidance on how to demonstrate cultural sensitivity during assessment, treatment, and staff supervision. In this symposium, presenters discuss a culturally responsive treatment model that may be utilized to promote cultural sensitivity when serving economically and ethnically diverse individuals. Presenters will highlight lessons learned using data from case studies in Liberia, Botswana, Kenya, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Social validity outcomes and recommendations for practitioners will be discussed.

Intermediate (1) audience should be familiar with the ABA code of ethics, and in particular, understand the importance of scope of practice (2) audience should have a general understanding of culture as defined by B. F. Skinner (1953) and cultural awareness from existing ABA literature

According to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB), there are currently 139 active Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), serving a population of over 10 million. Out of the 10 million, about 89% of the population are expatriates, representing more than 50 countries, most notably India, Pakistan, Bangladesh amongst others. With such a large variety of cultures, religions, and backgrounds, BCBAs often need to account for a variety of cultural variables when providing behavioral analytic services. Of the many variables to consider, the behavioral analyst should be mindful of the cultural conditioning as it relates to race, gender, nationality, religious affiliation, economic net worth, cultural values, and more, when providing behavioral analytic services. Furthermore, supervisors should develop a framework for organizational interactions and training that encompasses these cultural considerations. During this presentation, we will discuss the lived experiences of a behavior analyst who was born in Liberia, studied in the US, and is currently practicing in the UAE. We will analyze the cultural adaptations a practitioner should consider and provide potential concessions that should be taken in order to provide sound behavioral analytic services in the UAE.

Gun violence in the United States (U.S.) persists as a public health crisis. Over 40,000 individuals die from firearm-related injuries each year and another 60,000 are shot. Of these, nearly 8,000 are children. And gun violence specifically within K-12 schools continues. Indeed, recent data have underscored that over 250,000 children in the U.S. have been exposed to gun violence specifically in K-12 schools since the Columbine High School mass shooting tragedy in 1999, with Black children disproportionately impacted in comparison to their White peers. And rates of gun violence have increased precipitously since the onset of the Covid19 pandemic.

The impact of gun violence on children is particularly concerning as exposure to gun violence is considered an adverse childhood experience (ACE). ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur during childhood. An extensive body of research on exposure to ACEs has been linked to dozens of negative outcomes over the life course (poor mental health, increased risk for chronic disease, asthma, poor oral health, cancer, injury, suicide, premature mortality, and even decreased school success). They’re also highly prevalent: an estimated 30% of children report experiencing at least one ACE. Thus, preventing this kind of violence is of utmost importance. Despite this urgency, meaningful responses to the prevention of gun violence in K-12 schools over the past decade have been lacking and largely not informed by evidence.

In this presentation, I draw on existing research, novel data, and a child-centric framework to present a new model that reimagines what solutions to the persistence of gun violence in K-12 schools looks like. In pursuing this work, I seek to answer the following question: what if our collective response to school gun violence did not prepare our schools for the inevitability of the next school shooting, rather treated the eradication of gun violence in schools as a genuine possibility? Knowledge, support, prevention, policy, engagement, commitment, leadership, and consistency are guiding principles we can use to reimagine how our schools can be kept safe, while ensuring that our children thrive.

Researchers (e.g. in the behavioral sciences, public health, education, school psychology), school leadership (principals, superintendents), school health professionals, K-12 teachers

Dr. Sonali Rajan is an Associate Professor of Health Education in the Department of Health and Behavior Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. She also holds a secondary faculty appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Rajan is a school violence prevention researcher, studying gun violence, school safety, and adverse childhood experiences. She holds faculty affiliations with the CDC-funded Columbia Center for Injury Science and Prevention, the Columbia Scientific Union for the Reduction of Gun Violence, and the Institute for Urban and Minority Education. She also co-produces Re(Search) for Solutions, a podcast hosted by the Media and Social Change Lab at Teachers College devoted to amplifying creative and evidence-based solutions to the persistence of gun violence. For over a decade, Dr. Rajan has conducted research in K-12 public schools across the U.S.  And for nearly 15 years, Dr. Rajan has collaborated closely with the non-profit organization Girls on the Run; she currently serves on their National Board of Directors. Dr. Rajan has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles in additional to multiple talks, book chapters, and other written pieces. Her work has also been featured in multiple national media outlets (including National Public Radio, the Hechinger Report, and CSPAN).

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a paradigm shift in the delivery of services and instruction for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) instantaneously. The unprecedented circumstances forced educators, behavior analysts and therapists to pivot across programming, delivery of reinforcement and presentation of material with virtually little-to-no lead time. These experiments investigated the effects of Direct Instruction (DI) programming on the acquisition of spelling, language and mathematics skills when presented during remote instruction via a synchronous video platform. Results are discussed with respect to efficiency in material preparation, acquisition of the material presented and applicability to the continuity of care for students with ASD via remote instruction

Intermediate-the audience for this symposium should have the following prerequisite repertoires: 1) Understanding of data collection and deriving measures from direct data collection 2) Understanding how the design of a study demonstrates experimental control 3) Some basic knowledge of Direct Instruction methodology would be helpful

For many, a crisis may be an insurmountable challenge that results in a failed business as many individuals and organizations tend to engage in habits that allow for the sustainability of a “comfort zone,” which may be in conflict with organizational success and survival. While we all seek balance, the comfort zone is often contradictory to the optimal performance zone desired where individuals and organizations are able to realize their greatest potential. However, those equipped with Organizational Behavior Management tools are far more prepared to adapt and systematically navigate crisis. In fact, “crisis equals opportunity” can ring true as those with an OBM toolbox can pivot and leverage the occasion to improve performance and business outcomes.

Junior BCBAs Behavior analysts within their first 5 years of practice, including practitioners, supervisors, etc. BCBAs and BCBA-Ds Licensed or certified individuals

Neurodiversity is a concept that asserts that the idea of normal cognition is a false premise, based on the medical model of disability. Instead, neurodiversity, which was conceptualized by the neurodiverse individuals we serve, states that all humans are born with different cognitive strengths and skills and that difference in cognition is valuable and even important for human evolution and creativity. As applied to ABA, advocates in the neurodiversity movement have pushed for a more flexible, more compassionate, and less ablelist approach to ABA supports for autistic people. Some of the criticisms from the neurodiversity movement appear controversial to many in the ABA field and many behavior analysts have rejected the concerns and/or attempted to defend our field against neurodiversity. This panel discussion will engage in an honest, vulnerable, and frank discussion of the strengths and limitations of what we do in ABA and use the neurodiversity movement as an opportunity to discuss practical steps the ABA field can take to moving our field to a future of greater inclusivity, flexibility, and less ableism. The neurodiverse panel of presenters includes researchers, practitioners, family members, and advocates.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

This presentation will address the role of sensitivity to aversive drug effects in risk for unhealthy drug use. Considerable research has focused on drug use disorders as motivational disorders involving inherent or drug-induced reward pathway function. Human and animal research support a critical role for circuitry underlying sensitivity to rewarding and reinforcing drug effects in risk for continued use, neuroadaptation and relapse. However, less attention has been paid to the protective role of sensitivity to aversive drug effects. Dr. Phillips will present data proving that the trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) as an arbiter of the aversive effects of methamphetamine, which when experienced, reduce methamphetamine intake. More broadly, she will discuss the importance of considering drug avoiders in clinical studies of psychostimulant addiction, which could lead to the identification of a new class of therapeutics.

Tamara Phillips is Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Senior Research Career Scientist at the Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, and Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism-funded Portland Alcohol Research Center. She received her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the State University of New York in Albany and completed Postdoctoral training at the Rutgers University Institute of Animal Behavior. She joined OHSU and the Portland VA in 1987, rising through the ranks to Professor in 1998. She has received several honors and awards, including teaching awards, research achievement and mentoring awards, and distinguished scientist and lectureship awards. She has served as the President of three different research societies: the International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society; the Research Society on Alcoholism; and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. She currently serves as Vice-President on the Board of the non-profit local chapter of Sigma Xi, the scientific research honor society. Mentoring has been one of her passions and she directed the Behavioral Neuroscience graduate program for many years. She has published numerous peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and reviews and is funded by two NIH institutes and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Her research focusses on the genetic dissection of behavioral traits associated with risk for the development of alcohol and drug use disorders.

Stakeholder and generalization training are critical components in the treatment of severe destructive behavior. The Behavior Analyst Certifications Board’s Ethics Code (2020) calls for Board Certified Behavior Analysts to involve stakeholders throughout services and train interventions within contexts appropriate to the client and stakeholders. To assist practitioners, the prevalence of generalization training is needed to identify potential barriers and solutions to conducting generalization training. The purpose of this study was to conduct a consecutive case review of a university-based severe behavior program over a 10-year period to determine the prevalence of generalization training. We reviewed 268 cases for training conducted with parents and professionals, within and outside the clinic setting, and post-discharge during outpatient services. We found the majority of cases trained caregivers to implement intervention procedures whereas only a small portion trained professionals (e.g., school staff). Generalization training within the clinic using novel rooms or novel therapists occurred in less than a quarter of cases and generalization outside the clinic in home, school, or community settings occurred in just over half of cases. Post-discharge training during outpatient services occurred in about a third of cases. We discuss findings in relation to potential barriers, current ethical guidelines, and practice recommendations.

Many individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder will require continuous health care and social services to address their individual changing needs, which is estimated to cost up to 2.4 M over the lifetime (Buescher, et al., 2014). While many treatment modalities exist, ABA is the only evidence-based practice in the treatment of ASD. Despite this, there is no standardization of outcome measures to determine the efficacy of treatments. Additionally, there continues to be significant disparities in access and variability in care. For this project, ICHOM brought together 21 clinical experts, researchers, and leaders from all over the world to develop the ASD Standard Set, with the aim of a comprehensive yet parsimonious set of outcomes and case-mix variables. This session will discuss the process used to develop the standard set, current barriers, and preliminary recommendations for implementation. Value-based healthcare and the importance of alignment between provider, payer, and patient will also be presented.

The quality of services in the applied behavior analysis (ABA) industry is under threat by a rapidly expanding workforce and demand for services in the absence of an empirical approach to promoting ABA service delivery quality (ASDQ). Other industries have responded to similar situations with innovations in quality tools and international standards, and we think our industry is primed and well positioned to do the same. In this paper, we provide a high-level overview of a novel ASDQ framework practitioners can use to develop systems for systematically supporting high service quality in ABA organizations. This talk includes a brief summary of growth in the industry, the need for more systematic discussions about quality, a definition of quality at the organizational level, introduction to the evidence-based practice of ABA at the organizational level, and some suggestions for using culturo-behavioral science concepts with a 6-step action plan organizations can implement now to pursue high ASDQ. Attendees will participate in activities that will help them think in new ways about quality in the ABA service delivery industry.

The Apprentice: An innovative approach to meet the Behavior Analysis Certification Board’s supervision standards (Hartley, 2016) was published 6 years ago. Now, enhancements have been made based on lessons learned through the implementation of this model across dozens of BCBAs and their Apprentices. Supervision of those pursuing board certification within an applied setting requires shared value to the Apprentice, the BCBA, and the organization within which they both work. The benefit for the Apprentice consists of optimal training, including competency assessments, ensuring preparation to become a successful BCBA. The benefit for the BCBA is mentorship to the next generation of BCBAs, as well as support and assistance with an assigned caseload of patients. The benefit to the organization is exceptionally trained Apprentices who will transition into future BCBA positions, at a time when BCBA positions are extremely difficult to fill. For these advantages to be experienced by all three parties, a robust and comprehensive training of Apprentices must include several components: overlap between the BCBA and Apprentice when overseeing patient treatment, identification of a maximum amount of restricted hours accumulated by the Apprentice with patients, targeted objectives for Apprentice competency, and standardization of bi-directional feedback between the Apprentice and their supervising BCBA. The objective is continuous quality improvement of the Apprentice Model with shared value to all parties involved in order to continue seeing successful outcomes throughout the field with endeavors to grow the next generation of highly skilled BCBAs from within.

Over the last decade, the landscape of ABA documentation and billing has drastically changed. National headlines have been made in several instances of ABA companies being found guilty for fraudulently billing for services that were never provided or inaccurately billing at higher rates, amounting to hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. These instances have rightfully alarmed payor sources and led to more frequent and intense documentation auditing by funding sources. Accurate, comprehensive documentation requires an increased response effort and training to ensure basic requirements are met. An internal audit of session notes was completed at a large ABA company and scores were found to be insufficient. Therefore, a plan was set forth to develop a comprehensive approach to train and monitor the documentation of ABA services and the Session-Note Writing Auditing Team (SWAT) was created. This presentation will discuss issues identified within session note documentation, how SWAT was successfully implemented across a large, nationwide company, and how audit scores significantly improved to meet and exceed payor standards and best practice. These findings are socially significant as developing an effective auditing system for documentation is essential in sustaining ongoing treatment delivery for persons in need of medically necessary ABA services.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

While ABA is considered an evidence-based approach for skill development and challenging behavior reduction with people with autism and broader developmental disabilities, many lack access to services due to a number of barriers (e.g., distance, cost, scheduling, lack of providers, and transportation). Further, families and professionals who deliver primary supports to people with ASD/DD often do not have training in ABA. Technological advances over recent years now present a wide range of options for disseminating ABA to people with ASD/DD, and delivering coaching on behavioral techniques to support systems. This selection of presentations will provide examples of how four different technological modalities (an app, bug-in-ear speaker system, virtual reality, and the videoconferencing) can be applied to disseminate ABA knowledge to difficult-to-reach populations. Preliminary data will be shared to demonstrate the effectiveness of each approach and to conclude we will discuss implications of use of technology for furthering the reach of ABA within the disability field.

A minimum of a masters degree in behavior analysis, psychology, education, technology, or a related degree.

We designed and implemented a parent coaching program that focused on procedures used to teach three types of spontaneous verbal request skills for children with autism in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two parent-child dyads from a southwestern city in China participated in the study. Using the telehealth service delivery model, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in China provided coaching. During the coaching sessions, the parents received BCBA’s immediate prompt and feedback from a Bluetooth earpiece. In a randomized multiple-baseline across the behaviors design, we confirmed a functional relation between the parent coaching program and their frequency of correct teaching trials. Both children also emitted more spontaneous verbal requests during the intervention.

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience high rates of behavioral crises, which significantly increase their risk of emergency room or psychiatric hospital admissions. While psychiatric hospitals typically specialize in the assessment and treatment of severe mental illness and substance abuse, providers in these settings generally have little to no training on working with IDD populations. This project piloted an application of the Extensions of Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) model to disseminate behavioral knowledge to inpatient psychiatric care teams in state-funded hospitals across Virginia through a videoconferencing platform. Six providers participated in a pilot evaluation of this program and completed pre-post test measures of ABA knowledge, self-efficacy in managing challenging behavior, and program satisfaction. Results demonstrated a significant improvement in providers’ self-efficacy, knowledge of ABA, and high program satisfaction. The model design will be described, after which implications and considerations for future use of the ECHO model as a mode for disseminating behavioral knowledge and consultation will be discussed.

Determining successful pathways to improve accessibility to and quality of care for individuals diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism spectrum disorder) remains a major challenge for health care providers and society at large (Waxegard & Thulesius, 2016). That is, although timely diagnosis and entry into early intervention services is recommended for these individuals (Elder et al., 2017), caregivers often experience barriers when attempting to access this initial level of care. Further, barriers to accessing appropriate care become more complex throughout the individual’s life course (Malik-Soni et al., 2021) and caregivers find themselves continually faced with navigating a variety of challenges when attempting to secure services and resources to meet the needs of their family. The presentations within this symposium will highlight several of these challenges and discuss potential solutions that families might encounter when attempting to access initial care (i.e., waitlists and caregiver training) up until when they need to access emergency or intensive services (i.e., boarding patients with severe challenging behavior in the emergency department and inpatient units). A discussant will review how understanding these barriers is crucial for developing effective solutions and will offer strategies for improving access to services.

Basic

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who engage in severe problem behavior are often brought to the emergency department (ED) by their families when there is no other option to ensure safety. Individuals may remain in the ED for extended periods. We executed a grant with a local ED to decrease the length of stay of these individuals by arriving to the ED within 24 hours of admission to conduct functional behavior assessment, develop treatment recommendations, and train parents, caregivers, and/or staff to implement them. This presentation will describe the results and focus heavily on the barriers experienced in providing said service. We will discuss the ramifications for future projects of this nature and ways to approach removing those barriers.

Boarding has been defined as “the practice in which admitted patients are held in hallways or other emergency department (ED) areas until inpatient beds become available” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008) and represents a widespread challenge to accessing appropriate care for individuals with psychiatric needs. Several published articles (Nicks & Manthey, 2012; Nolan et al., 2015) have described the prevalence of boarding and provided guidelines related to decreasing boarding in EDs. However, less research has examined preventing and addressing a related challenge of patients boarded for extended periods of time on inpatient psychiatric units without a clear disposition plan. This presentation will describe a treatment model for individuals boarded on psychiatric inpatient units. The treatment model consists of (a) modifications to common psychiatric and behavioral treatments to enrich the patient’s time on the inpatient unit and (b) strategies to interact with external team members (e.g., Medicaid) to facilitate a timely transfer from the unit to an appropriate level of care. Initial results showed improved duration between aggressive outbursts and improved staff safety while caring for these patients for extended periods. Recommendations will be made for future research dedicated to understanding and preventing boarding on psychiatric inpatient units.

Group contingencies account for a wide range of interventions and have amassed a substantial literature base. In this symposium, researchers will present reviews of the group contingency literature, including reviews of randomization in group contingencies, group contingency interventions in alternative education environments, ecological and social validity components in the Good Behavior Game, and reinforcer preference assessments and contingencies in the Good Behavior Game. Presenters will discuss clinical implications and future directions for research.

Intermediate. Attendees should have a general understanding of group contingencies.

Group contingencies are an evidence-based practice for producing behavior change in groups of individuals and have been widely used in educational settings. Despite the documented effectiveness of group contingencies in schools, traditional group contingencies (i.e., when components of the group contingency are known to students prior to the session) have a number of limitations. Randomized GCs (i.e., when one or more components of the group contingency are selected from a pool and are unknown to students prior to the session) are frequently used by researchers to address the limitations posed by traditional group contingencies and improve usability and contextual fit. In this presentation we will identify several of the limitations associated with traditional group contingencies and describe how randomized group contingencies can be used to overcome those limitations and improve usability or contextual fit. We will also outline recommendations, based on the existing literature, for using randomized group contingencies in educational settings.

Previous reviews show that group contingencies (GC) are an effective intervention for improving student outcomes in school settings. However, those reviews do not specifically examine the effects of GCs in alternative education settings. Given that these settings typically support individuals who are displaying severe challenging behaviors or are diagnosed with specific behavior disorders, synthesizing the evidence for GCs will be a useful contribution to the literature on how effective these procedures are in reducing problematic student behavior. In addition, this review will assess how relevant stakeholders in these settings rate the social validity of GCs. The quality of the studies included in this review were assessed using an adapted version of the Evaluative Method for Evaluating and Determining Evidence-Based Practices in Autism (Reichow et al., 2008). Twenty-one articles met final exclusion criteria and were individually coded during data extraction and quality assessment. Results suggest that GC interventions are effective in improving various student behavioral outcomes in alternative education settings. The majority of teachers assessed for social validity of GCs reported liking the intervention. Implications and future directions will be discussed.

This study evaluated a systematic method of training and evaluating supervisors in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) settings. Using a concurrent multiple-baseline across subjects’ design, this study assessed the use of a training protocol designed to teach masters’ and doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs/BCBA-Ds) to supervise therapists administering Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) sessions for children on the autism spectrum. Therapists’ performances before and during training for their supervisors was also assessed. Results revealed that the implementation of supervision training improved supervisor and therapist performances when compared to baseline values.

Functional analyses (FAs) are empirical demonstrations of cause-effect relations between the environment and behavior (Skinner, 1953). An FA is determined to be complete when a behavior analyst has identified the function(s) maintaining the problem behavior or decides that continuing the analysis will not yield helpful information (Retzlaff et al., 2020). The current study sought to replicate and extend the findings of Retzlaff et al. (2016) by remotely training master-level students how to interpret results and identify behavioral function during FAs using ongoing-visual inspection and e-learning modules. Additionally, we evaluated the effects of generalization to FA methodological variations. Results suggested that our e-learning modules were not effective for 5/5 participants and all participants required additional feedback to meet mastery criteria. We address potential methodological changes that may have affected the lack of replication.

Active student responding and opportunities to respond are appropriately referred to as best-practice instructional strategies for in-person learning. Many have shifted from teaching primarily in-person to either a hybrid or an online format over the past decade. The global pandemic hastened further shifts from in-person to online learning for many institutions of higher education. Given this rapid shift to online instruction, it is critical to evaluate evidence-based teaching practices in online formats. There is a robust body of literature that supports the effectiveness of embedding opportunities to respond and active student responding during in-person instruction. To date, there is limited to no data that evaluates embedding best teaching practices during online synchronous courses in post-secondary settings. Using an alternating treatments design, this study evaluated the effects of two active student response modalities on response accuracy for 17 students enrolled in a synchronous online graduate course. The results suggest that students performed more accurately on post-lecture queries following conditions that required written active student responses compared to responds cards. Moreover, the accuracy of correct responding maintained across the exams and the cumulative final exam. Limitations and future implications are discussed.

Involving students in content generation is one strategy to promote high-quality interaction with course content. Previous studies have demonstrated that student-generated content is a socially-valid, culturally-responsive strategy to promote learning for diverse learners (e.g., Nava et al., 2019). This presentation will review progress on the Open Behavior Artifacts project, an undergraduate student-focused initiative to develop openly licensed or open access materials on topics related to behavior analysis in lieu of a traditional semester course project. Student ratings indicate that the project was perceived as a good way to assess knowledge of behavior analytic principles. Students were also likely to endorse the project for future students, and were likely to want to do a similar content-generation project in the future. Qualitative feedback highlighted great satisfaction with the project, citing meaningful contributions back to the larger learning community. Samples of student materials will be shared, and implications for promoting diverse voices in behavior analysis will be discussed.

Basic

Despite increasing empirical support for applied behavior analysis over several decades, little attention has been paid to the ways in which supervision is implemented among service providers for individuals with autism. In this study, a cross-sectional survey was designed based on the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) supervision guidelines and research literature. 125 clinicians from California service agencies completed a survey inquiring about supervision practices and satisfaction with (1) “typical” sessions and (2) sessions delivered through videoconferencing (VC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted to examine factor structure of supervision practice and satisfaction resulting in a three-factor model for supervision practice (i.e., supervision activities, supervisor proficiency, and clinician evaluation processes) and supervision satisfaction (i.e., satisfaction with supervision content, satisfaction with perceived level of support, and dissatisfaction with supervisory relationship). Supervision hours and individual and group meeting frequency were significant predictors of supervision practice, while supervision practice significantly predicted supervision satisfaction. Open-ended comments provided suggestions for improving supervision sessions and supervisor behavior in each delivery format. These findings provide a preliminary foundation of correlational evidence supporting the importance of specific supervision practices and how they predict clinician satisfaction, which can help prevent burnout and turnover intention.

Advanced: BCBA or BCBA-D, or enrolled in graduate level work while pursuing BCBA certification licensed/certified individuals experience as a supervisor or assistant supervisor

Recent focus on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion have inspired behavior analysts to review and adapt clinical practices to improve service delivery to marginalized groups. Historically, criticisms of functional analysis (FA) have been pointed towards training and feasibility concerns, and have been addressed in the literature. However, some concerns regarding FA have suggested that it is a one-size-fits-all approach that does not adequately address contextual fit. We posit that the issue lies in the understanding of the clinical practice of FA as a replication of Iwata et al. (1982/1994) versus an application of the concept of FA. Although not all behavior analysts use a rigid approach to FA protocols, this paper discusses how misconceptions regarding a standardized approach have led to a culturally insensitive behavior assessment, which is especially a concern for marginalized groups. However, the application of the FA framework to individual circumstances can be a part of a culturally responsive functional behavior assessment (FBA). We provide specific recommendations for identification of and incorporation of culturally responsive elements in the FA in order to improve behavior assessment and intervention for marginalized groups.

Target audience is pre-service or in-service BCBAs that has completed or is completing graduate level work on assessment and treatment of problem behavior.

Practitioners living in rural areas have typically faced many challenges accessing high-quality ABA training. Online training and telehealth procedures can overcome these challenges, ensuring that high-quality training is accessible for everyone. During the Covid-19 pandemic, online training platforms and Telehealth have risen in popularity as a training method for those working in remote areas. Given the importance of the VB approach in teaching communication skills to individuals with autism, the current research was designed to compare the efficacy of traditional online training versus telehealth in VB training for practitioners. An alternating treatments design (ATD) was utilised to compare the effectiveness of two methods with n=5 participants from globally diverse locations. The delivery of VB modules was alternated between traditional, pre-recorded videos on a learning platform and live telehealth sessions delivered in vivo. After completing each module, participants had to meet predefined mastery criteria in order to progress to the next learning module. Follow-up data and a social validity questionnaire were also collected after 4 weeks. The results showed that while both technologies successfully increased VB understanding, traditional online training produced slightly higher results than telehealth.

Sleep problems affect between 45 and 86% of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and occur at significantly higher rates than in other populations. Without effective intervention, these sleep problems can persist throughout childhood and into?adolescence and?adulthood?for individuals with ASD.? Children’s sleep problems also impact the sleep and general wellbeing of family members. Accordingly, there?is a critical need to identify effective?and?feasible?methods for assessment and parent-mediated intervention for sleep problems in children with ASD. This symposium will discuss practical forms of home sleep assessment and treatment for children from 2-11 years of age with ASD. The first presentation will discuss subjective and objective measures to assess sleep problems in the home across a range of domains, including actigraphy, environmental assessment, caregiver reported sleep diaries, and caregiver report questionnaires. The second presentation will discuss a tiered model for addressing sleep problems for use in parent coaching.

This presentation is targeted toward licensed practitioners including Board Certified Behavior Analysts working with families of children with ASD.

Perspective taking and theory of mind deficits are part of the symptomatic representation of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related disabilities. Relational Frame Theory (RFT, Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, & Roche, 2001) offers a contemporary model of simple and complex language and cognitive learning that could have immediate implications for work with children with ASD. Deictic relational responding is a relational framing process that is most closely linked to perspective taking and theory of mind where people learn to respond to contextual cues of ‘I and You,’ ‘Here and There,’ and ‘Now and Then.’ Research with ASD samples has established that these relational framing patterns in singular (e.g., I versus you), reversed (e.g., If I were you and you were me), and combined forms (e.g., I-here-now versus I-there-then, perspective of self across time) are impacted even when intelligence test scores are in the normative range. This symposium will provide an overview of clinical research showing that relational training can establish deictic relational framing patterns with implications for teaching skills necessary for perspective taking and theory of mind. The first speaker will demonstrate the acquisition of I-You relations in young children with ASD. The second speaker will demonstrate the acquisition of multiple deictic relations within a single-case experimental design across deictic skills. Finally, the discussant will provide a topical overview of this work along with implications for our field and how we approach training if complex human behavior in ABA therapeutic and educational applications.

Behavior analysts, students, and faculty

The national obesity rate has increased from 31% in 1999 to 42% in 2018 (Hales et al., 2020; CDC). Adults require 75 to 150 min of vigorous activity each week to maintain a healthy weight (CDC), and running is an exercise highly benefical for improved health outcomes (Lee et al., 2014). We conducted an online survey of active runners to identify the common behaviors and preferences that may contribute to the successful maintenance of ongoing running routines. Results were collected from 555 runners about their common habits (e.g., planning runs, use of devices, places ran) and motivational factors (e.g., preferences, barriers). Of specific interest, we found that 77% of respondents listened to music while they ran and, of those, 61% used a boost song to amplify music’s effects within their run. Moreover, 36% of all runners surveyed listened to a podcast (or other nonmusical auditory stimulation) while running. These results informed our subsequent experimental studies that evaluated the effects of these three autitory sources on running pace. Future research should use the results of this survey to (a) refine questions for other surveys and (b) inform additional experiments on examining the factors that maintain long-term running behavior.

Utilizing behavioral interventions to functionally influence socially relevant topics such as discrimination and bias is what behavior analysis was always intended to do. By integrating elements of Relational Frame Theory (RFT), Relational Density Theory (RDT), and Acceptance and Commitment Theory (ACT) the field can begin to predict and influence barriers that people endure based on immutable characteristics such as gender or race. The current series of presentations will address issues of prejudice and discrimination from a behavioral lens. Implicit biases and related clusters of gender and racial discrimination will be discussed, as well as a model to describe arbitrary features associated with the biases held in gender stereotyping. Next, we will discuss biases associated with sexual orientation through a RDT procedure, as well as the potential for using ACT to improve the experience of LGBTQIA+ college students with relevant resources and supports. Lastly, we discuss the binary and nonbinary genders and how we can defuse associated biases through an ACT intervention. Results provide implications that may better guide research, clinical practitioners, and policy to understand the detrimental behaviors people engage in, as well as inspire the field to produce change lead by intention, science, and advocacy.

Behavior analysts, students, and faculty

Utilizing Relational Frame Theory (RFT)?models?to?analyze implicit?bias?and discrimination against disadvantaged communities?has been a growing area of interest for the field of Applied Behavior Analysis.?Implicit bias has been successful modelled using procedures like the?Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP)?and,?Implicit Association Test?(IAT). Relational Density Theory provides another approach that may successfully?model the interrelatedness of relations that produce bias and prejudice against people. First, we will discuss our research on gender stereotyping showing that relational frames organize into binary gendered clusters that can influence how people respond to others when variables other than gender are held constant. Second, we combined stimuli from multiple IRAP and IAT studies to reveal?complex interrelations that may participate in racial prejudice. Finally, in order to?develop a model of how these relations arrive, we implemented a relational training procedure to?create biased and prejudiced relations among arbitrary features of invented aliens (arbitrAliens) to?demonstrate how prejudice may emerge around relatively arbitrary characteristics of gender and race that can disadvantage members of these communities. Prejudice was measured in a recall?test?and through participant responses across repeated scenarios. Results correspond with our density analysis and mirror results from?the prior?studies.??

Representing the Black Applied Behavior Analysts (BABA)--recipient of the 2022 Award for Distinguished Contributions to DEI--Danyelle Beal will present on equitable supervision practices.

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) demographic data reports that approximately 40% of the certificants are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) individuals. The BACB has added items to support equitable supervision practices which will come into effect in 2025 under the 6th edition task list. One of the new task list items specifies that supervisors are required to identify and implement methods that promote equity in supervision practices. BIPOC individuals are especially at risk of being affected by inequitable supervision practices given much of the behavior analytic leadership is White and may not have previously had training on appropriate strategies that will reduce these inequities for BIPOC supervisees. The mission of BABA is to create a safe community to support, encourage and uplift Black professionals in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. Since BABA's inception, our focus has been to shed light on the inequities that have marginalized our community for far too long while creating opportunities for growth, advancement and leadership for clinicians of color. It is vital that the responsibility of cultural responsiveness is shared by the field of ABA in its entirety. Thus, the purpose of this presentation will be to discuss how current supervisor practices could contribute to inequities, identify common barriers in supervisor practices, and provide some examples of solutions which could promote equitable supervision practices.

Clinicians and supervisors who work directly with clinicians of color

The zoo animal training community provides a unique environment to demonstrate the importance of a constructional approach to improving animal welfare. The contemporary zoo animal professional is training a wide variety of species to cooperate in their own medical care (and day-to-day care.) This can include parrots presenting body parts for injections, gorillas opening mouths for tooth brushing, giraffes presenting hooves for trimming, and tigers participating in voluntary intra-nasal swabs to evaluate for COVID-19. These impressive behaviors have inspired many animal training communities. For some animals, behaviors such as these can present challenges due to a history of the use of coercion to gain cooperation. This often results in animals emitting escape and avoidance behaviors or aggressive responses in the presence of people and objects associated with these experiences. A constructional approach provides a procedure to transform avoidance behavior into affiliative responses. Constructional Aggression Treatment can replace aggressive behavior with calm responses. Using a constructional approach allows new desired responses to be shaped in the presence of these stimuli, which results in significantly improved welfare of animals once thought impossible to train.

Although extinction is a common component of functional communication training (FCT) procedures (Gerow et al., 2018), withholding reinforcement is not always possible or ethical with certain individuals or in particular contexts (MacNaul & Neely, 2018). Additionally, for individuals that engage in challenging behavior, delays to reinforcement are inevitable, even contingent on appropriate communication. The current study employed FCT without extinction through quality and magnitude parameter manipulations to decrease challenging behavior and teach a functional communication response (FCR) for two participants with autism. Then, contingency-based progressive delays (CBPD; Ghaemmaghami et al., 2016) were introduced to teach participants to tolerate increasing delays to reinforcement. A non-concurrent multiple baseline design was used to evaluate FCT without extinction and CPBDs, resulting in decreased challenging behavior and increased FCRs across both participants. Levels of both target responses maintained under increasing delay-to-reinforcement intervals, further supporting the utility of CBPDs to maintain appropriate behavior in the event of unpredictable or unavoidable delays to reinforcement.

Speakers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have been disproportionately identified with communication deficits, a defining feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Traditional approaches to language assessment focus on the topography of a response, without regard for the context in which it was emitted. In contrast, the functional analysis of verbal behavior offers a rigorous and innovative approach to language assessment that subsumes the cultural and linguistic diversity of the speaker. Through multiple-exemplar training, we demonstrate verbal operant experimental (VOX) analyses across different children with autism from a variety of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. VOX analyses are used to identify specific functional language deficits, and differences in the strength of verbal operants are examined through non-parametric analyses. Moreover, the results can be used to develop an individualized treatment plan, using a most-to-least prompt hierarchy to shape a response topography specific to each unique verbal community. In this way, functional analyses of language are shown to be a verbal-community-centered approach to observing and measuring the verbal behavior of speakers from diverse backgrounds.

Practitioners (BCBAs, LSSPs, Educational Diagnosticians, etc) who work directly with children with autism from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Audience should be familiar with the concept of functional analysis and the verbal operants.

Functional analyses of language have been useful for measuring the strength of a speaker’s verbal repertoire, identifying verbal behavior deficits, and monitoring language development. An extension of the functional analysis methodology used to identify the variables that maintain challenging behavior, a verbal operant experimental (VOX) analysis is used to identify the variables that maintain a speaker’s verbal behavior. This presentation introduces the VOX analysis along with the procedures used to sample the speaker’s verbal repertoire. Using an English-speaking, three-year-old boy with autism as a case study, we demonstrate a pretreatment VOX analysis, describe how the results were used to develop an individualized intervention plan, and then show the results of a follow-up VOX analysis after six months of early intensive behavioral intervention. Whereas the pretreatment VOX results demonstrated examples of stimulus overselectivity, follow-up results show the development of more proportionate levels of stimulus control. Implications of VOX analyses for English-speakers with autism are discussed, and areas of future research are highlighted.

While all members of a verbal community speak a common language, not all speakers of a common language are members of the same verbal community. In addition to sharing a common language, members of a verbal community also share common reinforcing practices. Mere translation of an assessment into another language fails to address these critical issues of cultural and linguistic diversity. Consequently, topography-based language assessments provide an insufficient analysis of a speaker’s verbal behavior. Here we extend the research on functional analyses of verbal behavior to include speakers of a language other than English. Using a Spanish-speaking, five-year-old girl with autism as a case study, we demonstrate the use of a pretreatment VOX analysis conducted in the speaker’s native language, describe how the results were used to develop an individualized intervention plan, and then show the results of a follow-up VOX analysis after six months of referent-based verbal behavior instruction. Whereas the pretreatment VOX results demonstrated examples of stimulus overselectivity, follow-up results show the development of more proportionate levels of stimulus control. Implications of VOX analyses for Spanish-speakers with autism are discussed, and areas of future research are highlighted.

For speakers who belong to multiple verbal communities, functional analyses of verbal behavior allow for dynamic control of response topography. The simple practice of allowing the speaker the freedom to select the language of instruction minimizes cultural bias and hegemony. Here we extend the research on functional analyses of verbal behavior to include speakers of multiple languages. Using a multilingual, seven-year-old boy with autism as a case study, we demonstrate the use of a pretreatment VOX analysis, describe how the results were used to develop an individualized intervention plan, and then show the results of a follow-up VOX analysis after six months of behavior-analytic intervention. Notably, the follow-up VOX analysis was conducted in three different languages, and we compare the results of each. The results show a clear hierarchy of strength across English, Telugu, and Tamil, with overarching patterns across the three assessments. Implications of VOX analyses for multilingual-speakers with autism are discussed, and areas of future research are highlighted.

Within the context of cultural and linguistic diversity, speakers who use augmentative and alternative communication are often overlooked. The selection of augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) for non-vocal speakers with autism spectrum disorder has been described as more of an art than a science for the population of children with autism who do not develop functional speech. While the decision to use one AAC modality over another is largely subjective, what limited research exists primarily focuses on mand training. Here we extend the research on functional analyses of verbal behavior to include speakers who communicate with speech-generating devices. Using a non-vocal, five-year-old girl with autism as a case study, we demonstrate the use of a pretreatment VOX analysis conducted in which the speaker uses AAC, describe how the results were used to develop an individualized intervention plan, and then show the results of a follow-up VOX analysis after six months of early intensive behavioral intervention. Whereas the pretreatment VOX results demonstrated a functional mand repertoire, follow-up results show the development of more proportionate levels of stimulus control. Implications of VOX analyses for speakers with autism who use AAC are discussed, and areas of future research are highlighted.

Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs) utilize natural contingencies and behavioral strategies (Schreibman et al., 2015) and are effective at increasing skills in autistic children. A recent meta-analysis of early interventions for autistic children found that NDBIs outperform other behavioral interventions (Sandbank et al., 2020). Yet most ABA providers report limited training in NDBIs. This symposium describes applied research from 13 institutions on the use of NDBIs in community settings. The first presentation reports improvements in adaptive behavior, social skills, and autism symptoms for autistic children receiving NDBIs within an inclusive preschool setting. The second and third presentations present data on practitioner perspectives on NDBIs, with presentation 2 demonstrating how ABA provider perceptions of NDBIs change over time and with consultation, and presentation 3 illustrating preschool teachers’ experience with and perceptions of NDBIs. Finally, the fourth presentation demonstrates the parent coaching practices of NDBI-trained early intervention (EI) providers, noting barriers and facilitators to parent coaching in the EI system. Dr. Amy Matthews (discussant) will draw on her expertise in the implementation of NDBIs in community settings and will provide recommendations for provider training and scale-up implementation efforts, particularly in publicly funded service systems.

Behavior analysts and other practitioners interested in learning more about the implementation of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs) in community settings

The importance of inclusive environments for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is well established, and positive outcomes have been reported for some preschool inclusion programs (e.g., Strain & Bovey, 2011). However, these studies report extensive training from researchers, and limited data are available on the effectiveness of community-based and self-sustaining preschool inclusion programs. Moreover, few studies have reported outcomes from the community-based delivery of naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBI) in group-based community care. This quasi-experimental study reports outcomes for 26 children, 3-5 years of age at entry and diagnosed with ASD, who were enrolled in a community-based inclusion preschool program delivering NDBI for at least 6 months. Paired sample t-test indicated statistically significant improvements from entry to exit on standardized measures of adaptive behavior (Figure 1), social skills (Figure 2), and autism symptoms (Figure 3). The majority of children were testing in the adequate or higher range across measures after an average of 18 months of intervention (SD=6.5 months). Implications for the effectiveness of inclusive settings for preschool-aged children, considerations in the delivery of NDBI in group inclusive settings, and future directions will be discussed.

Background: Little is known about how ABA provider perceptions of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs) change over time. Consultation may also affect provider perceptions of these interventions. We investigated the effect of time and consultation on perceptions of Project ImPACT, an empirically supported NDBI. Methods: We fit 9 two-level multilevel models. We report preliminary analyses from 9 providers across 4 agencies in the Medicaid system (single case design). Providers delivered Project ImPACT during baseline (randomized to 3-6 weeks) and during the 12 weeks of consultation. Providers completed the Perceived Characteristics of Intervention Scale (PCIS) weekly. Results: Perceptions of Project ImPACT were moderately high (see Figure 1). See Table 1 for model parameters. There was an effect of time on trialability and task issues; regardless of whether providers were receiving consultation, each week, providers rated Project ImPACT as easier to try out and more helpful at improving the quality of their work. The effect of time on trialability varied depending on condition. The average rating of trialability was lower during baseline than during consultation and trialability ratings increased each week during baseline, but not during consultation. Though marginal, there was an effect of time on observability; each week, providers rated client improvements from ImPACT to be more observable. There was no effect of consultation. Conclusions: Increased use of NDBIs over time results in more favorable perceptions. Consultation does not appear to change providers’ perceptions. Implications for provider training will be discussed.

Women behavior scientists advance relevant and valuable perspectives on behavior analysis as a science and practice, perspectives that facilitate high quality training, mentoring, and civic engagement. Many scientists balance their pursuits of academic success with their roles and responsibilities as mothers and family members. However, cultural-level contingencies have not always recognized the contributions of women academicians, particularly when compared to their male colleagues. Yet the discipline has historically benefited from the contributions of many female scholars over the course of the decades. The purpose of this panel is to showcase the perspectives of prominent female behavior scientists who have held successful careers in academia and are contributors to the forthcoming ABAI book: Women in Behavior Science: Observations of Life Inside and Outside of the Academy. This panel is the second of three, focused on the mid-phase of one’s academic career and addressing topics such as promotions, transitions, and working as a female scientist in the global network.

Behavior scientists (and particularly) women working in or working toward positions in academic settings.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many behavior analysts who serve individuals with developmental disabilities had to transform their practice swiftly using telehealth in order to continue supporting their clients. In this international symposium, we invited practitioners from across the world who adapted their services to telehealth to share their experiences. Smita Awasthi will present a study that reports how Behavior Momentum India shifted their in-clinic services across their 10 clinics in India to in-home telehealth during the pandemic using smartphones. Guido D’Angelo will present a study conducted in Italy through their agency, Dalla Luna, in which telehealth supervision was provided to two therapists in conducting functional analysis and functional communication training. Kristín Guðmundsdóttir, from University of Akureyri, will present a study in which the authors developed and implemented a telehealth parent training protocol with 5 families in rural Iceland before the pandemic despite challenges such as low-speed internet access. Iris Heidsha Pons from Starbright Academy in Puerto Rico will share her experiences shifting to telehealth during the pandemic for a school and clinic that serves over 200 individuals. Presenters will share cultural variables they considered, barriers they faced, and will present recommendations for other professionals implementing behavior analysis through telehealth.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Telehealth services have been applied in the treatment of a variety of problems across geographies (Tsami et al., 2019). The COVID-19 pandemic provided such an opportunity to scale up the impact of behavior analysis for children with autism when in-clinic services stopped abruptly worldwide. This qualitative and quantitative case study details how Behavior Momentum India (BMI), an organisation with 10 clinics across India transitioned services from in clinic to telehealth using the ubiquitous smartphone. A cohort of 92 students diagnosed with autism participated in this study under a team of 51 therapists, 9 behavior supervisors, and a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Smartphones were used by 78% students and 82% therapists for direct 1:1 and parent-mediated sessions with 82 students. With 10 students, behavior supervisors provided parent training to continue interventions during lockdown. The critical transition decisions, logistics, and ethical challenges were identified using qualitative methods. All students continued to acquire targeted skills, while 52% of the students acquired more skills in telehealth compared to in clinic as per curriculum modification. A social validity survey provided high ratings on our organization’s initiative, and 72% parents reported that their familiarity and confidence with the science of applied behavior analysis had increased.

This paper presents the development and experimental evaluation of telehealth methods in behavioral caregiver training in rural Iceland pre COVID-19 pandemic. Lessons learned from the study will be described and considerations for professional training and practice in behavioral telehealth for families of children with autism will be discussed. The study was conducted with Icelandic families of preschool-aged children with autism that did not have access to evidence-based services. The experimental design was a multiple baseline across parent and child skills, replicated across 5 families. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected for experimental and social validity purposes. Caregivers were taught to apply the TeachingDANCE (Ala‘i-Rosales, Cermak og Guðmundsdóttir, 2013) during play interaction with their children in order to teach their children social communication skills and enhance the quality of the relationship between the parent and child. The majority of the training was conducted through telecommunication methods. The results showed measurable progress for parents and children across all skill areas. Furthermore, the caregivers valued the increased access to evidence-based intervention and expertise, despite various challenges during the intervention. The results indicated that training via telecommunication is a viable approach for rural families with low-speed internet connection. Critical training components for higher and continuing education will be highlighted and recommendations for professional training and practice will be discussed in the context of the research as well as the lessons learned. These recommendations include considerations regarding technical skills, effective training procedures, ethical and cultural considerations, and challenges when conducting data-based behavioral consultation via telecommunication.

Kristín Guðmundsdóttir is an Assistant Professor in Psychology at the University of Akureyri, Iceland. Kristín holds a Doctoral degree in psychology from the University of Iceland and a Master of Science degree in behavior analysis from the University of North Texas. She is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2003. Kristín has served as the President of Icelandic ABA and has been an active participant in the shaping of behavior analysis in Iceland. Kristín has worked as a therapist and case manager in early behavior intervention for young children with autism and other developmental disabilities in Iceland and the US. She also has extensive experience teaching and consulting with children and caregivers in the Icelandic school system, specifically in rural parts of Iceland. Kristín’s current research focus includes behavior intervention for families of young children with autism and other developmental disabilities via telehealth. Specific emphasis is on caregiver training for rural families that have limited access to evidence-based services.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the education, family, and social aspects of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Puerto Rico. Starbright Academy serves 116 individuals from the ages of 2-21 years in our school program and 101 individuals with ASD and other related disorders in our clinical program (MO Therapy). The pandemic challenged us to transfer our educational and clinical system from face-to-face to a virtual one. Within 5 weeks of the initial “shut down” in 2020, Starbright had converted all of our in-person services to telehealth. We conducted academic and clinical programs through telemedicine for 76 children for 10 months. In this discussion I will share the lessons learned during this transition. Specifically, I will discuss how telemedicine has had a positive impact in educating all family members in ABA techniques, the significant improvements we have seen in the well-being of the family threw the application of telehealth in these homes, the development of independence skills and the generalization of other skills learned at school into the home setting. I will also share the obstacles that we faced in Puerto Rico for receiving ABA services, other challenges encountered during this transition to telehealth and provide recommendations for future providers.

The CABAS® Accelerated Independent Learner (AIL) classroom is general education model that utilizes a strategic science of teaching across all aspects. This model includes students with and without disabilities, from preschool through fifth grade within a Title 1 public school. While the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way in which instruction could be delivered to students (i.e., such as virtual instruction and an increase in the use of technology), it also required us to reevaluate the critical components of the CABAS® AIL model. The classroom environment, coupled with an emphasis on curricular design, pedagogy, and curriculum-based measurement (learning pictures) has led to academic outcomes within out AIL general education classrooms during the pandemic. This paper aims to describe research studies relative to the classroom environment and instructional design, and class-wide student data during the COVID-19 pandemic that utilized the AIL model across virtual and in-person classroom settings.

Research findings within the CABAS® Accelerated Independent Learner (AIL) model has resulted in new behavior analytic advances across academic domains (i.e., reading, writing, and math) over the past twenty years within the public school system at the elementary school level. Many of these research findings are tied to the establishment of learning cusps, defined as major changes in learning that allow children to learn things that they could not learn before, such as learning to read or learning to write. We propose that these learning cusps are crucial for students to acquire and may be the solution to the current educational crisis. The present paper summarizes protocols and tactics tied to standard-based instruction that focus on both verbal developmental cusps and learning cusps that in turn, accelerate students learning within the general education classroom setting.

If applying tactics emanating from the science of behavior to help mitigate the spread of Covid-19 was effective, then we should rely on that same science to help students catch up on any lost educational opportunities. Systematically implementing the science of behavior to teacher training, school climate, classroom set-up, instructional delivery, and measurement may position our belabored educational system to have a standing chance for success. We propose the use of a modification of the Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling (CABAS®) model to achieve that. We posit that through the implementation of targeted teacher training based on behavior science, ongoing follow-up and support, establishing a decision analysis protocol, ensuring measurement and accountability for both staff and students we can achieve this goal. We report the systematic application of these components for one charter school in a hard-hit Covid-19 geographic region over the course of a school year and the relevant educational outcomes for all stakeholders.

We applied a Supervisor's Rate Protocol (Babbit, 1986) in clinical settings, to increase quality, rate and completion of mentor's tasks, levels of mastery and performance, positive interactions among mentors and mentees, and client's progress. The protocol was based on a strategic science of teaching and framed within a Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) (Keller, 1968) format. The design of each mentor's protocol included general administrative and clinical behavior analytic tasks, as well as those specific to the clinical role and client needs of each mentor and mentee. Additionally, the mentor's tasks were aligned with the CABAS's Master Teacher Rank, including mastery of the scientific literature, data based contingency shaped interactions and research based applications to solve complex instructional problems. The data showed increased rates of quality mentor-mentee interactions, completion of Teacher Performance Rate Accuracy (TPRA) observations, presentation of intact Learn Units, graphic, tactical and strategic analysis of instruction based on the Decision Protocol, opportunities to provide functional contexts related to scientific tacts, completion of components of CABAS® Teacher Assistant, Teacher 1, Teacher 2, and Master Teacher ranks, and clients' mastery of objectives.

Potential anti-anxiety medications are commonly assessed by measuring their “anti-conflict” effects. While these procedures have good predictive validity, there are practical limitations that may be alleviated using a different procedure. Transitions from favorable to unfavorable schedules of positive reinforcement (rich-lean transitions) disrupt operant behavior, are putatively aversive, and disruptions in rich-lean transitions can be reduced following benzodiazepine administration. We evaluated the suitability of a rich-lean transition procedure as an assay for potential anti-anxiety medications. Adult rhesus monkeys’ lever presses were reinforced using a two-component multiple schedule with equivalent fixed-ratio (FR) requirements. Components were differentially signaled by different colored cue lights. Completing one component, the lean component, produced one food pellet. Completing the other component, the rich component, produced four food pellets. Sessions consisted of 41 components arranged irregularly to produce 10 iterations of four kinds of transitions: rich-lean, rich-rich, lean-lean, and lean-rich. Consistent with previous findings, extended pausing was observed in rich-lean transitions. Acute administration of benzodiazepines (midazolam and alprazolam) and a benzodiazepine-type compound (TPA023B) selectively and dose-dependently reduced pausing in rich-lean transitions. In control conditions, acute administration of morphine selectively increased rich-lean pausing and (+)amphetamine had unsystematic effects. The suitability of rich-lean procedures as assays for putative anti-anxiety medications appears promising.

Pigeons had experience pecking under a multiple FR FR schedule in which ratios ended in a large/rich or small/lean amount of grain. Each of the four transitions between rich and lean was signaled by a different key light color. Pigeons paused at least twice as long during the rich-to-lean transitions than during other transitions. We then established a baseline of responding on a dependent concurrent VI 20-s VI 20-s schedule. After stability was reached, we implemented punishment probes, during which one of the transition-specific stimuli was flashed contingent on responses on one of the keys according to a random-ratio schedule. We examined potential conditioned punishment (e.g., rich-to-lean and lean-to-lean stimuli) or reinforcement (e.g., lean-to-rich and rich-to-rich) effects. Results could inform clinical practice in that it may demonstrate how advance notice or prompts that remind individuals to do work may function aversively.

Recent research in the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders (PFDs) has focused on increasing efficiency, decreasing opportunities for prolonged maintenance of inappropriate mealtime behavior (IMB), and promoting the likelihood for generalization outside of highly controlled clinic settings. The present symposium aims to disseminate novel research in assessment modifications, as well as treatment through the implementation of antecedent interventions. The first presentation will show the potential utility for brief functional analyses in the assessment of PFDs for increasing efficiency and decreasing the time to onset of treatment. The following presentation will introduce a means for systematically identifying optimal bolus size in the treatment of PFDs—a measure currently chosen arbitrarily in most treatment programs. The third presentation will evaluate an individualized treatment plan consisting of antecedent interventions, a reinforcement system, and escape prevention; as well as assessment of choice throughout the intervention to determine how clinicians may best program for generalization and enhance treatment through preference. The final presentation will display a replication of a choice-based intervention, in combination with stimuli to program for generalization to a home setting in the treatment of change-resistant feeding behavior.

Attendees should be Master's or Ph.D. level students and individuals currently holding or seeking a BCBA or BCaBA credential.

Resistance to change is a core symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) characterized by extreme emotional outbursts in response to small environmental changes (Turner, 1999). Food selectivity is a change-resistant behavior that occurs frequently in children with ASD, characterized by insistence on eating the same few foods, in the same, specific conditions. Change-resistant feeding behavior leads to nutrient-poor diets, which can cause impairments in cognitive and behavioral functioning, serious and irreversible effects on the brain, and increases the risk for severe health problems (Sullivan et al., 2002). Crowley et al. (2020) determined that differential reinforcement and nonremoval of the spoon, implemented within a concurrent-operants arrangement, were effective at reducing change-resistant feeding behavior with young children with ASD. In the current study, we replicated Crowley et al. by evaluating a similar choice-based intervention to reduce the change-resistant feeding behavior of a child with ASD and scurvy, by increasing the number of alternative foods and programming stimuli to generalize responding to the home setting. Results showed that treatment effects generalized from the clinic with a therapist to the home with the caregiver. These results have implications for examining methods that produce faster consumption of a wider variety of healthy foods at home.

As the title reads, art may be conceptualized by the responses that produce it. Increased discussion of the contingencies maintaining art at multiple levels, from perspectives of the maker and the viewer, could improve understanding of art as behavior. The purpose of this symposium is to contribute to the ongoing discussion about art as a subject within behavior analysis, and ideally catalyze research by illuminating multiple areas of art as behavior ripe for study. The first presentation in this symposium will discuss art in terms of the cultural practices that sustain it by examining three different art movements across three unique domains. The second presentation will explore the environmental contingencies thought to promote artistic expression at various levels of analysis. The third presentation will discuss fluctuations in the demand for a major American portrait artist from a perspective a culturo-behavioral selection and complexity of the contexts where the artist lived. The fourth and final presentation will describe research aiming to prevent unwanted touching of art, providing one example of the use of single-case design to investigate audience behavior. The presentations will be discussed in the context of current art-related literature within behavior analysis and with consideration towards its expansion.

Behavior analysts

While it is commonly accepted that complex behaviors can be understood, when we talk about artists, mentalistic explanations are accepted. However, an artist's operant behavior can be explained, even if the controlling variables are not readily available to the observer. This conceptual paper aims to discuss, through artists’ talks and works, the variables that control those behaviors. Those variables include antecedent variables where artists learn to respond to parts of the world. They also learn responses, not only technically, but ways to behave relevant to an artistic community. In these communities, contingencies are presented in such a way also to reinforce some behaviors and its variations, in novel and original ways. Finally, we discuss the consequences of artistic behavior, pointing they are not only social and financial, but may include the automatic reinforcers present in producing art, where the creation process itself is the reinforcer, and that art may be controlled by negative reinforcers, as a socially accepted way to express emotions and ideas that otherwise wouldn’t be. The interplay of those elements, in unique and new ways, in an environment that selects for artistic expression, may help to understand the behavior of the artist.

John Singer Sargent (1856 –1925) was the most prolific and renowned American figure painter of the 19th century. Painting was his love: “To work is to pray” (“Laborare est orare,”in Latin) is the inscription of his tombstone. He painted over 900 portraits and today he is recognized internationally with unequaled distinction. Though, during his lifetime and even following his death, he reached both fame and disgrace with his figure painting several times over. At the height of his career, he was highly praised and was inundated with international demand for his portraits. At the bottom, he was subject to scandal, his commissions curtailed, and he felt forced to move out of Paris. He said, “Every time I paint a portrait, I lose a friend”; and by 1907 he resolved to stop portrait paintings all together, especially of the upper classes. He devoted himself to other branches of painting, producing over 1800 watercolors, large paintings, and murals. This presentation attempts to explain the fluctuations in the demand for Sargent’s portraiture from a perspective a culturo-behavioral selection and complexity of the contexts where he lived. The analysis is relevant to the site of the 2022 ABAI convention: He was prominent in Boston—a city that houses some of his most significant paintings.

Ableism involves stereotypes (biased verbal behavior) and discriminatory actions against disabled people. Ableism results from the assumption that there is a normative way of living that is superior and that being disabled reflects deficits in need of “fixing,” and are thus, inferior. The Practice Board of ABAI developed a “Beginner’s Guide to Dismantling Ableism in Your Practice” in recognition of the fact that ableism is ubiquitous in helping professions, and behavior analysis is no exception. Behavior analysts have a particularly heavy responsibility for dismantling ableism given the large number of contact hours they have with Autistic clients and the immediate and long-term problems resulting from this form of discrimination. This symposium will include the perspective of four behavior analysts contributing to the development of the “Beginner’s Guide” and will reflect their perspectives and barriers they have experienced as activists--including that of an Autistic, a doctoral student, a professor, and a Board Coordinator. The symposium will conclude with discussion from a neurodivergent behavior analyst who has not been involved in the development of the “Beginner’s Guide;” she will reflect on ways this and additional work is needed to actualize a paradigm shift in ABA.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Studying behavior analysis involves a love for the science as well as a drive to support others. With the growing awareness of ableism and applied behavior analysis (ABA) as abuse, students are faced with challenging information and are required to navigate through the controversy in the field. It is critically important to inform these future practitioners and leaders in the field what ableism is and how to actively dismantle it in their practice. Ableist beliefs are present in everyone due to our society’s continuous reinforcement whether in the media (i.e. infantilizing, dehumanization) or in or taught in educational settings. The Beginner’s Guide to Dismantling Ableism in Your Practice is an introduction to these issues and a way to listen to Autistic voices. Listening to Autistic voices is essential to dismantling ableism in ABA. Learning that you have discriminated and caused harm can be an overwhelming realization. Students must learn how to move forward and practice using true client centered care and make the changes in the field that the people we support so desperately need from us.

Applied behavior analysts possess deep knowledge and strong skills in teaching desired behavior and addressing interfering behavior of individuals with a wide variety of needs. However, at least two issues interfere with practitioners’ ability to engage effectively with the people they aim to support. First, individual practitioners bring their own beliefs, values, and attitudes to their practice, yet their beliefs, values, and attitudes will inevitably vary from those of the people they serve. Second, applied behavior analytic practitioners have historically approached their work in a very technocratic manner – as elite technical experts. Behavior analytic practitioners must attend to these two issues and adjust their approach if they wish to achieve their aim of providing effective supports. Actively working to dismantle ableism is one approach to addressing these two issues, and training programs bear responsibility to teach aspiring behavior analysts how to think, talk about, and treat the people they serve and support in anti-ableist ways. I will discuss infusing a training program with instruction and practice in the use of anti-ableist attitudes, language, and practice.

The Practice Board redefined our mission in 2020 as, “The mission of Task Force for Quality and Values-Based ABA is to recommend systemic changes to ABAI and leaders in the field of applied behavior analysis regarding how best to meet the needs of the people we serve. We maintain that anti-ableist, person-centered services that promote meaningful outcomes through socially valid and effective intervention is the means to achieving this mission. We further recommend reflection, honesty, and effective communication regarding the strengths and limitations of evidence regarding the utility and adverse side effects of all interventions applied by behavior analysts.” The Beginner’s Guide to Dismantling Ableism in Your Practice is consistent with that mission and collaborating on this work with Practice Board members learning from Autistics who are outside the field of ABA led to growth opportunities. For example, I had learned that White people need to do the heavy lifting for producing systems change with respect to social justice and race because they (we) had created the structures that produce marginalization. I incorrectly generalized this thinking to the development of The Beginner’s Guide by having only one Autistic person on the original group writing the document. However, this decision violated the trust of the Autistic community by not sufficiently addressing the need for representation. This presentation will focus on lessons learned and the need for self-reflection and reconsideration of our positions as we all consider how to dismantle ableism in our practice and field.

This paper presentation will review this year’s progress made in one state agency across several projects of interest. A disproportionately small number of consumers engage in target behaviors that have the greatest intensity and resultant consequences such as admission to Crisis Stabilization Units (CSUs), emergency room visits, and incarceration. The Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) is a government agency who is tasked with funding and overseeing behavioral and medical supports for these high watch consumers. By creating a High Watch List of qualifying aberrant behaviors and/or acute medical episodes, APD can provide additional resources for these individuals in the form of more frequent oversight and technical assistance on individualized recommendations. In this way, a larger allocation of time and resources can be more focused to effect long term outcomes. Additionally, proactive recommendations to prevent future episodes can result in more stabilized living settings, consistent service delivery, and potential higher indices of satisfaction of services received by consumers. The results of this project has the potential for applicable state agencies to develop similar processes to serve consumers that have a disproportionately higher level of impactful behaviors that addressed successfully, can improve the quality-of-service provision while lowering long term costs.

The target audience should include Behavior Analysts within their first 5 years of practice, including practitioners, supervisors and/or who are currently enrolled in/recently completed graduate-level work.

Understanding the transdisciplinary approach to intervention Practicing or managing intervention services Understanding the research on efficacy and efficiency of different models Understanding evidence-based models of intervention

In this symposium we will explore the relevant laws and implications on best practices in medically necessary ABA. We will also discuss clinical decision making that is in accordance with the law. We will also identify strategies for coordinating care with diagnosticians, and the importance of integrating the information garnered in the diagnostic report. Lastly, we have identified the need for data around authorizations and operations that will help with advocacy and public policy analysis.

This information is relevant for all levels, no prerequisite knowledge necessary.

A BCBA has a pivotal role in providing medically necessary care to individuals with autism. The BCBA has to advocate for the appropriate intensity of services and succinctly justify the medical necessity of care. The BCBA also has to coordinate services with other professionals providing care. One key area of coordination is with the diagnostician. In this symposium we will discuss strategies for coordination and the necessity for integrating the diagnostic report. We will also explore strategies for navigating potential pitfalls around medical necessity.

In this symposium we will explore the relevant laws governing delivery and coverage of ABA services and their implications on best practices. We will discuss integrating clinical decision making with legal analysis to improve ensure access to medically necessary care. We will also discuss processes for capturing and analyzing insurance authorization outcomes data as a tool for improving care and practice operations and enhancing public policy advocacy and regulatory enforcement.

Current global events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and several lockdowns, have enhanced widespread motivation for using the web as the official environment for activities previously considered marginally appropriate for online delivery. One of them was psychotherapy service and supervision. This opens the possibility of blurring borders. Namely, clients can reach out to therapists in different countries. The same happens with therapists looking for clinical supervisors. The aim of this PDS is to invite clinical behavior analysts to discuss these new possibilities, and, more specifically, how their theoretical-practical approach to behavior-analytic psychotherapy can adapt into the digital, global context. For this talk, the invited and confirmed speakers are: Dr Kozue Matsuda (Pepperdine University and Children Center Inc., Tokyo), Dr João Henrique de Almeida (State University of Londrina, Brazil), and doctoral candidate Jesús Alonso-Vega (Autonomous University of Madrid). The speakers will be asked to cover some –or all– of the 4 following topics: 1. What are the qualifications and documents required to perform psychotherapy as a licensed practitioner in the speakers' jurisdiction (i.e., Japan, Brazil, or Spain)? 2. For the starter of a clinic, what would be the current supply-and-demand market balance and how is that modulated by the current online possibilities? 3. What has recent behavior-analytic literature on online therapy sessions and supervision, regarding current possibilities? 4. How are theoretical-practical approaches to behavior-analytic psychotherapy influenced by online, international possibilities? This PDS will be endorsed as a BACB continuing education general credits module by BCBA-D Kozue Matsuda.

The target audiance are graduate students about to complete their degree and move on to pursue a licensed practice as behavioural therapists. This implies that participants of this PDS will need to be acquainted with the basics of behavioural analysis (basic principles and behavioural processes) and with concepts related to clinical behavioural analysis and its main perspectives, such as reinforcement contingency therapy, functional-analytic therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, process-based beavioural therapy, and applied behaviour analysis for developmental issues.

Equitable and inclusive learning environments are built on the choices of individuals. This session will explore the notions of power and empowerment that are made evident in our decisions, our designs, and our outcomes. With antiracism and Universal Design for Learning we can begin inviting every voice to powerful positions by honoring identity, culture, and learning needs.

Anyone interested in deepening and solidifying the partnership toward creating equitable learning environments.

Successful functional analysis and treatment of problem behavior requires that both clinicians and caregivers develop and implement several practical skills. For clinicians, accurate visual inspection of data is necessary for interpreting functional analysis results and deriving effective treatments. Clinicians must also be equipped with skills to analyze caregiver-child interactions, and apply conceptually systematic strategies to increase desirable (treatment-consistent) caregiver behaviors. Finally, long-term effectiveness of a behavior plan centers on teaching caregivers generalizable skills that will help them maintain adherence to the plan, particularly when approaching contexts that have historically evoked problem behavior. This symposium includes three presentations that describe clinician and caregiver skills that are critical for effective assessment and treatment of problem behavior. The first presentation reviews results from an investigation of the reliability of visual inspection for multielement functional analysis graphs. The second presentation describes a revised contingency analysis of desirable and undesirable caregiver behavior as it relates to child problem behavior. The third presentation describes contextual behavioral strategies to decrease the likelihood that caregivers will reinforce problem behavior and increase the likelihood of adherence with behavior plans.

Behavior analysts who conduct functional analysis of problem behavior, use visual inspection to identify function of problem behavior, implement treatments for problem behavior, and work with caregivers to help them implement treatments for problem behavior.

Conducting a functional analysis and implementing derived treatments can produce effective behavior plans for severe problem behavior such as self-injury, aggression, and disruptive behavior. Nonetheless, skills training and an effective plan may not be sufficient to produce caregiver adherence. Low levels of treatment adherence may persist because caregiver responses that reinforce problem behavior also produce negative reinforcement for the caregiver response through immediate problem behavior cessation. This presentation describes a contextual behavioral informed approach to a) target the negative maintaining contingencies supporting caregiver reinforcement of problem behavior (accommodation) and, b) increase adherence with behavior plans. First, the presentation reviews the borrowed concept of family accommodation as a useful way to discuss, and conceptualize, the maladaptive pattern of interactions across caregivers and children who demonstrate persistent severe problem behavior. Second, a description of the intervention components highlights the mechanisms aimed at undermining the contingencies that maintain accommodation while providing caregivers with new treatment-related committed actions that are sensitive to positive changes in caregiver-child interactions. Finally, a multiple baseline evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of this intervention strategy across two parents of a child with severe problem behavior.

A number of behavioral pathologies arise in part from aversive associations (e.g., anxiety disorders) and cue-drug reward associations. Enormous efforts have been made over several decades trying to identify procedures to decrease these behaviors, including extinction-like exposure therapy, counterconditioning, and related techniques. Most these treatments are initially of some effect, but relapse, with long retention intervals, change in context (i.e., renewal), and re-exposure to the initial affective experience, is frequently observed. Newer treatments such as presenting the target cue some minutes before starting a session of massed exposure/extinction trials (i.e., so-called disruption of reconsolidation) have proven no more effective in eliminating dysfunctional behaviors or preventing relapse when some initial benefit of treatment is observed. The observed recovery of the dysfunctional behaviors, in conjunction with experimental laboratory data concerning associative interference, suggest that irrevocably erasing memories is difficult if not impossible. Improved behavioral outcomes appear to reflect impaired retrieval of the problematic memories. Rather than seeking erasure of these associations, more realistically, we should be seeking to impede their retrieval, using conjointly as many different techniques as possible to impair subsequent retrieval (i.e., a “kitchen-sink” approach).

Behavior analysts, clinical psychologists, behavior analysis students, graduate students in clinical psychology programs

The Philippines ranks as the 13th most populated country globally, with more than 111 million people. The country’s prevalence of disability is estimated to be more than 12% of the current population. As of October 2021, there are 6 Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), 6 Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts (BCaBAs), and 71 Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) in the Philippines. These numbers highlight the staggering need for more certified practitioners to serve not only individuals with autism but also in other areas where this science of behavior can be utilized. When the pandemic happened, individuals pursuing their coursework faced hardships in meeting the supervision requirements. This effort led Filipino BCBAs abroad to assist and support 14 BCBA and BCaBA students. This initiative also led to the establishment and development of the first bachelor’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) that received approval from the Philippine Commission in Higher Education Development.

BCBAs, BCaBAs, BCBA-Ds, QBA, QASP-S, ABATs

In a teaching or skill-acquisition environments, educators and behavior analysts must utilize strategies to promote the best possible outcomes, such as individualizing procedures, providing choices, and reinforcement-based teaching. However, when teaching larger groups, such as a class of students, individualization and choice may be difficult to accomplish. Similarly, reinforcement procedures may be misconstrued as bribery by consumers. The present series of studies examines barriers to adoption of behavior-analytic teaching strategies and methods to overcome them. Study 1 used a multi-element design to compare college students’ attendance in optional, supplementary class sessions with pre-determined content versus sessions with content chosen and voted on by students using online polls. When students voted and chose content to discuss, attendance increased by 15%. In Study 2, 34 adults viewed recorded teaching trials featuring different antecedent components, learner behaviors, or consequences and rated whether each trial included bribery or reinforcement. Results revealed higher ratings of bribery were associated with several antecedent components (e.g., Premack rules) and several consequence components (e.g., edible reinforcement), which practitioners or teachers should more fully explain to consumers and fade out, if possible. Together, these studies provide support for practitioners and teachers to include behavior-analytic strategies and improve outcomes in teaching.

BCBA and BCBA-D

Student-faculty interaction and attendance have been demonstrated to positively influence a student’s overall course satisfaction and grade outcomes. Still, students often fail to participate in supplementary classes, study sessions, or office hours offered by instructors. The present study evaluated a brief, low-effort choice intervention designed to improve attendance in weekly supplementary class sessions. In a graduate-level online course, the teacher’s assistant (TA) conducted weekly, optional class sessions and recorded student attendance. The instructors randomly alternated weekly sessions to include class-as-usual or a choice intervention consisting of presenting anonymous online polls with which students could vote for topics for the TA to specifically address in the next session. During class-as-usual the TA presented discussion topics, provided prompts to evoke relevant responses, and answered questions regarding weekly topics. Choice conditions consisted of the TA tailoring discussion around the most voted topics such as: overview of projects, examples of concepts, exam review and practice, tips on exam preparation, discussion of journal articles or book chapters, and discussion of a topic anticipated as difficult. Results showed an average attendance increase of 15% in the choice condition compared to class-as-usual, supporting the use of student choice to increase student engagement in supplementary learning experiences.

Human services organizations face obstacles towards staff development, such as skill training and job task completion, which may impact programming and treatment outcomes. Staff skill acquisition and task completion challenges are exacerbated by limited resources in a high turnover environment. To address these concerns, two applied research studies were conducted at an agency providing academic and residential services for youth with autism. One study aimed to assess the efficacy of behavior skills training (BST) with rehearsal and feedback on goal writing skill acquisition, and the second study assessed the efficacy of a group contingency reinforcement (GCR) intervention on staff’s successful job task completion. Participants included clinical and teaching staff employed in an education setting, and direct support professionals working in a residential environment, respectively. Behavior skills training with rehearsal and feedback was found to be successful in supporting staff skill acquisition to mastery criterion within one to three sessions, and GCR intervention was successful in maintaining staff’s progressive job task completion. From staff skill development to job task completion, these interventions may be utilized to support treatment fidelity and improve programmatic outcomes within an organization to further promote staff development.

Employees in human services require a significant volume of training and often lack skills needed to perform their job duties effectively (Gravina et al., 2018; Parsons & Rollyson, 2012; Reid & Whitman, 1983). ?Employers must be able to provide effective training in order to maintain treatment fidelity in a resource scarce and high turnover environment (Gravina et al., 2018; Matson & Sturmey, 2011; Parsons & Rollyson, 2012; Redmon et al., 2001). It is also critical that training interventions are acceptable to employees due to the noted correlation between mastery, skill maintance, and perception of the training (Matson & Sturmey, 2011; Parsons & Rollyson 2012; Reid & Whitman, 1983). This paper demonstrates another application of Behavioral Skills Training and social validity to increase goal writing skills of teachers and behavior specialists at a residential school program serving children with Autism. Mastery criterion of 100% IOA was met by all participants, demonstrating that the goal was written accurately and completely. ?Antecedent training, checklist, and template were not successful at achieving mastery alone (Redmon et al., 2001; Reid & Whitman, 1983). ?The addition of rehearsal and feedback until mastery was able to get four employees to mastery with just one session, two with only 2 session, and one employee with three sessions (Parsons & Rollyson, 2012; Reid & Whitman, 1983). ?Social validity data was gathered to determine acceptability of the training style and feedback to improve acceptability of future sessions (Matson & Sturmey, 2011; Parsons & Rollyson 2012; Reid & Whitman, 1983).

Alan and Claire will share Costain’s behavioural journey over the last 15 years. They will talk about the importance and challenges of keeping on the path and share how Costain has successfully managed to roll out and embed a truly sustainable behavioural safety programme, which has been designed to address the specific issues of a continually changing workforce, with multiple business sites and varying project durations. They will speak about the importance of the programme achieving Platinum Accreditation Status with the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies and how one of the keys to success has been to ensure that the programme is and remains a leadership focused programme that looks at making things simple, getting the simple things right, and providing outreach to their supply chain and clients. Alan and Claire will share real examples of the tools they use, how they apply it to all aspects of Costain, including wellbeing, carbon, IT security, quality and change management, where they are going next, and how the programme has moved from behavioural safety to behavioural management and more importantly to behavioural leadership.

OBM researchers, practitioners, business owners, safety professionals. 

Claire Fryer is the Director of Behavioural Management and leads the team of Behavioural Management Team of consultants, practitioners, coaches, and advisers. She also leads the external consultancy, working closely with clients and specialises in the design and delivery of behaviourally sound programmes using accelerated learning techniques. She has over 20 years’ experience in the practical application of behavioural science and coaching principles to improve business and individual performance. Claire regularly presents at conferences, including Highways UK with Highways England Social Research and Behavioural Change Team, and in 2019 the UK Project Controls Expo, which focussed on leadership behaviours, exploring aspects such as the culture created during project revies and the impact of behaviour on programme delivery. She has played a key role in how the Costain behavioural programme has moved from Safety through to Management and through to Leadership. She has been an executive coach since 2004, blending traditional coaching techniques with applied behavioural science.

Using statistics within behavior analysis is a topic that has been visited and revisited but has yet to become a regular part of practice in the applied setting. In some circles, it remains a topic of contention, especially when suggested that statistics be used in lieu of visual analysis to interpret behavioral data. We agree with others who have proposed that statistics and other quantitative judgement tools can be used in conjunction with visual analysis. Application of statistics might be of special interest when early detection of functional relations is critical. Such is the case when making decisions regarding results of functional analyses. Therefore, the purpose of the current investigation was to explore (1) to what extent PhD level behavior analysts agree with each other on visual analysis of FA graphs (2) and to determine the effect of teaching practicing and novice behavior analysts to apply statistical analysis to the evaluation of FA graphs. We then propose some directions for further investigation that may promote best practices in the future.

Basic and applied researchers, practitioners

Behavior analysis is unfamiliar to most people outside of autism and even those who have heard about behavior analysis often have beliefs that run contrary to known evidence. Misconceptions in science are not unique to behavior analysis, but they do limit the ability of our field to address issues of social significance and become more mainstream. The overarching goal of this symposium is to generate insight and discussion on strategies that can be used to improve dissemination, training, and support of current and future behavior analysts for the many current and future challenges to our field. The first presentation describes a study that evaluated perceptions of behavior analysis by undergraduate students by comparing their ideas and interest about the discipline at the beginning and end of an introductory principles of learning course. The second presentation describes a study that examined the qualitative experiences of behavior analysts before, during, and after their training in effort to identify practitioner-endorsed and actionable behaviors analysts can engage in when facing misconceptions in the field.

Basic

Stimulus pairing procedures without contingencies on active student responding can result in the emergence of both conditional discriminations and topography-based verbal operants. However, dense student response contingencies have been found to improve outcomes of computerized programmed instruction. The present study compared two approaches to teaching foreign-language (FL) vocabulary words: discrete-trial (DT) instruction with a response contingency in every trial, and pair-test (PT) instruction with intermittent response contingencies. Participants were eight adults whose native language was Icelandic. Each participant was exposed to DT tact instruction with one set of Arabic words, and PT tact instruction with another set. A multielement design was used to compare tact acquisition in the two conditions. A within-subjects design was used to compare performance on an immediate post-test and a one-week follow-up test that assessed FL tacts and emergent intraverbal responding. PT instruction was found to produce highly similar outcomes to DT instruction on all measures, and three of five participants reported preferring PT to DT instruction.

This prospective study was designed to examine predictors of outcome after 12 months of community-based Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) in 171 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Predictors included Age at Intake, Intake Adaptive Behavior (Vineland-II), Treatment Intensity, Treatment Quality and Treatment Acceptability. In order to evaluate predictors of outcome, Pearson correlations and hierarchical multiple regressions (MR) was conducted for each outcome measure. Non-parametric tests (?2) were used for variables that did not meet normal distribution. For Vineland ABC and all Vineland subscales (Communication, Social Skills, Daily Living Skills, Motor Skills and Maladaptive Behavior), higher intake scores predicted significantly higher outcome scores. Furthermore, younger intake age and higher treatment quality was associated with improved outcome. Treatment quality improved over time, but children who received lower treatment quality initially tended to receive overall lower treatment quality. Children who received higher number of treatment hours also tended to receive better treatment quality. Parents and therapists scored treatment acceptability as very high, and treatment acceptability score was independent of the children’s outcome. These findings add to our knowledge of potential predictors of outcome for children receiving EIBI and about relations between treatment intensity, treatment quality and treatment acceptability.

Practitioners working with children with ASD

Purchase one of the many available titles at the bookstore and stop by to have it signed by the author!

Meet presenters to discuss their research, ask questions, or just say "hi."

Authors:

• Matthew Capriotti (Table 1)
• Alan Cheung and Claire Fryer (Table 2)
• Douglas Greer (Table 3)
• Katie Kalafut (Table 4)
• Karl Kapp (Table 5)
• Bethany Raiff (Table 6)
• Linda Reddy (Table 7)
• Rachel Taylor (Table 8)

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Teaching emotional self-regulation is challenging for care providers. The Zones of Regulation is a curriculum used widely by occupational therapists to teach emotional regulation. There is no evidence yet to support its efficacy. While the Zones curriculum provides guidance on progression of teaching skills and a plethora of teaching materials, there is no standard method of teaching within the curriculum. For instance, there is no guidance correcting errors, prompting hierarchy, or standardized instructions. Additionally, challenges in teaching emotional regulation are more pronounced given significant communication barriers. Many individuals with developmental disabilities have comorbid medical issues, including neurological and gastrointestinal complications such as epilepsy and fecal impaction, which can be painful and lead to negative emotional responding. Difficulty communicating pain has been reported to lead to lack of medical care, attributions of symptoms to behavioral issues, unnecessary or incorrect medical care, and invasive medical procedures. This paper explores a way to apply the curriculum with an applied behavior analytic framework, and examines if using stimulus equivalence and automaticity of reinforcement by pairing overt indicators of pain (e.g., precursors to problem behaviors, overt symptoms of illness) with colors that correspond to the Zones might increase the ability to identify and communicate distressing emotions in order to receive appropriate interventions from caregivers.

Virtual reality is an immersive 3D virtual environment within a removable headset. VR has been applied to educational and therapeutic environments to supplement learning through exposure to naturalistic and contrived environments. Although VR’s effectiveness in teaching has been proven through a treatment package, it has yet to be assessed as a stand-alone method for teaching a new skill. The purpose of the current study was to compare outcomes of typically-developing adults learning a receptive language DTT task when taught using a VR headset and traditional DTT methods similar to those in Gutierrez et. al., 2009. Furthermore, we assessed generalization of skills learned within VR to the real-world environment and maintenance of skills under both conditions with a follow-up assessment. Preliminary data suggests that VR is effective as a standalone method of teaching receptive discriminations. Data also suggests that participants had a higher degree of mastery in the VR condition. Currently, our data collection is ongoing.