Association for Behavior Analysis International

A 7-year-old boy diagnosed with autism engaged in a variety of self-stimulatory behaviors while watching movies and television. A functional analysis indicated differential levels of self-stimulatory behavior as a function to type of movie watched. Highest levels of self-stimulatory behaviors occurred while watching a familiar animated movie, with lower levels occurring during unfamiliar animated and familiar non-animated. An ABAB design was used to document the effects of a treatment package (differential reinforcement of other behavior [DRO] program with social praise provided every 10-s) and brief timeout (cessation of the movie for 1 minute). Results indicated self-stimulatory behaviors decreased from 82% of intervals during baseline to 3% of intervals while watching familiar animated movies and generalized to the other movie categories.

Due to the unique social and communication challenges, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) might also be at risk of socially inappropriate actions that reach the level of law-breaking offending behaviors. That is, the social deficits associated with autism may also impact sexual development to a degree where inappropriate touching, for example, may result in an act that is also unlawful. This paper is a review of relevant extant literature. We first examine the most common types of offences documented for individuals with ASD-including cases published in peer-review journals or books. Next, we will try to identify the potential explanations as to why and when this group may be at risk to commit these acts. Recommendations concerning the prevention of criminal justice contact for individuals with ASD and how to promote autism awareness in the criminal justice system are detailed. We seek to help clarify the intent of unlawful acts and as such avoid misinterpreting behaviors and characteristics that are typical of individuals with ASD but not associated with typical offender behaviors. It is our hope that the law enforcement officers and court systems will take into account the unique challenges individuals with ASD experience when they encounter a case involving this population.

Using a changing-criterion design, we evaluated the effects of providing a preferred edible item and escape from sitting contingent on a child's compliance with sitting during haircuts. Results indicated that the intervention eliminated the child's escape responses and increased his sitting to a duration that permitted regular haircuts by his mother. Follow-up sessions showed that the participant's increased compliance during haircuts continued for over 2 months.

Studies have stressed the importance of not turning bilingual students with autism into monolingual learners, due to the resulting isolation from their family unit, which is the primary unit for education and socialization of these students (Kremer-Sadik, 2005). These studies, however, have not been comparative studies to evaluate skill acquisition when instruction is given in English versus in the home language. This study is designed to assess acquisition rates of cognitive skills (e.g., color, object and number identification) in children with autism who live in Spanish speaking homes. An alternating condition design across two conditions (instruction in English and in Spanish) was utilized to evaluate to determine rates of color recognition for 2 young Spanish speaking children with autism. Of ten colors, five were randomly assigned to each condition and students received instruction in English for the first 5 set while they received instruction in Spanish for the second 5 set. Data collection and intervention continue.

Treatment of encopresis in a 10-year-old boy with autism was investigated by utilizing an A-B design in the home setting. Laxatives, positive practice, scheduled toilets sits, and visuals were used in a procedure to decrease the dependent variable, encopresis. Two previous procedure attempts were made initiating the clinician to access a state funded grant to allow staff to move in to the clients home and provide continuous treatment. Successful elimination occurred within the first 24 hours of treatment and consistent continence sustained after the first 48 hours of procedure implementation.

Challenging behaviors such as aggression, self-injury, non-compliance, and self-stimulatory behavior are common in individuals with autism (Lecavalier, 2006). Recent data suggest that a carefully implemented intensive behavior intervention plan (BIP) can greatly reduce the occurrence of such behaviors (Frazier et. al., 2010). A BIP represents a process including a functional behavior assessment and development of a behavior plan with follow up monitoring. We predicted that students with one or more BIP would achieve fewer educational goals than students who did not have BIP. This hypothesis is based on the notion that BIP require significant educational time to implement. Additionally, individuals with multiple BIP (2+) were expected to show the lowest proportion of educational goals achieved. The proportion of educational goals achieved was recorded for 64 students with autism (ages 6-22 years). Partially supporting the hypothesis, the group of students who did not have a BIP achieved the highest proportion of academic goals, followed by the group with one BIP. The group of students with two or more BIPs achieved the lowest proportion of academic goals. This finding suggests that individuals who receive BIPs to reduce challenging behaviors achieve a lower proportion of academic, but not overall educational, goals. It will be important to carefully weigh the need of a BIP versus the need for academic progress when deciding on implementation of BIP. Future randomized trials will be needed to remove potential confounds such as baseline symptom severity.

The Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) is an empirically validated assessment tool that is used to assess various visual and auditory skill deficits in an individual's repertoire. The majority of studies investigating the ABLA have been conducted with persons with developmental disabilities. Therefore, the present study examined the predictive validity of the ABLA with seven children with autism. A parent of each child was asked to predict their child's learning performance on 20 criterion tasks, which was compared to predictions based on the child's ABLA performance. We then attempted to individually teach each criterion task to the child until that child met either the pass criterion or the fail criterion of the ABLA. Results indicate that participants passed 68 of the 72 criterion tasks that were equivalent to their previously-passed ABLA level, and failed 65 of the 68 criterion tasks that were equivalent to their previously-failed ABLA level. Overall, across all 140 tasks, the ABLA correctly predicted the children's performance on 133 of the tasks (i.e., 95% accuracy rate), while the parents' correctly predicted the children's performance on 85 of the tasks (i.e., 61% accuracy rate). Data collection with additional participants is ongoing.

Adequate test-retest reliability increases confidence that assessment results reflect the true current performance of a student, and that any changes in performance reflected in subsequent assessments are real. The New England Center for Children-Core Skills Assessment (CSA), a curriculum-based direct assessment of basic foundational skills in children with autism and related disabilities, was administered by one teacher with seven students with autism. Between 1 to 4 weeks later, the CSA was administered again by another teacher with the same seven students. The second teacher was blind to the results of the first assessment. Reliability between the first and second scores was calculated for each assessment item within each of the seven students. Reliability measures were analyzed using Pearsons product-moment, and these were statistically significant at the .01 level for each of the domains of the CSA (reliability score range: 82 to 93%) and for each student (reliability score range: 80 to 90%).

Measuring social skill progress for students in a school setting poses many challenges. However, social skills are a core deficit area for students with autism and it is important to gather accurate information about performance levels in order to make informed and data-based decisions about treatment. This poster will examine the use of three different assessment tools to evaluate one student's social skills development across 10 months of participation in a behavior analytic inclusive preschool/kindergarten program. The three assessments used were the Social Skills Rating Scale (SSRS), the social domains of the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills- Revised (ABLLS-R), and a teacher created direct-observation measure specific to the student's individualized goals. The SSRS was completed at the beginning and end of each school year by each parent as well as the assistant teacher and head teacher. The ABLLS-R was also administered as pre/post measures. The direct-observation was completed in three different environments across the school day (recess, snack time, and social group) each for a 5-minute time sample each month across 6 months. This data will compare each measure's sensitivity in measuring changes in this student's social behavior.

Applied Behavior Analysis - Skills Intervention Program (ABA - SkIP ) is a program funded through the state of Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) in conjunction with the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County (MHMRA) and University of Houston - Clear Lake (UHCL). Currently, DARS funds six programs throughout Texas. Each program provides ABA intervention to young children via a different service delivery model. To be eligible, children must be aged 3 years to 8 years and have a current diagnosis of a pervasive developmental disorder. The purpose of this poster is to describe the ABA-SkIP model and its outcomes for children receiving services over the past2 years. The model consists of a center-based program, which children attend for approximately 15 hours per week, and parent training. Initially, children and their families received ABA-SkIP services for 3 months, but the program was lengthened to 6 months due to consumer feedback. Results of our program evaluation will be described, along with a comparison of outcomes among children receiving services for 6 months versus 3 months.

The effectiveness of early and intensive behavioral intervention is dependent on the fidelity of treatment implementation. To ensure treatment fidelity, systematic training of staff is needed. Previous research suggests staff training procedures utilizing multi-faceted methods, are effective in training staff in autism intervention. The purpose of the current study was to continue to develop and evaluate a comprehensive staff training package at Easter Seals of North Texas. A total of 150 skills were taught to a trainee using description, praise, modeling, practice and feedback. In addition, teaching units and child and staff affect measures were assessed. Skills were organized into skill clusters based on level of difficulty and order of implementation. The trainee progressed through each skill cluster based upon mastery criteria. Results showed that the trainee successfully acquired all skills and with increasingly higher teaching units. In addition, favorable trainee and child affect was favorable across sessions. Multi-faceted methods of training can effectively train staff numerous teaching behaviors.

Many children with autism evidence deficits in play skills and in particular in the area of symbolic play skills (Jarrold, Boucher, Smith, 1994). While there are a range of procedures that have been identified to teach this abstract skill (MacDonald, Clark, Garrigan, & Vangala, 2005), the use of video modeling has not been well investigated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use point of view (POV) video modeling to teach symbolic play skills to 13 young children with a diagnosis of autism and deficits in the area of symbolic play skills. Symbolic play was assessed across three skills and two dimensions (motor actions and vocal responses). Changes in the number in symbolic play actions (motor and vocal) are compared before and after viewing of a videotaped model engaging in symbolic play across three skills. The number of possible responses were held constant across both conditions. Preliminary data (on four participants) indicate that point of view video modeling was effective in increasing symbolic play (motor actions) as well as language (vocal responses) in three of the four the participants studied.

Core deficits in autism affecting play skills, as described in the DSM-IV, include restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, preoccupation with parts of objects, and failure to show imaginative or pretend play. Video modeling has proven to be an effective tool in teaching play skills to individuals with autism (Charlop-Christy, Le & Freeman, 2000, Magnini & Ross, 2010). While skills taught through video modeling have proven to generalize across settings (Reagan, Higbee & Endicott, 2006; Charlop, Christy & Deneshvar, 2003), limited research has been conducted on generalization of play skills taught through video modeling to novel materials, including common household items that may be incorporated into pretend play by typical peers. The present study used a multiple probes across play scenarios design to examine the efficacy of video modeling in teaching pretend play scenarios to three early intervention students with autism spectrum disorder. Generalization of these repertoires to novel common materials when they replaced some of the original materials presented in the video was assessed. Additional factors affecting the effectiveness of the video modeling and subsequent generalization of skills were examined.

Individuals with developmental disorders exhibit deficits in the abilities to initiate and maintain effective social behavior. It is one of the important objectives to obtain and use abilities to monitor and control their own behavior. This study examined the effects of video modeling on attention and participation behaviors of junior high students with developmental disorders. Two students with moderate developmental disorders participated in small group training settings. They exhibited low levels of attention and monitoring group process. Video modeling training included presentation of video clip, identification and self-evaluation of the behavior in the video clip, and behavioral rehearsal of appropriate behaviors. The behaviors presented in the video clip were selected in the last two sessions. Both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors were selected for the video modeling. The length of each video clip was less than 1 min. Target behaviors for each participant were attention for group activity. In baseline phase, percent occurrence of the target behavior was 34.3% and 3.8%, respectively. In thevideo modeling phase, the occurrence of target behavior increased 50% and 70%, and in the follow-up phase both participants maintained the levels of the intervention phase.

This study investigated the effect on play skills and language skills of preschool children with autism by giving video modeling intervention. The researchers used a multiple-probe design across three different play themes to demonstrate experimental control. In order to increase the ability of generalization for the child with autism, stimulus generalization training (provide different video scenario for each theme) was applied to this study. During intervention phase, the child watched the video twice himself and then was provided the toy set as in video after viewing, the procedure was not included experimenter-implemented reinforcement, neither prompting and correction procedures during the intervention. Results indicated that video modeling was an effective tool for teaching play skills and language skills to preschoolers with autism, which could led to the rapid acquisition of the modeled coherent play actions and verbal expressions, and also demonstrate the generalization performance. In addition to the favor results showed in the graph, the procedure integrity, interobserver agreement, and social validity were also showed the positive results to further support this evidence. These findings and future direction are also discussed in the paper.

The present study examined the effect of utilizing a video simulation of cooking to improve independent self-help skills for students with autism. Three students with autism, in the range of 13-15 years old, were reported as showing qualitative deficits in self-help skills. Using a multiple baseline design, cooking was simulated and modeled on a videofor each subject. The study outcomes indicated that the intervention improved self-help skills with all the subjects.

Video modeling is a procedure where a participant first watches a videotaped scenario depicting how to perform a new skill. Then after viewing the videotaped scenario, the instructor asks the participant to perform the skill. Video modeling has been shown to be an effective intervention for teaching play, social initiation, and self help behaviors to children with autism. This study extended the research by investigating the effects of a video modeling procedure for teaching a fine motor task. Two children with autism participated in this experiment. After watching the scenarios, the researcher asked the child to "do what they did in the video". The occurrence or non-occurrence of the behavior was recorded. The results showed that video modeling is not only effective for teaching play and social initiation skills, but it is also effective in teaching handwriting skills.

The purpose of this study was to use video modeling to teach reciprocal conversations to three children with autism. The therapist presented each participant with a bag, which included an unknown novel object. During baseline sessions the therapist presented the participants with the bag and an unknown novel object. This assessed whether or not the participants would engage in a functional conversation relating to the novel object. After baseline sessions the participants viewed a video of two therapists having a conversation about a novel object in a bag. The participants viewed the video until they reached mastery criteria of stating 3 out of 4 possible correct responses over 3 consecutive sessions. Generalization probes assessed whether or not the participants could generalize reciprocal conversation skills with peers. The results of this study indicated that 1 out of 3 participants met mastery criterion. Participant 1 met mastery criterion and generalized these skills with a peer. Participant 2 did not meet mastery criterion and did not demonstrate any improvement in conversational skills. Participant 3 did not meet mastery criterion but did make improvements in conversational volleys after video modeling. Interobserver agreement (IOA) was collected in 33% of total sessions and the mean was 100%.

Video modeling has been found to be effective in improving social skills and functional skills in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD; Bellini & Akullian, 2007). Despite the empirical evidence in the video modeling literature, researchers have not identified the skills that predict who will benefit from this intervention (Mechling, 2005). By identifying these skills, therapists will be better able to recognize who will benefit from video modeling and when it is appropriate to use for children with ASD. The current study investigated preliminary data of four preschool-aged children with ASD who participated in peer-video-modeling training. Characteristics examined included severity of autism symptoms, cognitive functioning, adaptive skills, matching skills (matching to sample and delay matching to sample skills) and imitation skills (imitating a video and an object). The children were to learn a functional motor task, verbal task or both. Preliminary, descriptive analyses indicated that children who demonstrated prior matching and imitation skills were more likely to meet mastery criteria on functional-motor tasks. However, adaptive scores were not predictive of success. Interestingly, characteristics nor pre-requisite skills were predictive of mastery of verbal tasks. Further analyses are presented.

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effects of using a differential reinforcement procedure, as well as antecedent interventions to decrease highly variable rates of out-of-seat behavior for a 10-year-old boy diagnosed with autism. Research on out-of-seat behavior suggests that using group contingencies or restrictive techniques such as reprimand, response cost, overcorrection, or contingent restraint are more effective than less restrictive procedures (Friman, 1990). In this study during Phase 1 of treatment, the participant received reinforcement on a fixed time schedule for sitting in his seat. During Phase 2 of treatment, a free play was added upon initially transitioning to the work area in addition to receiving reinforcement on a fixed time schedule for sitting in-seat. Results indicate that positive treatment approaches effectively increased and maintained in-seat behavior. The effects of antecedent and reinforcement based interventions will be discussed as well as implications for future treatment and generalization.

Children with autism may display unusual avoidance responses to common stimuli. Behavioral procedures utilizing shaping have been shown to be effective in reducing signs of behavioral avoidance and increasing adaptive responding to common stimuli (Ricciardi, Luiselli, & Camare, 2006). The purpose of this poster is to present the effects of an intervention involving shaping, positive reinforcement, and visual cues on the responding of an 8-year-old girl with autism who displayed problematic avoidance responses to wearing shoes. A changing criterion design was employed to assess the effects of the current intervention. Preliminary results suggest the success of the procedures to increase the duration of shoe wearing. The goal of the program is to increase the duration of compliant shoe wearing to 15-min intervals and to generalize the behavior to the home and community settings. Discussion will focus on a review of important considerations when developing, implementing, and generalizing shaping procedures for avoidance behaviors.

The current study tested the effect of a procedure prescribing noncontingent access to a competing stimulus, to a young woman with autism who emitted high rates of vocal stereotypy in the context of her vocational setting. Initially, the function of the vocal stereotypic behavior was assessed using the FAST and was subsequently hypothesized to be maintained by automatic reinforcement. Following the assessment, further examination determined whether the auditory or kinesthetic property was the primary component serving to automatically reinforce this response. Thus, two conditions were arranged in which recordings of the young woman's stereotypic responses were played contingent upon emission of these responses, until she failed to emit them; and in Condition 2, the recording was played at the initiation of each session and then terminated contingent on emission of vocal stereotypy. Findings resulted in better determination of whether auditory or kinesthetic properties functioned as the necessary ingredient within the automatic contact of reinforcement. Following these findings, a competing stimulus assessment was conducted to identify similar, more socially acceptable stimuli within the vocational setting. Results provided utility in determining not only basic function, but investigation and assessment in preparation for socially significant treatment within the vocational arena.

The purpose of the current study was to compare the relative utility of two demand assessments for identifying potential negative reinforcers. A 16-year-old individual with an autism spectrum disorder, who exhibited self-injury maintained by escape from demands, participated. We conducted two demand assessments, two times each, using an alternating treatments design. During demand assessment (DA) 1, we presented the participant with two tasks and measured response selection. During demand assessment (DA) 2, we presented the participant with a single task for 5 min and measured compliance and problem behavior. Based on assessment results, we identified two low preference (LP) tasks, an LP task associated with low percentages of selection during DA 1 and an LP task associated with low percentages of compliance and high levels of problem behavior during DA 2. We also identified one high-preference task (a task associated with high levels of selection during DA 1 and high percentages of compliance and low percentages of problem behavior during DA 2). The indirect assessment yielded information that was inconsistent with both DA results. Both DAs suggested the same high preference task, but did not consistently suggest the same low preference task. The implications of these findings for identifying negative reinforcers will be discussed.

As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders increases, the inclusion of children with this neurological disorder in general education classroom settings has increased. Self-management promotes independence and the generalization of skills and is therefore a viable behavior change method within inclusive classrooms. The purpose of this study was to increase the on-task behavior of 3 boys with autism using a self-management treatment package in the school setting. Data were collected every 10 s using momentary time-sampling procedures. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the self-management treatment package in increasing the percentage of intervals on-task during independent reading. In addition, a multiple baseline design across reading, art and worksheet activities was used to demonstrate treatment effects for 1 of the 3 participants. The treatment package consisted of self-monitoring within a token economy during independent seatwork. Results showed an increase in the percentage of on-task intervals during treatment, generalization, and weekly follow-up phases for all participants. For 1 participant, treatment effects maintained during a 1-month follow-up session.

Frequently, children with autism have difficulty following routines without considerable adult assistance. One intervention that has proven to be effective is that of picture activity schedules (PAS). With PAS, the activity to be learned is broken into steps with visual representations of each step to be completed in the sequence. The child is taught to follow the PAS with prompting and reinforcement. PAS have been shown to be effective in teaching a variety of skills, such as social skills (conversations, peer interactions), self-help skills (dressing, eating), and other activities (Dooley et. al., 2001; Schmit et al., 2000). More recently, computers have been introduced as an alternative medium to teach activity schedules. With a computer activity schedule, the child is able to watch a brief video model of the action to be completed for each step within the activity schedule. Stromer and colleagues (2006) used computers to successfully teach activity schedules to children with autism. There has been no comparison of the effectiveness of computer vs. picture activity schedules. The purpose of this study is to compare the relative impact on the acquisition and generalization of routines taught to two children with autism using picture activity schedules and computer activity schedules. Using a concurrent baseline and simultaneous treatment design, baseline data was collected on the number of sub-steps for each activity schedule the child was able to complete without adult assistance, then calculated as a percentage correct using the total number of steps for each activity. Dependent measures in the study consist of the percentage of steps completed independently with the activity cues present and the percentage of steps completed independently with no activity cues present to probe for generalization of the skill.

Specific environmental variables that maintain problem behavior can be identified via the functional analysis (Iwata et al., 1982/1994). However, rates of responding may be undifferentiated or occur at low levels and interpretation may be difficult. Fluctuating motivating operations (MOs) may contribute to these inconclusive analyses. In order to mitigate this problem, previous research has suggested that interruption from free operant activities may occasion problem behavior (Fisher et al., 1998, Hagopian et al., 2007). As such, the type of interruption (i.e., "do" vs "don't") is inconsequential as the interruption is serving as the establishing operation for problem behavior (Coryat et al., 2009). The purpose of the current study was to further evaluate the effects of "do" and "don't" interruptions on problem behavior in one individual with autism referred to an inpatient unit for treatment of severe problem behavior. We evaluated "don't" and "do" statements. Specifically we evaluated "do" statements towards an incompatible activity and "do" statements towards another preferred activity. As observed in previous research, results indicated that the interruption alone, not the type occasioned problem behavior. A treatment evaluation was then conducted with non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) and extinction (EXT) as treatment components. Problem behavior was decreased to clinically significant levels.

A differential negative reinforcement of other behaviour (DNRO) procedure was used to facilitate graduated exposure to increase durations of a child with autism to wear his medical alert bracelet. The treatment consisted of contingent removal of the bracelet at pre-determined intervals. The participant was gradually exposed to wearing the bracelet from 5 sec to wearing it all day, while zero or low levels of problem behaviour remained in tact.

More research is needed on procedures that treat food refusal associated with autism, such as food selectivity and texture sensitivities. Escape prevention procedures are frequently effective in the treatment of food selectivity, however, other problems may occur after clinicians increase acceptance (i.e., allowing food into the mouth) of novel foods. For example, children with autism may demonstrate incomplete mastication, choking, and packing (i.e., holding food in the mouth). Increased chewing can decrease the likelihood of choking and facilitate efficient swallowing. During this investigation, we examined the effect of a differential reinforcement procedure on increasing the chewing of nonpreferred foods with 2 children with autism using a multiple baseline design. We provided preferred edibles contingent on chewing prior to swallowing for one participant, and for chewing and swallowing within 30 s for another participant. Results showed that the procedure was effective for increasing chewing across 3 nonpreferred foods for each participant.

The use of interventions based on the principles of behavior analysis has been documented in the literature in many clinical settings. The purpose of this study was to create feeding programs for three students with autism within a public school setting based on the results of a functional analysis. For both students, results of a functional analysis indicated escape as the maintaining variable for aberrant behavior demonstrated during the presentation of non-preferred food. A multiple baseline design across subjects and food was used to evaluate the effectiveness of escape extinction combined with differential reinforcement of alternative behavior for both participants. For one participant, texture fading was included in the intervention. Preference assessments were conducted to identify potential reinforcers to be delivered during feeding sessions. Data was collected on acceptance of novel foods across various stages of presentation (e.g., smelling, touching to lips and biting). Interobserver agreement was recorded in 29% of session with 100% agreement. Data indicate that the students acceptance of novel foods has increased and has begun to generalize to the school cafeteria.

This intervention research trend analysis was conducted in order to empirically document intervention articles that included individuals with autism across three journals and the characteristics of those participants over the past fifteen years. Data was collected from the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA), the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities (JADD), and Focus on Autism and other Developmental Disabilities (FOCUS). The database consisted of intervention research articles that described participants as "having autism", "being autistic", "having an autistic disorder", or "being on the autism spectrum". Intervention articles targeted participants aged 21 and were under published between 1993 and 2007. Information was collected on age of participants, cognitive and communicative functioning, setting, and ecological variables. Results indicate that of the 232 articles reviewed, the majority represented JABA (127), followed by JADD (59), and FOCUS (46). Trends related to cognitive and communicative functioning levels in JABA reflected participants who had more severe to profound impairments, as compared to JADD and FOCUS who showed a recent trend toward targeting typical to mild-moderate functioning capacities. The JABA articles reviewed may represent a segment of the autism population that require more specializedapplied behavior analysisservices, contributing a unique perspective to the field of behavioral research.

The dissemination of behavior analysis into countries with undeveloped behavior analytic services is a critical component of the growth of the science. One such place is South Africa. Unlike the United States, South Africa has no board certified behavior analysts. There are, however, a number of children diagnosed with autism. Historically, treatment for this population has been non-behavioral. This poster will trace the history of applied behavior analysis treatment available in Johannesburg, as well as the current status of the science. In doing this, we will showcase the treatment options currently available via a new just-opened center and home programs being provided and developed by a local South African obtaining her certification. Poster will include case-study data of both acquisition and deceleration behavior from home and center-based programs demonstrating growth and learning among a variety of children ranging from 3 years of age to 9 with the diagnosis of autism or other disabilities.

Applied behavior analytic (ABA)-based treatments are one of the few types of intervention that have empirical support for reducing the symptoms of autism (National Autism Center, 2010). However, a vast array of additional treatments claim to be similarly effective, though most lack the same degree of supporting evidence. The purpose of this study was to examine how caregivers’ choice of treatment may be influenced by the extent of their knowledge about individual treatments as well as their perceptions about each treatment’s efficacy. Two hundred and six treatments for autism were identified via a search of an online database. Caregivers of children with autism were asked to rate each of them on a 5-point Likert scale regarding how informed they were about each treatment and how effective they believed each treatment to be. They were then asked to indicate which treatment options that they would choose for their child if not limited by time or financial constraints. Finally, six tokens per selected treatment were given to each caregiver. They were then asked to distribute those tokens amongst the selected treatments in proportion to how they would distribute the resources they had at their disposal for treatment of their child’s autism. The relationship between self-reports regarding knowledge and perceived effectiveness of the selected and unselected treatment options and allocation of resources was calculated. Results are discussed in terms of their potential impact of behavior analysts who work with children with autism and the need for educating caregivers regarding evidence (or the lack thereof) for alternative treatments.

Many interventions for autism purport effectiveness, some of which (e.g., applied behavior analytic-based interventions) have empirical support. However, with a few exceptions (e.g., Green et al. 2006) there is a lack of data on what interventions caregivers utilize and how resources and treatment availability influence which interventions they select. The purpose of this study was to build on the work of Green et al., (2006) to determine which treatments caregivers report using, as well as expand upon those findings by determining the proportion of resources parents allocate towards those interventions. This study also examined the extent to which choice of intervention may be affected by the availability of treatments or restrictions on the available resources. Caregivers of children with autism participated. Caregivers were asked to identify the treatments their child received. They were given two tokens for each treatment and asked to distribute them in proportion to how they allocate their resources. Finally, participants indicated which interventions they would use if they had unlimited resources and all of the treatments were equally available. Results suggest that restrictions in resources and/or availability may limit the number of interventions caregivers utilize, but may not affect the amount of any one intervention utilized.

Measure's of consumer's satisfaction with a product or service may provide important information regarding the social validity of a treatment (cite). However, analyses of consumer satisfaction with specific treatment outcomes and the relationship to levels of intensity of service delivery (hours of service per week) have not been reported. This study assessed parent satisfaction with child outcomes in specific goal areas addressed by a home based early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) program. The areas assessed are considered core deficit for children with autism (e.g. communication, social skill and play skills). At discharge from EIBI services, parent levels of satisfaction with treatment outcomes at were compared across two conditions. The two conditions were those children receiving less than an average of 10 hours per week and those receiving an average of more than 17 hours per week. The participants for this study were parents of children receiving home based EIBI services. These data indicate that parents of children receiving more intensive services (17+) report greater levels of overall satisfaction with progress in the areas of communication skills, social skills and play skills when compared to families receiving less intensive services (10 and under).

Parent training is an important component of early intervention for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder. New technology presents potential advantages for increasing access and benefits to children and parents. Teleconferencing is one technology that can be used to support parents as they learn to help their children. The current study utilized teleconferencing in a parent training package designed to train social communicative teaching strategies. Training sessions occurred in a clinic and at home through video-conferencing. Parents were taught through instructions, rationales, modeling, practice, and feedback. Assessments were conducted throughout the study and were in three formats: home videotaping, home teleconferencing, and clinic videotaping. The results showed that the training procedures were effective. The mother acquired all teaching components and successfully taught her child the target behaviors, which included attending and requesting. Furthermore, there appeared to be no differences in the two methods of assessing home performance. Expanding observation and training through telemedicine is a promising use of technology that can help young children with autism and their parents across multiple environments.

A variety of items and activities have been shown to function as reinforcement for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The same is true at the individual level (i.e., many people with ASDs are reinforced by a variety of items and activities). However, clinicians providing services to individuals with ASDs are often concerned with determining the individual's relative preference for a given set of items and activities (i.e., a preference gradient). Clinicians can apply the individual's preference gradient to match more highly preferred reinforcers with more difficult task demands or behavior reduction programs. Several preference assessment methods have been developed and reported in the literature. The current study will identify the preference assessment methods that have been reported in peer-reviewed journals. These methods will be categorized, based on article review data, with respect to the number of stimuli presented to the individual, the type of stimuli presented to the individual, the dimension of behavior that was measured to determine preference, and the correspondence between the results of the preference assessment and reinforcer efficacy. Attendees will find this information useful when selecting and implementing preference assessments in their clinical work.

Social play skills are necessary for children to develop effective communication with peers. Previous research has shown that video modeling is effective for teaching as well as maintaining social play skills in children with autism (Nikoloulos and Keenan, 2004). The current study used a multiple-probe design across participants to evaluate whether two adolescent males with developmental disabilities could be taught game-based social skills using a video modeling procedure. The study also evaluated participant generalization of the social skills across games, topographies and settings, and over a significant period of time. Baseline data indicated that students did not correctly wait their turn, take their turn, or interact socially while playing a variety of games. Video modeling will be implemented across games using sequential modification to program for generalization. Results should indicate that video modeling is an effective procedure for teaching game-based social skills, which can be learned and used with novel games and settings. Reliability and procedural integrity will be collected during at least 30% of the sessions. Limitations and directions for future research will be discussed.

A number of investigations have shown that behavior analytic interventions can reduce pica. Pica, ingesting non-food items, can be potentially harmful to an individual's health and limit quality of life. While several studies have looked at the non-contingent presentation of food to decrease pica, the majority of these studies were performed in clinical settings. This study will examine the effects of non-contingent access to preferred edibles on pica in a day treatment facility for students with autism and other related disorders. The subject in this study is a 6-year-old boy with a diagnosis of autism. He has a history of pica and ingests a variety of non-food items. A preference assessment was performed to identify a hierarchy of preferred foods. Baseline data collections indicate that pica occurs, on average, 55% of intervals across the day. Treatment will consist of non-contingent presentation of higher preference edibles at specific intervals.

Teaching procedures based on the principles of applied behavior analysis are commonly used to teach students with autism. These teaching procedures range from highly controlled and adult-directed instruction such as discrete-trial training (DTT), to more "naturalistic" and child-initiated instruction such as incidental teaching. Few studies have been conducted in order to directly compare DTT and incidental teaching on acquisition of skills in an early childhood setting (e.g., McGee, Krantz & McClannahan, 1985; Miranda-Linne and Melin, 1992). This study is designed to compare relative effectiveness the effectiveness of traditional DTT and incidental teaching procedures to teach colors and answering what/how questions to two children with autism. Skill generalization across natural activities (e.g., indoor and outdoor play) will also be evaluated.

Eating and mealtime problems are reported common in childhood and occur across a broad age span from typically developing children to children with a wide variety of developmental and medical disorders. However, only one measure with standardized data is available in Korea. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factor structure of PMAS (Parent Mealtime Action Scale) in Korea and to standardize the Korean version of PMAS. The data was collected via schools, daycare centers and Internet, 706 parents out of 750 parents who met the inclusion criteria were entered into the data. Fifty-five percent (n=390) of children were male and 45% (n=316) were female, and the mean age was 4.3 years (SD=2.53 years, range from 1 to 10). Fifty parents completed questionnaire again 4 weeks apart for test-retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis were conducted and its result were fit with the 9-factors model suggested by Hendy et al., (2009) with the adequate model(GFI=.934, TLI=.902, CFI=.916 and RMSEA=.036). The mean Cronbach's alpha for the nine PMAS dimensions was .61 and the mean test-retest reliability was .67. Results of the present study indicated that the factor structure of PMAS is appropriate to identify patterns of Korean parents behavior during mealtime with their children.

Few studies have examined the effects of high-probability (high-p) instructional sequencing in the treatment of food selectivity, and results of these studies have been mixed (e.g., Dawson et al., 2003; Patel et al., 2007). The present study evaluated a high-p instructional sequence with two boys between the ages of 8 and 12 who both had autism. Response requirements were gradually faded from responses the child would tolerate (e.g., touching the food) to the final requirement of chewing and swallowing the food presented. The high-p instructional sequence was implemented in the absence of escape extinction. Results indicated that the high-p instructional sequence was effective in increasing food consumption for one participant. Further, minimal inappropriate mealtime behaviors were observed, which has been reported as one of the drawbacks of using escape extinction.

The food we choose to eat affects us on a daily basis. In an effort to promote healthy food choices, a single-subject function-based intervention was implemented for a 58-year-old female whose food consumption consisted of a diet high in sugars and saturated fats and low in protein. The target behavior of this intervention was for the participant to make healthy food choices by replacing unhealthy foods with healthy alternatives. Following baseline, a single subject changing criterion design was implemented with a goal to increase protein and decrease sugar and saturated fat intake. Results showed attainment of initial targeted criterion within 1 day of starting intervention and maintenance over the following 14 days at which time a criterion change was implemented. Results showed attainment of the designated criterion within 2 days of the criterion change and maintenance for the next 8 days. Maintenance data collected 10 months following the end of phase two of intervention showed that the participant maintained criterion of phase one. The changing criterion design used in this study could easily be adapted to research on promoting other healthy habits including exercise.

Behavioral contracting has been shown to be effective in improving a variety of behaviors such as in the reduction of school problems (Cantrell, Cantrell, Huddleston, & Woolridge, 1969) and smoking cessation (Dallery, Meredith, & Glenn, 2008) as well as weight management and exercise (Aragona, Cassady, & Drabman, 1975; Mann, 1972; Neale, Singleton, Dupuis, & Hess, 1990). Although research has examined the effectiveness of various behavioral contract components (e.g., response cost), no studies have directly compared the efficacy of the type of deposit (e.g., monetary versus personal goods) in the contract. In the current study, participants wore a multidirectional accelerometer, which measured activity level, during the work day. Following baseline and feedback-only conditions, participants were exposed to two behavioral contracting conditions (counter-balanced across participants). Each variation of behavioral contracting examined a different form of deposit (monetary versus personal goods). Results of this study could suggest the most effective deposit for use in behavioral contracting.

Packing or holding food in the mouth without swallowing may result in decreased oral intake, longer meal durations, and aspiration. Research indicates that re-distributing packed food using a Nuk brush is effective in decreasing packing (Gulotta, Piazza, Patel, & Layer, 2005). Additional research suggests that a swallow facilitation procedure using a Nuk brush is effective in increasing mouth cleans (the converse of packing; Hoch, Babbitt, Coe, Duncan, & Trusty, 1995). We evaluated the effects of a treatment package containing both re-distribution and swallow facilitation using a flipped spoon on packing in 2 children with a feeding disorder. For both participants, packing decreased when we implemented the treatment package. Two individuals collected data on packing during 43% and 50% of sessions for each child, respectively. Mean interobserver agreement for packing was 100% for one child and 98% (range, 91% to 100%) for the other. Mechanisms responsible for behavior change and areas of future research are discussed.

Packing is a topography of food refusal behavior in children with pediatric feeding disorders that can result in aspiration, increased meal length, and low oral intake (Gulotta, Piazza, Patel, & Layer, 2005). Redistribution (Gulotta, Piazza, Patel, & Layer, 2005), swallow facilitation (Hoch, Babbitt, Coe, Ducan, & Trusty, 1995), and a combination of redistribution and swallow facilitation (Volkert, Vaz, Piazza, Frese, & Barnett, in press) are effective methods for decreasing packing of solid foods. However, no research has assessed the effectiveness of redistribution and swallow facilitation on decreasing packing of liquids. The current investigation assessed the effectiveness of using a syringe for redistribution and a flipped spoon for facilitation on decreasing packing and increasing mouth cleans of liquids in a 3 year-old male diagnosed with a pediatric feeding disorder. Results indicated that the combination of redistribution and swallow facilitation was effective in decreasing packing of liquids and increasing mouth cleans of liquids.

Evidence-based behavior management techniques that can be implemented in practice settings are a central concern for pediatric dentists, as disruptive behavior can impede the ability of the dentist to deliver treatment. Previous research has evaluated numerous behavioral techniques for managing disruptive behavior, but always in isolation. However, dentists never use procedures in isolation, so their effectiveness may vary relative to other procedures, as well as to appropriate use. The purpose of this study was an observational analysis of the most commonly used behavior management strategies and the extent to which they were used appropriately. Fifty-nine dental appointments were observed across 8 dentists for children, aged 3- through 12-years-old. Child behavior (i.e., disruptive or calm) and dentist use of behavior management techniques (i.e., voice control, tell-show-do, praise, breaks, and warning) were recorded using a 15-second partial interval observation system. Results show that breaks occurred with disruptive behavior twice as often as with calm behavior. Positive attention (e.g., praise) was given with calm behavior 1.5 times more than with disruptive behavior. Behavioral research suggests that reversing the distribution of breaks and implementing a 3:1 ratio of attention for calm behavior to differentially reinforce cooperative behavior may be more effective in shaping that behavior.

This study investigated the effectiveness of using circadian rhythm management (CRM) as the sole treatment for night wakings and bedtime resistance in young children. Three families of children with sleep problems between the ages of 12 months and 6 years participated. A multiple baseline design across participants was used. Three families completed a baseline of various lengths followed by 1 month of CRM during which parents were instructed to follow set schedules for their children's sleep and wake times, nap times, and meal times. Data were collected from sleep diaries completed by parents. One month after formal treatment ended, follow-up data were collected for one week. An ABAB reversal design was used for a fourth family due to special circumstances that occurred during the CRM phase. Parents completed a social validity scale during follow-up to assess their satisfaction with treatment. Results indicated that CRM was effective in decreasing the frequency and duration of night wakings along with decreasing sleep latency for most participants. Parents reported that their children were less resistant going to bed and slept better as a result of CRM.

Although most of the adolescent patients who were referred to my specialist clinic as having intractable (or psychogenic) asthma had experienced symptoms of wheezing and dyspnea, more than half of them were finally diagnosed as not asthma but paroxysmal upper respiratory obstruction such as vocal cord dysfunction and the rest of them were not intractable but curable asthma. Their common symptoms were wheezing and dyspnea, and some of them were affected with sudden attack of speech impairment. Why they were misdiagnosed? One of the plausible reasons is many physicians did not know the existence of the diagnosis except asthma. The other reason is most doctors could not apply behavioral analysis for their patients. Respiratory symptoms of patients with intractable asthma and/or paroxysmal upper respiratory obstruction were respondently conditioned with strong anxiety and/or hypertonic muscular contraction related with respiratory function. After they mastered relaxation training and were desensitized from respondent conditioning, their symptom disappeared. It took only a few months for them from their first visit to my clinic. None of them were intractable. Behavioral intervention applied for patients with intractable (psychogenic) asthma and relevant respiratory diseases is very important and the only useful tool to overcome their symptoms.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of directed activities and free play activities on the occurrence of potentially self-injurious stereotypy. The structural analysis was completed by the participant’s classroom teacher in an outpatient clinic setting as part of the Iowa Department of Education Challenging Behavior Service Project. A multielement design was used to evaluate stereotypy across three different conditions. In Condition 1 (free play), the participant had noncontingent access to toys and attention and no demands were made. In Condition 2 (directed play), a three-step prompt sequence was used to direct the participant to engage with toys. In Condition 3 (directed work), the participant was directed to complete work activities, which consisted of a discrete trial training program. Results showed that the highest levels of stereotypy occurred during free play activities and occurred less often during directed activities (directed work and directed play). Interobserver agreement was completed during 100% of sessions and averaged 92%. The structural analysis was replicated in the child’s classroom with similar results. A discussion of both assessments will be provided.

Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) has been shown to decrease inappropriate behaviors within numerous populations and over various targets (Andrews, 1988; Cowdery, Iwata, & Pace, 1990; Hegel & Ferguson). Specifically, DRO has been shown to decrease vocal stereotypy (Taylor, Hoch, & Weissman, 2005). The current study involved a 5-year-old boy with intellectual disabilities who had been referred for vocal stereotypy while in the presence of automatic doors. DRO within a changing criterion design was implemented to decrease vocal stereotypy. Initially, sessions were run in the child's home using video clips of automatic doors. Once the child reached mastery criteria with the video clips, sessions were moved to locations in the community where the child frequently came into contact with automatic doors.

Previous research has utilized differential reinforcement of appropriate verbal responses to treat perseverative speech (Rehfeldt & Chambers, 2003). However, the effort required to reinforce appropriate behavior over extended periods of time is often cited as an obstacle for caregivers, suggesting that procedures based on self-monitoring and self-reinforcement may be viable alternatives for some individuals (Morrison, Garcia & Parker, 2001; Newman, Reinecke & Meinberg, 2000; Tiger, Fisher & Bouxsein, 2009). The current study describes the treatment of perseverative speech displayed by a 15-year-old male diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Perseverative speech initially decreased and content-related speech increased through the combination of differential reinforcement of content-related speech and extinction of perseverative speech. This procedure was then modified such that the participant was trained to record the occurrence of on-task conversations over 5-min intervals and to self-reinforce such responses using a token economy. Results showed a decrease in perseverative speech during self-monitoring, though content-related speech occurred consistently regardless of the contingencies in place. These results provide additional evidence supporting the benefits of having individuals monitor their own treatment plan.

After demonstrating that a young boy's spitting persisted in the absence of social consequences, we evaluated the extent to which noncontingent access to one or multiple items and the contingent removal of a specific item decreased his behavior. Results indicated that the boy's spitting did not decrease when he was given noncontingent access to multiple, alternative stimuli or to a toy radio. By contrast, when the toy radio was removed contingent on spitting, the rate of the boy's spitting decreased to zero or near-zero levels. Similar results were produced in the boy's special education classroom.

The current study evaluated preference for the use of one of two forms of communication (picture exchange communication system [PECS] vs. sign language) when both resulted in access to the same reinforcer. This study included data from one child whose problem behavior was maintained by both positive and negative reinforcement (i.e., access to toys, attention, and escape from demands). Interobserver agreement was calculated during at least 30% of sessions and averaged above 90%. The researchers determined that the child was able to communicate using both sign language and PECS by conducting three sessions of each form of communication with 90% of independent responses. When both forms of communication resulted in access to the reinforcer, the participant chose PECS over the manual sign 99% of the time. These results demonstrate the utility of conducting a formal assessment of preference for different forms of communication and use in treatment programming.

In the current study, the effects of headphones during delay fading and functional communication training (FCT) were evaluated using an ABAB design. During baseline, problem behaviors resulted in therapist attention. During FCT, the participant was taught to exchange a communication card for attention. Following replication of FCT, a delay to reinforcement procedure was implemented in order to increase the participants' ability to wait for access to the reinforcer and allow for a more practical application of the procedures. During the delay, high rates of problem behavior continued until headphones playing preferred music and pre-recorded conversations were played. After the introduction of the headphones, problem behavior decreased and the reinforcement delay were maintained at 5-min. Based on these results, the importance of introducing a mediating response during delays to reinforcement will be discussed.

Functional analysis procedures were used to assess and treat a multiple topographies of self-injurious behavior exhibited by an individual. An experimental functional analysis indicated that one topography, hand biting, appeared to be maintained by social positive reinforcement in the form of delivery of tangible items. The analysis also provided evidence that a second form of self-injury, skin picking, was automatically reinforced. To treat positively reinforced hand biting, a treatment was arranged so that access to a preferred tangible was contingent on the omission of biting for a prespecified time interval. Hand biting was nearly eliminated, and results were maintained as the schedule of reinforcement was faded to 10 min. Competing stimulus assessments identified that magazines effectively suppressed all occurrences of skin picking; therefore, noncontingent access to magazines was implemented. Using a combination of multielement and multiple baseline designs, we were able to demonstrate that the two topographies of self-injury were maintained by independent reinforcement contingencies and that interventions corresponding to each topography and function effectively treated both behaviors.

Activities of daily living, such as tooth brushing, often require comprehensive training amongst individuals with disabilities. Pre-requisite steps are necessary in the chaining process of tooth brushing (Horner & Keilitz, 1975). In the current study, an 18-year-old male with congenital blindness, autism, and a history of severe problem behaviors including ingesting fecal matter, was resistant to having his teeth brushed. The initial phases of treatment consisted of a desensitization task analysis to tolerate steps such as opening his mouth for an extended period of time. Initially, gradual success was shown with a regular adult-sized toothbrush. Once a NUK brush was introduced, the participant met 100% compliance with the desensitization process. The participant was then transitioned from the NUK brush to a toddler toothbrush, with compliance remaining at 100%. As the desensitization process was mastered a tooth brushing task analysis was introduced for the participant to tolerate having his teeth brushed by staff. Through maintenance and generalization training the participant remained successful across various staff and settings. Further steps will be taken to teach the participant to independently brush his own teeth.

An adolescent male with somatic brain injury presented attention maintained challenging behaviors of inappropriate talk, stripping and intentional bowel/bladder elimination. These behaviors were resistant to a variety ofdifferential reinforcement of alternative behaviorprocedures primarily due to his ability to attain social interaction [attention]. A ribbon time-out procedure was implemented to reduce/eliminate reinforcement for these undesired behaviors. Data are presented showing a reduction in the frequency of stripping and inappropriate elimination and some overall improvement in frequency of inappropriate talk.

In Science and Human Behavior, Skinner (1953) discussed how operant conditioning can increase behaviors that are considered to be forms of self-control. The current investigation will demonstrate the effectiveness of using behavior-analytic principles to teach behaviors such as waiting periods of time before reinforcement is delivered, following if-then statements, and taking turns engaging with reinforcers. These behaviors are considered by parents to demonstrate "self-control" and are desired behaviors. The participant, an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome, was described by his parents as someone who "defined impulsiveness." Results show that behavior-analytic techniques were successful in increasing behaviors associated with self-control in a child labeled as impulsive.

Sandy is a 9-year-old girl with an unclear diagnoses. Although her milestones were normal and she was growing fine, due to an incorrect medical intervention at age 3-years, she regressed severely while losing one arm to gangrene. A behavioral assessment suggested Sandy vocalized only under motivation operationconditions and to familiar persons in a one-on-one situation. She had speech but did not echo or respond to others. This affected her learning and communication. Baseline data suggested Sandy did not emit any responses to any instructions. She however maintained full eye contact while instructions were given. Intervention included NCP, working behind a partition with one trainer, using prompts to evoke non vocal responses like Imitation, Receptive Instructions. Initial data shows positive trend in compliance. When responses were achieved to 80%, at this stage vocal responses were expected on behavior momentum across one trainer. Sandy's vocal responses to one trainer show a positive trend. The next stage involves responding across two trainers and data collection has just begun. The final stage of the intervention involves generalization across a third trainer and setting.

Historically, the assessment and treatment of sex offenders (including those diagnosed with an intellectual disability) has focused on evaluating and decreasing arousal to inappropriate stimuli (i.e., pictures and videos of prepubescent children). Although decreasing arousal to inappropriate stimuli is a critical component of any behavioral treatment plan, a comprehensive treatment plan necessitates assessments and treatments designed to address other (operant) features of offense related behavior. Previous research (Reyes et al., in preparation) has shown that sex offenders, with intellectual disabilities, will engage in high-risk behavior (e.g., stealing pictures of prepubescent children) when they believed that they were alone. The purpose of the current study is to replicate and extend Reyes et al. by evaluating the effectiveness of behavioral treatments, while attempting to safeguard the utility of the in-situ assessment procedures. To date, results have shown that periodic unpredictable supervision has been successful in decreasing occurrences of high-risk behavior.

Some students with intellectual disabilities require explicit instruction of language skills, including preposition use; however, little is known about an effective way to teach preposition use to this population. This study examined direct instruction (DI) as a way for students to learn to use and respond to prepositions. Participants included two 14 year-old African-American middle school students diagnosed with multiple disabilities, including intellectual disabilities. A multiple baseline across behaviors (prepositions) with replication across participants was used. Students participated in a daily probe of targeted prepositions, followed by DI on the current targeted preposition. DI was broken down into four phases: (a) obvious relationship; (b) less obvious relationship; (c) generalization to new objects; and (d) verbal prompt. Generalization was conducted during two activities. In the first, the experimenter read aloud three different adapted, age-appropriate stories. Students answered literal recall questions where students were required to point to the correct pictorial representation of that scene from an array of four. In the second activity, a scavenger hunt, students hid items around the room by following a verbal prompt containing a preposition, then provided vocal clues using target prepositions to help the second observer find the items. Results indicated that the DI was an effective way to teach students prepositions. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Children with developmental disabilities often show difficulty in reading. Since Japanesehas three different types of characters, Hiragana, Katakana (phonogram), and Kanji (ideogram), this makes them more difficult to acquire reading skills. Also, children with developmental disabilities have difficulties acquiring the stimulus relationship between three types of stimuli, pictures, written letters and sounds. Previous research suggested that children with autism acquired the Kanji reading skills and constructed other stimulus relationship by using respondent-type training (ReT). However, this kind of study is still limited. In the present study, we examined controlling variables on acquisition of Hiragana word and letter reading skills and picture naming skills through respondent-type trainings for children with developmental disabilities. In a trial, four types of stimuli, word, sound of letter and word, and picture, were presented simultaneously and sequentially on the computer. Each of stimuli was presented for 2 seconds. With 5 participants, result indicated that they could successfully acquire the reading skills, and also showed the improvement of their eye movement in reading. The result suggested that eye movement might lead ReT to a kind of the operant training.

The Japanese junior high students with learning disabilities often showed difficultywith reading and writing a response for English as second language. Many researcher argued that the matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure and constructed-response matching-to-sample (CRMTS) procedure was effective to construct the equivalence relations among the words, sounds, and meanings. After these trainings, many participants showed the transfer to other topographic responses such as reading and writing. In this study, the students with learning disabilities participated, who had difficultieswith reading and writing in English. We developed the computer-based MTS and CRMTS training and delivered one via the Internet. The students were required to select or construct the correct word as fast as they could. We collected the data including correct response rates and response times via the Internet and then delivered a new learning set. As results, the students couldnot only choose and construct the correct words, but could alsotranslate and write the English wordinto Japanese. There results were discussed in terms of the equivalence relations and the effectiveness of distance learning.

Language is a critical academic and social skill that may not fully develop even for students who are typically developing and in the best environments. Further, a delay in language development is common for individuals with intellectual disabilities, regardless of their environment. However, reading instruction is one strategy that can contribute to the development of oral language for typically developing children and for children with intellectual disabilities. Students with moderate intellectual disabilities and students with severe intellectual disabilities participated in a sight-word instruction intervention aimed at teaching word reading with comprehension and the reading of connected text with comprehension. Sight-word instruction is part of an integrated literacy program designed specifically for students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities and includes daily exposure to storybooks with a controlled vocabulary. A multiprobe multiple baseline across participants design is being used to demonstrate a functional relation between total utterances/number of different words and sight word instruction. Two participants are still in baseline while two others have started intervention.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of presession satiation to matched stimuli on vocal stereotypy and task engagement for 3 students with developmental disabilities in their classrooms or homes. The study consisted of three phases. First, analogue functional analyses demonstrated that vocal stereotypy was maintained by automatic reinforcement for all participants. Next, a single stimulus preference assessment was conducted with toys matched and unmatched to the hypothesized function of stereotypy. Data were collected on engagement with the stimulus and levels of vocal stereotypy. The matched stimulus was associated with the lowest levels of stereotypy for all participants and was utilized in the third phase of this study. Participants were placed in one of two conditions (presession satiation of matched stimulus or no presession access to the matched stimulus) prior to 15-min group activity sessions. Data were collected on the percentage of 10-s intervals with vocal stereotypy and task engagement during the subsequent 15-min sessions. Preliminary results indicate that the presession satiation condition is associated with lower levels of vocal stereotypy and higher levels of task engagement. Suggestions for future research and implications for clinicians are presented.

Experiments focusing on delays in matching to sample (DMTS) procedures have used mostly one delay value only, and often 0 s delay. However, Arntzen (2006) employed four experiments with different delay values and in Experiment 4 with the use of distracters during the delays in testing. The findings were that none of participants responded in accord with equivalence. Later, Arntzen and Vie (2010) did an experiment with manipulations of with and without distracters in a within-subject design. The delay was 3 s. Six participants were exposed to a condition with no distracters during test (A) followed by a condition with distracters during test (B), and finally a withdrawal of distracters (A). Six other participants were exposed to the B-condition first, followed by the A-condition and finally another B-condition. The main findings were the same is in the previous study, i.e., responding in accordance with stimulus equivalence was reduced in the conditions with distracters. In current study, we wanted to increase the delay to 6 s to see if the reducing effect of delays on responding in accordance with stimulus equivalence were even more substantial. So far the data indicate that we have been able to replicate the findings from our lab.

Participants were exposed to a matching-to-sample task and three transfer tests. For different groups, matching relations were visually modeled by instructional second-order stimuli or signaled by the spatial location of sample stimuli, the spatial location of comparison stimuli, or the length of a delay interval between sample and comparison stimuli. Acquisition and transfer of the conditional discrimination was possible under instructional second-order stimuli but not under remaining conditions. These results are discussed in relation with previous studies on generalized second-order conditional discrimination and rule-governed behavior development.

The odor span task has been used to determine the number of stimuli that rodents can remember. The procedure can be thought of as a non-match-to-sample task on which the number of samples controlling responding increments by one on each consecutive trial within a session. Previous studies have shown that rats can perform accurately with a large number of stimuli; however, the parameters affecting performance on this procedure are not well understood. The present study manipulated the number of comparison stimuli (2, 5, or 10) and the number of sample stimuli to remember (12, 24, 36). Amount of training was also examined as a variable that would affect span length in five Sprague-Dawley rats using olfactory stimuli. In general, spans and overall accuracies were affected by both number of stimuli to remember and number of comparison stimuli. Performance was most accurate when the number of stimuli to remember was low and the number of comparison stimuli was few. Accuracy improved with more extended training. In conclusion, this study helps to validate the use of the odor span task for exploring remembering in non-human subjects.

Functional control by the sample stimulus over comparison choices is one of the important variables in a class of variables that can affect performance on a matching-to-sample (MTS)task. Prior research has shown, for example, that increasing the time spent in the presence of the sample stimulus can affect several features of the resulting behavior-from the likelihood of generalized identity matching to the rate at which control by the stimulus decays as a function of time. The work to be reported here began as an attempt to control the amount of time our animals spent in the presence of the sample stimulus by inserting an initiating stimulus at the beginning of an MTS trial. This small procedural change gave rise to a bewildering array of error patterns for more than half of our birds. The purpose of this poster is to describe the quantitative and empirical manipulations undertaken to understand and fix the errors. We hope that our commission of the error and the systematic ways in which it was identified and resolved will be of use to other researchers interested in stimulus control in general and conditional discrimination training in particular.

This study examined whether sample-comparison relations could be established using "pseudo" matching to sample (MTS) task, which didn't necessarily require sample discrimination. In this task, given sample stimulus S1, comparison stimuli C1/C2 were presented; given sample stimulus S2, comparison stimuli C3/C4 were presented. A reinforcer was presented only when participant touched C1 or C3. Forty undergraduates were assigned to one of four conditions. In the first condition, participants were required to touch sample stimulus as an observing response, and then comparisons were presented. In the second condition, observing response was removed. Comparison stimuli were presented after 2-s duration of sample stimulus. In the third condition, observing response and 2-s duration were removed. In the fourth condition, the same task as third condition was conducted except that all stimulus locations including samples were randomly changed. After S1-C1/C2 and S2-C3/C4 training, the response to S1-C1/C3 and S2-C1/C3 was tested. On average, the selection of S1-C1 and S2-C3 relations in first and second condition scored more than 75% but in the other conditions didn't. Humans are likely to build stimulus relations between sample and comparison stimuli even when the sample stimulus does not play as the conditional stimulus, but pair with reinforced comparison.

Studies in social transmission of food preference have shown reliable serial position functions in Long Evans rats. Functions may show primacy or recency depending of different parameter values. In these studies, a demonstrator rat that has consumed flavored food will increase preference for that flavor in naïve observer rats. Those studies have used three demonstrators to form the lists to be recalled. Studies with the flavor paradigm have shown that rats may respond with serial position functions when five different flavors are used to form lists to be recalled. In this experiment we presented a list of five demonstrators to naïve observers to see whether a serial position function would result. Fifteen naïve observers were presented with 5 demonstrators, individually, with flavor position counterbalanced. Flavors added to powdered chow were basil, cinnamon, cocoa, nutmeg, and vanilla. Each flavor was presented 3 times in each of the five positions. Results showed that primacy and recency were produced. This result is similar to that obtained with the flavor paradigm in which flavored liquids are presented to subjects.

The subjective value of stimuli can be estimated through concurrent choice. In this study, the value that humans assign to images of commercial products was estimated in binary trials where subjects (N = 60) chose between pairs of stimuli on a computer screen; relative preference and response times were measured. Results from this study indicate that within a single choice task dimension, stimulus exposure and difference in preference ranking produce systematic changes in RT similar to those observed in previous studies. In addition when the choice task dimension changes, previous exposure, estimated ratings of brightness, and preference ranking differences do not transfer to new task choices. These data suggest that RT in binary trials is dynamically affected by contextual variables and by the subject's prior experience with both the subjective and the physical qualities of the stimuli. Evidence that preference is dynamically established through choice in binary trials may help explain the context-dependent effects observed during assessment of delay discounting rate.

We evaluated how four groups of participants within two age brackets, obese adults and obese college students, would discount differently from matched controls. Individuals completed both a hypothetical temporal procedure and a hypothetical probabilistic health procedure. Data showed individuals who were obese discounted more steeply than normal weight individuals when exposed to temporal discounting procedure. Results obtained from the probabilistic discounting procedure did not showed significant findings between the groups.

Temporal discounting is a decrease in the subjective value of a reinforcer as the delay to the receipt of that reinforcer increases. This phenomenon is commonly quantified in research subjects, and higher rates of discounting have been associated with higher levels of impulsive choice. A common instrument used to assess temporal discounting is a computerized task in which participants choose between hypothetical amounts of money delivered at a range of delays. Data were collected from 66 participants using such a task. When examining the obtained data, 45% of participants (n = 30) did not demonstrate discounting. Responses ranged from participants only giving enough information to yield 3 indifference points, to consistently preferring the delayed amount. Gender, age, and time of the session were explored, but no clear trends were identified as a function of these variables. With a high rate of unusable data (i.e., those that fail to demonstrate discounting) and no clear patterns based on these variables, the validity of the computerized task may be questioned. Possible explanations of the variability and potential improvements for this type of task are discussed. Finding an instrument that yields consistently interpretable results is essential for continuing research on discounting and impulsivity.

Empirical research examining the degree to which individuals devalue future outcomes (i.e., delay discounting) has revealed positive correlations between these measures and substance abuse (e.g., Madden et al., 1997), as well as pathological gambling (e.g., Alessi & Petry, 2003). Relatedly and of theoretical interest are recent findings that suggest outcomes available in the past are discounted similar to those available in the future (Yi et al., 2006) and that more extreme past discounting rates also characterize substance use (Bickel et al., 2008). However, the existing studies on this topic have been isolated to discounting of monetary outcomes, which participants may have been interpreted differently than expected by the researchers. The present study was designed to test the generality of past-future discounting with respect to non-monetary outcomes (i.e., vacation packages). Past and future discounting rates from individual participants were significantly correlated (Spearman's rho = 0.6; p < .001), as were area-under-the-curve measures (Spearmans rho = 0.57; p < .001). Group discounting rates were also similar to those obtained by Yi et al. (2006), although past vacations retained slightly more value than did future vacations (k = 0.002 and 0.004, respectively). Thus, our findings confirm and extend the partial symmetry between discounting of past and future outcomes previously observed by other researchers.

Question-based discounting tasks have shown that, while the hyperbolic discounting function describes both uncertain and delayed rewards well, they are affected differently by the magnitude of the outcome. Whereas larger delayed rewards are discounted less steeply than smaller delayed rewards, larger uncertain rewards are discounted more steeply than smaller uncertain rewards (eg. Estle, Green, Myerson & Holt, 2006). This is a problematic finding for single process explanations that predict manipulations that impact on delay discounting should have parallel effects on probability discounting. This study examined reinforcer magnitude effects on probabilistic and temporal discounting using an experiential task in which repeated discounting choices were required as part of a computer based skiing game. It was found that both probability and delay discounting versions of the task produced discounting functions well described by a hyperbolic function. Initial data indicated that higher magnitude uncertain reinforcers were discounted less steeply relative to smaller magnitude ones. Although this finding is opposite to that normally observed in question-based tasks, it may be that the experiential nature of the task makes it more akin to a delay discounting task. The results from the delay discounting task provided a comparison to assess this possibility.

The present paper describes two studies in which adolescents with and without acquired brain injury (ABI) were compared on a temporal discounting task involving various monetary amounts ranging from 1 to 20 US dollars at delays from 1 day to 1 year. Experiment 1 compared adolescent groups on a discounting task using hypothetical monetary amounts. Results indicated adolescents with ABI discount hypothetical monetary values to a greater degree than control group adolescents. Experiment 2 compared adolescent groups on a discounting task using actual monetary amounts. Results indicated that adolescents with ABI discounted actual monetary amounts to a greater degree than control group adolescents. Implications for these results are discussed.

Recent studies show that females engage in riskier behaviors during ovulation compared to when they are not ovulating. As this shift can be characterized as a change in time orientation from short-term (during ovulation) to long-term (outside ovulation) consequences it seems possible that changes in discount rates may underlie the observed behavioral changes. The current study tests the hypothesis that ovulating females will show a greater preference for immediate outcomes (higher discounting) than do non-ovulating females. During the study, participants completed a standard temporal discounting procedure with magnitudes ranging from $0 to $100 and delays from 1 day to 1 year followed by a series of questions about their menstrual cycle over the past three months. For data analysis, participating females were classified as pre-ovulation, ovulating, or post-ovulation. An overall statistical difference was observed between the 3 groups (F[2,61] = 3.87, p = 0.026). The overall effect was driven primarily by a difference between the pre-ovulation and post-ovulation groups (p = 0.029). These findings suggest that in addition to contextual variables (magnitude size, commodity type, gain/loss) and drug use, changes in hormonal levels may be another factor that influences observed temporal discounting rates.

Twelve male Sprague Dawley rats were trained in a peak-interval procedure (PIP) consisting of 42 fixed-interval 30 s trials, eighteen 90-s peak trials, and 10-s intertrial intervals, until responding was stable. Animals, divided into two groups based on response rates, were stereotaxically infused with either 6-OHDA or vehicle into the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Rats were allowed to recover for 5 weeks prior to subsequent testing; then they were trained in the same PIP for equal number of baseline sessions. Results were examined at a group and individual level using overall response rates, and other measures derived from the response distributions during peak trials. Rats with 6-OHDA lesions showed a significant decrease in overall response rate relative to baseline. The response distributions of peak trials of four out of six 6-OHDA rats were flattened relative to baseline; corresponding latencies to the first response increased and peak times were unaltered. These data suggest that depletion of dopaminergic neurons in the mPFC may impair some aspects of timing. A follow-up study will involve examining the effects of some typical and atypical antipsychotics to further explore how this procedural arrangement may serve as an animal model of schizophrenia.

The performance of brushtail possums of the peak procedure was investigated. Five possums lever pressed for food reinforcers on 3 different fixed interval (FI) schedules. For 20% of trials, responding was not reinforced and trials lasted for 3 times longer than the FI schedule that was in effect on the other 80% of trials when responding was reinforced. Response rates increased to a maximum at about the time the responses were normally reinforced and then decreased after the time that food would normally be reinforced. When relative response rates were plotted as a function of relative time the function superposed for the ascending, but not descending portions of the function. There was evidence of resurgence in response rates towards the end of the extinction trials. The amount of resurgence appeared to be a function of the amount of experience animals had with the schedule and decreased across conditions.

Experimental research on the effects on behavior of magnitude or duration of reinforcement has generally produced contradictory results, with some studies showing large effects and others showing no discernible effects. A relatively unexplored factor that might be relevant to this issue is the extent to which organisms discriminate the difference between different magnitudes. A series of experiments were conducted on which the topic was explored by using a conditional discrimination procedure. Pigeons had to peck one of two keys depending on which of two different magnitudes of reinforcement were presented. Different pairs of magnitudes were compared on different conditions. Results provide some evidence that discrimination of the magnitude of reinforcement might indeed be one of the factors underlying the discrepancies in the results of previous studies.

Hens responded under fixed-ratio schedules for wheat and puffed wheat. Own-price demand functions were generated from both numbers of reinforcers obtained and weight of food consumed. The parameter values from Hursh's (1988) equation were consistent with wheat being the preferred reinforcer with the weight of food but not for number of reinforcers. The essential values, a , from Hursh and Silberberg's (2008) equation, using k of 3.5 and 6.5, were consistently larger for puffed-wheat with weight of food consumed (suggesting wheat was more valued) but were inconsistent with numbers of reinforcers. The hens also responded under concurrent fixed-ratio schedules. The key associated with the larger FR was alternated over sessions. The conditions were wheat vs. wheat, puffed wheat versus puffed wheat, and wheat vs. puffed wheat. Cross-price demand functions, generated for both the numbers of reinforcers and the weight of food, gave cross-points near the equal fixed-ratio value for both measures with identical reinforcers. For wheat versus puffed wheat, the cross-points moved to higher ratios for weight of food, suggesting wheat was the more valued. They remained at the equal schedule value for number of reinforcers. These data show that how consumption is assessed affects the conclusions from both methods.

Many students struggle with writing; however, limited research exists on the assessment of writing methods except those concentrating on mechanics. When teaching verbal behavior such as writing , practitioners often rely on the assessment of mechanics as a form objective assessment. Although this is very empirical, thought development is often disregarded. This approach results in extinction of the student's experimentation with their own writing due to excessive penalization for errors that may result from trying new things. The current study was a preliminary analysis of the average number of thought units (T-units) obtained from curriculum-based measurement probes across three data collections (i.e., fall, winter, spring) in an effort to evaluate the use of words per T-units as an assessment tool for writing. Participants included 250 children enrolled in the fourth and fifth grade. Correlational data demonstrated that words per t-unit are positively correlated with other measures of literary proficiency. The analysis of words per T-units yielded promising results as an efficient means of measuring writing skills. Students' gains were approximately 1.5 T-units from fall to spring semester within each grade and were from fourth to fifth grade.

This study, a replication of Olive et al. (2006), examined the effects of enhanced milieu teaching and a voice output communication aid on the frequency and generalization of manding during classroom free play and other settings. A multiple baseline across students research design was utilized to evaluate the effects of enhanced milieu teaching (EMT) alongside the use of a voice output communication aid (VOCA) on manding skills of four elementary students with autism or mental retardation with little or no verbal behavior. The frequency and generalization of prompted and independent use of the VOCA, independent use of gestures, and independent vocalizations/verbalizations were assessed. The baseline and 8-min intervention sessions were conducted in a special education sensory room during free play sessions with only the participants and data collectors present. Generalization data were collected immediately following the study in three different settings per student for three sessions each. Results show that all participants increased their total frequency of mands using the VOCA during the free play sessions. Moreover, two of the four participants began to verbally mand for wanted items during the course of this study. The participants also generalized the ability to mand across settings other than the instructional setting.

A plethora of research exists that documents the effects of teacher self-disclosure on pupil memory and pupil perceptions (for example, Ejsing, 2007; Woolfolk, 1979). Yet little research exists that examines self-disclosure in preservice teacher education. This poster will depict a study that identified the perceptions of instructor use of self-disclosure on preservice teachers. In addition, perceived benefits of instructor self-disclosure on student content knowledge and professional dispositions were determined. Subjects included instructors of undergraduate and graduate education courses. Instructor perceptions emerged from participant responses to a survey on self-disclosure. Preliminary results indicate that the majority of instructors of education do embed self-disclosure in their courses to maintain student interest and to extend lecture and text material. Participants reported that students benefit from instructor self-disclosure in several ways. First, instructors reported that they linked content to self-disclosing stories/experiences. Second, instructors mentioned that students appear to perform better on course assignments. Finally, students benefit from instructor modeling of self-disclosure in the classroom. The limitations of the study will be display as well as recommendations for future research. The use of self-disclosure with preservice teachers who work in general education, special education, and inclusive education settings will be highlighted.

Pupil failure to complete assigned work both in and out of the classroom adversely impacts their academic performance. This poster session describes the effects of an intervention package that consists of: (a) interdependent and dependent group contingencies and (b) unknown rewards in the form of mystery motivators on the work completion and accuracy rates of three middle school classes in rural, suburban, and urban settings. Group contingent mystery motivators produced immediate and noticeable improvements in the percentage of students completing assigned work and substantial gains in their academic accuracy across three science and math classes. Social validity data suggested further that teachers and pupils found intervention procedures and outcomes to be socially acceptable and satisfying. This session will: (a) provide graphic data displays (A-B-A-B) on all three classes' performance, (b) describe implementation procedures and fidelity assessments, and (c) discuss implications for disseminating behavior analytic practices more extensively in general education classrooms.

Previous research suggests that interteaching may be more beneficial than lecture (Saville, Zinn, & Elliott, 2005; Saville, Zinn, Neef, Van Norman, & Ferreri, 2006). Nevertheless, these results are only preliminary and investigators have not identified the variables that were responsible for the students' improved performance during interteaching sessions. The current study examined the effects of interteaching on students' academic performance and attempted to identify the components of interteaching that are necessary to producing positive changes in student learning. Our results indicate that interteaching may be an effective alternative to other forms of traditional instruction. While each of the groups did not score very well overall on the test- perhaps due to the difficulty of the material or a lack of motivation to retain the material- significant differences were found between the interteaching group and all other groups except those participants who were given the prep guide. This suggests that the prep guide is one of the most critical components of the interteaching method.

Instruction based on the principles of stimulus equivalence involves teaching a few carefully selected relations between stimuli that result in the emergence of new and novel forms of behavior. In college teaching this can result in effective and efficient instruction. Neuroanatomy instruction involves the categorization of stimuli by lobes, systems, and structures and is typically tested using both expressive and selection-based repertoires. This information can prove to be difficult for many students even though there are many different ways to teach these concepts. This study examined instruction at the system and structure level. Students were taught to relate structure names to pictures of the structures, functions, damage statements, and written descriptions of the location of the structure. The instructional package was evaluated using a multiple baseline design, which included the addition of paper based measures before and after computerized instruction. Paper tests involved both selection and expressive questions. On posttests, participants scored higher on both selection-based and expressive questions. These results demonstrate that selection-based training can lead to increases in expressive repertoires.

Students with developmental disabilities often show behavior that interferes with peer relationships, educational opportunities, and progress across individualized educational goals. Improving age-appropriate behavior and decreasing interfering behaviors of an elementary-school student with developmental disabilities was assessed using differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) treatment package in a special educational setting of a suburban public school. The student followed an individualized written daily schedule throughout the school day. In addition, the student was exposed to an individualized DRA treatment package. Access to preferred activities was provided according to the nonoccurrence of interfering behavior and alternative responses to the interfering behavior during pre-determined daily intervals. At the time of this proposal, interfering behavior was higher during baseline than during intervention phases. Data following manipulation of a DRA Superstar Chart show a substantial decrease in interfering behavior compared to baseline levels. After a second baseline phase, interfering behavior again declined during a second intervention phase. The lower levels of interfering behavior continued during follow-up measures. The current individualized DRA treatment package represents a practical method of reducing interfering behavior in a public school setting.

Children with autism demonstrate deficits in social interactions. Two boys, aged 12, diagnosed with autism participated in this study. The participants were selected due to poor conversational skills, especially when included in a general education classroom. Data were collected on participants' body language, eye contact and reciprocal listening and speaking using interval recording. First, direct instruction and textual prompts were implemented to model and teach these skills. Second, video self-modeling and video feedback were implemented in which the participants viewed their own social interactions with peers at a later time and collected data on their conversational skills using interval recording. Video feedback may be effective to teach the participants self-monitoring. Data were collected on the participants' eye contact, body language and reciprocal listening and speaking throughout the study. The hypothesis is that participants will demonstrate increases in appropriate eye contact, body language and reciprocal listening and speaking and learn to self-monitor after experiences with video feedback.

Video modeling has shown promise as a tactic for addressing both social skills and verbal behavior (particular to conversational units). The use of video modeling in this capacity has numerous benefits including the efficiency in which students can demonstrate the desired skills in relevant contexts. Children on the autism spectrum, however, may lack many of the prerequisite attending skills needed to successfully imitate the modeled skills. The purpose of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of a non-resource intensive training program (a video modeling treatment package) on the accuracy with which students are able to perform long chains of play sequences with vocalizations with students who previously failed to acquire such skills using video modeling alone. The independent variable included presentation of a video modeling package which depicted scripted play interactions for three sets of play materials. The treatment package incorporated instructional tactics for increased attending to relevant cues in the video. The dependent measures included student responses for scripted vocalizations, scripted play actions, and unscripted vocalizations and play actions.

Disruptive behavior of children in an elementary school presents a challenge to teachers and other students. The effects of a differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) treatment package on the disruptive behavior of a 10-year-old student with autism were assessed in a special educational setting of a suburban public school. Instructions and rules about the treatment package were provided at specified, scheduled times of the school day. Access to a choice of preferred activities for contingent durations was provided according to the nonoccurrence of disruptive behavior and alternative responses to disruptive behavior during pre-determined durations. Data are presented for days in which medication was or was not administered prior to the school day. At the time of this proposal, disruptive behavior peaked during no-medication versus medication days. Data following manipulation of a DRA plus rule practice are expected to show a dramatic decrease in disruptive behavior compared to baseline levels. The treatment package will be faded across days according to a systematic procedure based on behavior improvement. Follow-up measures will show a consistent, low-level of disruptive behavior following intervention. The treatment package represents a feasible method of reducing disruptive behavior in a public school setting.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the proximity of a manipulandum on improving response blocking in five teachers. The target participant was a 7-year old child with mental retardation. The child engaged in high rates of stereotypic tapping. The tapping became problematic when an attempt was made to teach him how to use an augmentative and alternative communication, AAC device. The study took place across two settings, home and school. The lead researcher manipulated the distance at which the AAC device was placed in front of the child. Prior to each session the researcher would request the teacher's attempt to block all tapping responses after the first. The researcher then instructed the child to push a button on the AAC device. Results indicate that allowing teachers to block responses at a far distance increased their ability to block responses at closer proximities. Data also indicated increased response effort for the child. Follow-up indicated maintenance of the acquired blocking skill. This study has clinical implications as response blocking has been used to reduce self-injurious behavior, aggression, and self-stimulatory behavior. Future studies will evaluate generalization of effects and methods to enhance the functional use of the AAC device.

We examined the effects of multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) across saying and writing to induce the transformation of stimulus function across written and vocal spelling responses. The participants were two preschoolers classified with a disability in an inclusion classroom. They attended a full day preschool that applied the principles of a Comprehensive Application of Behavioral Analysis to Schooling (CABAS') model. We taught participants to spell target words by writing or vocally spelling the item and then conducted a probe in the opposite topography to determine if they had joint stimulus control across saying and writing. Then we implemented multiple examplar instruction (MEI) to induce the transformation of stimulus function across saying and writing. We found a functional relation between the participants and the MEI intervention. The MEI intervention was effective to induce the transformation of stimulus function across saying and writing.

This study was conducted to test the effects of peer tutoring on the acquisition of novel spelling words. Four participants were selected for this study. Participants A, B, and C were 9-year-old female English language learners and Participant D was a 9-year-old female diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The participants were selected from a fifth grade accelerated independent classroom that implemented a Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling (CABAS) model of instruction, located in a diverse socio-economic town located outside of a major metropolitan area. Forty percent of the students receive free lunch. The classroom was an inclusion classroom consisting of 15 students, 1 teacher, and 2 teacher assistants. The independent variable was the peer tutoring of the new spelling words taught by the tutor presented in learn units, and the dependent variable was the pre-intervention probes and post-intervention probes to the tutor words. The first participants met criterion on the tutor spelling words as a result of the peer tutoring tactic as both the tutor and the tutee during the post-intervention probe session. The second participants did not meet criterion on the tutor spelling words they taught to the tutee during the post-intervention probe.

We conducted two experiments to test the effects of peer tutoring using a peer-yoked contingency game on the acquisition of social studies and spelling objectives as the tutor and the tutee for 4 participants. A delayed multiple probe design across two groups of participants was used in Experiment 1, and a multiple probe design across two of the participants from Experiment 1 was used in Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, a functional relation between peer tutoring using a peer-yoked contingency game and the acquisition of intraverbal responses as the tutor and the tutee was shown for three out of four participants. Experiment 2 tested the acquisition of target response for the tutee through observational learning by ensuring tutors opportunity to give correction procedure. The results of Experiment 2 showed a functional relation for the remaining participant.

We conducted an experiment to examine the effects of a small group peer yoked contingency observation tact game on the simultaneous acquisition of the Naming, the bi-directionality component of Naming and observational learning on 12 typically developing kindergarten students. The experimenters implemented a delayed multiple probe design across participant groups. The dependent variables measured were the emergence of Naming, the bi-directionality component of Naming and the observational learning capabilities. The data demonstrated a functional relation between the observation tact game and the acquisition of the listener component of Naming, an increase in the speaker component of Naming and the bi-directionality of the speaker and listener components of Naming. The results also demonstrated functional relation between the observational tact game and the acquisition of the observational learning repertoire for both images and words.

We tested the effects of a peer-yoked contingency on four students' acquisition of observational learning repertoires, collateral effects on naming and the number of verbal operants emitted in non-instructional settings (NIS). The participants were four 4-year-old males, all diagnosed with developmental delays. None of them had observational learning repertoires or the listener to speaker component of the naming repertoire. The dependent variables were the numbers of correct responses to probe sessions of observational learning, naming, as well as the number of verbal operants emitted in NIS. The independent variable was peer-yoked contingency game with multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) components. A delayed multiple probe design was used in this study. Results showed that Participant A and C acquired full naming after the peer-yoked contingency intervention and Participant B acquired listener part of naming as a result of the peer-yoked contingency. After the intervention of peer-yoked contingency game, all participants' number of correct direct and observational learn units increased during the observational learning probes. The verbal operants post-probes showed that all participants emitted more verbal operants: tacts, mands, and sequelics following the peer-yoked contingency.

Home-based behavioral services are provided at an increasing rate throughout the world. However, the pedagogy, use of empirically validated motivational and educational tactics, use of a graphical analysis, and the analysis of behavior differ greatly from provider to provider. Subsequently, this study was designed to test the effect of two previously empirically validated tactics, the Learn Unit and a Graphical Decision Protocol, on both the behavior of students and their teachers. Twenty-three students, receiving home-based behavioral services for ten hours per week and each of their teachers participated in the study. As stated previously, the independent variables were the use of the Learn Unit and a decision protocol and the dependent variables were both on the frequency of teacher initiated data based educational decisions and the number of student objectives met.

Limited verbal language skills are a common trend presented in individuals with autism. It has been suggested that stimulus equivalence procedures may be an important tool in the development of language skills. Stimulus equivalence procedures have been widely used when teaching individuals with intellectual disabilities. Considering the language difficulties presented in individuals with autism, it may be important to apply stimulus equivalence procedures to the autism population. In the present study, combined tests for symmetry and transitivity for equivalence relations (teach aRb and aRc, test bRc and cRb) were implemented to teach sight word reading and spelling for a 10-year-old non-vocal verbal male diagnosed with autism. An ABC design was used. During the intervention, it will be taught that when shown a picture (a), the participant will successfully emit its corresponding sign (b). The participant will then demonstrate equivalence by matching a picture (a) to its corresponding sight word (c). The purpose of this study is to show that after demonstrating successful equivalence relations of aRb and aRc, the participant will show untrained mastery of emitting a sign when shown its corresponding sight word (bRc) and when shown the sign, will select the corresponding sight word (cRb).

The field of applied behavior analysis has seen much success with both precision teaching methods and Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior when encouraging language development. Although the combination of the two components only seems natural, only a small number of researchers have merged both precision teaching methods and Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior. Precision teaching research that has been completed in the past has focused primarily on the acquisition of academic intraverbal repertoires (math facts, reading comprehension etc.) and has suggested positive outcomes; however, research in areas outside of academic intraverbal repertoires needs to be examined. The purpose of this study is to use precision teaching to increase conversational intraverbal response rates infour children with autism in both intensive teaching and in the natural environment setting. An ABC design will be used to study the effects that precision teaching has on the intraverbal response rates using a standard celeration chart and charting methods. The discussion will detail potential confounding variables and future research suggestions.

When students engage in on-task behavior, they are exposed to increased learning opportunities. This may then help increase students rates of acquiring, mastering, and maintaining new skills. Completing individual seat work is an essential skill required of students throughout their educational experience. We used an alternating treatments design to examine on-task behavior of four students with autism during individual mathematics work. Conditions were the added interspersal condition, in which we provided various ratios of easier to more difficult problems, and the control condition, in which only the difficult problems were provided. All problem difficulty levels were matched to students' current abilities based on past mathematics assessments. We measured on-task behavior through momentary time sampling and utilized two observers to reach interobserver agreement. Results showed greater rates of on-task behavior for students in the added interspersal condition. We discuss the possibility that a completed discrete task may serve as a conditioned reinforcer, enhancing the students ability to complete assignments, master, and maintain skills.

Lack of social interaction is one of the defining characteristics of autism. Children with autism often need prompts to socialize with peers and engage in appropriate play. The purpose of the current study was to increase the quality of staff interaction with children with autism during non-structured times, such as outdoor play or breaks, in an intensive early intervention program. During non-structured time, therapists would accompany the children to whatever location was involved, such as a playground or enclosed area. Here interactions would be observed and data was taken on the amount of interactions during a prescribed interval. A multiple baseline across subject design was used to measure the effects of a tactile device, feedback /goal setting and public postings on therapist interactions with children. Results indicated that some behavior therapists showed a marked increase in the amount of interaction with children when using the tactile devices, while others showed a more slow and modest gain. In order to prompt therapist for higher interaction during non-structured times, public posting was introduced. Results are mixed but indicate an overall trend of increasing interaction.

Prior research finds that group contingencies can be an effective intervention for increasing academic and leisure skills, as well as reducing the rates of maladaptive behaviors. Further, public postings have been used, traditionally as a component of a treatment package, to increase athletic and academic performance. The current study examines the effects of implementing an interdependent group contingency and public posting on the job performance of teachers working with children diagnosed with autism. Results show that the total percentage of discrete trials conducted by all 5 teams of teachers increased from baseline. Data collection will continue to assess the longevity of these effects after the contingency is met.

Six behavior therapists working in a one-on-oneschool setting with students with autism implementing discrete trial instruction. Research has shown (Lovaas, 1987) that students with autism can make significant progress given intensive teaching using applied behavior analysis. Staff on-task behavior is an essential component to the implementation of student programming, and accurate data collection. Consistent staff on task behavior is an integral part of student success with in an applied behavior analysis program. The current study evaluated the effects of an interdependent group contingency and public posting of the on-task behavior of six behavior therapists. Data were collected using a 15 minute fixed interval momentary time sample across the school day and averaged across participants. Following an interview, a pizza party was identified as a potential reinforcer for the behavior therapists. At baseline, the group averaged 67% of intervals on task. The group will receive reinforcement following 3 consecutive sessions at 86% on task.

Physical restraint can be a traumatic and potentially injurious event for students, their classmates and staff. Although some studies have evaluated individual student interventions in reducing the duration and frequency of physical restraints, the current study will assess staff training strategies in reducing the frequency of physical restraint in a residential school for children with developmental disabilities. The first procedure will be an informational email distributed to all staff members indicating the importance of decreasing restraints and requesting that they make more of an effort to use restraint as a last resort in their classrooms. The second procedure will be to use a crisis prevention refresher course that will be given to all staff in the participating units. The third procedure will be to teach the staff specific antecedent and redirection strategies. The last procedure will be to develop student-specific strategies for each unit to help prevent restraints. A check list designed for staff to fill out after a crisis situation has occurred will help determine whether the staff are following the student specific strategies that may avoid restraint implementation. A multiple baseline across units will be implemented to assess the effects of each intervention.

One challenge faced by agencies providing care for individuals with developmental disabilities is ensuring that direct care staff complete routine daily tasks with high integrity. The extent to which tasks are completed as designed often has a direct effect on the quality of care provided to clients. The current study used a multiple baseline across behaviors design to evaluate the effects of public posting of team performance data and goal setting on accurate completion of three tasks (i.e. tallying daily data sheets, completion of all communication training trials, and completion of all skill acquisition goals) by direct care staff.

Maintaining qualified and highly trained staff is a goal of most human service agencies. Previous research suggests that high rates of staff turnover impede consistent program implementation, reduce opportunities to develop highly trained staff, and interfere with educational outcomes (West, 1998). Previous studies have also investigated factors such as employee age (Lakin et al, 1983), job satisfaction (Raider, 1989), and perception of adequate training (West, 1998). Connor et al. (2003) found that employee characteristics (age and length of employment), job factors, and use of employee incentives were correlated with staff retention in a residential treatment center. When recruiting new staff however, these variables are not relevant features in determining who to hire. Most often, the attributes recruiters use are level of education, field of study, and previous work experience. The authors of this study conducted a chart review of all agency hires over a 3-year period. The goal of the review was to determine at time of hire, if there were employee characteristics that were correlated with long term staff retention. The data indicate that there were no correlations between level of education, field of study or previous work experience and length of employment.

Deinstitutionalization movement has led to the discharge of thousands of people with severe disabilities and challenging behaviors (PWSDCB) from mental institutions into the community living. Studies show that health care professionals and community residential service providers were overwhelmed by the challenges posed by people with the most challenging behaviors and their medical needs. Some of the consequences include PWSDCB being incarcerated for committing crimes, re-hospitalization due to severe medial problems, or become homeless due to lack of support. After a few decades of trial and error in developing effective community-based residential services, a few models are currently available to PWSDCB who are in the process of transitioning to the community setting from mental institutions or their homes. It should be noted that not all of the models are equally effective in addressing the needs of PWSDCB. This study is intended to uncover the key factors that contribute to successful community residential services provided to PWSDCB. Specifically, the survey assesses the clinical experience and the perceptions from the third-party health care professionals (e.g., occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, behavior analyst, etc.) and conservators (or guardian) to each of the models. The four community-based residential service models studied are: "Eco-behavioral Model, Teaching-Family Model, Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR), and Administrative Model." The author identifies the strength and limitations of each model based on the survey results. Finally, recommendations for each model are provided.

Basic research has shown that academic courses incorporated with a computer-aided personalized system of instruction (CAPSI) are often positively related to academic performances in university students. The relation, expressed in thinking, talking, and writing knowledgeably about the study material, should have potentially important implications for training psychology students who may work with individuals with developmental disabilities in their future careers. In the present study, a training package, consisting of the use of a self-instructional manual, CAPSI, and video demonstrations related to the self-instruction manual, will be used to train students to correctly implement the assessment of basic learning abilities (ABLA) test. A multiple baseline design across participants will be used. The mean baseline proportion of possible correct implementing responses for students will be assessed before the introduction of the training package. Following training, the training package is expected to produce rapid and large improvement in the students’ implementation of the ABLA test.

The Family Centered Behavioral Intervention program teaches parents to apply behavioral problem solving strategies to reduce problem behavior and increase appropriate behavior. Data from 20 families were analyzed using visual analysis and linear mixed models statistical methods to determine whether the intervention was effective at changing child behavior. Data showed an average reduction of 21% in problem behavior (p < .05, Standard Error [SE] = 9%, t = -2.27), and an average increase of 50% in appropriate behavior (p < .0001, SE = 10%, t = 5.53). To better understand the changes in child behavior, we compared the predictive value of parent reported adherence to treatment procedures to therapist observed treatment integrity. Parent reported adherence was the best predictor of child behavior change for both problem behavior, associated with a 23% decrease (p < .05, SE = 12%, t = -1.97), and appropriate behavior, associated with a 20% increase (p < .09, SE = 11%, t = 1.70). Therapist observed treatment integrity was not associated with behavior change. Although parent reported adherence and therapist observed integrity were moderately correlated (Rho = .37) parent report was associated with child behavior change while therapist observed integrity was not. These findings are discussed in relation to service delivery for potential underlying mechanisms of behavior change.

Technological advances over the last decade have resulted in a variety of online professional tools designed to increase the efficiency and productivity in the workplace. Unfortunately, regardless of effectiveness, widespread adoption of these technologies is often slow as professionals are hesitant to abandon already established practices and tools. One way to increase the dissemination of new and effective technologies is to train professionals how to interact with tools that assist them in their trade. Behavior analytic practitioners in particular would likely benefit from a review of online technologies that make collaboration with colleagues more efficient and reliable. The purpose of this poster is to outline this type of review in an effort to disseminate practices that take advantage of the latest technological tools currently offered on the market. This poster also suggests how these technological tools can potentially be used to increase efficiency and productivity by professionals in their trade.

Data collection and analyses are a cornerstone of behavior analysis. Introduction and mainstream use of the iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad has the potential to revolutionize handheld direct observation data collection. The unique, touch screen interface, that Apple users are familiar and comfortable with simplifies data collection. In addition, the versatility of the device allows for the development of applications that are highly suited to consumer needs at a relatively reasonable cost. To date, little information is available regarding the direct observation data collection applications available for these handhelds. Information about the capabilities of each application was obtained from developers via survey. Developers answered questions related to the application's intended use, recording methods, protection of client privacy, and ability to perform data analysis, graphing, and exporting. This information will be presented in matrix form to facilitate consumer comparison of the various applications reviewed. This review provides consumers with the information necessary to make well-informed purchasing decisions to meet their data collection needs.

Simply providing the "technology" to manage problem behaviors in schools is not enough. We also need to provide training program for its successful implementation. In this study, I examined the issue of skill acquisition in implementing functional assessment and planning behavior support plans (BSP) by evaluating the interview skill and validity of BSPs of participants. Four undergraduate students enrolled in a laboratory course in special needs education served as participants. First, I lectured on several basic elements of applied behavior analysis (ABA), including such topics as reinforcement, punishment, extinction, functional assessment, BSP, contextual fit, maintenance, generalization, data-based decision, and so on. Second, I trained participants to design BSPs for fictional cases using a checklist. Results showed that the interview skill of participants improved after the lectures, and the validity of BSPs of participants improved after training for designing BSPs. That is to say, results showed functional relationships between lectures and interview skills, and between training for designing BSPs and the validity of BSPs. But, in respect of "generalization and maintenance"and "contextual fit", there is room for improvement.

The present study trained the para-professional staff to improve the discrete trial teaching (DTT) execution skill to a pervasive developmental disorder child. The staff whoconducted the training were three women.All staff who participated in the research were studying behavioral analysis by a university psychology department. All the research staff did not have experience in the training of a formal behavior analysis. The childwas diagnosed with a pervasive developmental disorder was trained. The present study was executed using a multiple baseline design between subjects composed of baseline, Intervention 1, andIntervention 2. In the baseline, the staff presented the DTT of the matching task and the tact task to the child who was trained. In Intervention 1, the staff was offered the DTT execution manual. In Intervention 2, the staff was offered the performance feedback by the experimenter. The result did not have the so much influence by the manual. However, it has certainly improved it by the performance feedback. The present study examines the difference of the training effectiveness of the manual and performance feedback.

Supervision requirements for becoming a behavior analyst are open to interpretation. Challenges range from the availability of qualified supervisors to the lack of a supervision structure or clear outcomes. This poster presents information regarding the development of a standardized supervision program based on the content areas presented by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. This poster also presents information regarding the implementation of this program using distance-technology (online information combined with teleconferencing/in-person supervision). Finally, this poster presents data regarding the skill fluency/skill acquisition of supervisee's enrolled in this manualized supervision sequence. Participants are students who are enrolled in a distance course sequence and who live in a geographically remote area of the United States. Students were required to complete a series of online tutorials to assess knowledge of behavior analytic techniques as well as a sequence of structured activities. In addition, students attend both group and individual supervision sessions. During individual sessions, supervisors provide feedback on the assignments. During face-to-face supervision, supervisees receive feedback on their skill fluency in implementing basic behavioral techniques. Preliminary data suggests that skill fluency is variable, ranging from 63% to 94% criterion. Ongoing supervision is geared toward increasing skill fluency in all core content areas.

At an agency where new staff members were continually hired to provide applied behavior analysis services to children with autism and related developmental disabilities, two different training techniques were examined. Across both training conditions the new staff members followed the same procedure of: (a) prior to instruction completing a pretest on the relevant applied behavior analysis information, (b) engaging in instruction on the corresponding material, and (c) taking a post-test following instruction. In the lecture condition the new staff members were presented with the material in an in-person group format. In the online personalized system of instruction (PSI) condition new staff members were presented with the same material with the ability to independently control their progression through the training, based on their own performance. Pre-test and post-test scores were compared across new staff members in both conditions. The implications of the presented data on staff training quality, effectiveness, and cost were also explored.

Documenting intervention adherence is critical for researchers and practitioners trying to make data-based and causal inferences regarding student behavior change. Adherence data are used to show the degree to which interventions are implemented as designed. These data are important for accurate interpretations of student data and necessary to establish a functional relationship between the dependent and independent variables and response to intervention decisions. A concern in behavioral research and practice is that measurement of the independent variable has been overlooked. In a recent analysis, researchers found that only 30% of school-based experimental studies published in JABA between 1991 and 2005 reported adherence data (McIntyre et al., 2007). The current study extends this prior review of the literature to examine what methods are being used to monitor intervention adherence. We reviewed school-based intervention studies included in major school psychology and related journals from the years 2005-2010. The presentation will describe current methods used to report adherence in the literature.

The Behavior Analyst is the flagship journal of ABAI, publishing articles from the theoretical, experimental, and applied research disciplines within behavior analysis. Focus areas within this journal may characterize the trajectory of interest areas of the field as a whole. Journals often make use of keywords, which can be used as a representation of the content and focus of each article. The purpose of this analysis was to chronicle the direction-using keywords-from the years 2000-2009 in the field of behavior analysis. Keywords were extracted from each article published in the flagship journals including Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior and The Behavior Analyst. Data were analyzed using frequency of keywords appearing in each journal as well as across journals. A word cloud was created from the frequency data to show a visual representation of popular focus areas where keywords with the highest frequencies appeared larger graphically. Additionally, a quantitative analysis was used to compare The Behavior Analyst with other journals to quantify the representativeness of this journal to the field as a whole. Implications for the use of keywords in journal publications are discussed.

Research suggests that acquisition of responses under multiple stimulus control (e.g., conditional discriminations) is facilitated with the introduction of a differential observing response (DOR; Dube & McIlvane, 1999). Axe (2008) further speculated that some instances of intraverbal responding may be associated with delayed acquisition because they require simultaneous discrimination of multiple verbal stimuli. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of a differential observing response (i.e., repeating the question) on accuracy of intraverbal responding with two neurotypical preschool children. The effects of the DOR were evaluated in a reversal design. Interobserver agreement was assessed for 56% of sessions with the one participant completed to date (Jessica) and was 100%. Results for Jessica suggest that (a) accuracy of performance increased when the therapist prompted a DOR, (b) the DOR did not appear to maintain in the absence of therapist prompts, and (c) frequency and immediacy of errors following discontinuation of prompts suggest the participant did not continue to engage in the DOR covertly. Based on these findings, prompted DORs may represent an effective, if temporary, aid to intraverbal instruction for neurotypical preschool children.

Only two previous studies compared the effectiveness of echoic and textual prompting procedures during verbal behavior training. The textual prompt involved presenting the correct response in writing on a small flashcard. Neither of these studies utilized a tact prompt, which may have more clinical relevance to children with autism who are not yet able to read. The current investigation compared the effectiveness and efficiency of echoic and tact prompts during intraverbal training with 2 participants diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. If the participants had not yet acquired the intraverbal targets in one condition following acquisition of targets in the other condition, the prompt resulting in the most efficient acquisition of target intraverbals was implemented with targets that were not yet mastered. The results suggest that children may have idiosyncratic responses to echoic and tact prompts. In addition, it does not appear that prior exposure to specific prompts increases their efficiency in comparison to prompts that are not frequently utilized during training.

This applied study utilized an alternating treatment design comparing two transfer procedures to teach intraverbal responding to two students with developmental disabilities. A tact-to-intraverbal transfer procedure was utilized for sets of 5 target intraverbal responses while an echoic-to-intraverbal transfer procedure was utilized the other sets of 5 target intraverbal responses. Without either transfer procedure, neither student acquired any intraverbal targets. During the study, both students acquired the intraverbal targets with both transfer procedures. The comparison between transfer procedures yielded mixed results and showed that both tacts and echoics can be used to effectively teach intraverbal responding.

This investigation employed a multiple probe design to assess the effects of tact training on learners' ability to provide intraverbal responses comparing numbers. Use and understanding of "more" and "less" and comparing quantities are basic math and language concepts that children typically acquire. Specifically, three children with autism, ages 4 to 6, were presented cards with numerals (e.g., 3 and 7) and matching quantities of blocks placed on top of each of the cards to determine which quantity is more and less. Post-test probes were conducted to determine if the children could answer questions without cards or quantities present (e.g., "7 or 3, which is more?" or "Which is less, 1 or 10?"). Preliminary data indicate that this instructional sequence is effective in developing derived intraverbal responding.

This study investigated the effects of three different correspondence training methods on the maintenance of children's accurate self-report. Eleven children aged 7 to 11-years-old participated in the study. The "Doing" task consisted of reading aloud a written word presented on a computer's screen. The "Saying" task consisted of reporting on the accuracy of the textual response after the computer's automated feedback. During pretraining the frequency of corresponding reports was evaluated as a function of the increased probability of errors. Participants were assigned to different correspondence training methods. Training A consisted of continuous reinforcement for accurate reports, and no instructions; Training B consisted of continuous and intermittent reinforcement plus instructions, and Training C consisted of continuous and intermittent reinforcement only. After training criteria was met, participants were exposed to posttraning sessions identical to pretraining. Follow-up sessions were conducted 30 and 60 days later. Results indicated that all training methods were effective in maintaining accurate self-reports over time for eight participants. Low accuracy during pretraining seemed to predict low maintenance during posttraining and follow-up sessions.

The literature on reading in persons with intellectual disabilities contains little guidance for teaching early reading skills, particularly for word patterns beyond consonant-vowel-consonant words. This study extends the previous work to onset-consonant clusters, such as in the words frat and flat. Omitting the second consonant in the cluster (e.g., seeing flat and saying fat) is a common reading error. In a computerized matching-to-sample task, four adults with intellectual disabilities selected the printed word that corresponded to a spoken-word sample, from among a choice pool of closely related words. There were four, 25-word sets trained successively. Each word set contained five subsets (one for each vowel) composed to force attention to all consonants within the cluster (e.g., grad, glad, gad, rad, and lad). Comprehensive tests containing all consonant-cluster words were conducted before and after training of each word set. Results indicate that, in all participants, accuracy on the trained word sets improved, with accuracy on the untrained word sets relatively unchanged. Furthermore, in most cases, accuracy on the once-trained word sets remained high over the course of the study. These findings contribute to the development of the computer-based instructional programming for early reading skills.