Association for Behavior Analysis International

This panel presentation will provide information on the development of a successful social/vocational program for students and young adults with autism. Speakers will discuss various programs that have been developed to meet a growing need. Programs discussed will include a summer and after-school program housed on a local university campus, as well as a brand new full-day adult program. Both of these programs focus on affording participants vocational and social opportunities in community-based environments. Specific skills, worksites and instructional methods will be discussed as they pertain to each program and client. The purpose of the panel is to provide information regarding the development of pilot programs and ideally motivate others to follow suit and create, out-of-the-box pilot programs addressing critical needs in clinical populations.

Social skill instruction is a critical component of intervention for individuals with autism, regardless of age. Early social skills instruction may be focused on responsivity to communicative partners, coordination of eye contact, and basic verbal behavior. As individuals gain complex skills, the instructional methods and targets also increase in complexity; shifting from establishing foundational skills to building meaningful relationships. While individuals with autism may show deficits within the social domain, it may be possible to utilize existing skills to facilitate learning in these critical areas. The first presentation will demonstrate how a young child's orienting to non-social stimuli can be used to increase responding to their name. The second presentation will discuss how embedded social reinforcement can improve coordinated eye contact while manding for non-social stimuli with preschoolers with autism. The third presentation addresses teaching assertiveness, verbal communication, sportsmanship, and displaying positive affect to young adults with autism and their peers during game play.

The rate at which infants respond to their name is considered a specific predictor of whether they are later diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Responding to one's name is not only an important social skill, but may pose a safety concern. While children with autism may be unresponsive to their name, they may still respond to auditory stimuli in their environment. In the current study, we examined responding to name with three children with ASD. Non-social auditory stimuli were used to initially gain the child's attention; as the child began to respond to those stimuli, the experimenter called the child's name. Non-social auditory stimuli were systematically faded across successive trials until no stimuli were required. Results suggest that this intervention produced an increase in responding to name in the absence of additional stimuli for all three children.

Amongst the many diagnostic indicators and social and communication deficits associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), a lack of eye contact may be the most notable (APA, 2000). A lack of coordinated eye contact may be particularly noticeable when manding for objects as the individual's attention is focused on the desired item rather than the communicative partner mediating access to it. In the current study, we used a multiple baseline across participants with multiple probe design to examine the effects of embedded social reinforcement on manding with coordinated eye contact in three children with autism. Participants were exposed to four social interaction conditions in which the child was manding for desired items the experimenter withheld, desired items in addition to those the child already had, preferred social stimuli, or desired items with embedded social stimuli. During intervention, the participants engaged in preferred activities with objects, while the experimenter provided embedded social reinforcement. Generalization probes were conducted to examine coordinated eye contact when manding for desired items in the absence of social reinforcement or preferred social stimuli in the absence of objects. Results suggest embedded reinforcement increases coordinated eye contact and generalizes to non-social conditions.

Eight young adults with ASDs participated in a week-long college experience including dorm move-in, college life skills classes, social activities, tech cohorts with curriculum, homework, projects, presentations, and graduation. The program was co-facilitated by the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center and the University of Advancing Technology. Participants were given pre and post surveys that assessed college readiness. A modified multiple-baseline design was used where peer-facilitated social probes were conducted in ten-minute sessions across baseline, mid, post (return to baseline) and for half the participants, a 2nd baseline session. Probes were conducted with two participants with ASDs and two neuro-typical college peers. Intervention A included two 30-minute feedback sessions between SARRC staff and participants. Intervention B included one 30-minute feedback session between SARRC staff and all neuro-typical peers. Behavioral outcome measures assessed four social skills: affect, sportsmanship, verbal communication, and assertion. All participants improved in at least one of the target areas following Intervention A, and even more progress was seen following Intervention B. Participants also showed increases in their post scores on the college readiness surveys. The importance of priming college experiences for young adults with ASDs and the potential impact on employment and independent living will be discussed.

Once effective behavior analytic practices are developed they must be implemented. To do this at scale requires the use of modern data collection and dissemination technologies and targeted, efficient support. This symposium will describe two approaches to solving this problem. One approach uses the Internet to monitor program usage and learner responding to highly interactive online instruction and combines this with other data to provide proactive program and teacher support. This approach relies heavily on the automated collection of data and software-based reports. The other approach uses email, video conferencing, and telephone support to teachers using low cost paper and pencil materials designed for use with at risk children. This approach relies on manually collected and teacher reported data. Both approaches seek to provide high implementation fidelity and support for teachers, and demonstrate the range of technologies and data that can be used to ensure proper program use in the United States and South Africa.

There is an increasing interest in the use of correlational data to make predictions about what people are likely to do. These correlational approaches often make quite reliable predictions. When used in an educational context, these analytics can be used to intervene earlier rather than later in order to ensure successful program outcomes. Headsprout Implementation Specialists have conducted thousands of consultations, coaching sessions, and workshops with elementary schools in the U.S. and worldwide. Recently, the company has begun to combine new data collection tools and frameworks for understanding data related to the implementation of curriculum. Combining these analytics with data from student use of the software, Implementation Specialists are able to monitor, intervene, and provide proactive feedback to teachers and administrators at scale. A first look at the process for using data to investigate the relationships between workshop mastery, staff affect, metrics of implementation fidelity, student activity, and student achievement is presented.

This symposium features a series of studies aimed at extending the scope of functional analysis methodology by (a) evaluating the interaction between behavior function and psychotropic medication, (b) validating a set of patterns of responding characteristic of functional analyses of behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement, and (c) evaluating the criterion validity of two indirect approaches to functional assessment. The first presentation compiles a series of studies on the interaction between behavior function and psychotropic medication based on the analysis of 40 published datasets of side-by-side functional analysis conducted in the absence and the presence of specific medication manipulations. The second study presents a set of patterns of functional analysis data often found during the assessment of problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. These patterns will be validated by way of a thorough re-analysis of the literature and a replication under consistent assessment conditions. The patterns identified suggest that specific treatments may be highly effective for specific individuals. We will present several treatment studies to illustrate the extent to which these patterns predict the effects of specific treatment components. Finally, the last study will present a set of concurrent indirect and functional analyses. Specifically, we will evaluate the validity of the Motivation Assessment Scale and the Questions About Behavior Function against experimental functional analyses. Each study will end with a set of clinical recommendations supported by our findings.

This study will examine the criterion validity of the Questions About Behavior Function (QABF) and the Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) using experimental functional analysis as a reference for comparison. A total of 15 cases of problem behavior presented in individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities have participated in the study while and a smaller number are currently being assessed. Caregivers of all participants completed the QABF and the MAS. Whenever possible, two caregivers of an individual participant were requested to independently complete both indirect assessments. All participants underwent a full functional analysis according to the methods by Iwata et al. (1982/1994). Level of correspondence between the indirect and the experimental assessments (criterion validity) was computed as the number of cases that showed the same outcome in the indirect assessment and the functional analysis divided by the total number of cases and converting this ratio into a percentage. Potential outcomes included behavior maintained by social positive reinforcement, social negative reinforcement, tangible reinforcement, automatic reinforcement, multiply controlled behavior, and undifferentiated assessment. We also evaluated the level of agreement across caregivers, the concurrent validity of the two indirect assessments, and the incremental validity resulting from the implementation of two, as opposed to one, indirect assessments. We will discuss a set of clinical recommendations supported by our findings.

Several patterns of responding during a functional analysis (FA) are consistent with an automatic reinforcement outcome: (a) low rates during only the attention condition, (b) low rates during only the demand condition, (c) low rates during only the play condition, (d) distinctively higher rates during the alone condition, and (e) similar levels of behavior across all conditions. These patterns are consistent with the action of specific behavioural processes. Namely, the patterns presented above could be explained by way of positive punishment (contingent statements, response blocking), social negative punishment (timeout from activities/attention), extinction (response blocking), noncontingent reinforcement (attention and/or leisure/task items), and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (via response competition). Therefore, patterns of responding in a full FA of behaviour maintained by automatic reinforcement could be useful in selecting an optimal treatment strategy. The purposes of the present study were to: (a) validate the proposed patterns on the basis of a re-analysis of the literature, (b) replicate the proposed patterns under consistent assessment conditions, and (c) determine, by way of a component analysis, if these patterns help to establish the likely effects of a range of treatments probed during the FA. Our results show that the proposed patterns are present in the literature and can be replicated under consistent assessment conditions. Moreover, the component analysis revealed that discrete behavioural processes drive the reductive effect of specific FA conditions that is characteristic of some of the proposed patterns.

Treatment for problem behaviors typically includes behavioral, pharmacological, and combined interventions. Given that combined interventions are relatively common, analyzing the interactions between behavior function and psychotropic drugs may have some clinical value for practitioners. We reanalyzed all published cases of side-by-side functional analyses conducted in the absence and presence of a target medication manipulation. We identified 40 cases. Medication used included antipsychotics, antidepressants, stimulants, anxiolytics, and opioid antagonists. We conducted three studies in order to determine if: (a) medication had an overall effect on behavior, (b) medication changed the function of the behavior, and (c) medication changed the level of differentiation of the functional analysis. Study 1 assessed the overall effects of psychotropic drugs on problem behavior. Medication had reductive effects in 34 of the 40 datasets reviewed. The magnitude of the medication effect was associated with the baseline level of responding across conditions of the functional analysis (rate-dependency). Study 2 examined drug-induced changes in behavior function. For 34 out of the 40 datasets reviewed medication did not change behavior function. Only two cases showed a potential addition of a new behavior function. Finally, Study 3 evaluated drug-induced changes in the level of differentiation of the condition of the functional analysis showing behavioral maintenance. The analyses showed that the differentiation of the target condition were primarily rate-dependent. No clear effects of medication on function differentiation were established. We will discuss clinical recommendations based on our findings.

One of the crucially important core deficits of many people with severe developmental disabilities is their lack of effective communication. An effective communication repertoire can provide greater independence for the individual. Numerous interventions have focused on increasing the functional communication of those with developmental disabilities. These methods include those outlined in Teaching Language to Children with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities (Sundberg & Partington, 1998), derived intraverbals (e.g Perez-Gonzalez, Garcia-Asenjo, Williams, & Carnerero, 2007; Sundberg & Sundberg, 2011), American Sign Language, and The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) (Bondy & Frost, 1985). As practicing behavior analysts we often teach language to individuals with developmental disabilities using one of these well researched and empirically validated methods. This symposium will give an overview of two studies that will extend research on these methodologies of teaching. The discussion will also suggest some other methodologies that can be used alternatively or in conjunction with others in practice.

Children with autism often have limited functional communication repertoires. One way to teach functional communication is through the use of an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device. Individuals who use an AAC device can be taught utterances (i.e., single words or phrases) through prompting and providing a consequence specific to the utterance (mand) or a generalized conditioned reinforcer (tact). In the present study five children diagnosed with autism were taught to emit utterances consisting of 26 'core' words that comprised 96% of words uttered by toddlers in a study by Banajee, Dicarlo, and Stricklin (2003). The children emitted the utterances by touching symbol sequences on the screen of the AAC device. Various utterances, that included the 26 core words were taught using discrete trial teaching methods and the item specified in the utterance was presented following it (i.e., mand). A Language Activity Monitor (LAM) continuously recorded utterances emitted before, during, and after teaching. This talk will describe the change in frequency of utterances throughout the study, what those changes mean for Functional Communication Training, and possibilities for future research. A major contribution of this study is the tracking of the verbal behavior generalization automatically and continuously across all phases.

Research in derived intraverbals is a new area of study in recent years and has promising outcomes to teach verbal behavior to individuals with intellectual disabilities. The objective of this study was to establish intraverbal derived relations in three individuals with intellectual disabilities. A multiple baseline design across subjects was implemented to evaluate the trained and tested relations. All subjects were administered with the ABLLS-R (i.e., receptive language, mands, naming and intraverbals) to evaluate the current level of the different verbal operants and listener skills. In the first phase of the study participants were trained to name six different emotions organized into three dyads (disgust/neutral, fear/anger, happiness/sadness). Immediately after, listener skills were probed with the same emotions. Once listener skills emerged, participants were exposed to conditional discrimination training to establish sameness relations between all the dyads. In the final phase, intraverbal relations were probed to evaluate the emergence of opposite intraverbal relations. Results show that two participants readily acquired derived intraverbal relations; however, one participant required remedial tact training before to demonstrate intraverbal derived relations. In summary, this study showed the emergence of derived intraverbal relations in individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Decades of research have validated the effectiveness of behavioral intervention for treating children with autism. However, many regions still suffer from unavailability of good quality behavioral intervention services, largely due to a lack of well-trained and equipped providers. This symposium contains four papers that describe evaluations of various programs that have been created to help disseminate information on best practices in behavioral intervention. The first presentation consists of a randomized controlled trial of a web-based tool for aiding in the creation of function-based behavioral intervention plans. The second presentation consists of an evaluation of a program for providing supervision and training to BCBAs-in-training, as well as established BCBAs. The third presentation consists of a comparison of a web-based indirect curriculum assessment to direct probes of child skills. The fourth presentation consists of a comparison of a web-based indirect functional assessment to experimental functional analyses. The symposium concludes with a discussion by Dr. Michael Dorsey.

Challenging behaviors are prevalent in children with autism and can have a negative impact on a variety of child outcomes. The creation of good-quality behavior intervention plans is critical to decreasing challenging behaviors but little previous research has developed or evaluated practical tools for designing intervention plans. This study consisted of a randomized evaluation of a web-based tool designed to aid clinicians in choosing treatment procedures for inclusion in behavior intervention plans. The effects of the tool were assessed on the inclusion of three types of intervention components that likely contribute to the quality of intervention plans: 1) function-based intervention components, 2) evidence-based intervention components, and 3) non-punishment-based intervention components. Use of the web-based behavior intervention plan builder produced a statistically significant increase in the inclusion of function-based intervention components but no statistically significant effect was observed on the other two measures. Results are discussed in terms of the implications for improving the quality of behavior intervention plans, as well as the dissemination of knowledge of best practices in behavioral intervention.

The development of the Board Certification for Behavior Analysts (BCBA) was among the most pivotal developments in the evolution of professional standards and quality for the discipline of behavior analysis. As the certification process evolves, the standards are continually made more stringent, in hopes of further raising the bar for training, professionalism, and quality in the provision of behavioral services. Accordingly, scores of training and mentorship programs have proliferated, across vast geographical expanses and presumably representing a wide range of quality and rigor. Very few of the existing programs have been subjected to evaluation. This presentation describes the roll-out of two such programs and presents initial data on user satisfaction and learning outcomes.

Accurate assessment is a critical prerequisite to meaningful curriculum programming for skill acquisition with children with autism. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of a web-based indirect curriculum assessment. Criterion validity of the assessment was evaluated by correlating parent responses to each item on the assessment with participants' actual abilities, as indicated by direct probes of those skills. Results of statistical analyses showed good levels of agreement between parent report and direct observation of the behaviors. Results are discussed in terms of implications for efficiency of assessment and treatment.

Experimental functional analyses (EFAs) are generally considered the gold standard for assessing the function of challenging behavior in individuals with developmental disabilities. However, the current day reality is that the vast majority of educational and therapeutic settings do not have the financial or clinical staff resources required to conduct EFAs to any significant degree. Accordingly, indirect functional assessments are conducted in a majority of cases. A major relative advantage of indirect assessments is that they can be relatively fast and affordable to administer and web-based assessments have the potential to spread access to functional assessment technology to a greater proportion of the globe than currently has access. However, given the well-established inconsistency of indirect assessments, research is needed to confirm the ability of individual assessments to identify behavioral function. This presentation consists of a study that compared the results of a web-based indirect functional assessment to results from EFAs, in order to evaluate the extent to which the indirect assessment produced useful results. The results suggest that the indirect assessment can produce useful results in many cases but it isless dependable than an EFA in doing so.

This symposium presents international research focused on the importance of quality in behavioural teaching for children with autism receiving Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI). Researchers in Canada (Blacklock et al.), Sweden (Langh & Bolte), England (Denne et al.), and Wales (Foran & Hoerger) will present four studies bearing on the issue of quality behavioural teaching and all making reference to the York Measure of Quality of IBI (YMQI; Perry, Flanagan, & Prichard, 2008) to assess the quality of teaching. Dr. Adrienne Perry (Canada) will chair and Dr. Richard Hastings (England) will serve as Discussant. Themes to be addressed in the symposium include: how characteristics of quality teaching can be grouped into factors or scores; how consistent quality teaching is over time; how training and supervision of teachers impact upon their attitudes towards IBI, their YMQI scores and on childrens progress; and the issue of quantity versus quality of behavioural teaching in relation to children's outcomes.

It appears trivial that expertise and belief in an intervention method is crucial for treatment success. However, these basic issues have been largely neglected in several IBI efficacy studies. In Sweden, IBI skill levels of preschool staff administering IBI is pretty unknown. In the scope of a larger project on IBI quality control and development using the YMQI, the objective of this study was to examine the level of basic ABA knowledge and the allegiance to the method in five groups: IBI experts, IBI supervised preschool teachers, preschool teachers without IBI, parents, and student controls (total N = 302) using a 27-item questionnaire including 15 multiple choice knowledge items on basic ABA principles as well as 12 allegiance items. MANOVA (F>8.2, p<.0001, eta2 =.10) and post-hoc Tukey tests (p<.03) showed that IBI experts showed higher IBI allegiance than both preschool teachers with and without supervision. IBI experts and IBI supervised preschool teachers showed comparable IBI knowledge, and higher knowledge than unsupervised preschool teachers. Findings indicate that IBI supervision of preschool teachers increases knowledge on the method, although not necessarily the trust in it.

With an increase in large scale Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) services for children with autism, the need to define and measure quality is essential. Staff competence is key and identifying and measuring this accurately is a critical aspect of service provision. ABA service providers use various ways of measuring competence including direct observation, video analysis, and written examination. However, apart from the York Measure of Quality of Intensive Behavioural Intervention (YMQI), there is an interesting lack of direct links between defining competencies and developing ways to assess them. In this study we used three measures of competencies developed from the UK ABA Autism Education Competence Framework Level 1. Along with the YMQI we assess their construct validity by comparing the performance of two groups of tutors working in a school for children with autism (experienced vs. inexperienced) and performance of the inexperienced group at baseline (T1) and following one year of competence based training (T2). Results revealed that the more experienced group in both the between-group and longitudinal comparisons achieved higher scores on 3 out of 4 measures suggesting that these work well as a means of measuring competence.

Although much has been written about prompts and their role in teaching learners with autism, the literature on prompting procedures is mixed and limited. Important questions such as, when response prompts may be more effective than stimulus prompts; or does the timing of prompts matter; or whether prompts following errors function as reinforcers, to name but a few, await more empirical answers. This symposium will present four applied research examinations of questions about prompting procedures conducted at two different day-school programs for children with autism each using an applied behavior analytic approach to instruction. The studies compared stimulus and response prompts, two different prompts used in error correction, an errorless prompting procedure with prompts following errors, and the effects of reducing prompts after errors and increasing token delivery on a variety of skill acquisition programs. The results add to behavior analytic literature on prompting procedures and provoke further analysis of prompting variables in the role of teaching people with autism.

Throughout the applied behavior analytic literature, response prompts such as verbal instructions, modeling, and physical guidance have been critical components of intervention packages that have effectively established a breadth of skills with individuals with autism. Although the use of response prompts is well documented, the descriptions of the procedures for implementing such prompts varies significantly and the timing of those prompts (i.e., before or after an error) is often unclear. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of a training protocol on: (a) the rate of tokens and prompts delivered by the instructor, (b) the percentage of prompts delivered before and following errors, and evaluate their effects on the participants on-task behavior. The training protocol was examined using a multiple probe across instructors design that was replicated across two students. The results showed that the implementation of the training protocol produced systematic increases to the participants' on-tasks behavior. Interobserver agreement was collected on all dependent variables across 50% of sessions, data ranged from 60% to 100% with a means ranging from 84% to 89%.

Literature has shown effectiveness of treatment packages that included activity schedules and manual prompts with graduated guidance to teach individuals with autism to independently complete a variety of skills. Throughout the literature, however, there is variability in the descriptions of how to implement and fade manual prompts using graduated guidance. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of implementing graduated guidance as: 1) a systematic fading procedure and 2) a consequence that was only delivered if the participants made an error. The effects of the prompting procedures were examined using an alternating-treatments design embedded within a multiple-probe across-participants design to increase participants' use of an activity schedule. The results showed that the use of graduated guidance with a systematic fading procedure produced more criterion performances across the acquisition, generalization and maintenance conditions when compared to graduated guidance delivered only if the participants made an error. Stimulus generalization was programmed for and demonstrated across materials and in the absence of direct adult supervision. Overall, the results contribute to the literature by suggesting superiority of systematic prompt fading strategies when compared to prompting in response to errors. Additional implications of this finding are also discussed.

Evaluating the relative efficacy and efficiency of established teaching methods across skills and learners is critical. While the use of both response prompting and stimulus prompting are common and effective methods of developing new skills in Discrete Trial Teaching for children with autism, there may be advantages, disadvantages and indications for each method. The current study compares the use of stimulus prompts (pointing) and response prompts (manual guidance) for teaching young children with autism to make new auditory-visual discriminations. Both methods utilized most-to-least prompt fading. Three out of four participants acquired items with both methods. The fourth participant only acquired the skill with stimulus prompting. Results suggest that learners' responses to both types of prompting should be empirically evaluated, and given comparable effectiveness, stimulus prompting should be considered less intrusive. Results are discussed in terms of other factors related to practitioners' choice of prompt type, prompt effectiveness, probability of errors and complexity of implementation.

Discrete Trial Training (DTT) is an important component of intervention and instruction in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and is extensively used to teach individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities new behaviors and new discriminations among stimuli. Errorless teaching is an instructional strategy that is often used in DTT in order to reduce errors from occurring. However, because errors will inevitably occur during teaching, empirically testing and validation of error correction techniques used in DTT is important for the development of best clinical practices for DTT and ABA instruction. Therefore, in the current paper, we empirically compare two error correction procedures for teaching receptive identification in four learners with autism spectrum disorder: a follow-up trial using stimulus prompting and the use of corrective information (without the requirement of a follow-up response). We found that the more effective error correction strategy differed across learners. Implications for reducing prompt dependency and for individualizing therapies across learners with autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities will be discussed.

Typically, functional behavioral assessment (FBA) has been used with individuals with developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders. The goal of FBA is to identify the function of aberrant behavior and to teach the individual to exhibit an acceptable replacement behavior that can serve the same function. Traditional counselors view aberrant behaviors in individuals with psychiatric disorders as symptoms of underlying constructs and use the diagnosis as a reason for these behaviors, proposing more global treatments such as evidence-based therapies or medications. On the other hand, behaviorists view those behaviors as serving an environmental function. Once the environmental function of a psychiatric symptom is identified, it can be treated effectively by replacing it with a more acceptable behavior serving the same function. Presenters in this symposium will discuss the process of conducting FBAs and function-based treatments in various settings, including school systems, clinics, and homes, with several different symptoms of psychiatric diagnoses. Symptoms include anxiety, callous-unemotionality, disturbed attachment and non-suicidal self-injury.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that one in four 13-to-18-year-olds has had an anxiety disorder during their lifetime. Without intervention, these children are at risk for poor performance, diminished learning and social or behavior problems in school. The keys to successful intervention are to assess the function of anxiety in the students' behavior and to teach the students appropriate replacement behaviors for their anxiety responses. By understanding the role anxiety plays in a student's behavior, proper preventive strategies can be identified that avoid the reward/punishment-based consequences of traditional behavior plans. The focus then becomes the use of preventive strategies and the teaching of coping skills, self-monitoring and alternative responses. Consultation with teachers is essential to explain how to implement a successful behavior plan for a student with anxiety. This includes demonstrations of how to identify and accommodate common anxiety-provoking school activities, as well as explicitly teaching those underdeveloped skills that lead to anxiety-related behavior. Symposium participants will take away easy-to-implement preventive tools, in addition to strategies and interventions for reducing anxiety and increasing self-regulation, executive functioning and self-monitoring in students with anxiety disorders.

Behavior analysts emphasize the function of behavior specifically associated with the resulting contingencies. However, functional behavioral assessment can be extended by examining the effect that bio-behavioral states may have on individuals' responsiveness to reinforcing or punishing contingencies. Individuals with what researchers refer to as "callous-unemotional" traits demonstrate reduced neurophysiological responsiveness to aversive and emotional stimuli, and appear to have a generally limited repertoire of emotional behaviors (e.g., excluding fear, guilt, and empathy). Thus, they may not respond in the same way as neuro-typical individuals to aversive events and appear to lack many emotional behaviors. These bio-behavioral states may serve as abolishing operations and this lack of responsiveness may serve as a setting event for conduct problems. This presentation will provide a review of relevant research on "callous-unemotionality" and how this may lead to anti-social behaviors. Additionally, attendees will learn how this assessment information can be used to inform more comprehensive behavioral interventions.

Coping and self-management strategies have been demonstrated as effective interventions for children and youth with anxiety and other internalizing disorders (Oswald, 2008). For example, a child with an anxiety disorder may learn to engage in specific alternative behaviors (e.g., problem solving, self-instruction, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation) in the presence of stressful situations (Kendall, 2010). An emerging body of research is demonstrating that the effectiveness of coping and self-management skills can be further enhanced by the use of functional behavior assessment. This process provides the means for understanding the motivating operations and stimulus events that set the occasion for anxiety and for identifying the functions of anxiety responses. The purpose of this presentation is to a) summarize recent research on developing function-based self-management skills, b) outline a series of steps for practitioners to use when developing function-based self-management programs, and c) demonstrate the process through the a case study example.

Functional behavioral assessment can add significantly to the treatment of adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). NSSI includes cutting, burning, marking and other forms of bodily mutilation without suicidal thought or intention. Researchers have found that up to 45% of young adolescents have exhibited at least one incident of NSSI (Lloyd-Richardson, 2007; Nock & Prinstein, 2004). Setting events such as bullying, relationship problems, and other failures and disappointments are common in the daily lives of adolescents and may serve as establishing operations for cutting and other forms of NSSI. These behaviors may serve functions of immediate and effective access to attention and preferred activities and escape from painful emotions and sensations for these adolescents. By identifying the maintaining functions, treatment protocols can be developed that provide more appropriate replacement behaviors. This presentation will provide relevant research related to functional behavioral assessment of NSSI and provide a case example of how it was used in treatment.

College has been described as one of the most challenging periods of adjustment in many individuals' lives. Many factors can influence students' well-being, such as adjusting to university culture, newfound independence and responsibilities, and exposure to sociocultural diversity. Improved college well-being could have substantial effects, not only for students and their families, but also for communities at large. Emerging research focuses on training students in psychological flexibility to improve psychological well-being. Psychological flexibility is the capacity to respond effectively and meaningfully across a number of situations, regardless of difficult experiences that may be present. It may be that learning psychological flexibility provides students with a buffer against the challenges inherent in college and the stress that results. The papers in this symposium seek to contribute to this body of work by exploring the impact of flexibility on college well-being. The first paper will explore coping strategies and the implications of stress. The second paper will explore the long term effects of bullying. The third paper will explore the impact of a flexibility-based intervention on procrastination. The fourth paper will explore the impact of a flexibility-based intervention on GRE preparation. Implications for further work in this area will be discussed.

According to the most recent data released by the American College Health Association, 51.5% of college students sampled reported feeling more than average or tremendous stress within the past 12 months (42% and 9.5%, respectively) (ACHA, 2012). When stressed, people engage in coping strategies that differentially affect psychological distress. Strategies associated with psychological flexibility are associated with more positive outcomes (e.g., Ruiz, 2010; Sturmey, 2009), while psychologically inflexible strategies have been linked to greater psychological distress (e.g., Marcks & Woods, 2005; Hayes et al, 2006). Within the psychological flexibility model, few studies have looked at the interaction between severity of naturally occurring stressors and coping strategy and their influence on psychological distress. The purpose of the current study (ongoing) was to investigate the relationship between coping strategy and severity of stressor in a college population. Participants (n = 538) were prompted to write a brief description of a recent stressful event then indicate whether or not they used certain coping strategies to deal with this stressor. Preliminary results indicate there may be significant effects of coping strategy engagement on psychological distress in the predicted direction (e.g., alcohol use: = 0.18, t(535) = 4.34, p < .001, pr2 = .034).

By the time they reach college age, most students have been through at least 12 years of schooling. Though we hope that most of it has been a positive experience, we know that this is not always the case. One thing many students struggle with in their primary and secondary school years is bullying. While it certainly has an effect on the student while it is happening (e.g. Espelage & Swearer, 2003), this paper focuses on the long-term effects of bullying. College students who have reported being victims of bullying in the past report higher rates of distress than those who do not report being bullied (e.g. Schafer et al, 2004). In addition to exploring effects of bullying on distress, this study examined how psychological flexibility may play a role in these effects. Preliminary data suggests that there is a relationship between students' past experiences with bullying and their current psychological flexibility. In addition to findings, implications for future research will be discussed.

Ninety-five percent of college students procrastinate (O'Brien, 2002). Not only does procrastination lead to poor grades (van Eerde, 2003), students who engage in procrastinatory behaviors are generally more anxious (Rothblum, Solomon, & Murakami, 1986). People seek to avoid aversive stimuli, therefore the more aversive a situation, the more one will avoid (Steel, 2007). Procrastination does not simply involve avoidance of a task or situation, but the avoidance of experiences associated with that task. Rather than changing ineffective behavior, many suppress or avoid negative experiences, often resulting in ineffective functioning (Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, & Lillis, 2006; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999). This process, known as experiential avoidance, is at the core of the psychological flexibility model and is linked to psychopathology (Hayes & Gifford, 1997). Given that procrastination is an avoidant behavior, the psychological flexibility model can be a useful treatment method. The current study examines the impact of a flexibility-based intervention on procrastination with incoming 'at-risk' college students, meaning students at risk for failing out of school. Preliminary data suggests that using psychological flexibility techniques decreased procrastination while increasing well-being. Implications for effective education interventions will be discussed.

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) presents a significant challenge for most students who plan to attend graduate school. Juggling regular coursework with GRE preparation can result in significant anxiety, which many respond to by avoiding preparation altogether. Flexibility-based interventions, such as Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT), increase purposive action by facilitating increased acceptance of and flexibility with uncomfortable experiences. This study evaluated a flexibility-based workshop targeting GRE-related anxiety and how it might impact engagement in GRE preparation above and beyond the typical workshop, focusing on 'tips and tricks' to improve GRE performance. Undergraduate students who were interested in graduate school and GRE preparation volunteered to participate in the study in return for access to computer-based GRE study materials for one month. Participants were randomly assigned to either a traditional GRE workshop or the ACT-based workshop. We then tracked the time they spent preparing for the GRE over the following month. Preliminary data suggest that ACT may, in fact, increase engagement in GRE preparation over and above traditional educational workshops. The more complex contributions of pre-intervention anxiety and flexibility will be discussed.

This symposium will introduce a game that can be used to teach behavioral principles, inquire about behavioral phenomena, and conduct research. The game, which is called PORTL (Portable Operant Research and Teaching Lab), is played between two people, the teacher and the learner, using a collection of small objects, a clicker, and tokens. The teacher communicates with the learner entirely through reinforcement. No instructions, prompts, or models are used during the game to direct the learner. The game, which can be played by both children and adults, uses simple, inexpensive equipment and can be played anywhere. The first presentation will describe a series of exercises that can be used as a laboratory component in behavior analysis classes to allow students to come in contact with the principles of behavior. The second presentation will show how to use PORTL as a tool to explore and gain insight about how behavioral phenomena work under different conditions. The third presentation will demonstrate how to ask and answer research questions using PORTL.

PORTL can be used effectively as a teaching tool for large groups of learners, for example, in a classroom or workshop setting, or with pairs of learners working on their own. This presentation will discuss how to set up optimal learning situations using PORTL in a variety of different teaching settings, including classrooms, workshops, and small groups. This presentation will also explain the different roles used during PORTL, including teacher, learner, and data collector, and discuss how participating in each of these roles contributes to the students learning.

The principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) outlined by Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) have resulted in a wide range of applications across many fields of study. ABA has been demonstrated to be highly efficacious, efficient, and effective for reduction of problem behavior and skill acquisition, particularly for those with developmental disabilities. There are a profusion of studies examining specific procedures to reduce the frequency and severity of severe challenging behavior as well as to increase adaptive behavior or desirable language skills. Research within the field of behavior analysis is less readily available describing the individuals who may be implementing such procedures. This symposium aims to provide information on a broad spectrum of individuals involved in the application of behavior analysisteachers, parents, and trained behavioral staff. These talks will focus on 1) the perceptions and opinions of individuals who are implementing behavior-reduction procedures, 2) the importance of considering readiness for change in parents and caregivers, and 3) the impacts of job stress, responsibilities and training for direct care staff. The successes of our experimentally derived interventions are often related to the context within which they are applied and the impacts of these social factors are discussed in respect to our day-to-day behavior analytic practice.

ABA has supplied multiple technologies for both increasing adaptive behaviors and decreasing maladaptive behaviors for people with developmental disabilities (Durand & Carr, 1991; Hanley et al., 1998; Hagopian et al., 1998; Wordsell et al., 2000). Some technologies within the scope of ABA have been widely accepted (e.g., positive reinforcement strategies, token systems, antecedent strategies), while others strategies utilizing punishment as a mechanism for behavior change have been accepted less readily. Many technologies utilizing punishment have gradually been folded into the term aversive and the larger social, educational, and psychology cultures have developed opinions on the value of aversive procedures. The researchers distributed a survey to parents and educators where they were asked to rate the social validity of behavior plans through vignettes. Statistical analyses of teacher data revealed significant disagreement (p < .001) with vignettes involving contingent vs. crisis application and vignettes with non-physical punishment interventions (i.e. timeout) vs. physical punishment interventions (i.e. restraint). Descriptive analyses revealed biases toward specific wording when asked about procedures often used in behavior plans. Given these results, we discuss the implications public perceptions and how learning more about the social climate surrounding aversive procedures will continue to inform behavior analytic practice in the future.

Parent involvement is not only recommended as a critical component of effective interventions for persons with autism, but it is also now required by many funding agencies. As an increasing number of behavior analysts include parent training in their practice, it has become important to take a critical look at parent training and its effectiveness. Generally positive outcomes are associated with training parents to implement behavioral strategies, however, there still remains a wide range of outcomes associated with this practice. Research indicates that around a quarter to a third of families do not benefit from parent training. Further, the strongest predictor of positive outcomes is related to parents motivation. The current presentation describes the development of a survey intended to evaluate parents readiness to participate in parent training and presents data related to the surveys validity and reliability. The survey was disseminated to parents of children with autism receiving behavior intervention. Results support the utility of the survey as a tool for assessing parents motivation for participation in parent training programs, a variable which behavior analysts would be wise to consider before beginning parent training with all of their clients.

The intensive in intensive behavioral intervention services relates to a number of factors, including the hours, energy, and finances that go into skill acquisition and severe behavior programstrue for both families who receive services, as well as the clinicians who provide the care. Direct care workers face a number of job-related stressors, mediated by factors such as range of tasks and available supervision and resources/training (Larson & Hewitt, 2005; Rose et al., 2003; Sharrard, 1992). Direct care staff were surveyed on their primary job duties, job satisfaction, level of perceived stress, and the impact of training on their jobs. Statistical analyses indicated no significant differences in perceived stress for staff who identify as primarily skill acquisition vs. severe behavior reduction clinicians (p = .085). However, within this sample, those who work within a severe behavior reduction framework felt more overall job support compared to those within the skill acquisition programs (p = .02). Additionally, behavior reduction clinicians reported greater value and importance of job-specific trainings than those whose primary jobs were skill acquisition (p = .04). Additional findings regarding trainings and staff perceptions are discussed and the potential impacts on daily behavior analytic practice.

This symposium addresses three initiatives for transitioning abandoned, abused, and disabled children from state institutions to community-based alternatives in the nation of Georgia. First, applied behaviour analysis (ABA) was taught at several of the institutions and Tbilisi State University, while professional development was provided to Georgian psychologists in New Zealand and the United States. Second, advocating for improved policies, implementing improved practices, and transitioning the children was begun. With UNICEF funding, this Children of Georgia project evaluated the ability of 700 children in 13 institutions to be transitioned, supported ABA training for Georgian staff members to improve childcare in four institutions, and prepared children for transitions (e.g., to their homes). Third, the Project supported school teachers, parents of children with autism, and caretakers in the community-based alternatives (e.g., group homes). Applied behaviour analysis was the foundation for improving policies, developing community-based alternatives, and training a generation of Georgian psychologists in ABA, some of whom disseminate it in Georgian institutions of higher education. The continued development of these initiatives at James Madison University, VA is discussed. These initiatives were the basis for the 2014 award from the Society for the Advancement of Behaviour Analysis for the International Dissemination of Behaviour Analysis.

Emerging from civil war, Georgia had numerous children in poor conditions in closed and previously Soviet-controlled institutions in 1997. The initial response of two behaviour analysts from New Zealand was to select and support committed psychology graduates from Tbilisi State University, teach ABA, and conduct related practica in the "Tbilisi Infant House" and the notorious "Kaspi" institution for children deemed disabled. Emphasis was on developing skilled behaviour analysts rather than ABA technologists. Funds and political permission allowed three psychologists to work in three institutions to improve childcare. Professional development was furthered by two visiting practitioner-professors to Georgia, three-month placements for several Georgian in New Zealand and the US, and ABA programs to assess and therapeutically intervene with infants/children in four institutions. Assessment reports on child welfare presented at several political levels became part of child advocacy to improve the lives of these children. The "Children of Georgia" NGO was established and offices purchased from which to work and be known. Grant applications to Save the Children and UNICEF were made, sparking almost a decade of training, supervising, and supporting "Children of Georgia" work alongside other NGOs and original ABA members now in Governmental positions to assist vulnerable children in Georgia.

Assessing children and preparing for the closure of institutions ahead of transition into community-based living required development of an adaptive behaviour assessment instrument to determine each childs readiness for inclusion and to identify their placement options. The training of a new generation of ABA specialists to work in institutions with staff and children to help them manage challenging behaviours and to initiate pre-school education and life-skills programmes was also initiated in four institutions. ABA trained psychologists also prepared young institutionalized children for transition to community and family living, as well as training the foster-parents who were to receive and care for them. In addition, this presentation traces the process of developing policies and procedures for transition to the community, advocacy at the Government level for appropriate legal, and social provisions for adoption and foster care and for the childrens right of access to medical services and educational facilities. It also briefly addresses the impact of the 2008 Georgian-Russian conflict on displaced and traumatised families and the support services developed to meet the resulting crisis.

As large institutions for children were closed, Georgian children were transferred to small group homes staffed by caregivers. Children served included those with histories of abuse, neglect, and attachment disorders. These programs were supported by consultation from NGO Children of Georgia psychologists. At the same time, awareness of the prevalence and challenges of autism spectrum disorder became more prominent and the need for services to support children and families was responded to by Children of Georgia psychologists providing direct services and training for parents. The need to build capacity and professional competencies for direct caregivers, parents and teachers was subsequently addressed by a series of workshops by international consultants who provided both didactic and practical training and experience with in-home consultation. Additional training opportunities for Georgian psychologists were made available by scholarship support of two behavior analysts to enroll in graduate degree programs at James Madison University in Virginia. Following this additional training these students will return to Georgia to contribute as leaders in the further development of therapy services and programs for children and families in Tbilisi and the outlying regions in rural areas. They will also develop programs for advancing knowledge within human service systems and tertiary education.

We describe sensors and methods capable of detecting the force, duration, frequency, interresponse time, and topography of a wide range of behaviors over long periods of time. The sensors collect data 300 times per minute on 19 different variables useful in describing behavior. Each sensor is equipped with Bluetooth technology that allows it to connect with a computer. In addition, each sensor has an internal rechargeable battery. Taken together, the described sensors and methods have the potential to provide a valid, reliable, and simple method for measuring various dimensions of a response in real time. In research, such measurement will eliminate or reduce the need for interobserver agreement, subjective likert rating scales, and session based investigation. Such a measure will also facilitate direct comparisons between pharmaceutical, behavioral, and other therapeutic interventions. When combined with the standard celeration chart, the sensors will allow practitioners to better assess the efficacy of their interventions.

In science, it is often the case that the development of new measurement techniques allows for a greater understanding of functional relationships between variables. In behavior analysis, rate of response and the cumulative response recorder is an example of one innovation that led to many discoveries. However, few advances in measurement have arisen subsequent to Skinner's description of the cumulative response recorder. Here, the inertial measurement unit (IMU) is described. Each IMU is equipped with a 3-axis accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, and other measurement devices. Taken together, this technology allows one to measure the force and direction of various movements. In addition, the orientation of the sensor during various movements can easily be determined. Internal clocks allow one to identify when a behavior occurred. When combined with databases, individual responses can be counted and automatically displayed on standard charts. These features allow behavior analysts to measure behavior over long periods of time without the need for a human witness.

The inertial measurement unit (IMU) is ideally suited to measure simple human responses. The acceleration, angle, and absolute position of a single sensor often yield a unique signature that can be converted to a frequency count. Here, we describe methodologies developed in order to count simple behaviors using IMU data. IMUs produce extraordinary amounts of data. Therefore, databases to filter and analyze the data are necessary. However, many behaviors are topographically complex and require multiple sensor readings which further complicate measurement. Fortunately, advances in motion capture technology using IMUs allow for real time representations of the human form across an X, Y, Z grid relative to time. We summarize the state of the art in using motion capture technology to represent human responding. Implications for applied behavior analysis and the experimental analysis of behavior are discussed.

Mindfulness involves a particular kind of attention that is purposive, open and flexible. Mindfulness is also often associated with being non-judgmental, empathetic, and broad minded. Mindfulness has numerous benefits to psychological and physical health, most of which seem to be attributable to the growing capacity to not restrict behavior based on expected or experienced discomforts. It may be that integrating mindfulness-based treatments into traditional behavior analytic interventions could enhance outcome. Indeed several treatment approaches that claim behavior analytic roots obviously include mindfulness components. This new trend calls for increased research around mindfulness from a behavior analytic perspective. Further study into mindfulness can help us identify what behaviors predict, indicate and promote mindfulness in a person. The papers in this symposium aim to contribute to this goal. The first paper will discuss the ability of observers to indicate the action of being present in themselves and others as well as their ability to connect and empathize with them. The second paper will explore the impact of a meditation practice on a range of quality of life issues. A discussion will follow focusing on the implications of these studies for improved assessment and integration of mindfulness-based treatments and possible future research.

Present moment, or being mentally within the here and now in a nonjudgmental or accepting manner, has been shown to foster development empathic responding. Being aware or mindful of one's behavior and immediate surroundings, being present, encourages detachment from automatic thoughts and behavior and disengaging from our 'auto-pilot' helps in the identification of needs and conflicts which can foster self-endorsed behavioral regulation especially in a clinical setting. Prediction and influence of present moment behavior isn't trainable as long as clear behavioral signs indicating that someone is present are not substantiated. Currently, we have yet to obtain behaviors to indicate whether a person is fully aware of their immediate surroundings, or being present. The purpose of this study is to explore present moment behavior, and identify behaviors that indicate when one is engaging in present moment behavior. The experiment inquiries into our own perceptiveness of others' presence as well as our own and the connections that form while both parties are present. The data collected from a pilot study indicated a consistency in responses from present moment observers. Wherever the line seems to create a 'plateau' is when there is an agreement from parties as to indicate a present moment.

A legion of group-based studies has shown that mindfulness meditation can be beneficial for ameliorating a variety of symptoms (e.g., rumination, worry, stress related to major medical issues such as cancer) for a wide demographic of practitioners (e.g., adolescents, medical students, parents, Zen Buddhists). As exciting as some of these data are, they are limited in that group analyses provide "average" results for "average" participants across standardized time periods (e.g., eight-week protocols). One thing that is largely missing from this literature are fine-grained idiographic examinations of what daily practice of mindfulness meditation looks like in terms of frequency, duration, and the influence of the practice on practitioner-specific variables. In this paper, we will present a series of single case analyses of novice and experienced mindfulness meditation practitioners. In addition to meditation frequency and duration, we will present variables such as mood, sleep, and social interactions. Analyses will include graphs and single-case regression-based statistics.

As in intensive and more standard behavioural services, the goal in outpatient clinical settings is to provide specific treatment packages based on operant function, rather than relying on demographic or diagnostic variables. However, behavioural consultation and related services offered within a time-limited outpatient setting is met with unique challenges. The purpose of this panel is to share the practice model of three outpatient clinics, differing in capacity, affiliation, and history, to facilitate conversation about common and particular challenges shared by practitioners working in outpatient settings. The goal is to engage colleagues from similar models and practices to discuss issues such as intake and assessment protocols; student, staff, and volunteer training; client retention; technology; growth and sustainability; payment for services; as well as unique challenges for clinics housed within a university. Panelists welcome and encourage practitioners who are interested in connecting with other clinics for continued networking and ongoing dialogue to attend.

Behavior Analysis has broad applications across disciplines but receives little recognition as a unique discipline in fields where certification and licensure are required. Behavior analytic techniques are widely used without recognition of their foundation or an understanding their underlying principles (e.g., reinforcement and time-out from positive reinforcement). Alternatively, given the prevalence of behavior analytic interventions in the treatment of autism, practitioners may be limited to a population that has a level of recognition for third-party reimbursement. Opportunities exist for behavior analysts to influence practice in a number of fields even where there is not a significant presence. This panel will examine how behavior analysts who are credentialed in other areas are able to influence policy, organizations and drive outcomes that support their related fields (e.g., psychology and education) while identifying themselves as behavior analysts. Examples of organizations within which these methods have been applied (e.g., higher education and school systems) will be discussed. An interactive discussion of future directions for supporting behavior analysis will conclude the presentation.

The role of the parent is considered in this 4-part symposium overviewing research on parents and individuals with autism.

Upon review of the parent training literature, there is a paucity of studies that look at brief ABA training for parents to teach functional skills, using a behavioural skills training approach. Current research shows inconsistency in the measures used for outcomes with a range that includes parent fidelity, standardized scores from diagnostic tools and child skill acquisition. Parent training programs are often clinic-based with diminished access to in-situ environments and requirements of parents to make a lengthy time commitment. This study compares three conditions; no training (baseline), parent manual only and parent manual plus individual home consultation, to determine the effect it will have on parent teaching and child acquisition of functional skills. In each phase, parents are scored using a competency checklist on 14 skills across five domains. Following baseline measures, phase two will introduce parents to an operationalized manual that outlines general ABA teaching methods to follow when they teach their child one of a preselected set of functional skills. The third phase will utilize the manual in addition to five weekly home consultation sessions, each 90min, that will use modeling, coaching and feedback by a therapist to obtain 90% mastery criteria in the use of teaching the target functional skill. Measures at each phase will include the following; parent competency in implementation of behavioural teaching strategies, child skill acquisition and parent sense of competency feedback (PSOC) (Johnston & Mash, 1989). A follow-up visit, two weeks following completion of the individual home consultations will be used as a probe for generalization to an untrained functional skill. Data in progress.

In their research, Werner et. al. (2000) established a correlation between the delayed emergence of early listener behavior, such as attending to ones name in infancy, to later diagnoses of autism in some children. What has not yet been examined, however, is how disordered listener repertoires develop past infancy. Listener behavior of children with autism is often problematic and this may affect the frequency and quality of verbal interactions between parents and these children. Hart and Risley (1995) established that verbal interaction between parents and children affect the verbal and intellectual development of those children. What does this mean for children whose listener behavior does not reinforce the speaker behavior of their parents? What does this mean for parents whose attempts to speak to their child are inadvertently punished by the disordered listener behavior of their child? This presentation will outline the results of a survey conducted to measure parental perceptions of the listener and verbal behavior of their child with autism, and the effects this has on the frequency and quality of parent/child verbal interactions.

Responses that serve a communicative function are critical in promoting the autonomy of an individual and enabling his or her access to reinforcers. Throughout the course of an individuals life, communication responses typically begin as basic vocalizations, such as echoics, and over time evolve to more complex types of responses, such as intraverbals. This symposium will review current research on instructional procedures used to establish verbal behavior repertoires for children with autism, with such tactics including acoustical markers, relational frame training, the use of multiple exemplars, transfer of stimulus control, and fluency timings. Results of these studies demonstrate how verbal operant responses can be strengthened through explicit training, and how they can also emerge in the absence of direct training, as seen in generalization probes and tests of derived relational responding.

An acoustical marker contingent on target behavior has been shown to be an effective procedure for increasing adaptive behavior in children with autism (Khowaja, Malmquist, & Eshleman, 2011; Maendler, Eshleman, & Cihon, 2009; Morien, Eshleman, & Malmquist, 2010). The current study examined the use of a contingent acoustical marker on teaching new words (i.e., echoics) to children with autism with a limited vocal verbal repertoire. This study used a shaping procedure facilitated by an acoustical marker, which provided more immediate consequences for the behavior than typical reinforcers such as praise and tangible items. Two children diagnosed with autism ages 3 and 7 participated in this study. The data suggested that the shaping procedure facilitated by the use of the acoustical marker increased echoic vocalizations, including a full word for one participant and several successive approximations for both participants.

This study evaluated the effects of a multiple exemplar training package with a fluency component on intraverbal empathy responses of four children with autism. This study extended the research from Schrandt, Townsend, and Poulson (2009). The experimenter presented a variety of role-play scenarios related to three different response categories (sad/hurt, happy/excited, and frustrated). Participants were initially provided with an echoic prompt for the correct empathetic response. For each response type, participants were trained to accuracy criterion, followed by training to a fluency criterion. Results indicated that all participants responded at accurate as well as fluent levels not only in training sessions, but also in discrimination sessions and during retention, endurance, stability, and application probes.

Is verbal mediation necessary for manded selection responses and match-to-sample tasks? In the first study, the role of joint self-echoic and tact control is examined in manded selection responses. The second study examined the role of joint self-echoic and tact control in "remembering" sequences of foreign language words. The third study evaluate the role of intraverbal naming (Horne & Lowe, 1996) in a visual-visual MTS procedure with arbitrary picture across three sets of stimuli. The forth study evaluated the effects of teaching unidirectional intraverbal relations in a statement format on (1) the emergence of symmetrical and transitive intraverbal relations, and (2) the formation of equivalence classes. All four studies show that verbal mediation is necessary for both manded selection responses and match-to-sample tasks.

The purpose of the current investigation is to teach manded selection responses through joint control training to children diagnosed with autism. Manded selection responses are responses that are typically called "object recognition." For example, upon being asked "Give me car," a child picks up a car from an array of toys in front of him and gives it to the speaker. Many children with autism fail to select correct objects for words while they are able to name objects. The goal of this study is to evaluate the role of joint control in teaching selection responses in children with autism. The experimenter taught children with autism manded selection responses by using joint self-echoic and tact training. Training phases involved a total of 7 different steps with 2 different sets of materials. Result showed that only after joint self-echoic and tact training did manded selection responses occur. The knowledge gained from this study helps to identify the function of joint control in emergence of selection responses. The training method of the study can be utilized by practitioners who work with children with autism to facilitate emergence of name-object responses.

The formation of equivalence classes has served as a behavior analytic model for understanding symbolic behavior and the emergence of novel behaviors (Sidman, 1994; 2009). Horne and Lowe (1996) proposed that the emergence of novel relations may be mediated by a strategy known as intraverbal naming. For this reason, the current study evaluated the effects of teaching unidirectional intraverbal relations in a statement format on (1) the emergence of symmetrical and transitive intraverbal relations, and (2) the formation of equivalence classes. Experimental stimuli consisted of nine common images, divided into three categories birds (A), states (B), and flowers (C). Two undergraduate students were taught to tact each picture with individual names, followed by intraverbal training, which established verbal relations between two stimuli from different classes. Intraverbal training consisted of teaching statements that related birds to states (AB) and states to flowers (BC). Afterwards, matching-to-sample and intraverbal tests were presented to assess for the emergence of BA, BC, AC, and CA relations. Results indicated that following tact and intraverbal training, participants were able to derive symmetrical and transitive intraverbal relations, as well as stimulus-stimulus equivalence classes. As such, this study further supports the role of verbal mediation, specifically intraverbal naming, as an important mechanism underlying the formation of equivalence classes.

This panel discussion will include three experts in the field of applied behavioral science who have demonstrated high levels of research productivity throughout their career in clinical and educational environments. Each panel member will have an opportunity to provide their perspective on the process of establishing lines of research in these settings and will identify potential barriers encountered and discuss strategies for overcoming these challenges. The goal of the panel topic is to provide a forum for audience members interested in establishing lines of research in non-university settings to hear from leading and well-respected researchers in the field about their experiences. After the panel members provide general insight on the topic, they will be available to answer related questions from the audience.

Applications (apps) that are developed for hand-held technology have become increasingly popular as an efficient and effective way to teach new behaviors. Relative to traditional teaching methods, apps provide a consistent way to deliver instructional content and often embed data collection features to capture real-time information on user performance measures. Data collected within an app or with apps developed exclusively for data collection may also reduce the need for human observers for data collection and/or entry. Additionally, apps may format data in a way that can expedite the export of data to software programs that are capable of a more detailed data analysis. This session will include a demonstration of one app that has been developed exclusively for data collection and an app that collects user data within the app. Data will be presented from studies that are utilizing these apps by classroom teachers and by persons with autism and intellectual disabilities. The panel will discuss the pros and cons of the use of apps for data collection and will welcome feedback from the audience related to the most beneficial features to be included in further app development.

Administrators who develop and oversee instructional programs are universally concerned with the effectiveness of instructional programming. Monitoring of program effectiveness requires the planning and assessment of the achievement of specific, desired programmatic outcomes. Effective programs have been described as those that achieve fluency, generalization, and maintenance and do so efficiently faster than these outcomes would be achieved in less effective instructional programs (Moran & Mallott, 2004). An educational model using an intensive delivery of behavioral intervention has been proposed as an effective means for educating children with autism spectrum disorders (Cummings & Carr, 2009;Cohen, Amerine-Dickens, & Smith, 2006; Smith, 1999). However, intensive program often required intensive planning and monitoring to achieve desired outcomes; even with intensive monitoring these desired outcomes can be difficult to achieve. This symposium presents several components of an intensive, clinic-based ABA program that strengthen instructional outcomes through the use of structural analysis to assist in the select of effective intervention packages, programming for generalization using the most effective and efficient program design, and systematic decision-making to assure timely data-based decision making.

Speech and language therapy is often provided as a component of intensive behavioral intervention, and shares with behavioral therapy both the goal of prompting generalization of therapy outcomes and the challenge of achieving this goal. Several strategies have been identified in the speech and behavioral literature as associated with improved generalization; however, few studies demonstrate the superiority of one strategy over another in regards to the generalization of targeted skills. Further, although speech and language targets are routinely targeted in both behavioral and speech therapy, few studies exist that suggest which strategies promote improved generalization of specific language targets. This paper reviews several known strategies for promoting generalized outcomes, and compares the use of three known strategies: programming common stimuli, teaching loosely, and programming indiscriminable contingencies with two common targets of speech therapy: following teachers directions and imitating the actions of an adult. An alternating treatment design across conditions was used to examine the effectiveness of different generalization-promoting strategies.

In designing behavioral programming, behavior analysts must select the most effective instructional methodologies to achieve instructional outcomes. In addition to selecting specific behavior change procedures, the analyst must also examine antecedent variables associated with the presence or absence of optimal performance. This analytic process referred to as structural analysis has been used to examine a variety of instructional and performance conditions for targets, such as work performance (Green, et al, 1991), but primarily have been utilized to examine the effect of varying antecedent conditions on the exhibition of problem behavior (Vaughn & Horner, 1997; Smith & Iwata, 1997). This presentation demonstrates the use of structural analysis to identify antecedent or instructional variables associated with active responding by two children with autism spectrum disorders. In both cases, analyses were conducted by manipulating instructional variables to determine which variables were associated with reduced latency to responding and increased rates of correct responding. Instructional variables manipulated included variations in trial sequencing (massed and distributed discrete trials teaching), task content (single or mixed types of tasks), and the presence of absence of motor movement incorporated with instructional trials. For both subjects, results of structural analyses suggested specific trial sequencing was associated with optimal rates of responding (distributed versus massed) and the presence of motor movement resulted in shorter latencies to responding. Differences in optimal responding were noted across conditions for different types of tasks for one of the subjects (language tasks versus visual tasks). The process of structural analysis is presented, with a focus on the selection of effective instructional models based on the results of structural analyses.

Clinical practice is often an uncertain exercise (Gambrill, 1990). Across the field of ABA exist wide variations in the way services are implemented, monitored, and modified. Decision-making - about when to intervene, when to change an intervention, and when to discontinue intervention - are all part of daily practice, and yet, with few guidelines as to how to make such decisions, clinicians often rely on instinct and hence, mistakes are inevitable. Such mistakes are costly and potentially slow progress, and are compounded when decision-making is spread across less experienced or newly trained personnel. This paper presents a decision-making model using visually displayed data that guides interventionists, case managers, clinical supervisors, or families receiving services in the clinical making process. It presents specific guidelines on how to monitor performance data to determine when to make a clinical change (such as when to intervene, when to discontinue an intervention, when to fade prompts or thin reinforcement and punishment schedules, or when to implement strategies to promote generalization). Attendees will learn how make better, more timely decisions related to the provision of behavior analytic services, and how to monitor that those under their supervision do the same. A case study using the model across 4 behavior analysts responsible for clinical decision making in an intensive behavior program will be presented, with an examination of how the use of the model in various formats resulted in more accurate, timely, and independent decision making.

Previous research has demonstrated that performance monitoring combined with reinforcement contingencies can increase treatment integrity of instructors in special education and behaviorally-based instructional programs. In addition, changes in student performance have been associated with improvements in treatment integrity. DiGennero et al (2007), for example, noted that improvements in treatment integrity accomplished by performance feedback delivered to teachers were also associated with lower rates of problem behavior of students. Previous research has noted that application of performance feedback results in higher rates of treatment integrity, and that performance feedback schedules thinned to up to 2 weeks between feedback sessions can maintain high levels of treatment integrity. On-going observation and performance feedback remains a critical aspect of maintaining treatment integrity, however, and in an intensive therapy program, maintaining dense schedules of performance feedback can be costly and inefficient. In addition, evidence of changes in student performance across differing levels of treatment integrity remains more scarce. This study examined the effects of fixed versus variable schedules of performance feedback on program implementation by therapists in an intensive ABA program. Concurrent effects on student performance, both in relation to rates of correct responding and rates of problem behavior were examined.

Children with autism often present unique learning challenges. Given the emphasis on individualized assessment and instruction, and data based decision making, behavior analysts are especially well-suited to address learning issues. Likewise, the use of single subject designs permit behavior analysts to experimentally evaluate individualized interventions to demonstrate functional relations or compare different interventions. This symposium reviews two studies that were conducted in an applied setting that identify variables that affected learning. The first study compared the effectives of two prompting modalities (tact and echoic) to determine which was a more effective procedure for teaching intraverbal behavior to two children with autism. The second study evaluates the effects of choice versus no choice of potential reinforcers and the relative effects on students responding during educational activities. Implications of programming for students with autism, including antecedent manipulations and consequence-based strategies, will be discussed. Additionally, the utility of comparative analyses and the application single subject designs in applied settings will be reviewed.

Researchers have examined whether choice is a reinforcer, i.e., evaluating whether choosing a consequence will result in a greater increase in behavior than the same consequences being delivered without being chosen. However, previous research has used methodology that may limit the identification of choice as a reinforcer (e.g., yoked schedules, choosing from identical items). The current study examines the effect of choice or no choice of potential reinforcers on performance of educational responses of three students with disabilities and avoids the challenges associated with using yoked schedules of reinforcement or choosing from identical options. Thus the current study provides additional refinements in the analysis of choice as a reinforcer by examining rates of responding when participants have the opportunity to choose an item or not, contingent on responding. Results will identify if there is a difference in responding to an educationally relevant task when choice is available or not and if participants demonstrate a preference for choice or no-choice conditions. The relevance of choice in clinical and educational context will be discussed. Recommendations for future research will also be presented.

As part of the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services' expansion of community-based services and supports for children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a brief Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)-based service delivery model (up to six months) was launched in September 2011 in regions just north of Toronto, Ontario Canada. The objective of this expansion was to ameliorate long waitlists for families seeking behavioural services for their child/youth, and build capacity in various settings, by providing quality services to a large number of families with ongoing and changing needs. To date, the collaborative efforts of four community-based agencies have provided approximately 2000 children/youth the opportunity to participate in this short term service delivery model. Each parent/caregiver and their child/teen (if applicable) are involved in choosing a goal or concern across one the following domains: 1) Behavior management/emotional regulation; 2) Communication; 3) Social/interpersonal; and 4) Activities of Daily Living (ADL). The following presentations will provide an overview of the model of service delivery across four community agencies; the functional behavioral assessment; and behavioral outcomes of n=200 cases including case studies. Finally, strengths and the limitations of providing short term applied behavioral analysis will also be discussed.

In September of 2011, as a result of an Expression of Interest (EOI) proposed by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, short-term Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) services began to be provided to children and youth diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum up to the age of 18 across Ontario including in York Region and Simcoe County. As per ministry requirements, services are provided for two to six months, two to four hours a week. The focus of this presentation is to provide an overview of the York Region and Simcoe County ABA program that is comprised of four community agencies partnership. The Primary objective of this program is to teach caregivers of children with ASD the principles of ABA and how to apply strategies to reduce problem behaviour and/or acquire new skills. 1-month follow-up sessions are conducted to determine behaviour change and parent success in maintaining or exceeding their expected outcome after discharge. The presentation will highlight the unique collaboration across the four agencies in providing applied behavioural analysis in a short term delivery model to 1047 clients in a fiscal year. In addition, the demographics of clients supported and domain selection will also be presented.

A York Region/Simcoe County partnership across four community agencies in Ontario Canada provides applied behavioural analysis in a short term model to 1047 children/teens diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum in a fiscal year. The objective of this and similar programs in Ontario is to provide caregivers and their children (if applicable) the opportunity to determine their current concern or pick among four domains available. If the caregiver chooses a social skill, activities of daily living or a communication goal, a functional skills assessment (FSA) is conducted to determine pre-requisites, appropriateness of goal and next steps. If the caregiver determines that reducing a challenging behaviour is a concern, a Functional Behavioural Assessment (FBA) is conducted to determine the function as well as the conditions that precede and follow the concern. The FBA is conducted for all children/youth that require support for behaviour challenges within this model of service. The following paper will provide an overview of the FBA structure, including the process and methods used. Results from 200 functional behavioural assessments will be presented including the prevalence of identified functions and the comparisons across the various methods utilized.

A York Region/Simcoe County partnership across four community agencies in Ontario Canada provides applied behavioural analysis in a short term model to 1047 children/teens diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum in a fiscal year. Services are provided using a mediator model to teach caregivers to teach a skill and/or reduce a challenging behaviour exhibited by their child/teen. The clinicians responsible for teaching caregivers utilize a behavioural skills training and/or general case approach during services delivery. Services are conducted at home and in other relevant community locations including schools if permitted. The following paper will review the effect sizes of approximately 200 single cases that have been provided support under the behaviour domain. In addition, case(s) will be presented illustrating how the functional behavioural assessment is used to develop a treatment plan and the results associated with this plan. Finally, an overview of the strengths, limitations and future directions of a short term applied behaviour analysis services will be presented.