Association for Behavior Analysis International

Research confirms that the effects of choice making on various parameters of behavior such as engagement, affect, and problem behavior (Cole & Levinson, 2002; Vaughn & Horner, 1997). Stimulus preference assessment methods frequently assist behavior analysts in identifying a variety of stimulus that can serve as potential reinforcers used in adaptive or education training programs (Daily III, Wells, Swanger-Gagne, Carr, Kunz and Taylor, 2009). DeLeon and Iwata (1996) indicate that a Multiple Stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment can accomplish it in an efficient manner. The study was completed to investigate the preference values of digital and non-digital items for children with Autism using standard behavioral analytic strategies. Four school-age students with Autism participated in the study. All participants participated in a day program in Paris (France) where they received at least 20 hours of one to one intensive behavioral treatment. Informed consent from the students family was obtained. In this study, procedures were similar to those reported by DeLeon and Iwata (1996). The dependent measure consisted of a stimulus selection response, which the observer recorded when a student chose an item from the horizontal array of 8 items: 2 digital tablets and 6 age appropriate toys. Moreover, the study made possible to compare the two digital items (a Nabi and an Ipad tablets). In this study, choice refers to the act of selecting an item or activity from an array of options at a particular moment in time (Romaniuk & Miltenberger, 2001). The experimenter told the student that he/she would be able to choose activities during the break. Following each selection, the experimenter removed the chosen activity and rearranged the remaining activities, which reduce the possibility that selections might be made based on the position of the item. This procedure was followed until there was only one item on the table. Ten sessions were completed on separate days within 15 days. For each student, the median rank for each activity across the ten sessions was chosen as an indication of individual preference for that activity. In summary, this study supports the research of MSWO as an efficient way of identifying potential reinforcers and indicates that the selected Nabi tablet can be a high-preferred item for children with Autism, considering aspects of design, cost benefit and durability.

Early intensive behavioural intervention has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing symptoms of autism, and increasing functional skills in children with autism spectrum disorders. This study will assess the effects of one year of centre-based ABA services for 20 children between the ages of 24 months and 6 years 11 months across different measures: childrens academics, behaviour, and adaptive skills, as well as parental stress. It is hypothesized that following one year of intervention, differences will be seen across the measures.

For adults with developmental disabilities, acquisition of vocational skills is one of the most important factors in successful transition into the community (Gerhardt & Lainer, 2010). Compliance is an important component to learning and participating in vocational tasks. Differential reinforcement has been supported as an effective treatment in the pediatric population for increasing adaptive behaviors, but research has not been extended to the adult population (Fischetti et al., 2012). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of differential reinforcement to increase compliance. The participant is a 26 year old male diagnosed with Autism in a transitional campus for adults with severe problem behavior. He currently has limited communication, minimal community access, lack of safety awareness, and is not attending vocational program. These challenges have lead to serious injury and a highly restrictive environment. Based upon the serious nature of current challenges and a history of unsuccessful interventions, a treatment to increase compliance was initiated. Sessions consisted of presentation of highly preferred edibles on an FR1 schedule contingent upon compliance. An ABAB design was used measuring percentage of compliance, and interobserver agreement was taken during 84% of sessions. Data demonstrates that treatment successfully increased the percentage of compliance.

Teaching students with autism the necessary academic strategies that increase on-task behaviors, skill acquisitions, and completion of tasks are essential in assisting students to successfully participate in their least restrictive environments. (Harris, Graham, Mason, & Saddler 2002; Mason, Harris, & Graham 2011; Glaser & Brunstein 2007). A functional based assessment (FBA) was conducted on three students with autism who engaged in escape-motivated behavior during written expression activities. A written expression strategy, POW+TREE was employed to teach to the function of escape. POW+TREE, teaches the students to organize their writing thoughts by following the mnemonic of: Pick my ideas, Organize my notes, Write and say more, then the acronym of TREE was taught: Topic Sentence, Multiple Reasons, Explaining and Ending the writing piece (Harris, Graham & Mason, 2002). A self-monitoring strategy was also employed to assist with attention to task and asking for assistance when needed during the written expression assignments. An ABAB withdrawal design was employed with all three students. Participant One increased his on-task behavior from 41% to 82%; Participant Two increased his on-task behavior from 20% to 90%; and Participant Three increased his on-task behavior from 44% to 89%.

Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) are commonly used procedures for reducing aggressive behaviors in individuals with autism (Repp & Deitz, 1974;Borrero, J.C., Vollmer, T.R., & Wright, C.S., 2002). Although both procedures have been shown to be effective when used separately, there is a paucity of research that examined their effectiveness in combination. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of DRO and DRA separately and in combination in reducing aggression in students with autism. Aggression during pre and post treatment was examined in eight students. Percent change in aggression suggests that the DRO alone was most effective in reducing aggression. The results also show that there was little difference in percent change of aggression between DRA alone and the combination of DRA and DRO as treatment. Based on the results of the present study, consideration for future research is also discussed.