Reinforcer value moderates response magnitude and persistence during extinction: A randomized trial.

Extinction bursts, or temporary increases in rates and intensities of behavior during extinction, can preclude the inclusion of extinction in intervention packages meant to suppress severe challenging behavior. To identify underlying behavioral mechanisms responsible for response persistence and bursting, 69 adults with developmental disabilities completed a low-stakes translational investigation employing a 2 × 2 factorial, crossed, and randomized matched blocks design, with batched randomization logic. In each of the four test groups, we made distinct antecedent manipulations with two value parameters commonly studied through behavioral economics (i.

Deriving relations at multiple levels of complexity following minimal instruction: A demonstration.

Recommendations for achieving generalized instructional outcomes often overlook the capacity for generative learning for most verbally competent humans. Four children (ages 5-8) participated in this project. In Study 1, we provided decontextualized discrete trial teaching to establish arbitrary relations between colors, pictures of characters, and researcher motor actions.

Telehealth replication of the trial-based ongoing visual-inspection criteria.

Trial-based functional analyses are valid assessments for identifying functions of problem behavior; however, there is little guidance in the literature on interpreting the resultant data from such assessments. The current study sought to extend Standish, Bailey, et al. (2021) by incorporating their trial-based ongoing visual-inspection criteria into a formative assessment process during a telehealth-based consultation for parents seeking treatment for their child's problem behavior.

Relapse and its mitigation: Toward behavioral inoculation.

Relapse following the successful treatment of problem behavior can increase the likelihood of injury and the need for more intensive care. Current research offers some predictions of how treatment procedures may contribute to relapse, and conversely, how the risk of relapse can be mitigated. This review describes relapse-mitigation procedures with varying levels of support, the quantitative models that have influenced the research on relapse mitigation, different experimental methods for measuring relapse mitigation, and directions for future research.

A Brief Review of Expanded-Operant Treatments for Mitigating Resurgence.

Resurgence following expanded-operant treatments (i.e., increasing the number or variability of alternative responses to problem behavior) has been the focus of numerous studies over the last five years.

Description and evaluation of a function-informed and mechanisms-based framework for treating challenging behavior.

Individualization and iterative design are essential components of the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior. Currently, there are few validated frameworks for engaging in iterative processes. Due to the nature of single-case design, empirically rigorous evaluations of decision-tree processes are particularly prohibitive.

Revisiting the social validity of services rendered through a university-based practicum addressing challenging behavior.

This paper represents the third in a three-part series intended to challenge the social validity of the services provided by a university-based practicum for addressing the challenging behavior of individuals with disabilities. In this paper, we surveyed referring stakeholders (e.g.

Exploring the validity of university-based practicum tailored to develop expertise in addressing challenging behavior.

In theory, the principles, processes, and concepts of applied behavior analysis are universally applicable. In practice, clinicians commit their lives to serving specific populations in specific settings for which specialization is needed. The purpose of this 6-year retrospective consecutive case series was to describe and evaluate the quality and validity of a practicum experience tailored to develop specialized expertise in the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior for pre-service practitioners enrolled in a department of a special education program.

Partially Automated Training for Implementing, Summarizing, and Interpreting Trial-Based Functional Analyses.

Trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) is an accurate and ecologically valid assessment of challenging behavior. Further, there is evidence to suggest that individuals with minimal exposure to behavior analytic assessment methodology (e.g.

Extending functional communication training to multiple language contexts in bilingual learners with challenging behavior.

Little research has highlighted how evidence-based practices (e.g., functional communication training [FCT]) might be adapted for bilingual learners with disabilities.

Formative applications of ongoing visual inspection for trial-based functional analysis: A proof of concept.

Trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) possesses many strategic advantages which make it an ideal candidate for adoption in applied settings. Notwithstanding, some aspects of the analysis remain underdeveloped, including structured guidelines for interacting with obtained data reliably in formative and summative ways. The purpose of this study was to adapt existing ongoing visual-inspection (OVI) criteria to match the idiosyncrasies of TBFA and then to assess their practical utility in applied settings.

Do Functional Analyses Probe Learning Histories, Or Create Them? An Exploratory Investigation.

During functional analysis (FA), therapists arrange contingencies between potential reinforcers and problem behavior. It is unclear whether this fact, in and of itself, facilitates problem behavior's acquisition of new (false-positive) functions. If problem behavior can come under the control of contingencies contrived between it and known reinforcers for which there is no direct history, then outcomes of reinforcer analysis (RA) should perfectly predict FA outcomes.

Effects of Dexmethylphenidate on Targeted and Non-Targeted Behaviours during Functional Analyses: A Brief Report.

This study evaluated the effects of dexmethylphenidate on problem behavior during functional analyses conducted across dexmethylphenidate and placebo conditions for a child with multiple disabilities. We conducted functional analyses in a multielement format embedded in a withdrawal design and collected data on the frequency of disruptive behavior and duration of crying. Results suggest disruptive behaviour was maintained by attention when DMPH was absent, but not when it was present.

Decreasing Food Stealing of Child with Prader-Willi Syndrome Through Function-Based Differential Reinforcement.

Challenging behaviors involving food are common for individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and often lead to obesity and other chronic health conditions. Efforts to decrease these behaviors, such as isolation during meals and strict monitoring of food consumption, can be stigmatizing. To decrease the food stealing of a 7 year-old girl with PWS, therapists conducted a latency-based functional analysis in a clinic setting before implementing a function-based intervention to facilitate her inclusion at the family dinner table.

Behavioral contrast: Research and areas for investigation.

Behavioral contrast occurs when a change in reinforcement rate in one context results in a change in behavior in the opposite direction in an unchanged context. Despite decades of study by basic researchers, behavioral contrast has remained largely an unstudied phenomenon among applied researchers. The purpose of this paper is to occasion translational and applied research on behavioral contrast with the aim of predicting and controlling socially significant behavior in unchanged contexts.

Behavioral Interventions for Inappropriate Sexual Behavior in Individuals With Developmental Disabilities and Acquired Brain Injury: A Review.

Inappropriate sexual behavior (ISB) is a common, but understudied, issue for individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities (DD), intellectual disability (ID), and/or acquired brain injuries (ABI). We conducted a systematic review to identify, analyze, and synthesize published behavior-analytic approaches to intervention for ISB in DD, ID, or ABI populations. Twenty-three studies employing single-subject research methodology were identified and evaluated using quality indicators described by Horner et al.

Teacher-Conducted, Latency-Based Functional Analysis as Basis for Individualized Levels System in a Classroom Setting.

Latency-based functional analysis (FA) may be appropriate when stakeholders are concerned with safety or feasibility. We trained a first-year special education teacher to collect data while she implemented a latency-based FA and validated a function-based intervention. Treatment effects were generalized across paraeducators and were maintained during a 1-month follow-up.

Individualized Levels System and Systematic Stimulus Pairing to Reduce Multiply Controlled Aggression of a Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Research has shown that physical aggression is common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Interventions for multiply controlled aggression may be complex and difficult to implement with fidelity. As a result, the probability of treatment efficacy for this class of behavior may suffer.

Outcome summaries of latency-based functional analyses conducted in hospital inpatient units.

Latency-based functional analysis (FA) may be a viable alternative to the standard, rate-based, FA when frequently evoking problem behavior is not advisable. We conducted 18 latency-based FAs of the problem behavior of children diagnosed with autism in inpatient hospital settings and identified functional relations during 44.4% (8 of 18) of latency-based FAs.

Brief Report: Clustered Forward Chaining with Embedded Mastery Probes to Teach Recipe Following.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a clustered forward chaining (CFC) procedure to teach a 23-year-old male with autism to follow written recipes. CFC incorporates elements of forward chaining (FC) and total task chaining (TTC) by teaching a small number of steps (i.e.

Chaining Functional Basketball Sequences (with Embedded Conditional Discriminations) in an Adolescent with Autism.

Individuals with developmental disabilities successfully participate in fewer recreation activities, including sports activities, than their typically developing peers. Although a functional basketball-playing repertoire might increase social opportunities and physical health for these individuals, no research has outlined a behavior-analytic strategy for teaching this sport. In our study, we taught a 13-year-old male diagnosed with autism to play basketball.

Assessing Acquisition of and Preference for Mand Topographies During Functional Communication Training.

We assessed acquisition and preference for various mand topographies in the presence of establishing operations that, historically, evoked the aggression of a child with autism. First, we implemented functional communication training (FCT) and reinforced picture exchange, iPad®, or GoTalk® activations in a multi-element format (noting differences in aggression and/or mand independence across conditions). Then, we conducted a concurrent-operant mand preference assessment.

Implications for practice: Resurgence and differential reinforcement of alternative responding.

During the maintenance stages of differential reinforcement of alternative responding (DRA), failure to reinforce alternative responses could result in a resurgence of problem behavior. However, translational work done with arbitrary human responses suggests that teaching individuals to emit multiple alternative responses in sequential order may facilitate the resurgence of appropriate, rather than problem, behavior. This paper discusses the practical implications of serial DRA training on problem and appropriate behavior resurgence, as presented in the preceding article, "Serial Alternative Response Training As Intervention for Target Response Resurgence.

Serial alternative response training as intervention for target response resurgence.

Failure to reinforce appropriate behavior could result in resurgence of previously extinguished problem behavior and degradation of previously effective treatments such as differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA). We analyzed arbitrary responses (i.e.

Latency-Based FA as Baseline for Subsequent Treatment Evaluation.

No research has used latency-based functional analysis (FA) outcomes as baseline data from which to evaluate the effectiveness of subsequent function-based treatments. This approach to analysis calls for the continued collection of latency-based measures for all targeted variables throughout all phases of treatment. We tracked client progress during treatment using latency-based, rate-based, and percentage-of-opportunity measures of relevant behavior and compared graphical representations of each.