Validating social reinforcer classes for low-severity challenging behavior identified by sensitivity tests.

Behavior analysts typically assess and treat challenging behavior after it occurs regularly and at high severity. Although effective, this reactive approach is quite costly and resource intensive. A growing literature supports an alternative preventive approach; the first step involves conducting sensitivity tests to screen the topographies and functions of low-severity behavior evoked by establishing operations commonly included in challenging behavior research (e.

Exploring factors that influence the efficacy of functional communication training.

Understanding factors that influence the efficacy of functional communication training has both practical and conceptual benefits. The current study extended research in this area by exploring data from 95 consecutive applications of functional communication training with extinction across two independent clinics. We selected candidate predictor variables based on conceptual analysis, conducted preliminary exploratory analyses, and then selectively applied quantitative methods that are used in precision medicine to examine their accuracy and predictive utility.

A concise review of the correspondence between the traditional functional analysis and alternative assessment formats.

The functional assessment of challenging behavior (e.g., self-injurious behavior) has evolved over many years of research and practice.

Using Behavioral Skills Training to Teach Functional Assessment Interviewing, Cultural Responsiveness, and Empathic and Compassionate Care to Students of Applied Behavior Analysis.

Within the field of applied behavior analysis, there is a recognized need for increased training for practitioners on cultural responsiveness, as well as to improve behavior analysts' demonstration of compassion and empathy towards the families with whom they work. The present study used behavioral skills training via telehealth to teach three skillsets-functional assessment interviewing, empathic and compassionate care, and cultural responsiveness. Participants were seven graduate students who had no previous coursework in behavioral assessment and whose caseload mainly included clients who did not share the participant's cultural, ethnic, or religious backgrounds.

An Evaluation of Ethnicity-Matching for Caregiver Telehealth Training in India.

Telehealth has become an increasingly viable service delivery option for function-based treatment of problem behavior (Lindgren et al., 2016). However, few applications have occurred with participants outside the United States and little research exists evaluating the role that culture plays in service delivery.

Functional analysis of problem behavior: A 40-year review.

Extensive reviews of functional analysis literature were conducted 10 (Beavers et al., 2013) and 20 (Hanley et al., 2003) years ago; we expanded this review to capture the vast and innovative functional analysis research that has occurred over the past decade.

Toward an explicit technology of ecological validity.

Ecological validity refers to how closely an experiment aligns with real-world phenomena. In applied behavioral research, ecological validity may guide decisions about experimental settings, stimuli, people, and other design features. However, inconsistent use of the term ecological validity in the published literature has led to a somewhat disjointed technology.

Functional analysis patterns of automatic reinforcement: A review and component analysis of treatment effects.

Functional analysis (FA) conditions include different antecedent or consequent events that may disrupt responding. Thus, varying patterns of FA differentiation may predict treatment outcomes of problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. These patterns could be used to inform the development of individualized interventions.

Descriptive assessment of conversational skills: Towards benchmarks for young adults with social deficits.

Descriptive assessments are necessary to identify social norms and establish a foundation for experimental analysis. Much of the social skills intervention literature involves goals that have been selected through interviews and direct observation of behavior without a reference to desired outcomes. The purpose of the current study was to extend research on descriptive assessments of conversations by including additional measures and examining conversational behavior across contexts.

Evaluating the Efficacy and Social Validity of a Culturally Adapted Training Program for Parents and Service Providers in India.

In regions such as India, where one-to-one behavior-analytic intervention is not easily accessible, parents and service providers may advocate for children with disabilities better if they have foundational training in behavioral approaches to problem behavior. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a culturally adapted training delivered in an underresourced region of India. Ten parents and professionals from Chennai completed the training, and the researchers evaluated its effects using a multiple-baseline design.

A systematic review of cultural adaptations in the global application of ABA-based telehealth services.

With telehealth gaining acceptance as a service delivery method, behavior analysts are now providing services to individuals worldwide. This review highlights the cultural adaptations used in ABA-based telehealth treatments for individuals with ASD outside of the United States. Nine studies met our inclusion criteria and the data were synthesized narratively.

Topographies and functions of emerging problem behavior and appropriate requests in neurotypical preschoolers.

The current study builds on a small but growing body of research evaluating the formal and functional characteristics of emerging problem behavior before it becomes harmful and requires costly treatment. The researchers tested 21 preschool children's sensitivity to establishing operations that commonly precede severe problem behavior. Sensitivity tests were embedded in a small group play context to optimize safety, efficiency, and ecological validity.

Evaluating the Efficacy, Preference, and Cultural Responsiveness of Student-Generated Content in an Undergraduate Behavioral Course.

Increasing diversity in the field of behavior analysis may begin with an evaluation of culturally responsive practices in the college classroom. This study leveraged the various backgrounds of students in a university nationally recognized for diversity to evaluate the effects of peer-generated course materials on student performance in an undergraduate behavior analysis course. First, graduate students created multimedia examples (videos, pictures) of the behavioral principles in their everyday lives.

Experimental Analysis of Behavior Readings Assigned by Accredited Master's Degree Programs in Behavior Analysis.

Although a foundation in the basic science of behavior represents a common goal of practitioners and educators of behavior analysis, the content covered in master's degree-level courses on the experimental analysis of behavior (EAB) can vary widely across university programs. The purpose of our study was to analyze the syllabi of master's degree programs accredited by the Association for Behavior Analysis International to develop a list of common readings and topics in EAB coursework that might be useful for curricular development. We identified the most frequently cited references, journals, and participant characteristics.

A review of environmental enrichment as treatment for problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement.

We reviewed studies that used environmental enrichment as treatment for problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. A search of behavior analytic journals produced 71 publications with a total of 265 applications of environmental enrichment used alone or in conjunction with alternative behavior manipulations (e.g.

Functional analysis screening for multiple topographies of problem behavior.

The current study evaluated a screening procedure for multiple topographies of problem behavior in the context of an ongoing functional analysis. Experimenters analyzed the function of a topography of primary concern while collecting data on topographies of secondary concern. We used visual analysis to predict the function of secondary topographies and a subsequent functional analysis to test those predictions.

Preschool life skills: Recent advancements and future directions.

Over the past decade, researchers have replicated and extended research on the preschool life skills (PLS) program developed by Hanley, Heal, Tiger, and Ingvarsson (2007). This review summarizes recent research with respect to maximizing skill acquisition, improving generality, evaluating feasibility and acceptability, and testing predictions of the initial PLS study. For each area, we suggest directions for future research.

Prevention of the development of problem behavior: A laboratory model.

Few studies have isolated the preventive efficacy of common behavioral strategies like noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA). The purpose of the current study was to develop and evaluate a laboratory model of these two problem behavior prevention strategies. Undergraduate students participated in a computer simulation, in which clicks to a designated area of the computer screen were analogous to the emergence of problem behavior.

Within-subject analysis of a prevention strategy for problem behavior.

Although decades of research on functional analysis methodology have identified common contingencies that maintain problem behavior and effective interventions, relatively little research has been conducted on strategies to prevent the initial development of problem behavior. We conducted a 2-part case study, the purposes of which were to illustrate the use of sensitivity tests as the bases for intervention (Study 1) and subsequently to assess the efficacy of a prevention strategy using a single-subject design (Study 2). Results showed that the sensitivity tests identified establishing operations that may set the occasion for the development of problem behavior and that interventions based on differential reinforcement prevented increases in the severity of problem behavior relative to untreated and control baselines.

Comparison of edible and leisure reinforcers.

Results of previous research have shown that individuals with intellectual disabilities usually prefer edible items over leisure items. Other research has shown that sensory (leisure) items facilitate response acquisition and maintenance better than edible items do for individuals with autism. The current studies examined preference and performance for edible and leisure reinforcers by children with and without autism.

Evaluation of the preschool life skills program in Head Start classrooms: a systematic replication.

In an attempt to address risk factors associated with extensive nonfamilial child care, we implemented the preschool life skills (PLS) program (Hanley, Heal, Tiger, & Ingvarsson, 2007) in two community-based Head Start classrooms. A multiple baseline design across classrooms, repeated across skills, showed that the program resulted in a 5-fold increase in PLS and an accompanying reduction in problem behavior, replicating the effects observed by Hanley et al. (2007).

Effects of alternative responses on behavior exposed to noncontingent reinforcement.

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) may decrease the frequency of behavior by either inducing satiation or terminating the response-reinforcer contingency (extinction). Another possibility is that the target behavior is replaced by other behaviors maintained by preexisting contingencies. We conducted 2 experiments in which we allowed access to a target response and several alternatives.

Evaluation of the divided attention condition during functional analyses.

A common condition included in most functional analyses (FAs) is the attention condition, in which the therapist ignores the client by engaging in a solitary activity (antecedent event) but delivers attention to the client contingent on problem behavior (consequent event). The divided attention condition is similar, except that the antecedent event consists of the therapist conversing with an adult confederate. We compared the typical and divided attention conditions to determine whether behavior in general (Study 1) and problem behavior in particular (Study 2) were more sensitive to one of the test conditions.

Test-specific control conditions for functional analyses.

Most functional analyses of problem behavior include a common condition (play or noncontingent reinforcement) as a control for both positive and negative reinforcement. However, test-specific conditions that control for each potential source of reinforcement may be beneficial occasionally. We compared responding during alone, ignore, play, and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) control conditions for individuals whose problem behavior was maintained by positive or negative reinforcement.

Topographical and functional properties of precursors to severe problem behavior.

A literature search identified 17 articles reporting data on 34 subjects who engaged in precursors to severe problem behavior, which we examined to identify topographical and functional characteristics. Unintelligible vocalization was the most common precursor to aggression (27%) and property destruction (29%), whereas self- or nondirected movement was the most common precursor to SIB (32%). Unintelligible vocalization and object-directed movement were the most common precursors to behavior maintained by social-positive reinforcement (27% each), and unintelligible vocalization was the most common precursor to behavior maintained by social-negative reinforcement (29%).