Minimizing resurgence of destructive behavior using behavioral momentum theory.

The resurgence of destructive behavior can occur during functional communication training (FCT) if the alternative response contacts a challenge (e.g., extinction).

Evaluation of the accuracy, reliability, efficiency, and acceptability of fast forwarding to score problem behavior.

Technological advances have allowed professionals to obtain extended recordings of caregiver-client interactions in natural settings, but scoring recorded video at normal speed to identify instances of low-rate problem behavior is impractical in terms of scoring time. Fast forwarding is a continuous measurement system in which all seconds of an observation are viewed at a speed faster than normal. In Study 1, we evaluated whether three groups of five observers could discriminate problem behavior at three fast-forwarding speeds across 10-min observations.

Assessing and Treating Elopement in a School Setting.

Elopement, or running away from supervised areas, is a dangerous and problematic behavior that compromises the safety of people with disabilities at disproportionately high rates. As such, it is paramount that teachers know how to respond to elopement during school to ensure student safety. Although general safety strategies may be helpful in preventing elopement, they fail to address the factors that trigger elopement.

A laboratory model for evaluating relapse of undesirable caregiver behavior.

The success of behavioral treatments like functional communication training depends on their continued implementation outside of the clinical context, where failures in caregiver treatment adherence can lead to the relapse of destructive behavior. In the present study, we developed a laboratory model for evaluating the relapse of undesirable caregiver behavior that simulates two common sources of disruption (i.e.

Teaching behavior technicians to create publication-quality, single-case design graphs in graphpad prism 7.

In this investigation, we (a) define the desirable features of publication-quality, single-case design graphs based on recommendations in the scholarly literature, (b) suggest GraphPad Prism as a suitable graphing program for creating graphs with those features, and (c) develop and validate a video-modeling tutorial designed to train behavior technicians to create such graphs. Our review identified nine commonly recommended features, and Prism facilitated the creation of graphs with those features. We evaluated the effects of a video-modeling tutorial on graphing performance in Prism using a multiple-baseline design.

Evaluating competing activities to enhance functional communication training during reinforcement schedule thinning.

Arranging periods in which requests for reinforcement are denied in a multiple schedule may result in increased destructive behavior during these periods for individuals who receive functional communication training (FCT) as treatment for severe destructive behavior. Providing access to competing activities during periods of reinforcer unavailability has been shown to minimize destructive behavior. We evaluated methods to identify effective competing activities for use when thinning reinforcement availability in a multiple schedule and compared competing activities embedded within the multiple schedule using an alternating-treatments design.

Prevalence of resurgence of destructive behavior when thinning reinforcement schedules during functional communication training.

Functional communication training is a well-established treatment for socially reinforced destructive behavior that typically includes differential reinforcement of the functional communication response (FCR) in combination with extinction of destructive behavior. However, when the schedule of reinforcement for the FCR is thinned, destructive behavior may resurge (e.g.

Using an abbreviated assessment to identify effective error-correction procedures for individual learners during discrete-trial instruction.

Previous research comparing the effectiveness of error-correction procedures has involved lengthy assessments that may not be practical in applied settings. We used an abbreviated assessment to compare the effectiveness of five error-correction procedures for four children with autism spectrum disorder or a developmental delay. During the abbreviated assessment, we sampled participants' responding with each procedure and completed the assessment before participants reached our mastery criterion.

Predictive validity and efficiency of ongoing visual-inspection criteria for interpreting functional analyses.

Prior research has evaluated the reliability and validity of structured criteria for visually inspecting functional-analysis (FA) results on a post-hoc basis, after completion of the FA (i.e., post-hoc visual inspection [PHVI]; e.

Further evaluation of differential exposure to establishing operations during functional communication training.

Recent research findings (DeRosa, Fisher, & Steege, ) suggest that minimizing exposure to the establishing operation (EO) for destructive behavior when differential reinforcement interventions like functional communication training (FCT) are introduced may produce more immediate reductions in destructive behavior and prevent or mitigate extinction bursts. We directly tested this hypothesis by introducing FCT with extinction in two conditions, one with limited exposure to the EO (limited EO) and one with more extended exposure to the EO (extended EO) using a combined reversal and multielement design. Results showed that the limited-EO condition rapidly reduced destructive behavior to low levels during every application, whereas the extended-EO condition produced an extinction burst in five of six applications.

Remote treatment of sleep-related trichotillomania and trichophagia.

We used a biobehavioral treatment consisting of melatonin and a standardized bed and wake time to decrease one girl's head and mouth touches associated with sleep-related trichotillomania and trichophagia. We remotely coached the girl's caregiver to implement all procedures and monitored response to treatment using a DropCam Pro video camera equipped with night-vision capabilities. Head and mouth touches decreased, and her sleep pattern improved with the combination of treatment strategies.

On the predictive validity of behavioral momentum theory for mitigating resurgence of problem behavior.

We summarize the results of four recent translational studies from our lab that used the predictions of behavioral momentum theory to inform the development of more durable treatments for destructive behavior. Treatments informed by behavioral momentum theory generally showed better suppression of target responding during an extinction challenge than did a comparison treatment. We reanalyze data from each of the four studies to show that this general finding is apparent both at the aggregate (i.

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.

Treating liquid expulsion in children with feeding disorders.

In the current investigation, we compared and evaluated the effects of two intervention procedures, a modified chin prompt and reclined seating, on the liquid expulsion of 2 children with feeding disorders. For both participants, expulsion decreased to clinically meaningful levels when we added the modified chin prompt or reclined seating to a treatment package consisting of differential reinforcement of acceptance, nonremoval of the cup, and re-presentation. We discuss possible mechanisms underlying the effects of the 2 interventions and areas for future research.

Greater reinforcement rate during training increases spontaneous recovery.

Spontaneous recovery occurs when a previously reinforced and recently extinguished response reemerges over the course of time, often at the beginning of a new session of extinction. Spontaneous recovery could underlie instances of treatment relapse that threaten otherwise effective behavioral interventions for problem behavior. In two experiments, we arranged multiple schedules with pigeons and a human child to assess the effects of different training reinforcer rates on spontaneous recovery.

Toward meaningful outcomes in teaching conversation and greeting skills with individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

We identified greeting and conversation deficits based on a parent interview and semistructured direct assessment for one child and two adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. We taught the greeting and conversation skills using behavioral skills training and within-session corrective feedback. A multiple baseline across conversation and greeting skills demonstrated experimental control over the effects of the teaching on acquisition and generalization to novel adults.

Persistence during and resurgence following noncontingent reinforcement implemented with and without extinction.

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is typically implemented with extinction (EXT) for destructive behavior reinforced by social consequences and without EXT for destructive behavior reinforced by sensory consequences. Behavioral momentum theory (BMT) predicts that responding will be more persistent, and treatment relapse in the form of response resurgence more likely, when NCR is implemented without EXT due to the greater overall rate of reinforcement associated with this intervention. We used an analogue arrangement to test these predictions of BMT by comparing NCR implemented with and without EXT.

Evaluation of a telehealth training package to remotely train staff to conduct a preference assessment.

Recent advancements in telecommunication technologies make it possible to conduct a variety of healthcare services remotely (e.g., behavioral-analytic intervention services), thereby bridging the gap between qualified providers and consumers in isolated locations.

Evaluating the effects of discriminability on behavioral persistence during and following time-based reinforcement.

With four children with autism we evaluated a refinement to time-based reinforcement designed to reduce response persistence when we simultaneously introduced time-based reinforcement and extinction. We further evaluated whether this refinement mitigated response recurrence when all reinforcer deliveries ceased during an extinction-only disruptor phase. The refinement involved increasing the saliency of the contingency change from contingent reinforcement (during baseline) to time-based reinforcement by delivering different colored reinforcers during time-based reinforcement.

The Munroe-Meyer Approach: Continuous Integration of Didactic Instruction, Research, and Clinical Practice.

Increased demand for applied behavior analysis (ABA) services has increased the need for additional masters-level practitioners and doctoral-level academicians and clinical directors. Based on these needs, the University of Nebraska Medical Center's (UNMC) Munroe-Meyer Institute has developed a PhD program. The academic structure at UNMC allowed us to create our PhD program in a relatively quick and efficient manner.

A preliminary investigation on improving functional communication training by mitigating resurgence of destructive behavior.

Despite the effectiveness and widespread use of functional communication training (FCT), resurgence of destructive behavior can occur if the functional communication response (FCR) contacts a challenge, such as lapses in treatment integrity. We evaluated a method to mitigate resurgence by conducting FCT using a multiple schedule of reinforcement prior to extinction. After functional analyses of 2 boys' destructive behavior and treatment with FCT (Study 1), we compared levels of resurgence during an extinction challenge either after a typical FCT sequence or after exposure to schedule thinning in the context of a multiple-schedule arrangement (Study 2).

A comparison of a modified sequential oral sensory approach to an applied behavior-analytic approach in the treatment of food selectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Treatments of pediatric feeding disorders based on applied behavior analysis (ABA) have the most empirical support in the research literature (Volkert & Piazza, 2012); however, professionals often recommend, and caregivers often use, treatments that have limited empirical support. In the current investigation, we compared a modified sequential oral sensory approach (M-SOS; Benson, Parke, Gannon, & Muñoz, 2013) to an ABA approach for the treatment of the food selectivity of 6 children with autism. We randomly assigned 3 children to ABA and 3 children to M-SOS and compared the effects of treatment in a multiple baseline design across novel, healthy target foods.

Comparisons of synthesized and individual reinforcement contingencies during functional analysis.

Researchers typically modify individual functional analysis (FA) conditions after results are inconclusive (Hanley, Iwata, & McCord, 2003). Hanley, Jin, Vanselow, and Hanratty (2014) introduced a marked departure from this practice, using an interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA). In the test condition, they delivered multiple contingencies simultaneously (e.

Individual and combined effects of noncontingent reinforcement and response blocking on automatically reinforced problem behavior.

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) and response blocking are 2 common interventions for problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. We implemented NCR and blocking with 1 boy and found this combined intervention to be effective at decreasing high rates of automatically reinforced pica. With another child, we compared the effects of blocking alone to the combined intervention.