Association for Behavior Analysis International

Applied researchers

Compassion is generally defined as a desire and willingness to alleviate the suffering of others. Though there is no doubt that applied and clinical behavior analysis were founded with such intentions, compassionate behavior has not historically been explicitly analyzed or taught in behavior analytic practice. Though the word “compassion” does not often appear in traditional behavior analytic literature, it is now being employed more regularly in formal contexts and has even found its way into the most recent BACB code of ethics. As scientific practitioners, it is important that behavior analysts establish an agreed upon functional and actionable definition of compassion so that they can effectively plan for, engage in, and train others to engage in, compassionate practices. Behavior analysts have both the technology and the heart to spread compassion far and wide. This panel will discuss the functional conceptual definitions of compassionate behavior so that we can learn to identify it and understand that the topography will vary across individuals, groups, cultures, and contexts. The panel will also address how to plan for and respond with compassion to harmful behaviors. Perhaps most crucially, the panel will discuss compassion’s close relationship with self-compassion, ways to practice self-compassion and strategies aimed at avoiding compassion fatigue.

Beginner

Component Analysis is a systematic approach to identify the effects of individual elements of a treatment package. Component Analysis serves two important roles for practitioners. First, it verifies to what extent each component of the package impacts behavior. It is important to recognize the degree of effectiveness to provide best practice treatment options. Second, allows for experimenters to select the most effective components of a treatment package (Riden et al., 2020). Two previous literature reviews identified studies that implemented component analysis and examined the degree of individual components' effects on behavior across studies (Riden et al., 2020; Ward-Horner & Sturmey, 2010). While those seeking to implement a component analysis review the literature, it appears that in many scenarios they are underutilized in SCRD. While many consider the value in understanding the effects of individual components, practitioners and students should be able to seek resources that examine the effects of treatments on behavior. Future literature reviews should examine the use of component analysis across participants and specialties to determine its frequency of appearance and use cases.

Attendees should have knowledge of: What a component analysis is How to determine if a component was evaluated in a graph

In a variety of settings, the requirements of funding sources (such as CMS and State Medicaid authorities) are increasingly enforcing the use of evidence-based practices where public funding is provided. The creation of the RBT credential accredited by the NCCA in 2016 created a great opportunity to improve the lives of persons receiving care in adult day settings, whether that be residential, vocational, or a day treatment model. The presenters are actively working in the I/DD and autism space of human services, implementing "evidence-based practices" in a variety of states and settings. During the past few years, the ability to train direct care staff in ABA reduced both staff turnover and injury on the job for the multiple agencies represented by the presenters. We will review how we began, with the assistance of Dr. Brian Iwata in Brooklyn, NY, and how we continue to train staff to competency in a field that previously had little evidence-based practice despite decades of funding.

BCBAs and BCaBA

Automatically maintained self-injurious behavior is associated with more severe injuries relative to socially maintained self-injurious behavior (SIB). Assessing, treating, and conducting research on severe SIB poses many practical and ethical challenges; chief among them is minimizing risk. Protective procedures often used include mechanical devices that limit the occurrence of the behavior, protective equipment that protect areas of the body from injury, response blocking to prevent the completion of the response, and abbreviated sessions to limit exposure to situations in which the behavior is occurring. We describe a principled approach to guide the application of these and other tactics that balance the need to allow the occurrence of SIB to the extent that it can be assessed and treatments can be evaluated, while also minimizing risks of injury. The general principles include 1) matching the protective procedures based on the form of and injuries produced by SIB, 2) selecting the optimal combination of procedures, starting with the combination most likely to prevent injury, then 3) carefully reducing the use of procedures so that the optimal level of protection that is minimally restrictive is identified. Outcomes of the application of this approach will be discussed.

The identification of treatment-resistant subtypes of automatically maintained self-injurious behavior (ASIB) created an imperative to develop more efficacious interventions. Increased understanding of the mechanisms involved in the maintenance of these behaviors, and the development of new technologies provide a conceptual and empirical basis for developing an intervention targeting these treatment-resistant subtypes. Combination treatment is based on the same principle of reinforcer competition as the current standard of care treatment, noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) with competing stimuli, but also employs novel methods to greatly increase the amount and vary the sources of competing reinforcement to target both self-injury and self-restraint. Combination treatment includes three phases: 1) Pre-Treatment Assessments to identify competing stimuli, competing tasks, and self-control equipment to reduce self-injury and self-restraint; 2) Intensive Training to strengthen skills needed to fully access available competing reinforcement, and replace debilitating self-restraint with self-control; and 3) Combination Treatment where competing stimuli, competing tasks, and alternative self-control equipment are combined to maximize their effects. The conceptual and empirical basis for this treatment are discussed, and preliminary findings from a randomized crossover design comparing the efficacy of Combination Treatment to NCR with competing stimuli are summarized.

Creating inclusive and equitable models of mentorship and training is instrumental for retention of individuals from historically marginalized backgrounds in behavior analysis. Although improvements have been made, a call to further develop culturally responsive mentorship practices, graduate programs, and course work still requires substantial attention to address existing disparities. The first talk will discuss data from faculty regarding their mentorship practices, training, and current strategies for mentoring diverse students. The second talk will highlight mentorship experiences from students of historically marginalized groups and discuss tactics for refining current practices. The third talk will discuss the prevalence of diversity and cultural awareness in behavior analytic graduate programs from survey results of faculty and students. The final talk will review the need for critical multicultural coursework in behavior analytic curricula in comparison to other disciplines.

Participants should be knowledgeable of basic applied behavior analysis principles.

Recent Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB®) data showed an underrepresentation of individuals from historically marginalized groups (HMGs) who have obtained BACB® certificates (BACB Certificant Data, 2021). Previous literature has described mentorship as a recommendation for retaining individuals from HMGs in various settings including higher education (Sorkness et al., 2015) and more recently in behavior analysis (Cirincione-Ulezi, 2020). Thus, the purpose of the survey was to gather information about the experiences and needs of HMGs during mentorship and provide suggestions for improving the experiences of future BACB® certificants. The survey gathered information on the importance of mentorship, whether they had mentors who matched their backgrounds (i.e., race and/or gender), factors (e.g., school’s location, racial climate) when choosing mentors, barriers (e.g., microaggressions, lack of safety/trust) experienced during mentorship, and actions the students would like from their mentors. Recommendations will be shared based on the data (i.e., voices of the BACB® certificants from HMGs) on culturally responsive mentorship practices

The 2022 Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts requires all behavior analysts to acquire knowledge and skills to provide culturally responsive services. However, the 5th Edition Task List on which ABA curricula are based has minimal focus on diversity and cultural awareness (D&CA). Recognizing the importance of such training, we conducted a survey for professors and students from graduate behavior analysis programs to assess the degree to which D&CA was discussed in their programs. Ninety-six students and 53 professors anonymously completed the Qualtrics survey. Less than 50% of professors were from historically marginalized groups (HMG) while almost 70% of the students represented HMG, and almost one-third of the students identified as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). Chi-square analyses revealed that non-BIPOC students were consistently more likely than BIPOC students to feel their courses included topics on D&CA such as considering ethnicity and race in their work and managing one’s own biases. Moreover, almost 80% of professors reported they consider the backgrounds of their students while presenting information and giving course examples, yet only 42% of students agreed. This research demonstrates the considerable gap in teaching competency in D&CA and speaks to the importance of multicultural perspectives in diversity training.

Recent estimates from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that 1 in 59 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (Zeleke et al., 2019). Given the increased rate of autism diagnosis, behavior analysts are increasingly providing services to diverse populations. In 2021, the behavior analyst certification board (BACB) released demographic data on race/ethnicity and gender that showcased 71.8% of licensed behavior analysts are white and 86.1% are white females (BACB Certificant Data, 2021). This begs the question, why hasn’t the field of behavior analysis introduced Critical Multicultural Education (CME) within its curriculum? It is imperative that behavior analytic programs incorporate CME into their curricula as a prerequisite to becoming a behavior analyst. As such, the purpose of this article is to review literature on critical multicultural coursework across related disciplines (teacher education, social work, counseling, school psychology, psychology) in contrast to behavior analytic curricula. A total of 22 articles were identified, and methods were analyzed based on pedagogical approaches, including course work, applied projects, and field-based experiences. A discussion is provided regarding how behavior analysis can incorporate CME into its curricula, leaning on the previously established approaches from related disciplines.

Despite great technological advances in education and care for children, mental health disorders and challenges are on the rise, and these effects were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Behavioral interventions that promote psychological flexibility, such as acceptance and commitment training, mindfulness, and self-compassion training could be applied throughout the educational, familial, and therapy systems with students and their caregivers. This symposium contains four presentations that demonstrate the use of such behavioral approaches applied at multiple system levels. The first discusses the convergent and divergent validity of the Child Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire [CPFQ], and the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth [AFQ-Y] as measures of psychological flexibility in children. The second discusses the efficacy of a remote ACT intervention embedded within special education programming in schools. The third evaluates a parent training program guided by the ACT matrix with parents of a diverse background on parental engagement in treatment, distress, and psychological flexibility. The final talk will overview a self-compassion and mindfulness training program to support staff working with individuals with disabilities to evaluate changes in burnout, self-compassion, and psychological flexibility. Taken together these talks emphasize the importance of interventions embedded within whole systems to influence meaningful change.

Behavior analysts, students, and faculty

Parental distress and coercive parent-child interactions are of major issues in our society. Cultural biases, stigma, and language barriers keep Asian-American parents and children away from mental and behavioral services. Behavior parent training (BPT) as part of applied behavior analysis (ABA) services are usually available to parents and children if their child has a diagnosis, but not for parents of children without diagnoses. Research in the area of parent-child interactions suggests a combination of BPT and acceptance and commitment training (ACT) as an effective preventative intervention alleviates parental distress and fosters positive parent-child interactions. However, limited research is available that examined the effectiveness of preventative ACT-based interventions for this population. Thus, the current study evaluated the effects of the individual ACT Matrix online training for Japanese-speaking distressed parents in the U.S., using a single-subject design. Specific dependent variables measured were value-driven behaviors, parental engagement in treatment, parental distress, and psychological flexibility. The results revealed that the ACT Matrix training was effective in improving all four dependent variables. Parents reported that the training was culturally sensitive, effective, and appropriate in the social validity questionnaire. Implications for incorporating ACT in ABA services as part of BPT will be discussed.??

The effects of work-related issues are cited as a significant source of stress reported by most Americans. Disability support staff are exposed to stressful work environments which may put them at an increased risk of burnout and distress above and beyond many other workplace settings. The current study sought to evaluate the efficacy of a 6-week mindfulness and self-compassion training on reported levels of self-compassion, stress and burnout, psychological well-being, and workplace moral of the research participants. The efficacy of the intervention was evaluated using a cross-over design wherein a subset of participants received the active intervention while the other participants did not. After 6-weeks, the experimental conditions were flipped to ensure all participants access the mindfulness and self-compassion training. Results suggested that self-compassion and mindfulness training can influence measures of self-compassion, stress, and burnout in staff working with individuals with disabilities. These results also have implications for supporting flexibility and self-compassion within disability support staff and in workplace settings the frequently employ applied behavior analysts.

The current pandemic has created many roadblocks for practitioners and researchers in all areas of behavior analysis. Many of us have been forced to delay or transition our work to the virtual environment. However, this transition to online has also provided opportunities to evaluate how we conduct research and service delivery via virtual platforms. The current symposium includes a diverse sample of how interventions in Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) can be adapted and evaluated in the online environment. The four presentations will highlight research in rule-governed behavior, positive and corrective feedback, behavioral skills training (BST), and text message prompting. These studies were conducted in a variety of online settings, from virtual workplace analogues to online educational/training programs for college students. Overall, these studies represent how the field of OBM can successfully capitalize on current circumstances to advance our research. Many organizations will maintain at least a partial, virtual workforce going forward and it is critical that the field of OBM adapt our research and application to address this shift in the business environment.

Background and/or education in ABA, familiar with single-subject research methodology, understanding of rule-governed behavior

Feedback is one of the most utilized interventions in the Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) literature and is effective in producing increases in performance across a variety of organizational settings. The research on feedback is often interested in the delivery of the feedback (e.g., accuracy, timing, and sequence) with fewer studies investigating preference for different types of feedback. Typically, preference for different types of feedback is measured using indirect methods and relatively few studies have provided participants a direct choice between positive and corrective feedback. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the effects of and preference for positive and corrective feedback during the acquisition of novel tasks using an online format. In the first phase, participants (n =10; 8 female, 2 male) received either positive, corrective, or no feedback (control) across three novel tasks. Participants only mastered the task in which corrective feedback was provided. In the second phase, participants chose to receive either positive or corrective feedback after completing trials of the previous phase’s control task. All participants chose to receive corrective feedback more frequently than positive feedback. Overall, corrective feedback was more effective and more preferred compared to positive feedback.

Behavioral Skills Training (BST) is an effective training process and has been used to teach a variety of skills, including interview skills. Multiple studies have also demonstrated that BST can be used in a web-based context, but no studies to our knowledge have extended the literature by using BST to teach Interview Skills online. Our study extends and replicates previous research by improving the interview skills of college students in a fully synchronous web-based video format, including a stricter mastery criterion, a stricter vocal criterion for certain responding measures, and additional environmental variables that may be relevant in a web-based format. We used a multiple baseline design across targets with follow up sessions testing for maintenance and generalization. All participant?performance improved from baseline?to post-training across all targeted dependent variables providing additional?evidence?that BST is an effective training?process?to?teach?interview skills to college?students,?and can extend to?a novel web-based?format. Implications, limitations and future directions will be discussed.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, organizations across the world were forced to shift from operating entirely in-person to entirely or partially remotely. Many organizations are now working to understand the ways in which they can support or facilitate meaningful behavior change from a distance. Inclusive postsecondary education programs (IPSEs), which offer specialized support to college students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or Intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD), also had to adapt their service models to fit the demands of remote support. This study examined the effects of text message prompts and text messaging self-monitoring on the timeliness of submission of assignments of three college students receiving remote services from an IPSE at a large midwestern university. Two of three participants exhibited meaningful increases in timely assignment submission

This symposium will discuss Russ Church’s research contributions and how the panelists have built on them in their own research to determine how to assess individual differences in timing abilities, the effects of environmental and pharmacological manipulations, and the neurobiology of timing.

Basic and translational investigators interested in applying MPR, board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Russell (Russ) Church was a dominant figure in the study of timing processes and how those processes influenced other cognitive processes. During my time as a post-doctoral fellow in his laboratory, Russ and I studied the role of timing processes in classical (Pavlovian) conditioning which led to the development of the Packet theory of timing and conditioning. My laboratory subsequently migrated to studying timing and impulsive choices, but there are multiple areas of our current research program where Russ’ influence is still apparent. This presentation will discuss recent research from my laboratory on the role of temporal attention and other timing processes in impulsive choice procedures in rats. Impulsive choice tasks present choices between a smaller-sooner and a larger-later reward, where the smaller-sooner is the impulsive choice. When rats were required to engage in active (versus passive) timing, they were more self-controlled, showed greater delay sensitivity, and demonstrated stronger preferences for the larger reward (when the delays were the same). The results suggest that tasks that engage temporal attention may be beneficial to reducing impulsive choices. Time-based interventions that involve repeated exposure to delays promoted self-control regardless of temporal attention demands. The interface of timing processes and impulsive choices can provide key insights into understanding the fundamental facets of the timing and decision-making systems.

Russell Church contributed immensely to our understanding of Timing, the ability of animals and humans to discriminate intervals and durations of events. In this talk, I will analyze some of Church’s empirical studies, including his seminal “Bisection of Temporal Intervals”, and his theoretical models, from the influential Scalar Expectancy Theory to the more recent Modular Theory of Timing. I will also explain how Russell Church’s ideas and findings shaped our work on how animals learn to time.

Armando Machado obtained his Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at Duke University. His research on the conditions in which pigeons generate highly variable, random-like behavior received the Annual Dissertation Award from Division 25 of the American Psychological Association. After his PhD, Armando joined Indiana University as an Assistant and then a tenured Associate professor. In 2000 he moved to the University of Minho where he became Full professor, and in 2019 he moved to the University of Aveiro. Armando’s research focuses on temporal learning, numerical discrimination, choice, and decision making in animals. In 2010 he received the Research Merit Award from the School of Psychology, and in 2014 he received the Scientific Merit Award from the University of Minho. He has served as Editor of the journal Behavior and Philosophy and Associate Editor of Psychonomic Bulletin & Review and the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. He was the President and Program Chair of the Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior, and the first president of the Portuguese Association of Experimental Psychology.

By 2015, Russ Church decided to write a book that he never got a chance to finish. I was fortunate enough to be his coauthor. Its title—Temporal Conditioning: How Rats Learn—conveyed his view that timing and conditioning should be understood together. But the contents of the book conveyed a way of thinking about research that is so often left out of print. This talk will focus on Russ Church’s evolving views on animal behavior from 2005 to 2015, and where he hoped his ideas would lead. I’ll use this to describe how Russ thought about research—the flow from procedure to psychological model, and from model to evaluation.

David Freestone earned a Ph.D. in Russ Church’s lab in 2012. After a post-doc in neuroeconomics (NYU), he became a professor. His work focused on timing, conditioning, and value-based decision-making. These days, David works as a researcher and data scientist at a virtual eating disorder treatment center, and consults with animal facilities toward building robust data infrastructure to support the welfare of their animals.

In this presentation, I reflect on the impact Russ Church had on me and my research trajectory. I briefly describe my research on basic timing mechanisms. Next, I describe how timing research and immersion in the Church lab impacted my entry into research on memory. Finally, I describe the importance of time in the development of animal models of episodic memory.

This symposium will span multiple novel and innovative areas of investigation in relational frame theory (RFT) research. The presentations will include 1) translational research that incorporates neurological measures when engaging in derived relational responding (e.g., eye gaze patterns, electroencephalography, and blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals during functional magnetic resonance imaging); 2) an extension of Relational Density Theory research via an evaluation of differences between coherent and non-coherent relational classes when both classes are exposed to coherence training, using the Multidimensional Scaling Procedure to model results; 3) the effect of perspective taking and values consistency tasks on an implicit racial bias measure via the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure; and finally 4) survey results that sought to characterize the current state of knowledge of?perceptions?of RFT and equivalence-based instruction, educational experiences, and barriers that researchers and practitioners might encounter in interpreting and implementing derived stimulus relations research. In sum, presentations 1-3 seek to advance the state of knowledge of complex concepts and the measurement and application of those concepts, while presentation 4 seeks to shed light on potential gaps in knowledge in the field to make use of the above advances.

Behavior analysts, students, and faculty

The current study investigated the effect of perspective taking and values consistency tasks on implicit racial bias. Using a?repeated measures design with control group, 39 participants who identified as White were administered the IRAP. All participants in both groups completed the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ), the Modified Modern Racism Scales (MMRS), and Likert scale and the Valuing Questionnaire (VQ).?Experimental group participants completed brief values consistency and perspective taking tasks. The IRAP effect was demonstrated favoring pro-White bias. A statistically significant impact for interaction between condition and trial type was found for the Consistent-White trial type. A statistically significant difference was also found between the control and experimental group for the Inconsistent Black trial type. Recommendations for future research are presented.?

To broadly predict and influence human behavior, behavior analysts must have competence in ostensibly unique human behavior – verbal behavior. At this time, Relational Frame Theory (RFT), a contemporary theory of verbal behavior, is not an explicitly required area of instruction for board certified behavior analysts (BCBA). Consequently, practice in the field may not be fully informed by RFT and related content areas and, reciprocally, the field may not be capitalizing on opportunities for translational research that would extend the generality of RFT and conceptually related research areas. As an initial step in promoting the use of RFT and derived stimulus relations in practice, we sought to characterize the current state of knowledge of these content areas among BCBAs. Original data related to the acceptability and prevalence of training in RFT and complex discriminative control of behavior will be presented and discussed. Specifically, we conducted a survey of BCBAs (n=127) to determine their (1) perceptions of RFT and Equivalence-Based Instruction (EBI), (2) educational experiences and knowledge of these content areas, and (3) barriers to carrying out derived stimulus relations research and practice. Results indicate that both RFT and EBI are mostly acceptable and perceived to be within the scope of behavior analysis. Results, however, also indicate a gap related to knowledge of and competence in carrying out EBI and RFT research and practice. Cultural variables within behavior analysis that may influence the preparedness of researchers and practitioners to influence large scale behavior change will be examined.

An exploration of the applications of ABA treatment in the mental health field. This talk will discuss how to diversify the ABA field of practice to include the mental health population. 1 in 59 children are diagnosed with autism while 1 in 6 children have a mental health diagnosis, 17.1 million children are diagnosed with a mental health disorder and only 50% receive any treatment. This presentation will discuss the relevance of ABA in this sector and will teach participants how to apply the science of ABA in assessment and treatment of a variety of mental health diagnosis and symptoms.

ABA practitioners with a BCBA or BCaBA certification, who are actively practicing in the applied setting.

Knowledge of derived stimulus relations, stimulus equivalence, and conditional discrimination procedures.

Behavior analysts and others with some knowledge of measurement in behavior analysis and psychology

Ethical decision-making can be described as involving several components. First, a set of responses that can occur sequentially or non-sequentially and that culminate in a final decision. Second, comparison of that final decision with social standards of 'right' and 'wrong'. Finally, personal and professional contingencies that shape ethical decision-making over time. In this symposium, three presentations describe recent work surrounding ethical decision-making in clinical ABA practice settings. In one presentation, Kinsella and colleagues present the results of a literature review analyzing trends and similarities across 55 ethical decision-making models published across medical and clinical literatures. Next, Almeida and colleagues present the results of an experiment that evaluated the effectiveness and preference for ethical decision models by BCBAs responding to ethical dilemmas. Finally, Woolf and colleagues discuss how organizations can create ethical cultures that align and balance the competing contingencies associated with decision-making that impact care quality and an organization's financial health. Together, the presentations that comprise this symposium highlight the many systems that impact ethical decision-making in ABA practice settings and many avenues for fruitful future research.

General understanding ethical codes, organizational systems, and the basic literature on decision-making.

The business of providing ABA-based treatments to children has increased exponentially over the last ten years. The combination of ASDs’ high prevalence, shortage of providers, nationwide treatment mandates, and other factors set the occasion for robust business opportunities for autism treatment providers and investors. The ASD ABA treatment market was valued at $1.87 billion in 2017 with a projected market valuation of over $2.23 billion by 2022 (Research and Markets, 2017). Balancing competing contingencies of providing quality care, while also reporting to investors who may not have direct knowledge of best practice ABA treatment, can be not only challenging but also create ethical distress among the providers rendering care within the organization. As such, it is important for our field to engage in open dialogue about the ethical dilemmas that may arise and how to promote high-quality, ethically sound ABA treatment within the evolving landscape of applied behavior analysis treatment. To this end, the purpose of this presentation is to focus on organizational ethics as it refers to the ethical issues from an administrative or management perspective within a healthcare organization, rather than addressing ethical issues purely related to clinical practice.

Preference assessments are a defining feature of individualized behavior analytic therapy. Incorporation of client preferences, and maximization of choice making opportunities, have recently been suggested as strategies for trauma informed (Rajaraman et al., 2021) and culturally responsive care (Fong et al., 2016). This symposium includes three studies on preference assessments with individuals with an autism spectrum disorder. The first presenter evaluated video-based preference assessments for vocational tasks in transition-aged individuals. The second presenter evaluated the stability of edible and leisure assessments in preschool-aged children. The third presenter extended research on preference displacement by including edible, leisure, and social stimuli. Results of these studies highlight the flexibility of preference assessments and suggest best practices for their use.

Students, researchers, and practitioners

Employment is a priority for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Vocational preference assessments (VPAs) have led to the identification of preferred vocational tasks. Benefits of providing access to highly preferred vocational tasks for individuals with ASD include enhancing productivity, task engagement, and reducing problem behavior. Using videos when evaluating vocational task preference has resulted in identifying preferred tasks and may better communicate task requirements than presenting objects or pictures. The role of skill acquisition on vocational preference has been explored in few studies. Further, discrimination skills that may be important for successful use of VPAs remain unclear. The purpose of our study was to extend past research by evaluating the utility of a video-based VPAs to identify preferred vocational tasks for transition-aged individuals with ASD, carefully assess participants’ discrimination skills (e.g., picture-to-object matching), and subsequently evaluate vocational preference pre- and post- acquisition of the vocational task. We anticipate video-based VPAs will show differentiated preference hierarchies across tasks per participant, that participants will acquire both low- and high-preferred vocational tasks, and that vocational preference may be impacted by acquisition of the task. Implications and areas of future research will be discussed.

Individuals who engage in patterns of preference stability during multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessments may require less frequent preference assessments, which can save instructional time and resources. Yet, no study to date has assessed stability within rounds of the same preference assessment (rounds 1-5 in a MSWO preference assessment). The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of presentations of assessment rounds on preference stability during subsequent rounds of a MSWO preference assessment in preschool aged children with autism. We conducted a secondary data analysis based on videos recorded during Sipila-Thomas et al. (2021) and calculated preference stability across consecutive rounds using Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients (Spearman’s ??) for 17 participants with autism and across 40 MSWO preference assessments. Additionally, we present a new definition for patterns of stability and variability across rounds of a MSWO preference assessment. We observed patterns of preference stability for 24 out of the 40 assessments (60%) indicating that pre-school aged children with autism in this study were slightly more likely to engage in patterns of preference stability than patterns of preference variability within the same preference assessment. The implications of these results will be discussed.

Preference assessments that include combined-category stimulus arrays of edible and leisure stimuli can result in displacement effects, in which a stimulus that is identified as less preferred in a preference assessment is found to function as a reinforcer in a reinforcer assessment. However, it is unclear whether the inclusion of social interaction in combined-category arrays would result in displacement effects. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate potential displacement effects in combined-category stimulus arrays of edible, leisure, and social stimuli for five individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). First, single category pictorially based paired-stimulus preference assessments were implemented to identify highly preferred edible, leisure, and social stimuli. The top two ranked items from each category were then included in a subsequent combined-category preference assessment to evaluate potential displacement effects across stimulus categories. A concurrent operant reinforcer assessment was subsequently conducted to determine the relative and absolute reinforcing efficacy of each highest ranked stimulus from each category. Interobserver agreement data were collected for over 33% of sessions during the preference and reinforcer assessments and averaged over 90%. Although displacement effects were observed, the type and extent of the effect differed across participants.

The theme of the current symposium is research that addresses deficits in leisure and physical activity engagement. The first presenter will describe a study for increasing functional leisure item engagement across multiple activities for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who displayed restricted interests (i.e., they engaged primarily with an iPad). Response restriction preference assessments were conducted throughout training to assess the generality of the findings when several activities were concurrently available. In the second paper, the author will describe a study on a technology for increasing physical activity engagement for two individuals with ASD who showed low levels of physical activity engagement. This approach included a combination of a preference assessment and treatment analysis to identify the most preferred physical activity task and the most effective intervention. Additional assessments were subsequently conducted to increase the generality and acceptability of the outcomes. In the third paper, the presenter will describe an evaluation of a competition feature on an automated fitness tracker for increasing physical activity in six typically developing adults. If the competition alone was ineffective, an additional incentive for winning the competition was included. The findings obtained and directions for future research in this area will be discussed.

Individuals who have previous knowledge of behavior analytic principles.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often display restricted interests. The current study assessed levels of engagement across multiple leisure items in five individuals with ASD, who repetitively engaged with an iPad to the exclusion of other activities. Response restriction (RR) preference assessments were conducted to assess whether simply restricting access to the iPad facilitated engagement across multiple items. If it did not, the experimenter conducted leisure-item-engagement training in the context of a modified single-item duration-based preference assessment. A multiple baseline design across leisure items was used to evaluate the effects of prompting and differential reinforcement on simple and functional engagement. Prompting alone was effective in increasing simple engagement for four participants and functional engagement for one participant. Prompting with differential reinforcement increased functional engagement for four participants. RR assessments were conducted throughout training to serve as an ongoing measure of the effects of training on restricted interest patterns.

Individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism often have sedentary lifestyles and do not meet the recommendations for physical activity engagement outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previous research on increasing physical activity engagement has been primarily conducted with typically developing individuals, and the procedures used may not be amenable to individuals with intellectual disabilities or autism. The purpose of this study was to develop a systematic technology for increasing physical activity engagement for two individuals with autism. A physical activity analysis that included a progressive treatment approach was conducted and identified the most effective physical activity and treatment combination for increasing physical activity engagement. Data from the physical activity analysis and two subsequent analyses on the generality and acceptability of the intervention will be reviewed.

Individuals with Autism often receive inadequate instruction surrounding sexuality and building healthy relationships. Many recognize the importance of sexuality education; however, feel unprepared to teach this subject to those with ASD. When sex education is provided, it is often implemented reactively, when a behavior is considered problematic rather than proactively. Instruction tends to lack essential information to support individuals in understanding their personal sexuality and how to develop romantic relationships. One way to make sexuality education more accessible is by providing parents, caregivers and professionals evidence-based resources and strategies to effectively teach these skills. In this panel, the following topics may be discussed: (a) the facts and myths surrounding teaching individuals with ASD about sexuality and relationships; (b) current literature on caregiver/teacher perceptions of sexuality and ASD; (c) the importance of incorporating critical relationship skills into education; and (d) evidence-based strategies that can be used to teach healthy relationship skills. Attendees will be provided with a list of resources that they can use to increase the quality of their own instruction surrounding sexuality and building healthy relationships.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students. 

Problem behavior can be treated with applied behavior analysis (ABA) or psychotropic medication, and each carries its own advantages and disadvantages. ABA is resource intensive, requires technically trained personnel, and the benefits may develop slowly but it has none of the side effects associated with psychotropic medications, their benefits are cumulative and often outlive the treatment period. Psychotropic medication’s effects appear quickly, their benefits can be striking, and are thought to be less expensive than ABA interventions. Finally, the educational and practicum training required for the two domains are nearly non-overlapping, so often only one approach is used or both are used with varying degrees of cooperation among practitioners, with impacts on families and clients. The two papers in this symposium examine treatment in this context. Chris Newland compares the costs of ABA with and without psychotropic medications and examines when ABA reduces the future use of psychotropic medication. Jennifer Zarcone discusses communicating with medical providers and families, and the ethical dilemmas presented when balancing their approaches with the therapeutic goals. The discussant, Maria Valdovinos, will examine these topics in the context of recent studies of joint treatment by psychotropic and behavioral interventions.

The target audience includes behavior analysts interested in psychopharmacology in applied settings, the use of psychotropic medications, and ethical and practical issues that arise when working with medical personnel. School staff and families will also benefit. Audience members should have a basic understanding of behavior analytic principles, how to read and interpret complex graphs, an appreciation of interdisciplinary service delivery, and at least an elementary understanding of psychotropic medications that are used.

We evaluated whether applied behavior analysis (ABA) services for children and youth in foster care reduces the future use of psychotropic medication and yields cost savings. Foster children 2 to 18 years old and their caregivers received ABA services to target specific problem behaviors and to train caregivers in behavior management. Most children were on psychotropic medication but those in the “Prevention Group” had no such history. An “ABA-Matched” group was matched on demographic variables and the severity of problem behavior. The costs of delivering services and medication was compared using these groups. A third group, called the “Medicaid-Matched” group was matched against the ABA-Matched group from a database of children receiving psychotropics through Medicaid. This last matching was based on demographics, medications prescribed on entering Medicaid, and the number of months receiving Medicaid-supported psychotropics. Costs for the older ABA-Matched children (> 12YO) were more than 10X the costs of age-matched prevention children, but costs for younger children (< 5YO) were similar. About half of the Prevention-Group children received no psychotropics in a three-year follow-up and the others received fewer than the ABA-Matched children. Thus, ABA services before commencing psychotropics prevented or greatly reduced the use of psychotropics over a three-year follow-up.

This presentation will focus on some of the ethical issues we face as behavior analysts when collaborating with families and medical providers to measure the effects of psychotropic medication. There are barriers to effective communication for many clinicians and some advice on how to negotiate those barriers will be discussed. In addition, a brief review of common measures (both indirect and based on direct observation) that can be used to assess the effects of medication on challenging behavior will be discussed. For example, we conducted an academic analog assessment with a 10-year-old with autism to assess the effect of an attention deficit disorder medication on off task and problem behavior on an impatient hospital unit. The figure shows that atomoxetine (Straterra) was highly effective in reducing problem and off task behavior. Additionally, we will discuss how we can help behavior analysts become more knowledgeable about behavioral pharmacology and medication effects during their graduate programs as well as via continuing education opportunities.

Behavior analysts working to address systemic social-cultural problems need a thorough understanding of the multi-level context in which the issue is embedded, knowledge that almost always is found in disciplines other than behavior analysis. This BFSR-sponsored Panel brings to the attention of behavior analysts three new books of social importance, with the goal to both inform and prompt further interest in the target social problems. Each panelist will offer commentary on one book. Rich Rakos will comment on “The Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories of Mystery Illness" by Suzanne O'Sullivan. Kennee Switzer will discuss "In the Midst of Plenty: Homelessness and What to Do About It" by Marybeth Shinn and Jill Khadduri. And Mark Alavosius will reflect on "Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia" by George Makari. Each of the panelists will present a brief overview or summary of the book’s main thesis, identify its strengths, offer critiques, and suggest links with or relevance for behavior analysis and Culturo-Behavior Science. Panelists will limit their commentary to 10-12 minutes each, leaving time for panelist interaction and audience participation.

Behavior analysts interested in expanding the science to address social issues more effectively

In recent years, the field has witnessed an increased interest and attention to the need for diversity, equity, and inclusion in all domains of behavior analysis (i.e., basic, and applied research, service delivery). One aspect of equity and inclusion that has received minimal attention is the disparity in access to high-quality ABA services for underrepresented and marginalized communities in the U.S. A recent publication by Drahota and colleagues (2020) describe the concept of 'service deserts' and presents information for ABA practitioners to consider how they can implement and promote dissemination of ABA services to disadvantaged neighborhoods in the U.S. The purpose of this panel discussion is to highlight the work of three Latina BCBA business owners who are paving the way for service delivery in racially and ethnically diverse communities in both rural and urban cities in California and Massachusetts. The panelists will describe the disparities in ABA services that inspired them to start their respective companies (e.g., their perspective on 'service deserts'), share stories of challenges and success in delivering services to these communities, provide recommendations for current and aspiring service providers, and discuss changes to public policy that will help to advance work in this area.

The target audience includes current BCBA practitioners, aspiring BCBAs, academics involved in graduate and undergraduate training programs in applied behavior analysis, and the ABAI leadership team. To gain the maximum benefit from this panel discussion, audience members should have a basic understanding of the complexities of ABA service provision (e.g., how services are reimbursed, how staff are hired and trained, etc.); and basic knowledge of the health disparities that are prevalent in the U.S. outside of the context of behavior analytic service delivery.

Instructional Design and Behavior Analysis have a common intellectual through-line. The three papers presented herein explore this through-line and highlight areas of connection and divergence. Particular attention is paid to historical efforts to contribute to instructional design, current practices within behavior analysis to create instructional materials for clinicians working with children diagnosed with Autism and draw attention to possibilities to advance our disciplines' offerings. The first paper highlights efforts made by behavior analytic thinkers that have contributed considerably to behavior analytic efforts in instructional design. The second paper explores a common approach to instructional design with attention paid to the positive and concerning implications of staying the course. The final paper showcases a coherent way forward by behavior analysts to resourcefully embed instructional design into their efforts to make meaningful differences in the lives of the people they serve.

This symposium is intended for practicing certified/licensed behavior analysts.

When venturing out into the world, the words “instructional design” or “instructional designer” land differently to members within the verbal communities of business, industry, and education in comparison to those of behavior analysis. When seeking out advanced degrees in instructional design, works by known behavior analytic instructional design giants such as Susan Markel, T.V. Joe Layng, and Kent Johnson are unfortunately ignored. Works by Robert Gagne, Cathay Moore, and M. David Merrill, just to name a few, are much more prevalent. The current paper addresses how instructional design is used in different disciplines by these more cognitive authors and researchers. Models such as ADDIE, Agile, and Action Mapping are discussed with respect to their contributions and limitations to instructional design in multiple contexts and audiences. Further, implications are drawn on how these models can impact behavior analysts in the work they engage in, whether it be in academia, parent training, staff training, curriculum design, as well as providing a general framework for instruction with any learners.

The history of instructional design is long with several disciplines contributing to the knowledge base. Though B.F. Skinner’s programmed instruction is credited as an important contribution to instructional design history; the broader role operant theory plays in contemporary instructional design is limited. Within behavior analysis, the design of instructional programming often can tell you more about the instructional preferences of the behavior analyst than the needs of the learner. This paper explores both the history of instructional design as well as what behavior analysts can consider when creating programming for their learners. Particular attention is paid to the notion of an iterative process and how best to consider incorporating it in a broader system of programming. Within an iterative framework the topics of teaching strategy and measurement practice will be addressed.

It can be daunting for clinicians to design individualized programming for each learner on their caseload. Often, thorough instructional design practices are not consistently practiced by clinicians due to a lack of resources, the experience of the clinician, or the availability of instructional design training. Additionally, the validity of instruction designed for a learner is often not evaluated. When design fails or does not produce the magnitude of change expected, it often becomes a “learner problem” rather than a “teaching problem”. This paper presents a way to realign with instructional design best practices so that clinicians and organizations can resourcefully embed instructional design into their day-to-day clinician practice, ensuring that each skill in a client’s programing is individually designed and effective. Additionally, this paper proposes measurement systems, time saving design practices, and training strategies that will empower practitioners to maintain the integrity of instructional design and maximize their available resources. Further recommendations for establishing and maintaining an iterative design process will be discussed.

Systems may be formal or a result of self-organized selection of behaviors. We often talk about for instance a school system referring to the formal, planned and intentionally organized teaching and support services. A system may, however, as well arise without any formal structure, planning or intentionality. OBM, or the science of how to facilitate optimal contingencies for behaviors that serves the goals of the company, have to deal with both formal and informal functions, structures, and processes. These structures, whether visualized by an organization chart or a snapshot of network interactions, must also take culture into consideration. This presentation will show how the transmission of cultural practices over time influence both formal and informal systems.

Everyone interested in how organizations work, whether businesses or public sector.

The word "consent" may mean different things, depending on context and audience. Conceptualizations of sexual consent are often delivered in metaphor or acronym by sexuality educators and abuse prevention specialists. It is possible to use these frameworks to explain other consent-based behaviors. Additionally, it is our responsibility to think critically about how some of our practices may violate consent/assent without due care. This conversation will explore consensual behavior as a consideration when supporting clients, as well as our role in teaching others how to engage in consent behaviors.

BCBAs and BCaBAs

Meaningful skill development is one overarching purpose for applied work in behavior analysis. During this symposium, a literature review highlighting the tools for meaningful goal setting, a progressive approach to rapport building with clients, and a survey about safety experiences of professionals working directly with clients will be presented. The themes of assent, social validity, and meaningful curriculum are exemplified by the data reported in each project. A focus of this symposium is the guidance for future research in practice in these areas in addition to the findings in each area.

This symposium is intended for behavior analysts with more than five years of experience working with individuals with different disability labels across a variety of environments and situations. The goal is to provide background training on three of the more complex issues facing practitioners today.

In order to promote best outcomes across the lifespan and thereby improve overall quality of life for individuals on the autism spectrum, it is critical that goals written and interventions prescribed prior to the transition to adulthood are meaningful and highly socially valid. This presentation will provide an overview of available assessment and curriculum tools commonly used in the field of applied behavior analysis to guide goal development. An analysis of skills contained within each tool across various important skill domains will be reviewed. Implications and recommendations will be discussed.

Rapport is an important component of ABA programs, but has historically been defined with great subjectivity and variability. The presenter will discuss rapport as a measure of assent, why this is especially important for practitioners today, and present preliminary findings of a study training staff to build rapport with children with autism using a progressive approach to rapport-building. Future directions for studies of assent, rapport, and training will be discussed.

The direct support professionals (DSP) working in group homes in adult services are important consumers of behavior analytic services. They often have the opportunity to express their acceptance and adherence to interventions during team meetings and their experience guides decision making for important support strategies around the balance of safety and dignity of the individuals they support. A survey was conducted across multiple group homes in adult services in Massachusetts to gain an understanding of the past experiences of safety concerns by DSPs. The data show varying levels of experience with concerns such as opinions around pedestrian safety, carrying cash, and wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Analysis and discussion of these data will be presented. The findings of this survey are relevant to seeking information to better inform interventions and for ongoing consideration of the least restrictive environment.

While airborne respiratory aerosols are currently thought to be the main transmission pathway for the SARS-CoV-2, fomite-mediated transmission remains an important risk during the current pandemic. Fomites are inanimate object surfaces where viral particles can remain viable for hours or days. Community-based epidemiological studies cannot readily establish the relative contribution to infection risk of several transmission pathways when they operate simultaneously and most transmission models have focused on human-to-human transmission of the SARS-CoV-2. However, recent studies indicate that transmission due to contact with contaminated surfaces may play an important role, particularly in the early stages of an outbreak and in closed environments such as child daycare services, schools, nursing homes, and offices. Hand contact with contaminated surfaces poses a risk of infection when subsequently engaging in hand-to-face contact with the mouth, nasopharynx, or eyes. Therefore, face-touching is a risk behavior of significant public health interest. In the current series of studies we will explore various treatment approaches to reducing face touching in both typically developed adults and children with autism spectrum disorder. We will also present various strategies for detecting and recording face touching including automated systems. The studies will be discussed by Dr. Ray G. Miltenberger, a world-renowned expert in the assessment and treatment of habitual behaviors.

Students, practitioners and applied researchers.

Face touching is a prevalent behavior for individuals of all ages. However, frequent face touching has potential negative side effects such as the transmission of viruses, bacterial infections, and skin infections. The present investigation extended previous research by evaluating a reinforcement-based intervention package on the reduction of face touching for children with autism spectrum disorder who tolerated wearing face coverings (i.e., face masks, face shields). The treatment package included an unsignaled, momentary differential reinforcement of other behavior procedure with prompts. Results indicated that rates of face touching decreased from baseline levels for children during 5-min treatment sessions. Furthermore, low levels of face touching were observed during follow-up sessions that were longer in duration (i.e., 15 min) across participants. Minor procedural modifications across participants will be described. Overall, results support the utility of behavioral interventions on the reduction of potentially unsafe behaviors related to medical routines for children with autism.

Fomite-mediated self-infection via face-touching is a potentially important and understudied transmission pathway for COVID-19. In the current study we evaluated the effect of a computer-mediated vibrotactile cues (presented through experimental bracelets located on one or both hands of the subject) on the frequency of face-touching among eight healthy adults living in the community. We conducted a treatment evaluation totaling over 25,000 minutes of observation. The treatment was evaluated through a multiple treatment design and a hierarchical linear model indicated that all participants engaged in significant levels of face-touching prior to the intervention. On average, the one-bracelet intervention did not produce significantly lower levels of face-touching, whereas the two-bracelet intervention did result in significantly lower levels. The effect increased over repeated presentations of the two-bracelet intervention with the second implementation producing 31 fewer face-touching events, on average, relative to baseline levels. The intervention effect was robust to potential face touching disruptors including wearing a mask, speech, moving around, or being outdoors. Dependent on the dynamics of fomite-mediated self-infection via face-touching, treatment effects could be of public health significance. The implications for research and practice are discussed.

In this translational study, three integrated experiments analyzed the impact of mixed-compound-consequences on equivalence-class formation. Experiment 1 compared simple-discrimination training with class-specific-compound-consequences (CSCC; A/B1→R1r1, A/B2→R2r2, A/B3→R3r3) and with mixed-compound-consequences (MCC; one class-specific element and one common across discriminations; A/B4→R0r4, A/B5→R0r5, A/B6→R0r6) with nine 6-8-year-old children. Conditional discrimination probes assessed emergent relations between A/B/R/r stimuli. When CSCC training occurred first, equivalence-class formation was demonstrated in both conditions. However, when MCC training occurred first, participants either demonstrated chance responding or emergent stimulus-reinforcer relations, without AB/BA relations. Equivalence classes were evidenced in the subsequent CSCC condition, but not always when the MCC condition was repeated. In Experiment 2, six college participants demonstrated class formation after either CSCC or MCC training. In Experiment 3, nine college students received CSCC or MCC training, but only emergent AB/BA relations were tested. Half of the participants trained first with MCCs demonstrated no emergence for any condition. These results demonstrate that a common element within a compound stimulus can hinder emergence, perhaps paralleling some instructive feedback applications. Findings also suggest that specific training and testing arrangements facilitate independent control by the separate elements of compound consequences, promoting class formation and extending both theoretical analyses and applications of equivalence.

Current graduate students, practitioners in applied settings, and those who have a basic understanding of the mathematical properties of stimulus equivalence.

Don’t Dis Kids: Embracing Normal Variation in Educational Systems Variation is a feature of all life forms and the source of change at the five levels of selection by consequences. Limiting or branding variation as abnormal leads to problems of adaptation. This paper will cover the inadequacies found in most educational systems in the United States relative to variations in what are called ‘learning styles’ of children. The rates of these variations are about the same across cultures, indicating they have been preciously selected at the genetic and epigenetic levels, but cultural environments can steer children’s lives in widely differing ways. Some variations may not work well for a child in any environment, but branding all variants as disorders (dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADD, sensory processing disorders, etc.) can result in focusing on medical conditions instead of behavior- environment interactions. This may lead to a lifetime of failure for some children, and many unnecessary costs to society. We are a social species and these variations allow for multiple skill sets within groups. Group survival can be enhanced by them. Mediation through teaching methodologies and changing the culture of colleges of education will be a main focus.

Attendees should have a basic understanding of selection by consequences and the application of theoretical issues to societal problems.

Private equity firms have been making investments in ABA companies. This development has made many nervous that quality concerns will become secondary to quality treatment concerns. In this paper, we will address factors related to private equity and what one must do to ensure quality of services within the model.

Individual who have worked in the field and have decision-making responsibilities within the organization as regards clinical and staffing decisions.

Those behavior analysts looking to advance their skills beyond a simple ABC analysis, and clinicians working with complex cases.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students. 

Systematic literature reviews aim to answer specific research questions by identifying and synthesizing the literature basis related to a particular topic using clearly defined search procedures and inclusion and exclusion criteria. This symposium includes three systematic reviews of the literature synthesizing research related to skill acquisition. The first paper focused on the acquisition of mands for information, particularly studies that manipulated motivating operations. This paper identified a shortage of research investigating the autoclitic frame “why.” The second paper includes empirical studies assessing the emergence of intraverbal repertoires. Across the studies reviewed by this paper, intraverbal responding was the most common specific operant directly trained. The final paper comprises of studies that evaluated the impact of differential reinforcement on acquisition of a variety of skills. The paper identified numerous procedurals variations related to the reinforcer parameters manipulated and the onset of differential reinforcement. These papers will discuss results of the studies included in their reviews, procedural variations, recommendations for clinical practice, and/or recommendations for future research.

Entry level/any

As every behavior analyst in well aware, we as individuals exist in a world where our interaction with the environment shape who we are and how we behave. Professionals utilizing principles of behavior analysis exist in a wide array of fields outside of the traditional areas typically found at Behavior Analysis conferences, and typically call themselves something other than Behavior Analysts. The field of Cyber is one of those fields for which a large component revolves around analyzing human behavior with the goal of behavior change and education. This symposium is set out to lay the groundwork of educating attendees on what the Cyber world is, how we operate, and some areas for which Behavior Analysis is 100% in action. Furthermore, presenters will specifically discuss the use of manipulation for information gathering (Social Engineering), exploiting vulnerabilities in networks, web apps, and user security (Pentesting), and information gathering within digital media (Open Source Intelligence).

Target audience for this presentation are individuals who are curious about the application of behavior analysis in the cyber field. No prerequisite knowledge required.

The field of Cyber or Cybersecurity began in 1972, long before the age of personal computers and smart phones. Since then, the field has grown significantly due to the increase in users, platforms, software, and hardware. More importantly, organizations heavily rely on digital resources and security in order to perform duties ranging from Human Resources to service delivery. To test the reliably of an internal network or security protocols, organizations hire outside companies to conduct a Penetration Test (Pentest) in order to assess the company systems with the goal of helping the hiring organization to fix internal issues. How the process of Pentesting works is highly dependent on tools, we as Behavior Analysts, utilize on a daily basis in our respective jobs. The goal of this presentation is to review the field of Cyber, and to build a parallel between Behavior Analysis and Cyber. Within the presentation, the presenter will also discuss ways to gather and use Intelligence gathered in digital media in order to assist Pentesters.

As the school-age population continues to diversify, it is now more important than ever that we provide services with a social justice focus that recognizes and values individuals’ unique identities and dismantles systems of oppression and marginalization. With a particular focus on school-based intervention, we will discuss a social justice approach to service delivery. Implications for integrating an ecological-behavioral framework with a social justice approach informed by critical race theory, intersectionality, and dis/ability critical race studies will be discussed. We will discuss the adaptation of evidence-based interventions to fit various contexts, as well as the development of novel interventions built specifically for minoritized populations. We will also examine peer-mediated interventions as a promising suite of culturally relevant strategies.

Continuing education is an ongoing requirement for many professions, including teachers and educators. Remote trainings are a convenient avenue for filling this requirement. However, more research is needed to understand the effectiveness of remote training on skill acquisition of data collection procedures by educators working with children with special needs. Video modeling with voiceover instruction has been used successfully to train staff to deliver discrete trial instruction, most-to-least prompting, and perform stimulus preference assessments, and it may be cost-effective for schools to use. The present study evaluated the effects of training teachers by using video modeling with voiceover instruction delivered remotely to use a data collection procedure called PLACHECK in a simulated virtual classroom. Results demonstrated that the intervention was a training modality that allowed for efficient use of teacher’s time and suggested that video modeling with voiceover instruction through a remote learning platform is a modality teachers find enjoyable and applicable to their learning needs.

A common way to provide feedback is the feedback sandwich. While there are multiple studies that have investigated the effectiveness of the feedback sandwich there is still skepticism about the effects of feedback upon actual work performance. Previous research has sometimes found a corrective-positive-positive feedback sequence to be more effective (i.e., Henley & DiGennaro Reed, 2015) and more preferred by participants (e.g., Slowaski & Lakowake, 2017) than positive-corrective-positive sequence. The current study replicated and extended previous research by comparing the effects of these feedback sequences on teaching paraprofessionals and graduate students data collection and reliability calculation procedures. Both feedback sequences increased performance across tasks for all participants; these levels continued during maintenance probes. Preference for sequences varied across participants.

The concept of multiple control plays a central role in Skinner’s (1957) Verbal Behavior. It is a powerful concept that can be used to account for complex linguistic and cognitive phenomena, such as novel utterances (as in the famous “no black scorpion” example), humor, problem-solving, and recall. This symposium reports the results of two laboratory studies on convergent multiple control, and a study on improving recall of past events for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Juliana Oliveira presents a demonstration of convergent multiple control following the establishment of divergent multiple control over tacting in a laboratory task with college students. Adrienne Jennings presents another study with college students that examined prerequisites for convergent multiple control over intraverbal responses. Finally, Stephanie Keesey-Phelan presents a study on the effects of reinforcing verbal behavior during an activity or event on later recall of the activity or event.

BCBAs, graduate students, researchers. Need to have basic familiarity with Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit deficits in social communication and conversation skills, including recalling past events. We evaluated the impact of reinforcing verbal behavior during a session on the recall of events from that session. In Experiment 1, in a multielement design, 5 participants with ASD viewed PowerPoint slides with black and white stick figures engaging in actions. While viewing the pictures, the three conditions were: (1) no requirements (i.e., looking quietly), (2) reinforcement of tacting each picture, and (3) reinforcement of repeating auditorily presented letters and numbers (i.e., a blocking procedure). When asked to recall the pictures 10 min later, 4 out of 5 participants emitted the most statements in the tacting condition; 2 of the participants needed added reinforcement of tacts for this outcome. In Experiment 2, in a multiple probe design across participants, tacts and intraverbals were reinforced with 3 participants with ASD during 5-min activities (e.g., board game). When asked to recall events from the activity 50 min later, 2 out of 3 participants emitted more statements compared to baseline. For the third participant, we identified reinforcement conditions affecting responding. These results suggest that reinforcing verbal behavior during an activity may facilitate recall.

This symposium will focus on recent research and advances in observational learning in children with autism and related disabilities. The first paper evaluated the effects of teaching children with autism to leverage differential observing responses on observational learning across multiple types of contingencies. The second paper focused on observational learning through the selectionist perspective. In this study, the effects of establishing preverbal cusps in the form of observing responses on subsequent observational learning cusps and child-initiated social interactions was evaluated. The third paper evaluated the effects of three systematic variations of observational learning interventions on observational performance, acquiring novel behaviors, and establishing new reinforcers under denial conditions. The fourth paper evaluated the effects of the observational conditioning-by-denial intervention over changes in reinforcing value of previously neutral stimuli in children with and without developmental disabilities.

Audience members should have a basic understanding of applied behavior analysis and the behavior analytic interpretation of learning through observation.

Rapid advances in intelligent agent technology and artificial intelligence technology present new challenges and new opportunities for neurodiverse individuals, their caregivers, and the professionals who work with them. The COVID-19 pandemic became a strong motivating operation for integrating these technologies into work with neurodiverse individuals and their caregivers. This symposium shares groundbreaking new work on applications of intelligent agent technology and artificial intelligence technology with neurodiverse individuals from pre-K to adulthood. Drawn from research conducted by a NIH and NSF funded network of academic and private sector researchers across several states, four illustrative examples show how these digital technologies have been incorporated into work with neurodiverse individuals. One presentation shows how an intelligent agent platform can enable families to access expert guidance in implementing home-based behavioral treatment for children with ASD. A second demonstrates how a similar platform can be used to instruct school age children with ASD. The third presentation evaluates how an intelligent agent based tool increases caregiver treatment fidelity when teaching children basic living skills. The final presentation discusses design considerations for developing a platform that will enable neurodiverse adults to work as data annotators in the IT industry. Although all presentations will review data, there is an equal focus on issues of usability, acceptability and reaction from caregivers and employees using the intelligent agent technology. The overarching theme for this symposium is that forward-thinking applied behavior analysts can help create and leverage innovative technologies to assist the neurodiverse individuals, their families, and the professionals who work with them succeed.

Advanced: prerequisite skill/competency would include experience in supervising work with children with ASD and/or the work of neurodiverse employees; some basic educated lay person familiarity with AI, experience with efforts to improve program fidelity

Caregiver involvement is an integral component of behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to ensure generalization and maintenance of skills. Coaching and supporting caregivers in the implementation of behavioral interventions often requires closely working with behavior analysts, which can be resource intensive and may not be feasible in some settings (e.g., rural communities). Further, ensuring sustained treatment fidelity may require additional monitoring and re-coaching. An intelligent agent platform that coaches and guides caregivers in the implementation of behavioral interventions may be useful for minimizing resources required to support caregivers and may aid in maintaining high, long-term treatment fidelity. Caregivers of children with ASD receiving services at a university-based clinic were recruited to deliver behavioral interventions in the home under the direction of written instructions or an intelligent agent platform. Treatment implementation fidelity, percentage of correct responses by the child, and acceptability of each support system served as the main dependent measures. Caregiver acceptability of the intelligent agent technology is discussed.

Intelligent agent technology can help improve procedural fidelity and maintain high levels of performance by ABA therapists and the clients that they serve. However, this nascent technology has only very recently been introduced to ABA therapy. Much remains to be learned about intelligent agent technology and its effects on ABA therapists, including social validity and acceptability This study evaluated the use of an intelligent agent and data collection system for ABA therapist use while teaching handwashing to three school aged children with a diagnosis of autism. Using a multiple baseline design data were collected on therapists’ fidelity of implementation, as well as child acquisition of handwashing. Data were collected until the child participants mastered the ability to independently demonstrate washing hands. Following this, therapists were given the option to either continue with the app or use a traditional paper based protocol and data collection method for the purposes of handwashing instruction as a test of acceptability. The results of therapist reactions, as well as implications for digital technology and intelligent agent use will be discussed.

Behavior Analysis provides effective interventions for individuals with ASD and other developmental disabilities. However, the shortage of qualified and trained professionals to implement such interventions has been an ongoing problem nationally and internationally over the past decades. This study evaluated the effect of an innovative intelligent agent technology (GAINS) as a new tool for the caregivers of children with ASD to teach them important life skills such as dressing, feeding, hand washing, or packing a snack. Children with ASD (ages between 3-8) who receive services from a regional behavioral health organization and their caregivers participated. A single subjects design across participant dyads was used to evaluate independent completion of the task analyzed target life skill of the child and treatment fidelity data of caregivers following the cues from the intelligent agent technology. Both behavioral data and participant reaction and satisfaction with the intelligent agent technology were assessed. Recommendations for designing intelligent agent technology for use with this population are discussed.

Token economies are among the most widely used procedures in behavior analysis and research on token economies has spanned over 80 years. Some textbooks have outlined the essential components of token economies and suggested how they could be trained and implemented in practice (Cooper et al. 2020; Miltenberger, 2015). Hackenberg (2018) outlined a plethora of translational and applied research on token systems and suggested there is still much more work to be done. However, procedures evaluated in applied research can vary from how those procedures are implemented in clinical practice. It may be the case that the way in which token economies are implemented in clinical settings do not resemble the procedures described in research and behavior analytic textbooks. We surveyed certified clinicians about their commonly used practices when training and implementing token economies with individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Results suggest that token economies in practice often bear little resemblance to how they are described in the literature. Suggestions for future research will be discussed.

We conducted a descriptive assessment of token economy structure and implementation in two ABA-based schools serving individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). We collected data on several aspects of the token economy structure including: a) type of token, b) token characteristics, c) accumulation strategy, d) exchange strategy, e) type and cost of backup reinforcer, f) context of token use, and g) proportion of students using a token economy. We discuss the results in light of findings from the basic and applied research on token economies and provide practical considerations for clinicians arranging token economies for learners with ASD and IDD in school contexts. Finally, we provide suggestions for future researchers to examine common practice-based variations of token economies that have not yet been empirically examined in the applied or basic research base.

Tokens are among the most common consequences delivered by behavior analysts who work with individuals with developmental disabilities (Graff & Karsten, 2012). However, recommendations for establishing tokens as conditioned reinforcers vary and many questions remain about best practices. In this study, children with intellectual and developmental disabilities completed preference and reinforcer assessments, from which we identified two to three backup reinforcers. We then evaluated four procedures for establishing tokens as conditioned reinforcers, usually followed by extinction tests to determine if the token had assumed any independent value. We began with stimulus-stimulus (SS) pairing of tokens with the backup reinforcers. If SS pairing did not establish tokens as conditioned reinforcers, we evaluated response-stimulus (RS) pairing and/or noncontingent token-exchange training, in which participants exchanged noncontingently delivered tokens for backup reinforcers. If neither of these procedures established tokens as conditioned reinforcers, we assessed response-contingent token-exchange training. Results suggest that (1) exchange plays a critical role in supporting reinforcer effectiveness, and (2) the conditions under which we evaluate the effects of token training might influence our results and conclusions.

The first paper by Arntzen includes an experiment with college students focusing on yields (number of participants who form equivalence classes) as function of training trials. The main finding was that yields increase as function of number training trials in a linear series training structure combined with a simultaneous training and testing protocol. The second paper by Fields, Wakim, and Foxe studied event-related potential (ERP) in college students who formed 2-node 4-member classes. Some of findings were that the baseline in contrast derived relations generated activation 400 ms after target onset. The third paper by dos Santos, Carvalho, and de Rose includes an experiment in which they have used a game, labyrinth, to investigate equivalence class formation and also with the use of remote data collection. The main findings were that the game was a viable option to conduct remote data collection, and that the nature and magnitude of consequences can influence formation and maintenance of equivalence classes. The last paper by Vaidya discusses a review of the Stroop literature to ask if the main findings in that literature are interpretable in terms of stimulus equivalence and the notions of class cohesion and class conflict.

Basic knowledge about emergent relations

We developed a game to investigate equivalence class formation with remote data collection. The game simulates a labyrinth, with “sample rooms” with a picture (sample) on the only exit room, leading to “comparison rooms”, with pictures on three exit doors (comparisons). The player found diamonds after correct choices, and fell into a pit, losing diamonds, after incorrect choices. 56 adults played the game at home, with remote access to the experimenter’s computer. Group More-Reinforcement (MR) won four diamonds when correct and lost one when incorrect. Group Balanced (B) won one diamond when correct and lost one when incorrect. Group More-Punishment (MP) won one diamond when correct and lost four when incorrect. Participants learned conditional relations which could lead to three equivalence classes, each comprising three abstract pictures. Data collection ended after 10 participants formed equivalence in each group. Group MP showed higher attrition rate and poorer performance in a maintenance test, a week later. Results indicate that the game is a viable option to conduct remote data collection, and that the nature and magnitude of consequences can influence formation and maintenance of equivalence classes.

The original demonstration of the Stroop Effect found, in part, that participants’ reaction times to name a color (e.g., GREEN) were slower when the color of the ink and the name of the color were incongruent than when they were congruent. The robust effect has been documented numerous times across many laboratories since its original demonstration. Our lab has recently presented some data showing that compounds consisting of elements from different equivalence classes were reacted to more slowly than compounds consisting of elements from the same equivalence classes. These data suggest that the congruent and incongruent compound stimuli might be fruitfully interpreted in terms of class-based conflict or class-based cohesion. In this presentation, we present a brief review of the Stroop literature to ask if the main findings in that literature are interpretable in terms of stimulus equivalence and the notions of class cohesion and class conflict.

It is important to establish proper dental hygiene routines in children to prevent cavities and other dental issues. The effects of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) without extinction was used to increase compliance with tooth brushing for two elementary-aged siblings. Specifically, a podcast called Chompers® produced by Gimlet Media was played during treatment. The results showed that the podcast was ineffective in maintaining increased tooth brushing durations for both participants. The addition of a new instruction was also not effective for one of the participants, and the addition of sibling interaction did not lead to a consistent increase in the toothbrushing duration of both participants.

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often have difficulty in tolerating new or infrequently contacted stimuli (e.g., Fisher et al., 2019; Woodcock & Humphreys, 2009). Limited tolerance for health-related behavior, such as nail cutting, haircuts, and dental cleanings can cause distress for these individuals and their families (e.g., Cavalri et al., 2013). During the Covid 19 pandemic, face masks are a new stimulus that may cause distress for many people, especially those who may not understand the need for a mask. The inability to tolerate face masks could limit safe access to public locations for people with IDD and ASD. Therefore, we evaluated preference for different types of face masks with five adults with IDD and limited verbal communication skills. Using a multielement design, we assessed the duration each participant wore five different face masks and subsequently used reinforcement schedule manipulations to increase mask wearing for all five participants. For all five individuals initial preference assessments proved helpful in determining appropriate, individualized treatment steps for increasing cooperation with wearing a face mask.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provided the public with recommendations to slow the spread of Covid-19 in 2020, which including wearing a mask in the community. In Study 1, experimenters coached direct-care group home staff via telehealth to use synchronous schedules of reinforcement (SSR; Diaz de Villegas, 2020; Rovee-Collier & Gekoski, 1979) to increase mask wearing for 4 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In Study 2, experimenters directly implemented SSR to increase mask wearing for four young children with and without disabilities. Results across both studies showed SSR effectively increased mask wearing (i.e., participants tolerated wearing their mask for increased durations up to 30 min). Additionally, some participants demonstrated generalization to the everyday environment (e.g., in the classroom with their teachers, in community locations). Furthermore, procedural integrity data in Study 1 suggested staff could be coached via telehealth to implement the intervention, and staff surveys suggested the procedures and coaching were socially valid.

Autism intervention programs have a number of responsibilities; however, the most important responsibility is to provide effective intervention to the individuals served to produce meaningful outcomes for them and their families. Programs that operate from the science of behavior analysis, and consistently implement systems that ensure the organization operates successfully at every level, are far more effective in producing positive outcomes under varied conditions. The pandemic, that we all faced over the last two years, provided an opportunity to test and analyze the efficacy, and strength, of the systems proposed by McClannahan and Krantz (1993). The papers in this symposium will focus on system variables that promoted continued student skill acquisition, staff development, and parent support and mentorship through a number of unexpected and unusual conditions. Each presenter will share relevant data that have been collected across a number of agencies, nationally and internationally, to support the value of systems and their role in ensuring generalized outcomes under novel conditions. The data obtained during the pandemic period provide us with an opportunity to analyze those system variables and promote the continued use of organizational systems in autism intervention programs.

This symposium is intended for individuals who are responsible for the development and implementation of behavior analytic programs for individuals with autism. Attendees should have a minimum of a MA level education in behavior analysis and experience developing administrative systems for the effective implementation of intervention programs for those diagnosed with autism.

Ensuring continued student progress under a wide variety of, and unexpected, conditions is a critical guarantee that any intervention program should provide for students who they serve. The pandemic left many programs scrambling to define and develop methods of ensuring continued student progress and advancement of critical goals and objectives when teachers were no longer able to provide in-person instruction. This presentation will focus on the critical role systems played in ensuring a seamless transition from in-person instruction to virtual instruction. Data on student progress and skill acquisition, collected across sites both nationally and internationally, will be presented for periods of both in-person and virtual instruction to support the value of systems in ensuring effective intervention to individuals with autism under any set of conditions. In addition, the presenters will discuss how virtual instruction led to the development of additional systems and teaching strategies that will be incorporated into the programs in the future.

The pandemic left parents of individuals with autism in a highly vulnerable position. Within days, parents found themselves at home with their children all day long, in the absence of the highly structured teaching conditions that typically surrounded their children, and that they depended on. During this time, the important role that parents play on the intervention team was highlighted more than ever. Evidence quickly mounted during this period that emphasize the very important role that parent support, mentorship, and training play in ensuring effective home programming efforts and preparing parents for situations in which the support system they rely on is not available. During this presentation, data will be shared on the home programming efforts of educational programs, both here in the US and abroad, during the pandemic and the critical effect that they had on ensuring continued effective outcomes for students with autism. In addition, the presentation will discuss the importance of modifying parent support programs, and the system variables associated with such, to ensure an individualized and effective experience for all.

Applied Behavior Analysis has played an important role in the history of brain injury rehabilitation and its development of today´s neurobehavioral services. The first neurobehavioral rehabilitation programs in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom were developed or co-developed by behavior analysts. Despite this rich history and the role of behavior analysis in the development of brain injury rehabilitation less than one percent of all board-certified behavior analysts work within the brain injury rehabilitation field. With this symposium we hope to facilitate an increased interest in this subfield of Applied Behavior Analysis and want to show interested clinicians and researchers that brain injury rehabilitation is a venue for international collaboration and knowledge share. This symposium will present research on topics such as staff training within neurobehavioral rehabilitation programs, program evaluation of Applied Behavior Analysis best practice within neurobehavioral rehabilitation centers, delay discounting and links to challenging behavior in a sample of men with brain injuries, and, verbal behavior assessment of people with brain injuries.

Appropriate for all BCBA and BCBA-D

As acquired brain injury rates continue to increase, the ongoing need for efficient and effective treatment within neurobehavioral rehabilitation settings is clear. Some evidence suggests certain treatment components may be very important to incorporate into service delivery models (e.g., multidisciplinary). However, program evaluation literature and the uptake of complimentary intervention strategies, like applied behavior analysis (ABA), in existing neurobehavioral settings remains largely unexplored. The purpose of this project was to: (1) develop and implement a simple, systematic program evaluation informed by best-practices (i.e., research) to assess service delivery models of several neurobehavioral rehabilitation settings, and (2) survey the current use of ABA by participating neurobehavioral agencies. The program evaluation tool was applied to the charts of randomly selected past and current clients (referred to as participants). A secondary research assistant independently reviewed the charts to conduct interobserver agreement across 29% of the charts. Interobserver agreement was 80% (range, 53%-100%). Average program evaluation total percentage score was 33% (range, 4% - 63%), and program evaluation items describing ABA-uptake suggested the incorporation of ABA was low. We discuss service model areas of strengths and areas for improvement as specified by tool outcomes, as well as in relation to quality improvement implications.

Policies and training have traditionally focused on crisis management to respond to challenging behaviors and to decrease incidents of Workplace Violence. However, behaviour is a continuum that progresses from calm, to agitation, to escalation, to de-escalation, to recovery. A focus on crisis management can result in missed opportunities and does not directly lower incidences of behaviour escalation. Hospital units where staff are trained in Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) rehabilitation often have incidents where patients escalate to abuse and/or aggression to staff resulting in staff injury. Use of a preventative approach is well supported in the literature. When taught theory behind Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) preventative strategies, staff still had difficulty in implementing the skills to reduce incidences of workplace violence and aggression from patients. Systemically assisting ABI staff in 2 Greater Toronto Area (GTA) hospitals to respond to challenging behavior in ABI inpatient settings using a BST model of ABA strategies increased interdisciplinary staff’s confidence and ability to respond to challenging behaviors and decrease incidents of Workplace Violence in the ABI Inpatient Rehabilitation Services while building a robust support system of staff who deliver training using the same methodology to incorporate sustainability.

People with brain injuries often experience deficits of self-control and some engage in challenging behavior. Delay discounting research and brain injury rehabilitation have received limited attention from behavior analysts. Additionally, no investigations have focused on discounting parameters and their association with challenging behavior to date. This study investigated the stability of responses of the Monetary Choice Questioner (MCQ) over time in a large sample of men with brain injuries and compared discounting parameters with the participants´ assessment outcomes on the Questions About Behavior Functions (QABF) and Comprehensive Executive Functioning Inventory Adult (CEFI-A). Results demonstrated that responses on the MCQ were stable over time, that MCQ and assessment scores on QABF were tentatively linked, yet executive functioning was not linked significantly to discounting parameters on the MCQ. Implications of these results are discussed with regards to potential clinical interventions and how future research can improve our understanding of the link between self-control and challenging behavior within brain injury rehabilitation.

Language deficits are common following neurocognitive disorder (NCD), yet behavior analysts serving this growing population do not have a validated, function-based assessment to guide language programming. Gross, Fuqua, and Merritt (2013) developed and piloted the Verbal Behavior Assessment Battery (VBAB) to evaluate language deficits for older adults with dementia, but researchers have yet to replicate this study or evaluate this tool for adults following acquired brain injury (ABI). We expanded the VBAB to better capture the complex changes that may occur following ABI. We conducted the revised assessment with five adults with severe ABI and matched control participants and found 1) varying deficits across ABI participants, 2) significant differences between the performance of ABI and control participants, 3) acceptable test-retest reliability, and 4) evidence for both functional independence and interdependence of verbal operants. Our discussion will focus on methodological considerations and potential refinement of the assessment for future clinical use.

The presentation of this symposium pertain to some of the issues addressed recently by the Association for Behavior Analysis International Licensing Committee. The Licensing Committee consults with chapter leaders, upon request, regarding issues pertaining to behavior analyst licensure and credentialing as well as provides resources related to those issues. Issues to be addressed include: features of a profession, status of behavior analysis as a profession, types of behavior analyst certification organizations, comparison of certifications currently available, influence of insurance requirements on provision of behavior analytic services, and opposition to behavior analyst certification with suggestions related to addressing them.

1. Mastery of basic behavior analysis principles and procedures 2. Basic knowledge of behavior analyst credentialing procedures 3. Basic knowledge of common procedures for establishment of behavior analyst licensure (or comparable) 4. Basic knowledge of public policy advocacy practices

An ongoing topic of discussion among some people and recognized professions is whether behavior analysis is a profession, particular one independent of other existing professions (e.g., psychology, counseling, education). The answer to that discussion is relevant to decisions regarding establishment of licensure of behavior analysts. The essential features commonly identified with existence of a profession will be reviewed. An overview of historical tends in development of professions will be provided. Those trends include professions evolving and splitting from the from the profession in which it originated or existed very early (such as surgery in England initially being done by barbers, psychology growing out of philosophy which has ancient routes in theology and religion). Another trend has been for some professions to emerge from schisms within their memberships that drifted based upon the practitioner/scientist designations. Whether behavior analysis currently exhibits all or a critical mass of the identified features of a profession will be explored. That exploration will consider whether all components of behavior analysis (i.e., conceptual/theoretical, experimental, applied components) or just the applied component. Implications for regulation and licensing of behavior of the exploration of whether behavior analysis- or at least the applied component- should be considered a profession in its own right analysts will be discussed.

As third party (insurance) payments have become more common in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, behavior analysts have had to learn a new language and paradigm for writing goals. Some insurance companies specify that they will cover only the "core deficits" of Autism Spectrum Disorders, for example. This leads to common goals, such as Activities of Daily Living, seeming to be outside the realm of coverage. This talk will address some of these issues and discuss means of making sure that all goals required by the individual being taught are addressed.

The new Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2020) requires all BCBAs to engage in professional skills and culturally responsive practices which maximize the effectiveness of their services while treating others with compassion, dignity, and respect; however, resources to guide the training and incorporation of these practices remains limited. This symposium will describe four studies examining practices and future directions for the training of these skills. The first presentation describes a survey which evaluated the strengths and deficits of various professional skills for BCBAs. The second presentation will review potential barriers to effective supervision skills and present data on the utility of an assessment tool to guide BCBAs in their supervision practices and professional development. The third presentation will describe a study evaluating the use of behavioral skills training to teach culturally responsive practices to graduate students. Finally, the fourth presentation will describe a study evaluating procedures to increase the inclusion of content on diversity and culturally responsive practices in behavior analysis courses. To end, the discussant will review the findings in each presentation and consider areas for future research.

The target audience for this symposium will be students, researchers, and practitioners that are interested in the study and teaching of professional skills and DEI practices. Given that this symposium will offer supervision CEs, we anticipate a large number of attendees (i.e., 100+).

The rapidly increasing demand and increased number of BACB certificants in recent years results in many new BCBAs moving into the role of supervisor without the necessary skills and supports. In 2018 the BACB reported that the “most common actionable ethical violation is improper or inadequate supervision or delegation of responsibilities”. It is essential to the sustainability of ABA that we are meeting the needs of all individuals, families, trainees and practitioners. In this presentation we will discuss some of the barriers to ensuring quality supervision and attempts to address them will be reviewed. We will introduce the Supervisory Skills Assessment Tool (SSAT). The SSAT evaluates professional skills such as bidirectionality, perspective-taking and problem-solving. This allows mentors to create individualized competency criteria to ensure scaffolded support and training is provided to new BCBAs prior to independent supervision. Lessons learned from the initial stages of the pilot and next steps will be discussed.

Racial disparities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses and services exist (Mandell et al., 2007). Black children are diagnosed later, misdiagnosed, and identified with more severe ASD than White children (Jarquin et al., 2011); therefore complicating access to behavior analytic services for Black children. Black children are diagnosed with autism 1.6 years later than White children and are more likely to be misdiagnosed; contributing to reducing the likelihood of beginning behavioral early intervention. Such delay may result in Black children receiving problem behavior intervention rather than behavioral early intervention for autism. In this study, we’ll report findings from focus groups, surveys, and 1:1 interviews from black parents and professionals describing their perspectives on the identification process for Black children. We’ll report data for six Florida school districts on the participation of Black children in ASD programs and describe key impediments for their identification. We conclude with recommendations to assist behavior analysts and those concerned with equitable treatment for Black children in the early identification process. Understanding the identification of Black children through the ASD identification process will inform behavior analysts and professionals in developing culturally sensitive and effective practices to support Black parents through the ASD identification process.

Targeted audience: Intermediate- experience working with individuals with ASD in the home, school, or community setting; experience supervising and conducting screenings, assessments, and evaluations; experience in working in public or private school systems.

Practitioners, researchers

Many researchers have replicated Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) and Skills-Based Treatment (SBT) procedures with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder; however, this has typically involved younger children, often who are language able. Currently, there is a gap in the literature involving adolescents and adults with severe disabilities attending residential programs. This presentation aims to discuss the lessons learned from the process of conducting PFA and implementing SBT with adolescents and adults with long and complex learning histories and how the practice has changed based on client performance. In addition, this presentation will also highlight a cultural shift of a school and residential program from its long history of using a caregiving approach with this population to a nationally-recognized program using evidence-based practices focused on safety, dignity, and rapport, to alter the life trajectories of the individuals that it serves. Participants will have the opportunity to view videos of program participants in their analysis and meaningful skill acquisition process as well discuss problems and solutions discovered along the way.

The audience should be familiar with functional assessment, synthesized contingency analysis, and skill-based treatment procedures

The pandemic presented us with a unique environmental challenge to health and fitness behavior change. This event created – and continues to present – new barriers for those individuals who desire improved health outcomes. However, as any health outcome requires meaningful behavior change, applied behavior analysis is well-suited to address common wellness needs. This presentation describes how a telehealth model can provide a means to effective applied practice. A series of case studies will highlight the importance of pinpointing behavior and results, addressing personal bias and ethical concerns, and lessons learned while working with typical adults in an unprecedented time.

Fluency in behavioral interventions, various consulting models, experience with typically developing individuals

Peer relations serve many important functions in children’s development. Social reciprocity or reciprocal peer interactions occur when children engage in social interactions with one another or when their actions support each other in their relationships. In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, reciprocity of social exchange is missing and is manifest as a lack of both social responses and initiations to other people. Over the years, various behavioral strategies have been developed to promote social interactions between children with ASD and their peers for a successful integration in inclusion settings. Video modelling, as one of them, is not only an effective and evidence-based method for developing many social and play skills, but it can also be a practical and efficient tool that is well-suited to the school environment. In this presentation, pertinent video modeling methodologies will be explored and specific suggestions on the effective use of video modeling will be provided.

Graduate students; RBTs; board certified behavior analysts (BCBA); board certified assistant behavior analysts (BCaBA); psychologists; therapists and special educators working in a variety of applied and experimental settings as well as educational and social science settings who are interested in the promotion of social and play skills in children with ASD.

Children and adults with ASD often have multiple nutritional and metabolic problems, including nutritional deficiencies, food intolerances, oxidative stress, decreased methylation, and impaired mitochondrial function. Many of these problems can be addressed by nutritional supplements and healthy allergen-free diets. A 12 month comprehensive nutritional intervention study was conducted to investigate the effect of combining 6 different nutritional interventions. The study found many benefits, including a 7 point gain in non-verbal IQ (compared to zero in the control group) and an 18 month gain in developmental age (vs 4 months in the control group). This suggests that many individuals with ASD can benefit from a comprehensive nutritional intervention to address underlying nutritional and metabolic problems.

BCBA’s and other professionals who work with children with ASD.

Despite many fundamental differences across disciplines and limited validation from empirical research, more and more companies have started offering an “autism treatment package” with ABA, Speech and OT services. In addition, insurance funders and the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts require coordination of care and collaboration with other service providers. However, there are many BCBAs who have never been explicitly taught how to collaborate with other professionals and organizations that do not provide adequate training to foster the collaborative relationship. This panel discussion will first highlight the scope of competence for BCBAs and when to seek other professional’s opinions by outlining the appropriate collaboration processes. The panelists will then analyze the common conflicts between BCBAs and other professionals, identify where the gaps are, and propose some solutions. Attendees will be invited to participate in the discussion to analyze the conflicts and given opportunities to practice solutions.

BCBAs who practice ABA in schools or multidisciplinary therapeutic environments for individuals with autism.

Health behavior promotion in childhood has been dominated by knowledge-centered paradigms. However, research shows that beliefs about what is healthy have a stronger influence on behavior than factual knowledge. Motivation and self-regulation frameworks highlight the agent role of the individual in controlling the personal, behavioral, and environmental influences that impact one’s behavior. Although individuals may be influenced and regulated by external factors and agents, exclusively relying on external regulation does not allow the individual to develop adaptive competences and skills, such as choosing a healthy snack. The aim of this presentation is to describe how healthy habits in childhood can be promoted, including diet and sleep, through the modelling of self-regulation skills via story-tools/narrative-based programs.

Anyone interested in motivation and self-regulation, and health behavior promotion

Performance monitoring tools can be used to track and enhance the performance of staff and recipients of behavior analytic services. One important dimension of performance monitoring is analyzing the interlocking three-term contingencies between an instructor and a learner which can be achieved using the Teacher Performance Rate and Accuracy measure (or the TPRA). Another important dimension of performance monitoring is measuring when sufficient learning has occurred, i.e., the use of mastery criteria. Lastly, a decision-tree protocol, which includes but is not limited to, mastery criteria, can be used for making moment-to-moment decisions regarding learner behavior based on continuous data analysis. In this talk, we review data demonstrating how these three performance monitoring tools can aid instructors in making clinical decisions regarding the performance of their learners. These decisions can enhance educational outcomes for both the instructor and the learner and lead to more efficient rates of acquisition across objectives.

Audience should have basic knowledge of three-term contingencies and the necessary components to an effective learning environment. Basic knowledge of taking data, monitoring performance, and data analysis skills would aid in understanding the material presented herein.

In early 2020, schools across the entire world transitioned from traditional school settings to crisis teaching in virtual spaces due to the global pandemic, coronavirus or COVID-19. During this time, equity gaps in digital resources and access to education became increasingly apparent as socioeconomic status and geographical location strongly influenced whether families were able to support remote access to learning opportunities. Yet, students with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD) tend to experience higher rates of peer victimization, struggle to obtain and maintain positive interpersonal relationships, and battle more mental health problems than other special education students. Students who had already been identified as having splintered skills or gaps in their learning history did not have access to interventions provided in the traditional classroom at the same time that all students were expected to engage in much higher forms of executive functioning skills than previously expected. This panel of school-based consultants will share their own experiences working in the schools throughout the pandemic in terms of challenges, steps for addressing challenges, and resources necessary for doing so.

This session is appropriate for professionals who interface directly with the highly applied school setting. Basic understandings of behavior analysis and varied applications of principles will be assumed as part of this conversation.

I think we could all agree it is an exciting time to be a behavior analysts, especially as we broaden our reach beyond just addressing behavioral deficits and excesses in dependent populations. However, as we expand our science in application not just theoretical accounts, we must continue to define and utilize our science and scientific methodology. Doing so may be challenging, but this in the symposium we seek to model and provide examples of doing just that. In the first presentation, we will discuss some of the current challenges facing the field of behavior analysis and provide a way forward. In the second presentation, we will provide a functional analysis of the term discrimination and provide some direction for how to address variables that may contribute to discrimination. The third presentation, will tackle not only the term risk as it applied to our practice of behavior analysis, but also what it means for our practice.

Intermediate: participants should understand how to conduct a functional analysis with respect to concepts and terms

Treating psychological terms as verbal behavior and analyzing them with respect to environmental determiners was novel in 1945 when Skinner first presented his idea of a functional analysis of verbal behavior (Skinner, 1945). Seventy-six years later, this approach has yet to be fully appreciated even within behavior analysis (Schlinger, 2013). In recent years, terms such as diversity and equity have become increasingly popular, not only in sociology and psychology, but in behavior analysis as well. Analyzing these terms as instances of verbal behavior, could open new lines of research and opportunities for discussion—minimizing the potential for disciplinary redundancy and offering unique data to other disciplines (Kantor, 1953). The purpose of this presentation is to provide a functional analysis of the term discrimination, discuss recent studies on the term

Risk is typically thought of as exposure to dangerous stimuli or loss. It is assumed that we collectively agree on what constitutes risk, but accurately identifying dangerous stimuli and loss appears to be increasingly complex. There are several questions that need to be considered to accurately identify risk as it relates to risk assessment and intervention. Is it possible to have an objective viewpoint that clearly points to what constitutes risk? What are the conditions under which risk occur? What are the conditions under which risk should be avoided? Is it possible to identify behaviors that successfully avoid risk? Is avoiding risk always the best option? Is it our moral and ethical responsibility to engineer conditions that result in humans avoiding risk? These questions will be analyzed and discussed from a behavior analytic perspective.

This presentation highlights the use of animal models in Georgia Southern University’s behavior analysis programs. The presentation will cover two major areas: (1) specific coursework and animal labs at both the undergraduate and graduate level and (2) research endeavors with external partners using unique animal models. In addition, the presentation will highlight a recent project featuring methods to establish concept learning in grey wolves in which student researchers traveled on site to implement multiple aspects of the project. The presenter will share strategies and lessons learned from using animal models as part of educational activities and the benefits of such models.

Research on verbal behavior covers a wide array of topics, thus systematic reviews of the literature are critical to synthesizing and summarizing the current state of our field. We can use these syntheses to guide future research. The first talk will describe theories used to explain identify component skills for perspective taking. The second talk will review assessments of and interventions to establish the Incidental Naming cusp and discuss the mechanisms underlying these interventions. The third talk will discusses the variety of interventions to increase the emission of vocal mands and collateral effects of the interventions.

Behavior analysts with a basic background in verbal behavior

Perspective taking skills are generally considered to underlie more complex social skills and are critical for successful social interactions, such as making and sustaining friendships, pretending, empathy, sharing, conversation skills, detecting deceptive statements, and lying. Traditionally, cognitive explanations have been used to explain deficits in perspective taking. As such, behaviors involved in perspective taking are not clearly operationally defined, making it difficult to identify necessary component skills. From a behavior analytic perspective, perspective taking is like any other behavior; it is learned and amenable to change. Some behavior analysts have attempted to define and identify the behaviors associated with perspective taking; however, despite the strengths of these approaches, the identification of component skills is often lacking. Dependent on the specific theory (e.g., applied perspective taking, stimulus equivalence, relational frame theory) within a behavior analytic orientation, different associated behaviors have been identified as necessary (e.g., deictic frames, false belief, functional social skills). This presentation briefly describes some of the theories used to explain perspective taking, identifies component skills identified in each, and concludes with recommendations for both research and practice.

Women behavior scientists advance relevant and valuable perspectives on behavior analysis as a science and practice, perspectives that facilitate high quality training, mentoring, and civic engagement. Many scientists balance their pursuits of academic success with their roles and responsibilities as mothers and family members. However, cultural-level contingencies have not always recognized the contributions of women academicians, particularly when compared to their male colleagues. Yet the discipline has historically benefited from the contributions of many female scholars over the course of the decades. The purpose of this panel is to showcase the perspectives of prominent female behavior scientists who have held successful careers in academia and are contributors to the forthcoming ABAI book: Women in Behavior Science: Observations of Life Inside and Outside of the Academy. This panel is the third of three, focused on the later phases of one’s academic career and addressing topics such as life partners, values, expanding interests, and loss and grief.

Behavior scientists (and particularly) women working in or working toward positions in academic settings.

Acquired brain injury rehabilitation is a practice area in great need of behavior analysts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidence of brain injury continues to increase, yet less than 1% of board certified behavior analysts report working in brain injury rehabilitation (Behavior Analyst Certification Board, n.d.). This symposium is intended to address this need and will feature three investigations from the experimental and applied realms of behavior analysis related to neurorehabilitation. In the first study, findings from a translational study on equivalence-based instruction via telehealth to re-teach name-face relations will be presented. The second evaluation will focus on staff turnover and accuracy of data collection in two residences for individuals with acquired brain injury. The final presentation will focus on the rapid changeover to telehealth rehabilitation services during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as refusal behavior with telehealth sessions. Discussion of the utility and implications of these evaluations will be presented as a demonstration of the effectiveness of behavior analysis for treatment of individuals with acquired brain injuries.

BCBAs

Deficits in name-face relations are common following an acquired brain injury and can increase secondary consequences of the injury such as depression. Within the behavior analytic literature, equivalence-based instruction has been successful in teaching stimulus-stimulus relations for various populations including individuals with differing disabilities. However, it has been nearly 30 years since researchers have evaluated an equivalence-based instruction procedure to address name-face deficits with brain injury survivors. This pilot study aimed to evaluate a revised stimulus equivalence protocol with five neurotypical college students to allow refinement of our procedural parameters prior to conducting a clinical evaluation with brain injury survivors. Our protocol included multiple exemplar training and errorless learning within a computerized simultaneous matching-to-sample procedure. All participants demonstrated equivalence among name-face relations, passed generalization probes, and maintained skills at a two-week follow-up without the need for remedial training. However, one participant required a few procedural modifications, and an error analysis as well as post-session survey results indicate that researchers should continue refining the parameters of equivalence-based instruction with college students before implementing the procedure with brain injury survivors. Additional modifications for both college students and acquired brain injury survivors are discussed.

Given the abruptness and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations pivoted to virtual service delivery. This presentation will briefly review the process of how telerehabilitation was implemented with behavioral patients at a post-acute brain injury rehabilitation facility over a period of nine months. In addition, attendees will be presented with case profiles, behavioral concerns and programming, and factors attributed to success and lessons learned (i.e., differences in function). Data, including participation and refusals with telehealth sessions, will be reviewed.

Behavior analysts within their first 5 years of practice, including practitioners, supervisors, etc. o Currently enrolled in or recently completed graduate-level work

Participants should demonstrate mastery of basic principles of applied behavior analysis including principles and terminology. It is also recommended that participants have experience applying the science of behavior to solve socially significant problems in any setting.

ABA practitioners interested in the Telehealth Service Delivery Model

Parents are key stakeholders of intervention and play a critical role in the success of early intervention. This has been particularly true during shutdowns and service delivery disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure parents are confident and competent in intervening with their child, parent education and support are essential. Project DATA (Developmentally Appropriate Treatment for Autism), a school-based behavioral intervention model, addresses the need for family support through one of its foundational components- technical and social support for families. This support is provided through Family Support Nights hosted by Project DATA teachers, Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), related service staff, and parent/family advocates. This presentation will discuss family outcomes from a completed multi-site randomized control trial (RCT) of the Project DATA model and discuss our recent approach to providing families with support and education through Family Support Nights using the Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) service delivery model. This model uses a virtual, case-based learning platform to share knowledge, provide support, and create a sense of community membership and belonging. Outcomes and implications of implementation of this model will be explored, as well as a panel discussion focused on areas for future research and intervention.

This presentation is an intermediate instructional level. Thus, attendees should have basic knowledge behavioral strategies and delivery of parent education and support models.

Black Americans have disproportionately been excluded throughout the history of the US. Being a Black business owner comes with various challenges, but when servicing a minority cultural group even more unique challenges arise. As the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA) grows so does the need for services to disadvantaged communities such as the Black American community. The stigma paired to mental health within the Black American community has been a long-documented struggle. During these times of Covid-19 the need for ABA within households has increased, but there continues to be a mistrust with the science of ABA within the Black American community. Being a black business owner and servicing a minority cultural group has its pros and cons that should be detailed and offered with solutions to help better service the minority cultural group. During this panel, panelist who are all Black business owners will discuss: · Challenges that have arose when servicing a minority cultural group · Breaking down the steps for effective communication for parent training · Solutions to increasing ABA services within minority cultural groups · Challenges minority business owners face

Target audience is for Intermediate to advance ABA practitioners who currently run, thinking of, or wanting to know more information about servicing clients who are a minority. Using the Principles of ABA and designing behavior skills programs to increase success in our individual practices will be covered.

Previous research has demonstrated that children with ASD exhibit less sleep in a 24-hour period than their typically developing peers (Goodlin-Jones, 2008), and increases in problem behavior are associated with sleep deprivation (Goldman et al., 2011). However, there are few studies that evaluate this putative relation using direct measurement of both behavior and sleep. The general aim of this study is to extend the research on sleep and its relation to problem behavior. Using wearable and non-wearable sleep trackers, we collected data on various measures of sleep and compared them to in-clinic daytime problem behavior. Additionally, we conducted structured descriptive assessments (Anderson & Long, 2002) across days to evaluate if changes in sleep change how different establishing operations affect behavior. We will discuss how the social validity of well-established sleep treatments (e.g, Jin et al., 2013) would be greater if the effect of improved sleep on daytime behavior was directly evaluated.

Hagopian et al. (2015) delineated subtypes of self-injurious behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement partially based on occurrence of self-injury in the play condition (i.e., subtype one). They also analyzed treatment data with respect to subtypes and found that subtype one is less resistant to treatment than subtypes two and three. For one child with autism with oral-motor self-injury, we conducted a functional analysis and a more fine-grained analysis of engagement in the play condition. The functional analysis indicated that oral-motor self-injury was maintained by automatic reinforcement. However, oral-motor self-injurious behavior was reduced in the play condition. We used this information to conduct a component analysis of the play condition, and we found that combinations of stimuli reduced engagement in self-injurious behavior, with little differentiation across multiple stimuli used in this condition. We then conducted a competing stimulus assessment, both with items used in the play condition and with novel items, and found single stimuli were insufficient for reducing self-injury.

Rumination, repeated regurgitation of ingested food, can be a difficult problem to assess and treat. Early research focused on punishment of rumination (e.g., Becker et al., 1978 ) whereas more recent research has focused on the food quantity (e.g., Kenzer & Wallace, 2007). However, there is limited research on the influence of food type on rumination. We analyzed effects of several dimensions of food, including food type and food category, in addition to total quantity and total calories, on rumination with an adult with intellectual disability. Initially, we equated calories across food types, which involved different quantities of food based on food type. We observed that rumination was lower when our participant consumed larger quantities of food. Subsequent analyses suggested a more dynamic interaction between food type and food quantity – at least two foods with different quantities produced low levels of rumination. We will discuss how an analysis of parameters of food could advance effective treatment of rumination.

The Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling (CABAS®) Accelerated Independent Learner (AIL) model focuses on teaching essential academic and self-management skills and arranging instructions that allow students to become lifelong independent learners. This symposium will present three papers focused on the arrangement of pedagogy and curriculum utilized in our upper elementary CABAS® AIL classrooms. We will discuss how we arranged instruction to maximize student learning for various grade-level topics in Mathematics and English Language Arts given limited daily instruction time. In the first paper, we compared how targeting different geometry relations (i.e., name, image, definition) in instruction affected students’ acquisition of geometrical concepts, which led to significant increase in their testing scores in the domain of geometry. In the second paper, we will discuss how we utilized matrix training to teach students novel vocabulary words in individual or group settings that allowed students to derive meanings for other vocabulary words. In the third paper, we will discuss how a conditioned seeing procedure rapidly improved reading comprehension for our struggling readers. Results of those papers indicated the importance of applying behavioral tactics to efficiently arrange instruction delivery to optimize student learning.

School behavior analysts, general education teachers, special education teachers

In 2 experiments, we used multiple probe designs across sets of words to examine the acquisition of novel vocabulary words with affixes for 4 elementary school students. In Experiment 1, we used a 3-by-3 matrix combining three prefixes and 3 suffixes into 9 novel vocabulary words. We taught the students the meaning of 3 of the 9 words formed by those prefixes and suffixes in a 1-to-1 setting. We found that upon mastery of the three words, participants also emitted correct responses to 6 untaught words during post-intervention and maintenance probes across all 3 sets of words. The participants also emitted correct responses towards other novel words combining the target prefixes and suffixes with known word parts. In Experiment 2, we systematically replicated Experiment 1 by teaching words formed by a 5-by-5 matrix in a group setting. After mastery of target words, all participants also emitted correct responses to untaught words. Findings of the current studies suggested a more efficient way of organizing and teaching vocabulary words involving prefixes and suffixes.

Professionals working in the human services industry have various backgrounds, training, and credentials. The variation of professionals may allow for more specialized treatment in practice areas, but also may create difficulty when working to support individuals. Collaboration between professionals is an expectation for behavior analysts. The purpose of this symposium is a review of various collaboration initiatives aimed at supporting behavior analysts in being good partners with other service professionals. The presenters will describe a model for collaboration between behavior analysis and occupational therapy; a model for training pre-service behavior analysts to learn about collaboration; and the perceptions of allied health professionals toward behavior analysts.

Attendees should be credentialed and have experience working with other professionals. A basic understanding of scope of practice, scope of competence, and collaboration are helpful.

Interdisciplinary collaboration is challenging, but necessary, to meet the needs of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Among the dyadic interactions in interdisciplinary teams, the relationships between Occupational Therapy practitioners and Board Certified Behavior Analysts are uniquely challenging. The disciplines define evidence based practice differently and approach intervention from different angles. Furthermore, there are fundamental differences in worldview between the disciplines. Both disciplines offer necessary treatment, and successful collaboration between these disciplines is essential for maximizing outcomes. Hence, finding ways to help bridge the gap between these professions, in particular, is essential. Common barriers to developing collaborative alliances include misperceptions of the other discipline, differences in terminology, and unprofessional behavior. This presentation reviews the history and foundational concepts of both disciplines, and the common approaches associated with each. In addition, models of collaboration are discussed, with suggestions for enhancing interdisciplinary communication and treatment. Suggestions are based on the premise that successful collaborative treatment is predicated on an understanding of the value and expertise offered by different disciplines, and requires mutual respect and professional dialogue.

Dancing is a complex behavioral repertoire involving a myriad of gross and fine-motor skills. Repertoires that involve complexity of this sort typically develop over the course of many years. Most elite athletes and performers, for example, reach top-flight status after thousands of hours of intensive practice (Erricson & Tesch-Romer, 1993). Though there is an appreciation among dancers of the time investment necessary to become a proficient performer, it is rare to see evidence-based approaches for teaching dance. This talk will describe how a precision teaching (PT) framework was used systematically to build the skills of tap dancers to fluent levels. The study explored the possibility of building a tap-dance curriculum through a component-composite analysis, which suggests that the arrangement of skills in an instructional sequence contributes to the efficiency of learning. Using this approach may be advantageous for dancers and artists alike since it is likely that levels of proficiency may be reached more efficiently, while reducing the opportunity for building “bad habits.”

Performance feedback is one of the most common strategies used to improve performance within organizational settings. The present symposium arranges three recent research projects that evaluate the use of performance feedback. The first presentation will discuss laboratory research designed to evaluate the effects of and preference for numerical and narrative variations of performance feedback. The second presentation investigated preference for various feedback modalities (e.g., paper and pencil, verbal feedback). The third presentation evaluated the effects of the number and type of feedback statements provided by a supervisor on participant’s procedural integrity. The goals of this symposium are to bring interested practitioners and researchers up to date with current research involving performance feedback, highlight areas in which performance feedback research is needed, and describe the utility of feedback strategies to enhance the practice of clinical supervisors and the performance of individuals receiving feedback.

BCBAs and BCBA-Ds

In a company that provides Applied Behavior Analytic (ABA) services, delivery of high-quality treatment to clients should be the terminal and utmost goal. That same company goal now needs to apply to those clinicians who are delivering that treatment to its clients. In a fast pace environment that is ever-changing with policy and standards updates, it’s easy to burn out. Without proper training, employee incentives, leadership opportunities, and opportunities to refine skills through continued education, individuals who receive and depend on behavior consultation and services will ultimately suffer. According to Reed, Hirst and Howard (2013) a critical feature of evidence-based Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) practices is full implementation of empirically validated interventions. Therefore, providing staff with an abundance of opportunities to interact with and support clients is a critical investment of resources for service-delivery organizations. In this panel, panelists will briefly describe and answer audience questions related to research-based strategies for selecting staff for leadership opportunities, developing and evaluating staff training programs for implementation of evidence-based treatment, and implementing effective coaching models and follow-up techniques.

BCBAs and BCaBAs with 1-2 years experience

Selected writings of B. F. Skinner will be shown to have several, sometimes quite striking, similarities with current psychological research. This includes research supporting Skinner’s position that the environment can alter human behavior outside conscious awareness and research by Daniel Wegner and Emily Pronin supporting Skinner’s warnings that introspection is a common, but flawed, habit in folk psychology. In addition, Skinner’s writings will be shown to be compatible with the critical psychiatry movement and (perhaps surprisingly) some shared worldviews between B. F. Skinner and Noam Chomsky will be outlined.

Behavior analysts, psychologists, graduate students

How many calories do you really burn each day? How does exercise affect yourmetabolism,and does aslowmetabolism mean you'll struggle withyour weight? What is the “natural” human diet? In this talk, we’ll discuss the surprising new research investigating our metabolism – the way we burn energy. Dr. Pontzer will discuss his work with hunter-gatherers, with our great ape cousins, and with populations around the globe, exploring the way our bodies use energy, and how our evolutionary past shapes our lives and our health today.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students 

Functional analysis (FA) is the most accurate method for identifying the operant function of challenging behavior. Although trained therapists typically implement FAs, previous research has shown that variables, including the assessment agent, may impact the results of a FA. Given that the assessment agent can impact FA results, there is a need to determine the impact of natural change agent training on fidelity of FA implementation. The purpose of this review was to (a) summarize the available literature on natural change agent implemented FA, (b) determine methods for training natural change agents to implement FAs, and (c) determine the effects of training on change agent implementation fidelity of FA. Thirty-seven studies were identified and evaluated against the What Works Clearinghouse Quality and Evidence standards. Most of the included studies were found to have strong methodological rigor and moderate or strong evidence of effectiveness. Common training components across studies including instructions, modeling, role play, feedback, and coaching. Results suggest these components can be effectively utilized to train parents, teachers, residential staff, and students to implement FA in a variety of applied settings. Recommendations for practitioners and directions for future research will be discussed.

In his book Verbal Behavior, Skinner (1957) presented a behavior-analytic view of language and cognition in humans. As such, he set the stage for an area of research focused on the explanation and the empirical evaluation of the conditions under which verbal behavior is emitted (Oah & Dickisnon, 1989). In 1991, Sundberg published the article 301 Research Topics from Skinner’s Book Verbal Behavior, calling for the experimental analysis of behavior processes involved in verbal behavior and suggesting a gap in the literature. The years that followed were marked by an increase in verbal behavior research across different topics and populations (De Souza et al., 2017; Sautter & LeBlanc, 2006). Despite the increasing number of verbal behavior studies, many topics are yet to be explored and several others need further investigation. In this panel, members of the ABAI Verbal Behavior Special Interest Group (VB-SIG) will highlight advancements in the empirical literature and provide directions for future research towards the understanding of verbal behavior processes from a conceptual and applied perspective.

Behavior Analysts, Speech-Language Pathologists, Psychologists, students in behavior analysis, service providers.

All interested in behavior analysis, experimental analysis, the self, rule-governed behavior, relational frame theory, and clinical behavior analysis

Moreso than in most medical problems and health crisis situations, leaders of many and diverse disciplines repeatedly cite “changes in behavior” as the mainstay of addressing the challenges of the Covid 19 pandemic. Given the lack of preventative, protective, and treatment modalities, the importance of behavior and habit change by individuals and society becomes the most prominent “tool in the box,” and allows for empowerment of individuals, families, organizations, and societies. This presentation highlights ways in which behavioral principles and techniques, especially when integrated with relevant principles of medicine and public health, can, and need to, be applied by clinicians and non clinicians to promote desired behaviors/habits including mask/PPE use (and techniques) and practicing social distancing, as well as remembering to NOT do many things we habitually do like shaking hands and holiday family gatherings. It applies as well to "private" behaviors of attitudes, opinions, knowledge (reality of the illness, safety of vaccines). The current pandemic serves as yet another opportunity for those most skilled in the principles and techniques of the management of behavior and development of habits to showcase the power of the discipline in making substantive desirable impacts on many phases of the COVID 19 pandemic, and the people affected by it.

Basic

While cell phones have become an essential part of teenage life, even expected by teachers. They are a vehicle of wasted time, social stressors, and distraction, but are also essential for needed family communication , studying for tests, and completing homework. Standard behavioral and public health principles and techniques can be used in a methodical fashion to help the teenager develop habits to better self regulate usage. This presentation highlights use of behavioral momentum, successive approximations, differential reinforcement, token economies, the Premack principle, basic reinforcement and punishment, as well a public health fundamental that the most effective interventions are those which require the least amount of effort on the part of the targeted individual

Basic

One of the greatest challenges faced is promoting independence in the individuals we serve so that they can live the best quality of life possible. Independence is an essential life skill for the individuals we serve and is often an area of focus when developing goals. However, the sometimes overlooked area of interdependence may be an even more crucial skill for success in daily life. Individuals with autism may attempt to behave independently when they actually would be better served by accessing others to help them to solve a problem. Interdependence is a way in which we can achieve our goals and solve problems but includes others in the solution. This panel will focus on the importance of both independence and interdependence in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Independence and interdependence will be discussed and defined. Specific examples will be used to highlight skills of independence and interdependence. There will be a discussion regarding the assessment and observation of adults with autism in the areas of independence and interdependence.

Behavior Analysts; Special Educators

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) consists of techniques that range from low-tech (e.g. picture exchange systems) to high-tech (e.g. communication devices) systems. These systems are useful in teaching non-vocal client’s functional communication skills. Although research supports the use of AAC systems in teaching verbal behavior, the implementation of high-tech devices poses a challenge to Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) due to a lack of knowledge, experience and understanding of how the devices can be implemented to reach communication goals. The purpose of this symposium is to demonstrate how the proper use of AAC devices can increase verbal behaviors, reduce challenging behavior and increase functional communication for nonvocal or minimally vocal children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The first speaker will present an overview of AAC systems and common features of such systems. The speaker will also present a single case study of the implementation of an AAC device to reduce challenging behavior. The second speaker will present a single case study on increasing vocalizations with the implementation of a high-tech AAC system. The third speaker will focus on a single case study in which the participant was able to increase verbal behaviors with a change in how AAC was utilized. Implications for AAC in everyday clinical settings will be discussed.

Applied Behavior Analysts, Behavior Analytic Practitioners, Researchers, Educators

The aim of this presentation is to give the participants a brief overview of AAC systems and some of the most common programming features of high-quality systems. The features that will be discussed include grid/button sizes, button feedback, and organization. The author will also discuss rationales for getting a designated speech-generating device funded as opposed to using a device for supplemental use. The aim of the single case study was to reduce maladaptive behavior in an 8-year-old female with the use of an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) system. Prior to implementing an AAC system, the participant was engaging in aggression towards staff, self-injurious behavior, property destruction, and public urination. She demonstrated no functional communication. She was able to imitate words but did not use words independently. Data will be presented that demonstrates the decrease in maladaptive behavior with the inception of the AAC system. Use of the system was generalized to multiple settings with multiple people. Results indicate that AAC was successful in increasing functional communication, reducing maladaptive behavior, and growing manding and tacting repertoires.

The aim of this single case study was to increase the use of vocal mands in a young male with autism spectrum disorder. The participant was selected for this intervention due to his inability to functionally communicate his wants and needs using vocal communication. While he did demonstrate some vocal abilities at baseline, he often required multiple prompts to mand. An augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device was implemented as a supplemental way to mand for preferred activities and items. The AAC application, SnapCoreFirst, was loaded onto an iPad that was used while in the clinical setting. Pages with a 4x4 grid were created that included symbols of his preferred activities and items. Errorless teaching was implemented to teach navigation to those pages and buttons. Data collected from December 2020 to January 2021 shows an average of 24 spontaneous vocal mands per day and 5% accuracy using the sentence starter “I want” (January 2021). By August of 2021, the client's vocal mands stayed consistent with an average of 24 mands and sentence complexity accuracy increased to 91%. The results from this case study indicate that using an AAC system to supplement communication can have a favorable impact on vocal communication.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is a viable option for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who do not develop vocal speech. Research indicates that about 30% of individuals with ASD remain non-vocal throughout their life. Implementing AAC properly can influence skill acquisition and the formation of relational frames of an individual. The aim of this single-subject case study was to increase rate of skill acquisition in a non-vocal adolescent who uses an AAC device. The participant was included in this study because he had a history of using AAC to communicate. However, communication was not efficient and skill acquisition occurred at a slow rate. At baseline, the participant was spelling out tacts and intraverbals to the communication partner. During Phase 1 of the intervention, the participant was taught to use symbols to tact and produce intraverbals. Phase 2 of the intervention included generalization of the use of a variety of verbal operants into a more naturalistic setting with new communication partners. Data will also be collected on potential relations that were incidentally taught during this process. The results of this study indicate that with the proper implementation of AAC, non-vocal individuals can substantially increase skill acquisition and learn relational frames in the process.

Six decades of research on human decision making has revealed how sensitive our choices are to the ways in which options are framed. A key insight from this line of scholarship, which is typically referred to as behavioral economics, is that the influence of nudges – or intentional framings of options so as to make certain choices more likely – is greatest when people lack deep-seated or well-ordered preferences among the options. Most of us know, for example, whether we prefer vanilla or chocolate ice cream, or at least the situations in which we prefer one or the other, and so are unlikely to be nudged to choose differently. But unlike ice cream selections, seriously patients’ (and their family members’) choices about end-of-life care are made infrequently, and typically without receiving feedback about how choosing one way versus another makes us feel. For these reasons and perhaps others, research over the past decade has shown that these high-stakes, seemingly preference-sensitive decisions are in fact quite strongly influenced by the ways in which options are framed. This talk will begin by differentiating among behavior change strategies that differ in their likely effectiveness and threats to autonomous choice, and will then explore how behavioral economic concepts are being used by the speaker and others in efforts to improve the quality of serious illness care in the U.S. Examples from ongoing and recently completed randomized trials will be presented, and the ethics of consciously “nudging” certain end-of-life decisions will be considered.

With diversity, equity, and inclusion becoming more of a trend than a value, it is imperative that behavior analysts self-reflect and commit to actions that disrupt oppressive practices in the field. The panel will focus on how behavior analysts can mentor and supervise underrepresented supervisees and students, with a specific emphasis on empowering them and guiding them to recognize their strengths independent of the validation of those in power. The panelists will also discuss how to utilize and leverage one’s own privilege to further these efforts to dismantle oppressive mentorship and supervision. Understanding that lived experiences are data, the panelists, who identify as women of color, will discuss how their own behaviors were shaped as a result of being oppressed in these systems (i.e., educational institutes, clinical settings, mental and behavioral health) and will share strategies to disrupt such systems. Audience members will be encouraged to participate and share their own lived experiences to contribute to this important conversation.

N/A

Recent publications have yielded concerns of gender- and race-based pay gaps and potential pay inequities within the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA; Li et al., 2019; Vance & Saini, under review). Equipped with a unique understanding of behavior-change processes, behavioral practitioners are well-suited to challenge organizational practices that may be contributing to pay inequities. A progressive response may involve identifying interventions that help to diagnose pay equity issues, mitigate their impacts, and prevent escalation of inequities. Therefore, the purpose of the symposium is to conceptualize the topic of pay-equity as well as introduce and discuss micro and macro-level interventions. The status of such interventions within ABA will be reviewed in addition to future action items on this topic. Collectively, the authors of this symposium hope to empower its audience members, generate discussion about pay practices within the field and set the occasion for enhanced equity processes in ABA.

RBT, BCaBA, BCBA, BCBA-D

Structural racism is one of the most pervasive and impactful social paradigms in American life, and often works in tandem with systems of inequality to drive social factors that adversely affect child health. Understanding the influence of racism on these unjust systems can aid individuals in narrowing health disparities. First, individuals should acknowledge a shared definition of racism as a “system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on the social interpretation of how one looks… that unfairly disadvantages some… unfairly advantages others, and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources.” Next, an identification of these systemic inequities should be made, with throughlines drawn connecting social adversity with poor health outcomes. Finally, intentional and evidence-based strategies should be employed to counteract these adverse influences in both health care and society, and these interventions studied to gauge efficacy and direct resources.

Healthcare providers

All professional settings require the implementation of specific practices to ensure ideal functioning of the organization, produce optimal client outcomes, and even maintain employee well-being. However, the extent to which these practices are performed in the workplace may be variable. Professionals across a variety of applied settings have expressed a desire for more extensive training, describing their initial training experiences as “inadequate” (DiGennaro Reed & Henley, 2015; Freeman et al., 2014). The use of an organizational behavior management (OBM) approach to training has been successful in enhancing staff performance across a multitude of domains and settings (e.g., table busing times, Amigo et al., 2008; EpiPen administration in schools, Whiting et al., 2014). This symposium will introduce three studies that utilized training methods to promote engagement in essential workplace practices. We will begin by presenting a study that examined the use of video modeling and experimenter feedback to train teachers to implement classroom management strategies. We will then discuss a study that used behavioral skills training (BST) to promote the recruitment of supervisor praise. Finally, we will review a study that examined the use of goal setting and graphic feedback in increasing time allocated to educational programming in ABA classrooms.

Supervisors, administrators, training coordinators

Evidence-based classroom management strategies are a neglected area in teacher training programs. As a result, newly certified teachers are inadequately trained in classroom management strategies (Freeman et al., 2014) and identify this area as a major reason for leaving the profession (Ingerson et al., 2018). Stevenson et al. (2020) urged teacher training programs to provide future educators with practice opportunities and high-quality feedback on the use of behavioral classroom management strategies. This study evaluated the impact of an online video modeling (VM) and experimenter feedback (EFB) training on accuracy of implementing a classroom management strategy with nine graduate students and one undergraduate student with experience in school settings. Participants’ performance was variable across experimental phases. In the VM condition, some participants’ performance improved while others’ initially increased but did not maintain. In the EFB condition, performance improved across all participants and maintained for most. Description of the training package, advantages, and considerations for using the training to teach others classroom management strategies will be discussed.

For many learners on the autism spectrum, the amount of time allocated to behavior analytic instruction impacts the acquisition of new skills and progress towards individualized education program (IEP) goals. Three classrooms in a center-based applied behavior analysis (ABA) program were targeted for an intervention that evaluated the effects of graphic feedback and goal setting on the percentage of time allocated to educational programming. Baseline data were recorded to measure time allocated to educational programming during work sessions. After stable baselines were obtained, graphs that displayed the amount of time spent on educational programming, functional routines, breaks, and waiting were reviewed with classroom staff. Staff were asked to set a goal, to be met within one month, to increase the time allocated to educational programing during instructional time. Graphic feedback was shared with the teachers on a weekly basis. Initial results demonstrated an increase in the percentage of intervals with educational programming following feedback sessions across two classrooms. Daily feedback resulted in an increase in percentage of intervals with educational programming for the third classroom. This study provides evidence that graphic feedback and goal setting may help maximize staff’s use of instructional time in the classroom.

ABAI’s accreditation system has been around for decades with more programs seeking accreditation over the past few years than ever before. As interest and the need for accreditation grows, we invite you to learn about the process and experiences from the perspective of a few program coordinators. The panelists’ programs represent a range of accreditation experiences. This session is designed for program coordinators and those interested in recognition and accreditation.

Behavior analysis students, practitioners, and researchers.

For over a decade, CABAS was implemented in Italy by several learning centers that aimed to test the effects of education as a social innovation tool. We found that this model can provide schools and health services with an evidence-based system to design interventions that are both effective and efficient. Also, it greatly contributed to maintaining treatment integrity for children and adults with autism spectrum disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic. During these challenging times of economic and health crisis across the world, consequences for failing to design early and efficient ABA treatments were being highlighted by researchers. In addition, all countries in terms of reaching the “sustainable development goals” (SDGs) for fighting educational poverty, can do so only by providing people with a disability with individualized proper interventions. CABAS was able to offer help with identifying criteria for effective behavioral interventions, with particular attention to highly critical groups, such as people with autism. Luckily, the science of teaching provides researchers all over the world with a system to measure education. A growing number of research findings show that CABAS is among the most cost-effective educational model in the world. Moreover, its implementation across all age groups and for both special and general education, suggest that it is a cross-cultural, flexible tool for different contexts. Therefore, in Italy, we implemented it as a tactic within social, health and school services, for individuals with and without disability, from 18 months to adulthood. We found that the implementation of such a comprehensive model of education fits the need for sustainability of welfare systems drastically different from those in the United States. CABAS® was first replicated in Italy in 1991 and further expended through a great deal of applied research across various fields and disciplines. International replications are paving the way for further research and trans-disciplinary analysis of its effects, using longitudinal measurements and both criterion and norm-based data.

ABA master and Ph.D. students, school directors, supervisors, service managers, community health advocates

With modern computers, there is an ever-increasing promise for the ability to conduct complex data analyses that are designed for behavior analysts and the types of data we collect. However, many of these useful techniques remain out of the grasp of the average behavior analyst because the techniques do not exist as a functional tools and are just promises. A wholly different behavioral repertoire related to data analysis and computer programming is necessary to translate the promises into functional tools. The goal of this symposium is to highlight the growing effort within behavior analysis to develop useful data analytic tools and applications for ourselves. Topics will cover efforts to analyze behavioral data in relation to environmental variables outside of the behavior analyst’s control (e.g., client medications), neural network computing to analyze multiple baseline data, methods to develop decision support systems for functional analysis, and development of a system for charting of single-subject design data that can be easily extended to support advanced statistical analysis.

Attendees should be aware of pharmacotherapy and should have knowledge of multiple baselines and functional analyses.

Researchers report increasing trends in psychotropic medication use to treat problem behavior in individuals with intellectual and developmental disability, despite some controversy regarding its application and treatment efficacy. While a substantial evidence-base exists supporting behavioral intervention efficacy, research evaluating separate and combined interventions (i.e., concurrent application of behavioral and psychopharmacological interventions) effects is scarce. This talk demonstrates a series of analysis using the clinical treatment data of four adolescent males who engaged in severe problem behavior to retrospectively explore separate and combined intervention effects. First, we calculated individual effect sizes and corresponding confidence intervals. The results indicated larger problem behavior decreases may have coincided more often with behavioral intervention adjustments compared to medication adjustments. Second, a conditional rates analysis indicated surges in problem behavior may not have reliably coincided with medication reductions. Spearman correlation analyses indicated a negative relationship between behavioral intervention phase progress and weekly episodes of problem behavior compared to a positive relationship between total medication dosage and weekly episodes of problem behavior. However, a non-parametric partial correlation analyses indicated individualized, complex relationships may exist between total medication dosage, behavioral intervention and weekly episodes of problem behavior. Although our conclusions are tentative, we will discuss many potential clinical implications, as well as rationale for behavioral researchers and practitioners to consider applying creative analytic strategies to evaluate separate and combined interventions effects on problem behavior to further explore this extremely understudied topic.

Applied work in Behavior Analysis is moving towards regularly integrating quantitative metrics in the design, delivery, and evaluation of behavioral interventions. Efforts in this area are constrained by the tools available to practitioners. Whereas commercially available spreadsheet software supports robust charting capabilities, only the most basic types of computations are supported. Furthermore, this approach cannot be fully automated and places significant demands on the analyst. The approach presented here leverages the capabilities of the free, open-source R program to support both quantitative as well as the existing charting conventions (e.g., style, formatting) expected of commercially available spreadsheet software. The combination of which is a toolset that supports both visual analysis and the integration of robust statistical methods (e.g., multi-level modeling). This paper ends with a discussion on the importance of statistical consultation and training and exploration of free and open-source alternatives to commercial software packages.

Trauma-informed care (TIC) can be defined as a proactive, universal approach—taken by practitioners and organizations—to appropriately support and avoid re-traumatizing individuals who may have experienced trauma. Researchers and clinicians from various human service disciplines have articulated commitments of TIC and argued for their adoption into service delivery models. Although rationales provided in such arguments seem relevant to applied behavior analysis (ABA), discussions surrounding TIC have only recently taken shape in the ABA literature, and an evidence base and technology for practical application of TIC has not been adequately developed. In this symposium, we progress toward bridging this divide by: (a) defining trauma-informed care; (b) describing a rationale and framework for its incorporation into behavior-analytic research and practice; (c) detailing multiple examples of TIC in ABA research and practice; and (d) providing preliminary empirical data on the effects of trauma-informed procedures on socially important behaviors purported to be relevant to trauma. In recognizing the importance of a robust evidence base to the adoption of potentially novel procedures (and the current paucity thereof), presenters in this symposium will share survey, clinical-case, and experimental data in an attempt to illustrate what TIC in ABA research and practice might look like.

The target audience for this CE event includes any behavior analysts who conduct research or practice in service of addressing behavioral challenges exhibited by individuals with and without intellectual/developmental disabilities, and is particularly relevant for those who provide care to individuals who have experienced trauma. Content is designed to be consumable to beginning behavior analysts, although certain intermediate topics (e.g., a behavior-analytic conceptualization of trauma) will be discussed.

Trauma-informed care, although widely recognized for its importance to human services, has yet to fully integrate into applied behavior analysis. Rajaraman et al. (2021) described what that integration could look like on a universal scale. In this presentation, we discuss what a model might look like when applied to the assessment and treatment of food selectivity. Food selectivity is a pervasive problem and affects up to 45% and 80% of individuals with and without disabilities, respectively. Food selectivity and mealtime problem behavior have primarily been treated through differential reinforcement and various forms of escape extinction. Escape extinction, while efficacious, may result in increased aggression, gagging, or vomiting and, therefore, may not be feasible to implement under some conditions. Through various case examples, we discuss a model, consistent with the commitments of trauma-informed care, in which mealtime problem behavior was assessed and treated without evoking severe problem behavior or emotional responding. Treatment components included multiple choice-making opportunities, including the opportunity for participants to participate or leave the treatment context at any point. Treatment sessions consisted of children self-feeding with no physical prompting or physical management on the part of the therapist. Implications for practitioners and future research will be discussed.

Ensuring safety and trust when providing therapeutic services is a core commitment of trauma-informed care. This commitment has implications for the assessment and treatment of dangerous problem behavior in that different approaches to intervening upon problem behavior may be associated with differential levels of experienced safety and perceived trust. One example of a potential violation of perceived trust pertains to the physical management of individuals exhibiting problem behavior. During this presentation, after providing a behavior-analytic conceptualization of the constructs of safety and trust, we share findings from a survey that returned 716 responses, from behavior analysts across the United States, regarding their experiences and opinions on the use of physical management procedures in ABA practice. Findings suggest that there are varied opinions regarding the safety and feasibility of such procedures, with a majority advocating for reduced use in everyday practice. We connect these findings to an evaluation of a systematic replication of the enhanced choice model of skill-based treatment—initially described by Rajaraman et al. (2021)—that importantly avoids the use of physical management, and that was delivered via telehealth consultation. Survey and single-subject data are discussed in the context of exploring trauma-informed processes for addressing dangerous problem behavior.

Children and adolescents who have experienced substantial abuse and neglect typically require input from a range of professionals to support effective assessment and intervention. Unfortunately, behavior analysts have not always been considered key players on those multidisciplinary teams. Although there may be many reasons for that, in our experience, one prevalent concern is that behavior analytic approaches are unsuitable for children who have experienced traumatic events. In this presentation, we will describe how behavior analysis has been integrated into treatment delivery models for supporting a range of children and young people who have experienced substantial abuse and neglect. Through the presentation of data-based case studies, we will describe how behavior-analytic strategies were selected and applied based on the client’s unique trauma histories, as well as the adaptations we made to ensure the strategies were trauma-informed, client-centered, and capable of being maintained in the clients’ homes. We also will describe some of the challenges in integrating behavior analysis into social services in the United Kingdom, as well as suggesting specific strategies for overcoming those obstacles.

The purpose of this symposium was to report on an integrated and multidisciplinary approach including prominent parent involvement to reduce several challenging behaviors, such as biting others, bruxism, and covering ears with hands in a 3-year-old girl diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome but to also collaborate with other professionals and her parents in skill acquisition goals such as puzzle building, correct use of her communication device, and feeding herself. An FBA was conducted which showed that some behaviors were socially maintained whereas other behaviors were maintained by automatic reinforcement. All target behaviors were reduced substantially, and a number of skill acquisition behaviors increased dramatically. For example, Charlie has begun to independently feed herself with a fork and has demonstrated success in toilet training. The results suggest that working collaboratively with allied disciplines such as speech therapy, feeding therapy and occupational therapy as well as fully integrating parents in the process is likely to produce optimal outcomes for individuals with Angelman Syndrome.

Behavior analysts

Delay discounting refers to the process of how a subject compares values and chooses between immediate and delayed consumption of a reward. This concept is important in studying self-control and impulsiveness in decision making. This symposium consists of two presentations that examined delay discounting and potential treatments in rats and two presentations on recent research in substance use and behavioral addictions in humans. The first study evaluated the use of a delay of gratification task for rats and found that prior learning history impacted outcomes. The second study evaluated the use of Finasteride as a possible treatment for rats with a history of alcohol as a reinforcer. The third study was a systematic review of empirical studies that evaluated interventions for delay discounting and alcohol use with human participants. The fourth study was a meta-analytic review that synthesized delay discounting research across a variety of behavioral addictions, from substance use to chronic smartphone use. These presentations will be followed by a discussion on future research directions.

Participants should have prior knowledge on basic research related to delay discounting and choice making.

Alcoholism and alcohol misuse carry significant ramifications at both individual and community health levels. Consequently, the need for exploration of effective treatments for Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) remains a priority among researchers and granting agencies alike. Of note, behavioral economics can help inform and evaluate novel treatments and their behavioral outcomes. To provide such evaluations, the current study involved 20 Long Evans rats (10 male, 10 female), responding for food and alcohol rewards during concurrent progressive ratio sessions. First, the relative efficacy of alcohol and sweetened condensed milk was evaluated in food deprived rats. Next, half of the rats received daily doses of Finasteride. The initial results showed significant reductions in alcohol consumption among the animals receiving doses of Finasteride. Behavioral economic switch-points between food vs. sweetened condensed milk, and food vs. alcohol rewards were then assessed in addition to operant analyses to further evaluate pharmacodynamic effects. Results will be described.

University students and faculty experience distress that professors and faculty colleagues are the first to observe. Typically, it is the failure to keep up with assignments that alerts others to these emotional and well-being issues. In some cases, professors and supervisors can assess and then address these matters with psychological flexibility instructional methods such as Acceptance and Commitment Training. Other times, counselors may need to be asked to conduct further assessments and more intensive interventions. In this symposium, four talks related to university well-being and productivity will be presented. The first talk addresses the relationship between burnout, self-compassion, psychological flexibility, and work-related quality of life for university faculty. The second examines the utility of a values-based self-management assessment and intervention strategy for supporting college students. The third presentation is an evaluation of an ABA ACT functional analysis and intervention strategy in a college setting. The fourth paper involves the same ABA ACT functional analysis and intervention approach using a procedure to control for sensitivity, specificity, discriminant, and predictive utility of the functional analysis in a graduate school context. Dr. Thomas Szabo will then discuss the development of functional assessment and psychological flexibility interventions in ABA and the four papers presented herein.

Behavior analysts, students, and faculty

During their academic careers, university students face numerous challenges and sometimes those challenges interfere with students' progress in their degree programs. Nationally, the four and six year graduation rates for undergraduates are 33% and 58%, respectively. Only 57% of Ph.D. students complete their degree. Direct contingencies, including grades, may be necessary but are sometimes insufficient to maintain the response patterns necessary to complete course and degree requirements. When direct contingencies are ineffective or insufficient to address interfering behavior, an effective approach might be to identify the influence of private behavior (e.g., thoughts) and match intervention to the nature of the identified influence. This investigation aimed to examine the effects of a systematic descriptive assessment followed by a functional analysis of private events and matched intervention on the interfering behavior of two PhD students and one undergraduate student. The process and results of the functional analyses of verbal behavior and intervention effects will be presented and directions for future research will be discussed.

An assessment is sensitive when it captures positive instances of a moderator accurately and specific if it accurately captures negative instances of a moderator. The former is associated with predictive validity and the latter with discriminant validity. In the current study, we evaluated these attributes of the Brief ACT FA with graduate students who were failing a class despite numerous interventions. Descriptive assessment was conducted, and the results were tested using a brief experimental ACT FA. In the Brief ACT FA, experimenters contrived verbal abolishing and establishing operations in an alternating treatment design. The Brief ACT FA was conducted using text messaging to rule out the possibility of inadvertently cuing participants to respond in characteristic ways based on the tone and cadence of the experimenter’s voice. Also during the Brief ACT FA, both hypothesized and non-hypothesized ACT repertoires were evaluated for their respective levels of influence. In all three participants, hypothesized ACT variables were verified and non-hypothesized variables eliminated. The ACT intervention that followed, based exclusively on the variables identified in the FA, resulted in successful behavior changes. Results will be discussed regarding specificity, sensitivity, discriminant, and predictive validity of the Brief ACT FA and future studied will be suggested.

The implications of the philosophical underpinnings of behavior analysis have, of late, increasingly become a point of interest for behavior analytic practitioners in the context of their applied work. Despite this increasing interest, practitioners may continue to benefit from increased opportunities to engage with these concepts that have robust applied utility. One such philosophy of behavior science that has garnered a recent increase in attention is that of J.R. Kantor’s Interbehaviorism (Kantor, 1924). Kantor’s approach to analyzing behavior is naturalistic, and dismisses many assumptions that other approaches operate within. In this symposium, we will discuss key behavior analytic concepts from an interbehavioral lens, and examine how approaching these concepts differently could be beneficial in applied settings. The aim of the symposium is to demonstrate how Interbehaviorism can increase a clinician’s sensitivity to responding occurring within sessions potentially even over other modern philosophies of behavior science, including Radical Behaviorism and Functional Contextualism.

-Basic competency in philosophical concepts of Radical Behaviorism (as a prerequisite to contrasting RB conceptualizations with Interbehaviorial conceptualizations).

Interteaching is a pedagogy that has growing empirical evidence supporting its efficacy. The method was initially described by Boyce and Hineline in 2002, and since then over 40 studies have been published investigating its effect on learning outcomes. Overall, the method has been found to increase student exam scores, increase student participation during class, and lead to more positive course evaluations. This symposium will start off with a review of the basic components of interteaching. The first presentation will summarize a study in which the discussion component was compared in an online undergraduate course against a traditional essay style online discussion. The second presentation will describe a study that compared an interteaching style discussion to posting to an online discussion board in a graduate level behavior analysis course. The third presentation will review results of a study that investigated the quality points component of interteaching in an online undergraduate course. The fourth presentation will summarize a study that evaluated the quality of preparation guides used in and online course. These four presentations will provide a sampling of the recent research being conducted on interteaching.

Course instructors and/or fieldwork supervisors

Many applied behavior analytic service providers for autistics/individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have had to transition from in-person service delivery to providing services through telehealth – directly or otherwise. Much of the telehealth research in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA) has focused on training other individuals through telehealth to implement in-person ABA-based procedures. More research is needed to guide best practices for behavioral interventions delivered via direct telehealth. This symposium includes three studies that evaluated behavioral interventions (i.e., the Cool versus Not Cool™ Procedure, instructive feedback within a dyad arrangement, and discrete trial teaching) for autistics/individuals diagnosed with ASD delivered via direct telehealth.

The target audience is practicing behavior analysts (e.g., BCBA, BCaBA, RBTs) and those providing intervention for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many applied behavior analytic service providers have had to quickly change how they provide services for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and transition away from in-person service delivery. One way in which behavior analysts have adapted is to provide services directly through telehealth. This study sought to evaluate the effects of instructive feedback in a dyad arrangement during discrete trial teaching delivered via telehealth to teach tact relations to six children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. During all sessions all participants and the experimenter were located in different physical locations. Results of a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design demonstrated that all participants learned their primary and secondary targets. Five of the participants acquired the observational primary and secondary targets without direct teaching. Areas of future research and clinical implications are discussed in the context of telehealth service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic and in general.