Association for Behavior Analysis International

In recent years, behavior has been recognized as an essential piece in the constellation of components critical to the care of animals housed in zoos and aquariums. The science of learning has many applications in these settings, and behavior analysts have contributed to the advancement of evidence-based practices particularly in the areas of husbandry training, environmental enrichment, and animal welfare. In this presentation, I will describe some examples of the role of behavior in multiple aspects of animal care. Along the way, I will highlight some key questions for the application of behavior analysis in zoological settings, some examples of work that addresses these questions, and some areas in need of further development.

This presentation is appropriate for behavior analysts interested in the application of behavior principles to behavior management across settings, and particularly in zoos and aquariums.

Dr. Christy Alligood received an M.A. (2003) from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a Ph.D. (2007) from West Virginia University. She is also a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D). Dr. Alligood is a Lecturer at the University of Florida, where she teaches undergraduate courses in behavior analysis. In addition, since 2007 she has worked at Disney's Animal Kingdom® in Orlando, Florida. Much of her initial work focused on a multi-faceted conservation program for Key Largo woodrats, which received a Bean Award for Significant Achievement in Captive Breeding from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (2009) and a Federal Challenge Grant (2010) in collaboration with the Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge for population monitoring work on Key Largo. Dr. Alligood now works with the Science Operations Team, where she focuses on using the science of behavior to enhance animal care. She is the secretary of the Southeastern Association for Behavior Analysis and has recently served as At-Large Representative to the ABAI Executive Council, Coordinator of the ABAI Special Interest Groups Board, and co-coordinator of the ABAI Applied Animal Behavior Program Area.

Research has continually found equivalence-based instruction (EBI) to be effective and efficient, with recent research extending these findings to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). EBI has also been compared to more traditional approaches to teaching, such as traditional lectures, reading assignments, and video lectures. However, the authors are unaware of any comparisons of EBI to other similar, behavior analytic approaches such as discrete trial teaching (DTT). The purpose of this study was to compare EBI to DTT using an adapted alternating treatments design with typically developing adults, typically developing children, and children diagnosed with ASD. The two teaching approaches were evaluated with respect to mastery of trained relations, emergence of untrained relations, and participant preferences. The results will be discussed with respect to their implications for practice and research.

There are a variety of recommendations or guidelines for interventionists when implementing discrete trial teaching (DTT) for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These guidelines typically involve a protocol being the main source of control for the interventionist’s behavior that outlines what instruction to give, reinforcer to use, and when to use and fade prompting strategies. However, recent research has demonstrated strategies in which the main sources of control for the interventionist are relevant to the learner’s behavior and involves in-the-moment assessment, or clinical judgement, when making decisions to modify variables within intervention. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of conventional and progressive approaches to DTT when teaching tact relations (sometimes referred to as expressive labels) to children diagnosed with ASD. The effectiveness and efficiency of each approach was evaluated across several dependent variables. The results of a randomized clinical trial will be discussed with respect to implications for clinical practice and future research.

Formal stimulus preference assessments are widely used to determine which stimuli are likely to function as reinforcers during intervention. However, the relationship between preference and reinforcement needs further examination. This study used a procedural variation of the multiple stimulus with replacement (Windsor, Piché, & Locke, 1994) preference assessment where the distance to each preferred item was parametrically manipulated. Five stimuli identified as preferred using a paired choice assessment (Fisher et al., 1992) were presented on a line about 4 inches in front of the learner. Stimuli were immediately replaced when selected. During the distance manipulation phase, each time a stimulus was selected it was replaced at a line three inches further from the participant until stimuli were almost out of reach. Four children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) participated. Data were collected on the cumulative number of selections of each stimulus as well as the distance from the learner when selected. Results suggest that the effort of the response—measured in terms of stimulus distance from the learner—affected how participants allocated responding to the stimuli. Results are discussed with reference to affordances (Gibson, 1979) and the benefit of incorporating the organism (Killeen & Jacobs, 2017) into behavior analysis.

There are an estimated 300,000 students attending schools in Qatar. A regional study in Qatar placed the number of people with ASD at 1 in 87. Due to Qatar’s requirement that all schools be inclusive, many of these students attend independent or private schools. Educators often find it difficult to support students who display behaviors similar to students who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. During this panel we will discuss some of the student service model that allow for the provision of support for students regardless of a formal diagnosis.

Teachers, Practitioners

Health professionals often recommend the use of medical devices to assess the health, monitor the well-being, or improve the quality of life of their patients. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may present challenges in these situations as their sensory peculiarities may increase refusals to wear such devices. To address this issue, the current study systematically replicated prior research that implemented interventions to increase compliance with wearing different medical devices (Cook et al., 2015; Richling et al., 2011). More specifically, we examined the effects of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) to increase compliance with wearing a heart rate monitor in 2 children with autism. The intervention increased compliance to 100% for both participants when an edible reinforcer was delivered every 90 s. The results indicate that DRO does not require the implementation of extinction to increase compliance with wearing a medical device. More research is needed to examine whether the reinforcement schedule can be further thinned.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents and teachers have faced the unique challenge of quickly teaching children with ASD to tolerate face masks, so they may continue therapy, attend school, or otherwise participate in community spaces, such as retail stores. We used a DRO procedure within a changing criterion design consisting of no-mask breaks and tangible reinforcers to teach four children with ASD of varying abilities to cooperate with wearing face masks for up to one hour. Additionally, one participant was taught over telehealth, with the aid of a Spanish-language interpreter. We included video models that were also narrated in Spanish within a behavior skills training procedure for the parent. During baseline, none of the children were able to meet the one-hour criterion. Results demonstrate that systematic fading of latency criteria across trials was successful in teaching all children to cooperate with keeping their masks on for at least one hour. Further, all participants were able to wear masks across consecutive one-hour periods (with brief no-mask breaks), and two participants that attended an inclusive classroom were able to keep their masks on for the full duration of the school day without any programmed no-mask breaks.

Behavioral parent training is a fundamental aspect during treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities. However, practitioners often find that rule-governed parenting represents a significant challenge to the effectiveness of the intervention. An approach to addressing this challenge and enhancing treatment outcomes is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). With vast empirical evidence targeting different variables, ACT is promising for caregivers of individuals with ASD. However, the integration of ACT within behavior-analytic services may be insufficient, as values within the cultural context are seldom considered. In an effort to increase cultural responsiveness, the present panel will inform on the awareness, knowledge, and approaches of behavior analysts that have primarily worked with Latinx caregivers. Specifically, ACT work with Latinx caregivers will be explored from a cultural perspective, as well as the current state of the literature in culturally adapting behavior-analytic approaches for the Latinx community. Panelists will discuss how others who work with Latinx caregivers may overcome barriers that topographically resemble non-adherence but are in fact behaviors that align with Latinx cultural values. Moreover, recommendations for adjusting treatment and methods for increasing success with treatment will be provided.

Students, practitioners, and researchers with knowledge or competency in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Differential reinforcement procedures involving behavior contracts and token economies are implemented program wide at a residential treatment facility for students with severe problem behaviors. The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC) serves 138 school-aged students and 143 adults with ages ranging from 9 to 61 years old. Approximately 77% of clients have developmental and intellectual disabilities and the remaining 23% of clients have emotional and behavioral disorder classifications. We serve many individuals with limited verbal behavior, yet all clients have individualized behavior contracts with differential reinforcement of other, alternative, or incompatible behavior. Behavior contracts are set for specific times of day (overnight, transport, school hours, evening hours), settings (school, residence, or community), and include various response criteria (academic or adaptive tasks and withholding dangerous and disruptive problem behavior). The majority of school-age students also utilize token economies using conditioned reinforcers. We describe the programmatic implementation of large scale, yet individualized differential reinforcement procedures, and their impact on academic and adaptive behavioral functioning.

Audience should have some working knowledge of behavior contracts and token economies.

Behavioral contracts, interchangeable with contingency contracts, are widely utilized in the field of applied behavior analysis. The use of which has been primarily associated with individuals who have a specific set of verbal and conceptual prerequisite capabilities (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2020). The purpose of this discussion is to denote the efficacy of behavioral contracting with individuals regardless of their level of functioning, verbal behavior, or diagnosis. Each of the clients we serve, from non-verbal clients with limited receptive language repertoires to fully verbal clients with emotionally disturbed classifications, benefit from differential reinforcement in the form of behavioral contracts. This is evidenced by the often immediate deceleration of target problem behavior and increase in appropriate replacement behaviors following contract implementation. Clients with limited verbal repertoires may take longer to discriminate the contingency, but repetition and contact with reinforcement generally leads to the desired outcome. The data collected show a direct correlation between the implementation of behavioral contracts with a wide array of individuals and the subsequent decrease in aberrant behavior. System-wide use of behavioral contracting fosters programmatic consistency, ease of implementation, and systematic replication.

Behavior analysts may assist with the development of academic goals and implementation of programs to improve academic performance and adaptive behaviors. A token economy is one procedure used by many behavior change agents to improve various topographies of behavior. Token economies can be used for a single topography for one client, such as attending behavior during brief sessions (Tarbox, Ghezzi, & Wilson, 2006) or for a large group of individuals and various response criteria, such as 600 mine operators without individual or within group injuries (Fox, Hopkins, & Anger, 1987). A carefully managed token economy can be inexpensive, applied across multiple students in a classroom, and effective. Here we review the system-wide use of a token economy in place at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC), a residential treatment facility. Students earn red and blue tickets (tangibles) as well as academic money (digital currency) for the successful completion of academic tasks and for engaging in positive, replacement behaviors. The use of a ticket system provides immediate conditioned tangible reinforcers for target behavior and helps improve academic performance across classrooms. We outline the implementation of the program wide token economy and demonstrate improvement for both academic and behavioral performance.

The difference between curricula and pedagogy is highlighted best when we consider what we teach versus how we teach it. There exists an interaction between development and instruction such that instruction can only be effective if the educator considers the learner’s level of verbal development. The ways in which we teach must cater to the current verbal developmental cusps found within the learner’s repertoire. While the progression of instructional objectives targeted within a curriculum will change as the learner acquires the necessary prerequisite skills to move forward, attention should be placed on modifying the ways in which we teach those subsequent objectives. Research in the field of verbal behavior development has proven time and time again that the acquisition of skills can be accelerated if the method of teaching is consistent with the capabilities that the learner exhibits, i.e. the presence of verbal developmental cusps within their repertoire.

Educators, Practitioners, and Researchers

The evidence-based practice (EBP) movement in human services has increased interest in the quality research and synthesis of literature bases. In the early days of the EBP movement, there were no standards for evaluating the quality of research using single case designs (SCDs). As a consequence, evidence based on these designs were excluded from systematic reviews and meta-analyses on effective interventions. In 2013, the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) finalized standards for SCDs. In this symposium, we examined the impact of these standards on research involving single case design in Applied Behavior Analysis. We reviewed all articles published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis to determine if there was a change in the research practices in the five years after the standards relative to the five years prior to their publication. The first paper in this session reports the method and results of this review. The second paper discusses limitations of SCD research in JABA and limitations of the standards. We will also outline suggestions for future research so that it is included in systematic reviews and meta-analyses and can contribute to the knowledge base.

basic

Goals are often touted as a relatively inexpensive and easy way to increase performance. For organizations, goals and incentives often go hand-in-hand and thus it is difficult to know the true impact of the goals on employee performance. This talk will begin by summarizing the different types of goal-setting strategies before delving into the concept of tiered goals and the reasoning behind their potential efficacy. It will then discuss the methodology of a laboratory study that focused on the effects of tiered goals and piece-rate pay, both alone and in combination. The results will then be discussed, the findings from which could change the way that organizations use goals and piece rate pay as a means to improve the performance of their employees. At a minimum, tiered goals could add another tool to the performance improvement toolkit within an organization – one that is an advancement over the common goal-setting methods.

Monetary incentive systems are an extremely popular area for research and discussion in both the business and academic world. For good reason, these systems receive an intense amount of interest including the attention of Nobel Prize winning researchers. Salary and wage expenses typically account for 25% - 50% or more of a businesses expenses. Understanding how best to deploy such resources in a business represent tremendous opportunity for cost savings and performance improvement. The present case study will examine the application of various monetary incentive systems in an applied setting, including commission pay, wage pay, and bonus systems. Comparisons will be drawn between experimental studies and the results of these applied studies. Audience members will gain a deeper understanding of monetary incentives through real-world examples, including successes and failures. Applying laboratory research to the real world can be a messy affair, and sharing these attempts with others helps the field advance.

The Registered Behavior TechnicianTM (RBT®) credential has resulted in over 80,000 individuals being certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) since its creation in 2014. RBTs provide direct service to individuals receiving Applied Behavior Analysis services, which has resulted in individuals with this credential becoming the face of the field, which many families and clients work with the majority of their treatment time. It is imperative that the training of individuals who hold the credential of RBT receive high quality and effective training. Empirically validated training packages can be used to train a variety of topics essential to the core competencies of the RBT credential. This symposium will present applied research that has investigated effective training focused specifically on individuals who are certified as an RBT. Training topics include the writing of effective session notes, treatment integrity of RBT implementation of preference assessments and discrete trial training, and RBT session feedback delivery to families of clients.

Intermediate

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using Teaching Interaction Procedure (TIP) in order to remotely train RBT certificants to write objective session notes. Session notes are a required component for each behavior analytic session conducted by an RBT. This requirement is present for acquiring and maintaining the certification as well as necessary for many funders of behavior analytic services. It is imperative that session documentation presents information in an objective format in order to accurately detail client progress. Behavior analysts can utilize proven training techniques in order to increase the fidelity of documentation of services completed by RBTs. A multiple baseline design across participants was employed with 3 RBTs. RBTs’ session notes during in home behavior analytic sessions were used as probes. Each RBT received the training, which implemented the TIP remotely, detailing how to write narrative sections of session notes objectively. Results indicate that all participants met mastery criteria within 3-4 teaching sessions and maintained these results across maintenance probes.

What patients, their parents/guardians, insurance providers, and the community at large have in common with direct care staff, clinical supervisors, and ABA service organizations is that each stakeholder cares about quality services. To assureall stakeholders that quality services are being provided, a neutral entity must set standards to define what is considered quality. Such standards are typically based on the scientific literature, and where research may fall short, subject matter experts provide guidance based on best practice. Then, to determine if services meet these standards, an objective entity conducts thorough evaluations using reliable assessment methods. In this symposium, we will share how Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (BHCOE) has developed a quality assurance system with a focus on our accumulated data collected over the past five years. The first presenter will discuss the value of quality assurance and best practice recommendations for conducting quality assurance. The second presenter will discuss outcomes assessments and why they are important for determining the value of behavioral interventions for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The third and fourth presenters will share the results of evaluations with patients and staff. All presenters will discuss the implications of their findings and future steps.

Audience members should have a general understanding of assessments such as the VB-MAPP and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales as well as concepts such as social validity, treatment fidelity, and organizational systems.

The passage of a licensure law is by no means the end of the road for the behavior analysis community in states that have just reached this milestone. The local chapter that supports behavior analysis activities should immediately begin to identify potential members of the licensing board that can be nominated and ultimately will be put in place to serve on the board. This panel will enable those that are on the brink of implementing licensure to be equipped with a step-by-step protocol by which to fully participate in this process. A number of things need to be identified that help to maintain the momentum that led to the passage of the licensure law in the first place. These catalysts will be identified and outlined for interested Behavior Analysts in states that are at this process step in their licensure law.

An overview will be provided of the range of activities that behavior analysts should consider for maximizing the likelihood of behavior analyst licensure adequately protecting the public and supporting the profession of behavior analysis. Elaboration of particular strategies and tactics for doing so will be tailored to address questions raised by attendees.

Acceptance and commitment training (ACTraining) is a third wave, empirically supported behavioural intervention that has been demonstrated to improve the quality of life across numerous populations. ACTraining differs from Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), as ACT focuses on the therapeutic delivery in the psychotherapy realm. Comparatively, ACTraining focuses on providing individuals with the tools to implement ACT in their daily lives. With increasing interest in ACTraining within the field of behaviour analysis, this symposium explores its diverse application across a variety of populations. Presenters will explore the use of direct measures of overt behaviours when training mediators to facilitate ACTraining, the delivery of ACTraining in a group format for caregivers of individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities, and the implementation of ACTraining in an individual format with caregivers, staff, and individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Discussion also includes the delivery of ACTraining within the scope of behaviour analysis, adapting the delivery of ACTraining to a telecommunication format, gaps in the ACT literature, and potential future directions.

Designed for: Students, researchers, and Clinicians

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a contemporary approach to dealing with unhelpful private events and improving psychological flexibility (Hayes et al., 2006) that is often used in psychotherapy (Szabo, 2019). Non-psychotherapeutic uses of ACT have been referred to as Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACTraining; Moran, 2011, 2015; Szabo, 2019), which refers to the use of six processes: present moment attention/mindfulness, values clarification, committed action, self-as-context, defusion, and acceptance (Hayes et al., 2006), implemented in the context of a training method.Recent interest in ACTraining within the behavior analytic community has led behavior analysts to question whether ACTraining is truly useful to the field and whether it’s within their scope of practice. Tarbox et al. (2020) have proposed that the use of ACTraining is within the scope of practice of behavior analysts and aligns with the seven dimensions of ABA as outlined by Baer et al. (1968). Thus, the purpose of this study was to provide a review of single-case research designs measuring the behavioral effects of ACTraining components conducted with individuals with ASD/DD, their parents, and/or their staff and to inform clinicians/researchers about what variables have been evaluated and what gaps still exist.

While research on the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with individuals with autism has been increasing in recent years, it remains true that there are limited data demonstrating its effectiveness on generating overt behavior change for this population in the applied clinical context. The current presentation reviews a series of treatment evaluations which used multiple baseline designs to analyze the effects of ACT interventions on overt behavior change for children with autism as a part of their clinical ABA treatment. Based on an initial analysis of the participants indirect acting contingencies, multiple exemplar training was used to teach one of the six behavioral repertoires outlined on the ACT Hexaflex (acceptance, present moment, self as context, defusion, values, or committed action). Results of these evaluations suggest that ACT strategies can produce socially significant behavior change in this population with generalization to direct care staff. Maintenance data and social validity data were also collected and will be discussed.

Caregivers of people with neurodevelopmental disabilities often experience greater psychological distress than other caregivers. Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) has been shown to decrease this psychological distress. Limited research has measured a core component of ACT (committed actions), which could be crucial in understanding how ACT can improve life satisfaction. In two separate studies, we asked caregivers in an in-person ACT-workshop (N=11) and caregivers in a virtual adaptation of the ACT-workshop (N=14) to complete standard psychological measures and self-monitor their frequency of committed actions pre-, post- and 1-month follow-up. Post-ACT, the in-person group average frequency of self-monitoring committed actions increased from 0 in baseline to 3.9 days per-week across four weeks, which returned to baseline levels in follow-up. Statistical analyses indicated therapeutic trends for all psychological measures, with decreases in parenting stress scores approaching statistical significance. Post-ACT, the virtual ACT-workshop results for self-monitoring increased from 0.33 in baseline to 3.56 days per-week across seven weeks. Statistical analyses indicated significant results for decreasing parenting stress, depression, anxiety and stress. Follow-up results are currently being collected. Results may help inform how self-monitoring committed actions may impact or relate to self-reported measures of psychological distress and impact the overall ACT experience for caregivers.

Multiple randomized control trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment training (ACT) for improving the quality of life of numerous populations, including caregivers of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. However, little research has been conducted on effective methods to train facilitators to lead ACT experiential exercises in general, with even less research incorporating caregivers as co-facilitators. To increase potential facilitators’ access to ACT facilitation training and reduce geographical barriers, a telecommunication format may be leveraged. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of providing behavioural skills training via telecommunication to caregiver and clinician facilitators across Canada that had already received a manualized, group-based ACT facilitation training to prepare to facilitate ACT workshops themselves. This study included a total of five caregivers and three clinicians, where quantitative data on fidelity and confidence was collected at baseline, post-training, and at 1-month follow-up using a multiple-baseline design. The results from this study suggest that implementing behavioural skills training to teach facilitators to provide ACT greatly improved the facilitators’ fidelity implementing three ACT exercises. Increasing the number of competently trained facilitators will help build capacity to increase caregivers’ access to ACT, ideally resulting in decreased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression this population has reported experiencing.

This symposium will address diversity issues within the field of behavior analysis, with emphasis on humility, cultural humility, pragmatism, and inclusion. The first talk will present data on the diversity of behavior analysts practicing in Ontario, as well as their self-reports of how culturally competent they believe they are, in comparison with the level of diversity education and training they report. A second presentation will describe the neurodiversity movement, autistic culture, and how traditional Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) contributes to the trauma autistic people experience from others trying to change who they are. A third presentation will describe the cultural bias of research in ABA, specifically, the historical roots of ableism in ABA and examples of ableism in current research. A final presentation will describe the differential treatment and segregation of applied practitioners vs. basic researchers/academicians, and the negative effects on the science and practice of behavior analysis. Presenters will offer suggestions for combating the concerns they highlight, and Dr. Christine Hughes, a distinguished basic and translational researcher and radical behaviorist, will serve as discussant.

Audience members should have a basic understanding of ABA treatment, such as for people with autism. They should have heard the term "radical behaviorism" and have a basic understanding of the relations among EAB, ABA, and radical behaviorism.

Autistic advocates have criticized Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for harmful practices grounded in ableism (Dawson, 2004; Lynch, 2019). A common response to ABA being characterized as abusive or harmful is to make a distinction between the science and practice of ABA. Although there is a topographical distinction between the scientific approach to discovering variables that influence behavior and the technology of behavior change that utilizes those research discoveries, the science of ABA is no exception to concerns voiced by the autistic community. Research goals, procedures, and outcomes are often based on the agenda of the researcher and neurotypical community, rather than the values of autistic participants and the autistic community. This presentation will (a) explore the historical roots of the science of ABA in ableism, (b) discuss contemporary examples of ableism in ABA research, (c) explore the efficacy of the ethics code and research practices as they relate to keeping autistic research participants safe, and (d) offer strategies to ensure the inclusion of autistic voices and the safety of research participants.

In a world in which tumultuous events such as political upheaval, police brutality, climate change, and untrustworthy media, occur at accelerating rates, we have a moral obligation to use our science towards nurturing ends. The following presentations present behavior analytic interpretations of propaganda, sustainable behavior, police brutality, and false information in social media environments. The authors in this symposium wish to inspire audience members to use behavior science to shift mainstream cultural problems.

Audience members should have a growing skill-set in contextual behavior science including relational frame theory.

Positive punishment procedures are controversial, misunderstood, and misrepresented inside and outside behavior analysis. We provide a contemporary review of the efficiency, efficacy, and side effects of contingent skin shock to treat the severe problem behaviors of individuals with various diagnoses. Contrary to popular belief, contingent skin shock by way of an electrical stimulation device often results in an increased quality of life by allowing the individual to contact new contingencies of reinforcement.

Any BCBA interested in positive punishment and/or electrical stimulation devices.

Electrical stimulation devices have been used to treat severe and treatment refractory problem behavior across a variety of topographies and diagnoses. In 2020, the Food and Drug Administration banned electrical stimulation devices used to treat aggressive and self-injurious behaviors. Treatment has been successfully used for individuals with diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder, conduct disorders, intellectual disability, and mood disorders who exhibit aggressive and self-injurious behaviors of sufficient intensity to cause serious damage to themselves and others. These behaviors include, but are not limited to blows to the head, rectal digging, rumination, eye gouging, body hits to the environment, and violent acts towards others. In addition, in the literature, the treatment of other idiosyncratic topographies that cause harm has been described. It is important to note that these behaviors are repeated overtime and produce bleeding and permanent tissue damage. Findings support the use of contingent skin shock in conjunction with other behavior analytic procedures for severe treatment refractory behaviors. Typically, the treatment is extremely effective in reducing the frequency of targeted behaviors. Types of electrical stimulation devices, client characteristics, and treated topographies will be discussed.

The use of electrical stimulation devices to treat severe, dangerous, and potentially life threatening problem behaviors is a controversial topic in the field of behavior analysis. The potential of negative effects such as learned helplessness, aggression, anxiety, among other side effects are often cited as sequelae associated with the use of electrical stimulation devices. However, many of these effects are derived from basic research with animals that do not necessarily comport with the clinical application of electrical stimulation devices. In many cases, specific experimental preparations are required to produce certain effects that are inconsistent with clinical applications. Here, the negative side effects described in the applied and experimental literature are reviewed. Literature regarding the use of electrical stimulation devices in a clinical setting to treat severe problem behaviors reflect relatively infrequent and less prevalent negative side effects than those noted in laboratory studies. This discussion will examine the negative side effects of both non-contingent and contingent skin shock, while clarifying common misconceptions associated with the treatment.

Clinically significant decelerations are observed across a variety of topographies of severe, treatment refractory problem behaviors after contingent skin shock treatment. As these once refractory problem behaviors decrease, multiple positive side effects emerge. Some such side effects include reductions in the use of chemical, mechanical, and physical restraint, health related supports, and level of supervision required to maintain safety. Substantial increases in pivotal behaviors are commonly observed as maladaptive behaviors decelerate and availability of reinforcement increases. For example, the elimination of mechanical restraint sets the occasion for increased ambulation, which may act as a pivotal behavior that enables social initiation and access to leisure activities. An increased repertoire of pivotal behaviors often results in the development of behavioral cusps, or behavior change that exposes the individual to novel environments, reinforcers, and contingencies. Individuals who receive the treatment demonstrate improvements in quality of life as measured by increased access to the community, home visits, and employment, social behaviors, academic progress, and independence. This discussion will review positive side effects associated with contingent skin shock, to include both reduced use of restrictive interventions and increased adaptive behavioral repertoires.

Matching-to-sample (MTS) is often used to teach the prerequisite skills needed for establishing important complex behaviors. Therefore, using the most effective and efficient procedures when teaching matching-to-sample skills is paramount. One important MTS procedural variable concerns the selection response topographies used during acquisition. Although Green (2001) recommends teaching students to point to the correct comparison stimulus instead of placing the sample on top of the correct comparison, no previous research has directly compared these two topographies. The current study used an alternating treatments design to assess the effects of a pointing selection response and a “placing on top” selection response on the effectiveness and efficiency of acquisition of a visual-visual simultaneous arbitrary matching-to-sample task with three typically developing 4- to 5-year-old children. A trial-and-error with an error correction procedure was used to measure the relative differences in percentage of correct responses and sessions to criterion across the two selection response topographies. The results showed no systematic advantage of placing the sample stimulus on top of the correct comparison stimulus relative to a pointing selection response. Therefore, the results of the current study contrast with the recommendations made by Green (2001) for teaching children to point to the correct comparison stimulus rather than place the sample stimulus on top of the correct comparison stimulus.

Behavioral skills training (BST) is an effective training procedure (e.g., Fetherston & Sturmey, 2014; Parsons et al., 2012); however, there are barriers to its implementation (e.g., DiGennaro Reed et al., 2013; Erath et al., 2020; Shapiro & Kazemi, 2017). Therefore, it may be important to evaluate other variations of BST that are as effective and more efficient than the complete behavioral skills training package. This symposium attempts to answer this question through several literature reviews and evaluations of modified BST procedures. Advancements in BST and future directions will be discussed.

Students, researchers, and practitioners who work in human-service settings and use behavioral skills training to teach skills to their staff or caregivers who work directly with individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Behavioral technicians are typically trained on the job to implement DTT by an experienced behavior analyst using an evidence-based approach called behavioral skills training (BST; Miltenberger, 2003). Although BST is a widely used approach, significant practical constraints related to the time and resources required to effectively implement it exist. Over the years, researchers have conducted many studies with the purpose of increasing the efficiency and practicality of BST while maintaining its effectiveness. Unfortunately, the variation in purpose(s) and procedures across these evaluations make it challenging to draw clear conclusions from published outcomes throughout the research literature. Therefore, a summary of the emerging research on training innovations when using BST to train staff to implement DTT procedures is needed. The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize the literature on BST used for training individuals to implement DTT procedures in order to identify variables relevant for effectively training DTT skills and elucidate implications for using BST to train individuals to implement DTT in practice.

Behavioral skills training (BST) is an evidence-based training protocol that is most commonly comprised of (a) instructions, (b) modeling, (c) rehearsal, and (d) feedback. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the influence of each BST component in a sequential manner to determine the most effective and efficient method for training behavioral technicians to implement discrete-trial teaching. Preliminary results suggest the feedback component was necessary for all participants to reach the mastery criterion (100% correct across three consecutive sessions). We discuss implications of these results and directions for future research.

Behavioral skills training (BST) with feedback (Parsons et al., 2012) is a common intervention for training staff and caregivers to engaged in various important behaviors. However, BST with feedback is labor intensive, costly, and often requires extensive involvement from a supervisor or experienced trainer (DiGennaro Reed & Henley, 2015). Thus, training models that are more efficient and less resource intensive are necessary. One such group of procedures are self-instruction (self-directed) training procedures, which include video modeling and written instructions. Recently, researchers have evaluated the effects of enhanced written instructions (i.e., step by step instructions, written with minimal technical jargon, and pictures or diagrams; Shapiro et al., 2016) for training staff and caregivers to engage in various important skills (e.g., conduct preference assessments, implement discrete trial teaching, etc.). The purpose of this presentation is to review the literature on enhanced written instructions as self-instruction training procedures with a focus on describing the procedure, overall outcomes of research on the procedure, strengths and potential limitations of the procedure, and areas for future application and research.

Behavioral skills training is an effective training procedure (e.g., Fetherston & Sturmey, 2014; Parsons et al., 2012); however, there are barriers to its implementation (e.g., DiGennaro Reed et al., 2013; Erath et al., 2020; Shapiro & Kazemi, 2017), as well as concerns with its frequency of implementation (DiGennaro Reed & Henley, 2015). Therefore, it may be important to evaluate other variations of BST that are as effective and more efficient than the complete behavioral skills training package. We evaluated BST without the use of modeling (i.e., modified BST) to train adults to implement a multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment using web-based technology. Modified BST was effective for all three participants. Additionally, skills acquired maintained and generalized to a novel confederate and novel stimuli 1-week post-training.

Literature on severe challenging behavior and precursor assessment is unexplored in Taiwan. The authors conducted functional analysis and intervention on precursor behavior in order to improve a series of challenging behaviors (i.e., constant tapping objects, biting or hitting a person, hitting floor with head, and vigorously hopping on chair) of a vocational high school student with profound autism. We selected the tapping objects as the precursor behavior. A single subject multi-element research design with functional analysis and constant reversal design to establish internal validity of the effectiveness of the intervention was used. We found precursor behavior itself served as a function of automatic reinforcement. Sponge and ear plug were selected to investigate the effects. A functional relationship was found between using ear plugs as an alternative sensory input and decreasing precursor behavior. Furthermore, based on anecdotal observation, all other severe challenging behaviors were then eliminated. This study established initial evidence of effectiveness in precursor behavior assessment in Taiwan. Future practitioners as well as researchers can ensure implementation of more proactive education strategies, such as expanding students’ interest and teaching social-communication skills.

Attendees should be familiar with Iwata's functional analysis. 

Basic differences in dogs’ and wolves’ propensity to bond with humans were already detected by early researcher such as Zimen and Klinghammer, especially in relation to the early human exposure needed as puppies to establish stable intraspecific social bonds. Building on this early work, the Wolf Science Centre (Austria) raises wolves and dogs from puppyhood providing intensive human socialization, thereby allowing animals to build strong bonds with their human companions, which last their entire life. Here I will present results investigating wolf-dog similarities and differences in their preferences, contact-seeking behaviours and cooperative inclination with humans. Results will include both behavioural and hormonal aspects, with a particular focus on oxytocin and cortisol, which have been hypothesized to play an important role in the domestication process.

dog research scientists, dog trainers, educators, general interested public

Sarah Marshall-Pescini graduated in Psychology from St. Andrews University and then went on to do her Ph.D. at the same university working with Andy Whiten on social learning in children and chimpanzees. Most of the work was carried out in Uganda, with both sanctuary and wild chimps. After the Ph.D. she returned to Italy, her home country, and worked at Milan University for 8 years, setting up, together with Emanuela Prato-Previde, a small (but lively) dog cognition lab. Since 2013 she has joined the team at Wolf Science Centre and the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology (Veterinary University of Vienna) as a senior scientist. Her research focuses on the social behaviour of wolves and dogs. Since 2016 she co-supervises a fieldsite studying free-ranging dogs in Morocco and another studying wild wolves in the Italian Apennines. She has published over 50 scientific papers in top journals in her field, and co-edited a volume for Elsevier (Kaminski, J, Marshall-Pescini, S. The Social Dog: cognition and behavior).

Historically, there has been a lack of awareness in Latin America regarding information about the real concept, validity, and benefits of applied behavior analysis not only for children with autism but also in the many facets of our lives. As such, Alcanzando, a not-for-profit organization was founded to address the need to change that reality in this region. For over a decade Dr. Chavez Askins has been successfully disseminating Applied Behavior Analysis in Peru, and other Latin American countries through evidence-based teaching, research, and the work of Alcanzando in general. This presentation will include not just the results regarding the implementation of services with children with autism, their families, and professionals interested in the field, but also in terms of the real and significant changes achieved working with the Peruvian government, and the gains towards awareness in Latin America in regards to Applied Behavior Analysis. Dr. Chavez Askins will share the progress made over the last 13 years, as well as address the barriers encountered, the solutions that were sought, and her vision for the future of our field in Latin America.

Professionals interested in disseminating awareness, as well as effectiveness of ABA at the international level, particularly in Spanish speaking countries.

Dr. Mapy Chavez Askins holds a Ph.D. from Teachers College Columbia University (New York) in Applied Behavior Analysis and the Education of Students with Behavioral Disorders.   She is currently the Founding Director of Alcanzando, a not for profit organization that works with children with autism and their families in Spanish-speaking countries.

Dr. Chavez Askins is a Peru´s first Qualified Behavior Analyst, a CABAS Board Certified Assistant Research Scientist, and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst at the Doctoral Level.  She is also a Board Certified Autism Professional, an Advanced Certified Autism Specialist, and a Board Certified Telepractice Specialist.

Dr. Chavez Askins has spent the last 20 years studying, working and conducting research in the autism field, focusing mainly in the use of applied behavior analysis in the education of children with autism.  For over a decade she has been successfully disseminating awareness and knowledge about Applied Behavior Analysis in Latin America through research, teaching, and through Alcanzando, the foundation she started.

Her research studies include the development of vocal language in children with autism, language acquisition, social skills instruction, the development of perspective talking skills, the quality of teacher instruction, and the education of parents and professionals. Results from her research studies have been published in numerous journals, as well as presented at conferences throughout the world, among them: the Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis, the International Society for Autism Research, and the Mexican Congress of Behavior Analysis.

Increasing attention has been focused on students who have adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and the impact on academic achievement. To address students’ intense emotional and learning needs, trauma informed practices are being implemented in hopes of changing the trajectory of their lives. This presentation will provide an overview of ACES and trauma informed practices that are also culturally responsive that can be implemented in a classroom setting. Special attention will be given to students living in poverty in which ACEs are more prevalent.

The discipline of behavior analysis is experiencing rapid growth, which is especially noticeable in recent the increase of university programs offering training in behavior analysis. There are currently two mechanisms for university training programs to be recognized: accreditation of degree-granting programs and verification of course sequences. This panel will present these systems, including their procedures for obtaining and maintaining recognition along with their respective goals. This session is designed for current VCS coordinators, program directors of ABAI-accredited programs, and those interested in applying for either system of recognition

Meeting the needs of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a daunting task under the best of circumstances. In the current COVID-19 pandemic, typical in-person service delivery can carry a significant risk of severe harm to clients, family and caregivers, staff, and an overburdened healthcare system. As such, our small, private, not-for-profit New Jersey school for children with ASD developed a comprehensive set of procedures designed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 while returning to in-person instruction following state-mandated school closure. We will discuss technology-based changes implemented during state-mandated school lockdown and physical plant modifications, as well as changes required of administrative, supervisory, and teaching staff. Foundational to our plan is a rotating schedule designed to maximize in-person instructional time, while allowing an interceding duration that exceeds estimated COVID-19 incubation times. In-person, in-building instruction alternates between two student-instructor cohorts; virtual instruction occurs during opposing weeks. Further policies designed to reduce the opportunity for COVID-19 transmission govern our in-person instructional activities. We further discuss our hypothesis regarding the contribution of our ongoing professionalism training model to adherence to these procedures, and contextualize the financial and time costs of developing and implementing them with respect to student outcomes.

The target audience is behavior analysts providing in-person school- or center-based instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic and those designing and implementing policies for such sites. This could include individuals in administrative or supervisory roles. The target audience also includes those who develop, implement, and monitor the effectiveness of professionalism training procedures, digital data analysis tools for a variety of levels within and organization, and behavioral systems.

Like many educational institutions, our organization faced an extremely short runway for transitioning to remote from in-person services due to state-mandated school lockdown orders in early 2020. This presentation describes the policies and procedures put in place to ensure professionalism, transition from paper-based to digital data summary and analysis, appropriate supervision, curriculum modification, and program-level performance analysis during remote instruction. Additional technology supported a smooth return to in-person instruction. Among other tools, this includes COVID-19 daily symptom screening via a smartphone application; rapid saliva test kit shipping, supervision, and results communication; ongoing region-based risk tracking; and service delivery hour monitoring to ensure satisfaction of minimum state-mandated hour requirements and provide a basis for celebrating the provision of additional service hours. We will discuss how policies regarding virtual meetings between staff members contribute to adherence to described expectations, and how the organization approached delivering professional feedback in a virtual setting.

This presentation will detail the measures taken to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission during in-person instruction in the school building. To best safeguard our consumers and staff, we found it was necessary to not only meet, but exceed federal, state, and local guidelines and requirements. Procedures include exclusion based on the results of smartphone-application-based symptom screening and saliva tests; conservative policies about exclusion on the basis of symptoms appearing during the school day while present in the building; mask policies, hand hygiene policies, and physical distancing policies; physically-distanced pickup and dropoff; policies surrounding mask-free activities (e.g., consuming lunch). Special emphasis will be placed on environmental changes implemented to support successful adherence to these policies and expectations, e.g, provision of touch-free timers in restrooms to ensure a sufficient duration of hand-washing, signage detailing physical distancing and mask policies, physical distancing floor markers. The time and financial cost of designing, procuring, and implementing these measures will be discussed in the context of response effort and maximizing instructional hours while in school.

In an earlier paper (European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 2015, 16, 147-162), I argued that the grounds on which Watson rejected introspection as the means to understand consciousness were correct, that cognitive psychology rejected behaviourism for other reasons, and that the developments in monitoring brain activity have led to a very unsuccessful search for the neural basis of consciousness. In contrast, there is much evidence that behaviour does not necessarily require conscious awareness, but nevertheless philosophers and cognitivists seek to show that qualia exist and do have a causal role. Behaviour analysis can address some problems of the cognitive approach, beginning with an account of self-awareness. However, the behaviour-analytic account of consciousness requires experimental analysis. Where we have been most successful in applied behaviour analysis, we have learnt three major lessons: (1) Behaviour classes need to be refined and defined; (2) antecedents can be hard to specify, but must be identified for behaviour analysis; (3) Consequences are critical, but may be unexpected. While experimental studies from other areas of behaviour analysis are sparse, researchers in relational frame theory have examined the concept of self conceptually and through experimental studies of perspective taking. Some of their contributions to the behavioural study of consciousness will be reviewed. Finally, the similarities between the behaviour-analytic account of consciousness and those of other non-cognitive ones, including ecological psychology, will be pointed out.

Julian Leslie obtained a doctorate from Oxford University in 1974 and since has been in academic posts in Northern Ireland and a full professor since 1986. He published textbooks on behaviour analysis between 1979 and 2002 and these remain in print. Publications have been in fields including, experimental analysis of behaviour, applied behaviour analysis, psychopharmacology, behavioural neuroscience, experimental psychology, and applied psychology, and he has supervised PhD students in all these areas. Since 2015, he has spoken and published a series of papers on conceptual issues in behaviour analysis including behavioural accounts of consciousness and the metaphysical basis of behaviour analysis. He is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, and in 2020 received  the SABA Award for International Dissemination of Behavior Analysis.

The formation of conditional associations among stimuli and actions in neural animals is based on molecular processes within and between neurons, which partially determine which associations can be formed, stored or dissolved. In the last two decades it has been discovered that epigenetic cellular mechanisms are involved in the encoding, storage and retrieval processes that constitute learning, and that these epigenetic mechanisms are sensitive to environmental conditions that induce changes in the epigenetic profile of neurons and affect how learning occurs. Taking a developmental approach to learning, I shall describe these epigenetic mechanisms, discuss their role in neural plasticity and point to the biases and affordances that they uncover, which can contribute to our understanding of learning and memory dynamics at different stages of development. Focusing on studies of long-term ontogenetic and transgenerational epigenetic changes, I will consider the effects of stress on epigenetic memory and explore what the understanding of the epigenetics of learning may mean for the study and treatment of learning and memory pathologies.

Psychologists

Researchers have demonstrated that incorporating caregivers into the provision of early intensive behavioral interventions can improve outcomes for children with autism. Despite the importance of caregiver training, there are a number of barriers that can prevent frequent face-to-face caregiver training, including the recent coronavirus pandemic. Few studies have evaluated procedures for teaching therapists to conduct caregiver training through telehealth. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the use of video modeling with voiceover instructions to teach therapists to implement caregiver training via telehealth. We used a multiple-baseline across participants design to evaluate the use of video modeling to train four therapists to teach a confederate caregiver to implement the guided-compliance procedure with a confederate child via telehealth. We assessed therapists’ accuracy with implementing 11 component skills of caregiver training through telehealth during scripted role-plays before and after video modeling. We also assessed the extent to which therapists’ skills generalized to providing caregiver training to a confederate caregiver implementing an activities of daily living skills teaching procedure for hand-washing with a confederate child via telehealth. All therapists learned to implement caregiver training through telehealth and the skills generalized to novel training protocols. The results of the current study suggest that video modeling may be an efficacious and efficient method to train therapists to deliver caregiver training through telehealth.

Verbal operant analyses identify the environmental variables that influence verbal behavior. In addition to their utility in demonstrating which environmental relations compose the speaker’s verbal repertoire, these functional analyses are also able to identify how much control is exerted across different verbal operants. Assessing the relative strength of verbal behavior is critical when evaluating the speaking repertoires of individuals with autism spectrum disorder, who are more likely than typically developing speakers to display stimulus overselectivity (i.e., disproportionate levels of control). Specifically, verbal operant analyses demonstrate how stimulus overselectivity influences verbal behavior by comparing language domains that are related; that is, structurally similar yet functionally independent. Here we present different clinical applications to demonstrate how verbal operant analyses can be used to both document client progress over time and make data-based instructional decisions. In this symposium, we extend the use of functional analysis technology to examine a variety of related language domains that demonstrate how stimulus overselectivity affects the verbal behavior of children with autism, along with implications for intervention focusing on transfer of stimulus control.

Applied behavior analysts who are familiar with incidental teaching procedures. Experience with the VB-MAPP is helpful, but not required.

Assessing stimulus control over intraverbals, the operant class of social behavior, is a primary function of the verbal community. In clinical settings, however, addressing intraverbal deficits poses a challenge to both researchers and practitioners due to the lack of precise measures and the sparse literature on establishing discriminations between similar verbal stimuli. Applying a stimulus equivalence framework to intraverbal interactions, here we describe a series of experiments in which we extend functional analysis technology to assess derivational stimulus control. Our first experiment describes a relational operant analysis consisting of brief affordance narratives to evaluate the relative control of reflexive, symmetrical, and transitive stimuli over the intraverbal repertoire of speakers with autism. We compared responding across intraverbal fill-ins and Wh- questions, but results were difficult to interpret due to confounding variables. In the second experiment, we address the limitations of the first experiment by assessing Who, What, and Where questions across levels of reflexivity, symmetry, and transitivity. Results of the second experiment show no meaningful differences across Wh- questions, while statistically significant differences were found across levels of derivational stimulus control. These findings suggest that relational operant analyses can enhance the assessment of intraverbal responding through experimental manipulation. Implications for teaching Wh- questions are discussed.

Here we present a clinical case study to describe the assessment to intervention process centered around a pre-treatment functional analysis of verbal behavior. The use of pretreatment functional analyses to identify the variable(s) maintaining behavioral excesses has been shown to increase both treatment precision and efficacy. Functional analysis technology has been used to identify nuanced environmental determinants undetectable through mere descriptive assessment. More recently, research has suggested that pretreatment verbal operant analyses may be beneficial for guiding the selection of treatment goals and instructional procedures. Here we demonstrate the use of pretreatment functional analyses to examine the verbal behavior of a 5-year-old girl diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and global developmental delay who communicated with a speech-generating device. After 18 months of early intensive behavioral intervention, this child continued to display severely limited tact and echoic control, along with an impaired mand repertoire. In this session we describe how we modified the verbal operant analysis for use with her speech-generating device, and explain how we used the results to create tailored interventions centered around converging control across the verbal operants. Pre-post data on VB-MAPP and SCoRE assessments were used to evaluate the outcome of this methodology.

Cochran’s Q test is a statistical analysis frequently used to measure the proportionality of different populations. Here we demonstrate the use of Cochran’s Q to evaluate disproportionate levels of stimulus control over the verbal behavior of children with autism spectrum disorder. In contrast to balanced neurotypical stimulus control, disproportionate stimulus control is characteristic of speakers with autism. We reviewed the records of 181 participants whose language profiles met the assumptions for analysis with Cochran’s Q. Specifically, the relative strength of mand, tact, echoic, and sequelic relations were measured for each participant. Our results showed that 86% of participants demonstrated statistically significant disproportionality across these four verbal operants. Additionally, a large correlation was found between Cochran’s Q and the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation. Implications for the use of Cochran’s Q test as a measure of disproportionate stimulus control, and the extent to which statistical significance can be used to determine medical necessity for behavior-analytic language intervention are discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid transition to virtual service delivery for many practitioners. In this symposium, we present three innovative virtual assessment and treatment evaluations for aberrant behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder and an evaluation of virtual supervision. Somervell and colleagues discuss a virtual single-stimulus preference assessment, measuring engagement with on-screen stimuli. Researchers validated relative preference hierarchies by measuring compliance and subsequent aberrant behavior. Moretti and colleagues present a telehealth treatment evaluation for protests maintained by social control. Researchers implemented functional communication training and compared multiple and mixed schedules for reinforcement schedule thinning on aberrant behavior, schedule thinning efficiency, and participant/therapist preference. Bean and colleagues present a demonstration of the transition from clinic-based treatment to parent-implemented intervention via telehealth. Researchers compared differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) with synthesized and isolated contingencies on compliance, targeted avoidant movements, and nontargeted dangerous acts. When transferred to the home setting, DRA with synthesized contingencies continued to produce decreases in both target and nontarget aberrant behaviors. Ford and colleagues present results of a national survey on satisfaction and feasibility of virtual behavior analytic supervision. Dr. Amanda Zangrillo will discuss implications, challenges, and recommendations for delivering evidence-based virtual assessment, treatment, and supervision.

The target audience includes behavior analytic practitioners, particularly those providing telehealth services for aberrant behavior and supervisors. Necessary prerequisite skills include a general understanding of preference assessment methodology, functional communication training and schedule thinning procedures, and differential reinforcement procedures. Presentations will describe these methodologies as well as present advancements in each domain.

Practitioners routinely conduct preference assessments to identify reinforcers, with multiple procedural variations. A single-stimulus preference assessment (Pace et al., 1985) is an approach-based procedure, recommended when individuals have difficulty selecting between stimuli or if activities are difficult to present in a selection-based format (Hagopian et al., 2001). In the current study, we conducted a virtual single-stimulus preference assessment (VSSPA) for two participants with autism spectrum disorder during telehealth sessions for challenging behavior. Therapists presented one randomized item or activity, of eight nominated by caregivers, on the screen for 2 min, with three series conducted. Total duration of engagement per stimulus was recorded for each 2-min session, with mean duration of engagement across the three series used to create a relative preference hierarchy. We validated the VSSPA by evaluating compliance with mastered tasks when a high-, moderate-, and low-preferred stimulus was delivered as compared to vocal praise. Results indicated that the VSSPA created a relative preference hierarchy for both participants, stimuli yielded greater on-screen engagement than baseline, and highest ranked stimuli served as reinforcers relative to the lowest ranked stimuli and praise. Participants engaged in the lowest rates of aberrant behavior when higher ranked stimuli were delivered for compliance.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, behavior analysts have increasingly delivered interventions for challenging behavior via telehealth. The efficacy of implementing functional communication training (FCT) via telehealth has been previously established (e.g., Suess et al., 2014; Wacker et al., 2013), with less research investigating remote schedule thinning. The current study compares virtual FCT reinforcement schedule thinning using a multiple and mixed schedule with a 7-year-old participant with autism spectrum disorder. Virtual functional analysis results indicated that protests were maintained by social control. Therapists taught a functional communication response to access to the functional reinforcer (engaging in child-directed high-preferred virtual activities) and evaluated the efficacy of FCT in an A-B-A-B withdrawal design. Multiple (signaled alteration of reinforcement and extinction contingencies via color-correlated stimuli) and mixed (unsignaled contingencies) schedules were alternated during schedule thinning. Therapists conducted terminal-schedule probes (75-s SD/300-s S?) throughout schedule thinning. After reaching the terminal goal in one condition, participant and therapist preference for the mixed/multiple schedule was assessed. Results suggest that telehealth FCT and schedule thinning were effective at decreasing protests, increasing functional communication, and thinning the reinforcement schedule, with the multiple schedule facilitating more rapid schedule thinning. We discuss the practical application of FCT and schedule thinning via telehealth.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid transition to virtual service delivery and supervision. This study examined the acceptability and feasibility of virtual supervision for 94 BCBA/BCaBA supervisees during COVID-19, including variables that impacted perceived satisfaction, effectiveness, and supervision preference. Results indicate a decrease in accrual of direct client hours during the pandemic, with a third of participants reporting a decrease in individual supervision. Participants were largely satisfied with virtual individual and group supervision as indicated by high satisfaction domain scores and individual item means, with minimal overall change in satisfaction. Participants indicated preference for in-person or hybrid supervision and considered in-person most effective. Participants reported that supervisors used best-practice strategies and that virtual supervision was largely feasible. We discuss variables that impacted satisfaction (length of supervisory relationship), preference (age, services provided), and perceived effectiveness (time supervisor was a BCBA). We provide practical implications and recommendations for virtual behavior analytic supervision.

The efficacy of skill-based treatment (SBT; Hanley et al., 2014) has been demonstrated across contexts, client populations, and research groups (e.g., Herman et al., 2018, Rose & Beaulieu, 2019). Published studies involved several hours of treatment on a weekly basis, delivered by board certified behavior analysts. In practice, however, behavior analysts’ time for direct service provision is constrained. For treatment dosage to approach the level investigated in efficacy studies, it is particularly important that other personnel (e.g., Registered Behavior Technicians [RBTs]) are trained as primary interventionists, and procedures used to train these personnel are efficient. We used a multiple baseline design across behaviors to evaluate the effects of a partially-automated, tiered training system on RBT intervention fidelity. Training tiers included an interactive, automated training package, targeted pre-session feedback and modeling with role-play. Three clinic-based RBTs participated in the study. Outcomes suggest, with a high degree of confidence, that an interactive, automated training package plus individualized, pre-session feedback increased RBTs’ fidelity to criterion levels, relative to a baseline condition with rationale and brief written instructions. Differences in fidelity within and across participants across the various tiers of training indicate a need for an individualized training approach.

Behavior analysts, psychologists, and other behavioral health professionals have an obligation to provide clinically sound, effective, individualized, and appropriate treatment and intervention. For many individuals, access to such services requires review and determination by third-parties and managed care organizations. It is the ethical responsibility of behavior analysts, psychologists, other behavioral health professionals to advocate for the resources necessary to adequately meet their client’s needs, which often means securing authorizations from these funding sources. However, there can easily be a risk of blurring the ethical line between advocacy and integrity. This panel will discuss common pitfalls and challenges toward accurately and effectively advocating for clients, keeping in line with all aspects of the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for the BACB and the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Guidance in preparing authorization requests will be addressed, as well as aspects that commonly hinder approvals, and suggested approaches toward navigating potential appeals.

Attendees should have a minimum experience of developing behavior intervention plans and submitting them to third party payers for treatment authorization.

Many parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) around the world have limited or no access to behavior analytic knowledge or services leaving them without support or guidance. In particular, the parenting challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic have greatly increased parents’ need for support and guidance. Training parents with behavior analytic knowledge or skills can potentially help overcome these challenges. The purpose of this symposium is to present two different parent training programs designed to provide skills and knowledge that parents need to improve the quality of life for their children and families. The first presentation will make a comparison between telehealth versus in-person training for parents residing in India. The second presentation will reveal the results of a qualitative study aimed at identifying some barriers that limit parents’ access to behavior analytic knowledge and will discuss the development and evaluation of a web-based and self-directed parent training program designed to overcome some of these barriers.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts, Graduate Behavior Analysis Students

Access to behavior analytic knowledge is limited in many parts of the world leaving parents without support. Parent training could be a potential solution to help close some of the gaps. The results of our qualitative study revealed at least five different barriers that limit parents’ access to useful behavior analytic knowledge: time, cost, lack of awareness, waiting list, and lack of support. The purpose of the current project is to develop and evaluate a web-based program to overcome some of these barriers. This parent training program will incorporate non-technical language to present short modules in order to teach parents about the basic behavioral competencies. First, the modules will be brief to help address time constrain as a barrier. Second, the web-based platform will allow self-directed progress and asynchronous access to help address time, waiting list and lack of support barriers. Third, the training will be offered at an affordable and low cost in order to address cost constraint as a barrier. Fourth, the use of non-technical language will ease parents’ understanding and adoption of the material. The presentation will describe the results of an evaluation of the parent-training program.

Our verbal behaviour is an essential skill for navigating our social world and our inability to understand the value of the words we use can contribute to social conflicts, aggression, racial bias, prejudice, discrimination, and many other social issues. In an effort to combat these societal limitations and move towards an inclusive culture in which everyone’s individuality is championed; our language must be explored and compassion, perspective-taking, and empathy must be promoted. In this panel we will discuss a behavior-analytic description of perspective-taking and its role in establishing compassion skills and utility in social justice, overcome the deeply ingrained societal gender binary system in favour of a compassionate, gender expansive society, and how our language establishes and can topple societal prejudice. Behaviour analysis can replace current behaviours around social relations and replace them with compassion. The anticipated result would lead to impactful acquisition of social justice rights for those from marginalized populations.

Intermediate - BCBAs and BCBA-Ds ~ A discussion on verbal behaviour and ways in which our language informs our social world and the need to see the value of the words we use as it relates to social conflicts (e.g., aggression, racial bias, prejudice, discrimination, and many other social issues).

This talk will review research from the basic learning laboratory on extinction and other methods that weaken or reduce behavior. When a behavior has been suppressed by extinction, punishment, DRO, or DRA, it can recover or “renew” when the context is changed. Behavioral inhibition is thus generally context-dependent. Importantly, there are also many kinds of “contexts:” In addition to physical background cues, drug state, and time, recent experiments have established a contextual role for hunger and satiety states, stress state, recent reinforcers (as in reinstatement and resurgence), and preceding behaviors in a behavior chain. Recent research has also explored what is learned in operant extinction and how it is actually learned. The findings have implications for understanding and preventing lapse and relapse after behavioral inhibition and behavior change.

Researchers and practitioners that want a deeper understanding of extinction and behavior change

Mark E. Bouton, Ph.D., is a University Distinguished Professor and the Lawson Green and Gold Professor of Psychology at the University of Vermont. He has been doing research on the effects of context on conditioning and learning, with an emphasis on behavior change, for several decades. He has received a number of awards, including the Gantt Medal from the Pavlovian Society and the Quad-L Award from the University of New Mexico, and he is a Fellow of several organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the Society of Experimental Psychologists, and the Eastern Psychological Association, of which he is a past president. He is also the author of a well-regarded textbook on learning and behavior theory [Learning and behavior: A contemporary synthesis (2nd ed.)], published in 2016 by Sinauer Associates, an imprint of Oxford University Press.

This symposium will describe a federally funded project aimed to improve training for behavior analysts and school psychologists to work collaboratively in the public school system. The focus will be on the interdisciplinary training and implementation of a team-based model for function-based assessments and interventions (the Prevent-Teach-Response; PTR model) within schools. The first paper will describe the overall project goals, framework, and preliminary outcomes. The second paper will describe how behavior analysis students have collaborated with school personnel to implement the PTR model in different classroom settings with successful student outcomes.

Basic knowledge on school-based intervention, teacher training, interdisciplinary service provision, and function-based intervention

Consultation models that are responsive to teacher needs and strengths and that provide supportive coaching and specific feedback have been successful in enhancing classroom practices. The presentation will introduce the process and outcomes of school-based behavioral consultation using the Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) model to support children with high-intensity needs who need individualized function-based interventions in public schools. Behavior interventions for children with severe problem behavior require individualized intervention planning based on functional behavior assessment (FBA) results. However, one issue with providing effective interventions and supports to children with severe problem behavior is the limited training and support provided to teachers and school-based teams on FBA and the design of function-based interventions. This presentation focuses on the impact of function-based interventions on individual child behavior when pre-service behavior analysts used the PTR model to provide behavioral consultation. Participants of the presentation will learn the benefits of having pre-service behavior analysts work with classroom teachers and school-based teams to support children who required intensive behavior interventions. The session will present data on 10 children with or at-risk for disabilities who received the PTR intervention and provide for discussion on how the PTR model can be used to provide behavioral consultation and improve outcomes for children with behavioral challenges in schools.

This panel discussion examines how the Cultural Behavior Science VCS practicum might be designed to optimize student learning, foster outreach from VCS approved curricula into the community, refine concepts/procedures in community/culture behavior change and assemble resources to orchestrate success. The panel invites discussion with the ABAI community to illuminate pathways ahead, barriers, and solutions as the field seeks to transfer expertise in cultural behavior science towards socially important issues related to sustainability, diversity, social justice, and other “wicked problems."

Those interested in the Cultural Behavior Science VCS practicum.

A movement cycle is a repeatable unit of behavior. It specifies a starting position and a series of behavior-environment interactions that continue until the organism is back at the starting point and can begin the movement cycle again. The concept of the movement cycle was developed and refined by Ogden Lindsley, although he attributed the original idea to B. F. Skinner. Movement cycles were fundamental during the early development of precision teaching. They appeared on the Standard Celeration Chart and were used to define units of behavior. Although the concept of the movement cycle is central to the description of behavior, it has largely been forgotten by modern behavior analysts. In this talk, we will trace the historical roots of the concept of the movement cycle. Then, we will explore why movement cycles are still relevant from a theoretical perspective and how they can help you better understand the nature of reinforcement. Thinking in terms of movement cycles will give you a new perspective when defining units of behavior for measurement, planning out your teaching steps, and setting your criteria for reinforcement.

This presentation will be of interest to basic and applied researchers interested in mechanisms of behavior change and to practitioners who work in a variety of applied settings.

Jesús Rosales-Ruiz is an associate professor at the University of North Texas in the Department of Behavior Analysis. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1995, under the mentorship of two pioneers in the field of behavior analysis, Donald M. Baer and Ogden R. Lindsley. Jesús is one of the few scientists in the world studying animal training from both the theoretical and applied perspectives. He, along with his students, has greatly contributed to the understanding of the science and practice of animal training. Jesús also studies the antecedent control of behavior, generalization, behavioral cusps, fluency-based teaching, treatment of autism, teaching of academic behavior, rule-governed behavior and contingency-shaped behavior. He has served on several editorial boards, including the Journal of Precision Teaching, the European Journal of Behavior Analysis, and the International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy. He has also served as a reviewer for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, the Journal of Neuroscience Methods, Behavioral Processes, and PLOS ONE. Jesús is a fellow of the Eastern Psychological Association, a trustee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies and a member of the Association for Behavior Analysis International.

In their seminal article, Baer, Wolf and Risley (1968), stated that behavior analytic intervention is expected to result in strong, socially important, and generalizable behavior change which, in this case, should mean more positive adult outcomes in ASD. Unfortunately, despite a nearly three decade-long emphasis on evidence-based, behavior analytic intervention in ASD, adult outcomes remain poor “for almost any outcome you choose.” (Roux, et al, 2015, p. 8). While there may be several reasons for continued poor outcomes (including the challenge of simply defining “good outcome”), the potential of behavior analytic intervention to develop more positive adult outcomes has yet to be fully realized. Such outcomes, however, are well within the reach of our behavior analytic technology. But to do that, the contingencies governing our behavior will, most likely, need to shift. For example, we will need to shift from contingencies that reinforce the technical precision of our classroom-based interventions to contingencies the reinforce the somewhat less technical precision of community-based intervention (assuming the target has a fair degree of social validity). This tutorial will identify a number areas, both internal and external to the field, where a “contingency shift” may be necessary if the power of behavior analytic intervention to significantly improve outcomes for adults with autism is to be more fully realized.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) as an approach to intervention of psychological inflexibility has existed in some form for nearly forty years, generating considerable research including correlational studies, single case experimental designs, and hundreds of randomized control trial evaluations. Despite this work, behavior analysts may be hesitant to employ ACT in practice with their clients and the families that they serve. This series of two presentations will explore how ACT is used in the real world by real behavior analysts to solve multiple behavior challenges that involve intricate verbal relations, private events, and experiential avoidance. The first talk will discuss an assessment process that analysts may employ while implementing ACT with parents, as well as multiple case examples of ACT being applied with this population. The second talk will discuss data collection when behavior is private, focusing specifically on the potential of ecological momentary assessment across multiple settings and clients. This symposium is geared towards behavior analysts looking to integrate ACT based approaches within their existing practice with practical ideas for where to start this work. And by so doing, progressing the depth and scope of our applied field.

BCBAs

Experiencing challenges in modifying parent behaviors is common. Many of these challenges are historical and interfere with the parents' ability to engage in effective teaching practices. Parent training that includes an ACT component is often found to further parental effort, interest, and involvement. To date, ACT is the only behavior analytic approach that permits a functional assessment of aversive control due to private events. While there are several studies published on brief intervention strategies, none speak to the long term training and practice needed when engaged in long term consultation with families. This paper will present an overview of a Behavioral Parent Training Program that combines both basics of behavior and a Values Based ACT approach to long term child behavioral intervention. Included in the overview of the parent training package will be a process based account of the ongoing difficulties that may be experienced when working with a family across time where both parent and child are engaged in values based intervention.

Technological development in applied behavior analysis is emerging at a rapid pace, evidenced by the proliferation of new assessment and intervention technologies and the integration of computerized technology in data collection and programming. This symposium will put on display several new technological developments related to the PEAK Relational Training System as a standardized assessment and training strategy with children with disabilities. The first two talks will demonstrate two new technologies that can be integrated within existing PEAK programming. The first will explore eye-gaze tracking as a predictor of program mastery and success that may be more sensitive than traditional performance measures with children. The second will explore automated and gamified programming as compared to traditional delivery formats to produce rapid rates of program mastery and to improve acceptability of behavior interventions. The third and fourth talk will evaluate broader assessment and intervention outcomes with children with autism. The third will show data that replicate several prior studies on PEAK with younger children with autism to determine if previous findings hold with children below the age of 10-years. The fourth study will show new normative sample and comparative data from within the PEAK Comprehensive Assessment that can be used to inform assessment and outcome evaluations in research and in practice. Taken together, these talks show how new technologies can be integrated within PEAK.

BCBAs

Current research has shown differences in eye gaze, or ocular observing responses amongst individuals with autism spectrum disorder compared with their typically developing counterparts. Eye gaze is currently studied as a predictor for ASD diagnoses or potential level of social deficits for individuals already diagnosed. Deficits in language and communication are also studied as risk factors and are often attributed to social deficits in ASD. Previous research has shown improvements in accurate eye gaze during the development of stimulus equivalence classes for typically developing adults (Hansen & Arntzen, 2018). Relational training procedures that promote derived stimulus relations have also been shown to improve language repertoires for children with ASD. By combining the technology available for understanding complex language processes and eye gaze behaviors, behavior analysts may be able to better understand how to target specific behaviors in treatment that may indirectly improve eye gaze, and in turn also improve behaviors related to social interaction and attention. The current study investigated the relationship between accurate eye gaze towards stimuli during task demands and relational repertoires with children with ASD, as well as the impact that relational training has on accurate eye gaze while being taught and deriving novel, arbitrary relational frames of coordination. Results from the current study suggest a strong relationship between appropriate eye gaze and derived relational abilities, as well as increase accuracy in eye gaze as relational responding improves. These results may have implication for treatment choices for behavior analysts.

Discrete trial training has been supported across multiple studies as an efficient way to teach new skills consistent with a verbal behavior, stimulus equivalence, and relational frame theory approach to language and cognitive training. On the other hand, social validity and efficiency of instruction may be hindered by traditional discrete trial training systems that can become repetitive and may contain few automated reinforcers embedded within instruction. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of automated PEAK programs and gamified PEAK programs in promoting the development of new language and cognitive skills in children with disabilities. In a second study, we compared both delivery formats on a tablet to traditional discrete trial training utilizing physical stimuli (e.g., paper stimuli) within a multielement experimental design across participants. The first study supported the use of automated and gamified PEAK programming in teaching the target skills and achieving the transformations of stimulus function described within the programs. The second study showed that participants achieved program mastery more rapidly when programs were automated and gamified compared to traditional discrete trial training program delivery. Social validity scores were also higher when programs were delivered on a tablet. These results show a synthesis of new technologies embedded within an existing behavior analytic technology (i.e., PEAK) that can be used to teach multiple skills to develop broad performance repertoires.

Research on the PEAK Relational Training System has exceeded that of other widely available assessments and curricular packages that target language and cognition in children with autism. A salient aspect of this research are evaluations of the relationship between PEAK assessments and intelligence test scores, PEAK assessments and the function of challenging behavior, and intervention research to improve derived relational responding and intelligence test scores. The age ranges within this research have been considerable. In this series of studies, we replicate these studies with young children with autism. First, we did obtain a correlation between PEAK comprehensive assessment scores and intelligence test scores, however a weaker correlation may have resulted from overall lower performance across measures. Second, we observed that very few participants demonstrated mastery over mutual entailment items. Those who did were less likely to show a single behavior function – consistent with prior research. Thus, in both studies these relationships may still hold, but fewer children may be capable of derived relational responding as evaluated using PEAK. Finally, we conducted PEAK training over the course of 10-weeks across two children with autism who showed low levels of mutual entailment at the start of the study. Both participants demonstrated mastery of skills and increases in intelligence test scores that were approximately equal to average performance reported in prior research.

Behavioral data science is an emerging interdisciplinary field at the interface of behavioral science and data science. Behavioral science aims to understand why people emit specific behaviors in specific contexts. Data science aims to generate insight from large data sets using mathematical and computational analyses. Behavioral data science aims to gain behaviorally-grounded insights from large-scale data sets to answer questions of basic or applied interest. This symposium provides the attendee with a broad understanding of what behavioral data science is by describing the skills and methods behavioral data scientists use and the types of questions they ask. This is accomplished via example wherein researchers across four presentations demonstrate how: (1) time-series and geographical analyses forecast BACB certificant demand; (2) network analyses identify trends and gaps in published behavior analytic science; (3) computational techniques efficiently compare multiple behavioral models of choice in natural contexts; and (4) machine learning allows us to predict the next response made in dynamic contexts. Behavior analysts who learn the skills of data science can likely ask questions novel to the science of behavior analysis and develop novel applied behavior analytic interventions.

The audience should have a general understanding of operant contingencies and issues of relevance to the field. However, every presentation is aimed at explaining what behavioral data science is and how it can be used. The goal is to be an introduction to this topic so interested audience members can follow-up afterward to learn more.

The generalized matching equation (GME) predicts behavior allocation based on the relative amount of reinforcement contacted by each behavior. Dynamic state variable (DSV) models predict behavior allocation based on variables that change dynamically over time. To use these models in nonlaboratory settings, researchers must identify the temporal window over which to aggregate response and reinforcer rates. This study demonstrates how computational techniques can identify the optimal temporal bin for fitting the GME and DSV models to data collected in the nonlaboratory context of basketball games. For both models, the dependent variable was the logged ratio of three-point and two-point shots taken. For the GME, the independent variable was the logged ratio of three-point and two-point shots made. For DSV models, the independent variable was the difference in points scored between opponents during the previous temporal bin. For each model we: calculated prediction accuracy over temporal bins ranging from 30 s intervals to 2880 s (entire game); identified the optimal temporal window; and determined the conditions under which each model generated the highest predictive accuracy. Overall, the methods used here demonstrate how computational analyses can be used to efficiently describe and predict nonlaboratory human behavior.

Forecasting methods for time series data have been used for quite some time in various applications of behavior analysis, and yet are rarely used in our literature. For example, a popular single-subject experimental design textbook (Barlow, Nock, & Hersen, 2009) has a chapter on statistical methods—including forecasting methods—for behavioral data. In this presentation I will review an application of forecasting to BACB certificants in the state of Texas and show how those data are changing both in the aggregate and geographically by region. The field of behavior analysis, as measured by certificant numbers, has been growing exponentially. While these are not behavioral data, the methods discussed are relevant to behavioral interventions. Understanding certificant trends can help behavior analytic organizations plan for the provision of behavior analytic services. In the context of this application, both the advantages and disadvantages of forecasting methods will be discussed. Further resources for learning about these methods will be provided.

Communities survive if the behavioral repertoires of individual members within the population vary enough to withstand selective pressures. For scientists, one way to measure the total population repertoire and the evolutionary dynamics of ideas might be through analysis of peer-reviewed publications. Natural Language Processing (NLP) is one set of tools that allow researchers to analyze textual data at scale. Here, we used NLP to describe the evolution of behavior analysis by identifying the key characteristics of publications over time. To do this, we gathered 1500+ peer-reviewed publications from the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and the Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior. For each article, we collected data on publication year, title, authors, abstract, keywords, manuscript, and references. Once obtained, we analyzed the differences and similarities in research topics between the two journals and used network analyses to identify citation patterns within the research literature. Future research aimed at understanding the variation, selection, and evolution of topics studied by behavior analysts might be important for three reasons. First, it gives data to conversations about how the field allocates resources to promote understudied topics, variation in studied topics, or high impact topics and that are low-hanging fruits. Second, it may help junior researchers identify gaps and niches upon which to build a career. Lastly, it could highlight gaps in the research literature that, if filled, would benefit applied practitioners. The methods of behavioral data science make these benefits easier to obtain and more robust in their methodology and findings.

Molecular analyses predict and control behavior through discrete responses strengthened by contiguous reinforcers. Molar analyses predict and control behavior through response-reinforcer relationships aggregated across a temporal window. Unified analyses aim to leverage molecular and molar analyses to describe, predict, and control behavior. Here, we sought to take a unified analytic approach wherein quantitative analyses of behavior and machine learning combined to predict the next response a human made. To do this, we obtained data on every pitch thrown by a pitcher during the 2016-2019 Major League Baseball seasons. The dataset contained information about the game context, the pitch type and characteristics, and the consequences that followed every pitch. Molecular information was included through a weighted decay function placing greater weight on more recent reinforcers and by making response-by-response predictions. Molar information was included through dynamically updating covariance relations between game context, pitch type, and pitch consequence via the generalized matching equation. Machine learning combined raw data, molecular information, and molar information to predict the next pitch. The dynamic unified model of behavior led to higher response-by-response prediction accuracy than the molecular and molar approaches alone. This experiment demonstrates how behavioral data science can describe and predict dynamic human behavior.

In recent years, a number of skills that have not historically been emphasized in training have been identified as essential to professional practice in behavior analysis. These include interprofessional collaboration, compassionate care, ethical decision making, and cultural humility. These skills are often addressed in other disciplines, and resources exist within these disciplines that assist in defining the skills. However, the skills are inherently complex and are difficult to operationally define and measure. In this talk, we will review how these skills can be introduced inn graduate coursework in behavior analysis in ways that are conceptually systematic with the science of ABA. Specifically, methods for building specific skills in these areas will be highlighted. Emphasis will be placed on how to define and measure these skills, and how to socialize students into the need for skill development in these areas. Elements of Behavior Skills Training, including the provision of a rationale, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback will be discussed. Options for data collection, determining mastery, assessing generalization, and obtaining social validity data will also be presented.

Behavior analysis is a growing field within human service and beyond. Client demographics for behavior analysts are diverse and continue to grow as well. It is imperative that practices behavior analysts implement are culturally humble and that services are conducted in a culturally competent manner. Education and training of behavior analysts should incorporate a strong emphasis on cultural competence and cultural humility at both the organizational and individual level for practicing behavior analysts. In addition, behavior analysts can be trained to utilize broader general guidelines adopted from other, similar human service providers (e.g., psychologists, counselors, medicine, etc.) in order to assist with interpreting code items with an emphasis on cultural humility. The recommendations outlined in this paper are fluid and subject to change as new examples are provided in regard to culturally humble practice.

The presence of cross-cultural communities around the world is ever-growing resulting in many clinicians practicing in a culturally-diverse context with families that have different values, traditions, habits, and spoken language. Despite a growing interest in evidence-based practices for individuals with developmental disabilities, there is still a large discrepancy in the number of training professionals across the globe. In other words, the number of certified behavior analysts is uneven in countries around the world, and professionals wishing to obtain training in applied behavior analysis face the challenge of securing supervision from behavior analysts living in other countries. The geographical distance poses a difficulty in itself, however some other barriers involve the difference in cultural background among the supervisor, supervisee, and clients. To circumvent these barriers, it is important that supervisors are aware of cultural differences while delivering supervision and plan to incorporate cultural competency training into their agenda. During this talk, we will place particular emphasis on ethical considerations relevant to supervision and the importance of preparing future behavior analysts for working with individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Alarming epidemics in the medical profession include burnout of highly trained personnel and medical errors that are products of team dynamic related phenomena (stress, implicit biases inhibiting cooperation etc.). Equally alarming is the growing evidence of health outcome disparities resulting from bias in the healthcare settings. Medical schools are developing curricular elements that increase resiliency, self-compassion, cooperation, and empathy towards patients to combat these effects. The panelists will provide an overview of the long term interdisciplinary collaboration between University of Nevada, Reno Medical School (UNR Med) and Performance System Technologies (PST) Lab at the University of Nevada, Reno, that has resulted in the developed assessment and training procedures for identifying and mitigating bias in physicians in training. The discussion will also include ways this interdisciplinary program may serve as an effective model for addressing bias in a variety of organizations.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Neda Etezadi-Amoli, M.D. is the Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Director of Medical Student Career Advising at University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. She helped develop the OB/GYN Clerkship for the medical school and has served as Clerkship Director. Neda joined the Implicit Bias Research Group in 2016 and has been working with Dr. Houmanfar and her team to develop implicit bias training for the third-year medical students in clinical rotations. Dr. Etezadi-Amoli is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine and completed her residency training at the University of Texas, Southwestern, where she stayed on as faculty for two years, working with residents and medical students. She is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and completed the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics Scholars and Leaders program. Her interests include innovating medical education and interprofessional education and teamwork.

Ramona Houmanfar is Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Behavior Analysis Program at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Dr. Houmanfar and members of her Performance System Technologies Lab at UNR co-founded the interdisciplinary cross campus partnership with Dr. Piasecki in 2012 to facilitate advancement of leadership objectives at UNR Med and promote graduate training in interdisciplinary science. Dr. Houmanfar’s established record of publication, and expertise in behavioral systems analysis and cultural behavior analysis have guided the interdisciplinary partnership with UNRMed and research associated with implicit bias, cooperation, situational awareness, decision making, and value based governance.   

Negar “Nicole” Jacobs is a Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.  She received her PhD from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2003 and completed her internship at the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System.  After internship, she worked in the Addictive Disorders Treatment Program at the VA for 5 years, before leaving to pursue her true passion of teaching at UNR Med in 2007.  Dr. Jacobs has served as the Behavioral Science Coordinator for first-year medical students and is currently a Block Director for the Practice of Medicine in Year 1.  In 2016, she was promoted to a leadership position in the Dean’s Office, leading the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and became Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion in 2017. 

Dr. Jacobs’ research centers around the assessment of implicit bias and the development of practices to mitigate bias in medical students and faculty search and admissions committee members.  Dr. Jacobs’ Implicit Bias Research Group employs the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) with students and faculty, and has developed online and in person trainings to mitigate bias using Acceptance and Commitment Training.  She is currently collecting data to assess the impact of these trainings on students and faculty.  In the role of Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Jacobs oversees institutional diversity and inclusion efforts, including working with the Assistant Dean for Admissions, Outreach and Inclusion to increase the diversity of medical students, working with the Associate Dean of GME to increase the diversity of residents and fellows, and spearheading efforts to increase the diversity of faculty at UNR Med.  She is also responsible for the diversity curriculum for medical students and works with clerkship and residency directors to develop additional content related to diversity.  She partners with all department Chairs and Unit leaders to advance initiatives related to diversity and inclusion in all areas of UNR Med, and has worked with central leadership to make strategic recruitment of faculty one of the main components of UNR Med’s next Strategic Plan.  She is also working with the Office of Faculty to develop a leadership training program aimed at URM faculty in order to increase retention and advancement. 

Melissa Piasecki, M.D. is Executive Associate Dean and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. As a senior member of the medical school leadership team, she co-founded an interdisciplinary cross campus partnership with Dr. Houmanfar in 2012 to advance the missions of the medical school through the application of Behavior Scientific principles. Dr. Piasecki received her M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. She completed psychiatry residency training at the University of Vermont and a Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship  at the University of Hawaii. Melissa is board certified in general psychiatry and forensic psychiatry. Her interests include forensic psychiatry, education, neurobiology of substance abuse disorders, and the science of behavior change.

Individualized treatment based on sufficient pre-treatment assessment is a feature of high-quality behavior analytic (BA) service delivery. The identification of effective reinforcers is a fundamental aspect of treatment intended to improve the adaptive behavior of BA service recipients. Evaluation of client choice and preference is a necessary initial step toward designing effective, individualized treatment. Two applied studies are presented that highlight methods for customizing treatment based on the evaluation of client choice and preference for individuals with autism. In the first study, Badger and Huntington (2019) demonstrated a reduction in vocal stereotypy using matched stimulation with high-preference music (e.g. hip-hop). This non-contingent matched stimulation music intervention was designed following the evaluation of participant preference with a competing stimulus assessment for different types of music via an alternating treatment design. The results indicated a reduction of vocal stereotypy during leisure activity time in the participant’s classroom setting. The second study investigated the role that client choice plays in selecting interventions with social validity. Huntington and Schwartz (2018) conducted video preference assessments with three service recipients prior to treatment commencing. Subsequent reversal designs demonstrated a reduction in target behavior levels when treatments were informed by the results of video preference assessments. Practices for optimizing treatment outcomes based on creative assessment of client choice and preference are considered.

Behavior Analysts

This study explores the use of noncontingent access to various samples of music stimuli (from 3 distinct music classes) as a strategy to reduce the immediate engagement of vocal stereotypy for a child with autism spectrum disorder. The use of noncontingent access to high preference music (NCM) as matched stimulation to effectively reduce the occurrence of vocal stereotypy has been demonstrated across multiple studies in behavior analytic research. This study examined the effect of this strategy on the levels of vocal stereotypy during unstructured free time in an attempt to enable greater access to socialization opportunities and reinforcement in the one participant’s natural environment. Results from an alternating treatments design comparing 3 distinct music treatment conditions (two neutral conditions and one high-preference condition) during unstructured leisure time showed a decrease in immediate levels of behavior across all conditions, with high-preference music emerging as the most effective treatment in reducing behavior in experimental and generalized settings. Implications for future research applying noncontingent access to music to skill acquisition and social engagement opportunities are discussed.

Social validity, in applied behavior analysis (ABA) refers to the acceptance and importance that behavioral treatment has for the consumers of the work. Most often, social validity is assessed by examining the opinions and feelings of indirect consumers such as caregivers, teachers, or those implementing intervention services. Typically, the opinions of the direct recipient of ABA services (i.e. individuals with disabilities that have varying degrees of communication, academic, and cognitive skills) are not assessed or considered. Behavioral assessments and interventions that are conducted, designed, and implemented without assessing acceptability on the part of the direct recipient can create both practical and ethical concerns that can hinder the success and long-term effects of intervention services. This study included three direct recipients in the assessment and selection of their own behavior interventions. Recipients were included in the descriptive assessment using the Student directed Functional Assessment Interview (SFAI; O’Neill et al., 2015). A video preference assessment was utilized to demonstrate the intervention options and allow the participants the opportunity to select their preferred procedure. The preferred interventions were then implemented and were successful at decreasing challenging behavior and increasing appropriate behavior for each of the three participants. Implications of these data for practice and future research are then discussed.

Low-rate functional analysis (FA) has a wide range of utility in the applied setting. When problem behavior rarely occurs, low-rate FA is useful. In other scenarios, it might be beneficial to use the procedures identified in low-rate FAs if problem behavior already poses a health and safety risk—removing the needed to evoke behavior further. The current presentation poses data on a low-rate FA across two condition sequences. When the participant showed self-injurious behavior, she was exposed to sequence one (control, attention, ignore) for the first and fourth phases of the study and sequence two (ignore, attention, control) for the second and third phases. Sequence one showed no differentiation among conditions while sequence two showed clear divergence from the control condition, indicating an automatic function. The intervention used the sequence identified in the FA to reduce the frequency of the self-injurious episodes. Keywords: low-rate functional analysis, sequence, automatically maintained, self-injury

Conducting efficient and accurate assessments is important especially given the situation with COVID-19, which has limited access to in-person comprehensive services. Identifying maintaining variables and developing effective treatment is of the utmost importance. Given the constraints, conducting those assessment across varying modalities is sometimes necessary, but accuracy is still important. Telehealth has significantly increased in the last few months and conducting effective Functional Analyses (FA) are critical. However, there are other situations in which telehealth FAs would be beneficial to assessment of problem behaviors. Such as remote locations, time constraints, and other environmental factors that may prevent assessors from entering the home. The following FAs were conducted via telehealth. The first FA was conducted using the parent as therapist, and the second was conducted using in-home staff as the implementors due to COVID-19 and the shelter-in-place. The succeeding discussion section evaluates the outcomes of both FAs, and suggests future directions concerning their implementation during pandemic altered environments. Keywords: functional analyses, telehealth, parent-led, parent training

Videoconferencing platforms became a common means of delivering applied behavior analytic (ABA) services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the spring of 2020 as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. As there were limited empirical studies to guide remote ABA practice, behavior analysts sought to meet patient’s needs while adhering to ethical guidelines and funder regulations. Several factors impact the decision to provide ABA via a videoconference platform. For instance, clinicians must evaluate patient goals, caregiver capacity, materials needed, and technological capacity. There are also considerations for how to conduct remote supervision and collect integrity and reliability data. The objective of the current panel is to provide insight into the development of systems and tools that support clinical teams providing remote ABA services within their scope of competence. Each panelist represents a large multistate agency challenged with ensuring quality care across age ranges and service delivery models. Panelists will discuss the role of collaboration and information sharing that impacted clinical decision making.

Audience members should be familiar with provision of supervision to patients and treatment integrity measures, as these practices will be discussed specifically in regards to providing telehealth services.

Over 200 nations around the world have been affected by the coronavirus Covid-19. At the beginning of November 2020, the number of cases was 510 Mn with 1.2 Mn deaths ('Coronavirus update Live: 24,963,515 cases and 842,336 COVID-19 virus pandemic deaths, 2020). There are over 990 million students affected by school closures in over 130 countries at the time of this submission (Https:/plus.google.com/+UNESCO, 2020). India with a population of 1.3 billion is the second most populous nation in the world with approximately 4 Mn children with special needs. The Covid crisis presented a new challenge for service delivery. This two-paper symposium presents an Indian organization’s transition of its interventions for 89 children with autism and learning disabilities. The first paper presents the decision-making model on logistics, equipment determination, service delivery, data collection and adaption of organizational systems. The collaborative effort between therapists behavior supervisors, a clinical director, and parents for efficient and ethical services. The second paper presents quantitative data on the improvements in duration of sessions and the number of skills mastered by the cohort of 89 students, month wise over the 6 months period. The effects of Behavior Skills Training for parents are also presented. The findings on efficacy, social validity, enablers, and barriers to effective implementation of interventions using Telehealth are discussed.

BCaBA, BCBA, Service providers, International participants from developing countries

The first case of Covid-19 in India was identified on January 30, 2020, the day on which the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency. On March 16, 2020, the government of India ordered closure of all educational institutions in India for a fortnight. On March 24, 2020, the government declared a nationwide lockdown with shelter-in-place orders. The in-clinic services that children with learning disabilities received in special education centers and centers providing ABA based interventions was abruptly halted. This study details how our organization in India collaborated with parents of children with autism and transitioned services from in-clinic to telehealth and scaled up to transition services to more than 80 students within two weeks. This discussion paper details the decision-making model to transition the services, adapted staff training and supervision model, and the actual teaching procedures with video examples of how teaching different skills was accomplished in video meetings using only smartphones in 85% of the sessions.

An organization in India had to transition its services from in-clinic to Telehealth when a lock down was implemented in March 2020 in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Eighty-nine students with diagnoses of autism or other learning disabilities participated in this study. Fifty-one therapists, 9 behavior supervisors and a Doctoral level Board Certified Behavior Analyst collaborated with parents. Devices such as smartphones, and in a few cases, iPads and laptops were used by both student and therapist. The modes of instruction included direct therapist training, parent facilitated training and parent implemented training. The efficacy of intervention can be estimated by increased duration of session time and number of trials during six months of study for the cohort of 89 students. Acquisition of targets during and pre-Covid are discussed. Response from 32 parents through an online survey suggested high parent satisfaction, improved understanding of behavior analytic services, importance of data taking, role of supervision by BCBA confirming social validity of the methods and the outcomes. The model can be useful for providing services in rural or remote areas with low concentration of behavioral intervention service providers.

Despite longstanding research supporting the effectiveness of applied behavior analysis, the field continues to struggle with dissemination of related evidence-based strategies to diverse applied settings. One barrier to widespread implementation of applied behavior analysis in non-clinical settings is the issue of contextual fit. Simply put, sustainable implementation of behavioral strategies is more likely to occur when the interventions are contextually relevant. In this symposium the issue of contextual relevance, or contextual fit, is presented as an essential feature of promoting implementation and dissemination of assessment and intervention strategies based in applied behavior analysis. First, we will present a research-based case for the use of mixed methods behavioral research as a strategy to promote implementation. Then, we will present an analysis of family systems and behavioral systems analysis for supporting the incorporation of client values and context in implementation. Implications for future research and practice will be discussed and connected to existing and ongoing research occurring within applied behavior analysis and related fields.

The target audience will have a basic understanding of behavior analysis and experience using single case research designs in research or practice.

Many ABA practitioners are interested in participating in the publication process but are not sure how to do so. This panel is both a brief review of the ABAI publication process and a listening session with the ABAI publication and practice board to identify practitioner opportunities and needs in publication.

ABA practitioners who are interested in becoming involved in the publication process as an author, reviewer, or both. Minimally this would be someone at the MA / BCBA level but we also anticipate many in the audience will hold a doctoral degree.

Maximizing student learning outcomes is a goal at every level of instruction. For undergraduate and graduate students in behavior analysis, the stakes may be even higher given the clinical implications and leadership roles BCaBAs and BCBAs take on immediately following graduation. A growing number of behavior analytic training programs are design as fully online or hybrid learning models. Although a plethora of research in higher education has been conducted in traditional settings, online learning is a recent and developing modality of instruction. It is critical to identify evidence-based approaches to instruction in online learning environments. The two studies presented here work towards developing strategies to analyze student behavior and modify behavior associated with academic performance and curriculum evaluations. The first study evaluated the effects of a group contingencies on student engagement with academic content. The second study, a follow-up to 2019’s “an application of discounting on academic procrastination”, reviews further analyses of student behavior related to procrastination. Both studies include social validity measures from the perspectives of students and instructions. Together, these studies expand the scope of effective instructional strategies in online classrooms and provide some examples of analyzing student behavior beyond the grade point average.

Instructors in higher education and/or supervisors of clinicians; especially supervisors conducting group supervisions.

This presentation will examine what the sciences of expertise and professional judgment have to teach behavior analysts about cultivating, maintaining, and expanding professional competencies following training. The topic will be presented in the context of the field’s ethical standards with respect to (a) relying on scientific knowledge, (b) respecting the boundaries of competence, and (c) maintaining and continuously improving professional competence in the complex environments in which we work. This complexity makes our work environments highly conducive to judgment errors that compromise our ability to assure that our clients receive the best-possible treatment. But, the greatest potential source of error lies within the professional who assumes that prior training and experience assures competence. Although the research on professional expertise and judgment has largely been carried on outside the field, our very own principles of behavior and professional practice can be useful to us if we apply them to ourselves properly in managing our professional behavior. The implications for practice of the sciences of professional expertise and professional judgment will be examined in terms of how we behavior analysts can self-manage our professional behavior to assure that we are doing everything within our power to address the needs of our clients.

All behavior analysts.

For years, the field of psychiatric genetics has focused on disease diagnoses; however, “our genes don’t seem to have read the DSM.”Instead, we have been encouraged to study basic dimensions of functioning (aka Research Domain Criteria, intermediate phenotypes or endophenotypes) using non-disease phenotypes in large population-based cohorts. Using this approach, we have now piled on hundreds of novel genetic loci associated with multiple complex phenotypes, which have been further utilized to elucidate the genetic basis of psychiatric diseases. The purpose of this talk is to review the use of non-disease phenotypes to elucidate and decompose psychiatric diseases. Impulsivity, which has been defined as “actions which are poorly conceived, prematurely expressed, unduly risky or inappropriate to the situation, and that often result is undesirable consequences” (Daruna and Barnes 1993) is an endophenotype for a constellation of psychiatric diseases, including ADHD and substance use disorders (SUD). Dr. Sanchez-Roigewill present a series of studies to dissect the genetics of several forms of impulsive personality traits. This work will reveal strong genetic correlations between multiple measures of impulsivity and risk tolerance, and both ADHD and smoking and other SUD-related traits. Another examples of success come from the genetics of other non-disease phenotypes, namely the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, as proxies for alcohol use disorders. Dr. Sanchez-Roige will present a multivariate genome-wide association study of AUDIT phenotypes. This approach will uncover novel genetic effects which might have been obscured in traditional GWAS. This work will also demonstrate how a non-clinical phenotype, such as AUDIT, which has demonstrated to share a common genetic basis with alcohol use disorders but can be measured in much larger sample sizes, could serve as a complementary alternative to traditional ascertainment strategies for genetic studies. Lastly, Dr. Sanchez-Roige will close the talk by presenting a novel strategy to examine the multivariate genetic architecture of complex traits and diseases from the Externalizing Consortium – a collaborative effort that capitalizes on several large-scale GWAS with the goals of (a) estimating genetic correlations across externalizing phenotypes, which are associated with a constellation of co-morbid disorders and behaviors that are characterized by deficits in impulsive action, (b) identifying genes involved in a shared underlying liability to externalizing psychopathology versus genes that are unique to specific outcomes, and (c) increasing the predictive ability of polygenic scores for externalizing phenotypes and psychiatric, health and social outcomes.

Members interested in the biology (genetics, neuroscience, behavior) of psychiatric disorders, particularly substance use disorders, and related phenotypes, such as impulsivity.

Graphing and visual analysis are essential to research and practice within applied behavioral science. Research investigating behavioral approaches to teaching graphing were first initiated in the late 1990s, however more recently there has been increased interest in and publication of such work. The presentations comprising this symposium will (a) provide a systematic review of the behavioral literature examining methods of, as well as tutorials for, teaching graphing across various platforms, (b) put forth data documenting the effectiveness and efficiency of enhanced written instructions for teaching graphing, and (c) show further data supporting the use of enhanced written instructions for teaching graphing, as well as advocating for the integration of choice methodology within research on and tutorials for teaching graphing. Suggested future directions for advancing research and practice related to teaching graphing will be discussed.

Prerequisites include familiarity with behavior analytic terminology and single-case research design methodology.

Graphing is an important feature of the field of applied behavior analysis, not only as a job responsibility of behavioral professionals, but as a visual analysis tool as well. While graphing can be taught using various methods, perhaps self-training methods could prove both effective and efficient due to the self-guided nature of the methods. One effective self-training method for graphing is enhanced written instruction (EWI). While the literature has demonstrated EWI’s effectiveness when training graphing, specific presentations of EWI have not been evaluated. To address this gap in the literature, we compared accuracy of and duration to graph completion of chunked presentations of EWI, and evaluated preference for the two different chunked presentations, using concurrent chains schedules embedded within a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across five students with various degrees of graphing history. Both chunked presentations were found to be effective, with most participants clearly preferring one presentation over the other. These results will be discussed in the context of next steps for research and practice related to teaching graphing.

The practice of behavior analysis involves many complex skills at every level of service delivery, from assessing client behavior, to training direct care staff, to mentoring graduate students. Behavioral instruction strategies such as mastery learning, feedback, and behavioral skills training (BST) are well established methods for teaching complex skills to adult learners. However, constraints on time, cost, and location are common barriers to effective training, which may ultimately result in limited access to services for clients. This symposium presents three studies evaluating the effects of training programs with an emphasis on efficient delivery. First, Samantha LaPointe presents on an online hybrid training program for teaching FA skills to behavior therapists not pursuing certification as board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs), including an analysis of the time and cost of implementation. Next, Ryan Atkinson presents an evaluation of different types of feedback through a telehealth model, where feedback timing and content were compared to determine the fewest sessions to mastery. Lastly, Allison Bowhers presents on a workshop BST program for increasing mentoring skills with BCBA supervisors. Interobserver agreement, procedural integrity, and social validity are discussed.

BCaBAs, BCBAs, BCBA-Ds

Two supervisor training conditions were compared to improve setting goals, providing feedback, prompting, and adhering to supervision policies with trainees. Baseline combined a lecture that reviewed each skill and a purported contingency of reinforcement. Only adherence to supervision policies improved during baseline in Experiment 1. Three workshops using behavioral skills training (BST) were provided. Each targeted skill improved, but booster sessions were required to meet mastery criteria. During maintenance probes, supervisors demonstrated variable levels of skills, but maintained adherence to supervision policies. In Experiment 2, the baseline condition resulted in adherence to supervision policies. The feedback workshop was modified and all skills improved without booster sessions. The one supervisor tested for maintenance completed all skills at 100% accuracy. Both experiments demonstrated a moderate positive correlation between improvement in supervisor and trainee performance. In social validity questionnaires, supervisors and trainees reported positive experiences in the supervision system and trainings.

First, Karla Zabala will present on research related to assessing language preference among individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or other developmental disorders who have been exposed to more than one language. The research study consisted of two parts: Study 1 evaluated language preference during play contexts and Study 2 evaluated language preference within instructional contexts. Next, Mariela Hostetler will provide a description of challenges faced by Latinx communities in need of behavioral health services. In particular, two general types of barriers faced by Latinx consumers of behavioral health services are discussed: those related to language and those related to cultural issues. Then, Marlesha Bell will provide a discussion on future research in areas to consider when providing services and treatment to Spanish speaking communities.

Behavior analysts

Latinxs constitute the largest minority group in the United States, currently making up approximately 18% of the total US population (US Census Bureau, 2018). While there is a critical need for the behavioral healthcare system, including behavior analysts, to be prepared and organized to support the Latinx community, research indicates that the quality of and access to behavioral and mental health services are often lacking for Latinxs and other minorities (Cabassa, Molina, & Baron, 2012; Dahne et al., 2019). This presentation provides a description of challenges faced by Latinx communities in need of behavioral health services. In particular, two general types of barriers faced by Latinx consumers of behavioral health services are examined: those related to language and those related to cultural issues. They also represent substantial challenges to behavior analytic providers who have a responsibility to make behavior analytic services accessible to all. Specific recommendations such as behavioral organizations and universities contributing to increase diversity among behavior analysts are discussed. Future research and the development of culturally sensitive treatments are further discussed.

Previous research has demonstrated that individuals with ASD who have been exposed to more than one language do not experience any additional language delays compared to their monolingual peers (Hambly and Fombonne, 2011). In addition, research has not noted any indication of negative outcomes associated with language abilities among bilingual/multilingual children with ASD (Drysdale et al., 2015). The majority of the research surrounding bilingual or multilingual individuals diagnosed with autism or other developmental disabilities has focused on conducting communication assessments to assess participants’ psychometric performance. Research related to language preferences exhibited by these individuals is scarce. The purpose of the current study was to assess language preference among individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or other developmental disorders who have been exposed to more than one language. The research study consisted of two parts: Study 1 evaluated language preference during play contexts and Study 2 evaluated language preference within instructional contexts.

Building rapport both with clients and caregivers is cogent to effective service delivery in applied behavior analysis. Although most would identify that building rapport is important, what rapport is and how it is established has not received a lot of focus in behavior analytic training. The purpose of this symposium is to provide a conceptual analysis of specific active listening skills that when applied help build rapport with both clients and caregivers. More specifically, a model based upon Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior that demonstrates the use of active listening skills in building rapport will be provided. For some clients, there are pre-requisites that must be systematically addressed prior to being able to build rapport. One such study will be presented where in escape extinction and desensitization was utilized prior to building rapport with a client. Finally, our discussant will provide insightful comments related to building rapport from a behavior analytic perspective and comment on the two aforementioned papers.

Intermediate

Individuals diagnosed with autism may engage in severe target behavior to gain access to a form of escape (Harper, Iwata, & Camp 2013). Often, building rapport with these individuals may include an initial phase of desensitization to the clinical team before building in other programming (Szalwinski, Thomason-Sassi, Moore, & McConnell, 2019). The following experiment included four phases that ultimately resulted in increased exposure to a clinical team for an adult diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This method included 4 steps, increasing the time at which a clinical team member observed the individual, decreasing break time in between observation periods, increasing observation interval from 5 to 40 minutes, and closing the proximity between a clinical member and individual. Data collected was collected across observation periods and followed a changing criterion design per each phase. Data suggests that as exposure increased, target behavior decelerated across method parameters thus far. The following paper’s purpose was to test a four-phase method of introducing escaped extinction and desensitization before building rapport. The results and potential impact will be discussed.

The PEAK Relational Training System provides a standardized approach to assessment and intervention of language and cognitive skills in children. Research on the whole curriculum has supported its use in increasing verbal operant performance (Dixon et al., 2015), derived relational responding (Dixon et al., in press), and intelligence test scores (Dixon et al., 2019). Although these broader outcomes are important, PEAK is also designed to target specific areas of skill deficit that are important academically and socially. The first presentation will evaluate a first application of the PEAK Transformation module to teach generalized mathematics concepts in young children. Results show that children were able to interact with mathematics concepts in multiple ways, established through direct training, derived responding, and transformations of stimulus function. The second presentation extends this approach to improve perspective taking by targeting deictic relational frames within the intervention. Results show an improvement in deictic relational responding and transformation of stimulus function. These results support the use of PEAK when addressing specific skills within a broader curricular context to improve language and intellectual functioning in children.

BCBAs

2020 has changed the way people live across the globe. The rapid spike in COVID-19 cases started to spread panic around the world. The effects cost the lives of people and spurred a major economic crisis. The unknown nature of the pandemic resulted in global stress. Lockdowns seemed the only way to keep people safe and forced families to face new challenges of working from home with the added responsibility of educating their children. For families with special needs, this proved even more challenging. The research is robust in the medical necessity of ABA therapy for individuals with Autism and other Developmental Disabilities. Therefore, Behavior Analysts had to quickly adapt to find ways to maintain quality ABA services safely. Clinics, families and therapists had to pivot quickly to telehealth, and restructuring their service delivery models to follow new safety protocols from the CDC and local/Federal government mandates. The aim of this panel is to discuss 1) The challenges faced during the lockdown, 2) The struggles Behavior Analysts and families with special needs faced, and 3) Share lessons learned from different parts of the US and Europe on how we successfully navigated through maintaining quality ABA services in a pandemic.

This presentation will require audience to have some knowledge of Telehealth ABA, BACB ethical guidelines, and disseminating quality ABA services to the individuals with special needs.

The use of cannabis for medicinal and recreational purposes continues to expand as legal barriers are dismantled. This leads to a growing need to assess possible health consequences, including with a focus on specific cannabinoid compounds such as Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Understanding of the effects of CBD by itself, and in combination with THC, are only recently being explored in well-controlled studies. This talk will discuss the effects of CBD and THC along, and in combination, in animal models. Most pre-clinical models of cannabinoid effects use parenteral injections of cannabinoids, while human use continues to be by inhalation via combusted plant material and, now, e-cigarette devices. Models of vapor inhalation in rats will be discussed with a focus on the differences compared with traditional injection routes of administration.

Our actions often seem spontaneous. Motivation for action seems to come mysteriously from within. But B.F. Skinner argued that social behavior is in fact not spontaneous (Skinner, 1938). We are in reality products of our lived experiences. But what happens when we derive fixed rules about other people in the present based on experiences in the past? Skinner was committed to understanding the relationship between the learned categories we deploy in social interactions and the different social contexts that produce meaning (contingencies of reinforcement). Sociologists have detailed how social encounters are taking place within racialized spaces (Lewis 2003; Haynes 2006; Anderson) that marginalize (Eberhardt 2019) and stigmatize (Hughes 1963; Wacquant 2008; Anderson 2011) Black Americans who are widely perceived to be associated with poverty (Duneier 2016)), crime and criminalization (Muhammad 2019), and cultural and social dysfunction (Moynihan 1965). Stigmatization and marginalization leads to a “deficit of credibility” that devalues black voices (Anderson 2011). In this talk, I will link a functional contextual approach (Hayes 1993) to a fuller understanding of the historical context of racial classification and scripted racial differences, and offer behavioral psychologists new ways to better identify contingencies of reinforcement in a social context. This approach is parsimonious and consistent with a radical behavioral world view.

Behavioral Analysis, Psychologists, Social Workers, Clinical Psychologists, School Counselors, Teachers

Neither behavior nor culture are static and as a field, we have an ethical obligation to promote an ethical culture in work environments for staff and clients (7.01) and to not engage in discriminatory practices (1.05d). As behavior analysts, are responsible for promoting culturally sensitive programming and to build the capacity for cultural responsiveness through training, supervision, and workplace values. As we broaden our consumer base, work with more diverse populations and practitioners, and with the rise of telehealth consultations, it is important to understand the many variables that should be taken into consideration when working across settings and populations. This panel will discuss frameworks for building cultural responsiveness, the implications of microaggressions, the dissemination of the services across rural settings, the ethics of culture, and breaking down professional stigmas in the field.

Intermediate ~ for BCBAs, BCaBAs, supervisors and those getting supervision.

The field of behavior analysis acknowledges our responsibility to ethically provide services that support the autonomy of and maximize reinforcement for our clients, while also maximizing benefit to the community at large. Perhaps in no arena is this responsibility more pertinent than in that of sexual behavior. Cognizance around ethical issues as well as potential legal implications is of highest importance, especially in situations in which our clients have developmental disabilities. This panel will serve as a sounding board for common issues faced in the field as behavior analysts who address potential behavior change surrounding sexual behavior. Panelists will provide anecdotal information to inform best practices, surrounding the ethics of consultation and intervention, and the ethical considerations of each. Pastpanels will serve as a brief touchpoint for this panel, as our panelists continue to bring us new and relevant information in the realm of sexual behavior.

BCBAs and BCaBAs

We can design and implement a pragmatic, organizational performance engineering process to change how people work together so that every recipient of resources (student or client), makes efficient progress. The EARS process has the following steps: Evaluate recipient progress; Analyze causes of provider performance; Recommend changes in provider resources, training, and management; and Solve provider performance problems by designing and implementing recommended changes in resources, training, and management. EARS is a pragmatic change process that uses a more sensitive measure of progress, “celeration efficiency,” to evaluate recipient progress, thus reducing the time required to identify that a recipient is not making desired progress. When a recipient is not meeting a progress goal, EARS analyzes causes of provider performance problems, using data to identify 1) Can-do problems due to inadequate recipient resources, 2) Know-How problems due to inadequate provider training, and 3) Want-to problems due to inadequate provider management. This symposium will provide an overview of the organizational performance engineering process with examples of how it can be designed and implemented so that every student or client will make efficient progress.

Supervisors, staff trainers, program designers and directors of schools and clinics that provider behavior analysis services to students and clients.

BCBAs supervised by the first author trained and supervised parents to use ProgressCharter to provide evaluation, learning, and management resources to help their children make efficient progress towards the mastery of their educational goals. The BCBAs also used ProgressCharter to provide evaluation, learning, and management resources to the parents, to support the parents’ implementation of evaluation, learning, and management resources with their children. When the students were not making efficient progress, BCBAs and the parents used ProgressCharter to analyze causes of inefficient progress, recommend solutions, and solve parent performance problems by designing and implementing provider resources, training, and management.

Behavior analysts should graph according to behavior analytic conventions, but the extent to which there is agreement on conventions is unclear. Graphing conventions include aesthetic features of individual graph elements as well as the positioning of graph elements in relation to one another. The current study examined which graphing conventions behavior analysts report are most important, and if there were demographic variables associated with ratings of importance. A web-based survey was completed by 631 Board Certified Behavior Analysts. Five graphing conventions were rated as very important by 80% or more of participants. Ratings of importance varied considerably for the remaining 32 conventions. Further analyses revealed that differences in ratings were associated with several demographic variables including credential, primary work setting, and education level. These results suggest that graphing conventions are used inconsistently across the field of behavior analysis, and implications for future research and training new behavior analysts are discussed.

This symposium is comprised of three data-based presentations evaluating the implementation of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with individuals with various developmental disabilities (i.e. Rett syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and Down syndrome) and verbal operants in the context of home and school. The three applied studies sought to evaluate critical aspects of high- and low-tech AAC including accurate and independent responding, navigation, comprehension, and vocal development. First, Shawn Girtler will present findings from a study evaluating the effects of behavior chaining, prompt delay, and prompt fading on AAC navigation with individuals with Rett syndrome. Next, Emily Unholz-Bowden will present on the effect of device type (low-tech vs. high-tech) on accurate and independent responding with similar participants. Following, Kavya Kandarpa will present findings from a study evaluating the effects of magnitude on AAC and vocalizations. Finally, Rachel Cagliani will discuss the presentations in terms of implications for practice and future research.

Audience participants should have a basic understanding of augmentative and alternative communication, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and principles of reinforcement.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of reinforcer magnitude on response allocation across two different communication modalities (vocalizations and picture exchange). A single-subject reversal design was used to evaluate the effects of altering the magnitude of requested items with one male participant in a classroom setting who engaged in limited and inconsistent vocalizations. This study took place in a classroom that served students with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder for kindergarten to second grade students, as well as in a teachers’ workroom. In the first intervention, the participant received the larger magnitude reinforcement for vocalizations and small magnitude reinforcement for picture exchange. In the second intervention, the participant received small magnitude reinforcement for vocalizations and the large magnitude reinforcement for picture exchange. The results showed that the participant allocated responding to the communication modality that received the larger magnitude of the requested item.

There is emerging evidence that individuals with Rett syndrome (RTT) can learn to use alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) devices. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the use of behavior chaining with a prompt delay and prompt fading on acquisition of software navigation, specifically page-linking, skills with three individuals with RTT using both low-tech and high-tech AAC devices. For one participant, page-linking was taught utilizing a high-tech AAC device. For the other two participants, page-linking was taught utilizing both a high-tech and low-tech AAC devices. We used both multi-element and multiple probe designs across contexts to evaluate independent and accurate responding. All sessions were conducted in the participant’s home by their parents with remote coaching from a research assistant via telecommunication. Results indicated that for two participants, prompt delay was an effective procedure to teach page-linking using both a high-tech and a low-tech AAC device. For the other participant, behavior chaining with a prompt delay was an effective procedure to teach page-linking using a high-tech AAC device. Future research should utilize experimental methods to expand on navigation to include page-linking for multiple word phrases.

The vast majority of individuals with Rett syndrome (RTT) do not have vocal, expressive language and therefore require alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of instruction on the independent and accurate use of communication modalities emitted by two individuals with RTT using a low-tech and high-tech communication device. We used a multiple probe design across categories with the one participant and a multielement design with the other participant in teaching use of both high-tech and low-tech AAC devices. Parents conducted all sessions with remote coaching from a research assistant via telecommunication. For one participant, following exposure to either contingent reinforcement or behavior chaining on her high-tech device, fewer sessions were required to meet performance criteria for requesting on her low-tech device and subsequently following reintroduction of the high-tech device with new requesting criteria. For the second participant, some differences in acquisition were observed between the high-tech and low-tech communication devices. Future research should use experimental methods to measure relative preference for communication modalities.

Many families of children with developmental disabilities are unable to access evidence-based practices due to a shortage of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs). Telehealth technology can increase children's access to effective intervention from BCBAs. This symposium includes four presentations related to the use of telehealth technology to support families of children with developmental disabilities. One study evaluated the effect of telehealth training on BCBA's delivery of telehealth sessions. In two studies, parents were taught specific interventions to improve outcomes for their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Finally, the fourth study consisted of an evaluation of a 2-month caregiver training program. Implications for practice and directions for future research will be discussed.

The participants should be familiar with behavior analytic interventions for children with ASD.

A recent focus on the use of telehealth to disseminate behavioral interventions has demonstrated the utility of technology in preparing parents and educators as interventionists for their children. However, to date, there has not been an investigation into how to train practitioners (e.g., Board Certified Behavior Analysts [BCBA]) to conduct telehealth sessions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a training package, delivered via telehealth, on BCBA implementation of telehealth coaching sessions. Researchers taught three BCBAs to conduct a telehealth session using behavioral skills training. Researchers used a non-concurrent multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effects of the training package on BCBA implementation fidelity, as measured by the percentage of accurately completed items within a procedural fidelity checklist. All training sessions were conducted with a volunteer family simulating real telehealth scenarios as discussed in Lerman et al. (2020). After training, the BCBAs implemented the telehealth sessions with 100% fidelity and demonstrated improved fidelity during their post-training observation with their client. The presenter will discuss implications for practice as well as future research.

Research has demonstrated that interventions based on applied behavior analysis (ABA) can improve the quality of life for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, a lack of Board Certified Behavior Analysts has left many families of children with ASD unable to access evidence-based practices. This presentation will describe a program that serves families of children with ASD, ages birth to 17 years old. Caregivers implement interventions to address goals in the areas of communication, pre-academic skills, social skills, adaptive or daily living skills, and challenging behavior, with coaching delivered via telehealth. The program lasts for approximately 6 to 8 weeks. Data collection is ongoing, and we plan to present data from 30 families who participated in the program. We will present data related to (a) demographic information, (b) duration of services, (c) types of goals, and (d) improvement on individualized goals. Based on our current data, most of our coaching is being provided to mothers between 30-39 years of age. The children benefiting from the coaching program are predominately males between 3-5 years of age. Caregivers primarily chose goals focused on pre-academic or adaptive skills. Directions for future research and implications for practice will be discussed.

Neurodiversity is an approach to learning and disability that argues neurological conditions such as Autism, ADHD, and Dyslexia are the result of normal variations in the human genome. This term was coined to shift the focus of discourse from deficits, disorders, and impairments to recognition and respect as any other human variation (Disabled World, 2020). Although the number of neurodiversity advocates is increasing and conversations around neurodiversity are more frequent, systemic oppression is evident in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. Neurodivergent clients, parents, and practitioners are expected to adopt and conform to ideas of normality. In this symposium, a group of neurodivergent ABA practitioners will create a vision for a more humble and inclusive field that embraces neurodiversity. The speakers will a) discuss the importance of presuming competence and explore ways to foster autonomy of autisitc clients, b) articulate the importance of autistic clients having access to a neurodivergent community, c) identify strategies to assess and meet the needs of families in ABA therapy, and d) examine challenges associated with invisible disabilities in workplace and offer recommendations to create a supportive environment.

Prerequisite skills and competencies: can state ethical guidelines governing behavior analytic practice; evaluate scenarios and identify ethical violations; problem-solve strategies to resolve ethical violations.

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) Professional and Ethical Compliance Code states that behavior analysts are to involve their clients in the planning of and consent for behavior-change programs (BACB, 4.02). In order to be involved and give consent one must be afforded an effective communication method. An estimated 25-35% of autistic children are considered minimally verbal and will need to learn communication methods other than speech (Rose, Trembath, Keen & Payntor, 2016). A functional mode of communication is a prerequisite to achieving autonomy; the ability to direct our own lives. The foundation of an effective communication method begins with presumed competence; believing that all individuals have something to say and possess the capacity to learn. This presentation will a) describe and give applicable examples of how communication partners can presume competence b) describe autonomy and how choices can be proactively presented c) describe the effect emotional state has on language output and how to prepare for that.

Disabilities may be present in some environments and absent in others. In some contexts, disabilities may be both present and “invisible” (i.e., not observed). The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) Professional Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts requires that behavior analysts refrain from providing services when their personal circumstances may compromise their delivery (1.07), but what happens when the personal circumstance results from a professional environment with inadequate arrangements to support disabilities that are unsafe to disclose? To minimize risk of harm and ensure that behavior analysts have the opportunity to practice to the best of their abilities, we must recognize the potential dangers of disclosure and consider the possibility that each one of us may be living with an invisible disability. This presentation will (1) define disability and provide examples of highly-stigmatized invisible disabilities, (2) discuss misconceptions, unique challenges, and overlooked exceptional characteristics of people with invisible disabilities, and (3) provide recommendations for empirically-supported interventions to promote the safety and wellbeing of individuals with invisible disabilities, for application in professional settings.

Children and individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities are at a greater risk of experiencing accidents or victimization scenarios and must be taught skills to avoid or successfully navigate these situations. The presentations within this symposium describe advances in interventions for teaching safety skills to these individuals or to the caregivers responsible for training their children. Specifically, this symposium will address teaching individuals to safely cross the street, how to recognize and respond to victimization scenarios, and discuss a web-based program for training parents to teach safety skills to their children. A discussant will summarize these studies and discuss these advances and future directions for research.

Students, researchers, and practitioners who work with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities or caregivers of children and use behavioral skills training to teach safety skills to these individuals or their caregivers.

Pedestrian skills are critical for individuals and caregivers to ensure safety when crossing the street. Although all individuals are vulnerable to crash-related injuries, children diagnosed with disabilities are two to three times more likely than typically developing children to be killed in pedestrian accidents (Brown & Gillard, 2009). Therefore, given the importance of effective instruction for individuals of developmental disabilities, we conducted a systematic quantitative analysis of published studies that evaluated interventions to teach individuals with developmental disabilities to cross the street. Eighteen evaluations met the inclusion criteria and were evaluated across participant and methodological characteristics and effectiveness. Based on the results, recommendations are made about best clinical practice (e.g., methods for measurement, teaching street crossing in a variety of contexts) and future areas for research.

One of the most important and influential activities of daily living for assimilating into the community is the ability to safely navigate unfamiliar settings. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) typically have difficulty with this (Goldsmith, 2009), and in particular street safety is a major concern and may have severe consequences such as injury and possible death. Pedestrian street crossing training is recognized as an integral life skill and is a fundamental step in the development of independence, increasing safety awareness, mobility, and safely integrating into society. The current evaluation utilizes a virtual reality (VR) procedure to facilitate training in a safe, controlled environment to acquire the necessary skills to independently cross the street. Along with VR, behavior skills training was used to examine whether skills would generalize in a natural setting. Results showed four of five participants mastered VR conditions and generalized skills in a natural setting. This study provides a model for efficiently and safely teaching pedestrian street crossing to adults with ASD.

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are at risk of experiencing social victimization and should be taught to respond to deceptive statements and victimization scenarios they are likely to encounter as they transition from school to work. Using a multiple probe across participants design, the current study evaluated the effectiveness of behavioral skills with multiple exemplar training (BS+MET) to teach four young adults with IDD a response to victimization protocol. Participants were taught to 1) abstain from retaliation, 2) decline the request, 3) respond with an acknowledgment that the person is attempting to victimize them, and 4) walk or turn away. Two participants demonstrated mastery of this response after only BS+MET, while the other two participants demonstrated mastery of the response after BS+MET and additional in situ training (IST). Additionally, three of the four participants demonstrated generalization across settings, across exemplars, and with coworkers, and they maintained the response up to two-months after the completion of training. This study expands research of BS+MET and IST to teach safety skills to adults with IDD and provides insights into improving generalization of safety skills taught through behavioral skills training.

Relational frame theory (RFT) is a behavioral approach to human language and cognition that accounts for a variety of complex human behavior, such as humor, memory distortions, rumination or time perception. This symposium highlights recent empirical innovations in these four human behaviors. The first paper aims to isolate the impact of different contextual variables for altering or producing the humor behavior. The second paper analyses the conditions under which derived aversive false memories emerge and acquire control over subsequent avoidance intentions. The third paper analyzed the impact of promoting rumination and their alteration through two defusion protocols on a memory task. Finally, the fourth paper analyzes higher-order appetitive motivation, such as personal meaning, over appetitive and aversive functions, to transform time perception. The four papers will be discussed according to derived relational responding as the context for altering contingencies. As well, limitations, future research, and applied dimensions will be discussed.

Basic knowledge of relational behavior

The emergence of false memories with aversive and avoidance functions is very common after a traumatic experience. This study aimed to advance in previous experimental analogues of false memories based on derived relational responding (Dougher & Guinther, 2010; Ruiz-Sánchez, Luciano & Guinther, 2019). To this aim, we have produced derived memories with aversive and avoidance functions. Two equivalence classes were trained, each one consisting of one shape and seven words (i.e., Class 1 and Class 2), followed by a test for the trained relations. Then, participants underwent differential conditioning using four elements of each class: four words from Class 1 were paired with aversive images, whereas four words from Class 2 were paired with appetitive images. Thereafter, a recognition and avoidance test was conducted with all the words. False recognitions were more frequent for non-directly conditioned aversive words (Class 1) than for non-directly conditioned appetitive words (Class 2), and avoidance intentions occurred with higher frequency for those words falsely recognized relative to those not recognized.

It is common to hear "time flew by," or "days went by too heavy". Listening to these phrases seems to give clues about the level of discomfort and joy of our life. Time perception has been mostly investigated from a cognitive standpoint but has not been rendered in the behavioral processes responsible for such perceptions. This study aims to isolate the impact of aversive, appetitive, as well as higher-order or overarching functions that might be involved in time perception. For that, time perception was measured in 12 intervals with different and same intervals in two conditions (seven participants each). Condition 1, participants went through the time interval task with the manipulation of immediate neutral, appetitive, or aversive functions. Condition 2 was the same except that higher-order motivational functions (e.g., something significant for the participant) were connected hierarchically to the immediate function indicated in condition 1. The results show differential impact in time estimation according to the type of functions, and the most impacting results were that "time flies" when behavior is under the control of appetitive functions and higher-order motivational functions.

Educational programming in applied behavior analysis benefits from using behavior analysis strategies in teaching, for an effective and efficient educational process and best outcomes. Additionally, learners are provided with a model and in-depth experience of behavior analysis strategies that they may eventually use in their own teaching and practice. This symposium presents original research conducted by doctoral learners and faculty in a completely online department of Applied Behavior Analysis, via virtual laboratory settings. Behavior analysis strategies used in each research project are based on literature in areas including online learning, behavioral skills training, and equivalence based instruction. Targeted outcomes include dependent variables associated with quality and quantity of academic performance, skill mastery, and demonstration of understanding of higher-level principles. All projects examined strategies that make use of readily-available, user-friendly technology. Participants for each project include Masters-level learners. Completed and preliminary data indicate strong support for the use of each behavior analysis strategy in the teaching of behavior analysis content in the virtual environment.

Target audience is faculty teaching undergraduate and graduate students in behavior analysis courses. Target audience is familiar with various educational approaches for post-secondary teaching and learning, and is interested and familiar with online learning and technology applications for teaching.

Distance education includes different methods of studying and learning which are not in the context of the continuous and immediate attention of an instructor. A critical component of many distance education programs is the asynchronous online discussion forum, but objective measures of learner performance under different conditions in discussion boards are lacking in the literature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of discussion group size in online graduate BCBA courses on (a) the quality of learners’ posts and (b) the level of peer engagement in discussion forums. A single-subject alternating-treatments design was used to compare the effects of the size of the group in which participants responded to discussion board prompts. Discussion board group sizes were varied across the 10 units of certain classes in a university ABA Masters program. In some units, groups were small (5-6 learners), and in some units the groups were full class (25-30 learners). At the end of unit eight, students were given the opportunity to vote for their preferred condition. Results found small groups produced slightly higher scores than large groups, but students preferred the large group discussion.

Behavior analysts have been conducting research at the crossroads of drugs and behavior for over 70 years. They pioneered the idea that drug taking is behavior that is sensitive to its consequences. Their work has had an indelible influence on the substance abuse treatment research community, and has had a profound effect on US drug policy. Their work to develop interventions to promote drug abstinence began in the 1960s, and featured many exquisite demonstrations of precise control of drug taking by contingencies of reinforcement. In the 1990s Higgins and colleagues published a series of studies on voucher-based reinforcement therapy for cocaine use that sparked an explosion of research activity in contingency management as a substance abuse intervention. Since then, many contingency management researchers have dedicated substantial parts of their careers to the transfer of this behavioral technology to real-world practice. This work has been slow and difficult. The preponderance of these efforts have led to meetings in which administrators of one sort or another explain to the behavioral scientists all the many reasons why the most effective psychosocial treatment for substance use disorders ever devised just isn’t practical, and how they won’t be going forward with implementing any such intervention. But things are starting to change. The last decade has been filled with a host of great successes and promising developments. Barriers still remain, and access is still limited, but real contingency management services are finally available everywhere in the USA. This presentation will include an overview of the history of the development of contingency management intervention, discuss barriers to implementation, highlight recent successes, and ultimately focus on how mobile technology has been (and will continue to be) a crucial element in the dissemination of a life-saving intervention developed by behavior analysts.

Academics and practitioners with an interest in substance abuse treatment, remote/telehealth behavior intervention, or novel applications of behavior analysis.

Dr. DeFulio’s experiences in behavior analysis include provision of in-home services to children with autism, translational research on the development of reading skills in developmentally disabled adults, and conducting basic research on conditioned reinforcement in pigeons. Over the last 14 years, Dr. DeFulio’s research has principally focused on behavioral interventions for promoting drug abstinence and medication adherence. His most recent work involves delivering these interventions remotely, and includes collaboration with DynamiCare Health, Inc., a Boston startup that is dedicated to provision of contingency management services on a national scale. Dr. DeFulio has been the principal investigator on four NIH research grants and a co-investigator on many others. His most recent NIH grant project involves a smartphone-based approach to promoting entry into medication-assistant treatment in out-of-treatment opioid users. He was the 2014 recipient of the APA’s B.F. Skinner Young Researcher Award, and has served on the board of editors for JABA, JEAB and Perspectives on Behavior Science. He is also a former president of the Four Corners Association for Behavior Analysis. In June of 2015 he joined the faculty of the Department of Psychology at Western Michigan University, an internationally recognized institution for training and research related to Behavior Analysis, where he teaches a variety of behavior analysis graduate classes and mentors undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students.

Research about sexual consent is sparse compared to research about situations where consent is expressly not given, like rape and sexual assault (Beres, 2007). The language and communication around consent has been examined, as are how these negotiations of sexual consent occur. Not only is sexual consent communicated through verbal behavior, but consent is often negotiated through body language, facial expressions, and other non-verbal behaviors. The assumption around sexual consent is often that consent is given unless it is revoked, as conveyed in the saying “no means no”. Instead, this symposium will examine the complexities around behaviors involved in giving and receiving consent. With the nuances of communicating sexual consent, interpreting the contingencies in play, and understanding learning histories surrounding consent, the authors propose that consent, as a response class, is both more complicated, and potentially more impactful than many other behaviors. We will address the current body of work around sexual consent and its background in psychological research, as well as the contexts in which sexual consent is examined. The authors will also take steps to describe sexual consent in behavioral terms, outline the ethical considerations for behavior analysts with respect to promoting self-advocacy and harm reduction, and make recommendations for future research on consent from a behavior analytic perspective.

Practitioners working with a variety of folks

Data indicate that 1 in 6 American cis women and 1 in 33 cis men experience being raped in their lifetimes (RAINN, 2020). In these instances, evidence of the absence of consent is crucial to how these crimes are prosecuted by the criminal justice system, and perceived by the general public. A traditional analysis of sexual consent across a variety of domains like law, psychology, and sociology relies on the assumption that consent is given unless it is revoked overtly. Sexual consent is often studied in social psychology, and investigated in ways that look at the communication between two parties as they navigate a sexual situation. This paper will not only propose that consent is a vastly complex behavior, but that both giving and receiving consent are behaviors in and of themselves. The authors will map out the behavior of sexual consent using a behavior analytic framework, and discuss the importance of shifting the lens through which psychologists and behavior analysts alike study this phenomenon.

Conceptualizing sexual consent from a behavior analytic perspective is a complex task. Capturing the nuances and intricacies around consent as a behavior requires an understanding of how consent is traditionally negotiated, and under what contexts sexual consent is discussed, or not discussed. Not only does decades of research on sexual violence primarily focus on heterosexual cisgender female victims, but the “traditional” ways in which non-consent is discussed is exclusionary. This paper will review our colleagues’ conceptualization and refine the behavioral conceptualization. It will discuss limitations of examining consent from a cisgender, heterosexual narrative and the scripts that are associated with, and expected in those specific situations. Further, it will demonstrate the limitations of existing psychological literature, such as how sexual consent research often excludes the experiences of LGBTQIAP+, BIPOC, and disabled/neurodivergent communities, and their intersections. This group of authors hopes to encourage peers and colleagues to continue to investigate the phenomena of interest with inclusivity and compassion.

Sociologists describe the racialization of social contexts (Du Bois, 1903) as a process by which human relationships to self and others, geographic locations, and social institutions are rigidly organized such that they produce and reproduce unjust social hierarchies. Skinner (1956) proposed a way of assisting social scientists to break “social contexts” into manipulable events, such as conditions of deprivation and aversive stimulation, reinforcers, and stimuli that evoke behavior that has produced reinforcers in the past. Haynes (2016) has similarly criticized the use of reified terms like “social context” and suggested a more complex analysis of verbal categorizations that reproduce social stratification. To date, few social scientists have made use of Skinner’s pragmatic toolset. Likewise, remarkably few behavior analysts produce scholarly, empirical, or social service outcomes in the area of social justice. In this panel, scholars from the perspectives of behavior analysis and sociology will discuss tools they might lend one another and potentials for future pragmatic and academic collaboration.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Corteneé Boulard is a behavior technician who is pursuing her Master of Arts degree in Professional Behavior Analysis from Florida Institute of Technology. Following the completion of this degree, she plans to obtain her certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She currently holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Missouri State University. Corteneé has been in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA) for four years, and has loved every bit of it. She has worked with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in both the home and clinic-based settings and volunteered in Cape Coast as well as Accra, Ghana to apply ABA internationally. What she has gathered from her international experience is that the need for dissemination of ABA is great. Not only is she passionate about dissemination of ABA internationally, but she has a growing desire to disseminate ABA to at-risk youth within her community. Corteneé currently serves as a mentor (and “big sister”) to many youth in her community and has a passion for utilizing the science of behavior towards helping them reach successful outcomes.

Vanessa Bethea-Miller is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and PA Licensed Behavior Specialist. Vanessa is the founder of Bethea-Miller Behavioral Consulting and Shaping Tomorrow Child Care Services, an ABA-based daycare and preschool, and the co-founder of the ABA Task Force. She is also the author of “I Know What I Want to Be,” a sweet children's book about a young girl exploring different careers in science before deciding she wants to be a Behavior Analyst. Vanessa is pursuing her doctorate of philosophy in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and currently holds a Master of Arts in Applied Psychology with a concentration in ABA, a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice, and an Associate's degree in Business Administration. Vanessa has dedicated her time to working with children and adults with Autism and/or Developmental Disabilities, with or without a co-occurring mental illness. She is passionate about providing quality and effective ABA services to this population as well as children in need of behavior supports. In addition to this, Vanessa provides coaching and mentoring to other individuals starting their own ABA practices. Vanessa also teaches courses in behavior analysis at the college level. She has presented internationally on various topics such as the application of ABA to the juvenile justice population, implicit racial bias, etc. Lastly, Vanessa has utilized components of school-wide positive behavior support with an emphasis on behavior analysis and applied them to a juvenile detention center during a practicum experience. 

The use of intrusive and restrictive interventions, especially for the treatment of intense and persistent challenging behavior, is sometimes warranted. Translational research and contemporary research synthesis practices may help researchers and practitioners identify the extent to which the use of restrictive or intrusive interventions is advisable under certain conditions. In this symposium, two systematic reviews of applied research conducted in relation to escape-maintained challenging behaviors (Presentation 1) and response interruption and redirection (Presentation 2) and one translational study assessing extinction bursts in low-stakes contexts (Presentation 3) are discussed in relation to the provision of supports for individuals who engage in challenging behavior or stereotypy. These studies have the potential to provide information to the field about the contexts under which certain interventions should be used and/or are most likely to be effective.

Advanced

Individuals sometimes engage in challenging behavior to escape aversive stimuli. Interventions to reduce escape-maintained behaviors often use escape extinction (EE; e.g., physically prompting a student to complete an academic task, even if aggression occurs). Use of EE can increase risk of injury, escalate challenging behavior, restrict autonomy, and impact relationships between clients and implementers. To mitigate collateral effects, we can employ interventions without EE (i.e., non-EE)—that is, implementers can provide escape contingent on challenging behavior during intervention, in conjunction with other intervention components. No comprehensive syntheses of non-EE interventions have been conducted. In this systematic review, we identified 39 manuscripts that included non-EE interventions, with 273 separate single case designs. Non-EE interventions were associated with lower levels of challenging behavior and higher levels of alternative behavior than baseline conditions. Interventions that were effective included (a) antecedent modifications to decrease the value of escape as a reinforcer and (b) concurrent reinforcement schedules with more favorable reinforcement for alternative behavior relative to challenging behavior. Most comparisons between non-EE and EE interventions showed no functional relation, indicating that EE may not add substantial benefit to intervention efficacy in some situations.

As applied behavioral science continues to extend beyond description to reliable prediction and control, as behavioral technology advances, and as intersection between implementation science and behavior analysis increases, focus in some areas of behavioral research and practice may shift from intervention to prevention (Alai-Rosales et al., 2015). Such refocus is already evident in some diverse applications of behavioral science (Biglan, 2003), including problem behavior (e.g., Fahmie et al., 2016), organizational safety (e.g., Hyten et al., 2017), and community-participatory research (e.g., Watson-Thompson et al., 2017), to name a few. The presentations comprising this symposium will address preventative and response strategies within the area of behavioral health and safety, including reviews pertaining to dental health and emergencies, and data-based presentations about safe dog interactions and pedestrian safety. The presentations will be discussed in relation to prevention efforts within the field of applied behavioral science, and suggested directions for future research will be provided.

Prerequisites include familiarity with behavior analytic terminology and single-case research design methodology.

Emergencies, or situations involving individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) requiring immediate assistance from first responders, may be managed most efficiently or prevented entirely when all parties involved have prior training. A literature review was conducted to identify interventions for teaching individuals with ASD emergency prevention and response skills as well as to identify trainings for teaching first responders how to interact with the ASD population during emergencies. Results of the literature review identified an abundance of safety skill interventions yet a relative dearth of research explicitly targeting emergency prevention and response skills for individuals diagnosed with ASD. Although many ASD-specific resources were identified for first responders, there were few empirical studies supporting behavioral training techniques. Even fewer works identified included training for both the ASD population and first responders together. The implications of these results are discussed within the broader context of emergency response and prevention for the ASD population, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Functional analysis of problem behavior (Iwata et al., 1982/1994) sometimes yields inconclusive results. Inconclusive results may be attributed to antecedent or consequence variables that are absent from the typical test condition(s) (Schlichenmeyer et al., 2013). Identification of these variables is essential for effective treatment; therefore, additional analyses are warranted to clarify relevant variables. This symposium describes assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior related to idiosyncratic variables (i.e. antecedents and consequences that differ from those within typical attention, demand, and alone test conditions). For example, in addition to maintenance by access to attention, escape from demands, and automatic reinforcement; problem behavior may also be maintained by multiple and combined functional reinforcers, adult compliance with mands, escape from prompts, or escape from attention. The four papers describe a process that involves: a) description of inconclusive multi-element functional analyses with typical test conditions, b) subsequent analyses to determine variables that evoked problem behavior, c) function-based treatment, and d) demonstrations of parent-conducted treatment and generalization. General considerations for scientist-practitioners will also be highlighted.

Participants should have some basic knowledge or familiarity with functional analysis methodology and research. Participants should have knowledge of typical function(s) of problem behaviors. Participants should have a basic understanding of how function-based treatments are derived from functional analysis results

When the traditional functional analysis produces inconclusive findings, this may warrant the need for additional analysis. One such analysis includes a test to determine whether an individual’s problem behavior may be maintained by adult compliance with mands (Bowman et al., 1997). The current study included a mands analysis and subsequent function-based treatment to reduce problem behavior exhibited by an adolescent with Down syndrome. Uniquely, his caregiver implemented all procedures, in the family’s home, with coaching by trained therapists using a telehealth model. Telehealth allowed access to relevant stimuli and naturally occurring contingencies, in which we could systematically train his caregiver to implement the treatment package. Results demonstrated that problem behavior decreased to low rates, functional communication increased, and his caregiver implemented the treatment with high fidelity across trained contexts. We conducted systematic probes across various contexts with some limited treatment generalization by his caregiver, initially. Following additional training with his caregiver to relevant stimuli and contexts, she demonstrated generalization of the treatment package, overall, which maintained for up to 4 months post-treatment. This case study provides preliminary findings on a systematic method to use telehealth to train caregivers to generalize a function-based treatment to relevant contexts.

Functional communication training is the most empirically supported intervention for the severe problem behavior exhibited by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Despite this strong research base, the translation from the highly controlled clinical settings in which the process has been described to more normative environments has been imperfect. This group of researchers presents work addressing the challenges of this transition including the use of antecedent strategies, the programming of procedures to support delay tolerance, and in the transition from motor to vocal alternative responses.

Practicing BCBAs who work with individuals displaying severe problem behavior.

Research on functional communication training (FCT) has shown that when behavior analysts select a functional communication response (FCR) they can physically guide (e.g., card touch), rates of destructive behavior are generally lower than had they selected a vocal FCR because the former approach minimizes exposure to the establishing operation for destructive behavior (DeRosa, Fisher, & Steege, 2015; Fisher et al., 2018). However, interventions that include alternative response materials require the continued availability of those materials for the FCR. When intervention materials go missing, destructive behavior may recur more quickly or at higher rates than had those materials remained in place, yet become inoperative (e.g., Kimball, Kelley, Podlesnik, Forton, & Hinkle, 2018). Therefore, it may be ideal to initially train individuals to use an FCR that can be physically guided but later transition that communication response to a topography (e.g., vocal FCR) that cannot be lost. We evaluated this possibility in a translational study. In Experiment 1, we compared rates of target behavior during FCT when the card-based FCR was removed to rates during FCT when the vocal FCR was placed on extinction. In Experiment 2, we evaluated a potential solution by systematically transitioning a card-based FCR to a vocal FCR.

Functional Communication Training (FCT) involves arranging extinction for problem behavior and reinforcement for a more desirable, functionally equivalent, communicative response (FCR). Although effective under ideal arrangements, the introduction of delays to reinforcement following the FCR can result in increased problem behavior. Austin and Tiger (2015) showed that for individuals whose problem behavior was sensitive to multiple sources of reinforcement, providing access to alternative, functional reinforcers during delays mitigated this increase in problem behavior during delay fading. The current study replicated the procedures of Austin and Tiger with two individuals displaying multiply controlled problem behavior. Providing alternative functional reinforcers reduced problem behavior during 10- min delays for both participants without requiring delay fading.

The purpose of this symposium is to discuss issues in behavior analysts training and practice. In the first presentation, authors discuss how empirically supported interventions are sometimes viewed as more important than client context and values. Authors discuss that contingencies must be analyzed, including those that generated the systematic reviews and meta-analysis, and a solid behavior analytic training should be the focus, instead of replicating different packaged interventions. In the second presentation, authors will discuss possible problems that the indiscriminate and non-analytical use of manualized interventions might bring to our field, such as the decreased probability of new problem-solving responses when it comes to clinical practice. In the third presentation, authors will discuss if the problem posed by Michael in 1980, the shift in?emphasis, away from the general concepts and methods of the science of behavior, is still a current problem in behavior analytic training and practice. In the fourth presentation the authors will discuss the selection and definition of behavioral goals as part of a process that should value family culture and what they consider important for themselves and their child/adolescent/adult with developmental disabilities. Questions raised by all presentations bring forward the need for reflections about practices that would allow us to provide culturally competent and socially valid services, within a radical behaviorist perspective.

Audience should have at least basic knowledge of Skinner`s articles and books on Radical behaviorism. They should also be updated on evidence-based practices for autism spectrum disorder. They should be service providers for developmental disabilities and be in a graduate program in Behavior Analysis, Psychology or Education.

Parsimony is a concept that must guide the behavior of all scientists, not only behavior analysts. This concept means that we should select the simplest and most logical explanation for the phenomenon under study, instead of competing views or interpretations. It does not mean that we investigate simple things or explain it simple, but that we should use the simplest account of the phenomena before moving on to more complex interpretations. In 1980, Jack Michael made a “state of union” message, alerting our community about clinicians or eclectic professionals adding behavior analysis to their techniques. These new professionals learned and practiced Behavior Analysis without knowledge of basic research methodology and without commitment to behaviorism as a world view. In Michael’s opinion, this fact resulted “… in ‘packaged’ independent variables of such complexity that they simply can’t be analyzed into behavior components, especially when they involve highly verbal subjects.” (p.9). In this presentation the authors aim to discuss if the problem posed by Michael in 1980 (the shift in emphasis, away from the general concepts and methods of the science of behavior), is still a problem in ABA research and practices for autism.

Professional providers and consumers of services for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often warned about the need to base decisions regarding the choice of intervention on evidence-based practices (EBPs). These interventions can be labeled “evidence-based”, “best practices”, etc., when they meet criteria specified by certain individuals. This type of intervention has a authority impact on people’s behavior. Thereby, implementing EBPs in addition to trying to fulfill the seven dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), seems to be acquiring more importance in the decision-making process than context and values of the client, especially when these practices and dimensions are implemented superficially. There should not be a set of rules that, dogmatically guides the decision-making process of a practitioner (or scientist), mainly because there is not one single set of rules that is impartial. Trustable guidelines that favor good professional practices should not function as “objects of faith”. Education and training in behavior analysis that favors solid analytical skills and that take into consideration both clients context peculiarities and the available evidence, could increase the probability of professional providing socially valid services that are compatible with the behavior analytic philosophy.

Behavior analytic services have seen an increase in demand, especially in the last two to three decades. Most of this increase is due to service delivery for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). One of the issues with this increase has been training and education for new professionals. In an attempt to regulate the profession, ensure the quality of intervention and avoid harmful mistakes, different certifications, standards, training packages and manualization of procedures have been set forth. This manualization can be advantageous to some degree, as it increases the probability that the behavior analyst will perform all the necessary steps when implementing a procedure. However, this standardization may also lead to narrow education and training of professionals in our field. In this presentation we will discuss these issues that might result from standardization and manualization, such as a lower probability of practitioners' response variability and of new responses when problem solving is needed. Additionally, we will discuss how standardization and manualization may result in less focus on the analytical skills.

This symposium presents three papers that evaluated student behavioral outcomes of interventions implemented by teachers in pre-kindergarten or elementary school classrooms within public schools and a meta-analytic review of studies that utilized behavioral procedures to train educators in implementing behavioral interventions. The behavioral interventions examined in the first three studies include Class Pass Intervention, high-p instructional sequences with and without differential reinforcement, and antecedent-based intervention of seating arrangement using stability stools and scoop rocker chairs. The studies report increased academic engagement and decreased problem behavior, initiation and compliance to low-probability instructions, or increased on-task behavior in students with varying disabilities. The last paper examined the characteristics of 20 studies and the variables that moderate the effectiveness of teacher training interventions.

Basic understanding of school-based interventions, evidence-based behavioral interventions, treatment integrity, and approaches to teacher training

Disruptive behavior is a challenge to classroom management for many teachers. Behavior such as calling out, getting out of seat, and off-task during instructions interfere with instructional time and have negative impacts on student learning. The Class Pass Intervention (CPI) is an antecedent-based intervention that has proven effective in decreasing disruptive behavior and increasing academic engagement for students of various ages and skill levels. This presentation introduces the results of a study on the use of CPI, which targeted three elementary school students with varying disabilities and assessed its impact on student behavior during academic time periods. Using a multiple-baseline across participants design, this study evaluated the impact of CPI on the students’ academic engagement and disruptive behavior, specifically when reinforcement was systematically faded across sessions. Results indicated that the CPI successfully decreased disruptive behavior and increased academic engagement of two of the participating students. Further, the intervention remained effective when reinforcement was thinned systematically for one student, and the effects generalized to nontargeted academic time periods for all three students.

The antecedent-based strategy, known as the high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence has been one effective way to facilitate teachers to prevent noncompliant behavior and increase acquisition of functional and adaptive behaviors for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the outcomes of using the high-p instructional sequence as an intervention in school settings remain inconsistent. This presentation outlines the outcomes of using the high-p instructional sequence intervention during pre-academic and academic activities for three young children ASD served in a pre-kindergarten or elementary classroom. The outcomes of the intervention were examined using a multiple-baseline across participants design. The results indicated that for one of three participants, higher rates of compliance with low-p activity instructions were displayed during the high-p intervention alone phase and maintained above criterion level during high-p fading. For two children, adding a differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) to high-p was necessary to increase initiation and compliance to criterion levels.

Characteristics of emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD) include learning difficulties that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors and an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers. Often, children with EBD have a tendency to have negative experiences in school and engage in challenging behavior in the classroom. This could stem from their lack of desire or motivation to succeed, which is often found in individuals with EBD. One possible antecedent manipulation, alternative seating, may reduce problem behavior and involves exchanging the typical seating and tables in classrooms for different types of seating options with various sizes and functions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of stability stools and scoop rocker chairs on in-seat behavior and on-task behavior in classrooms with children with EBD. All three participants demonstrated improvements in in-seat behavior using both types of alternative seating compared to a standard classroom chair. On-task behavior improved for all students but was variable for two students. Teachers preferred the stability stool while results were mixed between the stool and the rockers on preference by students.

Although the use of evidence-based interventions has shown to yield positive outcomes for the students being served, many educators do not incorporate evidence-based interventions in their instructional practice. Even when they are incorporated, educators may not always maintain sufficient levels of treatment fidelity during and following training. Treatment fidelity is important because it has been associated with improvement in student outcomes. Generally, implementing interventions with fidelity should be a prerequisite before expecting favorable student outcomes. The current study identified and evaluated peer-reviewed studies that utilized behavioral procedures to train educators in implementing behavioral interventions. All studies included in the analysis met the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards with or without reservations. Characteristics of the participants, behaviors targeted for educators and students, and educators’ involvement in the training process will be described. Effectiveness of key components of training, effects of training on student outcomes, and effects of training on generalization and maintenance of skills will be reported. Implications for practice and future research will be discussed.

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s Professional and Ethical Compliance Code provides limited guidance on how behavior analysts achieve competence in new areas of practice. The Code says that we need to engage in appropriate study, training, supervision, and consultation from competent practitioners before practicing in a new area. However, our field lacks specific guidance on how to train practitioners to achieve competency. This paper will examine how competent practitioners are trained in the fields of medicine and psychology and how their training protocols may have relevance to the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. In those fields, the definitions of competence will be reviewed. In addition, non-technical skill repertoires that are components of competent practice and the methods for teaching them will be examined. They include repertoires that are critical for successful practice such as clinical decision-making, problem solving, rapport building, and culturally responsive practice. Suggestions for how these practices can be adapted to Applied Behavior Analysis will be offered. Implications for graduate training will be discussed.

Participants should be acquainted with the literature on scope of competence.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, nonverbal communication, and behavioral challenges. An individual diagnosed with ASD may not look different from others, but they may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. Because there is no definitive medical test, diagnosing ASD can be difficult. Research has shown that intervention can improve a child’s overall development and the earlier it occurs, the more effective it may be. In this symposium, we introduce a diagnostic tool designed to improve a very early diagnosis of autism. The tool is informed by extensive research on the Model of Hierarchical Complexity, a behavioral developmental model of tasks. The Model allows for the scaling of behaviors, tasks, reinforcers, stimuli, etc. in terms of their Hierarchical Complexity, a form of difficulty. This kind of scaling explains developmental sequences. The symposium first describes the Behavioral Developmental Autism Instrument, including how it was devised, how the data is being collected, and comparison to other assessments. The second paper illustrates how the Model of Hierarchical Complexity can be used to generate a developmental sequence of reinforcers. The third paper applies the model to curriculum development.

People who are interested in learning more about early warning signs in infants and know where to intervene. Those who want to learn more about what behavioral stage of development to intervene at, and at what behavioral developmental stage ASD people are functioning at.

Operant conditioning procedures are used to investigate various developmental emotional and socialization processes (e.g., Gewirtz & Pelaez-Nogueras, 1992). The choice of what reinforcers to use has been conducted in somewhat of an ad hoc manner. This presentation introduces a way to scale reinforcers in terms of their likely effectiveness for children at different behavioral stages of development. Reinforcers are scaled in terms of their complexity using the Model of Hierarchical Complexity. This model applies a mathematically based scale to different tasks and behaviors (including reinforcing events). A brief example would be that for some children perhaps only a food-based reinforcer would work. For another saying “Good job” would work. Based pm this model, we have generated an ordered list of reinforcers. This can be used to ascertain which specific reinforcers are effective for each particular child. This presentation will show preliminary results on whether or not the sequences are as predicted. Ultimately it will provide a list of a large number of reinforcing events that may be effective when working with a wide range of children.

Previously, this research group has proposed that a teaching curriculum based on the Behavioral Developmental Autism Instrument should be more effective. Each item in the instrument is both a behavior that is assessed and behavior that can then be trained if the child does not pass the item. Children with developmental delays or with Autism Spectrum disorders are trained bottom up, starting with items of less difficulty and moving to those with higher difficulty. Currently, there are 121 items in the curriculum. The current presentation will select a few key domains and illustrate possible sequences of behaviors that could be used in teaching and training. Creating teaching curricula from the instrument will facilitate interventions since the child will be placed at the right level of difficulty to learn. That is, the item will not be too easy and will also not be too difficult. Using the sequences as guides will also be effective so that steps in learning certain behaviors will not be skipped. This curriculum can be beneficial for both typically developing children and children with developmental disabilities across a variety of cultural settings.

This discussion panel intends to further the discussion of our parent barrier checklist that aims to identify parent barrier behaviors and develop a treatment plan to improve behaviors and general ABA knowledge. Our 2019 ABAI panel was highly attended and we were contacted by so many attendees that we decided to improve our checklist and discuss some treatment outcomes that we have generated. In 2019, we developed a user-friendly checklist of parent barrier behaviors observed in an ABA clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. Since then, we have implemented use of the checklist across incoming families in order to screen for barrier behaviors that may need to be addressed using parent training as ABA services begin. These identified parent barrier behaviors have been hypothesized to impact treatment duration and ultimately impact the child’s long-term access to effective ABA intervention. This checklist was designed to identify what barrier behaviors may be exhibited by parents or caregivers, establish a threshold score to indicate a specific treatment focus, and a suggestion for high intensity parent training at the onset of ABA therapy and other treatment indications should be discussed. The goal is to focus on parent barrier behaviors and address them behavior analytically in order to increase duration of effective ABA services for the child. We aim to share and discuss the improved checklist and the outcomes of our parent training efforts when barrier behaviors are identified in families that are looking to begin ABA services.

BCBAs in clinical practice

The development of assessment and intervention protocols such as the PEAK Relational Training System may improve the ability for agencies or groups of agencies to implement structured interventions across multiple clients and multiple contexts. Structured interventions may also allow for behavior analysts to adjust programming to new formats, such as remote training, when contextual situations such as COVID-19 necessitate rapid adaptation of services. The first presentation will explore how behavioral skills training can be used to improve staff implementation fidelity of PEAK programming when delivered through a remote interface with clients. Adapting programming in this way can produce a multitude of barriers that necessitate accurate and consistent delivery of structured programming. The second presentation will evaluate two strategies that can improve the efficiency of PEAK program selection and development. By automating several processes at a systems level, program selection and material development may occur more rapidly, and programs can be developed in such a way so as to allow for remote delivery as described in the first presentation. Taken together, these talks speak to the role that new technologies can have in automating decision making and allowing for remote delivery.

BCBAs

The concept of privilege has become increasingly controversial recently as police brutality against the Black community has received more attention. However, despite its long history, the concept of privilege has not been subjected to a behavioral analysis focusing on the contextual conditions involved therein. In this symposium, we will discuss such an analysis, focusing on privilege as a manipulable aspect of context and its relationship to behavioral repertoires of both the privileged and the underprivileged. This analysis will focus on how divergent proportions of appetitive to aversive stimulation in the learning environment impact the sensitivity of the repertoire to appetitive and aversive learning opportunities. In the first paper, traditional conceptualizations of privilege will be discussed, along with what a behavioral conceptualization adds, and why it is pertinent today. In the second paper, the implications of a behavioral conceptualization and specific recommendations for self-evaluation for those committed to equity are discussed. These papers are intended to contribute to a discussion of larger societal issues from a behavior analytic framework, with the ultimate goal of the innovative intervention strategies supporting larger-scale behavior change.

Service providers, behavior analysts, clinicians, higher education instructors, school professionals, teachers, graduate students, undergraduates

High-Intensity / Low-Frequency behavior poses specific challenges to assess and treat because there are fewer opportunities to observe the behavior including that the behavior may not occur at all during Functional Analysis sessions. We conducted two functional analyses in our clinic. Originally, both standard Functional Analyses were inconclusive. Upon more detailed observation of clients’ behavior, experimenters were able to alter functional analysis conditions such that both resulted in clearly differentiated responding. These individualized functional analysis findings were then used to develop treatment packages. Individualized, function-based treatment of High-Intensity, Low-Frequency behavior for two young adults resulted in substantial reductions in sometimes dangerous levels of disruptive behavior. We developed individualized treatment packages to treat aggressive and self-injurious behavior. Both treatment packages utilized Functional Communication Training for Escape-maintained behavior. Both also included Demand-Fading, Schedule-Thinning and chain schedules via token boards. A noteworthy component used to manage Demand Fading was a Progressive VR token board that allowed small but systematic shifts in response requirements in order to move from very rich schedules of reinforcement to more natural and manageable demand to reinforcement ratios.

Functional Analysis of Disruptive Behavior

Research has shown that parents of children with ASD are among the most stressed as compared to all other parents, including those who have children with other psychiatric conditions and developmental disabilities (Hayes & Watson, 2013). Parents of children with ASD are chronically stressed because the demands of the family environment often exceed the parent’s ability to cope. There are few evidence-based interventions available for professionals to use with parents of a child with ASD: some use cognitive therapies, such as meditation, some use social support to reduce stress and mental health problems, and others use implement parent training to improve child behavior. Few if any combine both mental health and behavioral approaches, and none of these are designed for implementation by school personnel. This presentation describes findings from a multi-year transdisciplinary investigation into the most common stressors for parents of preschool children with ASD attending a CABAS® model school. Specifically, in two studies we surveyed parents to determine their reported levels of stress and common stressors, as well as parents’ mental and physical wellbeing, self-care, and self-efficacy skills. In the first study we also examined mother-child interactions during free-play and demand situations in order to determine possible target behaviors for intervention. Implications of the findings and suggestions for interventions will be discussed.

Those interested in parent education and interventions to help parents cope with the stresses of parenting a child with ASD. These may include practitioners, educators, researchers, or parents themselves.

Amidst a global pandemic, service-delivery and education models must adapt to incorporate various instructional modalities and strategies. One increasingly common format of instruction is telehealth. This symposium features two different studies that were conducted via telehealth to teach learners with and without disabilities. The first presentation compared two different types of discriminative stimuli (i.e., single vs. varied) used within discrete trial teaching for individuals with autism. The second presentation compared a prompting and error-correction strategy (i.e., progressive time delay vs. response repetition) within discrete trial teaching for typically developing children. The symposium will conclude with a discussion on the strengths, limitations, and areas of future research for each study.

Those who provide supervision to staff implementing ABA-based interventions will benefit from this symposium, as well as staff who provide direct intervention. Information from this symposium will also be relevant to anyone involved in telehealth sessions for individuals with and without disabilities.

Many different instructional strategies have been used to teach sight words to students with and without disabilities. These instructional approaches often involve some form or prompting and/or error-correction procedure (Spector, 2011).Two particular strategies that have not been directly compared within the literature include progressive time delay (PTD) and response repetition (RR). This study compared progressive time delay to response repetition using an adapted alternating treatment design, replicated across sets for each participant. As part of the study, social validity was obtained from caregivers as well as child participants. Results will be reviewed with regards to participant responding, sessions to mastery, and efficiency of each instructional approach. Furthermore, limitations of the study as well as areas for future research will be discussed.

Various recommendations have been outlined for teaching individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder within a discrete trial format (Green, 2001; Grow & LeBlanc, 2013). One recommendation relates to how instructions are delivered at the beginning of a trial. This study aimed to closely examine some of these recommendations by comparing the use of a single instruction versus varied instructions when teaching three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tact relations. The present investigation utilized an adapted alternating treatment design nested into a multiple probe design, to teach participants to label pictures of cartoon characters using either a single instruction or varied instructions. The goal of this study was to evaluate the acquisition, effectiveness, and efficiency of the two different procedures for each participant. Results of the study will be discussed as it relates to participant responding, sessions to mastery, and efficiency measures (e.g., number of teaching trials and duration of teaching). Future directions related to this topic will also be discussed.

In 1892, William James brought Hugo Münsterberg from Freiburg to direct the new, Harvard Psychological Laboratory that James had created in the Philosophy Department. Münsterberg had trained under William Wundt in Leipzig, who had pioneered an experimental method to explore the relationship between mental events and physical experience. The New Psychology banished the old method of introspection. Instead, it relied on highly controlled experiments with equipment borrowed from the domains of physics and physiology. Researchers studied the psychology of the senses, the timing of mental acts, judgement, memory, and attention. Starting with these “prism, pendulum, and chronograph philosophers,” as James called them, this talk will conclude with B. F. Skinner and his experiments on operant conditioning, reinforcement, and learning. Special attention will be paid to early apparatus such as reaction keys, prototype operant chambers, cumulative recorders, and teaching machines. The apparatus, laboratory records, memoranda, and correspondence of James, Munsterberg, and Skinner survive at Harvard University and can be accessed by scholars interested in the development of their thought.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

The developmental skills gained from a behavior therapy program are greatly improved if the child has a nurturing environment in which family members are equipped to continue therapeutic techniques outside the formal sessions. When a parent sees themselves as a valued extension of the therapy team, they are better able to engage in the process and contribute to a child's success. The relationship between therapist and parent is a complex one, and a strong, collaborative partnership is fundamental to the success of any therapy program. This presentation will examine the parent/therapist dynamic and discuss concrete strategies for building a solid, resilient relationship benefitting the child, family and therapy team.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Language deficits are characteristic of individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder according to both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision. In particular, the language of individuals with autism shows “stimulus overselectivity”, or disproportionate levels of strength across the environmental relations that control their verbal behavior. For educational and clinical service providers, the provision of services is contingent upon demonstrating an educational or medical necessity for intervention. Incidental teaching has been shown to be effective for expanding the language skills of children with autism spectrum disorder. Referent-based instruction is a particular type of natural environment training that aims to balance the strength of the verbal repertoire across mand, echoic, tact, and sequelic control. Referent-based instruction emphasizes transfer of stimulus control through continuous, systematic prompting (i.e., convergent multiple control) and fading (i.e., divergent multiple control) across operants. Elements of precision teaching may be embedded to monitor language development and enable data-based instructional decisions. Here we present three implementations of referent-based instruction across different settings: clinic, school, and home.

Practicing applied behavior analysts who work with children and adolescents with autism and other language orders.