Association for Behavior Analysis International

The nursing room is next to the “Lobby A “offices and near the 100’s Meeting Rooms.

The room must be accessed with a keycard. To access the room, please find a Convention Center Staff Member or an ABAI team member, and they will be able to let you inside. The room comes equipped with a mini fridge inside.

If you would like to test your presentation on the same setup you will have in your presentation room, stop by the speaker ready room. The room is first-come-first-served. Please be respectful of your fellow attendees.

Contest behaviour is a feature throughout the animal kingdom. Animals compete for access to resources including food, territories and mates. These resources impact fitness in terms of survival and reproduction. As such, contests are important drivers of natural selection. Given the fundamental role of animal contests, behavioural ecologists are interested in the factors that drive and shape these aggressive encounters. Game theory has provided a useful framework to model these interactions and develop predictions and theory to explain them. This presentation will explore the dynamics of animal contest behaviour including the information gathering and decision making strategies used to resolve aggressive encounters. It will examine the assessment strategies used by animals in contests, including recent research detailing how this is linked to cognitive ability and affective state. It will also discuss the role of early life factors in shaping the development of aggression, including the role of play behaviour. Finally, it will illustrate how this understanding can be used in an applied animal welfare context to address issues of aggression in managed animals.

General

Dr Gareth Arnott is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Animal Behaviour and Welfare within the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast. He is a behavioural biologist, with research interests spanning a number of topics in a range of animal species. He has a research track record studying animal contest behaviour and the strategies animals use to resolve aggressive encounters. He has studied contest behaviour from a fundamental behavioural ecology perspective, while also translating these principles to applied settings to address animal welfare issues related to aggression. In addition, he conducts animal welfare research in both farmed and companion animals. Gareth is also passionate about science communication and has previously written a feature article on animal contests for Scientific American magazine. He currently serves as an editor for Animal Behaviour and is the academic lead of the Animal Welfare Research Network (https://awrn.co.uk/). Gareth is also the Director of Postgraduate Research for his school and joint Programme Director for an MSc in Animal Behaviour and Welfare.  

Practitioners of ABA

The number of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) entering the workforce is increasing, yet vocational rehabilitation support and services remain scarce. The telehealth model to deliver behavior analytic interventions has been demonstrated as effective, efficient, resourceful, and socially valid. To date, telehealth is most commonly used to coach caregivers and practitioners to implement interventions. Recently, two studies evaluated technician-delivered telehealth in which the therapist directly teaches individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, without the facilitation of a caregiver or practitioner. The purpose of this study was to evaluate technician-delivered telehealth to provide vocational skills training to two adults with ASD within their place of employment. Participants identified three job-specific skills they wished to acquire. We developed a task analysis of each skill to measure the percent of steps of the skill completed independently. All sessions were conducted via Zoom. During baseline, participants were provided with written instructions to complete the task. During intervention, we implemented a total-task chaining procedure with least-to-most prompting. Both participants demonstrated low levels of independent responding during baseline. Following intervention, both participants met mastery criteria and had maintained skills three weeks later. The participants and their caregivers expressed positive experiences with the procedures and use of the technician-delivered telehealth model.

The goal of applied behavior analysis (ABA) is to effect socially significant outcomes. How ABA is implemented and how we interact with caregivers is just as critical as the specific strategies used during intervention. Collaborative relationships with caregivers can be fostered by approaching interactions with empathy and compassion. While social validity is a valuable aim in and of itself, engaging compassionately with caregivers has the potential to improve outcomes. This panel will explore definition and measurement of compassionate behavior, review empirically supported strategies in the space from within and outside of ABA, share pilot data, and propose future directions. A method of improving treatment planning will be shared which begins with a values alignment conversation and continues with alignment of therapeutic services with the identified values. While engaging compassionately with caregivers on an individual level is impactful, those interactions are just one part of a broader system. Thus, varied perspectives of compassionate care from multiple levels will be explored. Methods to promote compassionate organizational systems will be offered, including leveraging protective factors against burnout and discounting.

Participants should have experience conducting caregiver training.

The PEAK Relational Training System is a standardized behavior-analytic comprehensive treatment model that has been supported by over 70 published peer-reviewed studies. This symposium will present three papers extending previous work on PEAK by examining the impact of treatment dosage, exploring a play-based assessment for early-childhood learners, and evaluating its assessment tool in classifying autism symptom severity. Specifically, the first paper will present the outcome of a systematic literature review on using play-based unstructured assessment in early-childhood intervention and preliminary results on a new play-based assessment. The second paper will focus on parameters, such as dosage, that predicted the treatment outcome of PEAK-based intervention. The third paper will examine convergent validity on the PEAK Comprehensive Assessment’s (PCA) ability in classifying autism symptom severity. Implication on the assessment and treatment delivery of PEAK will be discussed.

It would be helpful for audience members to have a basic understanding of complex language and cognition from a behavior-analytic perspective (e.g., derived relational responding, equivalence, relational frame theory, PEAK).

This presentation seeks to examine the efficacy of play-based assessments as compared to highly structured skill-based assessments when identifying treatment areas for learners enrolled in early childhood ABA programs. In order to provide the most effective treatment, it is essential that providers accurately identify the skill repertoire of their learners to include foundational skills such as early communication and learner readiness, as well as more advanced social communicative repertoires that include derived relational responding. Young learners enrolled in early intervention programs may lack necessary prerequisite skills to engage in highly structured assessments and may be more appropriately assessed in a play based format. As such, it is essential that an assessment of skills is not only robust, but adequately engages the learner. Through a systematic literature review, the current paper argues that there is a lack of empirically validated play-based assessment tools available to behavior analysts. In addition to reviewing current research surrounding play-based behavior-analytic assessments, this presentation will also provide data supporting the use of play-based assessment according to learner repertoires and provide evidence that a new play-based behavior analytic tool is both effective and utilitarian to practitioners of early childhood behavior analytic programming.

Periodically, social upheavals challenge well established cultural rules and practices. A sampling of current tensions includes what is observed between those who accept social stratification as inevitable and those who labor for social justice, between conservative, progressive, and libertarian agendas, between those who would grant remarkable power to businesses and those who would limit those powers in favor of public health and climate justice. Culturo-behavior scientists have advanced a number of strategies grounded in evolutionary, prevention, and behavior sciences, Skinner’s philosophy of science, and contemporary approaches to language and cognition. Advances in conceptual and empirical evidence for the planned use of interlocked behavior contingencies suggest that it is not too late to create a sustainable economy in which all humans matter, all voices are heard, and all can access basic goods and services. In this symposium, Giovambattista Presti, Francisco Perez, Thomas Szabo, Yukie Kurumiya, and Dennis Embry discuss these advances. At the end, Tony Biglan will provide commentary.

Board-certified behavior analysts, teachers, and psychologists

Putnam and Garrett in The Upswing document the evolution of the United States from a We to an I culture over the last 125 years. They examined how “economic inequality, political polarization, social fragmentation, cultural narcissism, racism, and gender discrimination” evolved. They concluded that these changes are constructed by “human agency.” Skinner warned us that “great changes must be made in the American way of life to prevent a potential catastrophic future.” He urged us to “use our knowledge about human behavior to create a social environment” so we can live productive lives and not jeopardize the future for those who follow us. We have been asked “why are we still not acting to save the world?.” We propose that positive change can be managed. We now have a matured science of behavior and the technologies to engineer the next steady upswing. We propose that behavior analysis is a truly unifying science. It brings together, with behavior as the thread, evolutionary, social and biological-neurological sciences within the context of selection by consequences. We propose that together, we can ignite a commitment to initiate a behavior-based cultural evolutionary process that will reframe our culture towards the greater good.

Behavior analysts have long done what Putnam (2001) said America does; that is, we have gone “bowling alone.” Our commitment to an inductive, within-subject research tradition perplexes others. They leave us be, so long as we stay clear of social and psychological issues. Yet these troubles have turned up at our own door. We struggle with issues regarding race, gender, neurodiversity, and aversive technologies. If behavior analysis is to withstand these storms, we will need to break our silence on matters all but forgotten in our history. In this talk, I chronicle the climate in which Skinner advanced the experimental analysis of behavior. I discuss the deductive approach to analyzing variability in data and its connection to the British and American eugenicists. If, as eugenicists argued, behavioral variability is intrinsic, there is reason to cease helping those who will never do well. In contrast, if behavioral variability is extrinsic, then environmental experiences can be engineered to assist all those who live. The eugenics movement went underground after WW2, but its impact on science and the helping professions remains. I argue that now is the time to break our silence and show the world that all people matter, that everyone belongs.

In recent years, behavior analysts have focused research attention on professional burnout (Brown, 2021; Daunavi et at., 2019). It seems ironic that behavior change agents that establish nurturing environments for others are not nurtured by their professional environments. One explanation for this phenomenon is that graduate programs teach behavior analysts to engineer behavior change at the level of the individual and the service industry reinforces practice at this same level of analysis. However, decades of studies show that by combining contingency management with both compassionate attention to emotions and the transmission of sustainable cultural practices, service delivery and service environments transform for the good of all. In this presentation, I will discuss training behavior analysts to engineer their service environments into nurturing, collaborative spaces with tools borrowed from culturo-behavior science, evolutionary science, and prevention science, each tethered in a quadrilateral matrix to the overarching philosophy of radical behaviorism. This approach is consistent with Skinner’s view of parallel selection processes that can be yolked together to create an appetitive, sustainable, and evolving professional field of applied behavior practice.

Often the term effectiveness and efficacy as applied to describe behavioral interventions outcomes in the treatment of challenging behavior in individual with intellectual and developmental disabilities are used interchangeably. Given these terms are unique and are generally mutually exclusive - this is problematic when it comes to understanding and disseminating the status of the literature. The importance of maintaining this distinction was depicted well in a recent comprehensive systematic review on functional communication training. The current symposium features two different but complementary approaches to tackling this question of effectiveness. First, we will describe the outcomes of a comprehensive meta-analysis showcasing intervention research featuring treatment elements with decelerative properties. The second talk showcases applied research in action, specifically targeting combination intervention effectiveness through a retrospective consecutive controlled case series. Additionally, discussant commentary may provide further insight for attendees around consuming the research on this topic, as well as important next steps (i.e., future research).

Attendees will benefit from having previous training on single-case experimental design effect sizes and related calculations (e.g., Tau-U, standardized mean difference), quality rigor processes in the context of meta-analytic work, and applied research methodology conducive to conducting clinical research (e.g., consecutive controlled case series, program evaluation).

The current review explored single-case experimental design (SCED) research conducted to evaluate punishment procedures in the treatment of challenging behavior in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Featured articles were published between December 2013 and October 2022. Some primary research objectives included examining: (a) the relationship between select characteristics and the effectiveness of combination interventions that included punishment, (b) any differential affect across punishment method type applied, and (c) patterns in effect size outcomes coinciding with study rigor. After conducting several screening steps, the researchers uncovered 31 studies that met inclusion criteria. Relevant data was extracted and the articles were coded. Preliminary quality rigor outcomes showcase an average quality ranking of 3.3 (out of 4), with most employing reversal designs. None of the articles depicted punishment fading, while only one article showcased reinforcement fading. Maintenance was rarely collected, while generalization appeared absent. We will discuss the clinical implications informed by our outcomes, including how relatively limited research on punishment intervention fading may prevent practitioners from effectively and efficiently fading interventions that feature elements with decelerative properties.

High-risk problem behaviors can preclude the individuals who engage in them from meaningfully participating in everyday activities due to associated risks (e.g., substantial injury to self and others, extreme property destruction, outward physical aggression targeting others). Unfortunately, research featuring adult participants who engage in severe problem behavior is relatively scarce compared to research featuring child participants. In addition, problem behavior literature tends to emphasize efficacy (e.g., does the intervention work) more often than effectiveness (e.g., does it work in ‘real world’ settings, for whom and under which parameters). The current project is a systematic program evaluation conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive behavioral treatment package (i.e., including both reinforcement-based interventions and decelerative strategies) at reducing severe challenging behavior and generating adaptive skills. A retrospective consecutive controlled case series design is employed featuring all clients who participated in the treatment program, regardless of their ‘success’. Project results, thus far, depict primarily therapeutic outcomes. Upon completion, the results will: (1) add to an understudied area (i.e., adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who engage in severe challenging behavior); (2) speak to behavioral program effectiveness; and (3) inform other works interested in program evaluations.

Feedback, or a discriminable change that reliably predicts other environmental changes, can have both a suppressive and evocative effect on behavior depending on a variables such as temporal location or the probability of a consequence following the stimulus change. The three studies in this symposium investigated the effects of predictive signals with pigeons and human participants. One study investigated the temporal location of feedback during delays to reinforcement and found that this feedback generally suppressed responding when presented at the end of the delay and evoked responding when presented at the beginning. The second study presented sequential stimuli across an interfood interval during fixed- and variable-interval schedules and found that responding was suppressed during the first half and evoked during the second half, a pattern different from what both schedules would produce with only one stimulus. In the third study, reinforcers functioned as discriminative stimuli, signaling which upcoming response was likely to produce a subsequent reinforcer. Under these conditions, the response that resulted in a reinforcer delivery did not increase in frequency but did result in predictable changes in response allocation. These studies demonstrate how feedback can be successfully used to alter patterns of responding.

In applied behavior analysis, practitioners rely on the use of reinforcement-based interventions to increase the occurrence of desired target behaviors by arranging the presentation of highly preferred stimuli as consequences for the occurrence of target behavior. For instance, our lab successfully used such interventions to promote generative learning of verbal behavior in children with autism. Nevertheless, several findings from basic behavioral research have questioned the traditional notion that reinforcers primarily strengthening operant behavior. The present experiments extended recent research with children in which their choices appeared to be controlled by what reinforcers signaled about upcoming events. That is, the response emitted immediately prior to the reinforcer did not necessarily occur at a higher rate, as would be expected from a response-strengthening account of reinforcement. In a series of studies using a touchscreen task, both children and adults allocated responding according to the forthcoming reinforcer probabilities instead of where the most recent reinforcer had been delivered. Findings from these studies highlight the multiple potential functions of consequences.

Bilingualism starting from a young age may result in significant short and long-term benefits related to academics, cultural awareness, occupation, and aging. Recent work has emphasized the utility of behavior analytic technologies to promote second-language repertoires. Two procedural arrangements that may be particularly effective in promoting the rapid acquisition of second languages include differential outcomes and instructive feedback (IF). Previous research from our lab suggests that differential outcomes may be effectively, albeit inadvertently, arranged during IF. In addition, increasing the number of IF targets presented during differential outcomes arrangements may facilitate acquisition by arranging for a greater number of discriminable elements in the arranged contingency and increasing the number of non-target relations that might emerge following training The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of arranging differential outcomes and nondifferential outcomes during tact-intraverbal training that included one or three IF targets with children with and without developmental disabilities. All participants learned Spanish words from four categories. The findings suggest that all procedures were effective; however, differential outcomes arrangements consistently resulted in greater rapidity of acquisition. These findings are considered for their relevance to clinical interventions and experimental research on stimulus control.

Training delivered via technology allows trainers to provide instruction when in-person instruction may be infeasible or impractical. These trainings can occur both synchronously and asynchronously to fit the needs of the trainer and trainees. Training delivered via technology is particularly beneficial when an expert is not in close geographic proximity to those requiring training on a particular skill. Additionally, trainings delivered via technology can be time- and cost-reducing for the trainer and trainees (Heitzman-Powell et al., 2014). This symposium presents two studies in which instruction was delivered via technology to behavior analytic service providers on skills related to service provision. The first study utilized computer-based instruction (CBI) to train Registered Behavior Technicians on skill-based treatment. The second study utilized remote behavior skills training (BST) to teach Registered Behavior Technicians to collect data on classroom instruction variables. Together, these studies provide further evidence of the utility of training delivered via technology.

Compassionate applied behavior analysis (ABA) encompasses components of Trauma-informed Care and autistic-affirming socially valid assessment and treatment approaches. There is a large movement in the ABA field to promote and disseminate these practices to embrace a growing trend towards a more inclusive field. This symposium will focus on, not only how to practice compassionate ABA, but provides empirical evidence for doing so. A mixed methods survey was conducted in Study 1 to directly assess the perspectives of autistic individuals, and other stakeholders, regarding the educational decision-making process. The results from the respondents indicate the need for respecting autistic culture and selecting procedures that consider social and emotional needs. Study 2, introduces a novel, trauma-informed assessment of problem behavior that (a) reduces exposure to evocative situations that could potentially re-traumatize the individual and (b) ensures that the child maintains a level of control over their own environment. The authors validated the procedures among multiple participants by conducting function-based treatments informed by the results of the assessment to reduce problem behavior. The authors of Study 3 used the trauma-informed framework to incorporate the principles throughout the design of the entire assessment and treatment process of problem behavior. Following which, caregivers were presented with a series of questionnaires to determine the level of (a) stress experienced throughout and following the process and (b) acceptability of the comprehensive strategies employed. In Study 4, the implications of behavioral history in ABA are discussed. The authors propose how knowing an individual’s behavioral and medical history can assist in the development of compassionate treatment of problem behavior.

Audience should be interested in learning about autistic-affirming practices, trauma-informed functional analysis and treatment of problem behavior, compassionate applied behavior analysis, and the implications of behavioral and medical history.

The new perspectives of applied behavior analysis (ABA) are leading behavior analysts to assume that patients exhibiting problem behavior have experienced multiple adverse events, many of which passed the criteria to be recognized as trauma. Within the conceptual framework of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC), we will illustrate how to incorporate this framework in ABA by promoting safety, trust, and governance. We will emphasize how the core TIC commitments could be applied to the assessment and treatment of problem behavior using the Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) and Skill-Based Treatment (SBT; Hanley et al., 2014). Our participants were two autistic 6-year-old twin girls who engaged in severe problem behavior. Our intervention prioritized client safety and compassionate practice to mitigate the risk of trauma while fostering the development of skills. The full treatment was generalized to the parents. The Parenting Stress Index was used to evaluate the magnitude of stress in the parent–child system. Social validity was assessed using a 7-point scale. Results showed the effectiveness of the PFA and SBT in reducing problem behavior and in increasing communication, toleration, and cooperation skills. The caregivers reported high levels of satisfaction and usability and lower stress levels after treatment.

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc.® (BACB®) established a platform for supervisors to direct and implement learning and training activities in alignment with practice standards and ethics requirements. In this symposium, authors present key topics related to skill acquisition and practice corresponding to the BACB’s® task list and ethics code. Salvatore and colleagues target collaborations with providers and present results of completed hospital provider knowledge surveys related to knowledge of behavioral function, autism knowledge, and stigma. In addition, they review key considerations to optimize quality of care received and providers. Shanker et al., address considerations related to trainee and supervisor preference in virtual supervision timing across measurable dimensions of supervision in fixed and open-ended conditions. Supervision behaviors (i.e., questions asked, feedback provided) showed different patterns between conditions across participants. Loder and colleagues present results of a program evaluation project targeting skill acquisition in constructing behavior-analytic treatment protocols. Sherman et al., present results for an evaluation of the accuracy of staff implementation of multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessments when trained via a program developed in Articulate Rise. Dr. Alice Shillingsburg will provide comments on consideration for clinicians, supervisors, and supervisees in clinical practice and supervision.

BCBA's

Effective supervision in the field of applied behavior analysis relies on the professional development of trainees during practical fieldwork experiences; however, research evaluating virtual supervision delivery is limited. Trainee preference and satisfaction with supervision timing could result in increased skill development for trainees and positive treatment outcomes for their clients. This study explores trainee and supervisor preference in virtual supervision timing and compares measurable dimensions of supervision across methods. Using a multiple baseline with embedded reversal design, this study compared two conditions of weekly virtual supervision timing: a fixed condition (i.e., same time per client session determined by supervisor) and an open-ended condition (i.e., same percentage of client session duration at time(s) requested by the trainee). Results with five trainees demonstrate higher trainee and supervisor satisfaction scores in the open-ended condition and greater variability in scores during the fixed condition, with consistent supervisor engagement ratings across conditions. Both the supervisor and the trainees indicated a preference for the open-ended condition. Supervision behaviors (i.e., questions asked, feedback provided) showed different patterns between conditions across participants. Findings suggest that the opportunity for the trainee to request the supervisor’s presence during critical times of a client’s session may lead to more effective supervision.

Psychotropic medications are commonly prescribed for individuals who exhibit severe and challenging behavior, but their effects on challenging behaviors are seldom evaluated with empirical data at the individual level and usually assessed with indirect methods (e.g., rating scales and interviews) at the group level. Although behavior analysts rarely receive training concerning medication and rarely take part in monitoring the effects of psychotropic medications, given their focus on data collection and behavioral monitoring, behavior analysts are well-suited to study the effects of psychotropic medications on challenging behavior. This symposium brings together four studies interested in the relationship between psychotropic medication and challenging behavior. Across these studies, individual (studies 1 and 2) and group (studies 3 and 4) analyses are conducted to demonstrate how the initiation of medication and/or changes in medication effect the behavior of individuals with intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities from childhood to adulthood. These studies highlight the interaction of psychotropic medications and environmental context on the occurrence of challenging behavior and subsequently the importance of collecting data and monitoring medication for individuals with challenging behavior. Dr. Christopher Newland will provide a discussion on these talks.

Audience should have a basic understanding of psychopharmacology and behavioral assessment and treatment.

This presentation will describe results from a multidisciplinary model for treating youth diagnosed with psychotic disorders. We will highlight results from a 17-year-old patient diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit. Behavior analysts coordinated closely with psychiatrists to evaluate the function of responding to internal stimuli and corresponding behavioral treatment approaches following different dosages of antipsychotic medications. A functional analysis of responding to internal stimuli showed maintenance by automatic reinforcement. Within a reversal design, we evaluated the effect of response-independent delivery of competing stimuli as Zyprexa and Clozapine titrated to therapeutic doses. During medication-only conditions, psychotic symptoms occurred during approximately 200 s of a 300-s session. The addition of the competing stimuli along with Zyprexa decreased levels of responding to internal stimuli. Unfortunately, this behavior continued to be impairing and occurred variably during sessions. The addition of Clozapine plus competing stimuli produced the best treatment outcome with zero or near-zero levels of responses to internal stimuli occurring with this treatment package in place. In addition to discussing the role of behavioral strategies when evaluating medication-behavior relations, we will also discuss ways to engage with a multidisciplinary team when treating serious psychopathology.

Many children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD also display disruptive behavior, such as aggression and destruction (Strine et al., 2006) and even though stimulant medication is a first line treatment for ADHD symptoms, it has not been indicated to treat disruptive behaviors. Several large studies have suggested that stimulant medication may reduce disruptive behavior (e.g., Pringsheim et al., 2015) and single case studies have shown that stimulant medication may differentially effect disruptive behavior across functions (e.g., Torelli et al., 2019). Additionally, LaRue et al. (2008) demonstrated differential effects on social behavior and choice making for children taking stimulant medications. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of stimulant medication on (a) disruptive behavior, (b) social behaviors, and (c) delay discounting for children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD. Using a reversal design, functional analyses, preference assessments, and a test of delay discounting were conducted on and off medication. The results will be discussed in terms of implications for behavioral intervention planning for children and adolescents who display disruptive behavior and take stimulant medication.

Challenging behavior is common for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and psychotropic medications are prescribed as treatment (Cox, et al., 2022; Matson & Neal, 2009). However, little is known about the influence that psychotropic medication has on the presentation of challenging behavior and environmental events that occasion it (Cox & Virues-Ortega, 2021; Falligant & Bednar, 2021). The current study examines conditional, and background, probabilities of challenging behavior across psychotropic medication changes. Weekly one-hour observation sessions were conducted (and video recorded) for seven participants (range of 25-90 observations conducted with each). The observations were coded for antecedents (e.g., demands, restricted access, no attention), challenging behavior (e.g., problem vocalizations, physical aggression, self-injurious behavior), and consequences (e.g., attention, access to items, escape from demand). We used a parametric design to evaluate changes in probabilities following psychotropic medication alterations. Preliminary results revealed that the presentation of demands and delivery of attention (physical and verbal) were associated with higher conditional probability values than other variables coded. Following psychotropic medication changes, slight changes in these values were observed. These calculated probabilities give insight into the potential interaction between environmental events, challenging behavior, and changes in psychotropic medication regimen.

Social validity in behavior analytic service delivery is paramount. Recent trends in behavior analytic research and service delivery illustrate the intentions of researchers and practitioners to improve social validity of interventions (Ferguson et al., 2018). One sector of behavior analytic service delivery that has been particularly criticized is treatment of children with pediatric feeding disorders (Taylor & Taylor, 2022). Currently, the most empirically supported intervention is escape extinction or non-removal of the spoon (Peterson et al., 2018). This intervention has repeatedly shown rapid effectiveness in the published literature and is warranted for children who experience severe food refusal. Though escape extinction is a well-established behavioral treatment for feeding disorders, the intrusive nature of the procedure has led to questions and misconceptions related to social validity of interventions. The purpose of this symposium is to explore social validity related to various treatments and outcomes for pediatric feeding disorders.

Intermediate

Trauma-informed care necessitates that practitioners understand and consider how their clients feel during treatment. Escape extinction during pediatric feeding treatment may be warranted for some children. Although these procedures are highly effective, it is unclear if any undesired emotional response that occurs during extinction has lingering effects on how children feel during future meals (i.e., a child may be consuming their bites efficiently, but still feel unhappy). Thus, the current study aims to assess the two dimensions of emotion (Gay & Leijdekkers, 2013) for children with pediatric feeding disorders while they receive treatment. Specifically, researchers recorded child indices of happiness and unhappiness (Phipps et al., 2022) to assess emotional valence and measured physiological responses using a wrist-worn biosensor to assess emotional arousal for children with pediatric feeding disorders. The findings from this study reveal the potential emotional experiences of children during treatment and further the discussion on the feasibility of measuring private events to inform practice.

Most day-treatment feeding programs aim to promote substantial and rapid changes in oral intake (Sharp et al., 2020). As such, a child will likely experience a shift in the amount and type of food and liquid consumed, which may impact toileting patterns and continence. Prior research has not targeted or monitored continence throughout a feeding admission despite the importance of independent toileting skills and the relation between intake and urine and stool output (Santos et al., 2017). We also know that modifying an individual’s undergarments can produce changes in toileting continence (Greer et al., 2016). In the current study, a 5-year-old female with Williams-Beuren syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, and diaper dependency was admitted to a day-treatment feeding program. Therefore, we measured and compared in-toilet eliminations, self-initiations, and nutritional intake while she was in diapers relative to underwear. Overall, in-toilet eliminations and self-initiations remained stable and increased when she wore underwear. We discuss the benefits of a hybrid program in which important adaptive skills like feeding and toileting can be dually addressed and plan to retrospectively review food and liquid intake to determine whether these changes affected outcomes.

Children with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder may refuse to consume an adequate variety and/or volume of food to maintain expected growth and cognition (APA, 2013). They can consume food by mouth but may actively (e.g., turning head, hitting spoon) or passively (e.g., clenching mouth while sitting still) refuse to escape or avoid eating. Behavioral interventions like positive reinforcement and stimulus fading with escape prevention have been shown to increase consumption and decrease refusal in these children. However, sometimes these interventions are insufficient, especially in treating passive refusal. In these cases, physical guidance procedures may be utilized to prompt an open mouth to deposit food. Research indicates that these procedures are effective and rated as acceptable. However, additional research is warranted as these interventions may be conceptualized as punishment and should be used only if necessary (BACB, 2014). This study replicated an existing physical guidance procedure, the finger prompt (Rubio et al., 2020), and compared its efficacy and acceptability to that of a clinically utilized procedure, a spoon prompt, not yet empirically evaluated. This study further extended research by defining and measuring passive refusal as a dependent variable and assessing social validity among different stakeholders and time points.

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is the psychiatric diagnosis for feeding disorders, and requires the failure to achieve proper weight gain, presence of nutritional deficiencies, dependence on eternal or oral supplementation, and/or psychosocial factors such as increased stress in caregivers (DSM-5). The recognized standard of care for chronic and severe pediatric feeding problems is intensive multidisciplinary intervention including psychology, nutrition, medicine, and speech-language pathology/occupational therapy; the most common treatment component being behavioral intervention (Sharp et al., 2016). Recent evaluation of our intensive multidisciplinary program yields positive outcomes such as increases in acceptance and swallowing of new foods, reductions in problematic mealtime behaviors, a high percentage of goals met during the child’s admission, and high caregiver satisfaction across clinical presentations of ARFID (i.e., tube dependence/food refusal and severe food selectivity; Sharp et al., 2020; Volkert et al., 2021). This paper extends the analysis of outcomes for subtypes of ARFID by considering race and ethnicity. A closer examination of these outcomes may illuminate disparities and therefore assist in the identification of steps to enhance program outcomes.

The roots of RFT can be traced back to an early conference paper on rule-governed behaviour in 1984. The study of rule-governed behavior in RFT has tended to be overshadowed by the study of relational frames in and of themselves. Analyses of rule-governed behavior, however, require the study of relational networks and that work has begun to emerge more frequently in recent years. This work has been underpinned, to some extent, by the emergence of a new hyper-dimensional, multi-level (HDML) framework for conceptualising research in RFT generally. The four papers in this symposium will consider some of this work. Specifically, the four papers will consider (1) the impact of relational coherence vs incoherence in establishing rule-following and speaker preferences; (2) recent attempts to explore the impact of relative differences in relational coherence on rule-following and speaker preferences; (3) the relationship between persistence in rule-following and measures of psychological distress using a relatively large dataset [approx. N=750]; (4) how the new RFT framework may encourage analyses that do not dissolve into a simple dichotomy between contingency-shaped versus rule-governed behavior, and thus facilitate a rapprochement between behavior analysts studying and human and non-human behavior.

The human capacity to follow complex rules has been suggested as a critical variable in psychological suffering. Specifically, it has been argued that an excessive reliance on verbal rules may undermine sensitivity to direct contingencies of reinforcement. However, little direct experimental evidence is available to support this assertion in the context of psychological suffering. The current paper analyses the data from a series of experiments (N = approx. 750) that explored the extent to which derived rules controlled participant responding in the face of reversed reinforcement contingencies and whether persistent rule-following correlated with a measure of psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress scale [DASS]). Specifically, all participants completed a contingency-switching matching-to-sample (MTS) task in which the task contingencies initially supported a rule given to or partially derived by participants. After 100 trials, an un-cued contingency reversal occurred such that responding in accordance with the initial rule was now punished. A series of analyses explored the extent to which persistent rule-following after the contingency reversal correlated with the DASS. The results suggest that the link between rule-persistence and psychological distress is more complex than perhaps initially thought. Findings are discussed in the context of updates in relational frame theory (RFT).

A core postulate of relational frame theory (RFT) is that “relational framing alters the functions of behavioral processes” (Hayes et al., 2001, p.45). This postulate is central to explaining behaviors frequently observed with verbally-able humans that are rarely, if ever, seen in non-humans and are difficult to explain using traditional behavioral processes. For example, when an equivalence frame is established between three stimuli (A, B and C), and a specific function is established for A, a similar function may emerge for C in the absence of direct reinforcement. In effect, the process of relational framing extends the direct function training for the A stimulus to the derived C stimulus. Arguing that relational framing alters other behavioral processes raises two possibilities: (1) RFT involves a type of dual-process theory involving the interaction between verbal and non-verbal processes or (2) a single process theory in which all human behavior with a verbal history is best analysed as involving verbal functions. The current paper will argue, paradoxically, that the latter theoretical stance may facilitate a rapprochement between behavior analysts studying human and non-human behavior because it focuses analyses on multiple dimensions along which human behavior may differ or, critically, overlap with non-human behavior.

The effectiveness of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) derives from the ability of behavioral scientists to isolate socially-relevant behavior of interest and to create artificial behavior-environment interactions in support of that behavior. In simpler and more familiar terms, our prowess derives from our ability to create contingencies of reinforcement and establish stimulus control. As such, the scope of ABA is limited only by what we are able to measure and our ability to embed that information into a systematic protocol of feedback. Each of the four talks in this symposium use surface electromyographs to measure the electrical activity of muscles. This information is used to create contingencies of reinforcement to support the development of muscle strength. The first talk will present data on the rehabilitation of the knee in a clinical context. The second talk will present data on the use of conjugate schedules to drive muscle strength. The third talk will present data on a comparison between active and passive muscle training protocols. Finally, the fourth talk will present data on the rehabilitation of the pelvic floor by reinforcing activation of a correlated set of muscles. Taken together, these studies can help contribute to the expansion of the scope of ABA.

The flexible nature of the science of behavior lends itself to diverse applications. However, in practice, bringing the science to bear across different domains often proves challenging. The fields of medicine and physical therapy are no exception to this challenge of domain bridging. Despite these obstacles, there is a growing need for behaviorally informed approaches to health and wellness. This presentation describes a series of works centered around recovery from total knee replacement. The aim of this presentation is four-fold. First, outline a behavioral approach to asking questions that are commonly considered medical in nature. Second, describe considerations when approaching intradisciplinary collaboration and employing a patient-centered care model of applied research. Third, discuss the importance of balancing the considerations made for empirical research and those for patient quality of life as an applied researcher. Finally, present translational and applied data supporting the utility and importance of expanding the application of our science to diverse areas, such as physical therapy.

Within the human service industry, often a diversity of professionals with various backgrounds, training, and credential come together to support individuals. This diversity can create more specialized treatment for the individuals they support but also may create difficulty when working to support individuals. Collaboration with all levels of professionals working with our clients and stakeholders is essential to ensure ethical and inclusive practices for all consumers of behavior analysis. The papers presented here represent a behavior analytic approach to measuring collaboration as it relates to ethical and inclusive practice. Included here are the results of an inclusive team collaboration model implemented in a special education school that includes direct instructional staff to increase staff and student performance, the results of a survey of behavior analysts and other professionals that collaborate with behavior analysts on collaboration and the use of soft skills, the results of surveys of students and faculty of behavior analysis on inclusive practices within their experiences in higher education as it relates to inclusivity and belonging, and the results of an ethical decision making model as it relates to both behavior analysts and registered behavior technicians.

Intermediate audience is required. Those who supervise or teach behavior analytic programs are recommended. Experience with supervision and collaboration of staff members across domains and at various levels of education would assist in comprehension of material presented.

There is a substantial body of research on the importance of providing frequent opportunities to respond (OTR) to increase learning outcomes for students. In special education classrooms with multiple treatment providers, treatment coordination to ensure that these opportunities are provided can be complex and challenging. This paper will discuss an intervention designed to increase the opportunities to respond for 3 students in an autism classroom in the context of a multiple-baseline design. An inclusive team model, involving weekly scheduled meetings with the direct instructional staff, the classroom teacher, clinical team members, and a lead BCBA-D interventionist was implemented. The results showed that collaborative goal setting, nondirective consultation, feedback, and reinforcement strategies implemented at the meetings were effective in increasing OTR to IEP programs. The positive role of team collaboration was reflected in acceptability surveys, where direct care staff rated the team discussions as the most helpful treatment component.

Scientifically established, effective treatments for autism are based on the principles of applied behavior analysis. With the increasingly high prevalence of autism and growing demand for effective behavioral interventions, now, more than 70% of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) certificants work in professional areas specific to autism. However, given the complex symptomatology and dynamic interaction of the deficits associated with autism, treatment from an array of professionals, each representing different disciplines and specialties within medicine, education, and allied health is typically warranted. Therefore, to best meet the various needs of individuals on the autism spectrum, behavior analysts will often be required to work collaboratively with professionals from other disciplines and must acquire the skills to do so effectively. To learn more about these collaborative relationships and identify opportunities for further education and training, we surveyed behavior analysts and professionals from other disciplines including speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, educators, administrators, and psychologists. Overall, participants agreed that continued collaboration was useful although the results indicate challenges in collaboration and disparities in reported perceptions and experiences. These findings, as well as ideas for fostering better collaboration will be reviewed.

Recent events have confirmed the need for behavior analysis to attend to issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in service provision and in higher education. This leads to a call to action to increase cultural responsiveness and cultural humility in training opportunities for students of behavior analysis and practicing behavior analysts. In order to ensure that training opportunities for students and staff appropriately address these issues in the field, surveys were developed and deployed across an ABA department of higher education to assess the effects of various initiatives taken by the department to increase inclusivity and belonging. The surveys identified areas of growth for the department and serve as ongoing assessments for inclusivity and belonging within the department and the higher education institution as a whole.

Procedural fidelity is the degree to which interventions are implemented as prescribed. Behavior analysts may use a variety of tools to train behavior change agents to implement procedures with high fidelity. This symposium includes four studies that evaluated staff training approaches to improve procedural fidelity. Aguilar et al. will present research evaluating the effects of training novice staff to collect procedural-fidelity data on their implementation of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) procedures. Lionello-Denolf et al. will present the effects of teaching staff to use Train to Code software to collect fidelity data on their fidelity with discrete trial instruction (DTI). Lai et al. will present the effects of in-vivo self-monitoring on procedural fidelity for staff implementing DTI. Finally, Bartle et al. will present a comparison of video modeling with exemplars or exemplars and nonexemplars to train staff to implement DTI and preference assessments. Presentations will be followed by a discussion of implications for research and practice.

supervising BCBAs and behavior-analytic researchers

Entry-level personnel (e.g., behavior therapists) frequently deliver discrete trial (DT) programs to students with autism. Because outcomes are related to intervention quality, staff must deliver these programs correctly. The Train to Code (TTC) software teaches observation skills using behavior-analytic adaptive instruction methods. To accomplish this, TTC presents a series of video clips depicting a teacher delivering trials of receptive labeling, social questions, and motor imitation programs. In many clips, the teacher makes an error. By entering a code, the trainee indicates if the teacher correctly followed the steps or what error was made. TTC increases/decreases the degree of prompting given to the trainee based on coding accuracy. The efficacy of using TTC to train staff to deliver DT programs was tested in a pre/posttest and multiple baseline design. Pre-/posttests were role plays in which participants (undergraduates studying applied behavior analysis or behavior therapists) acted as teachers delivering DT programs to a scripted research assistant. Participants completed 1–3 pretests, TTC training, and 1–2 posttests. IOA and procedural integrity on role plays were above 90%. Results indicated substantial improvement in DT delivery at posttest. TTC may be an effective method for training delivery of DT programs in applied settings.

Beneficial consumer outcomes are most likely when behavior-analytic interventions are implemented with high procedural fidelity (i.e., degree to which the procedure is implemented as intended). Video self-monitoring, which involves teaching staff members to monitor their own behavior when watching recordings of themselves, can be used to improve and maintain high procedural fidelity, but video self-monitoring requires additional staff time and resources. In-vivo self-monitoring involves monitoring behavior during or immediately following implementing a behavior-analytic intervention, which could be a cost-effective option, but in-vivo self-monitoring needs additional research. The focus of the current study was to assess the effects of in-vivo self-monitoring with checklists on the procedural fidelity of three behavior technicians implementing discrete trial instruction with children with autism. We used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design, and our data suggested that in-vivo self-monitoring was effective for two of the three participants. Procedural fidelity for the third participant did not increase with in-vivo or video self-monitoring. Results of this evaluation were used to inform the supervisors about the efficacy of self-monitoring for each staff member, and implications of using self-monitoring in practice will be discussed.

For over 70 years, the conceptual development of countercontrol in behavior analysis has focused on broad societal issues (e.g., public protests & social movements) with little attention to the behavior of individuals in clinical, residential treatment, and educational settings (see Delprato, 2002; Skinner, 1953, 1971, 1974; Spencer, King, Martone, & Houlihan, 2022). In fact, we are not aware of any interventions or experimental manipulations of countercontrol published in the applied behavior analytic literature. The purpose of this symposium is to first extend the conceptual literature by exploring dependent, independent, and extraneous variables associated with countercontrol in clinical, residential treatment, and educational settings. Next, we will discuss the treatment of countercontrol as a special example of the necessary risk/benefit analysis associated with client assent in applied behavior analysis. We propose that assent should be viewed on a continuum, be balanced with treatment effectiveness, and that assent (or lack thereof) can complicate applied behavior analytic treatment under certain conditions.

Behavior analysts interested in the clinical treatment of counter-control and associated assent considerations.

Skinner (1953, 1971, 1974) described countercontrol as a response to social aversive control that functions to escape/avoid control at the individual (e.g., noncompliance) or group (e.g., protest) level that is often multiply-maintained by the attention of peers. Delprato (2002) asserted that socially mediated controlling conditions (e.g., rules) often function as establishing operations for countercontrolling responses while Spencer, King, Martone, and Houlihan (2022) emphasized the role of rule-governed behavior. Although countercontrol has received conceptual attention in behavior analysis for over 70 years, no experimental manipulations or interventions for countercontrol exist in the behavioral literature. Given that all residential treatment and educational settings operate around rules of conduct, one might expect that behavior analysts experience some degree of countercontrolling responses in practice. The purpose of this presentation is to provide: (1) a review of the conceptual literature; (2) an overview of residential treatment and educational factors; and (3) recommendations for implementing function-based interventions and ways to address treatment challenges specific to countercontrol.

Behavior analysts are obligated to consider “obtaining assent from clients when applicable” as dictated by the ethics code - section 2.11 (Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2020). Assent is broadly thought of as client agreement or approval of treatment procedures. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that assent should include following elements: (1) helping the patient achieve a developmentally appropriate awareness of the nature of his or her condition; (2) telling the patient what he or she can expect with tests and treatments; (3) making a clinical assessment of the patient’s understanding of the situation and the factors influencing how he or she is responding; and (4) and soliciting an expression of the patient’s willingness to accept the proposed care. In behavior analysis, there is limited research describing assent procedures or studying the implications for treatment outcomes (Morris, Detrick, & Peterson, 2021). We will explore how factors such as court-mandated placements, regulatory guidelines, conservatorships, substituted judgement, and health related supports can impact client assent in function-based treatment.

Psychopharmacological agents are prescribed in a high proportion of individuals with ASD/IDD, with several agents with formal FDA-approved indications; many are used off-label. The data-based approach that ABA providers/ RBTs who are supervised by BCBA’s is ideal for contextualizing and measuring the behaviors (e.g., self-injury) for which medications are often considered. As a result, their involvement can tremendously aid in the decision-making process about initiating, adjusting, and discontinuing medications. On the other hand, medical providers (e.g., psychiatrist) can guide the recognition of potential conditions, psychiatric and otherwise that may be leading to sudden changes in target behaviors that have been identified for behavioral intervention. Given these goals and contributions, coordinating care is beneficial and critical. Several examples of achieving such coordination of care will be presented at multiple levels of care with thoughts on how such coordination can be achieved where no ongoing relationships currently exist.

Anyone who will have patients/ clients comanaged with psychopharmacology providers, anyone that has had medical concerns for their clients

Organizations may commit to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, but getting from a simple commitment to real actions takes work. This panel consisting of behavior analysis state chapter leaders will explore what it takes to truly commit to actions rooted in increasing diversity, expanding inclusion, and fostering equity beyond a simple addition to their mission statement. Based on your questions, our chair, who serves as the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Coordinator for District ABA, will lead us through a conversation with chapter leaders from Arizona, South Carolina and Virginia, that will explore steps taken, successes achieved, road bumps encountered, strategies considered, future plans, and what behavior analytic principles helped guide their way. If you have considered diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, do not miss this opportunity to learn from others who have already started creating organizations rooted in values and committed actions to create diverse and inclusive communities that create paths of equity in our field.

Behavior analysts with at least 1-2 year of experience and who are in, or moving into, leadership positions within their organizations.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has encountered several challenges which have negatively impacted the application of behavior analysis and importantly, public trust in ABA. Community-Informed Practice (CIP) – developed by TRIAD, the autism institute at Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) – is a model for developing partnerships and seeking regular input and feedback from communities served by practitioners in human services fields to ensure those services reflect socially valid best-practice. CIP began as a conceptual model focused on understanding and categorizing common and increasing objections to ABA. Through substantive engagement with existing advocacy groups such as VKC’s Community Advisory Committee and The Arc Tennessee, as well as TRIAD’s Autistic Advisory Committee, we developed a set of guiding principles for a CIP-based implementation of ABA across various TRIAD service lines. In this way, CIP honors societal concerns about ABA and the ethics of its providers, as well as the professional expertise and judgement of behavior analysts. This balance can be elusive without direct and ongoing community engagement by a team devoted to reflecting the appropriate implementation of behavior analysis in their work and discussion of that work. This presentation will focus primarily on the work of TRIAD’s behavior analysts across Tennessee schools supporting students with intellectual and development disabilities who engage in complex and dangerous behavior; however, the processes of development and implementation of CIP will be discussed in a manner that will be applicable across different types of service models. The development of a strong CIP approach to ABA (or any other human services) can be challenging, resource-intensive, and time consuming, making it impractical for most, so additional discussion within this presentation will focus on considerations for taking CIP to scale at the state level and beyond. Finally, Community-Assessed Practice – a process by which a diverse advisory group provides ongoing feedback on service delivery, will be briefly highlighted.

Practitioners, Organizational Leadership, Public Policy

In 2006, the United Nations adopted the The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Developed in collaboration with people with disabilities, the purpose of the Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities. However, people with disability still struggle to access appropriate communication, education, healthcare, recreation, and employment. Although behaviour analysts often work directly with people with disabilities and their families, few descriptions of a human rights-based approach to the provision of applied behaviour analysis services have been published. This panel provides an opportunity for behaviour analysts, some of whom have lived experience of disability, to engage in a meaningful conversation about the CRPD and human rights model of disability, why the CRPD is important to all behaviour analysts who provide services to people with disability and describe practical ways that BCBAs can align their professional practice with a human rights-based model of disability.

N/A

Impulsivity is defined as choosing a smaller-sooner reinforcer over a larger-later reinforcer. Impulsivity is positively correlated with a variety of maladaptive behaviors such as overeating, substance abuse, gambling, and risky sexual behaviors. The Kirkpatrick et al. paper will discuss timing-based and delay-tolerance-based interventions which have been used to reduce impulsive choice. In the past, these interventions have been imposed outside the test of impulsive choice. Results will be summarized here which reveal that experience with the test of impulsive choice (itself) improves self-control and delay sensitivity, which may be related to improved interval timing. The remaining two papers in this symposium will summarize the results of two rat experiments evaluating the effects of Pavlovian (vs. Control) training on impulsive choice in rats. In these studies, the CS is used either as an antecedent attractor to the larger-later reward alternative (Mahmoudi et al.), or as a conditioned-reinforcing consequence of making self-control choices (Garland et al.). Preliminary data indicate that these CS-as-antecedent and CS-as-consequence techniques both promote self-controlled choice.

Impulsive choice tasks assess preference for smaller-sooner (indicating impulsive choice) versus larger-later rewards (indicating self-control). Interventions that involve experience with delays promote self-control in impulsive choice tasks in rodents and humans. In some rat studies, the interventions improved timing accuracy and/or precision, which may be one possible mechanism of intervention effects. Another key mechanism that may be targeted by the interventions is delay tolerance, which is the ability to persist through the aversive experience of waiting. These intervention procedures are often presented outside of the choice task. This presentation will discuss recent research assessing whether experience with the impulsive choice task may serve as an intervention by itself. Experience in the choice task improved self-control, increased delay sensitivity, and may be related to the improvements in timing ability reported in previous intervention studies. While the mechanisms of choice-driven improvements in self-control may overlap with intervention-driven improvements, it is possible that choice tasks may be better at targeting timing processes whereas intervention tasks may be better at targeting delay tolerance.

Impulsivity is the preference for smaller, sooner rewards (SSR) over larger, later rewards (LLR), and is correlated with maladaptive behaviors (e.g., gambling). Prior research has explored interventions for reducing impulsivity. One category of learning that has not yet been explored in service of reducing impulsivity is Pavlovian learning. In appetitive Pavlovian learning, a spatially localized conditioned stimulus (CS) that signals a delay-reduction to the unconditioned stimulus (US) will evoke sign-tracking behavior (approaching and interacting with the CS) and will acquire incentive salience. In our study, male Long Evans rats completed Pavlovian training (n = 20) or Control (unpaired) training (n = 20) for 8 sessions; a lever served as the CS. This was followed by an impulsive choice assessment phase. For both groups, the lever-CS was presented on the side of the chamber where the LLR (2 pellets in 20 s) could be obtained. On the other side, the SSR was available (1 pellet after shorter delays). As shown in Figure 1, the lever-CS evoked sign-tracking in Pavlovian-trained rats in the ST group compared to Control rats, and as predicted, when the CS attracted rats to the LLR, they made significantly more self-control choices than Control rats (Figure 2)

A vital part of becoming a successful graduate student and professional is the ability to be a productive and efficient writer. Writing is hard, however, and students often need support developing strategies that lead to productive writing. This professional development series panel brings together leaders in the field who are historically productive writers. Panelists will share their success stories, hardships, strategies related to productive academic writing, and answer audience questions.

Graduate Students (Master and Doctoral Level) and BCBA or BCBA-D Level Professionals who engage in academic writing

In 2021, ABAI President Carol Pilgrim issued a call to action for Behaviour Analysts to examine discourse on ABA and DEI to assist us in finding solutions to current social issues. In this symposium, we are pleased to present three studies using different approaches to analyze discourse relating to ABA. The first study examined the sentiments expressed about ABA on Twitter related to the hashtags #ABA, #BehaviorAnalysis, and #appliedbehaviouranalysis. The second study examined the sentiments and themes expressed in TikTok videos related to the hashtags #ABA, #ABA Therapy, #AppliedbehaviorAnalysis and compared these across speaker groups including autistic adults, families, non-ABA professionals, and ABA Professionals. The third study analysed the abstracts of DEI related presentations at ABAI over a four-year period and reports on themes and trends over time. These studies offer opportunities to reflect on the content of the discourse surrounding ABA and to consider recommendations on ways behaviour analysts might influence that discourse within and outside of our field.

Behaviour Analysts interested in learning more about the nature of discourse surrounding ABA on social media, how it has changed over time, and how our inside (ABAI) efforts with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion have evolved, and must continue to evolve to change the narrative inside and outside our community. Researchers and graduate students interested in the use of different qualitative methods to examine discourse.

Discourse surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) have become part of an expanding and evermore present narrative about how to improve practices within Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). As suggested by Dr. Carol Pilgrim, in her 47th ABAI Presidential address, “wouldn’t it seem good to know the nature of this discourse, and be able to follow its development”? This project aimed to describe the changing discourse and the development of DEI at the ABAI Annual Convention since the inception of the DEI subcommittee in 2019. A descriptive analysis provided an overview of the events labelled as DEI, by identifying the frequency of presentation types, domains, and program areas. A summative content analysis was conducted on abstracts labelled as DEI (N = 488) and explored the areas of diversity (e.g., age, gender, disability, religion, ethnicity, and sexuality) and dimensions of diversity (e.g., recognizing discrimination and diversity, and cultural humility), equity (e.g., systematically addressing barriers and individualized accommodations), and inclusion (e.g., cultural competence and creating space). This presentation will provide an overview of the current state of practices and gaps between ABA and the movement toward more inclusive, equitable, and diverse practices.

The neurodiversity paradigm is a philosophy that all neurological development is equal and acceptable. The neurodiversity paradigm views neurological variation as expected, similar to the variations we expect in other in other characteristics. According to the neurodiversity paradigm, neurological variation should not be viewed as problematic. Essentially, a “normal” brain does not exist and expecting all people to have similar neurocognitive functioning leads to social dynamics that are oppressive to neurodivergent individuals. Practitioners can use the neurodiversity paradigm to guide and reframe their ethical practices. This reframing process will be offered in four parts. First, this presentation will define and offer appropriate use of terminology related to the neurodiversity paradigm and the neurodiversity movement. Next, this presentation will reframe the ethics of target behavior selection through the social model of disability. Then this presentation will explore how individuals and organizations within the neurodiversity movement view the practice of applied behavior analysis. Last, suggestions for ABA practitioners and organizations that seek to be more neurodiversity-informed will be offered.

BCBAs

Functional analysis (FA) is the gold standard in identifying function of severe challenging behavior. Variations of the traditional FA have been conducted to include more endogenous variables relevant to the individual engaging in challenging behavior. One modification to FA involves parent-implemented conditions. We trained parents to conduct functional analysis and functional communication training for their child's problem behavior. Parents learned to implement procedures with fidelity. We saw differentiated response patterns when comparing parent-conducted and therapist-conducted sessions. Furthermore, we saw parent implemented function-based interventions were effective in decreasing their child’s problem behavior. During this presentation, we will review and discuss the process FA, considerations for safety, and medical necessity related to challenging behavior.

Functional analyses (FA) of problem behavior are conducted to determine the function of a behavior (or behaviors) of concern. Unless an FA is conducted, the results of functional behavior assessments (FBA), which typically include non-experimental methods, may produce inconclusive or inaccurate results. Although it is common to treat all targeted behaviors that are presumed to be in the same response class as the same, there may be some utility in differentiating data collection across various categories of problem behavior. We will present the results of one functional analysis, which indicates that different topographies of problem behavior were maintained by different functions. Thus, differentiated data collection resulted in a more efficient process of assessment, and provided information that was necessary to make recommendations for function-based treatments. Implications for future research directions and clinical practice will be discussed.

Children diagnosed with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often engage in challenging behavior of varying topography. Functional behavior assessment, in particular functional analysis (FA), primarily focuses on identifying the function of a problem behavior to inform the design of function-based treatment. Although this focus has been instrumental in informing evidence-based interventions, the assessment logic may also be used in the context of preventative screening of problem behavior (Fahmie, Iwata, & Mead, 2016; Fahmie et al. 2020). The current study expands the FA technology to identify 57 topographies of problem behavior that vary in level of severity from mild to severe, as well as topographies of appropriate behavior that vary in the level of complexity and the specificity of function in two children diagnosed with ASD. More specifically, children were exposed to challenging situations which included deprivation of attention, deprivation of preferred items, presentation of difficult tasks, deprivation of social stimulation, and deprivation of any idiosyncratic and preferred context to screen for the presence and the absence of challenging behavior and appropriate behavior. Children then experienced functional communication training and delay and denial tolerance teaching to see whether skill-based treatments prevented the emergence of severe problem behavior. We will review and discuss function-based prevention and safety considerations during the screening process.

This symposium will span multiple novel and innovative areas in the delivery of relational training (RT) procedures. The presentations will include 1) basic research that compares fixed and mixed presentation during relational training and their efficacy in promoting the emergence of derived relational responding (DRR); 2) an applied study comparing traditional table-top RT and computer-assisted RT in learner engagement and robustness in DRR; 3) applied study using alternating treatment design comparing learner outcomes between table-top pen-and-paper RT and computer-assisted RT which involves a custom-built electronic data collection (EDC) system and computer-assisted RT instructions; and finally 4) an exploratory randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of the same custom-built system on learner and staff outcomes among eight students receiving RT as part of their Individualized Education Programs (IEP) in a public school setting. Implications for improving and optimizing the delivery of RT procedures will be discussed. In sum, presentations 1-3 seek to expand research in parameters optimizing RT procedures through basic and applied research, while presentation 4 seeks to investigate the real-world impact of the above findings.

Behavior analysts, students, and faculty

There has been an increasing presence using electronic data collection (EDC) among applied behavior analysis (ABA) services. Studies show that both generic and custom-built proprietary software can effectively and accurately collect behavior data similar to traditional pen-and-paper data collection. The current study extended previous findings in evaluating the efficacy of a custom-built EDC during relational frame training based on the PEAK curriculum, given its unique procedures (e.g., scoring, relational training procedures, etc.). Eight participants were randomly assigned to two groups (Experiment VS Control), and over the course of three weeks, participants received PEAK-based relational training as part of their Individualized Education Program (IEP). After week 1, participants in the Experiment Group transitioned to the EDC, where teachers and staff used the custom-built EDC in delivering ABA services. Results show a significant interaction between group assignment and time (p < .006). The total duration needed to complete all assigned programs for participants in the Experiment Group significantly decreased after the transition to EDC (p = .003) and maintained at the reduced level in week 3 (p = .862). No significant changes were observed for participants in the Control Group (p = .676). Implications for using EDC to assist relational training were discussed.

Research suggests that post-secondary vocational and independent living outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) significantly lacks behind others without identified disabilities. Rates of competitive employment remain low, with unemployment and underemployment contributing to increased poverty and decreased community access and overall quality of life. The current symposium explores service delivery models that can help to improve long-term outcomes for this population. The first presentation explores guidelines for building and establishing quality relationships with prospective employers within the community. The second presentation then outlines how a large hospital system has begun to support the IDD community through workforce diversity by developing individual and systemic systems of support. The remaining presentations highlight two research studies related to the assessment of various factors shown to be related to positive vocational and life outcomes for adults with IDD. The third presentation compares indirect and direct vocational assessments that can help with vocational matching. The fourth presentation presents data that extends these direct preference assessment procedures to leisure activities for adults, which can help facilitate participation in community activities. The symposium will conclude with remarks from our discussant.

Behavior Analysts who work with adolescents or adults with autism or other developmental disabilities. Attendees should posses intermediate knowledge of behavior analytic principles and applied behavior analytic intervention procedures.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may often encounter difficulties with obtaining and maintaining employment. To increase the likelihood of successful employment, researchers have investigated ways to make employees with ASD more successful in the workplace, such as through identifying preferred work tasks (LaRue et al., 2020). Researchers have also developed different methods of teaching interview (Roberts et al., 2021) and job-related social skills (Grob et al., 2019; Lerman et al., 2017). These studies have provided evidence that employees with ASD diagnoses can learn to successfully navigate the social work environment in controlled, clinical environments. However, the effectiveness and long-term outcomes of these training programs may be more readily assessed through direct, on-the-job observations and coaching. To that end, establishing positive, collaborative relationships with community partners is an important part of teaching employees with ASD to succeed at work. One of the first steps in this collaboration may be to identify the behaviors or challenges that employers may perceive as barriers to employing people with ASD. To address employers’ concerns, we propose a model and offer guidelines on how to establish and build relationships with community partners and employers.

Research on competitive employment for individuals with disabilities continues to show that this group has difficulty obtaining and maintaining jobs. Correlational studies have identified several modifiable predictors of post-secondary employment including paid work experience while in high school, parental expectations, self-help and social skills (including communication), and engagement in extra-curricular and community activities. Recent behavior analytic research has expanded behavioral technology to the direct assessment and remediation of vocationally related skills and provides effective methods to address the modifiable predictors of post-secondary employment. The current presentation outlines a program developed to support increased workforce diversity and access to competitive employment for neurodiverse individuals within our system. First, we use behavior analytic strategies to directly assess vocational social skills to identify areas of support needs, to teach skills deficits, and to recommend support strategies to prospective employers. Second, we provide an internal manager/employer training program to address identified barriers to hiring individuals with disabilities, to educate them on neurodiverse diagnoses, and to teach them ways to support neurodiverse employees. Finally, we will provide a case review of one participant’s path from direct behavioral assessment to paid internship and how this can further refine our internal pathway to competitive employment.

Employment rates for adults with autism are significantly lower than those reported for any other population of adults with disabilities (Bush & Tassé, 2017). One of the most significant predictors of competitive employment for adults with autism is the use of sound assessment procedures to inform intervention (Kaya et al., 2016). LaRue and colleagues (2019) developed a skill-based vocational assessment for individuals with autism with varying abilities. The assessment evaluated preference for specific task characteristics. The authors used the assessment results to design matched and unmatched work tasks. They found that matched tasks were consistently more preferred and resulted in less disruptive behavior and more on task behavior. This assessment is useful for the purpose of modifying jobs, however it does not inform the type of industry to explore when job matching. In the current investigation, we used an extension of the assessment model proposed by LaRue and colleagues that includes environmental factors. We then compared the results of the vocational assessment to indirect methods. Preliminary data suggest that the using both the brief, skill-based vocational assessment in addition to an indirect methods may inform tasks and jobs that lead to better employment outcomes for adolescents and adults with autism.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have limited opportunity in choosing novel and engaging leisure activities, and behavior analysts need guidance in identifying and predicting which leisure activities their clients prefer. Three adults participated in a leisure activities assessment in three phases. During Phase 1, concurrent arrangements were used to develop a profile for each of three leisure skills components: social interaction versus no interaction; electronic versus non-electronic activities; and stationary activities versus activities that require movement. Clear preferences were found for all three participants. Phase 2 compared on-task behavior for a leisure activity matched and a leisure activity unmatched to the profile generated in Phase 1. In general, participants were on-task more often for activities matched to profile. Phase 3 assessed client preference for the matched versus the unmatched leisure activity using another concurrent arrangement. Participants preferred the matched activity. Overall, this study presents a user-friendly leisure activity assessment that considers client preference when determining suitable leisure activities for individuals with ASD who require significant support.

With 36 states requiring licensure in behavior analysis and over Board Certified Behavior Analysts (hereafter behavior analysts), the demands on our growing field could not be greater. Less than half of those behavior analysts have been certified 5 years or longer leaving few experienced supervisors to train the next generation of behavior analysts. Moreover, very few behavior analysts receive training in how to supervise. At best, behavior analysts complete the BACB required 8-hour training prior to providing supervision. Luckily, future behavior analysts will receive formal training as part of the coursework requirements for the 5th Edition task list (BACB, 2017). Given the importance of and need for quality supervision, this symposium on will focus on ethical issues in supervision, completing 360 evaluations as part of supervision, elements of effective supervision, and effective tiered supervision in large organizations. Disclaimer: This session will not prepare you to become a supervisor but may be used in conjunction with additional training and experiences to become a supervisor.

This session is for BCBAs who supervise RBTs, Trainees, and other BCBAs. Supervision at all levels will be covered.

Previous research has shown evidence to suggest interventions such as TAGteach™ and video feedback are viable options to enhance sports performance, specifically in dance. This symposium focuses on recent developments and possible alternatives to utilizing video feedback to improve performance of skills related to dance. The first presentation will analyze the feedback delivered in the Deshmukh et al. (2022) study which compared verbal and video feedback to improve dance skills. The second presentation will compare the effects of TAGteach™ and self-evaluative video feedback on dance performance with beginner level dance students. Implications and limitations of each method will be discussed as well as areas for future research in dance. The presentations will be followed by a discussion from Dr. Jennifer Cook who will comment on these studies.

This symposium is appropriate for BCBAs within their first 5 years of practice, including practitioners, supervisors, etc. and for those currently enrolled in or recently completed graduate-level work in ABA.

There has been a global surge in adolescents’ use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)/vaping, cannabis (vaped, edible), and use of prescription opioids (POs) not-asprescribed. The nature of these substances often renders them “difficult-to-detect” due to limited physical and behavioral signs, along with subtle, but often, hazardous longer-term effects. Here, Dr. Feldstein Ewing will address the nature of substance use presentation in the adolescent age group, including challenges in detection and related complications that impact screening and prevention. Further, in terms of intervention, many of the existing addiction treatments that we use with adolescents were originally designed for adults; however, the adolescent brain is increasingly being recognized as substantively different than the adult brain. And, likely for related reasons, adolescents engage with substances in different ways than adults. Dr. Feldstein Ewing will begin by reviewing empirical data on “difficult-to-detect” effects, including acute effects at neural levels and longer-term neurocognitive and developmental changes that precede outward physical symptoms. Dr. Feldstein Ewing will also present translational approaches, integrating brain (developmental human neuroscience; fMRI) and behavior (clinical intervention programs) to begin to inform timely updates in how we approach defining addiction in this age group, along with how we update our approaches to behavioral treatment in this age group.

Clinicians, scientists, mental health faculty

Applied behavior analysis has been demonstrated as effective for addressing a wide variety of socially significant issues across many populations and contexts. Yet many marginalized populations continue to be underserved and understudied. This symposium will cover a range of methods in which behavior analytic methodology may be used in the assessment and treatment of justice-involved youth. The first presentation will describe recent prevention and intervention strategies for juvenile sex trafficking (JST) within the child welfare system. The second presentation will describe a contingency management system used within a juvenile residential treatment facility to improve staff-implemented strategies for improving behavior within the facility. The final presentation uses conditional probabilities to evaluate periods of increased likelihood of challenging behavior displayed by adolescents within a juvenile residential treatment facility. Implications and future directions within juvenile justice will be discussed.

Participants should be licensed, certified, or are completing coursework to fulfill BCBA eligibility requirements.

Treatment of problematic behavior often begins with functional assessment. However, in many contexts, not all components of functional assessment are possible. That is, components of functional assessment (e.g., functional analysis) may not be feasible ethically or logistically in contexts where problematic behavior is infrequent, presents substantial risk to staff members, or both. In these contexts, behavior analysts may use indirect assessment alone to identify environmental conditions that give rise to problem behavior. Such assessments may inform treatment plans, even when the function of the behavior is unclear. The present study is a descriptive assessment of behavioral data collected by dormitory staff at a juvenile residential treatment facility. We used conditional probabilities and statistical analyses to identify setting events (e.g., days of week, time of day) that predict likelihood of problematic behavior. The findings allow clinicians and administrators within the facility allocate resources strategically to prevent and respond to problematic behavior effectively. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Often behavior analytic intervention research emphasizes improving efficacy through direct intervention to generate improved efficiency in service provision. Some examples may be treatment fidelity and training studies, including pyramidal approaches to implementer training. While important efficiencies may be afforded by endeavoring to improve direct implementation practices, there are also many opportunities to generate efficiencies through the enhancement of the service provision process. This can be done without compromising service delivery. Developing and validating effective intake processes (i.e., client triage) may be one approach. Another option could be assessing service delivery (i.e., program evaluation) to discern specific elements that add value as well as uncover areas for improvement. The current symposium aims to showcase strategies to assessing (and refining) service delivery that may be less common across the behavior analytic research. Each talk will provide an in-depth description of respective projects, culminating with a discussant highlighting key aspects and areas for future research.

Attendees should have an introductory understanding of applied research design and tool development and validation analyses. It would also enhance attendees' experience if they are well-versed in best practice approaches in the treatment of challenging behavior.

Program evaluation is an essential practice for providers of behavior analytic services, as it helps providers understand the extent to which they are achieving their intended mission to the community they serve. A proposed method for conducting such evaluations, is through the use of a consecutive case series design, for which cases are sequentially gathered following the onset of a specific occurrence. Given the sequential nature in which data are collected within a consecutive case series, analytic techniques that adopt a time-series framework may be particularly advantageous. Although such methods are commonly used for program evaluation in medicine and economics, their application within the field of applied behavior analysis is largely absent. To serve as a model for providers undertaking evaluation efforts, we conducted a program evaluation of an outpatient severe behavior clinic serving families with children engaging in challenging behavior. We employed quasi-experimental methods using an interrupted time-series analysis. Analytical models detected planned and unplanned changes in the clinic’s services over time; however, we did not identify evidence to suggest that families and children will experience improved outcomes as a result of these changes.

Often individuals with disabilities continuously rely on prompts or reminders from others (e.g., therapists, parents, teachers) to complete everyday tasks. When their access to services in schools ends, so do the prompts they have come to rely on. With technology being an integral part of society’s everyday life, it is logical to teach individuals with disabilities to rely on technology as a necessary support when presented with situations in which more information is needed. Individuals with disabilities need to learn how to self-manage, including self-prompting and self-instructing tasks throughout their day-to-day activities to increase their employability, independence, quality of life, and overall self-determination skills. There is an emerging amount of literature to support the use of self-management for individuals with disabilities, specifically with mobile technology. This presentation will include data from two recent single case design studies from two different research teams. The first study used an exercise application including video models, prompting, and reminders delivered via remote instruction (i.e., Zoom) to improve exercise behaviors and increase physical activity. The second study used a scheduling application with embedded visuals and video models to increase vocational task completion and decrease reliance on adults supports.

Background knowledge of single case design and visual analysis

Using a multiple baseline across participants design, the current study explored a behavioral intervention package (i.e., ExerciseBuddy app with video models, prompting, and reminders of reinforcement) to assess acquisition of the exercises (i.e., percent of intervals completed independently) when delivered remotely. Additionally, during intervention, participants were taught to review task analyses of exercises (i.e., written or pictures) to determine if they completed exercises correctly. The results indicate participant independence in performing the exercises increased during intervention from baseline. Additionally, participant and researcher agreement on if exercises were completed correctly averaged 80% or higher during intervention. Independence in performing the exercises and agreement on performance was more variable during generalization when new exercises were presented and the behavioral intervention package components were removed. Implications and future research focused on increasing access and fitness programming for individuals with autism using remote instruction and promoting self-determination in fitness programming will be discussed.

The purpose of this study was to compare the differential effects of mobile assistive technology loaded with visual activity schedules (VAS; pictures alone) compared to video activity schedules (VidAS; pictures linked to video models) loaded on the Choiceworks app to promote vocational independence and decreased reliance on adult supports for adolescents and adults with intellectual disability, with and without autism. Seven single-case multitreatment designs were used to assess differential effects between the two interventions when participants completed various vocational tasks (e.g., cosmetology, vet tech, gift shop). All participants were able to perform some of the task steps independently with both VAS and VidAS but demonstrated a greater increase in independence with self-instruction using VidAS than when only given VAS. Results suggest that incorporating VidAS into mobile AT can increase independence while decreasing reliance on additional adult support, suggesting that this could be a reasonable accommodation in school, work, and community settings.

Conditioning new stimuli such that they now function as reinforcers for other behaviors serves several important purposes in human development. Increasing one’s community of reinforcers provides individuals with more opportunities to come in contact with reinforcement which increases rates of learning. It also means that individuals’ interests are expanded which, when this occurs, will likely lead to fewer instances and lower durations of such behaviors as stereotypy and other developmentally maladaptive response classes. Maybe most importantly, conditioning certain stimuli as reinforcers for observing responses enables individuals to contact reinforcement in ways they had not been able to do before; hence, the development of a cusp. Training behavior analysts and behavior technicians to implement conditioning procedures can prove more difficult than training other more straightforward discreet trial programs. Therefore, training must be accurate, systematic and because these pairings are so important to human development, highly efficient. Here I will present training systems that meet these criteria, to teach these instructional repertoires to behavior analytic instructors. I will also discuss extending training systems to include successfully training another instructor to correctly implement conditioning procedures as mastery criterion for training.

Behavior Analysts, Supervisors, and Researchers

From Skinner’s seminal definition of behavior as “(…) movement of the organism or of its parts in a frame of reference provided by the organism itself or by various external objects or fields of force.” it was clear that movement, or displacement in space, was at the core of the characterization of behavior. Several years ago, due to the state of the technology (and its cost), it was not possible to track the real-time movement of experimental subjects in EAB research. Nonetheless, recent advancements in technology have made it possible to incorporate real-time tracking of animal movement, opening new possibilities. One of these possibilities is that now, the effect of well-known schedules (based on counting discrete responses) on the spatial dimension of behavior can be studied. A second possibility is the development of schedules of reinforcement in which relevant events are presented according to animal traveled distance in the experimental space. In the current symposium, we will describe three studies that incorporated the spatial dimension of behavior in the previously mentioned ways. All studies were conducted with Wistar rats as subjects. Study 1 analyzed the effect on different dimensions of the spatial behavior of Fixed and Variable Displacement schedules contingent on the fulfillment of traveled distance criteria in an extended experimental chamber. Study 2 analyzed the effects of motivational operations on animals' behavior using Fixed schedules contingent on traveled distance. Study 3 analyzed the emergence of conspecific spatial interactions under concurrent FT and VT schedules. Distance traveled, routes, distance to the dispensers or conspecifics, time spent in zones, recurrence patterns, and entropy, among other measures were obtained. The implications of the proposed approach for the study of behavior will be described.

Usually, reinforcement schedules are based on a given discrete response (e.g., lever presses). To our knowledge, works that use a Spatio-temporal continuous activity as a reinforcement criterion are scarce. Nevertheless, in natural settings, the organism’s continuous activity (i.e., animal movement) is a ubiquitous feature of behavior that is not only shaped by the contingencies of the environment, but many times it is the criterion for reinforcement (e.g., an organism traveling a given distance is followed by reaching water or food). In some situations, the traveled distance could be regular (e.g., in spatially fixed renewable resources). In others, it could be variable (e.g., in spatially dynamic resources). The present work analyzed the spatial behavior dynamics under two reinforcement schedules of water delivery based on traveled distance in Wistar rats: Fixed Distance 100cm (FD100cm) and Variable Distance 100cm (VD100cm). Six subjects were randomly assigned to one of two contra-balanced sequences (FD-VD and VD-FD). Multidimensional behavior analysis was conducted using water produced rate, contacted water index, trajectories, velocity, spatial recurrence, and location entropy variables. The potential relevance of reinforcement schedules based on traveled distance and its associated behavior dynamics are discussed.

A widely reported effect of water deprivation in rats is its relationship to increased levels of locomotor activity. However, there are several questions about the nature of this relationship, for example, is it a direct effect of deprivation conditions or is it mediated by an increased tendency to respond to stimuli presented during deprivation periods? Furthermore, does the locomotor activity during deprivation change according to the kind of stimuli presented (conditional or unconditional to water deliveries)? What kind of functions do these stimuli have? To analyze this, nine Wistar rats were exposed to different levels of water deprivation (low, medium, high, and no deprivation) and were tested in an open field using a contingent schedule on displacement. In Phase 1 a neutral tone was presented each time the rat traveled 150 cm (Group 1) or independently of its movement (Group 2). Phase 2 consisted of pairings between the tone and water delivery. Phase 3 was a replication of Phase 1 but, presented the stimulus previously paired with water delivery. Results suggest that the level of water deprivation is not directly related to increases in locomotor activity, but rather that the magnitude of changes in locomotor activity depends on the presentation of the tone, previously related to water delivery, whether contingent or not on locomotor activity. The results are discussed in terms of the different functions of stimuli and how they interact with water deprivation to control changes in locomotor activity.

The operant analysis of the interaction between conspecifics has focused on establishing a pattern of behavior that involves two organisms, by using contingent deliveries of reinforcement to that previously determined pattern (e.g., lever presses sequences), and measuring its rate or occurrence. Nevertheless, to our knowledge, there are no studies about the emergence of interindividual interaction patterns in rats that have considered the spatial dimension of behavior in situations in which the delivery of reinforcement is independent of the behavior of the subjects. The purpose of this work was to study the emergence of spatial interactions in conspecifics under FT and VT schedules of water delivery. Subjects were 14 male Wistar rats assigned in dyads to one of three groups: FT30s, VT 30s, and Control. An A-B-A design was used to evaluate the effect of each schedule. We found that with the FT schedule routes of displacement were more variable, with shorter time spent on each dispenser and with higher distances between conspecifics, in comparison to VT schedules. We discuss the emergence of different spatial interaction patterns depending on the schedules of reinforcement and how these results can inform the decision for choosing a more ecologically relevant pattern of behavior as the criterion of reinforcement in studies about social behavior.

Last December, 2021, Mike J. Dougher died suddenly while enjoying one of his preferred activities. This panel focuses to honor his memory as a gentleman in any kind of the academic horizons, when doing research, when discussing, when doing clinical work, when editing and reviewing, and in many and many other opportunities where problem solving was required. Of course, he was a very good friend and, again, a gentleman. In this panel, prominent academic professors will give a chance to bring to the present Michael J. Dougher` s connections between philosophical, basic and applied dimensions of the behavioural analytic perspective. His contributions were insightful in many domains. The aim of this panel is to bring them all to the table to commemorate his academic life and to increase the chance of insightful further experimental and clinical analysis.

This paper will provide an initial framework for the behavior analysis of organizational justice as operant classes of behavior. Its purpose is to provide tools to expand current research and offer insight. The three universal goals of science are description, prediction, and control. Though it has been studied intently for 40 years, the research has provided a comprehensive description of Organizational Justice. Yet, the evidence for explaining the phenomena and mechanisms to control variables remain largely unidentified. This paper will deconstruct Organizational Justice from its current findings to its basic definition of fairness. We will then offer a conceptualization of the behavior processes involved, define target behaviors, and offer possible methods of analysis and critical areas of study to help further research into the topic.

Skinner’s pragmatic approach is the tap root of the pragmatic tree of knowledge. It is the source of the scientific and engineering methods which have allowed practitioners to both predict and control behavior change and help clients achieve their behavior change goals. This talk will provide a brief history of Skinner’s pragmatic approach, contrasting it with dogmatic approaches, and describing its benefits for both practitioners and their clients.

Scientists and Engineers of behavior change who are interested in learning about Skinner’s pragmatic approach.

“The reason you don’t fight for me is because you’re not fighting for yourself fully… Are you ready to heal?... That’s why they repress us as trans and gender variant people, because they’ve done this violence to themselves first.” - Alok Vaid-Menon When supporting transgender and gender-nonconforming clients, students, supervisees, trainees, and colleagues, it is critical that behavior analysts create contexts of affirmation. When considering cultural responsiveness, the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts notes that behavior analysts “evaluate their own biases and ability to address the needs of individuals with diverse needs/ backgrounds,” (BACB, 2020, p. 9). This presentation will examine gender identity as covert or subtle behavior, and the ways in which the tacting of covert events is taught (Skinner, 1945; Skinner, 1957; Moore, 2008). Attendees will be equipped to assess their own biases through the examination of selectionism at the phylogenic, ontogenic, and cultural levels, focusing on their own learning histories. Attendees will also learn how to create environments which forster orienting to appetitive control and which reinforce authentic responding through cultural competency and the movement toward cultural safety (Curtis et al., 2019).

ABA practitioners and professionals

The current symposium includes one data-based investigation and two discussion-based presentations. These presentations will highlight the need for greater interprofessional collaboration to implement treatment for individuals with developmental delays. The first presentation describes methods to increase collaboration between behavior analysts and occupational therapists. The second presentation discusses how to increase collaboration between behavior analysts and speech language pathologists to increase the efficacy of treatment for individuals with autism. The third presenter will review data suggesting that coursework alone was insufficient to provide the necessary experience to implement behavioral intervention for professionals across different fields (e.g., medical doctors, speech language pathologists) from a public hospital system in Brazil. Additional data will be presented describing the results of behavioral skills training (BST) across a small sample of students who participated in the course. These presentations suggest that collaboration is necessary within behavior analysis and that creativity of teaching within our field can lead to implementation of behavior interventions across a variety of disciplines and environments. Additionally, a model focusing on procedural integrity is presented to support the implementation of behavior analysis programming within an interdisciplinary setting.

Professionals and researchers in behavior analysis, speech pathology, and occupational therapy

Professionals of different disciplines often work independently within their scope of competence, toward the ultimate goal of increasing the quality of life for individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Across disciplines, learning goals and interventions sometimes overlap or interfere with each other, compromising the client’s progress and development (i.e., contraindication). Therefore, learning how to effectively collaborate with other disciplines is an essential and valuable skill for implementing best practices and improving outcomes for the recipient of interventions. Nowadays, Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Behavior Analysts (BAs) are taking action to improve their interprofessional collaboration practice through decision-making models and guidelines on how to collaborate effectively. The purpose of this presentation is to present the core differences and similarities in the philosophy and practice of both disciplines, the current efforts from both disciplines to collaborate, and what is presented in the emerging literature about interprofessional collaboration. As an effort to increase collaboration between OTs and BAs, recommendations for the ethical and professional development of this collaboration will be presented, including information about each discipline's core principles. Ultimately, learning to effectively collaborate among many disciplines will benefit not only professionals, but – most importantly – the individuals with whom we work.

Our increased ability to identify and diagnose children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at earlier ages provides us with both an opportunity and a challenge. These advances now allow us the opportunity to begin intervention much earlier in life. Our challenge, however, is to design and adapt our interventions to very young children in order to achieve optimal outcomes. The evidence supporting interventions for children with ASD has changed in the last decade, and meaningful research supports the effectiveness of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs). However, one significant barrier to implementing this approach is that many behavioral practitioners lack training, knowledge, and support for implementing NDBIs. This presentation will discuss how NDBIs fit within the scope of practice for behavioral practitioners, discuss strategies for incorporating NDBIs into existing ABA treatment programs, and evaluate the effectiveness of a training program for providers working with young children with ASD (0-3 years).

Intermediate - participants should have knowledge about evidence-based intervention for young children with ASD

As the identification and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in younger children becomes increasingly common, clinicians are developing programs, implementing interventions, and supporting technicians for a population with whom they may have little experience. In order to identify current skill sets, areas of need, and to better understand the knowledge of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs), a provider survey was sent to practitioners across the LEARN network. Results of the survey demonstrate the need for ongoing training and support for staff who work with the infant and toddler population (ages 0-3). We discuss the implications of these results for clinical programming and the need for future training in this area.

As more children are being diagnosed with ASD before the age of three years old, there is a growing need to identify best practice guidelines for clinicians working with this early intervention population in clinic and community settings. Current best practices for the treatment of young children with ASD include interventions that blend behavioral and developmental and behavioral strategies, such as Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions. To better support staff who work with young children with ASD, a set of clinical and practice guidelines was developed. In this presentation, we will share recommendations based on scientific evidence and clinical expertise regarding effective practices that were developed for integrating NDBIs into existing ABA programs for young children with ASD. Key practice guidelines discussed will include assessment, data collection, intervention approaches, learning environments, training, supervision, professional development, and collaboration and coordination with family members for young children with ASD receiving ABA services.

Shape descriptors are mathematical functions applied to a polygonal profile that produce numerical values representing different characteristics of the profile. Commonly used in image processing applications, shape descriptors are useful discriminative stimuli for certain machine learning algorithms. Here we demonstrate the use of a verbal operant experimental (VOX) analysis for developing polygonal language profiles for children with autism spectrum disorder. The frequency of responses under verbal and nonverbal sources of control are plotted on a multi-axial radar chart to produce a closed polygonal profile for each participant. These language profiles are then subject to a variety of shape descriptors for quantitative comparisons over time, and in relation to the language profiles of neurotypical peers. We describe the characteristics of each shape descriptor, and explain their use in interpreting the results of the VOX analysis. Finally, we discuss the use of shape descriptors for both practitioners and researchers who seek to better understand language development, assessment, and intervention for individuals with autism and other disorders of verbal behavior.

Audio–visual conditional discriminations (AVCD) often come naturally for typically developing children through everyday interactions. However, children with autism may struggle to acquire AVCDs unless they are directly taught. These children often benefit from empirically validated treatments explicitly designed to facilitate the acquisition of this critical skill. Even with high-quality instruction, a subsection of children with autism continue to struggle. The purpose of the current study is to assess the previously cited prerequisite skills (Kodak et al. 2015, 2022; Saunders & Spradlin 1989; Fisher et al. 2019) to determine if they are correlated with the acquisition of AVCD targets, including scanning a picture array (visual discrimination), matching pictures (conditional discrimination; identity matching), responding differentially to different words (auditory discrimination), and touching a portion of the screen that reliably leads to preferred items (reinforcement tracking). We extended the existing AVCD literature by assessing the utility, efficiency, and validity of a technology-assisted battery named READI (Rapid Empirical Assessment of Discrimination Indices). Results showed that the assessment battery correlated with children’s ability to learn AVCDs efficiently. Children who demonstrated all prerequisite skills acquired new AVCD targets quickly, whereas children who failed one or more prerequisite assessments also failed to acquire new targets.

Stimulus overselectivity remains an ill-defined concept within behavior analysis, because it can be difficult to distinguish truly restrictive stimulus control from random variation. Quantitative models of bias are useful, though perhaps limited in application. Over the last 50 years, research on stimulus overselectivity has developed a pattern of assessment and intervention repeatedly marred by methodological flaws. A molecular view of overselectivity, under which restricted stimulus control has heretofore been examined, is fundamentally insufficient for analyzing this phenomenon. Instead, we propose the use of the term “overselectivity” to define temporally extended patterns of restrictive stimulus control that have resulted in disproportionate populations of responding that cannot be attributed to chance alone, and highlight examples of overselectivity within the verbal behavior of children with autism spectrum disorder. Viewed as such, stimulus overselectivity lends itself to direct observation and measurement through the statistical analysis of single-subject data. In particular, we demonstrate the use of the Cochran Q test as a means of precisely quantifying stimulus overselectivity.

Despite advances in evidence-based treatment for autism, disparities in service access, difficulties with customized training support, time constraints, and family stressors remain primary concerns for many caregivers across the globe. Current treatment models may not be accessible, individually tailored, or feasible for families experiencing such hardships or having limited resources. Caregiver-implemented intervention, often facilitated via coaching, is an increasingly widespread solution to early intervention for children with or at risk for autism (Tomeny et al., 2019). This study investigates the effects of a parent-mediated Natural Environment Training (NET) package, based explicitly on a functional analysis of learners' language (i.e., Parent-Mediated Referent-Based Instruction (PM-RBI); Mason & Andrews, 2014; 2020) on parents' fidelity in implementing these procedures. A single-subject, concurrent, multiple-baseline, across-participants design was used across three caregiver-child dyads participating in PM-RBI over 13 weeks via videoconferencing.We describe components of PM-RBI, capitalizing on NET and caregiver coaching principles, and highlight the potential PM-RBI provides to support customized, family-focused, empirically based intervention for caregivers. Potential barriers, benefits, and implications for practice and research will be discussed

Initial competencies for registered behavior technicians include an item related to competence in engaging in naturalistic teaching procedures, but little evidence is available regarding what components are included when using these procedures, what dependent variables are targeted, and what the outcomes are. This presentation will include synthesis of studies conducted using natural environment teaching (as described by Halle et al., 1984) for young children with autism. An electronic search of PsycINFO and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses resulted in identification of 4560 articles. Researchers double screened these articles using the online tool “Rayyan”, with inclusion of about 10% of articles for full text review with 90% or greater agreement. Full text review is ongoing and will be completed in November with coding completed in January and February. Variables to be coded included those related to intervention components, design, participants, and outcomes. Improvements to the conceptualization and practice of natural environment teaching will be discussed.

Caregiver-mediated interventions based upon the principles of behavior analysis have been used to target deficits in social communication and challenging behavior in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Recent meta-analyses have examined the effects of randomized control trials on parent and child behavior, but none have examined the effects of single-case interventions. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the effects of caregiver-mediated communication and behavioral interventions on caregiver outcomes in single-case studies and identify the variables that may moderate those effects. Only studies that met What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) quality indicator standards were included in the analysis. A total of 51 contrasts across eight studies were included. Caregiver-mediated interventions yielded medium to large effects on caregiver behavior across settings, coaching strategy, dosage, and parent characteristics, with an overall large effect size (Tau-U = 0.90; CI = [0.84, 0.97]). Future implications of caregiver-mediated interventions for young children with autism in research and practice are discussed.

There is increasing evidence that fluency building and precision teaching can increase academic skills with school aged children which improves retention, endurance and generalization of skills (Gist & Bulla, 2022). In this symposium, we present the use of PT interventions to improve reading, math and writing skills of school going children in India who are diagnosed with autism. The first presentation illustrates the use of within stimulus prompts to help a student achieve discrimination in reading words with the letters ‘b’ and ‘d’, overcoming problems with spontaneous mirror invariance (Pegado et al., 2011). Fluency building exercises there after improved reading rates with an investment of less than 20 minutes. The second presentation addresses specific techniques used to improve component skills in ‘addition’ for three students and ‘multiplication’ in two students. The third presentation examines improvement in writing speeds and the fourth presentation demonstrates the effectiveness of joint control procedures in remediating discrimination errors while writing words with ‘b’ and ‘d’ and frequency building to improve rates of response. The effect of fluency building on composite skills are discussed

Certified Behavior Analysts with knowledge of fluency training and celeration charts

Primary school children with reading difficulties are prone to continue struggling with reading. Hence, new methodologies and interventions are required to help struggling readers (Forne et al., 2022). A 9-year-old girl in grade 3, diagnosed with mild autism, in a mainstream school participated in this study. An assessment showed that she had difficulties reading words with ‘b’ and ‘d,’ in three letter words. In phase 1, we used an intervention of presenting the letters ‘b’ and ‘d’ with within stimulus prompts, echoic prompts and periodic probes with three-letter words to monitor progress. After 630 trials the participant met the mastery criteria of reading 3 letter words with ‘b’ and ‘d’ in both positions. The skill generalized to novel three and four-letter words. In phase 2, we used precision teaching to increase the response rates. In 12 sessions, with 30s timed practices, her reading speed of three-letter words with ‘b’ and ‘d’ improved from 58 per minute to 76 per minute with no errors. The effect on performance of composite skill of reading passages will be discussed.

Precision Teaching has been used successfully to teach math skills to school going children who were at risk of being left behind ( Stormgren et al., 2020; Vostanis et al., 2020). In the current study, five students aged 6 to 11 years with diagnoses of ASD participated. They were studying in kidergarten to fifth grade in mainstream schools. Three participants had only counting in their repertoire. As such their initial targets for the composite skill of addition operations were component skills such as add by one, add by two, addition of pairs of numbers and numbers that add to 10.One student, MR improved his performance in hear-say add 1 skill from zero corrects and 10 errors in baseline to 38 correct and 2 errors per minute in 23 sessions. A student AA also showed similar progress and a third is in baseline condition. Two other participants in grades 3 and 5 had difficulties with multiplication. With pre-session priming, reading aloud the tables from 1 to 15, they achieved a rate of 20 corrects per minute with no errors in completing hear-say simple multiplication sums (0-15). The effect of training component skills on composite skills, retention, endurance, and application are discussed.

There are several examples within precision teaching (PT) literature where students at risk being left behind in class can be trained to perform academic skills either by addressing component skill deficits or by building frequencies to the level of competent peer performers (Kubina, Morrison, & Lee, 2002; Kubina & Wolfe, 2005;White & Neely, 2012) . In the current study, 4 students with ASD, aged 9 to 11 years with low rates of writing participated. The intervention started by improving the speed of copying words from the board and writing words heard (dictation) with daily timed practice. The first participant, MA, showed improvement in copying words from the board from 8 letters /min to 20 letters / min over 35 timed sessions and in writing down heard words from 9 letters per min to 18 letters per min in 36 sessions. Intervention has commenced on 2 other students with similar difficulties. Social validity in the form of feedback from school on these interventions helping the students cope better with class are discussed.

Demographic research reports that up to 50% of persons with intellectual and developmental disability engage in challenging behaviour (Sheehan et al., 2015), with treatment options often including psychopharmacological interventions, behavioural interventions, or concurrent intervention approaches. Some behaviour analytic researchers have suggested that psychotropic medications may act as motivating operations, in that they can alter the effectiveness of stimuli as reinforcers or punishers (Carlson et al., 2012; Zarcone et al., 2004). Thus, an individual’s experience with environmental variables and stimuli may change in accordance with a psychotropic medication adjustment (i.e., medication increases, medication decreases, medication introduction, or medication discontinuation). The applied behavioral pharmacology literature base is relatively limited. One possible explanation is that the barriers to investigating drug-behavior interactions are rather insurmountable. For example, behavioral researchers seldom have ‘control’ over the primary independent variable (i.e., medication change). Despite this, there may be creative methodology to help circumvent these barriers. The purpose of this symposium is to illustrate the utility of systematically monitoring the behavioral effects of psychotropic medication adjustments, including shifts in reinforcer preference and in rate and function of challenging behaviour.

Participants should have some knowledge and experience in running functional analyses as well as reinforcer preference assessments. Skills in analyzing complex data sets will be helpful.

School-age children with disabilities and challenging behavior are often prescribed medication as a component of intervention (Olfson et al., 2010). However, psychotropic medications can have impacts beyond the behaviors for which they are prescribed, and these changes can alter the effectiveness of other treatment components (Bird et al., 2022; Lloyd et al., 2016). For example, both Dicesare et al. (2005) and Northup et al. (1997) found that stimulant medication decreased childrens’ motivation to earn social positive reinforcement (i.e., tangibles and attention). We explored potential impacts of medication changes on reinforcer preference for 19 school-age children with disabilities who had been prescribed medication to address behavioral challenges. We completed a series of concurrent operant analyses (COAs) at two time points: one before the medication change and one after the medication change. Children were given a choice between two concurrently available reinforcement configurations, and we collected data on the total time spent in each condition. Visual analysis of estimation plots and results of within-subjects t-tests indicated no consistent shifts in preference following medication changes. We discuss potential explanations for our study results and identify what future studies are needed to better understand the effects of medication on reinforcer preference.

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who also present with medical or psychiatric co-morbidities can experience greater behavioral challenges and poorer quality of life. Medical issues are often underdiagnosed in those with I/DD due to factors such as communication limitations and difficulties complying with medical procedures. Even when medical care is obtained, health care systems are often not equipped to serve people with I/DD. These factors result in disparities in healthcare for individuals with I/DD. In this symposium, we will describe the relationship between medical and psychiatric conditions and challenging behaviors such as aggression and self-injury. We will provide the audience with ways to identify possible medical and psychiatric conditions in those with limited communication. Finally, we will present health care system challenges in serving this population and ways in which behavior analysts can engage in advocacy efforts to ensure better care for those with complex needs.

Those who have completed the BACB coursework series.

The Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts outlines that behavior analysts should refer a client for medical consultation if there is a possibility that a behavior being targeted for intervention may be due to a medical or biological condition. As such, behavior analysts should be aware of behavioral indicators of medical conditions in order to ensure proper referrals are made as part of a treatment plan. In this presentation, I will describe research supporting the relationship between medical problems and challenging behaviors and identify barriers to obtaining adequate healthcare in those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. I will present case study data from our residential care setting and share behavioral indicators and assessments used to identify possible medical conditions in those with limited language. Finally, I will describe preventative measures behavior analysts can apply to ensure better overall health for their clients.

Abstract: Individuals diagnosed with autism or other related neurodevelopmental disorders are commonly also diagnosed with other comorbid diagnoses including medical and psychiatric conditions. Related to psychiatric diagnosis, many times individuals are diagnosed with serious mental health diagnoses including: bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, impulse control disorder, as well as others. Many times these diagnoses are given due to the externalizing behavioral challenges accompanied with the individuals presentation and the medication that is given to treat and decrease these behavioral challenges, namely antipsychotics to decrease the individuals target behaviors. However, with the work we are doing at NYC Health and Hospitals/Kings County adult inpatient unit for individuals with autism/IDD and comorbid mental health diagnoses we have found that there is an overestimation of more chronic, serious mental health disorders and instead these individuals have other missed psychiatric diagnoses including: anxiety disorders, depression, and PTSD (due to missed identified trauma). In this talk, proper identification and assessment of psychiatric comorbidities will be discussed. The impact of trauma on externalizing behavioral disorders will also be discussed and strategies how to assess and identify trauma in individuals with varying types of autism (mild to severe). Lastly, we will discuss the importance of collaboration with mental health professionals to ensure proper assessment, treatment, and integration into behavioral programming for the individual.

Approximately 4.5 million people in the United States have a developmental disability. Persons with developmental disabilities not only require the same access to quality healthcare as anyone else, but are at increased risk of some medical or psychiatric conditions related to their disabilities. Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) report inequities in healthcare such a less satisfaction with their health, shorter life expectancy than the general population, less access to preventative care, higher rates of diagnoses such as obesity, disabilities, arthritis, and asthma, poorly managed chronic health conditions, over utilization of psychotropic medications, and higher rates of mortality (State of Nebraska, 2020). Importantly, if individuals with disabilities need behavior supports, they have higher rates of these disparities than the rest of the disability population. Due to these challenges, individuals with I/DD are 9 times more likely to experience an inpatient hospitalization due to medical or behavioral challenges than their peers. Once in the hospital, gaps in understanding of the impact of I/DD on medical, behavioral or mental health needs, often results in diagnostic overshadowing, overmedication, increased length of stay, and at worst, crisis events. More often than not individuals with I/DD or their caregivers report high levels of dissatisfaction with emergency or inpatient care. Behavior analysts are uniquely trained impact the healthcare system through system analysis, implementing of workflows, execution of training, and analysis of both staff and patient behavior. In addition, the unique skill set a behavior analyst has to understand, intervene on, and support improvements in complex behavioral events is not only essential but highly valued in the healthcare environment. I will share contemporary data that supports healthcare inequity for those with IDD, and case study data that demonstrate the impact behavior analysts can have on patients with complex behavioral and medical conditions.

Over the last decade, it has become increasingly common for public school districts to hire Board Certified Behavior Analysts® (BCBAs®) to provide services to students and staff in their district. This recent partnership presents many wonderful opportunities to students receiving behavior analytic services, but it is not without challenges. Schools have a distinct culture with values and norms that are in many ways inconsistent with the values and norms of applied behavior analysts. In some instances, the cultural differences conflict with the Ethical Code for Behavior Analysts. This symposium presents two papers addressing issues related to applied behavior analysts working in public schools. The first paper describes results from a mixed method investigation surveying over 300 BCBAs® working in public schools across the United States. The second paper discusses the ethical and logistical challenges of training and supervising aspiring BCBAs® in public schools and provides some recommendations for those faced with this task.

Experience working in and/or supervising aspiring BCBAs to work in public schools; experience supporting students/clients in transitioning to public school classrooms; experience collaborating with public school personnel (e.g., special or general education teachers, administrators); experience supporting families and caregivers in navigating the educational system.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts® (BCBAs®) can play an important role in public schools. However, little is known about the scope of work BCBAs® are tasked with in these settings and to what degree this scope of work is in alignment with the ethical code for Behavior Analysts. The purpose of this study was to survey BCBAs® who self-identify as working in public schools in an effort to learn more about their experiences working in this setting. The research team emailed a survey containing 23 questions pertaining to BCBAs® working in public schools. These questions ranged in topics from caseloads to ethical dilemmas BCBAs® may encounter while working in public schools. The data collected from this survey were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative analysis of responses was performed by calculating a percentage through dividing the number of responses with a particular answer selected by the total number of responses and multiplying by 100. Qualitative analysis was conducted by employing an iterative process where responses to open-ended questions were coded into themes. The intent of this paper is to generate meaningful discourse in training and supervision, collaborating with school administrators, resolving ethical concerns, and clarifying roles and responsibilities in public schools.

Responding to questions regarding one's environment is a fundamental skill. In neuro-typical children, responding differentially to questions emerges before the age of two through interactions with caregivers, in which novel words are learned in the presence of both verbal and nonverbal stimuli. For children diagnosed with autism, however, such question discrimination skills can be significantly affected. An error frequently observed in clinical practice is that of the child who, despite previous mastery of the relevant colour tacts, says “Ball” when presented with a blue ball and the question “What colour?” Recently, a number of papers have explored the role of multiple verbal and nonverbal control in early intraverbal-tacting as a basis for language intervention with particular focus on autoclitic framing. This tutorial will first provide a theoretical analysis on multiply-controlled tacting; second, it will outline a framework for assessing discriminating questions on nonverbal (visual) stimuli; third, it will illustrate applied techniques to establish this skill.

Behaviour analysts, speech and language pathologists, educators

Researchers and students interested in the behavioral aspects of prejudice and in possibilities of intervention.

Central to any evidence-based practice is the development of a series of procedures aimed at solving a specific problem. The effective “packaging” of behavior analytic technologies is essential to creating new contexts for our practice. In this symposium, we will provide preliminary evidence for innovative treatment packages to address problems of social significance. In the first presentation, Dr. Mellott will highlight a procedure to teach tolerance of aversive medical procedures for a small neurotypical child. In the second, Dr. Pogue will present data on functional assessment and treatment of selective mutism. In the third, Dr. Lenfestey will discuss a client-centered, function-based intervention of compulsive behavior. In the fourth, Dr. Strohmeier will present procedures for using behavior analytic techniques to change caregiver behavior. Collectively, these studies seek to broaden the reach of behavior analysis toward addressing diverse clinical problems.

Experience with functional assessment methodology, familiarity with different behavior problems associated with childhood, experience and interest in caregiver training

Compulsive and repetitive behaviors are common features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD); however, assessing and treating compulsive behaviors in high functioning individuals presents a unique challenge for clinicians. While cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most commonly used method for treating of compulsive behaviors, its effectiveness may be limited in populations with ASD. The current study used a withdrawal design to evaluate a functional communication training and exposure with response prevention paradigm with a high functioning individual with comorbid ASD and OCD who engaged in socially mediated compulsive behaviors. Treatment resulted in high rates of functional communication and decreased rates of compulsive behaviors observed across settings. Follow-up data suggested maintenance of skills at 6-month follow up measured via direct observation and parent report. Implications for client-centered, function-based approach to address compulsive behavior are discussed.

Recent shifts have urged clinicians and researchers to evaluate treatments for pediatric feeding disorders and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorders that increase appropriate feeding behaviors while minimizing treatment side effects. This symposium aims to disseminate novel research using antecedent-based treatments informed by pretreatment assessments. The first presentation describes a sensory assessment to identify target foods to introduce in treatment; researchers evaluated treatment including a systematic desensitization progression with netting in the absence of escape extinction. The next presentation displays an evaluation of treatment including differential reinforcement and establishing operation manipulations to increase self-feeding. The third presentation demonstrates the use of blending without escape extinction to increase consumption of pureed target foods after empirically identifying a preferred food to use as a blending agent. The final presentation describes a reinforcement and parametric analysis to determine what variables might reinforce appropriate feeding behavior, instead of a more traditional functional analysis; researchers developed treatments to increase acceptance and consumption based on the results of the assessments.

Attendees should be Master's or Ph.D. level students and individuals currently holding or seeking a BCBA or BCaBA credential.

Children with ARFID often consume a limited variety of unhealthy foods and refuse to eat novel foods, liquids, and textures. Feeding difficulties can lead to nutrient-poor diets, which can cause impairments in cognitive and behavioral functioning, serious and irreversible effects on the brain, and severe health problems (Sullivan et al., 2002). Functional analysis is the gold standard assessment in ABA to identify the function of behavior that interferes with consumption, which can then inform treatment. Based on the results of these analyses, escape extinction is often warranted, and is currently the treatment with the most empirical support. Unfortunately, there are fewer studies evaluating the efficacy of antecedent- or reinforcement-based assessments and interventions for children with ARFID. In the current study, we conducted a reinforcement and parametric analysis to determine what environmental events or variables might reinforce appropriate feeding behavior, instead of a more traditional functional analysis for two children with ARFID. Based on the results of these assessments, we developed treatments to increase acceptance and consumption of target foods and liquids. These results have implications for use of alternative assessment and treatment methods that include choice-based components for the child.

Although behavior analysis has contributed substantially to the understanding and study of learning in humans, cultural influences and issues of inequity are understudied. With major organizations within our behavior analytic discipline turning focus to implementing practices which seek to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), the empirical study of interventions promoting inclusive practices becomes imperative. The current symposium contains research on empirically evaluating interventions to promote DEI. Several talks comprised of research on increasing knowledge and fluency of DEI terminology using a SAFMEDS procedure, understanding stereotype threat on performance, as well as interventions (e.g., self-monitoring, task clarification) for increasing inclusive practices for transgender and gender non-conforming populations will be covered. Although the research presented will discuss applications to specific marginalized populations, extensions will be made to applications beyond the participants included in the present research. Finally, discussion of current and future directions related to clinical ethics, inclusive of DEI practices, will occur.

all people

Promoting diversity and inclusion can impact a variety of different groups. Many organizations rely on various training methods to help ensure diversity in the workplace. However, little research has compared the effects of different training approaches on increasing recall of specific cultural terms. Thus, the present study employed an adapted alternating treatment design to explore the effectiveness of two different training approaches. A SAFMEDS training model was compared to a traditionally-applied computer-based instruction, to determine which is more efficient at promoting cultural fluency. The number of correct definitions for diversity terms across various demographic categories served as the dependent variable. Participants mastered a higher number of diversity terms when trained with SAFMEDS, compared to the computer-based instruction procedure. During maintenance sessions, participants exhibited sustained performance. SAFMEDS may be ideal for improving precision when training terms to be used in conversations about diversity, and culturally-related topics. These skills will aid in building more culturally-relevant social skills that include more complex responses.

Proper pronoun use towards Transgender and Gender Non-conforming (TGNC) populations have been associated with a significant reduction in suicide attempts, yet only about 20% reported having their pronouns respected by all or most people (The Trevor Project, 2020). The present study sought to increase proper pronoun usage in two graduate student participants in a simulated work task. The initial intervention was a general inclusionary statement (referred to as subtle cue) and was followed by usage of behavioral self-monitoring (BSM) of proper pronoun usage. Results show the general inclusionary statement to be ineffective in increasing usage of proper pronouns but found BSM to be effective in changing behavior immediately and for a sustained effect. The implications for the present study are the need to pinpoint specific inclusive behaviors to target for behavior-change, and how BSM may be one approach to increasing inclusive behaviors.

This symposium is intended to advance efforts by behavior analysts to increase the prevalence of communities that nurture the wellbeing of all their residents. The symposium will present four papers that are intended to illustrate the progress that is possible if we invest in community interventions, particularly in communities of greatest disadvantage. The first paper argues that community interventions can be the critical building block for evolving more nurturing societies. It outlines what a comprehensive approach to assisting communities in addressing their most pressing problems can look like. The second paper will focus on approaches to youth violence prevention and will discuss use of the socioecological model to inform community intervention across levels to affect not only violence prevention, but also structural determinants influencing violence including racism. The third paper describes that things that can be done to reduce tobacco use in communities. The fourth focuses on how communities can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our discussant will consider how this work can contribute to evolving a more nurturing society.

Basic

Both functional analyses (FA) and function-based interventions require the presentation of situations that may evoke dangerous behaviors. As such, various procedural decisions may be guided by a priority to maximize the safety of clients and clinicians. The current symposium includes four papers on the safety of functional approaches to problem behavior. The first talk presents a study on the identification and validation of response chains of severe behavior to improve assessment safety. The second talk presents a study evaluating trauma-related stimuli during FAs. A measure of heartrate was used to better understand the function of FA stimuli on the behavior of individuals with histories of trauma. The third talk presents a review of advancements to safety in FA over the past decade, including adjustments to data collection, contingencies, settings, people, equipment, conditions, and training. The final talk presents a randomized clinical trial on caregiver implementation of a function-based treatment to reduce elopement, which included a Home Elopement Safety Checklist. All four studies will be discussed by Dr. SungWoo Kahng, who has contributed to improvements in the safety of FAs for several decades.

Basic understanding of functional analysis procedures, function-based intervention approaches

Traumatic events may alter the function of stimuli, such as neutral stimuli becoming aversive stimuli following a traumatic event. In some cases, these stimuli may be difficult or impossible for a person to avoid. Additionally, trauma-related stimuli may differentially affect both physiological measures and functional analysis outcomes, and thus, effective treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of trauma-related stimuli, which participants were unable to avoid in their regular lives, on heartrate and functions of problem behavior of adults with intellectual disability during a standard functional analysis. Our results indicate that the presence of trauma-related stimuli differentially affected heartrate and functional analysis outcomes for some participants. This analysis suggests that for people with significant trauma histories, differential function-based treatments may be needed to address problem behavior that occurs in the presence/absence of trauma-related stimuli.

Despite the clear benefits of conducting functional analyses (FA) of severe behavior, safety precautions may drive clinicians to seek alternative and less valid assessment methods. Several advancements in FA methodology over the past decade have focused on prioritizing safety while ensuring high validity of outcomes. The current presentation describes the outcomes of a review of safety risks, precautions, and adjustments to FA methodology that have been published between 2013-2023. Adjustments have included alterations to setting, data collection, stimuli inclusion, assessment duration, and contingency arrangement, among others. Based on the outcomes of our review, we will provide guidelines for FA planning and implementation and propose avenues for future research on FA safety.

Children with emotional/behavioral disorders, autism, or related disabilities who engage in dangerous behavior at school are at risk for a number of undesirable outcomes, such as limited access to educational services, limited time with peers, limited access to community activities, or referral to more restrictive settings. In addition, children who engage in dangerous behavior at school may also experience crisis procedures such as physical restraint, use of protective equipment, referral to a school resource (i.e., police) officer, or exclusionary time-out, all of which increase the risk of injury and trauma. Educators may struggle to address these behaviors while ensuring students’ Individualized Education Plans (IEP) are implemented. This symposium presents data from four studies that addressed dangerous behavior in a variety of classroom settings while simultaneously teaching appropriate skills and reducing use of crisis procedures. This includes the development and implementation of universal protocols for staff, practical functional assessment and skill-based treatment (SBT) of problem behavior (Hanley et al., 2014), and an enhanced choice model of SBT (Rajaraman et al., 2021). Interventions are described as compassionate and trauma-informed in that they focus on ensuring safety, building rapport, providing children with choices about their treatment, and addressing dangerous behavior without extinction.

Audience members should have a thorough understanding of operant learning processes and procedures and an interest in school-based practice.

Students with autism who attend public school are expected to cooperate with a wide range of difficult instructions throughout the day. Students who engage in severe problem behavior might require physical management and even physical restraint if those instructions lead to episodes of dangerous behavior. Rajaraman et al. (2021) suggested that physical restraint should be considered potentially traumatizing for students in ABA programs and that those students might regularly experience such trauma. Following the break from school due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented a universal protocol for all returning students with the goal of minimizing the need for any physical contact between staff and students. This presentation will provide a brief overview of how to implement that protocol as well as practical functional assessment and skills-based treatment (Hanley et al., 2014) in a public school setting. We evaluated the extent to which trauma-informed ABA practices could minimize the need for physical management in a public school ABA program. Data suggest that the adoption of a universal protocol for new students, the practical functional assessment process, and skill-based treatments lead to fewer physical restraints.

Emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) are correlated with low socio-economic status and exposure to trauma. These vulnerabilities highlight the importance of systematically and formatively assessing client assent and preference while delivering treatment for dangerous problem behavior that impedes educational progress. The enhanced choice model of skill-based treatment (ECM-SBT; Rajaraman et al., 2021) involves concurrently offering skill-based treatment, access to enriched breaks, and regularly programmed instruction, allowing participants to move fluidly among contexts. In this presentation, we will describe procedures and outcomes of a retrospective consecutive controlled case series including nine elementary students with EBD, conducted in a public special day school. Application of ECM-SBT was associated with low levels of dangerous behavior during assessment and treatment and reduction of non-dangerous forms of challenging behavior. All participants mastered targeted alternative responses including functional communicative and delay acknowledgement responses, and cooperation with increasingly effortful chains of instructional demands, though trials to mastery varied by participant. Throughout treatment, participants allocated most responding to skill-based treatment versus alternative contexts. Future directions and implications to be discussed include potential interactions between language skills and response within phases of treatment, and allocation among ECM contexts as a means of informing programming and ensuring client assent.

The job market for certified behavior analysts currently is excellent, which poses a serious challenge for organizations looking to hire such individuals. We evaluated whether the provision of small giveaways at a recruitment booth set up at two behavior analysis conferences and at a university career fair influenced the relative number of attendees who verbally contacted a recruiter for an organization looking to hire certified and prospective behavior analysts. We also examined whether the provision of gifts influenced the relative number of attendees who left an e-mail address requesting further contact about possible employment. An alternating-treatments design was used to compare the giveaways and no-giveaways conditions. The giveaways items significantly increased the number of attendees who spoke with the recruiter, but not the number who requested further contact. These findings provide support for the use of giveaways items to generally attract attention to a recruiter, but further research is needed to determine whether their use increases applications for employment.

Justice, equity, diversity, inclusion (JEDI) and related issues have started to receive more attention in behavior analysis circles, including publications in behavior analysis journals about diversity and representation, antiracism, and cultural competence. To date, behavior analysis publications have been focused in two areas: cataloging demographic information from author bylines or the parts of Method sections that describe participants, and JEDI-oriented guidelines, frameworks and recommendations for clinical practice. Basic behavior analysis research is not immune from discriminatory practices, and basic behavioral scientists are not exempt from doing the work needed to ensure that behavior analysis is open to anyone. On the contrary, this kind of justice is one of three basic principles outlined in the Belmont Report for the protection of human subjects of research and one of five general principles in the American Psychological Association’s Ethics Code. Presentations will explore how JEDI principles can be meaningfully implemented in research involving student researchers and with animal research subjects, interrogate broader obligations to prospective behavioral scientists, and consider intersections between JEDI principles and culture responsiveness.

Students, Researchers, BCBAs

Dr. Shrinidhi Subramaniam is an Associate Professor in Psychology at California State University, Stanislaus and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Subramaniam received her PhD in Psychology from West Virginia University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in behavioral pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She teaches courses in applied behavior analysis, research methods, ethics, and addiction treatment, and mentors graduate students in their thesis research. Dr. Subramaniam’s research applies behavior analytic principles to solve problems like addiction, unemployment, and poverty in her community. Currently, she is the co-PI for Wellness WORKs!, a holistic health education program for CalWORKs participants in San Joaquin County. In addition to this work, she has published over 20 manuscripts and chapters across broad research interests. These publications include clinical studies evaluating the effectiveness of behavioral interventions like incentives and education, and basic and translational studies exploring processes underlying human decision making such as choice and temporal learning. Dr. Subramaniam is an Associate Editor for The Psychological Record, is on the editorial board for the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, and serves as the Board Secretary of the Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior. She was the Association for Behavior Analysis, International’s 2022 recipient of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences Early Career Impact Award.

Interteaching is a pedagogy stemming from behavior analysis that can be used as an alternative to lecture-centered teaching in higher education settings. This method was initially described by Boyce and Hineline in 2002, and continues to gather empirical support verifying its efficacy. Interteaching has been shown to produce higher exam scores, increase student participation in class, and result in more positive student course evaluations. This symposium will summarize the basic components of the interteaching method of instruction, followed by four data-based presentations. The first presentation will describe a study that investigated the clarifying lecture component of interteaching in an asynchronous online course. The second presentation will summarize a study that compared two methods of implementing the preparation guide component of interteaching: having students complete the preparation guide either before or during class. The third presentation will review results of a study that compared the preparation guide component of interteaching versus a brief quiz. The fourth presentation will describe main findings from a literature review of single-case research conducted evaluating interteaching. These four presentations will summarize a sample of recent research conducted evaluating interteaching as an instructional methodology.

Course instructors and/or fieldwork supervisors

The present study evaluated the clarifying lecture component of interteaching using undergraduate participants (N=116) enrolled across three sections of a nine-week asynchronous online psychology of learning course. The study used an alternating-treatments design that alternated lecture styles across weeks of material in each of the courses. A Latin square counterbalance was used to determine the order (ABCABC; BCABCA; CABCAB) of the three lecture conditions: (a) a brief clarifying lecture tailored to cover material that students reported to be the most difficult; (b) a brief standard lecture covering what the instructor thought was the most difficult content; and (c) no lecture. Results showed that students scored marginally better on weekly exams following the brief clarifying lecture (z-score M = .07, SD = 1.02) than when the standard lecture (z-score M = .02, SD = .89) or no lecture (z-score M = -.08, SD = 1.09) were used, although there was no statistically significant difference found between the three lecture conditions. Furthermore, this study found that the majority (70.59%) of students self-reported that they preferred and learned more from the clarifying lectures. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that tailoring lectures based on student feedback may be beneficial to student learning.

Individuals with ASD may experience difficulties establishing and maintaining meaningful friendships and discriminating the signs of unhealthy friendships. How individuals identify and maneuver the signs and nuances of a friendship may have lasting effects related to unhealthy, and potentially abusive or manipulative relationships. We evaluated behavior skills training (BST) to teach an individual with ASD to discriminate traits of healthy and unhealthy friendships and to provide rationales for each exemplar presented through video models. Following BST, we observed an initial increase in correct tacts of healthy traits. We added a differential observing response (DOR) to increase attending to the relevant variables depicted in the models. Following the inclusion of a DOR, Luca was able to tact both healthy and unhealthy friendship traits from video models. BST alone was insufficient for teaching Luca to provide a correct rationale for video models. Further refinements are needed to increase correct rationales for why various traits relate to healthy and unhealthy friendships. This line of research seeks to help individuals make informed decisions when seeking meaningful and healthy friendships. Learning these skills may protect against the establishment of unhealthy friendships, bullying and reduce the risk of harm for vulnerable populations (i.e., individuals with ASD).

vulnerable to bullying. Ranick et al. (2013) showed that autistic children can be taught to distinguish and respond to deceptive statements meant to exclude them from an activity or take something away from them. However, there is no research on how to teach children with autism to identify and respond to lies meant to exclude them based on gender, which is common among children. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to replicate Ranick et al. (2013) and expand on their findings by teaching autistic children to identify and respond to gendered lies. The treatment package consisted of multiple exemplar training while the investigator and the participant played board games. Three boys between the ages of six to nine years-old, diagnosed with autism, were presented with five trained deceptive statements and five novel deceptive statements. The results showed that all three participants learned to identify and respond to novel deceptive statements and that skill was maintained after one month and generalized to novel deceivers.

Deficits in social skills are considered a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and have been shown to impact quality of life, but the research on effective social skills interventions, particularly for adolescents with ASD, is lacking. Specifically, more research is needed on complex social skills (e.g., conversation skills) and methods that promote generalization. The current study is a replication and extension of a study by Hood and colleagues (2017). We used behavioral skills training (BST) and in-vivo training to teach conversation skills to two adolescents with ASD. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of those teaching procedures on the generalization of conversation skills to novel conversation partners using a multiple probe design across behaviors. Results for one participant indicated that BST was sufficient to produce generalization across three novel conversation partners. The second participants’ results indicate that for some individuals, additional intervention may be necessary for taught conversation skills to generalize to novel conversation partners.

The diversity of children in classrooms and communities are dramatically changing as the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder and other related intellectual and developmental disabilities are increasingly included within it. To engage in the benefits of inclusion, social skills are needed. Yet, individuals with disabilities commonly experience difficulties in this area. Extant literature indicates that social skills are more successfully acquired when taught through naturalistic and embedded instruction in established routines. A commonly occurring routine in most classrooms, homes, and community settings is mealtime. This paper presentation presents data from two studies that examined the efficacy of Snack Talk, a supplemental naturalistic visual communication support, with two different populations: five young children with autism spectrum disorder, and five adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Snack Talk was implemented during mealtime in preschool and adult day center settings, seeking to increase conversation engagement between target participants and staff. A withdrawal design across participants was used. Results demonstrate increases in conversation engagement showed meaningful gains for participants in intervention and maintenance compared to baseline. Limitations and directions for further research are also discussed.

Most behavior analysts work as clinicians with individuals who have developmental disabilities (Behavior Analyst Certification Board [BACB], 2021). The BACB has a test content outline that informs the verified course sequence adopted by most programs in the United States. The test content outline focuses on building a solid theoretical foundation of the science of behavior that is meant to regulate training programs. Currently, there is limited literature on other potentially important areas of considerations for employers, such as interpersonal skills and professional skills. Additionally, it is not known whether skills that employers find valuable have any influence on the theoretical knowledge or clinical experiences that the course content outlines. This current panel discussion will examine the aforementioned topics according to the perspective of the hiring team. This discussion will provide insight to students, faculty, and clinicians about what employers value in newly minted behavior analysts. Further, we will tackle how employers assess competence during the interview process so that programs can tailor their training in such a fashion to prepare students.

The impact of the increasing prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder is an increasing need for effective interventions with robust outcomes. At the same time recent social media contains an escalating amount of content that questions the validity of ABA interventions. Independent community-based replications of the Lovaas model of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) continue to result in significant outcomes for many children in comparison to children receiving other community-based special education services. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted access to services for a period of years. This symposium will include multiple measures of recent outcome data collected prior to the pandemic, as well as data that reflects the impact of the pandemic. The replications of EIBI programs include a sufficiently technological description of the interventions to analyze the essential treatment integrity variables that lead to maximal outcomes. In these large-scale implementations of EIBI for ASD, the relationship between treatment integrity variables and multiple measures of response to treatment is analyzed. The effects of the variables are analyzed by both group average measures and individual variability measures.

Audience members should have competence in basic implementation of ABA technology with persons with autism and their family members and teachers.

This presentation will include initial data comparing clinical outcomes scores, as measured by composite score gains and losses on the Vineland-3 Adaptive Behavioral Scales, across a group of clients who received direct telehealth services (n=394) and telehealth supervision (n=200) during the 2020 pandemic. Additionally, matched data sets (n=29), indicating 2019 composite score gains with 2020 composite score gains, will offer an initial picture of client progress during receipt of telehealth services, compared to that same client’s progress with prior in-person services. Additionally, as part of a multi-provider collaboration, 266 families, receiving either telehealth only (n=93) or a combination of in-person and telehealth (n=173) were surveyed to assess social validity and quality of life. Results of the survey indicated that, overall, caregivers were satisfied with telehealth services and found them beneficial. Barriers related to reduced caregiver satisfaction were identified. Finally, survey results intended to assess the confidence and perceived competence of behavior analysts prior to and following training on program and supervision modifications for telehealth will be presented. Based on feedback from behavior analysts who participated in the shift to telehealth, the authors will share a proposed assessment tool which may be helpful in identifying clinical appropriateness for telehealth supervision.

Implementation science focuses on barriers and supports that educators, including behavior analysts, need when implementing evidence-based practices (EBP) in clinics and classrooms. Implementation science arose from the need to understand the research-to-practice gap that exists in the delivery of EBPs. It is a dynamic framework designed to increase understanding of how to improve and increase use of EBP. Damschroder et al. (2009) devised a Consolidated Framework for Implementation Science (CFIR) that has five domains: intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of the individuals involved, and the process of implementation. Using the constructs of the CFIR this presentation will address the recent successes and barriers of an applied single case experimental study designed to teach minimally-verbal, preschool children with ASD receptive vocabulary.

Operant behavior is strengthened or weakened by consequences that vary in terms of magnitude, quality, and variability. An individual’s history of reinforcement and punishment are therefore important in predicting behavior, and this includes choices people make in each moment of time. When people choose between immediate and long-term consequences, important factors include time constraints, training history, and magnitude and probability of threat versus avoidance of threat/aversive outcome. Within the criminal justice system, there are interlocking behavioral contingencies working at the meta level that involve the interplay between groups of people undergoing a variety of these factors. The factors shape the individual and collective behavior of citizens, police officers/law enforcement, lawyers, judges, etc. In this presentation, we will focus on a model of how the interlocking behavioral contingencies intersect, and why behavioral skills training is important.

Behavior analytic practitioners live within two different dimensions. Most of the time, treatment is provided with only straightforward ethical issues, but sometimes situations seem to turn our practice upside down. This alternate dimension of unethical behavior is not often discussed, yet it threatens the existence of our ABA, science-based world. Thankfully, behavior analysts can be taught the tools to fight against unethical monsters without needing psychic powers. This symposium will provide behavior analysts with methods to fight the ethical upside down by reviewing a script for instructing how to confront unethical behavior, methods to combat the invasion of pseudoscience, and ways to vanquish the barriers to conducting experimental analysis in clinical practice.

The target audience will have prerequisite knowledge in the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, the science-based application of behavior change interventions, as well as the ethical use of experimentation in clinical practice.

The foundations of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and its subsequent ethical codes necessitate the use of experimentation to determine relationships among behavior and environmental variables as an underlying principle. Behavior analysts may be experiencing barriers to using experimental analysis (EA) in clinical practice. This paper included two questionnaire studies investigating behavior analysts’ (Study 1 N=293; Study 2 N =324) current use and barriers to ethical implementation of EA in clinical practice. Results aggregated from both studies indicated that approximately 1/3rd of behavior analysts did not use EA in clinical practice. Across the studies, lack of resources ranked as the most significant barrier, while reimbursement for services was ranked as the least influential barrier to using EA in clinical practice. These studies suggested possible general and specific barriers to implementation of EA in clinical practice, which may have significant ethical implications for appropriate treatment for clients.

Behavior analysts have a responsibility to provide their clients with interventions that are based on scientific evidence. Nevertheless, in a survey identifying certified behavior analysts’ use and variables influencing their use of autism treatments, only between 78% and 95% of participants (N=921) at each certification level (BCBA-Ds, BCBAs, BCaBAs, and RBTs) reported current use of applied behavior analysis (ABA). Furthermore, with the exception of bleach therapy, all treatments, including ineffective/harmful interventions (e.g., facilitated communication), were reportedly used by at least one participant. Participants frequently cited persuasion by others as an influence for their treatment selections. A comparison with previous findings (Schreck et al., 2016) identified a statistically significant decrease in the percentage of certificants at each level (i.e., BCBA-Ds, BCBAs, and BCaBAs) using ABA compared to five years ago. Significant decreases in the use of two unestablished treatments were also found; however, there was no change in the reported use of all other pseudoscientific treatments. Since behavior analysts’ use of unestablished treatments may be detrimental to client outcomes and the reputation and success of the field of ABA, it is essential to discuss these findings and to identify methods for increasing behavior analysts’ use of empirically supported treatments.

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Come to the lounge area and meet presenters to discuss their research, ask questions, or just say "hi." Authors:

• Sarah Dababnah
• Sarah Feldstein Ewing
• Aaron Fischer
• Simon Gadbois
• Amy Gravino
• Adam Halberstadt

"Bring your badge and have your professional photograph taken for use in social media, professional online bios, and more! "

Functional communication training is a widely used treatment for challenging behavior in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As more students with ASD are being served in educational settings, it is essential to understand and evaluate the evidence base of FCT in educational contexts. Fortunately, the number of systematic reviews of FCT has increased in recent years. Research is now needed to synthesize these findings to inform future research and evaluate the evidence base for this practice as a whole. This evaluation should focus on how FCT has been applied in educational contexts, under what conditions, for whom and by whom, and with what outcomes. This mega-review synthesized five reviews of FCT for children with ASD in educational settings. Data on participant characteristics, educational setting variables, FCT components and implementation, and outcomes and conclusions from each review are synthesized and discussed. Methodological rigor of each review was evaluated using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews Revised (AMSTAR 2). This is the first mega-review to evaluate FCT in educational settings for children with ASD. The state of evidence for FCT in educational settings will be presented with implications for research and practice will be presented.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of behavioral intervention package of an adult with autism and severe behavioral problems. The subject of this study was an autistic adult with low verbal ability, and displayed a high rate of self-injury (i.e., slapping his face, scratching neck, bumping head), hitting others and destroying objects during his high school period. After being referred to the behavioral training center of university in central Taiwan, the functional behavioral assessment was conducted and the behavioral intervention strategies were developed based on the underlying function, including the adjustment of antecedent stimulus, teaching functional equivalence behaviors to replace problem behaviors, combining with mand training for establish his communication ability. A variety of activities were trained to help the adult to regulate his high arousal emotion. The activities included folding paper, throwing ball, throwing sandbags, poking fun, pinching a ball, drumming, etc. The results showed improvement in reduction of problem behaviors and positive increases of adaptive behaviors. The findings of the study support the need of functional behavioral assessment (including functional analysis) prior to intervention, and the behavioral intervention package did show positive improvement and highly beneficial to the subjects. The social validity data also displayed favor outcome for this research.

Reddit, the sixth most used internet site in the world, is a public anonymous user-generated social media discussion platform. The present data exploration sought to use machine learning methodology to define and identify converging and diverging patterns and insights into autism-related discussions on Reddit across three different categories of subreddits: individuals who self-identify as being on the autism spectrum, parents of individuals on the autism spectrum, and behavior therapists. Using the R package RedditExtractoR (Rivera, 2022), we extracted comments from these communities. We trimmed our data set to only consider the past five years (i.e., 2017-2022). Next, basic preprocessing (i.e., removing stopwords, numbers, html tags, and bot account comments) and advanced preprocessing (i.e., lemmatization), were initialized. Our extraction resulted in 57 subreddits and 46,914 comments from autism spectrum subreddit members, 46 subreddits and 27,838 comments from parent subreddit members, and six subreddits with 3,163 comments from behavior therapist subreddit members. Analyses revealed some overlap, but mostly differences, between these three subreddit community categories. Further analysis of these discussions has the ability to highlight areas of overlap and dissonance, with regard to both content and sentiment, across these communities on the topic of autism, which may identify avenues for future exploration of targeted research questions.

Objective: Discriminative learning in operant conditioning is the process which changing neural activity and behavior to gain reinforcement under discriminative stimulus. However, time courses of changes in neural oscillations and behaviors with discriminative operant conditioning remain controversial. Therefore, we aimed to quantitatively identify time course of changes in neural oscillations and behaviors during discriminative operant conditioning in the context of behavioral and neural relationship. Methods: One healthy young adult participated in our single-case study. Each trial began with one of two beeps including high and low tones for 500 ms. The participant was instructed to press a button as quickly as possible in response to low tone beep. After the button press, “Correct” or “Incorrect” was presented for 1.5 s as feedback. Dependent neural and behavioral variables were electroencephalography, reaction time, and omission and commission errors. Results: The inhibition of theta oscillations at F4 of the 10–20 International System reflecting frontal gyrus right before button press and no-button press decreased with discriminative operant conditioning, indicating disinhibition. Additionally, the amplitude of theta oscillations at F4 before button press was higher than no-button press. Conclusion: These results imply that theta oscillation specifically changes during Go/No-Go procedure in discriminative leaning.

Objective: We hypothesized that if brain stimulation affects operant behavior, then rhythmic brain stimulation should entrain the behavioral rhythm. We examined how modulatory effects occur when pairing operant behavior with brain stimulation. This would lead to effective rehabilitation method. Methods: One healthy young and one healthy older adult participated in our study with AB design. The participants wore the virtual-reality device and were instructed to perform rhythmic elbow flexion and extension in accordance with the dynamic virtual target hand in virtual reality. In baseline condition, the participant perform rhythmic elbow flexion and extension without brain stimulation. In intervention phase, the alternating current stimulation was delivered to the cerebellum at a frequency of 0.5 Hz with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 2 mA during rhythmic behaviors. This study was approved by IRB, and the stimulation was within safety range confirmed by previous studies. Results: For both young and older adults, 0.5 Hz-behavioral oscillations were decreased during baseline phase, whereas 0.5 Hz-behavioral oscillations were recovered in intervention phase. Conclusion: These results imply that rhythmic brain stimulation can enhance the behavioral rhythm in the context of pairing brain stimulation with operant behavior.

Objective: The respondent conditioning associated with other person’s negative facial expressions including angry and disgust can cause anxiety and nervous responses. However, it is still difficult to objectively actualize the anxiety and nervous responses. If precursor of anxiety and nervous responses reflecting other person’s negative facial expressions is actualized, this knowledge could help patients and clinicians improving positive behaviors. We therefore investigated a precursor of anxiety and nervous responses reflecting other person’s negative facial expressions in the context of behavioral and neural relationship. Methods: One healthy young adult participated in our study. Each trial began with a cue (blue fixation cross), followed by one of tree facial-expression pictures including neutral, angry and disgust expressions for 2 s: each 50 trials contained neutral, angry, or disgust. Dependent neural and behavioral variables were electroencephalography (EEG) and anxiety and nervous scores. Results: The coherences between occipital and frontal brain oscillations for other person’s angry and disgust facial expressions were higher than that for other person’s neutral facial expression. Conclusion: These results imply that the electroencephalography can be a precursor of anxiety and nervous responses reflecting other person’s negative facial expressions as the basic mechanism of respondent conditioning.

Buprenorphine is an FDA-approved medication for opioid use disorder that can reduce opioid use and risk of overdose, but many individuals who could benefit from buprenorphine treatment discontinue treatment, divert buprenorphine for illicit use, or continue to use illicit opioids during buprenorphine treatment. The present research evaluated the effectiveness of two incentive-based interventions in promoting adherence to office-based buprenorphine treatment and reducing illicit opioid use among adults with opioid use disorder. Participants (N=375) were randomly assigned to three groups that received (a) standard care, (b) daily incentives for adhering to buprenorphine, or (c) daily incentives for adhering to buprenorphine and being abstinent from opiates. Daily buprenorphine adherence and opiate abstinence were monitored using a commercially available video directly observed therapy platform and incentives were delivered remotely using that platform. Participants in all groups completed assessments every month during the 3-month study period and every 3 months during a 9-month follow-up period. We are in the process of analyzing individual results and group differences in several outcomes including buprenorphine adherence, opiate abstinence, buprenorphine diversion, overdose risk, patient treatment satisfaction, and post-intervention effects. Results of our analyses will be discussed, as will implications for practice and future clinical research.

Applied Behaviour Analysis is most recognized in its application to children with autism. However, ABA provides behavioural supports to several other populations. Behaviour Analysts are tasked with building capacity, providing education, and championing advocacy efforts with populations who would benefit accessing much needed behavioural interventions. With the number of Board-Certified Behaviour Analysts seeing a 7,317% increase from 2001-2021, the duty lies within the growing profession to ensure that the application of the science of behaviour analysis is effectively disseminated, particularly amongst gerontological populations. A literature review was conducted to determine the current presence, gaps, and needs when considering the practice of behaviour analysis within gerontological supports, specifically amongst seniors with dementia. Behaviour analysis is scarcely present within this realm of support, with much literature and research indicating that gaps can continue to be filled with the growing practice of the science. Behaviour analysts can contribute to the holistic, person-centred approach to care when supporting seniors with a diagnosis of dementia. Through this literature review, current applications were examined, along with considerations around the presence of other allied clinicians within gerontological supports to determine how behaviour analysts can continue to be recognized as crucial members of this network of support.

Empirical literature is the basis for providing information to the population about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) topics. Recently, behavior analytic journals have seen more calls to action for additional experimental studies addressing DEI in practice (Conine et al., 2021). The present study is a systematic Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) scoping review to identify DEI literature in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Analysis in Practice, Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, and Behavior and Social Issues. The current study identifies common terms that populate DEI literature, evaluates existing experimental DEI studies using What Works Clearinghouse Criteria (WWC), and delivers recommendations for what is needed to further DEI literature in behavior analysis. Preliminary results have identified overlapping technical Applied Behavior Analysis terminology with DEI terms and few experimental studies evaluating methods of increasing DEI in practice. Revising and clarifying terms can facilitate both research and dissemination of DEI studies. The authors will propose guidelines for selecting and using terminology for clear and precise communication of DEI versus other Applied Behavior Analysis topics.