Association for Behavior Analysis International

The purpose of the annual meeting of members is for ABAI leadership to provide an update on the ongoing activities of and major developments in the association.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Teachers, Practitioners

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Educators, Practitioners, and Researchers

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

basic

Applied Behavior Analysis provides a scientific foundation for evidence-based practices for educating individuals with autism and developmental disabilities, however, implementation of these practices in schools is a persistent challenge within the special education field. One method for addressing the research-to-practice gap is to increase the recruitment of practitioners into doctoral programs aimed at preparing researchers and educators in the field of ABA. Increasing the number of experienced practitioners in academia has potential to improve development of socially relevant research in both ABA and special education, particularly given the unique insight experienced practitioners offer in understanding contextual variables that impact adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices in applied settings. However, shifting from career to graduate student also presents some unique challenges that may be a deterrent for many. This panel, composed of special educators and behavior analysts transitioning from careers as school-based practitioners to doctoral students and researchers, will address some of these challenges. Practical considerations for a successful transition including recommendations for selecting a degree program, developing application materials, and determining funding opportunities will be discussed.

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

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

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

Intermediate

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

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

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

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

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

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

Designed for: Students, researchers, and Clinicians

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Attendees should be familiar with Iwata's functional analysis. 

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a difficult question for most people, let alone those who received a diagnosis between the 1990s and 2000s. They are adults now, and we need to look at how to support them in the next chapters of their life. This calls for investigation of multiple factors, like family and vocational systems and how behavioral principles intertwine, to help individuals with autism answer that age-old question. Next we need to determine the steps and resources necessary to help these individuals turn that answer into a reality. How can motivating operations and environmental manipulations set the stage for meaningful employment connected to preferences, skills, talents, and interests? What do pre-vocational and vocational goals look like? This paper will focus on what conversations need to be had between families, teachers, and employers, while relying on research and data to guide teams with the most useful and usable recommendations.

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

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

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

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised unique challenges for those who provide behavior analytic therapy. As a result of COVID-19, many behavior analysts have had to rapidly shift their service delivery methods from in-person therapy to telehealth. A variety of different technologies exist that can be used to facilitate behavior analytic teleconsultation when in-person services are not possible. In this presentation we will review a variety of technologies that can be used to support individuals during periods of quarantine and social distancing. Specifically, we will review the utility of web-cameras, Swivls, and teleconsultation robots to support behavior analytic consultation and intervention. We will review the cost, benefits, and limitations of each technology. Case examples will be included. Practical solutions to address potential barriers with each technology will be discussed. At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to identify the benefits and limitations of each technology to select the technology that will best meet the needs of individual clients.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Psychologists

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Those interested in the Cultural Behavior Science VCS practicum.

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

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

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

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

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

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

BCBAs

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

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

BCBAs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This symposium offers a behavior-analytic perspective to learning and organization in educational settings. The four presentations highlight the complex system character of educational settings and the importance of school-wide interventions focusing on interactions rather than purely individual approaches. The consolidation of educational conditions that help pupils to thrive can be the aggregate product of coordinated nurturing practices, favored and selected by engineered cultural consequences. The presentations will discuss possible interfaces between a complex system perspective and selection processes at the level of culturants and operants. Concerning the latter, the use of nudging in educational institutions is explored to enhance the support of positive developmental paths, adaptive to contextual changes. We suggest multidisciplinary behavioral insights as conceptual tools to explain behavior from individual to multiple policy-level responses in order to identify innovative and cost-effective interventions. Moreover, the need for adaptation in response to changes in contingencies of reinforcement brought by the Covid-19 provides the opportunity to discuss resilience at the system level.

The Good Behavior Game is a school-based intervention with evidence of promoting positive change in pupils’ interactions through nurturing group contingencies. Whilst the rate of prosocial and on-task behavior increases, aggressive and disruptive episodes become less frequent. In the long-term, the program is linked with preventing individual and societal losses, as high incidences of substance abuse. Although extensively replicated, pathways for the intervention’s sustainability remain to be elucidated. Advancements into the study of the third level of behavior selection allow for putting a framework to integrate the Good Behavior Game into a scalable public policy design. From a system perspective, the target audience should be extended from pupils to school staff. Instead of individual mentoring, arrangements that require coordination between practitioners and decision-makers are more promising in terms of promoting institutional change. Shifts in favor of nurturing patterns at the school level would be achieved as an aggregate product of interlocking behavioral contingencies, which in turn, can be selected by designed cultural consequences. By embedding metacontingencies to the Good Behavior Game, parallel operant and culturant selection processes can pave the way to lasting institutional change. For dissemination, the webs of interaction under selection should integrate cross-sector policymakers.

The present conceptual work puts forward a model drawn from both traditions for enhancing classroom learning and interactions. It aims to achieve and sustaining enhanced learning and teaching practices from individual to school system level of analysis. First, school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) are described and contextualized at the level of at the primary level of intervention, which concerns all pupils’ behavior with one another rand their teachers. Specifically, the focus is on posting values, character traits, expected behavior. Second, nudging principles are presented for improving the implementation and use of SWPBIS in concert with programming the availability of timely reinforcement. The nudging approach can be effective at assisting the creation of cooperative classrooms and even reach out beyond the classroom: to the system level. Taken together, this work argues for arranging cooperative educational environments. The expected outcomes of this enhanced model include enhancing learning and teaching within classroom settings and enhancing social skills beyond the classroom. It is argued that attaining the latter is possible only by addressing and nurturing the larger cultural milieu of which pupils, teachers and schools are part of.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought changes in contingencies of reinforcement affecting the acquisition, change and extinction of behavioral patterns. From the complex systems perspective, it is important to look at the emergence of different practices and behaviors at the community and organizational level. The present article discusses the dynamics of system resilience by empirically investigating the case of lecturers in a university college in Brazil. Our analytical framework applies the concept of resilience in socio-ecological systems to discuss emergent behavioral changes. Resilience in socio-ecological systems highlights adaptation processes characterized by an interplay of previous experience and emerging new patterns of behavior. We integrate elements of a descriptive analysis and an exploratory basic qualitative study to understand how the university college may have self-organized in this period. We observe variation in behavioral repertoire, changes in interactions among lecturers and students, and the emergence of innovative practices in the context of rapid and unexpected environmental changes brought the pandemic. However, we raise questions related to the integration and endurance of such new behaviors in a post-pandemic future.

Behavior analysis has a rich history of efficacious interventions that increase behaviors related to health, wellness, and safety. Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) is a subfield of behavior analysis that has been successful at promoting targeted behaviors in settings such as health and human services, manufacturing, health care, construction, etc. The current symposium highlights several recent applications of OBM to improve health, wellness, and safety in applied settings. Four presentations have been prepared to (1) present data on an initiative at a health center to reduce readmission rates, (2) summarize a pinpoint-criteria to promote risk identification in the workplace, (3) describe a conversation-based intervention to improve worker safety, and (4) report on smartphone technology and behavioral observations to increase COVID-19 infection control behaviors at a university. The symposium will conclude with a discussant overview of the current topic and advancements in OBM.

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

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

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

Visit dozens of exhibitors in the virtual exhibit hall!

In 1974, Rekers and Lovaas published an article in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis wherein the authors instructed a gender-non-conforming child’s parents to punish that child when they engaged in gender-non-conforming behaviors. In 2020, the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis’ editor-in-chief published a Statement of Concern regarding Rekers and Lovaas (1974), which provided justification for the journal’s decision to not retract this paper. In this paper presentation, I describe criticisms of the rationale for not retracting this paper. I note that the criteria used to determine retraction were not applied in the manner suggested by official retraction guidelines. I describe contemporaneous criticisms of the Rekers and Lovaas paper which were written by a set of authors that included foundational figures in applied behavior analysis. I describe the active discussion within the psychological sciences in the early 1970s to depathologize homosexuality. I criticize the Statement of Concern’s focus on damage to the field as opposed to the harm done to the child, and question errors of commission and omission made in the Statement of Concern. I end with an argument that Rekers and Lovaas (1974) should be retracted.

Behavior Skills Training (BST) has historically focused its methodology towards clinical application in the area of autism and staff training. When considering BST from a fundamental perspective, it is important to conceptualize its application to communicated advocacy in the areas of discrimination, racism, harassment, and social injustice. Developing the individual-practitioner skill repertoire within the BST model of Instruction, Model, Rehearsal, and Feedback recognizes that building communication advocacy is a necessary skill to build a solid individual framework of ally and advocate. Experienced racism and discrimination and the eradication thereof will require a community response to inequities of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In the wake of the racial and health pandemic that has affected people of color along with systemic racism that inflicts the country, utilizing the practice of BST and its expanded application will supply the individual practitioner with the skills necessary to communicate and respond to observed discrimination thus standing up against social injustice in their immediate environment.

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

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Behavior Analysts

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

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

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

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

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

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

Behavior analysts are expected to lead treatment teams by training and supporting staff. However, many behavior analysts were not formally trained for such leadership positions. In this talk, I will address some of the common barriers supervisors face in their leadership roles and provide practical tips for efficient, effective leadership and supervision of staff.

Board certified behavior analysts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Radical behaviorism has served as the primary philosophical foundation for behavior analysis. This foundation has helped behavior analysts to avoid mentalism and focus on objective behavior-environment relations. A focus on the environment, rather than hypothetical constructs, has been conducive to the prediction and control of experimental variables and successful applications of basic principles to socially significant problems. Indeed, radical behaviorism has been a helpful guide for behavior analysts, but the lack of an explicit and comprehensive systemization of postulations has also led to inconsistencies and confusions. Additionally, the overemphasis on prediction and control has resulted in the narrowing of psychological investigation and a reliance on the premise that causes of behavior can be found in the future or past. The radical behaviorist may be correct in his argument that such concerns have not prevented the successful application of behavior analytic principles. However, one may retort that given these concerns, the logical coherence and continued effectiveness in novel areas of behavior analysis are questionable. As such, it is worthwhile to highlight logical issues pertaining to our philosophy and suggest potential alternatives.

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

All behavior analysts.

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

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

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

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

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

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

BCaBAs, BCBAs, BCBA-Ds

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

The ABA Billing Codes Commission is pleased to host a networking event to answer audience questions related to billing, Medically Unlikely Edits (MUEs), provision of ABA service using telehealth, and other related inquiries. Attendees are invited to join this event to ask questions, meet the members, and learn more about the mission of the ABA Billing Codes Commission to facilitate evidence-based applied behavior analysis by advancing the multi-disciplinary understanding, dissemination, and standardization of the adaptive behavior CPT® billing codes.

Dr. Anthony DeFulio, Ph.D., BCBA-D is hosting a meet and greet event in advance of his Monday afternoon presentation, “Disseminating Behavioral Intervention for Drug Abuse Across the USA: A Behavior Analysis Story.” This discussion will prioritize issues related to drug abuse, with a special emphasis on behavior analytic intervention (e.g., contingency management). However, due to the integral role of technology in the implementation and dissemination of behavior analytic drug abuse interventions, Dr. DeFulio will also be happy to discuss matters pertaining to digital implementation of behavior analytic interventions, and dissemination efforts more broadly. According to the interests of the attendees, discussion may include:

• Addiction
• Opioids and stimulant drugs
• Drug abuse treatment
• Contingency management
• Incentive-based interventions
• Token economies
• Intervention dissemination efforts
• Digital behavioral health interventions

Obtaining instructional or stimulus control with young learners on the autism spectrum is critically important, just as it is with learners without any disability label. And just as it is with adolescents and adults without any disability label, the “source” of instructional or stimulus control needs, to the greatest extent possible, to transfer from the behavior analyst to the individual and his or her environment. This session will provide a brief overview of this issue followed by the opportunity for discussion with those in attendance. Topics associated with this “transfer of control” include, but are not limited to, behavior analytic intervention, instruction, or support in areas such as:

• Personal safety
• Healthcare transition
• Sexuality
• Self-management
• Social inclusion
• Leisure
• Advocacy

This event will be an informal discussion of quantitative theories and their application to the assessment and treatment of problem behavior. Other topics may include translational research more broadly, as well as how one might pursue a career in translational science.

This Meet & Greet session will allow us to discuss the topics that are presented in my lecture, “Analyzing Behavior-Environment Interactions: Why Movement Cycles Matter.” You can ask follow-up questions that you have after listening to the lecture. In addition, as time allows, we can discuss other related topics, such as shaping, poisoned cues, and the constructional approach.

This meet and greet is scheduled to follow Mark Bouton’s Skinner lecture “Learning to Stop Responding.” Topics for discussion might include: the role of context in operant learning and in behavior change generally; the many types of cues that can constitute “context;” how we can prevent lapse and relapse after stopping a behavior or behavior change; ideas about goal-directed and habitual forms of operant behavior.

Historically, there has been a lack of awareness in Latin America regarding information about the real concept, validity, and benefits of Applied Behavior Analysis not only for children with autism but for the field of Applied Behavior Analysis in general. For over a decade Dr. Chavez Askins has been successfully disseminating Applied Behavior Analysis in Peru, and other Latin American countries through evidence-based teaching, services, and research. This session will give the audience the opportunity to ask and share information in regard to:

• the implementation of services with children with autism, their families, and professionals interested in the field
• changes achieved and that still can be worked on in Latin America towards awareness and services in regard to applied behavior analysis
• narriers encountered
• the solutions that were sought
• vision for the future of the applied behavior analysis field in Latin America

The present study investigated the potential effects of visual simple discrimination training with two-components specific consequences on auditory comprehension in children with cochlear implants (CI) based on derived conditional relations and the formation of equivalence relations. The stimuli were dictated and written pseudo-sentences, and abstract and representative pictures. Visual simple discriminations involving written pseudo-sentences (C) and abstract figures (D) were taught. Correct selections (S+) were followed by specific consequences with two components: dictated pseudo-sentences (A) and representative pictures (B), presented simultaneously. Probes of arbitrary matching to sample assessed derived auditory-visual (AB, AC, and AD) and visual-visual (BC, CB, BD, DB, CD, and DC) conditional relations. All three participants learned simple discriminations, and two showed derived conditional relations and formation of ABCD classes, demonstrating auditory comprehension to pseudo-sentences. The present study replicates and extends previous results on sentence learning in children with CI, and suggests that simple discrimination training with two-components specific consequences may be a way to promote auditory-visual and symbolic relations.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the reinforcing effect of a pair of stimuli related with two components of a multiple schedule of negative reinforcement based on a shock frequency reduction procedure (Hernnstein & Hineline, 1975). Previous attempts to evaluate the reinforcing effects of discriminative stimuli correlated with avoidance contingences have included the Sidman avoidance procedure and have shown that only stimuli related with free-shock periods (security signals) are effective as conditioned reinforcers. In the present study the discriminative and delta function of two stimuli were trained during a multiple schedule of negative reinforcement composed by avoidance and extinction schedules. The avoidance schedule delivered shocks with a probability of 0.35 each 2 s. Avoidance responses reduce the probability of shock delivering to 0.10 each 2 s. Responses during extinction schedule were not effective to reduce the shock probability. Responses to a second lever produced the respective discriminative or delta stimuli depending on the experimental phase. Discriminative and delta stimulus were tested as conditioned reinforcers during different phases of two experiments. There was not evidence in regard the reinforcing effect of the delta stimulus. Results were consistent with the conditioned reinforcing account of the observing behavior.

Delay discounting has been studied extensively using animal models with psychophysical adjustment procedures. Many procedures have been developed to assess delay discounting in humans and many of these procedures use hypothetical rewards and delays. The Experiential Discounting Task (EDT)was developed to assess human delay discounting using real rewards and delays. In the present study we examined the test–retest reliability of the EDT using different rewards. Construct validity was evaluated by comparing the EDT giving a reward with videogame time with an EDT with food reward and a standard delay discounting task. We stablished a base line on 3 evaluations keeping the same delays, then we increased the delays in 25% on 2 sessions and we returned to the baseline. Both EDT had poor test–retest reliability and discounting rates obtained with those task were uncorrelated with those obtained in the standard delay discounting task. R square was negatively correlated with scores on stress measured by biological markers. This correlation may suggest that a higher stress modify the stability of the decisions. These findings suggest the EDT measures a different construct than that measured by traditional delay discounting tasks and the EDT measures the same construct with different rewards

Addressing the needs of preschoolers with challenging behavior is important, as these issues often have long-term impacts on the outcomes of students (Fox et al., 2002). Self-monitoring strategies and techniques have the potential to improve the outcomes of this population of children. Although preschoolers are capable of self-monitoring (Otero & Haut, 2015), it is not widely used in early childhood education settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of self-monitoring on appropriate, teacher preferred behavior in preschool-age children who had elevated scores on a social-emotional development questionnaire that indicated that additional follow up and assessment might be needed to intervene on challenging behaviors. Participants were two preschool lead teachers, two paraprofessionals (i.e., classroom aides) and 4 preschoolers ages 4 and 5. The research used a single case multiple baseline across participants research design. Preschoolers, during the intervention phase, were taught how to self-monitor and momentary time sampling was used across 3-minute intervals for 15 minutes daily to record their targeted behaviors and their procedural fidelity of self-monitoring. The results will show that preschoolers are able to self-monitor with a high level of procedural fidelity; however, there were limitations on the effectiveness of self-monitoring on their targeted behavior.

Treatment integrity is integral to valid research and ethical practice in behavior analysis. The application of procedures in practice should be based on scientific knowledge. Thus, ensuring correct implementation of independent variables in research plays a cogent part in evidence-based practice. Researchers have evaluated treatment integrity in the literature (Peterson et al., 1982; Gresham et al., 1993; McIntyre et al., 2007). We extended these previous reviews by analyzing if treatment integrity was assessed and independent variables were operationally defined and coded for error type. Results indicated an increase in the number of articles reporting the assessment of treatment integrity (5% to 68%). However, independent variables were inconsistently defined, and few specified the type of errors (e.g., omission or commission) assessed. The value of analyzing treatment integrity in research will be discussed as well as suggestions for future research and best practice.

In the present study, participated an 86-year-old man with Alzheimer´s disease and an MMSE score at 18. The participant was presented for identity matching with colors in three phases. It was alternated between (A) delayed matching-to-sample 0s (DMTS 0s) and (B) simultaneous matching-to-sample (SMTS). The conditions were arranged as an ABABAB-design. In the first phase, training and testing employed yellow, blue, and red. In the second phase, the participant was presented for the same conditions with another set of color stimuli (green, orange, purple). The third phase was the same as Phase 1. The results showed that the participant met the criterion for mastery in the two first phases (see Table 1). However, in the last phase the participant did not reach the criterion for mastery. When a new MMSE was assessed after Phase 3, the results showed that the MMSE was reduced to 14. Also, the care personnel did report behavioral changes related to the progression of the disease after the experiment was conducted, which may suggest that this type of training and testing is sensitive to detect progression of the disease. Keywords: Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, simultaneously matching-to-sample, delayed matching-to-sample, identity matching.

Renewal is a type of behavioral relapse that is dependent on changes in contextual stimuli in the environment. We investigated ABA renewal of responding previously reduced by a differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) procedure. The conditions in an ABA renewal procedure may be analogous to the phases of behavioral treatment of challenging behavior; Context A is present during baseline (e.g., target response is reinforced in the home environment), Context B is present during treatment (e.g., an intervention is applied in a clinic), and the post-treatment context returns to Context A (i.e., renewal test). In the present study, undergraduate college students participated in a Zoom video call during which they responded by clicking on a rectangle in a computer program created in Visual Basic©. The session consisted of 15-min baseline, DRO, and renewal test phases. In baseline, the target response was reinforced according to a fixed-interval 10-s schedule. In the second phase, omission training was implemented according to a DRO 10-s schedule. The same DRO contingency was in effect during the renewal test. Contextual changes were changes in the color of the screen background (i.e., yellow during baseline and renewal test; blue during the DRO omission training phase) across phases.

Individuals with neurocognitive disorders (NCD) may forget the names of their loved ones. The purpose of the presented studies was to explore the effect of two variables on participants responding during face-recognition training in an older adult diagnosed with Vascular Dementia. The conditional discrimination procedure was used for the presentation of three stimulus classes, each with three members: (1) picture, (2) name, and (3) family relation of the participants significant others. Experiment 1 explored the effect of the (1) length of the inter-trial interval (ITI) (either 2,000ms or 5,000ms) while using either (2) simple-to-complex (STC) or the simultaneous training protocol. The results showed that the participant responded in accordance with stimulus equivalence when using the 5,000 ITI with the STC protocol. A 5-week followup showed maintenance of the trained relations. Experiment 2 replicated partially Experiment 1 with the same participant 7 months later but using only the 5,000 ITI with the two protocols. The results showed that the participant responded in accordance with stimulus equivalence when using the STC protocol with 5,000ms ITI. However, the participant suffered a mini-stroke before a repeated exposure to the conditions. Following the stroke, the participants made more incorrect responses and he did not respond in accordance with stimulus equivalence.

This poster describes research investigating the light-startle response (LSR) of orange head cockroaches (Eublaberus posticus). In the first experiment, we explored habituation of the LSR in response to both lights being turn on and lights being turned off, while also investigating the acclimation duration and lighting. Habituation occurred regardless of stimulus type but the response were greater in trials when a light was turned off than when it was turned on. Acclimation duration had little effect, but responses were greater when the acclimation light was off. The remainder of the experiments used lights turning on as stimuli for practical reasons. The second experiment explored the effect of light duration across two days of habituation procedures. Stimulus duration had no effect. Habituation occurred on each day of the procedure, with spontaneous recovery occurring between days. The third experiment investigated how presence of food alters habituation. We found that food inhibits habituation and appears to cause sensitization to the light stimulus. The fourth experiment explored how intertrial interval affected rate of LSR habituation. We found the rate of habituation decreased as intertrial interval increased. We hope our findings help establish the cockroaches as practical subjects for behavior analysis and comparative psychology.

E. Ribes-Iñesta’s analytic scope of psychology is vast and warrants attention by behavior analysts. The contents of this book are not limited to a description of psychology as a scientific system. The topics covered in the twelve chapters of this book are diverse, ranging from historical remarks about general psychological assumptions (such as descriptions, causes, and explanations of behavior), overviews of concepts and their origin in other sciences (such as molecular versus molar notions in chemistry and the concept of the field in physics), defining ways in which psychology relates to other disciplines (such as in interdisciplinary studies or creating multidisciplines), offering a re-interpretation of psychological problems in terms of moral problems and, in doing so, proposing the nonexistence of actual ‘psychological problems’. This review describes the content of the first nine chapters focusing on the main taxonomy of psychological events in terms of molar contingencies. For the most part, Ribes-Iñesta’s main thoughts about psychology have remained in their original form (Spanish), warranting a translation and not just a review. Thus, we present a hybrid between translation and commentary, emphasizing what seems to be more indicative of a line of thought, the skeleton of this book.

In the study of behavior, the degree to which research questions directly address challenges with a clinical population varies. This variation can be conceptualized as a continuum. On one end of this continuum is “applied” research. Applied research includes intervention studies with participants who are members of the population for whom the treatment might later be implemented. In applied studies the participants are intervened upon within the study. On the other end of this continuum is “basic” research, conducted in a highly-controlled lab setting, typically with non-human subjects. The goal of furthering our understanding of behavior does not vary across this continuum. However, generalizability of basic findings to clinically relevant applications may vary, especially for areas in which the mechanisms of action are not particularly well understood. Research that falls between the basic and applied ends of the continuum, translational research, seeks in part to bridge the gap between the two ends of the continuum. One type of translational research is human operant-based experimental preparations. The goal of this synthesis was to explore and identify the various contributions of human operant research to the study of behavior. Specifically, studies in which participants were typically developing adults are examined.

Stimuli which, during the life of an organism, acquire the ability to increase the probability of behavior that they follow are called conditioned reinforcers. The concurrent-chains procedure has been used to study conditioned reinforcement for over 60 years. During this time, several different models have been proposed to explain how stimuli become conditioned reinforcers. This poster will use the Akaike Information Criterion (AICc) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) to analyze the necessity and role of free parameters in several prominent models (Contextual Choice, Cumulative Decision, Delay Reduction, Hyperbolic Value Addition) of conditioned reinforcement. In particular, this poster will focus on concurrent-chains research that has studied choice between one aperiodic and one periodic terminal link schedule of reinforcement. For all calculations, programmed initial-link durations, terminal-link durations, and rates of reinforcement were used. This poster will discuss the implications of the AIC and BIC analyses and provide suggestions for future research and analyses.

Within the field of behavior analysis, visual analysis is a skill used frequently by behavior analysts in the clinical setting. Although the interpretation of data is intended to be objective, there are several factors which may influence a behavior analyst’s interpretation. One such factor may be the context under which the data is presented. In the current study, BCBAs were asked to evaluate the efficacy of treatment based on data which was presented to them either blinded or with the empirical citation. Although not statistically significant, preliminary data suggest that behavior analysts rated blinded data to have larger effect sizes compared to empirical data after balancing between-subject variabilities. This data suggests there may be slight differences between how behavior analysts interpret data taken from empirical journal articles compared to clinical data. Our findings suggest that visual analysis as a stand-along method may not yield the most accurate interpretation of the obtained data. Practitioners should consider additional analysis modalities (descriptive statistics, effect size, percentage of non-overlapping data, etc.) to aid the process of synthesizing the obtained results.

Learners with disabilities enter school without the prerequisite numeracy and mathematics skills to perform at or near the level of their typically developing peers (Newman et al., 2009). Even simple addition problems require prerequisite skills that are often not taught directly in schools (Browder & Spooner, 2006, 2011). Identifying and teaching those missing skills would reduce the learning gap and increase the lifelong independence of those learners. This study used a non-concurrent single-subject multiple baseline design across five learners with a pre-test/post-test analysis to examine the use of a norm-referenced, standardized assessment to identify gaps in student learning, create teaching protocols using video modeling, and assess overall growth after intervention. Individualized interventions were delivered using video models on iPads. Results indicated all learners were able to use the video models to acquire the missing skills and improve overall mathematics understanding, as measured by scores on a post-test. This has classroom implications due to the relative ease of administration of the assessment and teaching protocol as well as potential for improved outcomes for the learners.

Visual representation of results through graphing is an important method of determining the effectiveness of behavior analytic interventions. While several studies have been published on the effectiveness of task analyses to guide the construction of a variety of graphs, relatively fewer studies have evaluated the effectiveness of a video model on graphing performance. We used a repeated measures between-groups design to compare the effects of a video model, an instructor-led tutorial, and no instruction on the graphing performance of an ABAB design graph with masters-level graduate students using Excel. We also compared the extent to which graphing performance improvements made with these modes of instruction generalized to the construction of a multielement design graph. Descriptive statistics showed that students in all groups improved their graphing performance; however, the video modeling condition showed greater improvements relative to the other two groups. Results will be discussed within the context of practical implications for teaching graphing skills, limitations, and suggestions for future research.

The aim of this study is to assess the effects of Direct Instruction (a behavioral strategy) and Cooperative Learning (a teaching methodology), on participatory responses and on off-task behaviors during the teaching of the French language in a group of students of middle school. In particular, the participants are 13 typically developing students in a regular class to which have been proposed some lessons with the two types of teaching, during normal educational activities. The following target behaviors has been taken into account: the participatory responses at each lesson; the correct answers to a questionnaire regarding the contents explained during the lessons; the correct answers to a follow-up check at each respective lesson; and the frequency of off-task behaviors. The results were evaluated with an alternating treatment design and they indicated that the use of the Direct Instruction strategy has determined a substantial increase in the correct answers to questionnaires, checks and in the student’s participation and a decrease in off-task behaviors with respect to Cooperative Learning. These results were discussed by taking also in view of the possible future implications on daily teaching.

Say-All-Fast-Minute-Every-Day-Shuffled (SAFMEDS) is a Precision Teaching and fluency method developed as an improvement on standard flashcards. While research suggests that SAFMEDS is effective in developing fluency, procedural variations in the use of SAFMEDS limit the generality of these findings. More research is needed to identify the most effective SAFMEDS procedure and address replication and generality issues. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of three variations of the SAFMEDS procedure a) three one-minute timings, b) five-minute practice prior to one-minute timing, and c) unlimited practice one-minute timing. Students enrolled in an undergraduate Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) course with three lab sections (Groups A, B, and C) participated. Students were instructed to use the assigned variation for the first exam. Group A and B alternated SAFMEDS procedures for exam 2 and group C used the same procedure for the whole term. Performance on exams was evaluated between groups and against two previous cohorts test scores. Results suggest the use of SAFMEDS was effective regardless of variation used. This study extends the current literature and supports findings that SAFMEDS may help to increase fluency among learners.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the resulting pandemic has had widespread implications on the safety of the work that teachers do with students each day. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends people age 2 years and older should wear masks in public settings; however, for children with disabilities, wearing a mask may be difficult and as such, is not required (CDC, 2020). Special education teachers and students in particular are at high risk for exposure and contracting COVID-19. Therefore, behavior-analytic strategies that can teach and reinforce appropriate mask-wearing should be evaluated. In this study, students ages 3 to 5-years-old with developmental delays were taught how to properly wear a mask using behavior skills training (BST; Miltenberger, 2008) until all students were able to put on a mask independently. Then, a group contingency was utilized to reinforce the wearing of masks throughout the day in the classroom. Using a changing criterion design, BST and a group contingency was effective in increasing mask wearing for students in the classroom. A task analysis and instructions for implementation are provided and results discussed.

Hands are a vector for the transmission of a variety of infections and it is commonly recognized that touching the eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands may transmit infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2020). Face touching has not frequently been evaluated in the behavioral literature; however, face touching can be considered a socially significant behavior in need of assessment and intervention. The current study evaluated face touching across various antecedent conditions as a replication of previous research (Bosch, 2011; Woods & Miltenberger, 1996) over Zoom. Conditions were conducted with participants at a desk and included an alone condition where the participant was not allowed access to any materials, a demand condition where participants were asked to answer a sequence of demanding math problems, and a free condition where participants were allowed access to preferred items. Face touching among participants has been variable, with some participants showing differentiation between conditions. Implications for habit reversal interventions will be discussed.

In recent years, concerns relating to global warming and the need for reducing carbon emissions has increased. An effective approach for reducing overall carbon emissions is to increase sustainability related behaviors. While such an approach affords this utility, an underlying factor that potentially limits the extent to which individuals engage in sustainable behavior is limited knowledge or information as to what specific behaviors are considered to be sustainable. As such, there is a need for a methodology to identify deficits as they relate to sustainability behavior. The current study discusses the development of an assessment designed to provide a measure of an individual’s sustainability behavior. In addition, researchers sought to evaluate the validity of the assessment by determining the extent to which assessment scores were related to carbon output. Scores for the sustainability assessment as well as carbon footprint measures were collected, and a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was obtained between the two measures. The results showed a moderate, negative correlation between scores on the sustainability assessment and carbon footprint measures. These findings suggest the sustainability assessment is a valid tool which has good correspondence with other sustainability measures, and it can be used to identify sustainability related behavior deficits.

Feminist countercontrol (or feminist resistance to oppression) might have its emancipatory potential compromised if understood in an apolitical way that disregards the necessary collective articulations for its occurrence. Seeking to point to some directions that might help avoid those risks, the aim of this work is to outline some prerequisites for countercontrol not to be emptied of its transformative political potential when connected to feminism. These conditions are: 1) a feminist verbal community compounded by one (or several) organized groups of women; 2) the recognition of the different kinds of oppressive controls that stem from the masculine domination system; 3) women's intersectional self-knowledge in oppressive gendered controls to enable them to build self-definitions about their own reality; 4) micro and macropolitical confrontation of that oppression by articulating redistribution and recognition politics and 5) resistance to backlash based on self-control and sorority. A concept of countercontrol understood in those terms and intertwined with that conceptual web mitigates the risks of political emptying and neoliberal co-optations of the movement, increasing the chances of an effective social transformation that positively affects all women.

Prior research over multiple generations has shown lower levels of risk-taking in females compared to males, and lower risk taking in mothers compared to non-mothers (Abbott-Chapman et al., 2007). Risk can be defined behaviorally within a choice-making framework where choices confer a probabilistic gain that co-occurs with a probabilistic loss. Low levels of risk-taking can be advantageous in some contexts but harmful in others. For example, Ekelund et al. (2005) showed that individuals who demonstrated high risk aversion were less likely to become independent entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship may be considered risky because, although the financial potential is high, so too are social, financial, and temporal loses. In the present study, we evaluated the relationship between a shared experience of mothers – parenting – on probability discounting as a behavioral model of risk and risk aversion. Participants completed three probability discounting tasks. The first was the standard discounting task. In the second task, the participants imagined that they had a young child and were required to actively interact with this scenario before completing the discounting task. In the third task, the participants imagined the child had a chronic illness that necessitated lengthy hospitalization. Results showed that the least risky (i.e., lowest discounting rates) were observed in the condition with the sick child, and the most risky (i.e., highest discounting rates) were observed in the baseline condition. These results suggest that contextual factors associated with parenting may mediate risk-taking in mothers with implications for employment, advancement, and entrepreneurship.

The effectiveness of behavioral programs is dependent on the interveners’ accurate and reliable recording of target responses. The current study evaluated the accuracy and reliability of observers’ detection of target responses when two different data sheets were used. Fifteen graduate students working in a University-Based, State-funded Service Delivery Program (USSDP) at a Midwestern University were asked to record the occurrence of target responses depicted in a videotape, while using two different data sheets. Each condition differed only to the extent that each required the participants to use a different data sheet to record the same target responses depicted in the video. Data sheet layouts (i.e. portrait or landscape) differed, as well as column sizes across both data sheets. Results showed that participants detection and recording of the target responses was more accurate and reliable when using data sheets, they were most familiar with (i.e. data sheets with portrait layout and smaller columns), as opposed to newer data sheets (i.e. data sheets with landscape and larger columns). These results provide useful implications for applied settings, and also demonstrate the utility of methods developed by Signal Detection Theory in evaluating observer detection of target behavior.

In large manufacturing companies, it is common practice to hire contractors to do specific activities, especially during periods of high work intensity. The majority of these companies are able to successfully apply behavioral safety protocols such as B-BS (Behavior-Based Safety), giving a higher focus on the increase of numbers concerning safe behavior and decreasing the percentage of accidents and injuries workers are daily exposed to. A multiple baseline approach and a statistical test C has been used to confirm the validity of the final results and to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the B-BS protocol. The study precisely focuses on the effectiveness of the B-BS protocol in relation to external contracting workers. Such work has been implemented in an engineering industry, Trillium Pumps Italy (Gabbioneta PumpsTM), that is specialized in the application of pumps and valves. The results obtained demonstrated the effectiveness of the B-BS protocol also regarding the contractors, with an increase in the number of safe behaviors. The integration, at all levels, of the individuals working in a company (contractors and workers), during a B-BS process, demonstrated it effectiveness in preventing and improving the understanding and application of a culture based on safety.

According to a research in 2019, there are over 10 million people with ASD in China currently, which causes a huge gap of professional therapists in the field of autism treatment. In order to provide effective treatment for people with ASD, a professional post training system is necessary to ensure the overall quality of therapists in this field. Considering the whole world was influenced by COVID-19 in 2020 and the needs of them might have changed a lot, a new questionnaire was designed to find out therapists’ current needs. A total of 202 questionnaires were collected and 185 of them are providing treatment for clients with ASD. The main purpose of the study is to explore the needs of therapists in the field of autism treatment and provide suggestions for institutions and organizations who provide post trainings in this field. Three suggestions are offered for public organizations, private institutions and universities based on the result of this research.

The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS) is an indirect assessment used to identify environmental variables contributing to deficiencies in job performance. The PDC-HS is quickly becoming popular among human service organizations (Wilder et al., 2020) and was designed to be completed by managers, however no research exists providing guidance on appropriate informants. In the current study, the PDC-HS was completed by both administrative (i.e., managers) and non-administrative (i.e., direct care staff) employees for a variety of performance improvement initiatives (PII) in an inpatient hospital unit. These initiatives were aimed to improve employee performance in the following areas: staff call outs, switching shifts, adjustments to time clock documentation, providing positive feedback, compliance with written reviews, hand hygiene, annual competency completion, vaccination requirements, treatment fidelity, and reporting injuries. Results indicated that administrative and non-administrative employees identified the same domains across PII on average 58% of the time, suggesting multiple informants may strengthen the validity of the PDC-HS. We also found the most commonly identified domain was Performance Consequences, Effort, and Competition. Implications surrounding these findings are discussed.

Picky eating among typically developing children is a major concern for parents. However, the field of behavior analysis primarily focuses on interventions that address food selectivity (i.e., pathological food refusal and lack of food intake). Previous research has not yet compared interventions to see which are the most practical for parents to implement in the home for more typical levels of food selectivity (e.g., picky eating). The current study evaluated three possible interventions that have substantial support in the research literature: the appetizer method, taste exposure, and a token reinforcement system. A multi-element probe design was utilized with two children ages 3-4 years. Parents ran 10-14 sessions per intervention across 13 to 14 weeks with probes for target vegetable consumption during regular mealtimes. Consumption and preference for the target and control non-preferred vegetables was assessed before and after the intervention and social validity measures were taken before, during, and after the study. Results of this study demonstrated that all interventions were effective to some degree, but that the token reinforcement system intervention may be the most effective, efficient, and socially valid for parents though more research is needed.

Many adults in America are considered overweight and obese and one contributing factor may be low consumption of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. Despite research suggesting that antecedent or consequence interventions are effective at increasing selection, preparation, and consumption of healthier foods, more research needs to be conducted on low-cost, low-effort approaches that maintain healthy eating in the natural environment, particularly for adults. Taste exposure is one such intervention that can be used to increase both the preference and consumption of non-preferred healthy foods. Taste exposure consists of repeatedly tasting bite size pieces of a non-preferred food. Previous research has demonstrated taste exposure’s effectiveness with children, however, there is currently no research with adults. The current study evaluated the effects of 20 sessions of taste exposure with 35 young adults in a randomized control design. Results of the study were mixed, with some increases in consumption and preference for both the control and experimental participants. However, few participants increased their consumption levels beyond several bites, which suggests that more research is needed to determine how and if taste exposure is effective with adults.

Children with behavioral concerns often also present with emotional challenges, such as depression or anxiety. From a clinician’s standpoint, parents undoubtedly play a critical role in shaping their child’s behavior. Parents tend to attribute their child’s behavior to their presumed emotional states. For example, a parent may explain that their child tantrums because they are anxious or their adolescent sleeps too much because they are depressed. However, from a behavior analytic viewpoint, emotions are also behaviors that require explanation, and therefore cannot be used as explanatory factors themselves. Moreover, all behavior is shaped and maintained by the same principles. This presentation will provide a behavior analytic account of emotional difficulties in childhood by discussing how the coercive family processes model can be applied to emotional concerns and its implications for intervention. The presentation will also focus on the importance of providing high-quality parent training that emphasizes helping parents learn how their interactions with their children create contingencies that maintain children's behavioral and emotional concerns. Finally, this presentation will provide recommendations on how parent training can be successfully applied to both behavioral and emotional concerns.

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

Stimulant use and polysubstance use are two well-known health concerns among American undergraduate students. Less is known about the relationships between experience with stimulants and polysubstance use, and how behavioral economic indicators of reinforcer value may differ based on these experiences. This study is a secondary analysis of data collected using a hypothetical purchasing task for stimulants. College students (n = 233) completed several purchasing tasks, and this analysis focused on the task involving their top-ranked stimulant effect. The potential role of substance use history on indices of demand was investigated in two separate analyses. The first contrasted responses by students with and without stimulant experience. The second contrasted responses by students depending upon their level of substance use experience: none, single substance, and polysubstance. Consistent with the literature, the results of the first analysis supported that a history of stimulant use is associated with higher area under the curve (AUC), higher intensity, and greater Omax. The results of the second analysis indicate that the polysubstance group had higher Omax and greater AUC compared to the single substance group. Unexpectedly, the no-use group had the highest Omax and the greatest AUC, however, this may be a small sample artifact (N = 7).

Many people have strong feelings of love, dedication, gratitude, obligation and want to help, to improve the life of an older relative or family friend, a grandparent, family, friend, neighbor, or godparent, but the responsibilities their own lives serve as a barrier to beginning to do so. The complexities of this situation are exacerbated by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Roles vary from significant day to day daily living assistance to a phone call or card. As one integrates with the current system of care, roles are defined, and change. We discuss support networks, relationships, and resources.The restrictions of the pandemic can be developed into ongoing patterns of more robust future habits of caring. The presentation highlights behaviors facilitate taking the warm desire to do something nice, to the stage of commitment and implementation. We detail approaches to maintaining contentedness, allowing for sense of purpose, being mindful of and respecting preferences and concerns for both care sharer and receiver, developing the system of care sharing adapted to the level of interactions and responsibilities. It can start with a commitment to call or drive once a week, and lead to greater quality of life and sense of purpose for care giver and care receiver alike.

Study Objectives: At the target kindergarten, it conducted an intervention using interdependent group-oriented contingency, in which all group-oriented members were given a reinforcer when they completed cleaning up toys within a target time using a visual timer after morning free play. The same intervention was continued, but gradually the clean-up behavior within the time limit became unsustainable. Therefore, we added independent group-oriented contingency and examined its effect. Research Design: ABABA design was used. Scene: Cleaning up after free play in the morning at the kindergarten. Subjects: 14 kindergarten children playing in the free play area. Several developmentally disabled children with intellectual disabilities were also included. Baseline (Condition A): When the cleaning up music began to play, a visual timer indicating the set time was presented, and the time until the completion of clean up was measured. When the cleanup was completed within the set time, a snack was offered to all children. Intervention (Condition B): When the clean-up was completed within the set time, the teacher selected two MVPs(the Most Valuable Player); the MVPs were offered two snacks first, and the other members were offered one snack. Results: Changing to condition B, in which the MVP was selected, shortened the time required for cleanup; changing to condition A almost maintained the cleanup within the set time, but the time required gradually increased. Conclusion: The results show the effects of adding an intervention using independent group-oriented-oriented contingency to an intervention using dependent group-oriented contingency. Other-blaming behaviors among children, which are more likely to occur in interventions using group-oriented contingency, did not occur after the introduction of Condition B.

Chronic antisocial behavior during childhood and adolescence is one of the problems that most affect healthy development. It results in damage to the relationship with the environment, social interactions, delinquency, mental health, and unemployment. Coercion has been defined as a set of interpersonal tactics, display in a social context, through which individuals or groups use aversive behavior to obtain rewards and access to desired activities, status and avoid or escape control and aversive demands. Coercion can be defined in terms of its topography and social function. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the dyadic patterns of children with coercive behavior and control children of three age groups based on their interactions in conflict. Six dyads of parent-child from three age groups: 3 to 5-year-old (2 children), 7 to 9-year-old (2 children), and 13 to 15 -year-old (2 adolescents). Children and parents were observed about their interaction in three different situations: academic activity, free play, and independent activity. Adolescent-parent interaction was also observed in three different situations: two situations of negotiation (one low and one high probability of conflict) and independent activity. Each dyad participated in an online intervention and was observed in three sessions before the intervention, four sessions during the intervention, and three sessions after the intervention. It was analyzed the conditional probabilities of present each behavior that conjured the patterns and the symmetry of the interaction.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood behavioural disorders (Taylor, 1998). Although ADHD is primarily thought of as a childhood disorder, studies have found that ADHD symptoms persist into adulthood in between 8% and 43% of cases (Spencer et al., 2002). ADHD is considered to be a continuum disorder, with symptoms grading into the non-clinical population as ADHD-like traits (see e.g. Panagiotidi et al., 2017). The main symptoms of ADHD are usually considered to be overactivity, impulsiveness and inattentiveness (Taylor, 1998). However, it is becoming increasingly recognised that ADHD also affects emotionality, and that ‘emotion dysregulation’ - a disruption of an individual's ability to modify an emotional state so as to promote adaptive, goal-oriented behaviours - is a central component of the suite of ADHD symptoms (Shaw et at., 2014). The extent to which emotion dysregulation is associated with the classical symptoms of ADHD like distractibility is unknown. Understanding the relationship between distractibility and emotion dysregulation could help people with ADHD develop sustained attention and focus; that is, if emotion dysregulation is connected with distractibility, it may be possible to treat the latter by focusing on the former. In addition, if emotion dysregulation and distractibility are connected, that may give clues to the underlying neural dysfunction in ADHD. Aim: to explore whether distractibility is related to emotion dysregulation in a non-clinical population with varying levels of ADHD-like traits. Methods: To measure distractibility, participants undertook a modified Sustained Attention to Response Test (SART), presented online. Participants were shown a series of letters and they needed to press the space bar every time they see an **X**. On some trials the letters were accompanied by a distractor (a big black bar at either the top, bottom, left or right of the letter). After the task, they filled in a series of questionnaires, including a measure of emotion dysregulation and a measure of ADHD-like traits. The main measure from the task is reaction times on X trials, comparing reaction times on trials with the distractor to reaction times on trials without.

This study investigates the influence of two stimulus presentation algorithms on response frequency in a matching to sample procedure. One algorithm prioritizes the presentation of sample stimuli that previously evoked slow and fast responses while the other algorithm favors stimuli that previously evoked error responses. In a comparison of the two algorithms, a stimulus set was changed to a random stimulus presentation once it reached mastery, this influenced responding in the set that had not yet reached mastery. An alternating treatments designs was used to investigate if response frequencies change if both algorithms switch to a random stimulus presentation when response frequencies reach aim for the first time under either stimulus set. The results showed that the accurate algorithm was the most effective algorithm to produce response frequencies at the aim for a four out of five participants. Additionally, when the stimulus sets changed to random presentation, the response frequencies under each stimulus set varied. Despite variations in data, the remediation stimulus set never overtook the accurate stimulus set neither in the additional training nor subsequent days with different stimulus pairs.

The traditional teaching of music begins with the learning of a formal educational experience called solfeo. This type of teaching has generated high dropout rates, low levels of learning and inappropriate behaviors, among other problems. The purpose of the study was to identify episodic interactions in the first level of the Taxonomy of Functions proposed by Ribes (2018); it relationships is made possible by different complementary modes of musical language, reactive and active; at the first level, functional interaction, such as behavior, is identified as the individual´s psychological reactivity, with respect to pertinent stimulus objects, in this case, musical notes bases on three identification criteria. An intrasubject design with an Initial Test, an Intervention Phase and a Final Test was used. Six experimentally naïve children from a Musical Initiation School participated; they accredited an auditory and written discrimination test of musical notes. The results showed that the children discriminated the notal values of time and space and the western graphs in partichela, using the language modes: higher in the Solfaing-Transcribing, then listening-Vocalizing and then observing- pointing out modes. In the remaining complementary linguistic modes, the relationship identified was lower. The discussion is based on the Behavior Analysis Theory.

Skinner defines verbal behavior as, “behavior reinforced through the mediation of other persons,” (Skinner, 1957) and highlights the role of the speaker in his analysis. Skinner limits the discussion of the listener to that of mediating consequences for the speaker’s behavior, while emphasizing that the listener’s role is not necessarily “verbal” as previously defined. Through this analytic lens, Skinner describes the process of self-editing as occurring under conditions in which the speaker is functioning as his own listener in a total verbal episode. Self-editing is a circumstance in which a speaker engages (or almost engages), in verbal behavior and makes changes to the response prior to affording access to it on the part of an external listener. Alternative approaches to the role of the listener in a verbal episode (Kantor, 1977; Parrott, 1984; Hayes & Hayes, 1989) assert that listener behavior should also be defined and analyzed as verbal behavior. This would suggest that listeners also engage in self-editing behavior in the context of a total verbal episode. The current analysis aims to examine the role of the listener as outlined in these alternative approaches, as well as to describe the process of self-editing as listener behavior.

Recent research has demonstrated that simplified habit reversal (SHR) is effective in decreasing three, co-occurring speech disfluencies (filled pauses, inappropriate use of the word “like”, and tongue-clicking) for college students within public speaking scenarios. Past research evaluating the collateral effects of SHR on other, untargeted disfluencies and nervous habits has also produced mixed results. The current study aimed to decrease idiosyncratic disfluencies and distracting non-vocal speaker behaviors via traditional face-to-face SHR with one college student and via telehealth with two additional students while also measuring covariation between targeted and untargeted speaker behaviors. We identified at least one idiosyncratic disfluency for each participant and an excessive non-vocal target for one participant. SHR was generally effective in decreasing all targets. We also observed unique covariation patterns for certain disfluencies, which calls into question whether all excessive speaker behaviors share the same function. Potential clinical implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

The aim was to induce the deictic relational frame I-YOU in a 3.11-year-old child diagnosed with autism. In baseline the child was asked questions about I-YOU from a speaker and listener perspective. The experimenter and the child stood facing each other, each holding an object that rotated with 10 more objects. In the listener perspective probes, the child answered the questions “What do I-YOU have?” saying the name of the object. In the speaker perspective, the child was asked to say “I have it/you have it” when answering the question “Who has (name of the object)?” The procedure consisted of teaching the child to answer as a speaker and as a listener facing a mirror on which the child and the experimenter could be seen next to each other holding one object each. Learn units with social reinforcement and correction were presented after correct and incorrect responses, respectively. The baseline results showed that the bidirectional perspective of the deictic frame was absent in the repertoire. After being taught, the child answered “I-YOU” facing the mirror and stimulus control was transferred as a speaker and as a listener in the face-to-face perspective with the experimenter. These data provide evidence on how to teach the deictic bidirectional operant I-YOU.

People with disabilities often engage in problem behavior which can produce numerous problematic side effects (e.g., prevention of access to inclusive environments; competition with skill acquisition programming; tissue damage). The function-based approach to the assessment and treatment of problem behavior is the most effective approach to addressing problem behavior. Many research functional analyses identify single functions of behavior; however, multiple functions of behavior are prevalent and can be accompanied with an array of challenges in terms of the provision of effective treatment. This synthesis examined intervention strategies focusing on the treatment of problem behavior with multiple functions including primary components and effectiveness. Studies were identified using a systematic electronic search which included broad inclusion criteria to produce full scope of the knowledge and effectiveness of treatments concerning multiply controlled behavior. Thirty-seven studies qualified for the synthesis and were coded and analyzed. General results indicated that treatments for multiply controlled behavior were effective at decreasing problem behavior. Interventions were most effective when addressing all maintaining functions of the behavior. Most treatments had several components, but no specific treatment proved to be more effective than others. More research is needed to better understand multiply controlled behavior across different disabilities, ages, and behaviors.

Telehealth delivery is becoming increasingly essential for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Previous research has evaluated the effect of Multiple Exemplar Training (MET) in the generalization of self-control choice, but only exemplar training across settings has been studied. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of MET both across and between settings in the generalization of self-control choice via telehealth in seven children with ADHD (M = 7.14 years; SD = 1.07). A multiple-baseline-across-settings design was used. Three of four exemplars across-settings and two of three exemplars between-settings were trained during synchronous videoconferences. Self-control choice was trained using delay fading with differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, self-instructions, or presentation of a signal during the delay to the reinforcer. Probes with exemplars between and across settings showed that self-control choice increased from <60% in pre-training to >80% at both post-training and 1-month follow-up. Non-overlap of All Pairs Index was >0.90 comparing training and follow-up to baseline (i.e., a large effect size). Transition to telehealth services for children with ADHD was socially accepted by the children’s caregivers. Generalization of self-control choice, therefore, was observed with remote training using systematic variation of exemplars.

Individuals diagnosed with developmental or intellectual disabilities often face challenges when attempting to enter the workforce in adulthood. While supported employment models provide various avenues of modifications for individuals seeking services to acquire and retain vocational placement positions, there exists a lack of structured procedures for assessing the pre-requisite skills necessary for workplace readiness. The current study describes the procedures used to develop a vocational skills pre-requisite assessment tool for individuals with disabilities. Clinicians and employers working with individuals with disabilities were interviewed and recruited to participate in a Q-sort ranking procedure to select items for inclusion on this tool. The Q-sort procedure involved ranking commonly researched and taught behaviours against a definition of vocational readiness, from least to most relevant. Subsequent acceptability questionnaires were distributed to collect preliminary social validity data for the developed tool. The results of this study tentatively showed that employers and clinicians consider behaviours that represent a generalizable repertoire of skills required across various workplaces most relevant to workplace readiness. Initial social validity data indicates that this tool may provide useful information to clinicians and employers to streamline pre-vocational training in this population.

In behavior analysis reinforcement is considered a key tool for implementing effective behavior change. However, a point of contention for reinforcement-based programs is the use of edible reinforcers, especially “unhealthy” edible reinforcers. Some feel that it is akin to bribery, others have gone so far as to say that the science is “M&M therapy.” To date, there is no research to justify this claim. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which “unhealthy” food reinforcers are used within published clinical research, discuss the implications and impact of their use, and determine the need for future research on the use of healthy edible reinforcers in clinical practice and research contexts. Using all articles published in five major behavior analytic journals in the past three years (2017-2019), the authors sorted each article based on four criteria. Those criteria were experimental or non-experimental, use of reinforcement procedures, use of edible reinforcers and use of “unhealthy” edible reinforcers. The evaluation is currently ongoing, however the results of this study could determine whether there is a need for reform in the use of edible reinforcers in behavior analytic research and practice.

A telehealth model has been shown to be efficacious for the assessment and treatment of problem behavior (Machalicek, et al., 2016; Wacker et al., 2013). With recent events involving the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth has become a more widely utilized service delivery model for behavioral health services. However, when utilizing this service delivery model, behavior analysts have an obligation to consider the acceptability and preference of their clients and the caregivers they are working with (PECC, 2014). The purpose of this project was to analyze the acceptability of consultative behavior analytic services delivered using a telehealth model over time in order to assess and treat challenging behavior. A survey was disseminated to clients and caregivers receiving behavior analytic consultative services following three months and six months of telehealth services. The survey assessed the utility of a telehealth treatment model to maintain rapport with the clinician, the feasibility of implementation of services using telehealth, client progress, and overall acceptability. Results indicate that consultative telehealth services are generally accepted upon initial implementation.

Pediatric feeding disorders are prevalent in typically developing children, and even higher rates are found in children with developmental disabilities. Feeding treatments rooted in applied behavior analysis (ABA) to increase food consumption have the highest rates of empirical evidence. When using prompting to increase food consumption, using the least restrictive prompt necessary is important in order to decrease prompt dependency. The current study examines the use of a rapid assessment of physical prompts (RAPP; Shrewsbury, Hardesty, & Smith, 2019) to determine the least restrictive prompt sequence necessary out of a jaw prompt, finger prompt, and finger prompt with side deposit. The participant was a 4-year-old male with a history of significant food refusal and liquid dependence. The participant’s significant food refusal and the treatment duration of eight weeks indicated the use of RAPP would be beneficial in order to quickly develop the least intrusive treatment. The results indicate that each level of prompting was effective in maintaining acceptance within 10 seconds. However, a finger prompt with side deposit was necessary for the introduction of new foods. Additionally, the finger prompt with side deposit was found to be the most acceptable by caregivers. Limitations and future directions will be further discussed.

Qualitative research differs from quantitative research in its methods, analytic strategies, and purpose. Whereas quantitative research seeks to identify orderly patterns and trends in data across independent dimensions, qualitative research seeks to identify patterns and themes in specific cases within a broad context. Behavior analytic methods such as interview informed functional assessments (Jessel, Hanley, et al., 2016) utilize both quantitative and qualitative methods that have been adapted for clinical use. We conducted a scoping review of qualitative research within behavior analytic research and found that, relative to quantitative analytic strategies, systematic quantitative analyses were nascent within major behavior analytic journals. To demonstrate the potential utility of qualitative strategies, we developed two case-specific questionnaires that we will share with attendees. The first is an open-ended interview to capture the experience of adolescents with disabilities, their parents, and school staff during COVID-19 transitions to online learning. We will also discuss thematic trends in participant responses. The second is a semi-structured functional interview tool called the Barrier to Valued Living Interview (BVLI) that we developed to isolate functional barriers to independence and empowerment in adults with disabilities. We will discuss initial correlations between this measure and valued living.

Establishing conditioned reinforcers is often a critical step in service delivery for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs). Therefore, identifying effective procedures for establishing conditioned reinforcers is also critical. In this review, we systematically searched the literature for published and unpublished single-case design studies that evaluated stimulus-stimulus (S-S) pairing, response-stimulus (R-S) pairing, and/or operant discrimination training (ODT) for establishing conditioned reinforcers for children with ASD and/or IDDs. We searched two electronic databases for studies that included pre- and post-pairing measurements of responding that resulted in access to the stimulus targeted for conditioning. Fourteen studies, including three dissertations, met inclusion criteria. Across studies, there were a total of 44 participants, 61% of which were diagnosed with autism. None of the studies evaluated S-S pairing alone, five evaluated ODT, and 11 evaluated R-S pairing. Combined, R-S pairing and ODT were inconsistently effective at establishing conditioned reinforcers. However, our results indicate that R-S pairing is more effective than ODT.

Severe and profound intellectual disabilities are characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, including social and daily living skills. Assistive technology can be utilized by individuals with intellectual disabilities to facilitate communication, request choices, more effectively engage in daily living and community activities with increased independence. Eye gaze technology has been utilized as an instrumental and communication tool with various populations (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Luckasson & Schalock, 2012; Mechling, 2006). This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of eyegaze technology on identifying reinforcers. The effectiveness of eye gaze technologies varies with students. An individual’s attention span, sitting position, tasks, and the screen size of the device may all need to be taken into consideration when using this technology. Further research is needed with larger scale studies and statistical analyses to determine overall effectiveness. More studies also need to be conducted to address one-side preference. In this study, the correct choices were presented equally on both sides.