Contextual Control in Visuospatial Perspective‐Taking Skills in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
The aim of this study was to teach left/right (Experiment 1) and near/far (Experiment 2) discrimination with reference both to self and to another person. The procedures used involved teaching discrimination in expressive language (speaker behavior) and then testing the transfer of learning into receptive language (listener behavior). A total of six intellectually disabled adults took part in the study, four in Experiment 1 and two in Experiment 2. The results showed that the subjects learned the target behavior in expressive language and performed correctly in tests to confirm the transfer of learning to receptive languag...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Daniel Falla, Francisco J. Alós Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Increasing Single‐Word Requests to Multiword Requests in Children with Autism and Related Disabilities
Initial language training with children with autism often focuses on the production of single‐word requests (i.e., mands). As a child progresses in treatment, it is desirable to increase the mean length of utterance (MLU) of requests. The present study examined treatment outcomes of behavioral intervention designed to increase the MLU of requests in a larger sample of children with language delays (n = 30). Intervention consisted of prompts and differential reinforcement for lengthier requests, and trials were conducted flexibly throughout the treatment session. A non‐concurrent multiple baseline across participant...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Rachel N. Yosick, Lori R. Muskat, Crystal N. Bowen, Caitlin H. Delfs, M. Alice Shillingsburg Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Affirming Control by Multiple Reinforcers via Progressive Treatment Analysis
It is common to isolate reinforcement contingencies across several test conditions in functional analyses of problem behavior; however, synthesizing all reinforcement contingencies in a single test condition may also have merit and even be necessary in some cases. Following a differentiated functional analysis, which relied on an interview‐informed synthesized test condition, functional communication training (FCT) was applied across the three suspected contingencies of reinforcement, partly in an attempt to understand the relevance of each. Communication responses were acquired for all three reinforcers, and problem beh...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Mahshid Ghaemmaghami, Gregory P. Hanley, Sandy C. Jin, Nicholas R. Vanselow Tags: Brief Report Source Type: research
Using Video Feedback to Improve Martial Arts Performance
This study used video feedback to enhance the martial arts performance of capoeira, an Afro‐Brazilian martial art that utilizes acrobatic movements (revesado, au de costa, and macaco). A multiple baseline across behaviors was used for five participants where baseline conditions consisted of standard coaching. The intervention consisted of video feedback, in which the participants were filmed attempting a movement and immediately viewed the video afterwards, while receiving positive and corrective feedback from the instructor. The target behaviors were scored on a 15‐item checklist, resulting in a percentage correct. A ...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Angela BenitezSantiago, Raymond G. Miltenberger Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
The Effects of Choice Between Nonpreferred Foods on the Food Consumption of Individuals with Food Selectivity
Previous research has concluded that presenting individuals with the opportunity to choose is a viable treatment for escape‐maintained behavior. Considering that food refusal behavior has been generally described as avoidant behavior, the present study aimed to evaluate the role of choice between nonpreferred foods on the food consumption and problematic mealtime behavior of two children with food selectivity. Each participant was allowed to choose between four nonpreferred foods in the choice condition and was not allowed to choose in the no‐choice condition. Further, the role of choice as an antecedent manipulation i...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jonathan K. Fernand, Becky Penrod, Sherrene Brice Fu, Colleen M. Whelan, Shannon Medved Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
The Effect of a Multiple‐Schedule Arrangement on Mands of a Child with Autism
Clinical applications of multiple‐schedule arrangements have generally been used to produce discriminated manding. The present study evaluated the effects of a multiple‐schedule arrangement with rules on the rate of mands for one child diagnosed with autism. We sought to bring the participant's mands under discriminative control of adult behavior that closely matched naturally occurring discriminative stimuli in the participant's home environment. The results showed that discriminated manding emerged and responding continued in the presence of a novel therapist. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. (Source: Be...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jason C. Vladescu, Tiffany Kodak Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Review and Discussion of Strategies to Address Low Trainer‐to‐Staff Ratios
Researchers have developed an array of highly adaptable intervention packages with well‐documented efficacy for staff and teacher training. As indicated by Parsons, Rollyson, and Reid (2012) in their article on best practices in staff training, behavior analysts must use methods that are both effective and efficient given the limited resources of many human service settings (e.g., low trainer‐to‐staff ratios). The purpose of this paper is to summarize research on practical innovations for staff and teacher training, including the use of video‐based technology and self‐instruction materials that may help trainers ...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Amanda M. Karsten, Judah B. Axe, Charlotte C. Mann Tags: Literature Review Source Type: research
Analysis of Live Modeling Plus Prompting and Video Modeling for Teaching Imitation to Children with Autism
Previous researchers have demonstrated that training in imitation can significantly improve the learning capabilities of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and that children within this population show a preference for video presentations. Video‐based instruction has been used to teach a variety of behaviors to individuals with ASD. However, only a small number of studies have examined the use of video modeling to teach initial imitation. Furthermore, there are limited and conflicting data on the effectiveness of a video modeling procedure that does not incorporate prompting when used to teach imitati...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Logan S. McDowell, Anibal Gutierrez, Kyle D. Bennett Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Behavioral Gerontology Research: Where are the Male Participants?
It has been reported that females are underrepresented in several areas of psychological research, which may have significant clinical and theoretical implications. No one has reported, however, whether women are underrepresented in behavioral gerontology research. To make this determination we recorded the gender of participants in behavioral gerontology studies published in six journals. In 129 published studies that included older adults (i.e. people 55 or more years of age) there were a total of 3070 participants, and most (69%) were female. Underrepresentation of men is significant insofar as treatment effects are som...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Kate B. LaLonde, Zachary J. Zimmermann, Alan Poling Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
The Impact of a Precision Teaching Intervention on the Reading Fluency of Typically Developing Children
This research investigated the efficacy of precision teaching (PT) on the reading fluency of typically developing children, aged 7–8 years. Seven participants were assigned to a PT intervention group and received 6 weeks of fluency training using Say All Fast a Minute Every Day Shuffled (SAFMEDS) fluency cards (Phase 1) and a Dolch story (Phase 2). Outcomes were measured using multiple baseline design (MBD) data, Standard Celeration Charts, and pre‐intervention–post‐intervention fluency scores. The MBD data show increased correct responding for PT participants from baseline to the end of each intervention phase...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Danielle Lambe, Carol Murphy, Michelle E. Kelly Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Distribution of Reported Durations of Behavior in Applied Behavioral Research
Duration is a commonly measured dimension of behavior in behavioral research and clinical practice. An approach to studies of measurement in behavior analysis is to simulate streams of behavior from which samples can be extracted. It is therefore important to establish a typical range and distribution of behavioral durations on which simulated behavioral data should be based. We conducted an analysis of behavioral durations reported in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis between 2008 and 2012. The range and distribution of data points across different durations will be presented, as well as an analysis of the reliabil...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - July 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Rebecca A. Sharp, Oliver C. Mudford Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Effects of Presession Pairing on the Challenging Behavior and Academic Responding of Children with Autism
Presession pairing is an antecedent‐based procedure in which an instructor engages with preferred items with a child for a few minutes before an instructional session. Although this procedure has been described in manualized treatment guidelines for working with children with autism, there are currently no direct investigations of whether this manipulation has a beneficial impact on target responding or the child's social interactions. Functional analyses with three children with autism showed escape or attention and escape as reinforcers for their challenging behavior. Preference assessments identified highly and modera...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - April 28, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Amanda N. Kelly, Judah B. Axe, Ronald F. Allen, Russell W. Maguire Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
The Effects of Motor and Vocal Response Interruption and Redirection on Vocal Stereotypy and Appropriate Vocalizations
Stereotypy has been defined as repetitive vocal or motor behaviors that are noncontextual with invariant topographies. One intervention to reduce vocal stereotypy and increase appropriate vocalizations is response interruption and redirection (RIRD). Previous research has suggested that RIRD's behavioral mechanism consists of punishment. The purpose of this study was to extend this research by comparing two procedures, namely, vocal and motor RIRD contingent upon the occurrence of vocal stereotypy and to evaluate concomitant increases in appropriate vocalizations. A multiple treatment reversal design was used to compare th...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - April 28, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Lesley A. Shawler, Caio F. Miguel Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
A Case Study on the Use of Auditory Integration Training as a Treatment for Stereotypy
The purpose of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of auditory integration training (AIT) as a treatment for motor stereotypy. The participant was a 5‐year‐old boy diagnosed with autism who had been prescribed AIT. We used an ABCBCA reversal design to examine the effectiveness of AIT on stereotypy. Data were collected for 5 min before, during, and after each experimental condition. Results showed that AIT did not decrease stereotypy. In fact, the total overall occurrence of stereotypy increased and remained high, suggesting that AIT was not an effective treatment for this participant. Copyright © 2015 ...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - April 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Danielle L. LaFrance, Caio F. Miguel, Jacquelyn N. Donahue, Timothy R. Fechter Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Teaching and Generalizing Pretend Play in Children with Autism Using Video Modeling and Matrix Training
Children with autism spectrum disorder often lack play skills. Video modeling has been effective in producing play; however, this play is often lacking in novelty. The purpose of the present study was to combine video modeling and matrix training to teach children with autism to engage in sequences of play with 30 vocalizations and 40 actions. Matrix training was used in an attempt to enhance generalization, specifically in recombining elements of play across play scenarios. Three participants were trained on three play scenarios for three play sets and materials using video modeling. Play scenarios were arranged in a 3‐...
Source: Behavioral Interventions - April 1, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Cormac MacManus, Rebecca MacDonald, William H. Ahearn Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
