Journal of applied behavior analysis最新文献

We implemented tact matrix training to teach tacts of spatial locations to four children (male, 4–7 years of age) on the autism spectrum in China. The experimental design involved a multiple-probe design across participants with pre- and postinstruction probes on untaught tacts and listener responses. Learning outcomes included taught tacts of object–preposition combinations, generalization of untaught tacts, and derived listener responses to all combinations in the matrix. All four participants acquired taught tacts after matrix training. Untaught tacts and listener responses were demonstrated with direct teaching, indicating the occurrence of recombinative generalization. Two participants maintained these skills with high accuracy for 4 or 8 weeks. The remaining two participants demonstrated high accuracy in untaught tacts and listener responses immediately after instruction; however, accuracy in taught and untaught tacts declined during the 4- or 8-week maintenance probes, whereas listener responses remained stable.

Failure to engage in or tolerate health-related routines is a major barrier to good health for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). In the current study, we evaluated the effects of a synchronous schedule of reinforcement (SSR) for five adults with IDD across eight health-related routines (e.g., toothbrushing, handwashing, tolerating wearing health-related devices). The results showed that SSR alone effectively increased tolerance for five of eight health-related routines. Additional modifications were necessary for two other routines, and no effects were observed for one participant. We successfully trained direct-care staff to implement the effective treatment. Social validity outcomes showed higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect during treatment relative to baseline for all participants as well as staff acceptance of the procedures and training. The current study adds to the literature supporting SSR as an alternative to graduated exposure; however, further research on the efficacy of SSR alone is needed.

Maintenance refers to the persistence of behavior change over time after some or all instruction has been discontinued. The distribution of follow-up sessions can affect the frequency of practice opportunities in the absence of ongoing instruction and determinations of maintenance based on how often performance is assessed. An adapted alternating-treatments design was used to evaluate the frequency and schedule of follow-up session distribution on the maintenance of an arbitrary labeling task taught to nine college-aged students. Following acquisition, the participants completed virtual follow-up sessions across at least 30 days. The follow-up session distributions were equally effective with respect to maintenance for six participants. The progressively increasing distribution was associated with higher maintenance for two participants, and the equal distribution was associated with higher maintenance for one participant. Across all participants, some distribution of opportunities to practice the skill was associated with higher levels of maintenance relative to the control.

To address the high-rate, interfering stereotypy of three autistic students, a chained schedule for treating stereotypy was combined with skill-based treatment for challenging behavior. Treatment consisted of progressively widening contingencies to differentially reinforce functional communication, toleration, and accurate task completion with escape from instruction to engage in stereotypy. Stimuli were correlated with periods during which instructions were presented and motor stereotypy was redirected (S-) and periods during which escape was provided and motor stereotypy was not redirected (S+). Skills were maintained via intermittent, unpredictable reinforcement schedules. Functional communication and tolerance responses were acquired, discriminative control over both motor stereotypy and vocal stereotypy was established, and task accuracy increased to >80% for all participants. The goals, procedures, and outcomes of the intervention were also socially validated by the participants' teachers.

Competing stimulus assessments are one technology that aids in the development of treatment for automatically reinforced behavior. However, competing stimulus assessments do not always yield robust results. Stereotypic behaviors of different subtypes may require procedural modifications to successfully identify competing stimuli. The current investigation included functional analyses to determine whether participant responding aligned with proposed subtypes for such behaviors. Next, we implemented augmented competing-stimulus-assessment (A-CSA) procedures across target and generalization stimuli to determine whether (a) responding across either subtype was more likely to require intensive modifications and (b) the A-CSA procedures promoted generalized target behavior reduction within stimulus classes. Lastly, a treatment evaluation was conducted to determine the durability of these findings and the generalization of the reduced target behavior to other settings. The general applicability of the subtyping model remains unclear, but two participants demonstrated maintenance of competition effects.

There is a growing body of research examining the efficacy of teaching a foreign language using procedures that would lead to generative learning. This study assessed the acquisition of foreign tacts and the emergence of bidirectional intraverbal responses (native-foreign and foreign-native) as a function of target stimulus preference. Three children learned to tact two sets of pictures (low- and high-preferred targets) presented in an adapted alternating-treatments design. Emergent intraverbal responses were evaluated across both directions before and after instruction. The results showed that all participants met the mastery and emergence criteria for the high-preferred stimulus set in fewer trial blocks than for the low-preferred stimulus set. The high-preferred set also yielded greater emergence of all intraverbal relations. The results replicated previous findings in that tact instruction was effective in producing emergent intraverbal responding. Moreover, our data suggest that preference for targets is an important variable to ensuring optimal foreign language learning.

Synchronous schedules of reinforcement align the onset and offset of the response with the onset and offset of the reinforcer. In this study, we used a multiple-baseline-across-classes and reversal design to determine the effects of a synchronous reinforcement schedule, arranged as an interdependent group contingency, on time spent following rules and disruptive classroom behavior during independent work periods in three elementary classes: two first-grade classes and one fourth-grade class. Additionally, we compared the effects of a synchronous reinforcement schedule with those of a continuous noncontingent schedule in the fourth-grade class. The synchronous schedule increased students' time spent following rules and decreased disruptive classroom behavior across all classes. Furthermore, noncontingent delivery of those stimuli did not produce changes in behavior relative to baseline. Students in the two first-grade classes reported preferring the synchronous reinforcement condition to baseline. Students in the fourth-grade class reported preferring the noncontingent access condition.

The experimenters compared the relative utility of two types of pretreatment assessments, the competing-stimulus assessment (CSA) and the paired-stimulus preference assessment (PSPA), for identifying items to treat automatically reinforced challenging behavior. Five individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who exhibited automatically reinforced challenging behavior participated. The relative efficacy of the CSA item and the PSPA item were compared during two treatment evaluations: noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO). NCR reduced challenging behavior for four of the five participants. For three of these participants, the CSA item was more efficacious than the PSPA item; CSA and PSPA items were equally efficacious for the remaining participants. For two participants, DRO decreased challenging behavior and there were minimal differences in treatment efficacy across CSA and PSPA items. Implications for the utility of the CSA and the PSPA as pretreatment assessments in treatment development are discussed.

Researchers have reported that children engage in pretend play that reflects the conventional activities of their environment (i.e., learned-combinations play). In contrast, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display fewer and less varied play behaviors. Research on teaching pretend play to children with ASD often involves prompting and reinforcing scripted responses. Although effective, these procedures may be limited because they can produce rigid, rote play rather than pretend play reenacting real-life events. This study evaluated the effects of teaching actions with real objects on the emergence of generalized learned-combinations play with three children with ASD. Overall, teaching children actions using real objects facilitated generalization of those actions with toys. We provide future directions for research when limited generalization is observed with some toys. Additionally, we discuss the implications of automatic reinforcement and the motivating operation in relation to our findings.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder commonly exhibit vocal stereotypy, and this behavior may be targeted for treatment when it competes with daily tasks, disrupts the environment, or leads to reduced independence. Previous research has shown that access to music reduces vocal stereotypy. However, treatment evaluations typically occur during play or low-stimulation conditions; therefore, the effectiveness and compatibility of music with daily tasks are less known. We measured levels of vocal stereotypy and on-task behavior during independent activities for three participants. Using a reversal design, we evaluated the effects of music played via headphones on dependent measures. We extended the analysis to typical classroom activities and conducted treatment preference assessments. The results indicated that access to music reduced vocal stereotypy across multiple settings and activities. Additionally, increases in on-task behavior were observed for two of three participants. All participants preferred to engage with tasks while listening to music.