Analysis of Verbal Behavior最新文献

A growing body of literature supports the use of echoic prompts toward conditioning other functional language skills. However, many individuals with autism spectrum disorder do not emit echoic behavior. Identifying the prerequisite skills of an echoic repertoire may be beneficial for intervention planning and clinical decision making. A chart review was conducted for 118 patients with autism who received early intensive behavioral intervention. We examined the Level 1 scores on the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (Sundberg, 2014) for all patients. Using their scores on the echoic skills subtest as a dependent variable, we ran a binomial logistic regression in which the remaining eight domains, along with age and sex, served as independent variables. Our logistic regression model was statistically significant: X ² (10) = 109.61, p < .001. The model explained 86.0% of the variance in echoic verbal behavior and correctly classified 95.8% of cases. Patients who demonstrated a mand repertoire were greater than 3.5 times more likely to also exhibit an echoic repertoire. Additionally, vocal play and motor imitation were associated with an increased ability to echo. Using binomial logistic regression, we identified three predictors influencing the echoic behavior of children with autism. Patients who demonstrated these three skills were statistically significantly more likely to echo the vocal verbal behavior of others. Additional research is now needed to confirm a functional relationship between each of these predictors and echoic control.

Deficits in communicating one's wants and needs can have significant and detrimental effects on quality of life. Particularly for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other related disabilities, manding is a pivotal skill that influences long-term prognosis. Mand training is complex and relies on several components to facilitate acquisition. Various approaches have been developed to target this pivotal repertoire; however, it is unknown if there are common elements, or "critical components," among interventions. Identifying these components may support the design of mand training interventions for young children that are efficient and effective. In this systematic review, we synthesized the characteristics of 118 participants included in 45 single-case studies teaching preschool-aged children to mand. Findings indicated that most studies conduct preference assessments to inform target selection, manipulate motivating operations, and deliver specific reinforcement following the emission of the mand. This review reveals a gap in observing behavioral indication, teaching under both establishing operation (EO) and abolishing operation (AO) conditions, and failure to observe interactions with the consequent stimulus. Overall, the results suggest differences in the variables included in mand training interventions and those critical to acquisition of a functional mand repertoire cannot be determined. We discuss implications and directions for future research.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40616-024-00211-9.

Technology offers exciting possibilities for instruction with learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but limited research has evaluated the use of web-based applications (apps) as learning tools for this population. We wondered if using apps would function as a precurrent response to solve problems in the form of questions on a worksheet. Participants were two adolescents with ASD, Phoebe and Gavin. We taught them to use map, weather, and clock apps to answer questions about distance, temperature, and time on a worksheet (e.g., "What time is it in Cairo?"). The cities varied to ensure the answers were always unknown. Training occurred for one app at a time in the manner of a multiple baseline design across behaviors. Training steps were progressively introduced to evaluate the components necessary for app use. Gavin progressed quickly through training with the first app and then demonstrated generalization across novel questions (i.e., with different cities), apps, and response modalities (i.e., answering vocally). Phoebe required more intensive training than Gavin, and eventually demonstrated generalization across novel questions. We discuss the implications of expanding technology-based problem-solving skills by applying Skinner's (1957; 1984) analysis.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40616-024-00212-8.

According to relational frame theory (RFT), temporal relational responding is key to important repertoires, including sequencing, ordering, planning, and time understanding. Previous studies have taught several other varieties of relational responding (e.g., comparison, deictics) but relatively little work has been done in the case of temporal relational responding. The present study aimed to assess existing temporal relational responding skills in three autistic adolescents and to evaluate the efficacy of an RFT-based multiple exemplar training (MET) procedure to teach nonarbitrary (physically based) temporal relations, which constitute an important foundation for derived temporal relations. Results indicated that all participants achieved mastery (100% across two sessions) for nonarbitrary temporal relations following MET. During post-training phases, each of the participants maintained performance 2 and 4 weeks later, and the skill was extended to two novel data sets (100% accuracy).

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40616-024-00210-w.

Successive matching-to-sample (S-MTS) with a go/no-go response requirement has previously produced equivalence classes with nonverbal auditory stimuli among college students. When participants are required to talk aloud during posttests (protocol analysis), their verbal behavior tends to match their selection performance. However, in some cases, the protocol analysis seems to interfere with posttests, in that equivalence yields are lower when participants are required to talk aloud. Thus, the current study replicated and extended previous research by requiring participants to complete emergence posttests before introducing training for the protocol analysis. Subsequently, participants completed one additional block of the transitivity/equivalence posttest with the talk-aloud requirement. Additionally, participants completed tact and intraverbal tests following emergence posttests to further assess possible verbal-mediation strategies. The results showed that six of eight college students formed equivalence classes, suggesting that previous failures could have been influenced by the talk-aloud requirement. Further, there was a positive correlation between verbal and nonverbal (selection) responses suggesting the possibility that verbal mediation may have contributed to equivalence-class formation.

Repetitive verbal behavior presents a unique challenge to researchers and clinicians as the topography of the behavior often appears to be a mand for information or tangibles; however, the repetitive nature of the behavior indicates otherwise. The purpose of the current study was to (a) extend the application of functional analysis (FA) methodology to identify the functionally related variables of the repetitive verbal behavior (requests for information and/or requests for tangibles) of three children with autism spectrum disorder and (b) verify results of the FA during a function-based intervention evaluation. Results of the FA showed that the repetitive verbal behavior of the three participants was maintained by access to adult attention instead of access to information or tangibles. Using this information, we taught the participants to mand for attention during functional communication training. Results of the functional communication training demonstrated a reduction in the repetitive verbal behavior and an increase in mands for attention.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40616-024-00208-4.

Attending to and tacting stimuli in a situation may facilitate recall of that situation. To evaluate this, we showed varied slide decks of 25 black-and-white stick figures engaged in actions to four adolescents and one child with autism. Ten minutes later, we asked them to name the pictures they remembered. Using a multielement design, we compared three conditions in the picture viewing context wherein we (a) instructed the participant to view the pictures quietly, (b) prompted and reinforced tacts of the pictures, or (c) required the participant to repeat a series of letters and numbers (i.e., a blocking procedure). For four of the participants, recall was highest in the condition in which we prompted and reinforced tacts of the pictures. These data provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that prompting and reinforcing tacting stimuli enhances recall with respect to those stimuli, though several limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

The aim of this study was to model a situation that induced choice between following two incompatible rules, each associated with a different rate of reinforcement. In Experiment 1, eight undergraduate students were exposed to a two-component multiple schedule (training). In each component, there was a concurrent variable interval (VI)-extinction (EXT) schedule. Participants were given two rules that instructed them to respond to the VI alternative in the presence of different discriminative stimuli. The side of the VI schedule changed in each component and offered a different reinforcer rate according to the discriminative stimuli in the operation. When both discriminative stimuli were concurrently presented (test), participants favored the alternative previously instructed by the rule, which was associated with the greatest reinforcer rate, whereas indifference was observed in the absence of discriminative stimuli. Experiment 2 tested the effects of reinforcement rate using the same procedure without providing rules. During training, participants gradually developed a preference for the VI alternatives. In the choice test phase, participants favored the alternative associated with the stimuli with the highest reinforcer rate when both discriminative stimuli were present. Unsystematic preference was observed in the absence of discriminative stimuli. Two alternative explanations were provided for the findings.

This study tested for the emergence of listener discriminations and intraverbal vocal responses following tact training with four autistic children. All participants were trained to tact the name and the favorite food of two contrived cartoon monsters in the presence of a picture of the monster (e.g., "What is the name of this monster?" - "Max" and "What food does the monster eat?" - "Sweets") to evaluate the effects of emergent listener discriminations and emergent intraverbal vocal responses. Once criterion was met on the tact training, participants were tested for emergent listener discriminations (e.g., "Who eats sweets?" And "Who is Max?") and emergent intraverbal vocal responses (e.g., "What food does Max eat?" - "Sweets" and "Who eats sweets?" - "Max" in the absence of the picture). After training, all four participants engaged in emergent listener responding but only one participant engaged in emergent intraverbal responding. Multiple exemplar instruction (MEI) was used to teach those who could not engage in emergent intraverbal responding, and it was demonstrated to be effective. These findings are educationally significant because efficiency of instruction is important to maximize instructional impact, and to reduce the time and resource-intensive nature of behavior-analytic programming.

Teaching an infant manual signs is beneficial as it promotes early communication, improves socialization, and can functionally replace behaviors such as crying and whining. Improving early communication also may reduce the probability of an infant engaging in dangerous behavior, like unsafe climbing. The purpose of this study was to extend Thompson et al. (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 40:15-23, 2007) by teaching an 8-month-old infant, who was noted to display developmental delays, to sign for "help" when preferred items were inaccessible. Similar to Thompson et al., delayed prompting and differential reinforcement was efficacious in teaching the infant to sign for "help," and the skill generalized to situations that were previously associated with unsafe climbing. However, undesirable generalization of signs for "help" when the infant could independently access the items was observed. Additional teaching was necessary to ensure signing for "help" occurred under appropriate antecedent control.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40616-023-00198-9.