Search

For over 50 years, intervention methods informed by the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) have been empirically researched and clinically implemented for autistics/individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite the plethora of evidence for the effectiveness of ABA-based interventions, some autism rights and neurodiversity activists have expressed concerns with ABA-based interventions. Concerns have included discontent with historical events and possible harm from the procedures and goals targeted. The purpose of this manuscript is to examine some expressed concerns about ABA-based intervention and suggest productive ways of moving forward to provide the best outcomes for autistics/individuals diagnosed with ASD. The authors represent stakeholders from multiple sectors including board certified behavior analysts, licensed psychologists, parents, and autistics/individuals diagnosed with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are three branches of science of behavior analysis [i.e., experimental analysis of behavior, behavior analysis, and applied behavior analysis (ABA)]. ABA can be defined as a systematic approach to understanding behavior of social interest. For the past 40 plus years, researchers have evaluated ABA and ABA based procedures (e.g., behavioral intervention) as they relate to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and have implemented behavioral intervention in clinical settings for individuals diagnosed with ASD. In this paper, we discuss some of the pivotal contributions in the field of ABA in research and clinical practice. Additionally, we provide recommendations for the science and clinical practice of behavioral intervention in the next 40 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB®) created a third level of certification, the Registered Behavior Technician™ (RBT®) in 2014. The RBT® was created based upon the requests of stakeholders who wanted to credential those individuals who make direct contact with clients under the supervision of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst®. There has been tremendous growth in the number of RBTs® with over 60,000 individuals certified to date. The BACB® recently sent out a newsletter outlining changes to the RBT® certification, including the processes of training, supervising, and becoming an RBT®. These changes represent a number of potential concerns. The purpose of this paper is to highlight these concerns and to propose solutions to improve the RBT® certification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social narratives, or story-based interventions, are defined as stories that describe social situations, appropriate social behaviors to display, and when to display the specified behaviors. Social narratives are a commonly implemented and empirically evaluated procedure used to improve social behavior and decrease the probability of aberrant behavior for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Although social narratives are a commonly implemented and evaluated procedure, recommendations about their use and effectiveness is conflicting. This paper reviews six interventions that fit the definition of social narratives (i.e., Social Stories™/social stories, social scripts, cartooning, comic strip conversations, power cards, and social autopsies). Fifteen articles were analyzed across multiple methodological dimensions to determine the level of evidence (i.e., convincing, partial, or not convincing). Results of the analysis indicated that the majority of social narrative studies did not demonstrate convincing evidence. Recommendations for clinicians and future research are discussed based on the results of the literature review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formal preference assessments are commonly implemented as a way to evaluate potential reinforcers for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, developmental disabilities, and intellectual disabilities. Today there are numerous formal preference assessments that can be used clinically, and which have been evaluated empirically. Therefore, formal preference assessments are a procedure that behavior analysts, professionals (e.g., teachers or paraprofessionals), and students are trained to implement accurately. This review of the literature included 19 articles, with 21 experiments, that evaluated different way to train change agents to implement a formal preference assessment. We evaluated each of the experiments along multiple dimensions (e.g., participant demographics, training procedures, and percentage of non-overlapping data). From this analysis we provided information on the current status of research on training change agents on how to implement formal preference assessments, reveal limitations in the current literature base, and provide suggestion for future clinicians, researchers, and certifying bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have demonstrated that comprehensive behavioral intervention can result in significant improvements in the lives of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; e.g.; Lovaas, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 55(1):3-9, 1987; McEachin et al., American Journal of Mental Retardation 97(4):359-372, 1993). This intervention has occurred in a variety of settings (e.g., school, home, and clinic). Even though procedures based upon the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) can be implemented across a variety of settings, there is often confusion about the differences and relative advantages of home- versus clinic-based settings. The purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion of home- and clinic-based intervention within the context of a progressive approach to ABA and discus possible advantages of each type of setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the use of the cool versus not cool procedure to teach sixteen children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder how to initiate or respond to bids for joint attention and how to increase peer to peer communication with their peers. The cool versus not cool procedure consisted of the teacher modeling the targeted social behaviors both the cool (i.e., appropriate) and not cool (i.e., inappropriate) way, having the participants discriminate if the model was cool or not cool, having the participants state reasons why the model was cool or not cool, and having the participants role-play the targeted social behavior. All instruction was provided in a group format. Using a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across skills and participants the results showed that the cool versus not cool procedure was successful, with the majority of participants acquiring the two social behaviors and maintaining these behaviors after intervention had concluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we evaluated a social skills group which employed a progressive applied behavior analysis model for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A randomized control trial was utilized; eight participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group and seven participants were randomly assigned to a waitlist control group. The social skills group consisted of 32, 2 h sessions. Teachers implemented a variety of behaviorally based procedures. A blind evaluator measured participants' behavior immediately prior to intervention, immediately following intervention, and during 16 and 32-week maintenance probes. Results of the study demonstrated that participants made significant improvements with their social behavior (p < .001) following intervention, and the results were maintained up to 32 weeks after intervention had concluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a science and, therefore, involves progressive approaches and outcomes. In this commentary we argue that the spirit and the method of science should be maintained in order to avoid reductionist procedures, stifled innovation, and rote, unresponsive protocols that become increasingly removed from meaningful progress for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We describe this approach as progressive. In a progressive approach to ABA, the therapist employs a structured yet flexible process, which is contingent upon and responsive to child progress. We will describe progressive ABA, contrast it to reductionist ABA, and provide rationales for both the substance and intent of ABA as a progressive scientific method for improving conditions of social relevance for individuals with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Concerns About ABA-Based Intervention: An Evaluation and Recommendations" that was published in a previous issue is presented.

This study compared the teaching interaction procedure to social stories implemented in a group setting to teach social skills to three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The researchers taught each participant one social skill with the teaching interaction procedure, one social skill with the social story procedure, and one social skill was assigned to a no intervention condition. The teaching interaction procedure consisted of didactic questions, teacher demonstration, and role-play; the social story procedure consisted of reading a book and answering comprehension questions. The researchers measured participants' performances during probes, responses to comprehension questions, and responding during role-plays. The results indicated that the teaching interaction procedure was more efficacious than the social story procedure across all three participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared flexible prompt fading to an error correction procedure involving feedback and remedial trials for teaching four children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Using a parallel treatment design nested into a multiple probe design, researchers taught each participant how to expressively label six pictures of Muppet characters with the flexible prompt fading procedure and six pictures of Muppet characters with the error correction procedure. The researchers evaluated the effectiveness, maintenance, efficiency, and acquisition during teaching for each participant across the two teaching conditions. Results indicated that both teaching procedures were effective, resulted in high rates of maintenance, and that participants responded correctly during the majority of teaching trials. However, flexible prompt fading was more efficient in terms of total number of trials and sessions, as well as total amount of time for participants to learn all targeted skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared the effects of a conventional approach and a progressive approach to discrete trial teaching when teaching tact relations to 12 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The conventional approach was informed by best practice guidelines for teaching receptive and expressive language (Green Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 16(2), 72–85, 2001; Grow & Leblanc Behavior Analysis in Practice, 6(1), 56–75, 2013) and other relevant research (e.g., Graff & Karsten Behavior Analysis in Practice, 5(2), 37–48, 2012; León & Rosales Journal of Behavioral Education, 27(1), 81–100, 2018; Majdalany et al. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 47(3), 657–662, 2014). The progressive approach was informed by guidelines outlined by Leaf, Cihon, Leaf, et al. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 9(2), 361–372, (2016a) and Leaf, Leaf, McEachin, et al. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 46(2), 720–731, (2016c). In this study, highly vocal-verbal participants diagnosed with ASD were randomly assigned to the conventional or progressive condition and received 20 sessions of intervention. Following intervention, statistical analysis was used to evaluate and compare the effects of each condition. Although both were effective in teaching the participants tact relations, there was a statistically significant difference in the number of tact relations learned in the progressive condition when compared to the conventional condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent literature has described the analysis and treatment of problem behavior that involves an open-ended interview to inform the conditions under which problem behavior is likely to occur, conducting a synthesized contingency analysis, and implementing treatment that includes functional communication training, delay and denial tolerance training, and increasing the amount of demands presented after a denial (e.g., Hanley et al. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 47(1), 16–36, 2014). This process has been described as an Interview-Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis (IISCA) or practical functional assessment. Much of the literature evaluating the practical functional assessment has originated from authors within the same research group. The purpose of the present study was to replicate and extend previous research on the practical functional assessment with a different group of researchers and in a different setting (i.e., an early intensive behavioral intervention clinic). This study sought to extend previous literature by including additional measures of social validity on the open-ended interview, contingency analysis, treatment, and pre-post measures on parental stress. The results were similar to previous research with an overall reduction in problem behavior and increases in functional communicative responses and compliance with demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]