Communication and internal states: What is their relationship?

Common folks “have” emotions and talk to others; and sometimes they make “their” emotions the topic of such talk. The emotions seem to be “theirs,” since they can be conceived of as private states (or events); and they can be topicalized, because we seem to be able to attribute or lend a conventionalized public form (such as a linguistic label or name) to some inner (and therefore nonpublic) state or event. This is the way much of our folk-talk and folk-thinking about emotions, the expression thereof, the role of language in these expressions, and communication in general are organized. However, as we have shown (Bamberg & Lindenberger 1984), such talk serves the purpose of communicating effectively and reaching mutual understanding.

Species and individual differences in communication based on private states

The way people come to report private stimulation (e.g., feeling states) arising within their own bodies is not well understood. Although the Darwinian assumption of biological continuity has been the basis of extensive animal modeling for many human biological and behavioral phenomena, few have attempted to model human communication based on private stimulation. This target article discusses such an animal model using concepts and methods derived from the study of discriminative stimulus effects of drugs and recent research on interanimal communication. We discuss how humans acquire the capacity to identify and report private stimulation and we analyze intra- and interspecies differences in neurochemical mechanisms for transducing interoceptive stimuli, enzymatic and other metabolic factors, learning ability, and discrimination learning histories and their relation to psychiatric and developmental disabilities.

Context-Based Assessment and Intervention for Problem Behavior in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The present study used a context-based model of assessment and intervention to explore whether interventions that modify context result in reduction of problem behavior in ecologically valid settings (i.e., typical routines implemented by typical education personnel in neighborhood schools). The Contextual Assessment Inventory (CAI) and a postassessment interview were administered to parents and teachers of eight children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to identify problem contexts. Then, environmental modification techniques were implemented in three priority contexts: namely, transitions, termination of preferred activities, and presence of a feared stimulus. Our results demonstrated an almost complete elimination of problem behavior in the priority contexts as well as successful completion of activities and routines related to those contexts. We discuss the value of conceptualizing problem behavior as a function of context with respect to facilitating both assessment and intervention, and the need for enhancing breadth of effects to determine the larger impact of a context-based approach on promoting meaningful behavior change in the community.

Challenging Behaviours and Severe Learning Disabilities: Recent Developments in Behavioural Analysis and Intervention

Recent years have witnessed the gradual emergence of a technology of nonaversive behavioural support for people with severe learning disabilities and seriously challenging behaviours. Three key aspects of these developments are reviewed, including: the functional perspective to analysis and intervention; the incorporation of the analysis and modification of setting events into behavioural practice; and the use of experimental techniques to conduct functional analyses of the contextual control of challenging behaviours. Attention is drawn to the practical implications and limitations of these developments.

Positive Behavior Support and Applied Behavior Analysis

Positive behavior support (PBS) emerged in the mid-1980s as an approach for understanding and addressing problem behaviors. PBS was derived primarily from applied behavior analysis (ABA). Over time, however, PBS research and practice has incorporated evaluative methods, assessment and intervention procedures, and conceptual perspectives associated with a number of additional disciplines. Recently, there has been some confusion regarding the definition of PBS and, in particular, its relationship to ABA. In this article, it was noted that the practice of PBS and ABA, in some instances, can be indistinguishable but that important differences in definitions and emphases mandate an explicit distinction. The purpose of this article is to address some of the key points of confusion, identify areas of overlap and distinction, and facilitate a constructive and collegial dialog between proponents of the PBS and ABA perspectives.

Functional behavioural assessment in people with intellectual disabilities

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The presence of problem behaviours often impede an individual's quality of life and ability to be fully included in the environments of his or her choice. Functional behavioural assessment has been gaining widespread use in all settings in which people with intellectual disabilities might present problem behaviours. Understanding the function of these problem behaviours is a critical component to developing an effective intervention plan. This paper presents a review of the current knowledge and findings regarding functional behavioural assessments.

RECENT FINDINGS

The recent studies on functional behavioural assessment have supported the well established fact that success in reducing behaviour problems is closely linked to understanding the function of the problem behaviour. Implementing functional behavioural assessment in school settings has been met with some challenges. Although a complex process, recent research has shown promise in training nonprofessionals in learning to carry out a functional behavioural assessment and implementing the information gained from the functional behavioural assessment into an effective behavioural intervention.

SUMMARY

The necessity of conducting a functional behavioural assessment is uncontested. Developing a behavioural intervention on the information obtained from a thorough functional behavioural assessment is part of best practice in the field of intellectual disabilities. We have the tools to conduct, and train others to conduct, a comprehensive functional behavioural assessment.

Early Identification of and Intervention for Infants and Toddlers Who Are at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Providing intensive early intervention is critical to maximizing outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and evidence suggests that the earlier intervention can begin, the better the outcome. The first purpose of this article is to review the earliest indicators of ASD in very young children—social and communication impairments—which have important implications for early identification. The second purpose is to review evidence-based intervention practices for children with ASD and to develop a set of guiding principles for providing intervention for infants and toddlers who are at risk for ASD. Issues that are delineated include providing intervention in natural environments, supporting families in early intervention, and embedding intervention in daily routines.

A descriptive analysis of intervention research in emotional and behavioral disorders from 1980 through 1999

The current study was conducted to examine the trends involved with experimental intervention research designed to modify behaviors of children and youth with emotional and/or behavioral disorders (EBD). Trends are summarized and compared to the intervention research that has been conducted in developmental disabilities (DD). The contents of 10 journals published between 1980 and 1999 were analyzed. Descriptive dimensions of the research including participant demographics, settings, research designs, dependent and independent variables, intervention agents, and measures of ecological validity were investigated. In addition, the databases were examined to determine whether interventions were based on individualized processes of assessment. The results showed strikingly similar trends across interventions with EBD and DD participants. The discussion addresses the general status of intervention research across both populations, as well as the importance of extending the current research to examine additional variables and measures with various populations.

Assessing the need for reactive behaviour management strategies in children with intellectual disability and severe challenging behaviour

The need for reactive behavioural management strategies for aggressive behaviours in adults with intellectual disability has been clearly established, but equivalent information concerning children with challenging behaviour is lacking by comparison. The present study was conducted in order to assess this need. A retrospective study was conducted to ascertain the nature of aggressive behaviours amongst a cohort children referred to a specialist support service. Aggressive behaviours were found to occur at high rates within the study group. Almost 60% of the children displayed aggression that occurred at least daily, and the behaviours resulted in serious consequences for carers in almost one-third of the group. Physical interventions were already in use in 56% of cases, but were largely improvised by carers. The need to include reactive behavioural training as part of an overall intervention package for carers of children with challenging behaviour appeared to be supported by the present results. The implications for training design are discussed.

The Widening World Of Functional Assessment: Comments On Four Manuals And Beyond

An escalating number of materials have been published recently on the topic of functional assessment and assessment‐based behavioral interventions. We review four manuals that purport to provide practical guidance for conducting functional assessment. An examination of these manuals yields encouraging evidence that the field of behavioral support has made notable progress in adopting a functional (behavior‐analytic) approach to unwanted behaviors. The content of the manuals, considered in the context of emerging perspectives in behavioral support, suggests a number of important issues and directions that should be addressed by future functional assessment research and practice.

Defining effective community support for long-term psychiatric patients according to behavioural principles

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this article is to define the characteristics of effective support in community mental health settings for patients with serious and persistent mental illness.

METHOD

A broad literature providing empirical evidence on competent caregiver behaviours and styles is selectively reviewed. Relevant findings from family caregiver research and studies of social environments that enhance skill development in people with intellectual disabilities are incorporated, within a cognitive-behavioural framework.

RESULTS

Six important domains are identified which represent positive caregiver styles: acceptance, creating a positive atmosphere, expectations of change, responsiveness, normalisation and educativeness.

CONCLUSION

The characteristics hypothesised to be critical for caregivers and support workers are defined in a general way that can allow for individualisation according to the goals of the programs and the cultural priorities of staff and patients. Further empirical validation of these characteristics would enable community mental health services to provide more specialised clinical treatments.

Positive behavioral support of adults with developmental disabilities: assessment of long-term adjustment and habilitation following restrictive treatment histories

The long-term maintenance of behavioral treatment effects is an important measure of clinical significance but is not reported with regularity in the published literature. The present report concerned therapeutic maintenance by evaluating five adults with developmental disabilities who had been exposed to multiple, restrictive procedures (food deprivation, mechanical restraint, electric shock) in a prior residential treatment facility and were transitioned to a new habilitation setting where these procedures were terminated in favor of alternative methods of behavior support. As revealed through a 24-month follow-up period, all of the participants were able to maintain clinically acceptable levels of challenging behaviors following the removal of the restrictive treatment procedures. Quality of life measures also revealed that the participants experienced greater independence, reduced supervision, and increased diversity in their living and work environments. These findings add to the limited studies on extended maintenance outcomes from behavioral intervention for serious clinical disorders in adults with developmental disabilities by demonstrating that positive adjustment can be sustained in the long-term without the continuation of restrictive treatment procedures.

Mediator analysis: an overview of recent research on carers supporting people with intellectual disability and challenging behavior

Families and front-line care staff are often key agents in helping deliver behavioural interventions to people with intellectual disability and challenging behaviour. The present paper reviews factors which may impact on the effectiveness of such interventions. Both PsychLit and MedLine were used to conduct an automated literature search which included the terms 'learning disability', 'mental handicap', 'mental retardation', 'intellectual disability', 'challenging behaviour', 'families' and 'staff. This search was substantially augmented by additional citations obtained from books and journal articles. The impact of attitudes, beliefs and emotional states as setting conditions for interventions was highlighted. A variety of more general setting conditions related to intervention effectiveness were also identified. Implications for both clinical practice and future research were discussed.

Functional communication training using assistive devices: recruiting natural communities of reinforcement

We evaluated the effectiveness of functional communication training (FCT) as an intervention for the problem behavior exhibited by 5 students with severe disabilities both in school and in the community. Following an assessment of the function of their problem behavior, the students were taught to use assistive communication devices in school to request the objects and activities that presumably were maintaining their behavior. Multiple baseline data collected across the students indicated that not only did the students use their devices successfully, but the intervention also reduced their problem behavior. In addition, data from community settings showed generalization to untrained community members. These results replicate other successful efforts to use FCT with individuals having limited communication skills, and demonstrate the value of teaching skills to recruit natural communities of reinforcement in order to generalize intervention effects to meaningful nontraining environments.

Aggression and psychopathology in persons with severe or profound mental retardation

We examined aggression and psychopathology in persons with severe or profound mental retardation. Most aggressive episodes were directed toward other clients, and ratings of aggression were positively correlated with self-injury, stereotypic behavior, and being ambulatory. In a linear regression analysis of psychopathological correlates, aggression was most consistently predicted by dependent personality and psychosis. To better describe the construct of aggression, we also developed an Aggression-psychopathology scale. Persons with mental retardation and aggression were more likely to be impulsive, attention-seeking, dependent, socially inadequate, and anxious. Intensive efforts to modify the psychopathological correlates of aggression may improve treatment planning and outcome.

Changing care staff approaches to the prevention and management of aggressive behaviour in a residential treatment unit for persons with mental retardation and challenging behaviour

The impact of a new training procedure aimed at improving staff skills in the preventative and reactive management of severely challenging behaviours was investigated within a six-place residential treatment unit. The results showed that there was some evidence to support the notion that the training reduced the number of behavioural incidents for most residents. The rates of major reactive strategy use (restraint and emergency medication) also declined over time, as did rates of staff and resident injury. Although only a limited number of these changes showed statistically significant correlations with time, it is argued that they were clinically significant when viewed against the complexity of the client group under study.

Analysis of an escalating sequence of problem behaviors: a case study

This case study focused on a student with severe disabilities who displayed multiple problem behaviors that fit a pattern of behavioral escalation. Analysis of the pattern in which problem behaviors occurred within instructional sessions, and comparisons of conditional rates of occurrence for specific behaviors to overall base rates of occurrence, indicated that the student's problem behaviors did represent a behavioral sequence. Functional assessment led to the hypothesis that the use of rule statements by the teacher was related to the occurrence and escalation of the problem behaviors. An ABAB reversal design showed that eliminating the use of rule statements was an effective instructional intervention for decreasing the rate of the student's problem behaviors. Independent ratings of the physical effort required for specific problem behaviors in the sequence suggested that response effort may be one variable underlying the pattern of responding within a behavioral sequence. Implications are offered for our theoretical understanding of complex patterns of problem behaviors and for future research and clinical intervention.

Choice making to promote adaptive behavior for students with emotional and behavioral challenges

Two analyses investigated the effects of choice making on the responding of elementary school students with emotional and behavioral challenges. In the first analysis, 2 participants were given choices from menus of academic tasks, all of which were pertinent to their educational objectives in English and spelling, respectively. Reversal designs showed that the choice-making conditions increased task engagement and reduced disruptive behavior for both students. An additional analysis was performed with a 3rd student in an effort to further distinguish the effects of choice making from preference. In this study, one of the no-choice phases was yoked to a previous choice-making condition. This analysis demonstrated that the choice-making condition was superior to baseline and yoked control phases as determined by levels of task engagement and disruptive behavior. The findings of the two analyses contribute information relevant to students with emotional and behavioral disorders, and to a growing literature on the desirable effects of choice making for students with disabilities and challenging behaviors.

Using assessment-based curricular intervention to improve the classroom behavior of a student with emotional and behavioral challenges

We evaluated a process of descriptive assessment, functional assessment, and assessment-based intervention with an elementary-school child who was described as having emotional and behavioral challenges, but who also exhibited above-average intelligence and communication skills. During a hypothesis-development phase, information was gathered from several sources including an interview that was conducted directly with the participant. Descriptive information collected during this phase produced five hypotheses about variables maintaining the problem behavior that were then tested experimentally in the classroom environment. The resulting functional assessment data supported the hypotheses. Intervention packages based on the hypotheses were implemented sequentially across English, spelling, and math classes. The interventions were successful in increasing on-task behavior, and the improvements were maintained for the remainder of the school year.