Increasing Vocabulary and Listening Comprehension During Adapted Shared Reading: An Intervention for Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

PURPOSE

This study examined the improvement in vocabulary and listening skills of children with ASD through adapted shared reading. It also investigated the generalisation effect of this increase to new books and social validity.

METHODS

A multiple probe across participants design was used to investigate the effect of ASR (adapted shared reading) on the vocabulary and listening comprehension skills of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The participants were Turkish-speaking children diagnosed with ASD attending a preschool special education institution in Turkey. The researcher analysed the data obtained from the baseline, intervention, generalization and mastery phases using the visual analysis method.

RESULTS

Following the intervention, all three participating children gradually improved their vocabulary and listening comprehension skills. The findings suggest that young children with ASD can participate in and benefit from shared reading interventions with support.

CONCLUSION

The adapted shared reading method (ASR) is an effective method for increasing the vocabulary and listening comprehension skills of young children with ASD.

An assessment of token value and effectiveness: A replication

The purpose of the current study was to conduct a systematic replication of Fiske et al. (2015) to extend the behavior-analytic literature on token reinforcement. Specifically, the researchers addressed several of the limitations of Fiske et al. by including specific conditioning procedures, creating a controlled history of reinforcement with the token system, including participants with and without disabilities to extend the generality of the findings, and equating the magnitude of reinforcement across the primary and paired-token conditions. The current study evaluated the reinforcing value of tokens by using progressive-ratio schedules to compare the efficacy of primary reinforcement, paired tokens, and unpaired tokens. The results suggest that paired tokens may function as reinforcers, but they were not as consistently effective as primary reinforcers.

Adapting Direct Services for Telehealth: A Practical Tutorial

Due to the pandemic brought on by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), consumers of applied behavior-analytic interventions may be experiencing disrupted access to services. In response to the need for services, behavior analysts and therapists may find themselves treading unchartered waters as they use telehealth to provide direct intervention to consumers. Direct service provision via telehealth extends beyond the bounds of existing telehealth research, which primarily focuses on caregiver training and consultation. In the transition to telehealth, behavior analysts can consider how to adapt an existing evidence base of behavior-analytic strategies from a face-to-face format to intervention via a teleconferencing platform (i.e., Zoom). In this tutorial, we provide practice recommendations, task analyses, and a curated list of Zoom walk-throughs to help behavior analysts construct conceptually systematic learning opportunities in their direct telehealth services. Leveraging teleconferencing features to provide behavior-analytic intervention directly to consumers could spur future research to support these need-inspired practices and guide telehealth applications during and beyond the current pandemic.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40617-020-00529-5.

Evaluation of Manualized Instruction to Train Staff to Implement a Token Economy

All components of behavioral skills training may not be necessary to effectively train staff to implement behavior-analytic technologies with children with disabilities. This study evaluated manualized instruction to train inexperienced staff to implement a token economy with a confederate and collect data on learner responding. A nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design across staff trainees was used to evaluate the effectiveness of manualized instruction to increase the staff trainees' accurate implementation of a token economy. Additionally, a modified general case analysis was conducted to identify potential child behaviors. Multiple-exemplar training of these behaviors was presented in random order during sessions. Following the use of the manualized instruction, staff trainees' accurate implementation of a token economy and data collection on confederate responding increased, the skills generalized from a confederate to a child with autism spectrum disorder, and the skills maintained 1 month following training.

Modifying a behavior intervention plan according to classroom aides acceptability ratings: effects on treatment integrity and challenging behavior

This study evaluated the effects of an acceptability questionnaire on classroom aides' treatment integrity during implementation of behavioral intervention plans, using a multiple-probe-baseline across-participants design. Four classroom aides in a special education preschool classroom rarely used procedures recommended to manage the challenging behavior of a four-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during baseline. After using the questionnaire results to create a functionally equivalent behavior intervention plan that was comprised of components the aides rated as more acceptable, three of the four aides greatly improved their use of the procedures and an ancillary reduction in the child's challenging behavior was observed. Overall, results suggest that including staff acceptance measures during the intervention selection process may bolster subsequent intervention integrity.

Token reinforcement: Translational research and application

The present paper provides an integrative review of research on token reinforcement systems, organized in relation to basic behavioral functions and economic variables. This type of functional taxonomy provides a useful way to organize the literature, bringing order to a wide range of findings across species and settings, and revealing gaps in the research and areas especially ripe for analysis and application. Unlike standard translational research, based on a unidirectional model in which the analysis moves from laboratory to the applied realm, work in the area of token systems is best served by a bidirectional interplay between laboratory and applied research, where applied questions inspire research on basic mechanisms. When based on and contributing to an analysis, applied research on token economies can be on the leading edge of theoretical advances, helping set the scientific research agenda.

Token Economy: A Systematic Review of Procedural Descriptions

The token economy is a well-established and widely used behavioral intervention. A token economy is comprised of six procedural components: the target response(s), a token that functions as a conditioned reinforcer, backup reinforcers, and three interconnected schedules of reinforcement. Despite decades of applied research, the extent to which the procedures of a token economy are described in complete and replicable detail has not been evaluated. Given the inherent complexity of a token economy, an analysis of the procedural descriptions may benefit future token economy research and practice. Articles published between 2000 and 2015 that included implementation of a token economy within an applied setting were identified and reviewed with a focus on evaluating the thoroughness of procedural descriptions. The results show that token economy components are regularly omitted or described in vague terms. Of the articles included in this analysis, only 19% (18 of 96 articles reviewed) included replicable and complete descriptions of all primary components. Missing or vague component descriptions could negatively affect future research or applied practice. Recommendations are provided to improve component descriptions.

Learning how to be a student: an overview of instructional practices targeting school readiness skills for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder

Due to difficulties associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), many children with ASD will require additional support to actively participate in classroom activities. Therefore, it is important that professionals who work with young children with ASD know what skills to teach and how to teach them. Using the recent evidence-based practice review conducted by the National Professional Development Center on ASD, we have identified studies that targeted school readiness behaviors which can have implications for academic skill development. In this article, we evaluate (a) the types of skills that have been taught to preschool children with ASD, (b) the strategies used to teach specific skills, and (c) other descriptive information, such as who delivered the intervention and the setting in which the intervention took place. We conclude by offering suggestions for future research and considerations for professional development.

Risky choice in pigeons: preference for amount variability using a token-reinforcement system

Pigeons were given repeated choices between variable and fixed numbers of token reinforcers (stimulus lamps arrayed above the response keys), with each earned token exchangeable for food. The number of tokens provided by the fixed-amount option remained constant within blocks of sessions, but varied parametrically across phases, assuming values of 2, 4, 6, or 8 tokens per choice. The number of tokens provided by the variable-amount option varied between 0 and 12 tokens per choice, arranged according to an exponential or rectangular distribution. In general, the pigeons strongly preferred the variable option when the fixed option provided equal or greater numbers of tokens than the variable amount. Preference for the variable amount decreased only when the alternatives provided widely disparate amounts favoring the fixed amount. When tokens were removed from the experimental context, preference for the variable option was reduced or eliminated, suggesting that the token presentation played a key role in maintaining risk-prone choice patterns. Choice latencies varied inversely with preferences, suggesting that local analyses may provide useful ancillary measures of reinforcer value. Overall, the results indicate that systematic risk sensitivity can be attained with respect to reinforcer amount, and that tokens may be critical in the development of such preferences.

Observational learning and children with autism

A skill essential for successful inclusion in general education settings is the ability to learn by observing others. Research, however, has documented children with autism display significant deficits in the fundamental skills necessary for observational learning. This article outlines the skills essential for observational learning from an operant learning perspective, the research base on teaching observational learning to children with autism, and suggests practical strategies to increase these skills in children with autism so they may more fully benefit from inclusion in general education settings.

Interventions targeting attention in young children with autism

PURPOSE

The ability to focus and sustain one's attention is critical for learning. Children with autism demonstrate unusual characteristics of attention from infancy. It is reasonable to assume that early anomalies in attention influence a child's developmental trajectories. Therapeutic interventions for autism often focus on core features of autism such as communication and socialization, while very few interventions specifically address attention. The purpose of this article is to provide clinicians a description of attention characteristics in children with autism and discuss interventions thought to improve attention.

METHOD

Characteristics of attention in children with autism are presented. Intervention studies featuring measures of attention as an outcome variable for young children with autism are reviewed to present interventions that have empirical evidence for improvements in attention. Results are synthesized by strategy, specific feature of attention targeted, and results for both habilitative goals and accommodations for attention.

CONCLUSION

Although research is not extensive, several strategies to support attention in young children with autism have been investigated. The empirical findings regarding these strategies can inform evidence-based practice.

Analyzing stimulus-stimulus pairing effects on preferences for speech sounds

Several studies have demonstrated effects of stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) on children's vocalizations, but numerous treatment failures have also been reported. The present study attempted to isolate procedural variables related to failures of SSP to condition speech sounds as reinforcers. Three boys diagnosed with autism-spectrum disorders participated. Phase 1 was designed to assess SSP effects on production of auditory stimuli via button pressing. When SSP failed to produce a preference for the target stimulus, we instituted a series of procedural manipulations intended to address potential reasons for failure. One participant preferred the target stimulus when given the opportunity to select preferred items for pairing prior to each session, but a subsequent reversal attempt produced ambiguous results. Two participants showed no consistent preference in Phase 1 and underwent a within-session reinforcer evaluation in Phase 2, in which alternative controlling variables were demonstrated by delivering preferred stimuli contingent on button pressing.

Encopresis, soiling and constipation in children and adults with developmental disability

Children and adults with developmental disabilities are more likely to evince encopresis, soiling and constipation than the general population. This set of related behaviors can produce a great deal of stress and can be a major restriction in independent living. This paper provides a review of the current state of knowledge on the prevalence, etiology, assessment and treatment of this co-occurring set of disorders. These problems are more common in persons with developmental disabilities then the general population. Furthermore, classical and operant treatment methods appear to be the best supported interventions for most cases. Strengths and weaknesses of the current research base are discussed along with potential avenues for future research.

The token economy for children with intellectual disability and/or autism: a review

One of the most important technologies of behavior modifiers and applied behavior analysts over the last 40 years has been the token economy. These procedures are useful in that they help provide a structured therapeutic environment, and mimic other naturally occurring reinforcement systems such as the use of money. Token economies, at least from a research standpoint, appeared to have crested in popularity during the 1980's. However, for children with intellectual disability (ID) and/or autism, such methods continue to hold considerable therapeutic promise. An overview of past developments, current status, and potential future trends and applications with respect to this special population are discussed.