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Bergmann S, Niland H, Otero M, Gavidia VL, Kodak T. Teaching children with autism spectrum disorder to tact auditory stimuli: A replication. BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/bin.1936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Bergmann
- Department of Behavior Analysis University of North Texas Denton Texas USA
| | - Haven Niland
- Department of Behavior Analysis University of North Texas Denton Texas USA
| | - Maria Otero
- Department of Behavior Analysis University of North Texas Denton Texas USA
| | | | - Tiffany Kodak
- Department of Psychology Marquette University Milwaukee Wisconsin USA
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Clements A, Fisher WW, Keevy M. Promoting the emergence of tacting three-digit numerals through a chain prompt combined with matrix training. J Appl Behav Anal 2021; 54:1405-1419. [PMID: 34216029 DOI: 10.1002/jaba.861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty generalizing from directly trained responses to untrained responses (i.e., emergent responding). In this study, we used a chain prompt combined with matrix training to teach 2 participants with ASD to tact 192 three-digit numerals. We used a multiple-baseline design across matrices to evaluate the treatment effects on trained and untrained tacts of numerals. Both participants mastered all numerals exposed to training and all numerals not exposed to training after 3 to 5 sixteen-trial sessions per matrix. One participant learned to tact 8 numerals for each 1 numeral exposed to direct training, and the other participant learned to tact 12 numerals for each 1 numeral exposed to direct training. We discuss these results relative to the effectiveness and efficiency of our chain prompt combined with matrix training for teaching tacting skills for targets with shared stimulus properties that facilitate generalization to untrained targets.
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Halbur M, Kodak T, Williams X, Reidy J, Halbur C. Comparison of sounds and words as sample stimuli for discrimination training. J Appl Behav Anal 2021; 54:1126-1138. [PMID: 33759461 DOI: 10.1002/jaba.830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 02/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
A portion of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty acquiring conditional discrimination. However, previous researchers suggested that the discrimination of nonverbal auditory stimuli may be acquired more efficiently (Eikeseth & Hayward, 2009; Uwer, et al., 2002). For example, a child may learn to touch a picture of a piano after hearing the musical instrument more quickly than when the auditory stimulus is the spoken word "piano." The purpose of the present study was to extend previous research by assessing the acquisition of conditional discriminations with sample stimuli presented as either automated spoken words or high- and low-disparity nonverbal auditory stimuli (i.e., environmental sounds). Conditional discriminations with high-disparity environmental sounds as sample stimuli were acquired rather than or more efficiently than those trained with low-disparity environmental sounds and words as sample stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Halbur
- University of Nebraska Medical Center's Munroe-Meyer Institute
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Kodak T, Halbur M. A Tutorial for the Design and Use of Assessment-Based Instruction in Practice. Behav Anal Pract 2021; 14:166-180. [PMID: 33732586 DOI: 10.1007/s40617-020-00497-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Assessment-based instruction can increase the efficacy and efficiency of skill acquisition by using learner data to select an intervention procedure from a comparison of potential interventions. Although there are many published examples of assessments that guide the selection of skill-acquisition procedures, there are limited resources available to practitioners to guide the development of assessments for use in practice. This article describes a sequence of steps that Board Certified Behavior Analysts can follow to design and use assessment-based instruction in practice. These steps include (a) pick a topic to evaluate, (b) identify interventions to include in the assessment, (c) identify target behavior, (d) select an experimental design, (e) select a skill and targets, (f) equate noncritical procedures across conditions, (g) design templates for data collection, (h) conduct the assessment, and (i) use assessment results to guide practice. Included in these steps are examples and materials for how to conduct components of assessment-based instruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiffany Kodak
- Psychology Department, Marquette University, 525 N. 6th St., WI 53203 Milwaukee, USA
| | - Mary Halbur
- Psychology Department, Marquette University, 525 N. 6th St., WI 53203 Milwaukee, USA
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Halbur ME, Caldwell RK, Kodak T. Stimulus Control Research and Practice: Considerations of Stimulus Disparity and Salience for Discrimination Training. Behav Anal Pract 2021; 14:272-282. [PMID: 33732597 PMCID: PMC7900359 DOI: 10.1007/s40617-020-00509-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Stimulus control plays a prominent role in behavior-analytic service delivery, as many discrimination skills are necessary for daily interactions. Clarification and standardization of terminology are necessary for the advancement of research and practice on stimulus control. The purpose of the present article is to provide an overview of stimulus control and discrimination training as they relate to the disparity and salience of stimuli. An overview and examples of stimulus disparity and stimulus salience are provided, followed by recommendations for efficacious service delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary E. Halbur
- Psychology Department, Marquette University, 525 N. 6th St., Milwaukee, WI 53212 USA
| | - R. Kyle Caldwell
- Psychology Department, Marquette University, 525 N. 6th St., Milwaukee, WI 53212 USA
| | - Tiffany Kodak
- Psychology Department, Marquette University, 525 N. 6th St., Milwaukee, WI 53212 USA
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Bak MYS. Tact instruction for children with autism spectrum disorder: A review. AUTISM & DEVELOPMENTAL LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS 2021; 6:2396941521999010. [PMID: 36381533 PMCID: PMC9620673 DOI: 10.1177/2396941521999010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Tacts facilitate social interaction, and a strong tact repertoire can lead to the development of other verbal operants. For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the development of a tact repertoire can reduce stereotypical and repetitive language and increase social communication, as functional language may reduce the amount of stereotypical vocal behavior that children engage in. However, teaching tact repertoires to children with ASD that maintain and generalize is difficult. The current study reviewed tact interventions for children with ASD from 2000 to 2019 to provide an overview of current tact interventions, their effectiveness, and the inclusion of intervention components that may promote maintenance and generalization of learned tacts in children with ASD. Fifty-one studies were included in the review. Of the studies that met criteria for effect size calculations 87.18% of the interventions showed excellent or high effect. Although many of the studies focused more on stimulus control to answer specific research questions, some studies implemented intervention components and procedures that could promote acquisition and generalization of learned tacts in children with ASD. We discuss implications and the need to increase research regarding tact intervention components that can increase generalization in children with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- MY Savana Bak
- MY Savana Bak, University of Minnesota, 56
River Rd. #250, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
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Bergmann S, Turner M, Kodak T, Grow LL, Meyerhofer C, Niland HS, Edmonds K. Replicating stimulus-presentation orders in discrimination training. J Appl Behav Anal 2020; 54:793-812. [PMID: 33205475 DOI: 10.1002/jaba.797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are taught conditional discriminations often during early intervention. Auditory-visual conditional discrimination (AVCD) training requires the presentation of multiple antecedent stimuli, and the order of stimulus presentation varies in the literature. This series of studies replicated previous literature on stimulus-presentation order in AVCD training. In Experiment 1, we compared sample-first and comparisons-first arrangements in 8 comparisons with 4 participants with ASD. For 3 participants, both presentations were efficacious. For 1 participant, the sample-first order was more likely to be efficacious. In Experiment 2, we added a sample-first-with-repetition arrangement and conducted 6 comparisons with 5 participants with ASD. Across comparisons, all 3 presentations were efficacious. Considerations for teaching AVCD to children with ASD and suggestions for further evaluation and examination of efficacy and efficiency are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Maria Turner
- Department of Special Education, University of British Columbia
| | | | | | | | - Haven S Niland
- Department of Behavior Analysis, University of North Texas
| | - Kaitlyn Edmonds
- Department of Special Education, University of British Columbia
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Meleshkevich O, Axe JB, Espinosa FD. Effects of time delay and requiring echoics on answering questions about visual stimuli. J Appl Behav Anal 2020; 54:725-743. [DOI: 10.1002/jaba.790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Olga Meleshkevich
- Department of Behavior Analysis Simmons University
- ABA Consulting, Inc. Westborough, MA
| | - Judah B. Axe
- Department of Behavior Analysis Simmons University
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Fisher WW, Luczynski KC, Blowers AP, Vosters ME, Pisman MD, Craig AR, Hood SA, Machado MA, Lesser AD, Piazza CC. A randomized clinical trial of a virtual-training program for teaching applied-behavior-analysis skills to parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. J Appl Behav Anal 2020; 53:1856-1875. [PMID: 32989771 DOI: 10.1002/jaba.778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Parents play an important role in the treatment of their children's symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD); thus, developing effective, efficient, socially acceptable, and accessible procedures for training parents to implement applied-behavior-analysis (ABA) interventions is critically important. One potential approach involves delivering training via a virtual private network (VPN) over the internet (Fisher et al., 2014). In this study, we conducted a randomized clinical trial to evaluate a virtual parent-training program with e-learning modules and scripted role-play via a VPN. We evaluated parent implementation of ABA skills using direct-observation measures in structured-work and play-based training contexts. Parents in the treatment group showed large, statistically significant improvements on all dependent measures; those in the waitlist-control group did not. Parents rated the training as highly socially acceptable. Results add to the growing literature on the efficacy and acceptability of virtually delivered training in ABA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andrew P Blowers
- The University of Nebraska Medical Center's Monroe-Meyer Institute
| | | | - Maegan D Pisman
- The University of Nebraska Medical Center's Monroe-Meyer Institute
| | | | | | | | - Aaron D Lesser
- The University of Nebraska Medical Center's Monroe-Meyer Institute
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Shillingsburg MA, Frampton SE, Schenk YA, Bartlett BL, Thompson TM, Hansen B. Evaluation of a Treatment Package to Increase Mean Length of Utterances for Children with Autism. Behav Anal Pract 2020; 13:659-673. [PMID: 32953394 DOI: 10.1007/s40617-020-00417-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Skinner's (1957) classification of mand responses has spawned decades of research related to teaching individuals with developmental disabilities. However, few studies have evaluated how to teach individuals with autism to progress from simple to more complex mands for desired items and activities. The present study used a treatment package consisting of errorless teaching, differential reinforcement, and systematic decision rules to increase the number of words per mand utterance used by 6 children with autism. Daily probes were conducted in the absence of prompting and differential reinforcement throughout every stage of the treatment. Results showed that all children showed significant developmental gains in the mean length of utterances. Increased rates of manding, increased emission of mand frames, and decreased instances of indicating responses (i.e., pointing, reaching) in the absence of mands were also observed. Implications regarding the feasibility of intensive mand training in practice are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Taylor M Thompson
- Village Autism Center, 41 Pacella Park Drive, Randolph, MA 02368 USA
| | - Bethany Hansen
- University of Nebraska Medical Center Munroe-Meyer Institute, Omaha, NE USA
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Quantifying errors of bias and discriminability in conditional-discrimination performance in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lmot.2020.101659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Lin FY, Zhu J. Comparison of two discrimination methods in teaching Chinese children with autism. J Appl Behav Anal 2019; 53:1145-1152. [PMID: 31608982 DOI: 10.1002/jaba.652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
In teaching conditional discriminations to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), practitioners may progress from simple to conditional discriminations or may teach conditional discriminations from the onset of instruction. Some research indicates that teaching simple discriminations first may be unnecessary and that teaching may more efficiently focus on conditional discriminations exclusively. This study replicated comparisons of simple-to-conditional and conditional-only discrimination training methods in teaching audio-visual conditional discriminations to Chinese preschoolers with ASD. Results indicated the conditional-only training method appeared to be more efficient in teaching these skills.
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The Effects of Standard and Enhanced Data Sheets and Brief Video Training on Implementation of Conditional Discrimination Training. Behav Anal Pract 2019; 13:53-62. [PMID: 32231967 DOI: 10.1007/s40617-019-00338-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Grow and LeBlanc (2013) described practice recommendations for conducting conditional discrimination training with children with autism. One recommendation involved using a specially designed datasheet to provide the preset target stimulus for each trial along with counterbalancing the location of stimuli if a three-item array of comparison stimuli. This study evaluated whether the recommended data sheet would lead to higher procedural integrity of counterbalancing trials compared to a standard data sheet (i.e., targets and arrays are not pre-set). Forty behavior therapists from two provider agencies participated. Participants were randomly assigned to either the standard data sheet condition or the enhanced data sheet condition. Participants watched a short video on Grow and LeBlanc's practice recommendations for a matching task and an orientation to the datasheet for the assigned condition, and then implemented the matching task with a confederate serving in the role of the child with autism. The enhanced data sheet resulted in higher accuracy of implementation on counterbalancing than the standard data sheet, with the largest difference for rotation of the target stimulus across trials and for counterbalancing the placement of the correct comparison stimulus in the array.
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