Observational learning (OL) allows an individual to acquire novel responses by observing others' behavior and the corresponding consequences. The complexity of skills involved with OL may vary with the learning context. A learner may observe modeled responses to both trained (known) and untrained (unknown) stimuli or they may observe both reinforced (correct) and nonreinforced (incorrect) responses. The purpose of this study was to develop assessment and training procedures for OL component skills when the learner observes a combination of learning contexts: reinforced and nonreinforced responses to both trained and untrained stimuli. Two children with autism, Tom and David, participated. We assessed the following component skills in the context of tact trials: (1) Discriminating trained and untrained stimuli, (2) attending to the modeled performance, (3) discriminating consequences, and (4) conditionally responding based upon a name call. Next, we trained the component skill(s) for which the learner's performance did not meet criterion and then reassessed for OL. For both participants, immediate increases in OL were observed; however, modifications to the post-assessment (differential observing response for consequences and/or differential reinforcement) were required to produce (Tom) or maintain (David) criterion levels of responding. Interpretations of these outcomes, as well as limitations and directions for …

Effective and efficient skill-acquisition procedures must be identified to support individualized behavioral programming for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To do this, practitioners and researchers may use assessment-based instruction. Prompts are a common teaching strategy to promote skill acquisition. The purpose of this applied study was to use assessment-based instruction to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of within- and extra-stimulus prompts to teach conditional discriminations to two children with ASD. We identified stimulus prompts using a survey of popular children's games and conducted a tablet-based instruction readiness assessment. Stimulus prompts involved motion (within-stimulus) and pointing (extra-stimulus) to evoke correct responses in the presence of a discriminative stimulus. We used an adapted alternating treatments design with a no-treatment control condition to evaluate the effects of both prompt types across multiple sets of stimuli. Both stimulus prompt types were efficacious in facilitating skill acquisition for two of three participants. Little difference was observed in the time to mastery with either prompt. Neither stimulus prompt was efficacious for the third participant. Assessment results will be used to inform clinical programming to teach conditional discriminations to participants and contribute to research on designing and implementing assessments of skill-acquisition procedures.

Beneficial consumer outcomes are most likely when behavior-analytic interventions are implemented with high procedural fidelity (i.e., degree to which the procedure is implemented as intended). Video self-monitoring, which involves teaching staff members to monitor their own procedural fidelity when watching recordings of themselves, can be used to improve and maintain high procedural fidelity, but video self-monitoring requires additional staff time and resources. In-vivo self-monitoring, which involves monitoring procedural fidelity during or immediately following implementing a behavior-analytic intervention, could be a cost-effective option. However, in-vivo self-monitoring needs additional research to understand its effects on procedural fidelity. This current study analyzed the effects of in-vivo self-monitoring on the procedural fidelity of three behavior technicians implementing discrete trial instruction with children with autism. We used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design to teach participants how to score their procedural fidelity during their discrete trial instruction session. Data suggested that in-vivo self-monitoring was effective for two out of three participants, and those two participants were more likely to be accurate in their self-scored procedural fidelity. Procedural fidelity for the third participant did not increase with in-vivo or video self-monitoring, and the third participant was less likely to be accurate in their self-scored procedural …

The concept of "creativity" has been studied under the perspective of variability in behavior analysis. Creativity and variable responding contributes to problem solving in novel situations, learning new responses in different environments, and promote interactions that would otherwise be prohibited by repetitive behaviors and routines. During childhood, play contributes to the emergence of creativity and variability. Children develop many skills that are important to their lives while engaging in play behaviors. Some of those skills include self-advocacy, communication, and problem solving. Researchers have investigated different methods to promote variable play skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is limited research on prompting as an isolated variable in increasing variability in play responses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of prompting on variable play skills. Results indicated that verbal instructions and modeling were effective in increasing variable play responses. Both participants displayed a sustained increase in novel item engagement when exposed to prompting.

Despite the evidence that supports the benefits of a holistic, collaborative approach to autism intervention, but there is little training to teach those skills to professionals. Behavior analysts working in applied settings will often partner with different individuals from very different backgrounds and disciplines. Skilled Dialogue has been recommended as an approach to conversations that values everyone's contributions in fostering compassionate, collaborative, and culturally responsive care to benefit the children served. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a training workshop to teach the concept and strategies of skilled dialogue to behavior analysts in training. The participants were taught and practiced using the six strategies of Skilled Dialogue: welcoming, allowing, sense-making, appreciating, joining, and harmonizing through use of instructions, rationales, activities, simulations, and feedback. The success of the training was evaluated using a multiple baseline design across training components. Audio and video responses to role-play scenarios were recorded, transcribed, and scored to measure the results of the training workshop on communication skills. The results suggested that the training workshop was an effective method to teaching future behavior analysts how to engage in the strategies and components of skilled dialogue, increasingly the likelihood of collaborative, and children …

Rumination consists of voluntary regurgitation of partially digested food, followed by chewing and re-swallowing or expulsion of regurgitated stomach contents (DM-ID2). Little research has systematically analyzed the differential effects of type or quantity of food on rumination across extended observations. This analysis demonstrated that certain (isolated) foods may differentially affect the rate of rumination. Furthermore, patterns of responding and manipulations of quantity may provide evidence for naturally occurring contingencies of punishment for the rumination of particular foods. These results may provide an avenue for minimally invasive, sustainable treatment for individuals with severe and chronic rumination.