THE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF TEACHER AND PEER ATTENTION ON THE DISRUPTIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR OF THREE CHILDREN WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

We conducted functional analyses of classroom disruption during contingent teacher and peer attention conditions for 3 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Attention provided by peer confederates appeared to function as a distinct form of positive reinforcement for all 3 children.     

A COMPARISON OF REINFORCER ASSESSMENT METHODS: THE UTILITY OF VERBAL AND PICTORIAL CHOICE PROCEDURES

We compared three methods of stimulus preference assessment for verbal children and specifically evaluated the utility of a verbal choice procedure for assessing relative reinforcer value. Using a token system, relative preference for five categories of reinforcers, representing 15 different stimuli, was assessed by three methods: a reinforcer survey, a verbal stimulus-choice questionnaire, and a pictorial stimulus-choice procedure. Results showed that the verbal and pictorial stimulus-choice assessments accurately identified high- and low-preference categories for 3 of 4 participants. Survey results alone often rated multiple categories as high preference, were less likely to identify low-preference categories, and were less likely to correspond with the results of a reinforcer assessment.     

PEER TUTORING FOR CHILDREN WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER: EFFECTS ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

We investigated the effects of classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) on the classroom behavior and academic performance of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Typical instructional activities were contrasted with CWPT for 18 children with ADHD and 10 peer comparison students attending first- through fifth-grade general education classes. CWPT led to increases in active engagement in academic tasks along with reductions in off-task behavior for most participants. Of students with ADHD, 50% exhibited improvements in academic performance in math or spelling during CWPT conditions, as measured by a treatment success index. Participating teachers and students reported a high level of satisfaction with intervention procedures. Our results suggest that peer tutoring appears to be an effective strategy for addressing the academic and behavioral difficulties associated with ADHD in general education settings.     

DEVELOPING FLUENCY AND ENDURANCE IN A CHILD DIAGNOSED WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

We examined the effect of a teaching method on skill fluency and on‐task endurance of a 9‐year‐old boy who had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. An academic task that occurred at low fluency during 10‐min baseline sessions was taught to fluency. When responding was not yet fluent, brief reversals to baseline showed that the learner's rate of responding decreased and that he did not spend entire sessions on task. However, once a fluency goal had been reached, responding remained fluent and he remained on task in the third reversal condition.     

EFFECTS OF CHOOSING ACADEMIC ASSIGNMENTS ON A STUDENT WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

The effects of choosing academic assignments on the undesirable behaviors manifested by a second-grade student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were analyzed. This study extended Dunlap et al.'s (1994) research on choice making as a form of antecedent control. A reversal design showed that undesirable behaviors decreased when the student was given a choice of academic assignments.     

A PRACTICAL STRATEGY FOR ONGOING REINFORCER ASSESSMENT

There is a need for practical methods of reinforcer assessment that systematically track ongoing changes in clients' preferences. In this study, the effects of a time-efficient reinforcer assessment package were evaluated in a multiple baseline across 3 preschoolers with autism, comparing individualized item selections by experienced teachers with children's presession preferences for items of various sensory qualities. Systematic assessment of children's reinforcers for correct responding virtually eliminated nontargeted maladaptive behaviors, as well as yielding expected improvements in accuracy. The powerful side-effects of potent reinforcers underline the importance of increased attention to reinforcer assessment in research and practice.     

Further evaluation of the accuracy of reinforcer surveys: a systematic replication

The present report evaluates the accuracy of a reinforcer survey by comparing the survey results to the results of subsequent reinforcer assessments for 20 children using a concurrent-operants arrangement to assess relative reinforcer preference. Total accuracy for the survey was determined to be approximately 57%. The results provide a systematic replication of Northup et al. (1996) with a much larger sample of children. A need for the development of more accurate and comprehensive reinforcer assessment methods for verbal children is discussed.     

A COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF REINFORCER IDENTIFICATION PROCESSES FOR PERSONS WITH PROFOUND MULTIPLE HANDICAPS

We evaluated comprehensively a preference assessment for identifying reinforcers for persons with profound multiple handicaps. Four experiments were conducted involving 18 individuals. Results of Experiment 1 replicated previous findings in that the assessment identified student preferences for respective stimuli, and caregiver opinion of preferences did not coincide with the systematic assessment. Results of Experiment 2 indicated highly preferred stimuli were likely to function as reinforcers in training programs, whereas stimuli not highly preferred did not function as reinforcers. Results of Experiment 3 suggested the 12 stimuli used in the assessment represented a comprehensive stimulus set for identifying preferences, although the utility of the set sometimes could be enhanced by caregiver opinion. Results of Experiment 4 indicated the assessment identified preferences likely to be maintained over time. Overall, results are discussed in terms of identifying limits and alternatives to a behavioral teaching technology when applied to persons with profound multiple handicaps.     

An evaluation of methylphenidate as a potential establishing operation for some common classroom reinforcers.

We conducted reinforcer assessments for 3 boys with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who alternately received either placebo or previously prescribed methylphenidate. Our purpose was to evaluate whether methylphenidate altered the relative reinforcing effectiveness of various stimuli that are often used in classroom-based behavioral treatment programs (e.g., activities, tangible items). Results showed clear differences for some stimuli between reinforcer assessments conducted when participants had received methylphenidate compared to placebo. Results suggest that methylphenidate might act as an establishing operation for some common classroom reinforcers. Implications for the development and evaluation of behavioral treatments are discussed.     

EVALUATION OF A MULTIPLE-STIMULUS PRESENTATION FORMAT FOR ASSESSING REINFORCER PREFERENCES

We compared three methods for presenting stimuli during reinforcer-preference assessments: a paired-stimulus format (PS), a multiple-stimulus format in which selections were made with replacement (MSW), and a multiple-stimulus format in which selections were made without replacement (MSWO). Results obtained for 7 participants showed moderate to high rank-order correlations between the MSWO and PS procedures and a similar number of identified reinforcers. In addition, the time to administer the MSWO procedure was comparable to that required for the MSW method and less than half that required to administer the PS procedure. Subsequent tests of reinforcement effects revealed that some stimuli selected in the PS and MSWO procedures, but not selected in the MSW procedure, functioned as reinforcers for arbitrary responses. These preliminary results suggest that the multiple-stimulus procedure without replacement may share the respective advantages of the other methods.     

An evaluation of stimulant medication on the reinforcing effects of play

Although a vast literature has indicated that stimulant medications are effective for reducing inappropriate behavior in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the effects of stimulant medication on ancillary behaviors (e.g., play) have yet to be investigated with the same rigor. We used a reinforcer assessment procedure to evaluate the effects of medication on the play and social behavior of 5 preschool children who had been diagnosed with ADHD. Conditions included (a) social reinforcement (i.e., playing with friends), (b) alone play, and (c) quiet time (i.e., resting). Results indicated that 1 of the 5 participants selected fewer social reinforcers and more nonsocial reinforcers (alone play or quiet time) while on medication. The findings indicate that the reinforcer assessment procedure may be a viable way to evaluate medication effects on an ongoing basis and to inform treatment decisions.     

ASSESSMENT OF PREFERENCE FOR VARIED VERSUS CONSTANT REINFORCERS

One method that has been demonstrated to improve the effectiveness of reinforcement is stimulus (reinforcer) variation (Egel, 1980). Egel found that bar pressing increased and responding occurred more rapidly during varied reinforcement than during constant reinforcement when identical stimuli were used across phases for 10 individuals with autism. The purpose of the current investigation was to assess the preferences of 7 individuals for varied presentation of slightly lower quality stimuli relative to constant access to the highest quality stimulus. Varied presentation was preferred over constant reinforcer presentation with 4 participants, and the opposite was true for 2 participants. One participant did not demonstrate a preference. These results suggest that stimulus variation may allow less preferred reinforcers to compete effectively with a more highly preferred reinforcer for some individuals.     

THE USE OF BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT TO PRESCRIBE AND EVALUATE TREATMENTS FOR SEVERELY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN

Behavioral assessment procedures were used to prescribe and evaluate treatments of maladaptive behavior for 2 children with severe multiple handicaps. In Experiment 1, the results of an assessment of reinforcer preference were used in conjunction with a functional analysis of the conditions maintaining self-injurious behavior to prescribe a treatment for a child with severe disabilities. The treatment procedure involved the use of a pressure-sensitive microswitch to activate reinforcing stimuli during two solitary conditions, during which self-injurious behavior had occurred at high rates. The results were evaluated with a multiple baseline across settings design and indicated that self-injury decreased with concomitant increases in microswitch activation. Results were maintained at 6 weeks, 8 weeks, and 6 months. In Experiment 2, the results of behavioral assessments of reinforcer preference and self-injurious behavior were combined to develop a treatment for a second severely handicapped child, who exhibited high rates of self-injury in demand situations. This treatment was evaluated with a multiple baseline across tasks design and resulted in the elimination of self-injury for up to 15 months.     

A COMPARISON OF TWO APPROACHES FOR IDENTIFYING REINFORCERS FOR PERSONS WITH SEVERE AND PROFOUND DISABILITIES

The development of effective training programs for persons with profound mental retardation remains one of the greatest challenges for behavior analysts working in the field of developmental disabilities. One significant advancement for this population has been the reinforcer assessment procedure developed by Pace, Ivancic, Edwards, Iwata, and Page (1985), which involves repeatedly presenting a variety of stimuli to the client and then measuring approach behaviors to differentiate preferred from nonpreferred stimuli. One potential limitation of this procedure is that some clients consistently approach most or all of the stimuli on each presentation, making it difficult to differentiate among these stimuli. In this study, we used a concurrent operants paradigm to compare the Pace et al. (1985) procedure with a modified procedure wherein clients were presented with two stimuli simultaneously and were given access only to the first stimulus approached. The results revealed that this forced-choice stimulus preference assessment resulted in greater differentiation among stimuli and better predicted which stimuli would result in higher levels of responding when presented contingently in a concurrent operants paradigm.     

A COMPARISON OF THREE STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING OBJECT NAMES

Researchers in applied behavior analysis have been charged to provide large-scale demonstrations of the outcomes of evaluations. In this research, three experiments were conducted to examine the relative efficacy of three methods of presenting stimuli in object naming tasks. Stimuli were introduced successively, simultaneously, or using a combination of the two procedures. College adults, mentally retarded children and adolescents, and preschool children were taught to produce the names of five Hebrew letters, English words, or American coins, respectively. Presentation method was a between-subjects treatment in a factorial design. Results from the series of systematic replications were consistent in showing better posttest performance for subjects in the Simultaneous and Combined conditions. Further, follow-up data in Experiment III showed that retention was also superior for subjects trained by the Simultaneous or Combined methods. Although the acquisition criterion was met in fewer trials by subjects in the Successive condition, only several minutes more training time was required by the Simultaneous and Combined conditions. From a cost-effectiveness point of view, either of the latter two techniques should be favored over the Successive procedure for teaching verbal naming skills.     

A RAPID METHOD FOR EVALUATING THE NECESSITY FOR BOTH A BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION AND METHYLPHENIDATE

We examined the effects of a behavioral intervention and methylphenidate (MPH) on inappropriate behavior and sleep disturbance displayed by a 6-year-old boy who had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Results showed that the behavioral intervention was effective in reducing inappropriate behaviors to near-zero levels regardless of the presence or absence of MPH.     

A computerized test of self-control predicts classroom behavior

We assessed choices on a computerized test of self-control (CTSC) for a group of children with features of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a group of controls. Thirty boys participated in the study. Fifteen of the children had been rated by their parents as hyperactive and inattentive, and 15 were age- and gender-matched controls in the same classroom. The children were observed in the classroom for three consecutive mornings, and data were collected on their activity levels and attention. The CTSC consisted of two tasks. In the delay condition, children chose to receive three rewards after a delay of 60 s or one reward immediately. In the task-difficulty condition, the children chose to complete a difficult math problem and receive three rewards or complete an easier problem for one reward. The children with ADHD features made more impulsive choices than their peers during both conditions, and these choices correlated with measures of their activity and attention in the classroom.     

COMPARISON OF DATA‐COLLECTION METHODS IN A BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN WITH PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS: A REPLICATION

Cummings and Carr (2009) compared two methods of data collection in a behavioral intervention program for children with pervasive developmental disorders: collecting data on all trials versus only the first trial in a session. Results showed that basing a child's progress on first‐trial data resulted in identifying mastery‐level responding slightly sooner, whereas determining mastery based on all trials resulted in slightly better skill maintenance. In the current replication, no such differences in indication of mastery or maintenance were observed when data were collected on all trials or the first trial.     

THE DISCRIMINATION OF OBJECT NAMES AND OBJECT SOUNDS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: A PROCEDURE FOR TEACHING VERBAL COMPREHENSION

We assessed whether 2 preschoolers with autism learned to discriminate between the sounds of musical instruments more rapidly than the spoken names of the instruments. After the children learned the sound‐object relations more rapidly than the name‐object relations, we then evaluated a prompt‐delay procedure for transferring stimulus control from the sounds to the names of the instruments. The prompt‐delay procedure facilitated the acquisition of name—object relations for both children.