Assessment of the functions of vocal behavior in children with developmental disabilities: a replication

Although experimental analysis methodologies have been useful for identifying the function of a wide variety of target behaviors (e.g., Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1982/1994), only recently have such procedures been applied to verbal operants (Lerman et al., 2005). In the current study, we conducted a systematic replication of the methodology developed by Lerman et al. Participants were 4 children who had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities and who engaged in limited vocal behavior. The function of vocal behavior was assessed by exposing target vocal responses to experimental analyses. Results showed that experimental analyses were generally useful for identifying the functions of vocal behavior across all participants.     

Effectiveness and acceptability of parent training via telehealth among families around the world

Teaching parents to conduct functional analyses and to implement functional communication training is an efficacious approach for treating socially maintained problem behavior (Derby et al., 1997). Research has found that delivering this assessment and intervention package via telehealth technologies is efficient and acceptable to caregivers in the United States (Wacker et al., 2013b). We replicated this work with families residing in rural and urban areas of eight countries. Two behavior therapists located in the United States conducted appointments in the participants' native languages, using interpreters as needed. Parent‐implemented functional analyses and treatment with functional communication training were highly effective in reducing problem behavior in children diagnosed with autism. Furthermore, parents rated the procedures as acceptable and indicated that the treatment would be effective with their children. These findings indicate that telehealth technologies are a viable option for clinicians to provide behavior analysis services to families around the world.     

Evaluating the effects of functional communication training in the presence and absence of establishing operations

We conducted functional analyses of aberrant behavior with 4 children with developmental disabilities. We then implemented functional communication training (FCT) by using different mands across two contexts, one in which the establishing operation (EO) that was relevant to the function of aberrant behavior was present and one in which the EO that was relevant to the function of aberrant behavior was absent. The mand used in the EO-present context served the same function as aberrant behavior, and the mand used in the EO-absent context served a different function than the one identified via the functional analysis. In addition, a free-play (control) condition was conducted for all children. Increases in relevant manding were observed in the EO-present context for 3 of the 4 participants. Decreases in aberrant behavior were achieved by the end of the treatment analysis for all 4 participants. Irrelevant mands were rarely observed in the EO-absent context for 3 of the 4 participants. Evaluating the effectiveness of FCT across different contexts allowed a further analysis of manding when the establishing operations were present or absent. The contributions of this study to the understanding of functional equivalence are also discussed.     

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF SEPARATE TOPOGRAPHIES OF ABERRANT BEHAVIOR

We conducted a functional analysis of distinct topographies of aberrant behavior displayed by 4 clients. We first analyzed the behaviors in an aggregate fashion and then separated the behaviors to formulate hypotheses about the maintaining variables for each behavior. The procedures were used in a two-phase experiment. During Phase 1, two extended functional analyses were completed, one in an inpatient unit and one in a special education classroom. During Phase 2, two brief functional analyses were completed in an outpatient clinic. Results indicated that hypotheses of separate functions for distinct behaviors can be generated using both extended and brief functional analyses when the results are graphed in the aggregate and are separated by response topography. The results also suggest that these methods can improve the accuracy of data interpretation and treatment selection.     

CHOICE-MAKING TREATMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN'S SEVERE BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

The choice-making behavior of 5 young children with developmental disabilities who engaged in aberrant behavior was studied within a concurrent operants framework. Experimental analyses were conducted to identify reinforcers that maintained aberrant behavior, and functional communication training packages were implemented to teach the participants to gain reinforcement using mands. Next, a choice-making analysis, in which the participants chose one of two responses (either a mand or an alternative neutral response) to obtain different durations and qualities of reinforcement, was conducted. Finally, treatment packages involving choice making via manding were implemented to decrease inappropriate behavior and to increase mands. The results extended previous applications of choice making to severe behavior disorders and across behaviors maintained by positive and negative reinforcement.     

Evaluation of antecedent stimulus parameters for the treatment of escape-maintained aberrant behavior

We evaluated a methodology for identifying the range of stimulus features of antecedent stimuli associated with aberrant behavior in demand contexts in natural settings. For each participant, an experimental analysis of antecedents (Phase 1) was conducted to confirm the hypothesis that task instructions occasioned increases in aberrant behavior. During Phase 2, specific stimulus features associated with the presentation of task instructions were assessed by evaluating the child's behavior across two distinct settings, therapists, and types of tasks in a sequential fashion. Aberrant behavior occurred immediately across settings and therapists, presumably because the presence of a discriminative stimulus for escape-maintained behavior (the delivery of a task instruction) occasioned aberrant behavior. However, aberrant behavior decreased initially across tasks, suggesting that familiarity with the task might be a variable. During Phase 3, an experimental (functional) analysis of consequences was conducted with 2 participants to verify that aberrant behavior was maintained by negative reinforcement. During Phase 4, a treatment package that interspersed play with task instructions was conducted to disrupt the ongoing occurrence of aberrant behavior. Immediate and durable treatment effects occurred for 2 of the 3 participants.     

Prevalence of renewal of problem behavior: Replication and extension to an inpatient setting

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who exhibit problem behavior often receive behavioral assessment and treatment in specialized inpatient and outpatient clinics. However, problem behavior sometimes reemerges as a function of changes in contexts and stimulus conditions, such as returning to the home environment. This reemergence is called renewal. Recently, Muething et al. (2020) found that renewal occurred in over half (67%) of cases from an outpatient clinic. Their sample was obtained exclusively from an outpatient setting and despite the applied relevance of renewal, its clinical prevalence in other populations is unknown. Accordingly, we replicated Muething et al.’s procedures and analyzed renewal in 37 inpatient treatment applications across 34 cases via consecutive‐controlled case series. Renewal was present in 59% of cases; however, we found that renewal occurred in only 24% of context changes compared to 42% reported by Muething et al. Various factors related to the prevalence of renewal were evaluated.     

Interaction of reinforcement schedules, a behavioral prosthesis, and work-related behavior in adults with mental retardation

The effects of variable-interval (VI) and fixed-ratio (FR) schedules of reinforcement for work-related behavior and an organizer for the work materials (behavioral prosthesis) were evaluated with 3 adults with severe or profound mental retardation. The participants had been recommended for study because of high rates of off-task and aberrant behavior in their daily vocational training programs. For 2 participants, VI and FR schedules resulted in the same outcome: more aberrant behavior than on-task and off-task behavior combined. The FR schedule nearly eliminated emission of aberrant and off-task behavior by the 3rd participant. Combining the behavioral prosthesis with FR reinforcement (FR+O) increased the proportion of time spent in on-task behavior by all participants under certain FR schedule parameters. Second-by-second analyses of the observation records revealed that FR schedules reduced off-task and aberrant behavior during work sequences (i.e., ratio runs), and FR+O led to a further reduction of these behaviors during postreinforcement pauses. Overall, the results show how organizer and schedule parameters can be adjusted to produce an optimized balance between productivity and reinforcement while undesirable behavior is minimized.     

There is an entity called agrammatic aphasia.

Agrammatism as a phenomenon of neuropsychological relevance has been recently attacked--from conceptual and empirical angles. This article examines the facts, as they emerge from three recent experimental studies that have concluded that agrammatism does not exist (Miceli et al., 1989; Martin et al., 1989, Badecker et al., in press), and draws the opposite conclusion: that agrammatism is of interest to students of language and that patients belonging in this clinical category also reveal uniform patterns of aberrant behavior that are of great linguistic and psycholinguistic relevance.     

Examining patterns suggestive of acquisition during functional analyses: A consecutive controlled series of 116 cases

The functional analysis approach described by Iwata et al. (1982/1994) has been used widely to determine the variables evoking and maintaining challenging behavior. However, one potential concern with conducting functional analyses is that repeated exposure to contingencies may induce a novel functional relation. To examine the likelihood of these potential iatrogenic effects, we evaluated social test conditions of the functional analysis for 116 participants and searched for patterns of responding indicative of acquisition. Patterns suggestive of acquisition occurred in 13.70% of tangible reinforcement conditions; however, the prevalence was only slightly lower in the attention condition (8.75%). Much lower prevalence was observed for the escape condition (2.13%). When grouped by quotient score, a pattern of acquisition was just as likely to be observed in the attention condition as in the tangible condition. Additionally, patterns indicative of acquisition were no more likely to be observed with participants who emitted automatically reinforced challenging behavior.     

Treating food selectivity as resistance to change in children with autism spectrum disorder

Change-resistant behavior, such as rigid and selective food consumption, is a core symptom of autism that can have significant negative consequences for the child (Flygare Wallén et al., 2018; Levy et al., 2019). In the current study, we used a matching-law-based intervention (Fisher et al., 2019) to treat the change-resistant feeding behavior of 7 young children with autism. The feeder gave the participant a choice between a change-resistant and an alternative food during free- and asymmetrical-choice conditions. Alternative-food consumption increased for 2 participants during asymmetrical choice when the feeder provided a preferred item for consuming the alternative food and no programmed consequence for consuming the change-resistant food. Alternative-food consumption increased for the other 5 participants after the feeder exposed at least 1 food to single choice in which the feeder guided the participant to put the bite of alternative food in his or her mouth if he or she did not do so within 8 s of presentation. Effects of the single-choice contingencies maintained during reversals and generalized to other alternative foods the feeder did not expose to single choice. These results are important because participants consumed alternative foods even when their change-resistant foods were present, which is similar to typical mealtime contexts in which children have choices among foods.     

Utility of extinction-induced response variability for the selection of mands

Functional communication training (FCT; Carr & Durand, 1985) is a commonly used differential reinforcement procedure for replacing problem behavior with socially acceptable alternative responses. Most studies in the FCT literature consist of demonstrations of the maintenance of responding when various treatment components (e.g., extinction, punishment) are present and absent (e.g., Fisher et al., 1993; Wacker et al., 1990). Relatively little research on FCT has (a) evaluated the conditions under which alternative responses are acquired or (b) described procedures with technological precision. Thus, additional research on a cogent technology for response acquisition appears to be warranted. In the current study, we evaluated the efficacy of exposing problem behavior to extinction for inducing response variability as a tool for selecting an alternative response during FCT. Once participants engaged in appropriate alternative responses, the reinforcer identified in the functional analysis as maintaining problem behavior was delivered contingent on the alternative behavior. Results showed that exposing problem behavior to extinction was a useful method for producing alternative behaviors during FCT.     

Functional analysis skills training for residential caregivers

Functional analysis is the most effective assessment for identifying the maintaining contingencies of aberrant behavior. However, it is suggested that functional analyses are not conducted regularly due to the level of skill required. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to assess if four residential caregivers, with limited experience with applied behavior analysis, could be trained to implement the standard analog functional analysis conditions. The training consisted of a lecture, written information, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. Results showed that all participants attained percentage correct responding scores above 95% on three consecutive trials following training. One caregiver showed positive generalization of skills to the assessment of another behavioral topography. The result of this study provides further evidence that lay individuals can be trained to assist in conducting functional analyses. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship between clients' conformity to masculine norms and their perceptions of helpful therapist actions

T. J. G. Tracey et al.'s (2003) common factors model derived from therapists and psychotherapy researchers has provided a parsimonious structure to inform research and practice. Accordingly, the current authors used the 14 common factor categories identified in Tracey et al.'s model as a guide to code clients' perceptions of helpful therapist actions (e.g., intervention, way of being) in short-term psychotherapy. Next, they conducted a cluster analysis to establish meaningful subgroups of clients based on clients' perceptions of helpful therapist actions. Finally, they explored if clients in these subgroups differed in their report of conformity to masculine norms. Clients (N = 161) from a university counseling center were recruited for the current study. Results revealed 3 clusters of clients based on their perceptions of helpful therapist actions: Insight (44%), Relationship (30%), and Information (26%). In contrast, Tracey et al. found 3 clusters: Bond (which includes Insight and Relationship), Information, and Structure of therapy (not found in the current study). Clients in the Insight and Relationship clusters reported more conformity to masculine norms as compared with clients in the Information cluster. There were no sex differences across clusters.     

The MAVRIC-C and MAVRIC-P: a preliminary reliability and validity study

We administered the Measure of Aggression, Violence, and Rage in Children (MAVRIC; Bass, Geenens, & Popper, 1993a, 1993b), a questionnaire assessing the severity of reactive, impulsive aggression, to 28 prepubertal psychiatrically hospitalized children and 54 prepubertal lowrisk nonpatients and their mothers. Cross-informant reliability was supported between the MAVRIC-Child Version (MAVRIC-C; Bass et al., 1993a) and MAVRIC-Parent Version (MAVRIC-P; Bass et al., 1993b), r = .62, p < .001. Convergent validity was supported with the Aggressive Behavior factor of the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991a) for the MAVRIC-C, r = .62, p < .001, and MAVRIC-P, r = .74, p < .001. Both versions were also associated with disruptive behavior disorders, inpatient status, and assaultive behavior. We discuss the differences in the perception of aggression as a function of informant.     

Infant sign training and functional analysis

We taught manual signs to typically developing infants using a reversal design and caregiver-nominated stimuli. We delivered the stimuli on a time-based schedule during baseline. During the intervention, we used progressive prompting and reinforcement, described by Thompson et al. (2004, 2007), to establish mands. Following sign training, we conducted functional analyses and verified that the signs functioned as mands. These results provide preliminary validation for the verbal behavior functional analysis methodology and further evidence of the functional independence of verbal operants.     

TREATMENT OF SELF-INJURY AND HAND MOUTHING FOLLOWING INCONCLUSIVE FUNCTIONAL ANALYSES

Numerous studies have used functional analyses to prescribe interventions for severe behavior disorders. The majority of these studies have focused on behavior that is clearly maintained by socially mediated reinforcement, such as contingent access to attention, tangibles, or escape from instructional demands. However, a significant proportion of functional analyses do not yield conclusive results. We examined interventions for 3 children with severe disabilities following inconclusive functional analyses. First, preferred stimuli were identified for each child via a stimulus preference assessment. Second, a functional analysis was conducted for 2 of the 3 children. High rates of aberrant behavior were seen even (if not especially) in no-interaction sessions. The 3rd child was observed for several consecutive no-interaction sessions; behavior persisted in this condition. Third, interventions based on environmental enrichment were analyzed in an analogue setting. For all of the children, environmental enrichment decreased aberrant behavior if preferred stimuli were used in the procedure. To obtain further reductions in aberrant behavior, explicit reinforcement of toy play was required for 2 children, and a brief (5-s) time-out was necessary with 1 child. Finally, effects of treatment carried over to the school or home environment following teacher or family training. Results are discussed in the context of basic reinforcement principles and future directions for research.     

An investigation of mental rotation in infancy using change detection

Two experiments were conducted to examine mental rotation in 6- to 12-month-old infants (N = 166) using a change detection task. These experiments were replications of Lauer and Lourenco (Lauer et al., 2015; Lauer & Lourenco, 2016), using identical stimuli and variations of their procedure, including an exact replication conducted in a laboratory setting (Experiment 1), and an online assessment using Lookit (Scott et al.,2017; Scott & Schulz, 2017) (Experiment 2). Both experiments failed to replicate the results of the original study; in neither experiment did infants’ behavior provide evidence that they mentally rotated the object. Results are discussed in terms of the robustness of mental rotation in infancy and about limits in our experimental procedures for uncovering perceptual and cognitive abilities in infants.