Transcript THE TECHNOLOGIES OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS …

THE TECHNOLOGIES OF
APPLIED BEHAVIOR
ANALYSIS UTILIZED IN A
SCHOOL SETTING
TARA ARMSTRONG, MAT, BCBA
What is Applied Behavior Analysis?
 ABA
is the science in which tactics derived
from the principles of behavior are applied
systematically to improve socially significant
behavior and experimentation is used to
identify the variables responsible for the
behavior change.
 We manipulate antecedents and consequences
in the environment to modify both adaptive
and maladaptive behaviors.
Who benefits from applied behavior analysis?
What are some common applications?
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Students with developmental or global
disabilities and delays.
1.
Activity schedules
2.
Direct instruction
Students diagnosed with learning
disabilities.
3.
Discrete trial instruction
4.
Early behavioral intervention
5.
Functional communication training
6.
Functional assessment and analysis
7.
Incidental teaching
8.
Fluency instruction
9.
Applied verbal behavior
10.
Reinforcement systems
11.
Activity schedules
12.
Video modeling
13.
Small group instruction
14.
Self-management
15.
Shaping and chaining
16.
Task analysis
17.
Non-contingent reinforcement
18.
Extinction
Students who demonstrate behavioral
challenges.

Students diagnosed with ADHD

Students diagnosed with an autism
spectrum disorder
Six Key Components which Guide ABA:

1. practice of ABA is guided by methods of scientific inquiry.

2. all behavior change procedures are described and
implemented in a systematic manner.

3. only procedures conceptually derived from the principles of
behavior are used by behavior analysts.
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4. the focus of ABA is SOCIALLY SIGNIFICANT BEHAVIOR

5. seeks to make meaningful improvement in important
behavior

6. produce an analysis of the factors responsible for
improvement in that specific behavior
What is Important
to School Children:
Active inclusion in a community.
Establishing and maintaining
friendships.
Communicating wants, needs and
internal events and emotions.
Feeling comfortable, knowing what
to expect and establishing a sense of
routine, purpose and independence.
Having contact with social, academic
and behavioral success.
Having FUN!!!!
Defining Characteristics of ABA
APPLIED
 This
signals ABA’s commitment to affecting
improvements in behaviors that enhance and
improve children’s daily life.
 We must choose targets which are socially
significant to the learner: social, academic,
language, daily living, self-care, vocational,
recreational and leisure skill development.

Some examples pulled from our
classrooms:
1.
Behavioral cusps: imitation skills that
are discretely taught in pre-school are
integral to success in mainstream
classroom behavior management (do
what your friends are doing if you aren’t
sure).
2.
Pivotal behaviors: specifically teaching
when/how/ why/who/where what
questions to access information
successfully and reduce escape
motivated behaviors.
3.
Is it cool? Can you access attention this
way successfully? Teaching jokes to
middle schoolers so they access peer
attention appropriately and successfully
as an alternative to potentially socially
stigmatizing behaviors.
A discussion of Applied
Applications in the Classroom:
How do we choose targets which are socially
significant to the learner?
1.
Is this a behavioral cusp? If a student learns
this skill will their repertoire expand?
2.
Is this a pivotal behavior? Will it lead to
widespread positive changes in a number of
areas?
3.
Is it age appropriate? What is
developmentally and culturally typical? How
can we achieve this with our learners?
BEHAVIOR:
Specific
Measurable
Reliable
How do we utilize “behavioral criterion”
daily?
1.
Operational definitions of behavior: description of specific form of behavior to be described,
observed and measured (so we are all talking about exactly the same thing).
2.
Measurement procedures: we utilize frequency (how many times a day does the student
engage in the behavior), rate (what percentage of the school day does the student engage in
the target behavior), duration (how long does the student engage in the behavior)
3.

Frequency: how many times does Johnny raise his hand to participate in group instructional
time per school day?
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Rate: what percentage of the science period is Mary engaging in off-task behavior?

Duration: how long with Mark persevere to a challenging task demand?

We also measure and analyze growth with VB MAPPS and ABLLS-R assessments to evaluate skills
sets, reduce splinter skills and analyze potential skill deficits (learners 3-7 yrs)
Aide training to ensure accurate measurement of target behaviors and analysis of data to
avoid observer drift (comparison of data collected in pre-school program,eg)
Analytic:
Demonstrating a functional relationship between manipulated events and a
reliable change in a measurable dimension of the target behavior.
Ways we use analysis in our interventions, support
plans and decision making responses in the
classroom:

Focus on three term contingencies throughout the school day: antecedentbehavior-consequence relationship.

Data driven decision making analysis: aide training in graphing and analyzing
data; within 3-5 data points a decision can be made regarding learning
opportunities and successful rates of student performance (no time lost,
conscientious team approach to behavior management)

In-situation feedback and technical support provided to aides on weekly basis
by BCBA to review data, discuss trends and demonstrate functional analysis.

On-going teacher support by BCBA to help provide revisions to program goals
and behavior plans based upon data driven decision making.
TECHNOLOGICAL= REPLICATION
HOW DO WE GET THE KIDS TO PRACTICE TARGET BEHAVIORS TO COME
INTO CONTACT WITH SUCCESS?
ONGOING TECHNOLOGIES IN
THE CLASSROOM:
Picture activity schedules
Leisure activity schedules
Forward and Backward Chaining procedures
to teach activities of daily living, self-care or
pre-vocational skills.
Lists to help with organization to reduce
prompt dependency
(read it and act it out test)
The Prompt Hierarchy: moving from
guided practice to independent success
Natural
environmental
cues
Indirect or visual
Direct verbal
gesture
model
Partial physical prompts
Full physical prompting
CONCEPTUALLY SYSTEMATIC

If treatment is not science based individuals may be subject
to...
Stagnated methodologies
Ineffective methods
One-size fits all programming
“tell us about the procedures you are using”: using and applying
scientifically validated procedures to optimize a child’s time
It is a behavior analyst’s vocation to disseminate accurate and
scientifically sound information to protect the consumer.
Examples of Conceptually Systematic
Applications:
 Functional
 Behavior
 Paired
Behavior Assessment
Support Plan Creation
Behavior Reduction and Teaching
Strategies
Effective: did you alter the
behavior enough to be socially
important?
Interventions must produce meaningful change for
the learner as well as be observable by his or her
significant others
Let’s talk about interventions which
must be effective to achieve success:
 1.
joint control and attention
 2.
mand training
 3.
executive function
What is joint control and
attention?
The extent to which your verbal
behavior is socially mediated.
This relates to:
Manding, checking in,
understanding tone, intention
and humor.
What is mand training?
A mand is a spontaneous and functional request for information, attention, activity or desired or
required item.
Mand training increases socially mediated behavior and reduces escape motivated behaviors or
inappropriate bids for access to desired items or activities.
Manding behavior empowers the learner and instills confidence and a feeling of control over the
Executive Function
Executive Function refers to a set of skills that are coordinated in the
brain that helps a student achieve his or her goals.
Executive Function:
Includes the ability to:
Challenges for many of our
students in the areas of:
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Manage time and attention

Planning school projects

Switch focus


Plan and organize
Estimating how much time a
project will take

Remember details

Relating a sequence of events
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Curb inappropriate behavior or
speech
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Memorizing, retaining and utilizing
information effectively

Integrate past experience with
present

Initiating tasks and activities
Generality: lasting over time,
observable in multiple environments and
spreads to other behaviors not
specifically related to intervention
A behavior change that continues after the original treatment procedures are
withdrawn has generality. Targeted Behaviors which occur in novel settings
or situations also have generality.
We focus on generality in the school
setting by:

Thinning reinforcement schedules or moving to “naturally occurring reinforcers in
the environment” (contact with natural consequences of behavior)
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Moving reinforcement from every response to every three responses
Creating opportunities for the behavior to occur in unexpected environments
(specials, walking down the hallways, lunchroom, playground)
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Practicing imitation skills in gym and art
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Creating opportunities to play with peers in typical settings (indoor recess, centers in
pre-school, snack in kindergarten)

Practicing walking to classrooms or down school hallways independently (grades 1-3
morning routine)
Utilizing novel adults, teachers, peers as a stimulus for target behavior to occur.

Practicing initiating greetings with receptive peers

Asking for information from adults in mainstream settings
Some additional characteristics of ABA:

1. Accountable: direct and frequent measurement
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2. Public: explicit and straightforward (“no magic”)
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3. “Do-Able”: practical and not complicated or arduous
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4. Empowering: instills confidence in practitioners
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5. Optimistic: “all individuals have potential”; always on lookout for
small, significant changes and intervening to induce positive change
for the learner
Who is implementing ABA Programs, Interventions and Protocols in the Schools?
Aide support and skill sets Supervised by Teaching Staff:
Maintaining joint attention:
• eye contact with materials and instructor
• Eye contact during group instruction and
instructional conversation
• Measuring comprehension of lesson with
check-in strategies
Executive functioning skills:
• Coaching on organizing materials
• Anticipating and utilizing visualization
techniques of what will be utilized during a
lesson, creating checklists
• Packing, unpacking-utilizing non-verbal cues
to promote independence
• Note taking, highlighting notes, copying
• Assignment pad/notebook
Maintaining compliance:
• Providing a system of reinforcement that
competes with escape motivated behaviors
• Offering alternatives or socially appropriate
routes to escape
• Identifying and offering alternatives to noncompliance
• Helping set time frames and expectations that
demands won’t last “forever”
Maintaining socially appropriate behaviors:
• Helping recruit peer attention
• Coaching through social situations
• Redirecting off task behaviors
• Redirecting motor stereotypy or socially
inappropriate behaviors through demands to
complete incompatible behaviors
Discussion or Questions?
Tara Armstrong, MAT, BCBA
[email protected]