ABA Inside Track

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Are you still using preference assessments based on research you read in grad school. Get with the times and learn about some cool, recent updates to the literature with your pals on ABA Inside Track. Did you know you can use videos in your preference assessment? Or that you can compare preference for chocolate versus gummy candy? If you answered "no" then this episode is definitely for you. Note: if you said "yes" this episode will also be good.

Articles discussed this episode:

Ciccone, F.J., Graff, R.B., & Ahearn, W.H. (2015). Increasing the efficiency of paired-stimulus preference assessments by identifying categories of preference. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 48, 221-226. doi: 10.1002/jaba.190

Wiggins, H.C., & Roscoe, E.M. (2020). Evaluation of an indirect assessment for identifying tasks for functional analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53, 997-1012. doi: 10.1002/jaba.656

Brodhead, M.T., Kim, S.Y., & Rispoli, M.J. (2019). Further examination of video-based preference assessments without contingent access. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 52, 258-270. doi: 10.1002/jaba.507

NOTE: This episode is no longer available for CEs.

While summer vacation may not quite be over here in America, we sure better be planning for how we're reopening school for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. To help with planning the new school term, we're releasing an extra episode this month to review some recent articles from Behavior Analysis in Practice. What lessons can be learned from current research? Are our front-line staff and teachers ready? And how will behavior analysts help in the public and private school settings? Join us as we get ready to go back to school.

Articles discussed this episode:

Kornack, J., Williams, A.L., Johnson, K.A., & Mendes, E.M. (2020). Reopening the doors to center-based ABA services: Clinical and safety protocols during COVID-19. Behavior Analysis in Practice, online first. doi: 10.1007/s40617-020-00462-7

Palaez, M. & Novak, G. (2020). Returning to school: Separation problems and anxiety in the age of pandemics. Behavior Analysis in Practice, online first. doi: 10.1007/s40617-020-00467-2

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

To listen for the fun of learning? Just push play!

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As a response to our tumultuous times, it's so fortunate that we have so many behavior analysts speaking out about equality and social justice. This week two such leaders in the discussion, Denisha Gingles and Arin Donovan from the Beautiful Humans social change-cast, had some time to review this very important topic with us. This week, we look at how behavior analysis can learn from other fields (and from our own) to continue our professional journey to promote greater social and cultural change.

Articles discussed this episode:

Biglan, A. & Embry, D.D. (2013). A framework for intentional cultural change. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 2, 95-104. doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2013.06.001

Miller, K.L., Cruz, A.R., & Ala'i-Rosales, S. (2019). Inherent tensions and possibilities: Behavior analysis and cultural responsiveness. Behavior and Social Issues, 28, 16-36. doi: 10.1007/s42822-019-00010-1

Summer may be winding down, but we've still got lots of podcast visitors taking a trip by the virtual studio. This month, we're joined by Dr. Jeff Tiger to discuss delay tolerance and functional communication training and by Arin Donovan and Denisha Gingles from the Beautiful Humans social change-cast to discuss social justice. And, to top it all off, we discover if chocolate is better than gummies…with science!

Articles for August 2020

Social Justice w/ Arin Donovan & Denisha Gingles

Biglan, A. & Embry, D.D. (2013). A framework for intentional cultural change. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 2, 95-104. doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2013.06.001

Miller, K.L., Cruz, A.R., & Ala'i-Rosales, S. (2019). Inherent tensions and possibilities: Behavior analysis and cultural responsiveness. Behavior and Social Issues, 28, 16-36. doi: 10.1007/s42822-019-00010-1

Advanced Preference Assessment

Ciccone, F.J., Graff, R.B., & Ahearn, W.H. (2015). Increasing the efficiency of paired-stimulus preference assessments by identifying categories of preference. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 48, 221-226. doi: 10.1002/jaba.190

Wiggins, H.C., & Roscoe, E.M. (2020). Evaluation of an indirect assessment for identifying tasks for functional analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53, 997-1012. doi: 10.1002/jaba.656

Brodhead, M.T., Kim, S.Y., & Rispoli, M.J. (2019). Further examination of video-based preference assessments without contingent access. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 52, 258-270. doi: 10.1002/jaba.507

Functional Communication Training and Delay Tolerance w/ Dr. Jeffrey Tiger

Sumter, M.E., Gifford, M.R., Tiger, J.H., Effertz, H.M., & Fulton, C.J. (2020). Providing noncontingent, alternative, functional reinforcers during delays following functional communication training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Early Access. doi: 10.1002/jaba.708

Drifke, M.A., Tiger, J.H., & Lillie, M.A. (2020). DRA contingencies promote improved tolerance to delayed reinforcement during FCT compared to DRO and fixed-time schedules. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Early Access. doi: 10.1002/jaba.704

It's the full audio from our February 2019 trivia night, for your enjoyment. We've got questions about acronyms, questions about CMOs, a picture round (pictures can be found here), Brad Pitt, lasers, and popular lyrics—operationally defined.

Listen, answer, and send us your high scores!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

To listen for the fun of learning? Just push play!

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Given how the world has been going, it's about time we acknowledge that trauma is a much more regular occurrence than we might have originally believed. With that in mind, we asked Brian Middleton (a.k.a., the Bearded Behaviorist) from the Oh, Behave! podcast to join us to discuss research on trauma-informed care. We review signs of trauma in treatment, simple ways to avoid adding stressors into your practice with others, and how to respond professionally to research critical of your life's work (i.e., behavior analysis).

Articles discussed this episode:

Slocum, S.K. & Vollmer, T.R. (2015). A comparison of positive and negative reinforcement for compliance to treat problem behavior maintained by escape. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 48, 563-574. doi: 10.1002/jaba.216

Kunnavatana, S.S., Bloom, S.E., Samaha, A.L., Slocum, T.A., & Clay, C.J. (2018). Manipulating parameters of reinforcement of reduce problem behavior without extinction. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 51, 283-302. doi: 10.1002/jaba.443

Kupferstein, H. (2018). Evidence of increased PTSD symptoms in autistics exposed to applied behavior analysis. Advances in Autism, 4, 19-29. doi: 10.1108/AIA-08-2017-0016

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

To listen for the fun of learning? Just push play!

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Training people the first time is easy. Actually ensuring that they've learned the target skills…is a tiny bit harder. Fortunately, special guest, Dr. Paula Braga Kenyon has some research-based ideas on how clinicians can use self-monitoring and technology to improve procedural integrity. And not just in one setting, but in multiple settings. Plus, you get to use performance feedback, our favorite!

Articles discussed this episode:

Pelletier, K., McNamara, B., Braga-Kenyon, P., & Ahearn, W.H. (2010). Effect of video self-monitoring on procedural integrity. Behavioral Interventions, 25, 261-274. doi: 10.1002/bin.316

Mouzakitis, A., Codding, R.S., & Tryon, G. (2015). The effects of self-monitoring and performance feedback on the treatment integrity of behavior intervention plan implementation and generalization. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 17, 223-234. doi: 10.1177/1098300715573629

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

To listen for the fun of learning? Just push play!

Email us at [email protected] for further assistance.

We've extolled the virtues of behavior skills training (BST) nearly weekly on this show. But, can you believe, we've never actually done a full episode on this effective, research-based training intervention? Well, we decided to fix that oversight by digging into what components actually make BST so darn great. Plus, we finally review the oft-mentioned, never discussed Himle et al. article on gun safety. We sure know how to have a good time!

Articles discussed this episode:

Himle, M.B., Miltenberger, R.G., Flessner, C., & Gatheridge, B. (2004). Teaching safety skills to children to prevent gun play. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37, 1-9. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2004.37-1

Ward-Horner, J. & Sturmey, P. (2012). Component analysis of behavior skills training in functional analysis. Behavioral Interventions, 27, 75-92. doi: 10.1002/bin.1339

Kornacki, L.T., Ringdahl, J.E., Sjostrom, A., Nuernberger, J.E. (2013). A component analysis of a behavioral skills training package used to teach conversation skills to young adults with autism spectrum and other developmental disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 7, 1370-1376. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2013.07.012

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

To listen for the fun of learning? Just push play!

Email us at [email protected] for further assistance.

Extra instructions, color cues, and visual models are par for the course when teaching many new skills. But, what happens when these helpful prompts turn harmful? This week, we're joined by Dr. Catia Cividini-Motta to discuss ways to overcome prompt dependence with learners. And, after all the research is reviewed, we get a knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish to find out which methods are the best (spoiler alert: the results of these match-ups are never that simple).

Articles discussed this episode:

Cividini-Motta, C. & Ahearn, W.H. (2013). Effects of two variations of differential reinforcement on prompt dependency. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2013, 640-650. doi: 10.1002/jaba.67

Karsten, A.M. & Carr, J.E. (2009). The effects of differential reinforcement of unprompted responding on the skill acquisition of children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42, 327-334. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2009.42-327

Gorgan, E.M. & Kodak, T. (2019). Comparison of interventions to treat prompt dependence for children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 52, 1049-1063. doi: 10.1002/jaba.638

What's the hottest vacation destination for BCBAs this summer? Why the ABA Inside Track virtual studio of course! For the remainder of these hot-hot days (in the Western Hemisphere, at least), grab a cold drink, your beach towel, and favorite podcast player as we travel the world (of ABA topics) with our special guest tour guides. We'll be visiting the island of Prompt Dependency with Dr. Cividini-Motta, soaring the heights of Mt. Procedural Integrity with Dr. Braga-Kenyon, and zooming down the open road on Rt. Trauma-Informed Care with Brian Middleton (a.k.a., the Bearded Behaviorist). Plus, this vacation package is entirely free!

Articles for July 2020

Prompt Dependency w/ Dr. Catia Cividini-Motta

Cividini-Motta, C. & Ahearn, W.H. (2013). Effects of two variations of differential reinforcement on prompt dependency. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2013, 640-650. doi: 10.1002/jaba.67

Karsten, A.M. & Carr, J.E. (2009). The effects of differential reinforcement of unprompted responding on the skill acquisition of children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42, 327-334. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2009.42-327

Gorgan, E.M. & Kodak, T. (2019). Comparison of interventions to treat prompt dependence for children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 52, 1049-1063. doi: 10.1002/jaba.638

Component Analysis of Behavior Skills Training

Himle, M.B., Miltenberger, R.G., Flessner, C., & Gatheridge, B. (2004). Teaching safety skills to children to prevent gun play. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37, 1-9. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2004.37-1

Ward-Horner, J. & Sturmey, P. (2012). Component analysis of behavior skills training in functional analysis. Behavioral Interventions, 27, 75-92. doi: 10.1002/bin.1339

Kornacki, L.T., Ringdahl, J.E., Sjostrom, A., Nuernberger, J.E. (2013). A component analysis of a behavioral skills training package used to teach conversation skills to young adults with autism spectrum and other developmental disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 7, 1370-1376. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2013.07.012

Procedural Integrity w/ Dr. Paula Braga-Kenyon

Pelletier, K., McNamara, B., Braga-Kenyon, P., & Ahearn, W.H. (2010). Effect of video self-monitoring on procedural integrity. Behavioral Interventions, 25, 261-274. doi: 10.1002/bin.316

Mouzakitis, A., Codding, R.S., & Tryon, G. (2015). The effects of self-monitoring and performance feedback on the treatment integrity of behavior intervention plan implementation and generalization. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 17, 223-234. doi: 10.1177/1098300715573629

Trauma-Informed Care w/ Brian Middleton (a.k.a., the Bearded Behaviorist)

Slocum, S.K. & Vollmer, T.R. (2015). A comparison of positive and negative reinforcement for compliance to treat problem behavior maintained by escape. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 48, 563-574. doi: 10.1002/jaba.216

Kunnavatana, S.S., Bloom, S.E., Samaha, A.L., Slocum, T.A., & Clay, C.J. (2018). Manipulating parameters of reinforcement of reduce problem behavior without extinction. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 51, 283-302. doi: 10.1002/jaba.443

Kupferstein, H. (2018). Evidence of increased PTSD symptoms in autistics exposed to applied behavior analysis. Advances in Autism, 4, 19-29. doi: 10.1108/AIA-08-2017-0016