The present investigation examined observational learning during equivalence-based instruction using the PEAK Equivalence curriculum, across five children with disabilities. A multiple baseline across skills was used to evaluate observational learning across the participants, including directly observed relations, as well as derived symmetrical and transitive relations. Each skill contained 5 stimulus classes, where a subset of relations for a single class was trained for each participant. The remaining 4 class subsets were observed by each of the participants. For the derived relations, participants never observed peers contact reinforcement for correct responding nor did they themselves contact reinforcement for correct responding. After multiple sessions, results indicated increases in both observed directly trained relations, as well as emergent derived relations. Over the course of the sessions, the participants average correct answers increased from an average of 12% during baseline to100% at the end of the training phase and during a follow-up test probe. The results have implications for equivalence-based ABA instruction in schools and other settings where group-based instruction is common in application with individuals with disabilities.

Training paraprofessionals who work with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other related developmental disabilities can be a challenge due to limited resources, time, and money. Alternative ways to train paraprofessionals on a larger scale is needed. Interactive computerized training—a self-paced program that incorporates audio narration, video models, interactive activities, and competency checks—is one potential training method. Interactive computerized training has been successful at training college students and special education teachers to implement discrete trial instruction but their effectiveness in training paraprofessionals is unknown. The purpose of this study was to extend the literature on interactive computerized trainings to evaluate its utility to teach six paraprofessionals to implement discrete trial instruction. Errorless learning procedures are recommended during discrete trial instruction to minimize student errors and promote quicker skill acquisition. A secondary purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of the interactive computerized training to teach paraprofessionals to implement an errorless learning procedure. Following the training, all participants increased their fidelity of implementation of discrete trial instruction, at varying levels, with a student in their classroom. One participant reached the performance criterion of 90% or higher fidelity following ICT alone and two participants required performance feedback. Three participants required live coaching to increase their fidelity of DTI components to 80%. All feedback was delivered from a distance. Fidelity remained high to untrained instructional programs and at 2-week follow up. Potential limitations and future research related to training paraprofessionals are discussed.

Individuals with disabilities often have a limited tact repertoire. This study compared the acquisition and generalization of tacts taught using different stimulus modes within discrete trial training (DTT) with children who have a limited tacting repertoire. The three stimulus modes that were compared were videos, pictures, and 3D objects. This research replicated Gómez’s (2015) methodology with a participant pool with lower tacting skills. In addition, this study assessed for generalization of the acquired tacts to a novel exemplar. In this study, tact training required fewer sessions when the picture and 3D object were used as stimulus modes. These results were then replicated across stimulus sets with Abraham and Alex. Finally, in this study greater generalization was observed for the tacts trained with a 3D object.

The current study evaluated the effects of discrete trial training versus the effects of relational training on the acquisition and retention of skills in four children with autism. Using a multiple baseline design across subjects, participants were trained on the skills sequencing from longest to shortest, discriminating full versus empty versus half empty, tacting “you” versus “I,” and responding to reasons why people cry. One of the four participants acquired and retained the skill. Many factors effected the results for the other three participants. Participant 2 never met mastery criteria with relational training procedures. Participant 3 learned PEAK programming four times faster than DTT, however, when using PEAK with the original target, 10 days were required to score all points opposed to the four days DTT required. Participant 4 displayed similar performance results using DTT and PEAK. Implications and limitations will be discussed.

A series of five experiments was conducted to determine whether operant or respondent factors controlled the emission of a particular vocalization ( "Q" ) by human infants 16 to 18 months old. Experiment 1 consisted of a pilot investigation of the effects of an autoshaping procedure on three infants' vocal behavior. All three subjects demonstrated increased emission of the target sound during the CR period. Experiments 2 through 4 attempted to replicate the findings of Experiment 1 under controlled conditions, and failed to do so. Experiment 5a presented infant subjects with a discrete-trial operant procedure (having the identical temporal parameters as the autoshaping procedure used in Experiments 1 through 4) , during which subjects received rewards only after emitting the target sound. All three experimentally naive subjects in this condition emitted the target sounds, and each met an acquisition criterion of 15 successive trials with at least one target response (CR) per trial. Subjects in Experiment 5b were exposed to the autoshaping procedure employed in Experiments 1 through 4; in addition, they were rewarded verbally for emitting the target sound at any time during the session. One of these three subjects increased her rate of target sound emission, but never met the acquisition criterion. The results suggest that vocalizations of subjects in this age range are susceptible to response-reinforcer (operant) manipulations and not to stimulus-stimulus (Pavlovian) associations. This conclusion differs from the findings of previous investigations that used younger infant subjects, suggesting that subject age may be important when conditioning vocalizations. Further research is also recommended to determine the utility of employing autoshaping procedures with humans.

Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) is a teaching method that involves fast-paced trials designed to teach basic skills by breaking them into smaller components, typically conducted in a one-on-one setting. Treatment integrity has proven to be of great importance in DTT, with skill acquisition occurring at higher rates when treatment integrity is high. While research has shown that verbal and written feedback are effective in training staff to conduct DTT, there is still a need for research on the use of individualized interventions based on performance assessments. This study used a multiple-probe across participants design, and demonstrated that a one-on-one session including interventions such as feedback, practice, treatment integrity checklists, and/or antecedent interventions is an effective method for increasing treatment integrity and implementation of DTT. The three participants that took part in the individualized interventions all displayed increases in proficiency of delivering DTT trials. / Applied Behavioral Analysis

The purpose of the current study was to determine the efficiency of an electronic data collection method compared to a traditional paper-based method in the educational field, in terms of the accuracy of data collected and the time required to do it. In addition, data were collected to assess users' preference and system usability. The study included a sample of 20 preschool special educators from the Mailman Segal Center's Baudhuin Preschool and Autism Institute located in Davie County, Florida, who conduct daily data collection and analysis. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to determine answers to five research questions. These were, (1) to what extent is electronic data collection faster than traditional paper-based data collection, (2) to what extent does electronic data collection aid special education teachers and paraprofessionals to collect more accurate data than traditional paper-based data collection, (3) to what extent is the use of electronic data collection result in significant time savings relative to traditional paper-based data collection during data graphing, (4) to what extent do specialists prefer either data collection method and for what reasons, and (5) to what extent do specialists rate the usability of the handheld device used for electronic data collection. Results suggested that both formats are comparable in terms of data collection time F(1, 18) = 3.53, p = .077 and accuracy, F(1, 18) = .928, p = .348 but that electronic data graphing is faster (M = 40.4, SD = 2.17) than paper-based graphing (M = 80.4, SD = 52.61). A higher percentage of participants (60%) preferred the electronic-based data collection method due to its graphing capability and better organization of data. The electronic data collection system used in this study was found to be more usable than 86.8% of all products tested using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and, therefore, could be considered a "C" or at an "acceptable" level or "good" relative to the other 200+ systems tested using the SUS by Bangor, Kortum, and Miller (2009). The electronic-based data collection system could also be considered an "A-" based on Sauro and Lewis' (2012) scale.

This study compared the relative reinforcing efficacy of high-preferred and low-preferred stimuli, as determined by two types of preference assessments, on acquisition rates in three children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study also evaluated the indirect effects of preference on students’ stereotypy and problem behavior during instructional periods. Participants were presented with a task and provided high or low-preferred stimuli contingent upon correct responding. Results showed that acquisition occurred more rapidly in the highly preferred condition for some participants. Higher rates of problem behavior occurred in the low preferred condition for all participants. These results highlight the importance of utilizing preference assessment procedures to identify and deliver high-preferred items in skill acquisition procedures for individuals with ASD.

The current set of experiments sought to evaluate and address current, empirically based assessments and treatment protocols for children who have autism and/or other developmental disabilities. The past few decades of research have been successful in developing effective behavioral treatments, however, the dissemination of these strategies has not been maximized in applied settings. Furthermore, many existing treatments are outdated or not widely used in school or social settings. The current experiments evaluate existing effective assessments and treatments and extend them with the implementation of a novel package based off of commonly utilized discrete trial training behavioral techniques in behavior analysis. This treatment protocol was shown to have high inter observer reliability scores throughout the use of this assessment, as well as a high correlation with a commonly used language assessment in Experiment 1. Experiment 2 examined the positive effects of this treatment curriculum guide following skills training. Experiment 3 evaluated the validity of the programs that examined higher order learning from Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior. The results suggest that this assessment and training protocol has significant potential in efficiently training students with and without disabilities. Implications of these finding are discussed in terms of future progress of translational research in applied settings. Furthermore, the present set of experiments contributes largely to the dissemination of emerging research and practice in behavior analysis.

The present study evaluated preference for choice and its effect on motivation during response acquisition of receptive identification targets in children diagnosed with autism. Prior to the study a multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment was conducted in order to determine the highly preferred stimulus. Choice was evaluated during a high-preferred, free-choice, and control condition for each participant. During the high-preferred condition, participants were only able to work for the high-preferred stimulus identified during the MSWO. During free choice, participants could choose among the five items presented in the MSWO, and during control each participant was unable to exchange his or her tokens for reinforcement. Choice was also evaluated during a concurrent-chain arrangement, where each participant was able to choose the condition he or she wanted to work under. The results showed that two out of the three participants did not show differentiation during the acquisition phase; however, during the concurrent-chain phase, all three participants demonstrated a stronger preference for free choice.