A Verbal Behavior Approach to Teaching Language to Children with Autism

1. A Verbal Behavior Approach to Teaching Language to Children with Autism Presented By: Katie Cole, MS, BCBA and Cassondra M. Gayman, MS, BCBA

2. Mariposa School background • Who we are • What we do • How we do it

3. In the next 90 minutes we hope to: • Provide an overview of ABA • Discuss basic behavioral principles and procedures • Overview of Verbal Behavior • Discuss the main verbal operants • Common components of a VB program • The importance of the mand • Teaching procedures • NET • Intensive Teaching • Q & A

4. What is Applied Behavior Analysis? • The modern form of the philosophy of behaviorism • Skinner laid the foundation for modern behaviorism in 1938 • ABA is the science from which procedures derived from principles of behavior are systematically applied to improve socially significant behaviors. Cooper, Heron, Heward (1987). • Principles applied to improve socially significant behaviors • Analysis of behavior used to identify variables (causes) for behavior

5. What is Behavior? • Anything a living organism says or does • Getting an A on a test is an Outcome • Effective studying is a Behavior • Dead man test • Skinner distinguished between operant and reflexive behavior. • Operant = voluntary (affected by reinforcement) • Reflex behavior = involuntary (salivating, knee jerk) • Skinner later (1957) defined language as behavior in his book Verbal Behavior

6. Who Benefits from ABA? • Troubled teens, typical children, parents, business people, person’s with developmental disabilities, and you and me. • 1965 Lovaas, Schaeffer, & Simmons decreased self-injury in children with Autism. • 1987 Lovaas study to demonstrate efficacy of ABA as treatment with children with Autism.

7. Why Do We Do What We Do? • All behavior has a function • Identifying the function tells us • the conditions in which the behavior may occur • a possibly effective treatment method / how to respond to the behavior

8. What are the Functions of Behavior? • Escape/Avoidance – escaping or avoiding a demand situation • Often occur during work type situations • Attention – a behavior to gain the attention of others • This can be positive or negative attention • Access – a behavior to gain access to an object or situation • Food, toys, warmth • Automatic – a behavior that “feels good • Self-Stimulatory or Stereotypy.

9. How to Determine Function? • Three Levels of Assessment • Functional Assessment • Informal/indirect • Record reviews • Interviews • Checklists • Descriptive • Descriptive • Data collection in natural settings • Frequency Measures • ABC data • Scatterplots • Experimental (Functional Analysis) • Probes in natural setting • Analogues • Should only be conducted with the supervision of BCBA

10. What next? • Treatment should be based on function • Identify behavior targeted for change • Prevention (Antecedent) strategies should also be put into place • Replacement behaviors should always be taught • Treatment plan based on behavior principles

11. Interventions Based on Function

12. Principles and Procedures: • When we talk about increasing behavior, we’re talking about the procedure called REINFORCEMENT • When we talk about decreasing behavior, we’re talking about the procedure called PUNISHMENT • Reinforcement:Increase as Punishment:Decrease

13. Principles and Procedures: • Reinforcement (increase the response): • A consequence follows a behavior and increases the future frequency of that behavior under similar circumstances

14. Principles and Procedures: • Positive vs. Negative Reinforcement • Both INCREASE behavior! • Positive Reinforcement • Giving something a person finds desirable after the behavior occurs • Negative Reinforcement • Removing something that the individual finds aversive.

15. Principles and Procedures: • Positive Reinforcement Example: • Situation - A child sees a candy bar in the grocery store and wants it. • Child screams “I want candy” and throws a tantrum. Adult hands him the candy. (Reinforcement of inappropriate behavior) • Child signs or says ‘candy’. Adult hands him the candy. (Reinforcement of appropriate behavior) • Discussion: In both examples,the child has learned that his behavior gets him what he wants, so he is likely to repeat this behavior next time.

16. Principles and Procedures: • Negative Reinforcement Example: • Situation: The radio is playing loudly in the room. • The child comes into the room and begins screaming. Somebody rushes over to turn down the radio. • (Reinforcement of inappropriate behavior) • The child comes in and covers his ears saying “Too loud”. Somebody rushes over to turn down the radio. • (Reinforcement of appropriate behavior) • Discussion: In both examples,the child has learned that his behavior gets him what he wants, so he is likely to repeat this behavior next time.

17. Principles and Procedures: • Punishment (decrease the response): • A consequence follows a behavior and decreases the future frequency of that behavior under similar circumstances

18. Principles and Procedures: • Positive vs. Negative Punishment • Both DECREASE behavior! • Positive Punishment • Applying something the individual finds aversive • Negative Punishment • Taking away something the individual finds pleasurable right after the behavior has occurred.

19. Principles and Procedures: • Situation: Teenager misses his curfew. • Positive Punishment Example: • Parent states that he has to rake the yard this weekend. (Application of something aversive) • Negative Punishment Example: • Parent states that he cannot attend a planned event. (Removal of a reinforcing or desired activity)

20. Principles and Procedures: • Problems with punishment: • May elicit aggression or other emotional side effects • May result in escape or avoidance behaviors • May be negatively reinforcing for the person using punishment --- misuse/overuse of punishment • Because of these problems… • Punishment as LAST RESORT

21. Principles and Procedures: • Extinction: • Removing or withholding the consequence (reinforcement) that maintains behavior. Discontinuing reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior . • Results in a DECREASE in frequency of the behavior. • Examples: • Soda machine • Candy Isle

22. Principles and Procedures: • Differential Reinforcement: • 2 separate forms of behavior • One is reinforced (increased) • One is extinguished (decreased) • Examples: • Request for candy

23. Principles and Procedures: • Shaping: • A process through which we gradually modify existing behavior into what we want it to be. Successive approximation toward terminal behavior. Uses differential reinforcement. • Examples • Swing sign example • Banana vocal example

24. Principles and Procedures: • Prompting: • Assistance provided to promote correct responding. • Full physical, partial physical, model… • Full echoic, phonemic… • Fading: • Systematic removal of the prompt

25. Principles and Procedures: • All of the above mentioned principles and procedures have a solid and extensive foundation of empirical research. There have been over 1500 published studies within the past 60 years establishing these principles of behavior.

26. Verbal Behavior • Language is learned behavior, acquired and maintained by the same principles of behavior responsible for non-language behavior (Cooper, Heron, Heward, 2007). • In 1957, Skinner published Verbal Behavior. • Verbal behavior is defined by function rather than form

27. Verbal Behavior • Function vs. Form • Formal properties of language: • Topography = Form. Form of language can be measured by phonemes, morphemes, lexicon, syntax, grammar, and semantics. • Also can be classified as nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives… • Functional properties of language: • Involve the causes of the response. • We need to look at BOTH!

28. Skinner’s Classification of Language • Skinner’s classification of language different from linguists, who classify words as parts of speech (noun, pronoun, verb, adjective etc…) • “This is an apple.” = APPLE classified as noun. • What does that tell us?

29. Behavioral Classification of Language • Mand (Requesting): Asking for reinforcers you want. • Requires a Motivating Operation (MO) & specifies its own reinforcer. • Only operant that benefits the speaker • Tact (Labeling): Naming or identifying objects, actions, events etc… • Does not specify it’s own reinforcer & benefits the listener • Echoic (Vocal Imitation): Repeating what someone said • Does not specify it’s own reinforcer & benefits the listener • Intraverbal: Answering questions or having conversations where your words are controlled by other words. • Does not specify it’s own reinforcer & benefits the listener

30. Apple as a Mand • You’re hungry and want something to eat • You have an MO (Motivation) to ask for food • You say “APPLE” and get the apple to eat • The reinforcer is getting the apple • The speaker benefits from this operant

31. APPLE AS A TACT • Someone shows you a pictures of an apple and asks you what it is. You say “APPLE” you have given a Tact for the apple. • LABEL, NAME • The source of reinforcement is praise or approval, not the apple

32. Apple as an Echoic • In an echoic, the person “Echoes” the same sounds that were heard • Someone says “APPLE” and you repeat “APPLE” • The reinforcement for doing so may be praise or approval

33. Apple as an Intraverbal • Someone says “What is the fruit that’s red and grows on trees”. You say “Apple” • The item is not present • The answer does not specify the reinforcer

34. Apple as Receptive • Three pictures are presented in front of you someone asks you to “Touch the picture of the apple.” • The reinforcer is praise

35. Why Do We Say What We Say? • All language has a function • The same word (apple) has many meanings • Many children with Autism do not generalize a word across operants. • Just because a child can label an apple doesn’t mean they can mand for an apple.

36. We Must Teach All The “Meanings” of a Word Mand Tact Echoic Apple Intraverbal Receptive RFFC Textual

37. Receptive Versus Expressive • Many other philosophies classify language as either expressive or receptive. • Problems arise when we talk about all the functions of expressive language

38. “VB vs ABA?” • “What is the difference between VB and ABA?” • VB IS ABA!! • Verbal behavior involves the same behavioral principles that make up the analysis of nonverbal behavior. No new principles are required. The principles implemented in a VB program are the same ones that have the solid and extensive empirical research foundation discussed earlier.

39. Verbal Behavior • When people ask the question, “What’s the difference between “VB and ABA?” what they likely mean is, “What is the difference between a ‘traditional ABA’ program and an ABA program using VB methodology?”

40. ABA and Autism Treatment • Ivar Lovaas (1987) • Significant advancements in the field of ABA, specifically related to teaching children with autism. • Research suggesting ABA is an effective treatment for autism • This “method” uses principles of reinforcement, shaping, chaining, prompting/fading, extinction… to teach vocal language as well as a variety of other behaviors, including imitation, matching-to-sample, and following commands behaviors. The main method in which these behaviors are taught is through Discrete Trial Training (DTT)

41. Discrete Trial Training (DTT) • Breaking a skill into smaller components • Teaching one sub-skill at a time until mastery • SD ----Response----Consequence • Providing prompting and prompt fading as necessary • Use of reinforcement procedures

42. What about VB? • Does VB use DTT to teach skills? • YES! • A solid VB program will also use reinforcement, shaping, chaining, prompting/fading, extinction… to teach a variety of vocal and nonvocal behaviors to children with autism.

43. Verbal Behavior • What does a VB program have that a “traditional ABA” program tends not to have? • A functional analysis of language!

44. Verbal Behavior • A VB program is based on a functional analysis of language, rather than a structural one. • Traditional linguistics receptive/expressive distinction, which focuses on form rather than function, dominates assessment and intervention programs for kids with autism.

45. Verbal Behavior • Recall 3 of the operants discussed earlier. The mand, tact, and intraverbal would all be classified as “expressive language”. This structural classification system will mask important distinctions. • Different sources of antecedent control • Failure to emerge across operants without training.

46. Other differences… • Other differences between a “traditional ABA” program and a VB program: • Pairing • Balance of NET and DTT • Data Methods – cold probe • Mix and Vary across operants • Errorless teaching • Error correction • Transfer Procedures • Focus on the mand

47. Importance of the Mand • Specifies what speaker is motivated by • Allows us to establishing rapport with the learner • Essential in teaching other skills • First operant learned by typical children

48. Importance of the Mand • Key to replacing problem behaviors • Only operant that benefits the speaker • Essential for advanced social interactions • Doesn’t necessary emerge by training the other verbal operants

49. Teaching Manding in the Natural Environment

50. Elements of a Good VB Program