ABA Student Research in Auckland: Illustrations of a Scientist-Practitioner Approach

1. ABA Student Research in Auckland: Illustrations of a Scientist-Practitioner Approach Oliver Mudford, PhD, BCBA Angela Arnold-Saritepe, PhD, BCBA Dennis Rose, PhD ABA International, Sydney - August 13th 2007

2. Research Opportunities in ABA Postgraduate Programme • Year 1 Coursework projects • Preference and Reinforcer Assessment • Functional Assessment • Year 2 • Master’s thesis (Full-time 1 year research) • Year 3 • Scientist-practitioner research in supervised fieldwork settings (across 12 months) • Post-BCBA – PhD research

3. Research with adult populationsThree examples supervised by Oliver Mudford Katrina Phillips, MSc, PGDipAppPsych Residential intellectual disability service Erika Ford, MA, PGDipAppPsych Residential ABI/TBI rehabilitation facility Janine Locke, MSc Dementia care residential unit

4. Comparison of Interventions to Decrease Grabbing by a Man with Intellectual DisabilitiesKatrina PhillipsABA Programme Graduate 2007

5. Programme • Function of behavior • Social Positive Reinforcement • Decreasing problem behavior over two time periods using • NCR • Engagement • Extinction • Combinations of the above

6. Figure 1. Frequency of BN’s grabbing during the morning shift (90 mins). Graph shows four different interventions: baseline (no intervention), task engagement and extinction, task engagement, extinction and NCR, or extinction and NCR.

7. Outcome Grabbing of other residents reduced to zero with a combination of providing engaging activities for BN, non-contingent attention on a FI-5 min schedule, and attending minimally to instances of grabbing Staff maintained intervention beyond the data shown.

8. Teaching Face Recognition to an Adult with Brain InjuryErika FordABA Programme Graduate 2007

10. Matching to Sample Task • Female with Acquired Brain Injury • Deficit in name-face matching • Matching to Sample procedures implemented to teach face matching • Within-stimulus prompting strategy • Photo quality of comparison pictures systematically ‘faded in’

11. Matching to Sample Results MT alone L 1 MT Vs 2 L 1 MT Vs 2 L 2 MT Vs 2 L 3 MT Vs 2 L 2 MT Vs 2 L 3 B/L /L Jenny Mother Danny Husband Figure 1. The percentage of correct responses emitted during a matching-to-sample task of photos of identical faces. Level 1-3 indicate the level of within-stimulus prompt.

12. Discussion • Matching to Sample procedures were unsuccessful at teaching face matching • Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) conducted • Visual discrimination, visual matching-to-sample and auditory-visual discrimination difficult to learn via standard prompting and reinforcement procedures • Further research required on the predictive value of the ABLA for teaching adults with brain injury

13. Reduction of Non-social Vocalisations for a Man with Dementia: Serendipitous InterventionJanine Maari LockeFinal year ABA student

15. Aim • To investigate the influence of music on LS’s non-English (and non-Thai) chanting and repetitive speech-like vocalisations that were annoying other residents of a dementia care unit

16. Method • Alternating treatments design • 4 Conditions- baseline, music out loud, headphones with music, and headphones without music • During each session the 4 conditions ran for 5-mins each, one after the other (the conditions were randomly ordered) • Recorded 10s whole intervals of quiet • IOA on 30% of trials 90-100%

18. Discussion • Music may be effective for this automatically reinforced behaviour for this man because it provides alternative auditory stimulation • The data do not reveal the type of noise LS made while listening to music with headphones, it was often only a slight ‘mm’ or ‘ah’ rather than the loud chanting that was observed during baseline • Data collection is continuing

19. ABA Research for ChildrenAngela Arnold-Saritepe, BCBA

20. Research with child populationsThree examples supervised by Angela Arnold-Saritepe Sheree Adams, MA, PGDipAppPsych Residential Children’s ID Service Rachel Pearce, MSc, PGDipAppPsych Mainstream Primary School Katrina Phillips, MSc, PGDipAppPsych Special School

21. The Use of a Shaping Procedure to Teach PECS to a 14-yr-old Boy with Cerebral Palsy and an Intellectual Disability Sheree Adams ABA Programme Graduate 2007

23. Picture Exchange Communication • An augmentative communication system developed by Bondy and Frost (1994). • Influenced by Skinner’s description of the verbal operants (1957). • Focus on student initiated communication.

24. Phase II (Distance and persistence) • Participant and setting • CM lived in a fully staffed residential facility • Objectives • Increase the distance travelled to exchange an icon for a preferred item • Increase the distance travelled to obtain the icon. • The experimental design was changing criterion.

25. Criterion distance

26. Criterion distance Distance travelled in metres

27. Results and conclusion • Shaping with reinforcement was used to teach CM to travel towards a communication partner and to a PECs book to make an exchange. • The intervention was over three months, follow up at two months indicated that gains had been maintained.

28. A Comparison of Two Methods for Teaching Sight Words toPrimary School ChildrenRachel PearceABA Programme Graduate 2007

30. Reading acquisition program • Compared Cover Copy Compare and Response Repetition methods for teaching high frequency sight words. • Participants = three students (one with a diagnosis of ASD); ages 9 & 10 years; mainstream primary school. • Benefit = mastered words may give access to other reading sources & their associated reinforcers sooner than other methods

31. Method • Alternating treatments design • 15 min intervention per day per child until 20 words mastered; additional words taught using most successful method for that student • Reinforcement  Token economy system, correct response = sticker, full sticker chart = prize

34. Discussion points • Generalisation testing conducted across tasks (reading words on flash cards, in sentences, & spelling), maintenance of mastered words over time. • Superiority of one method over other not clear – learning histories of students or procedural differences? • Processes of enhanced stimulus control & negative reinforcement may increase correct responding, but difficult to determine contribution of each.

35. Using Shaping to Increase Swimming Pool Access by a 12-year-old Boy with Autism Katrina PhillipsABA Programme Graduate 2007

37. Shaping Programme • Highly preferred item • Twiddling shoelace • Initial behaviors • No approach or approaching edge of pool. • Terminal behavior • Moving out into pool

38. Point of last reinforcer in session Reinforcer available but never received No reinforcer available Point of first reinforcer in session Figure 1. Level of access to the pool both within and across sessions.

39. Outcome • The boy appeared to enjoy being in the pool instead of cowering away from it • His parents were pleased with the effects of intervention • Teachers at the school were delighted also • This project showed the school that ABA can have real functional value

40. The End