Applied Behavior Analysis Commons^™

School-Based Consultation To Promote Generalization Of Early Childhood Educators’ Evidence-Based Practices: A Meta-Analysis, Tyler E. Smith, Zachary Charles Labrot, Emily Maxime, Abbigail Lawson

Perspectives on Early Childhood Psychology and Education

Early childhood educators are tasked with supporting young children’s academic, behavioral, and social-emotional through the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs). Unfortunately, early childhood educators may struggle with consistent implementation of EBPs. When this occurs, school-based consultation may be beneficial in promoting early childhood educators’ use of effective classroom management practices and interventions. A critical aspect of school-based consultation is ensuring that early childhood educators generalize strategies they have been trained to use through consultation. However, the extent to which early childhood educators generalize skills trained through consultation across settings, children, and other evidence-based practices is unclear. Therefore, the purpose of …

Improved Attending In An 8-Year-Old Boy Diagnosed With Down Syndrome Through Teaching With Acoustical Guidance, Jessica Bracken, Cara Holtz, Benjamin Witts

SCSU Journal of Student Scholarship

Skill acquisition can be particularly difficult when prerequisites are lacking (e.g., attending to learning materials) that are necessary to expand academic abilities. However, behavioral technologies exist that can help individuals overcome, or at least improve their quality of life despite these difficulties. The current case study used a quasi-changing-criterions-design to examine the effectiveness of a Teaching with Acoustical Guidance (TAGteach) technique to increase attending to learning materials in an eight-year-old participant with Down syndrome. The TAGteach technique was effective in increasing the percentage of trials in which the participant looked at materials and the duration of looking at presented materials …

The Roles Of Set Size And Nonexample Type On Concept Formation, Catherine L. Williams, Claire C. St. Peter, Madeleine J. Murphy

Graduate Student Scholarship

Concept formation is demonstrated when a learner responds when new examples are presented (i.e., generalization) but not when new nonexamples are presented (i.e., discrimination). Gradually increasing the number of examples and nonexamples taught together (i.e., set-size expansion) promotes concept formation with nonhumans. Although set size impacts speed of acquisition with humans, concept formation has not been evaluated. Therefore, the primary purpose of the current study was to compare acquisition and concept formation during two procedures: set-size expansion and single set-size. College students were taught two biological concepts, one using set-size expansion and the other with the full …

Effects Of Nonexamples On Concept Formation, Catherine Louise Williams

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Concept formation is affected by the examples and nonexamples provided during training, but the degree to which examples and nonexamples should differ is unknown. Two experiments compared concept formation when different kinds of nonexamples were used during training. Both experiments included a within-subject comparison of concept formation following three training conditions: a) nonexamples that were more similar to the examples, b) nonexamples that are less similar to the examples, and c) no nonexamples. Arbitrary concepts were trained in Experiment 1 and concepts akin to those that could be taught in a classroom were trained in Experiment 2. Before and after …

Stimulus Fading On Teaching Receptive Identification, Dennis Pomorski

Honors Theses

Many of the skills needed to live happily and independently are not in the repertoires of children diagnosed with autism, and they do not learn these skills through exposure to others (MacDuff, 2001). One of the skills children diagnosed with ASD struggle to develop is receptive identification. There is often a risk of prompt dependence or failure to transfer stimulus control to the desired stimuli when using LTM prompting methods. Children with autism spectrum disorder may require a different approach in developing a receptive language repertoire. The purpose of this study was to teach a child diagnosed with ASD receptive …

Improving Parent-Child Interactions And Generalized Problem-Solving Skills In Families Of Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Through Adapted Parent Child Interaction Therapy, Carly Bobal

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent parent reported diagnosis among children 3-17 years of age. Parents of children with ADHD often evoke more coercive or negative interactions to help manage their child’s behavior. In addition, they report increased levels of family conflict and higher stress levels, which can place stress on couples and other members within the family system. These interactions may lead to negative reinforcement cycles that maintain or worsen problem behaviors of the child. PCIT is well documented in producing positive outcomes for children with other neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, or …

Using Video-Prompting And Bst To Promote Social Skills In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alexa Ina

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of implementing a combined and integrative Behavior Skills Training (BST) and video-prompting paradigm. The training focused on enhancing social interactions and fostering the development of age-appropriate social skills in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This package included explicit training for generalization, as a means of fostering skill acquisition across untrained people and settings. Social initiation and reciprocal play are fundamental aspects of sustaining and maintaining relationships therefore, the training focused on teaching these two behaviors. The researcher used a quasi-single subject research design to analyze and measure …

Evaluation Of A Wearable Activity Schedule For Promoting Independent Play In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Basak Topcuoglu

Theses and Dissertations

Activity schedules are an antecedent intervention in which a series of visual cues, presented typically in booklets or binders, function as prompts for steps in a behavior chain (e.g., classroom routine, playing hide and seek). Although activity schedules are useful in getting individuals to manage their own behaviors, their typical presentation format can be cumbersome and stigmatizing for children placed in general education classrooms, placing additional barriers for independence and inclusion across environments for these children. Some researchers have used electronic devices such as tablets to display activity schedules, and although more socially acceptable, these are still cumbersome for young …

The Effects Of Reversing Safmeds Presentation On Learning And Generalization, Emily Nordlund

All Master's Theses

Say All Fast Minute Each Day (SAFMEDS) is a flashcard procedure that is effective in producing fluency, but not necessarily generalization, of a content area. One possibility for the lack of generalization is the direction of the SAFMEDS training. Most learners are presented with a definition (the longer side) and have to say the term (the shorter side). Elements of single-case and between-groups designs were used to examine the effects of reversing the direction of training on acquisition and fluency of SAFMEDS content, as well as generalization. Within this study, the control group was presented with a book or paper …

An Evaluation Of Static Versus Dynamic Instructional Stimuli On Generalization Of Action Tacts, Shana Renee Fentress

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have noted that children with autism have difficulty generalizing responses to stimuli outside of those used in training. Some studies have analyzed ways to promote generalization such as using concurrent training or using stimuli that would be most similar to those found in the natural environment. Little research, however, has investigated strategies for promoting generalization of action tacts. The current study investigated two different types of stimulus delivery forms: static (i.e., pictures), which are typically used during instruction, and dynamic (i.e., videos), which may provide stimulation closer to that which a child would encounter in a natural setting. Findings …

Investigating Generalization Of Motorist Yielding To The Gateway Prompt From The Treated Leg Of The Intersection To The Untreated Adjacent Leg, Brian J. Crowley-Koch

Dissertations

Pedestrian safety continues to be an important research topic, especially since recent data show a small increase in pedestrian fatalities (USGAO, 2015). There have been several interventions that prompt pedestrians, but especially motorists, to yield properly at uncontrolled crosswalks (Van Houten, 1988; Van Houten & Malenfant, 1992; Nasar, 2003; Crowley-Koch, Van Houten & Lim, 2008). One low-cost intervention that has been successful is the R1-6 in road yielding sign (Kannel, Souleyrette, & Tenges, 2003). When this sign is laid out purposefully across a crosswalk (called a gateway), it has resulted in substantial increases in yielding compared to baseline conditions. In …

Generalization Of Ipad®-Learned Skills In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Claire Klein

CMC Senior Theses

The present study investigated the effects of learning from an iPad® to real-world skills for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research has demonstrated that for some children with ASD, electronic media such as an iPad® is highly motivating, highly preferred, and increasing in popularity in homes and in classrooms (Chen & Bernard-Opitz, 1993; Rideout, 2017; Shane & Albert, 2008). Because academic skills are often difficult for children with ASD due to problems with motivation, the current study used the motivating features of iPad® apps to teach real-world academic skills to children with ASD, with the hypothesis that skills would …

A Translational Evaluation Of Renewal Of Inappropriate Mealtime Behavior, Vivian Ibañez, Cathleen C. Piazza, Kathryn M. Peterson

Theses & Dissertations

The term renewal describes the recurrence of previously extinguished behavior that occurs when the intervention context changes. Renewal has important clinical relevance as a paradigm for studying treatment relapse because context changes are necessary for generalization and maintenance of most intervention outcomes (Podlesnik, Kelley, Jimenez-Gomez, & Bouton, 2017). The effect of context changes are particularly important during intervention for children with feeding disorders because children eat in a variety of contexts, and extinction is an empirically supported and often necessary intervention. Therefore, we used an ABA arrangement to test for renewal during intervention with 3 children diagnosed with a feeding …

Feedback Delivery Timing & Behavior Skills Training: Training University Students To Perform Dtt, Matthew Taylor

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Behavior Skills Training (BST) has been a common, efficient, and successful training strategy for teaching individuals to perform discrete trial teaching (DTT) although there is not much established information about the separate effects of its training components. Research on modeling and feedback alone as well as within BST, however, suggest that they may be the most significant contributors towards producing behavior change along with the regular recommendation that feedback is best delivered immediately after the occurrence of target behavior for reinforcement. Yet studies that have employed feedback before the occurrence of target behavior have observed no adverse or detrimental effects …

The Influence Of Training Procedures On Generalization Performance In Scent-Detection Rats, Erin Watkins

Dissertations

The global illicit trade in tobacco products leads to an overall increase in the availability of tobacco, and this increase in tobacco availability and consumption undermines effective health, safety, and taxation policies in place to protect current and future populations. Dogs working at ports and customs have been trained to detect tobacco products and research has shown rats can detect tobacco-soaked filters (Mahoney et al., 2014). Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use, and cigarettes are the most commonly trafficked product in the illicit tobacco trade. In the current study, rats were trained to respond to filter …

Initiating Conversation By A Kindergarten-Aged Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Eliana A. Segal

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have social skill deficits that are often manifested in a failure to achieve normal back-and-forth conversation. They rarely initiate social interactions and often show little responsiveness to others. This can extinguish the social initiations of their peers, leading to great difficulty making friends. The purpose of the present study was to teach a child with ASD at an inter-professional autism clinic how to initiate and reciprocate a social conversation. A prompt fading procedure was implemented during training sessions to build a set of social skills into the child’s repertoire. The intervention provided social attention …

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Informed By Applied Behavior Analysis For Developmental Delay: Parent And Sibling Coaching With Setting Generalization, Mariel S. Cannady

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is a well-established, empirically-supported treatment for young children with disruptive behaviors. PCIT was initially designed for treatment of typically-developing children with oppositional and disruptive behaviors. There is emerging support for PCIT as a treatment for behavior challenges seen in children with developmental delays. However, some modifications may be needed to respond to the severity of delay, parent treatment goals, and the function of the challenging behavior. Using a non-concurrent multiple-baseline experimental design, the current study examined the effectiveness of a modified PCIT approach for a preschool child with global developmental delay and co-occurring behavior problems. Modifications …

Generalization Of Joint Attention: Using Parent Child Interaction Therapy To Program Social Skills In Children With Developmental Disorders, Thomas E. Rigg

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Generalization of social behaviors is a vital component of human behavior. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder often show symptomology that includes impairment in social behavior and failure to generalize behavior on the whole. Initiation of joint attention is a social behavior that can be understood as a behavior cusp and worthy of intervention to promote development. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy has been studied in recent years for its efficacy in treating some dimensions of Autism Spectrum Disorder in children and adolescence. The current study sought to explore the efficacy of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy in promoting the generalization of initiation of joint …

Exploring Barriers To The Generalization Of Social Skills Interventions For Children Diagnosed With Asd: A Qualitative Analysis Of ‘Youth Engagement Through Intervention’, Zachary Shindorf

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Many children who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulty with social skills and maintaining friendships. In turn, many social skills interventions have been developed to aid in the treatment of children diagnosed with ASD. Children with ASD, however, have difficulty generalizing the skills learned in social skills interventions to more natural settings like the home and school. This study, therefore, explored the barriers to the generalization of a social skills intervention, Youth Engagement Through Intervention (YETI) for children with ASD. Barriers to the generalization of YETI were explored through the qualitative examination of parents’ acceptability of the …

An Individualized Approach To Teach Greeting And Conversation Skills With Persons With Autism: Efficacy, Generalization, And Social Acceptability Outcomes, Stephanie A. Hood

Theses & Dissertations

Individuals with an autism spectrum disorder commonly exhibit deficits in social skills, which can lead to a lack of friendships (Howlin, 2003) and underemployment (Shattuck et al., 2012). We selected social skills based on a parent interview and a direct assessment of three individuals’ conversation and greeting deficits. We taught the conversation and greeting skills using behavioral skills training and within-session prompting. We assessed generalization of the conversation and greeting skills across unfamiliar conversation partners and maintenance over time. We obtained parent responses on the social acceptability of their child’s social skills. A multiple baseline design across behaviors was used …

Acquisition And Generalization Of Tacts Across Stimulus Modes In Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Luz Elena Correa Gómez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the speed of acquisition and level of generalization of tacts across three different stimulus modes: picture-flashcard, video clip, and 3D object. Three young children diagnosed with autism participated in this study. The acquisition of tacts was evaluated during Discrete Trial Training sessions (DTT). Two of the three participants learned the tacts more rapidly in the video clip condition in contrast with the picture condition. All three participants generalized the three tacts learned through a specific stimulus mode to the remaining stimulus modes. One week after the generalization test, all participants generalized to all novel 3D objects.

An Experimental Investigation Of Lashley And Wade's "The Pavlovian Theory Of Generalization", Allen B. Madans

Psychology ETDs

In the following paper, the term "stimulus generalization" will appear many times. As a matter of convenience it will be abbreviated to "SG".

The best type of definition to give for SG is an operational one. Although the operational definition loses its generality, it gains by providing at least one concrete illustration of the phenomenon with which this paper deals. The following illustration is taken from the experimental literature in most part, and it is the type of illustration that is recognized both by those for and those against SG as demonstrating the phenomenon of SG...Despite the great amount of …