What is the role of the RBT?
• Direct implementation of skill-acquisition and behavior-reduction plans developed by a BCBA.
• Collect data and
... [Show More] conduct assessments with supervision
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?
A developmental disability, characterized by impairments in social interactions, communication, and adaptive functioning. Individuals with ASD display characteristics such as:
• Social impairments
• Reliance on routines
• Impairments with communication
• Repetitive behaviors and thoughts
• Challenging problem behaviors (aggression, self-injurious, tantrums)
• Food sensitivity and selectivity
• Decreased rates of learning new skills
ASD Facts
• No cure for ASD
• Affects 1 in 50 people
• 5 times more likely to occur in boys
• Should use 'People First Language', such as "a child with Autism" rather than "an autistic kid"
What is ABA?
• A scientifically proven approach that aims to change behavior
• Focuses on reinforcing positive behaviors, decreasing maladaptive behaviors
What are some skills we work on through ABA?
• Social skills
• Communication and language
• Life skills
• Vocational skills
• Peer interactions
• Compliance
• Daily functioning skills
• Community skills
What is pairing?
In the first phase of building rapport, you will be a neutral stimulus.
Your end-result is to become reinforcing to the client.
Observe the client and note different items they are drawn to.
Begin to include yourself in their play time with the items. This interaction "pairs" you with their preferred activities, making you a fun person in their eyes.
Why do we pair?
To build instructional control
What is instructional control?
Refers to how readily a client will follow directions from someone.
The Seven Steps to Earning Instructional Control
1. Maintain control of reinforcers
2. Make interactions enjoyable
3. Say what you mean and mean what you say
4. Reinforce appropriate behavior
5. Initially reinforce after every response and eventually thin out your reinforcement
6. Prioritize your goals
7. Withhold reinforcement in the presence of inappropriate behavior
What is reinforcement?
Any event that follows a behavior and increases the probability that the behavior will occur again.
Positive Reinforcement
Increases desired behavior by adding a positive stimulus.
Negative Reinforcement
Increases desired behavior by eliminating a stimuli.
Positive Punishment
Something is added to decrease undesired behavior.
Negative Punishment
Something is removed to decrease undesired behavior.
What are the principles of Reinforcement?
DISC...
D- deprivation
I- immediacy
S- size
C- contingency
What is deprivation?
The more deprived an individual is of a reinforcer, the more effective it will be (good example of an establishing operation EO)
What is immediacy?
A reinforcer must be delivered immediately following a behavior to make sure you are actually reinforcing that behavior.
What is size?
The amount of reinforcement given must be worthwhile, or appropriate for the activity.
What is contingency?
The reinforcer should only be delivered when a desired behavior occurs.
What are the schedules of reinforcement?
Continuous reinforcement
Intermittent reinforcement
What are the four types of intermittent schedules of reinforcement?
1. Fixed Ratio
2. Variable Ratio
3. Fixed Interval
4. Variable Interval
What is a continuous reinforcement schedule?
The only type of continuous reinforcement schedule is a Fixed Ratio of 1 (FR1) in which every response is reinforced.
Fixed Ratio
• FR
• Based on numbers
• Number following FR is how many goals patient must do
• SR+ (stimulus reinforcement) is delivered immediately following set of numbered goals
Variable Ratio
• VR
• Based on an average number
• Number following VR average amount of goals patient should do
• SR+ (stimulus reinforcement) is delivered after average number of goals, varies based on set number
Fixed Interval
• FI
• Based on time
• Number following FI is amount of time patient must work
• SR+ (stimulus reinforcement) is delivered immediately after timer goes off
Variable Interval
• VI
• Based on average time
• Number following VI average time patient must work
• SR+ (stimulus reinforcement) delivered some time after timer goes off
What is extinction?
Happens when the reinforcement for a previously reinforced behavior is withheld, terminated, or removed.
What is extinction burst?
A temporary increase in the rate of a behavior following implementation of an extinction behavior.
What is spontaneous recovery?
The reappearance of the extinguished behavior after a period in which the behavior has not been reinforced.
What is Differential Reinforcement?
• A procedure in which one behavior is reinforced while other behaviors are extinguished
• Applying a reinforcer to one member of a response class of behavior and not to the other members
You can use differential reinforcement to do two things:
• Increase the rate of a desirable behavior
• Decrease the rate of undesirable behavior
What are the Differential Reinforcement Procedures?
DRI: Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior
DRA: Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior
DRO: Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviors
DRH: Differential Reinforcement of High Rates of Behavior
DRL: Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates of Behavior
DRI: Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior
Reinforce behavior incompatible with an undesirable behavior.
Example: Directing patient to take a drink when yelling.
DRA: Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior
Reinforce a behavior that is an alternative to an undesirable behavior.
Example: Teaching raising hand instead of yelling.
DRO: Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviors
Time based. Targeting one behavior and rewarding patient for the absence of that behavior for a specific duration.
Example: Every five minutes the patient doesn't cry they get an M&M.
Note: Other behaviors can occur during this time, they are still rewarded for the absence of the targeted behavior.
DRH: Differential Reinforcement of High Rates of Behavior
Used to increase frequency of behavior. Set a threshold, if patient exhibits a specific behavior for that set number of occurrences or more, they are reinforced.
Example: Patient must answer three questions during group to receive reinforcement, 1-2 answers get nothing.
DRL: Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates
Used to decrease the frequency of a behavior.
Set a threshold, if patient exhibits a specific behavior for that set number of occurrences or less, they are reinforced.
Example: Patient cannot ask a question more than 3 times to get reinforced, more than 3 gets nothing.
What is shaping?
• The process of reinforcing gradual changes in a behavior so that the behavior begins to look like the target behavior.
• As you reinforce closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior, you strengthen behaviors that look more like the desired behavior. You then stop reinforcing previous approximations of that behavior.
What is DTT?
• Discrete Trial Teaching
• A learning opportunity initiated and controlled by the teacher in which the correct response will be reinforced
• 3-Term Contingency
• SD -> response -> reinforcing stimulus
• SD = command that evokes a response
• R = response, what the child does in response to the SD
• SR+ = reinforcing stimulus, presented after a child's correct response
What is NET?
• Natural Environment Teaching
• When the learned initiates a learning opportunity and the reinforcement follows the natural contingencies through the environment
What is capturing in NET?
Use naturally occurring situations that occur in the environment to take advantage of incidental teaching.
What is contriving situations?
To set up the environment in a way that will elicit a behavior, that do not already occur in the natural environment.
What is discrimination teaching?
• Allows us to differentiate when reinforcement is available for specific responses.
• Assists with learning how to respond in different environments or different situations.
• Allows the client to learn the differences between stimuli.
• Being able to distinguish one item/response from another.
Example: A child only calls his mother "mom"
Non-Example: A child calling every condiment ketchup.
What are transfer procedures?
• Refer to transferring control from one stimulus to another.
• Transferring control of the stimulus prompt to the SD (prompt fading)
• Transferring from one verbal operant to another to help strengthen the targeted skill
• Transferring instructional control from one therapist to another
Transfer Trials across Verbal Operants
Transferring trials can be used as a prompt in errorless teaching.
Example: Imitation to LR (listener responding)
Therapist: "Do this" therapist claps hands (imitation)
Child: Claps hands
Therapist "You're clapping your hands! Clap your hands" (receptive command)
Child: Claps hands
What is a prompt?
Prompts are stimuli that you add in to increase the likelihood that a person will engage in or respond with the correct behavior
Prompt Hierarchy
1. Full physical
2. Partial physical
3. Model
4. Visual
5. Verbal
6. Positional
7. Gesture
8. Natural
What are motivating Operations?
Environmental variables that temporarily alter the value of other stimuli, objects, or events as reinforcers and therefore increase or decrease the behaviors that result from that stimulus.
What is capturing motivation?
Recognizes situations throughout the day that the child has an MO for.
What is contriving motivation?
Developing situations in which MO presents by altering the environment.
What two categories can Motivating Operations be divided in too?
Establishing Operations (EO)
Abolishing Operations (AO)
What is an Establishing Operation?
Increases the current effectiveness of a stimulus, object, or event. Deprivation states such as hunger, thirst, boredom.
When the child is deprived of something, the MO for the item is high.
What is an Abolishing Operation?
Decreases the current effectiveness of some stimuli, object, or event. Satiation states such as having a big meal or a lot of tablet time.
When a child has too much of something, they become satiated and the MO is low.
What is chaining?
Refers to a method of teaching a behavior using behavior chains. Behavior chains are sequences of individual behaviors that when linked together form a terminal behavior.
What are the types of chaining?
• Total Task Chaining
• Forward Chaining
• Backward Chaining
What is total task chaining?
Teaching the behavioral chain all steps at a time, one step after another. You would allow for independence on all steps. Total task chaining would be used when the child shows independence on many steps.
What is forward chaining?
Teaching a behavioral chain beginning with the first step. You would completely prompt the entire chain except the first step, which you would teach to independence before teaching a subsequent step. Forward chaining is recommended if the child can successfully complete more steps at the beginning of the chain. Once the first step is mastered at the independent level, you would move on to teaching the second step, then third, until the entire procedure is completely independent.
What is backward chaining?
Teaching a behavioral chain beginning with the last step. You would completely prompt the entire chain until the last step, which you would teach to independence before teaching the previous step.
Recommended if the child can successfully complete more steps at the end of the chain.
Once the last step is mastered, you would move on to teaching the previous step, then the next previous... Until the entire procedure is completely independent.
What are Preference Assessments?
Used to determine what a child is motivated for, what they enjoy, and what their hierarchy of preferences is.
What are the types of Preference Assessments?
1. Free operant
2. Single stimulus
3. Paired Stimulus
4. Multiple Stimulus without replacement (MSWO)
5. Multiple Stimulus with replacement (MSW)
What is a Free Operant Preference Assessment?
• The child has access to choose from many items and the therapist observes which items they interact with
• The child chooses freely
• Record which items they engaged with and for how long
Example: Take your client to the play room and observe what they are interested in
What is a Single Stimulus Preference Assessment?
• The therapist presents one item at a time
• The child either wants it or does not
Example: "Do you want the ball?" "Do you want gym?" and so on.
What is a Paired Choice Preference Assessment?
• The therapist presents a pair of items to determine which one is more desired
• Multiple combinations of choices can be presented
Example: "Do you want to work for the ball or the scooter?"
What is a Multiple Stimulus without Replacement Preference Assessment? (MSWO)
• Use 3 or more items. When an item is chosen, it is not available in the next assessment.
• Keep track of which items the child chooses as their higher preferred choices are eliminated.
Example: Present 10 items. The child chooses one and plays with it. You then remove it, and present the other 9 items. Continue this fashion with one less item every time.
What is a Multiple Stimulus with Replacement Preference Assessment? (MSW)
• Use 3 or more items. When an item is chosen, it is still available in the next assessment.
• Keep track of which items the child chooses and how many times they choose each item.
Example: You present 10 items. The child chooses one and plays with it. You then present the same 10 items for each assessment in a different orderly fashion.
What is Fading?
• Prompting and Fading go hand and hand
• Fading is the process by which a prompt is removed gradually across learning trials until the prompt is no longer provided
How to Fade Prompts?
• Verbal / Echoic: "ball -> bah -> buh"
• Physical: Hand over hand (full physical) -> guide to elbow -> guide at the shoulder -> light touch a the shoulder
• Gestural: point to stimuli -> point near stimuli -> nod in vernal direction of stimuli
• Visual: written word with pictures -> gradually fade picture -> word with no picture
• Positional: target is 6 inches closer to client -> 3 inches closer -> 1 inch closer -> in line with other targets
What is Stimulus Control Transfer?
It is the process of changing what stimulus controls the behavior or response.
How is Stimulus Control Transfer achieved?
Achieved by prompt fading and stimulus fading procedures.
Example: You walk into the kitchen with your client. You say to the client "the trash is full". The client takes the trash out. Use fading procedure to remove the prompt "the trash is full" until the natural SD of seeing a full trash can provokes the behavior repose of taking out the trash.
What is an Operational Definition?
One the BCBA decides what behaviors need measured, they write operational definitions for those behaviors. Defining a behavior in more detail tailored to the specific client.
MOO.
M- measurable
O- objective
O- observable
What are the Types of Measurements?
Direct VS Indirect
What is a Direct Measurement?
(Observable)
- Frequency
- Duration
- Per opportunity
- Partial / Whole Interval
- Rate
- Latency
What is an Indirect Measurement?
(Hearing about it)
- Parent survey
- Vineland
- FAST (Functional Assessment Screening Tool)
- Interviews with Parents, Teachers, Caregivers
- MAS (Motivation Assessment Scale)
What is Frequency in Direct Measurement?
The number of times a target behavior occurs.
What is a Duration in Direct Measurement?
The total amount of time that a target behavior occurs.
What is a Rate in Direct Measurement?
The ratio of frequency in a certain time period.
Combination of frequency + duration = rate.
Example: Nicole engaged in 16 screams per hour.
What is Latency in Direct Measurement?
How long it takes the client to respond to SD.
Definition: The reaction time from SD or antecedent to the response.
Example: Lori spit at her teacher 15 seconds after she was given the demand.
What is a Per Opportunity in Direct Measurement?
A percentage of the overall correct trials. (Catalyst does this for you)
Example: Haley scored 8 out of 10 right for the day = 80% accuracy.
What is a Permanent Product in Direct Measurement?
Tangible products or environmental outcomes.
Example: Writing your name, keeping the day one sheet of client writing their name to show how they've improved.
What is a Continuous Measurement?
Records every single occurrence of behavior.
What are the examples of Continuous Measurement?
- Frequency
- Duration
- Rate
- Per Opportunity
What is a Discontinuous Measurement?
Only records some instances of the target behavior. (Not used often)
What are the examples of Discontinuous Measurement?
- Partial Interval Recording
- Whole Interval Recording
- Momentary Time Sampling
What is Partial Interval Recording?
Record the occurrence if the target response occurs during any part of the interval.
What is Whole Interval Recording?
Record the occurrence only if the target response occurs during the entire interval.
What is Momentary Time Sampling?
Record the occurrence if the response is occurring at the moment the interval ends.
What does Verbal Behavior focus on teaching?
Teaching a learner the meaning behind a word, rather than just memorizing it.
What is Expressive Language?
The ability to communicate.
What is Receptive Language?
The ability to understand language.
What are the Verbal Operants?
- Mand
- Tact
- Listener Responding (LR)
- Listener Response of Feature, Function, or Class (LRFFC)
- Echoic
- Intraverbal
- Visual Perception Match to Sample (VPMTS)
- Imitation
What is a Mand?
A request.
Common SD: "What do you want?"
Examples: "Can I go potty?", Child sees and says "iPad"
Note: The motivation for the item can be the SD. Sometimes staff does not have to ask what is wanted.
What is a Tact?
Labeling something.
Common SD: "What is this?" or the overall presence of an item.
Examples: Child hears an airplane and says "plane", "What is this?" while holding up a pen and the child says "pen".
Note: Other SD's can include, "What do you see? What do you hear? What am I doing?"
What is a Listener Responding? (LR)
Following a direction given by others.
Common SD: "Clap your hands" "Touch your nose"
Examples: Staff says, "stomp your feet" and child stomps their feet.
Note: LR involves the listener receptively responding to direction.
What is Listener Response of Feature, Function, or Class? (LRFFC)
Receptive discrimination based on the feature, function, or class of an item.
Common SD: "Find the one that is big" "Touch the fruit" "Which one do you wear?"
Example: Client identifies the one that is a fruit in an array of an apple, ball, and cat.
Note:
Feature: A trait of the item
Function: What the item is used for?
Class: Which category the item is in
What is an Echoic?
Repeating vocally what someone says.
Common SD: Say "Ball" "Cuh" "Buh"
Example: Client repeats the sound or word.
Note: The "say" may be excluded to prevent echoing of "say".
What is Intraverbal?
Saying something in response to what someone else said. Filling in the blank or answering a question.
Common SD: "Ready, set... (go)" "A cow says... (moo)" "what is your mom's name?"
Example: The client answers the question or fills in the blank.
Note: Improves conversations through back and forth dialogue.
What is a Visual Perceptual Match to Sample? (VPMTS)
Visual discrimination but in varying levels of complexity.
Common SD: "Match" "Complete the pattern" "Sort"
Example: "Match" when handing a child a picture of a dog with three pictures laid out of a dog, cat, and mouse.
What is an Imitation?
Copying someone else's motor movement.
Common SD: "Do this" "Copy me" "Do what I'm doing"
Example: Staff claps their hands while saying "do this"
What are the functions of behavior?
EATS
E- escape
A- attention
T- (access to) tangibles
S- sensory
What is a Function of Behavior?
Refers to the reason why that behavior is occurring, or what is motivating the individual to engage in the behavior.
What is an Escape behavior?
Engages in behavior to escape a situation, activity, or person.
Behavioral Traits & Antecedents:
- Work task presented
- Someone enters the room and engages with child
- Child is led to a different environment
- Common behaviors include: flopping, refusal, tantrum, aggression, destruction, crying.
How should you respond to an Escape Behavior?
- Follow through with the demand
- Offer a break (do the task after break)
- Offer choices
- Provide clear expectations
What is an Attention Behavior?
An individual may be engaging in a behavior to access attention from peers, therapists, or others. Attention can be positive or negative.
Behavioral Traits & Antecedents:
- Child looks toward the therapist when displaying behavior
- Client attempts to get in the therapist's face
- Client is denied attention or attention is being given to someone else
- Common behaviors: aggression, grabbing staff, yelling, throwing items, aggression toward the person that has staff's attention.
How to respond to an Attention Behavior?
- Teach appropriate ways to seek attention (tap on shoulder, ask to "look at me") and reinforce these behaviors
- Give positive attention many times throughout the day
- Ignore the undesired behavior
What is an Access (to tangible items) Behavior?
Individual may be engaging in a behavior to access an item or activity, such as food, toys, games, or other activities.
Behavioral Traits & Antecedents:
- The child displays a desire for an item
- The child is denied access to an item or activity
- The child has to wait their turn for an item/activity
- Common behaviors: grabbing items, tantrums, property destruction, and aggression.
How to respond to an Access (of tangible items) Behavior?
- Increase the variety of activities/items your client is interested in so there are more things to help motivate them
- Give them small amounts of items,
- Teach them to mind appropriately for items
- Give them transitional warnings
What is a Sensory Behavior?
Individual may be engaging in a behavior because it is internally reinforcing. Any behavior that occurs without the involvement of another person and creates an internal state of pleasure or removes an internal state of pleasure may be maintained by automatic reinforcement. This behavior will occur across many environmental variables.
Behavioral Traits & Antecedents:
- The client displays the behavior in all environments
- The client favors the behavior above other activities
- Common behaviors: hand flapping, picking at skin, tapping on table or self, head banging, biting nails.
How to respond to a Sensory Behavior?
- Redirect inappropriate behaviors to more functional ones and reinforce those behaviors
- Reinforce behaviors that are incompatible with the sensory behavior
- Regulate the behavior. Teach the client they can engage in the behavior during play time, but not work time.
What are the Correction Procedures?
1. Prompt an Move on
2. Short Error Correction (ECT)
3. Long Error Correction (ECTER)
What is a Prompt and Move on Procedure?
1. SD is presented
2. Client errors
3. Re-present the trial along with a prompt
4. Client responds with prompt
5. Deliver natural praise
6. Move on and come back to it later
What is a Short Error Correction (ECT) Procedure?
1. SD is presented
2. Client errors
3. Re-present the trial along with a prompt
4. Client responds with prompt
5. Re-present the trial without the prompt
6. Client correctly responds without prompt
7. Deliver reinforcement
What is a Long Error Correction (ECTER) Procedure?
1. SD is presented
2. Client errors
3. Re-present trial with a prompt
4. Client responds with prompt
5. Re-present the trip without the prompt
6. Client responds without prompt
7. Deliver reinforcement
8. Play another demand(s) that you know they will respond correctly to (AKA distractor)
9. Return to the original demand without prompting
10. Client responds without prompt
11. Deliver reinforcement
What is ABC Data Collection?
ABC data tracks the Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence.
Write down as much as you observe.
Antecedent: What happened right before the behavior occurred?
Behavior: The target behavior you want to track.
Consequence: What happened right after the behavior occurred?
What is a BSP?
Once the BCBA has determined the function of the behavior, they will write a Behavior Support Plan, including a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA).
What will a BSP include?
- FBA results
- Operational definition of the target behavior(s)
- Hypothesized function(s) of the target behaviors
- Baseline data
- Common occurring antecedents and antecedents interventions
- Functionally equivalent replacement behaviors
- How to respond to the target behaviors
- A crisis plan
- How to collect data
- Generalization and maintenance strategies
- Procedural integrity guidelines
What is Maintenance?
When a target is in maintenance, we continue to run the target on a less frequent basis, so the client does not lose the skill.
What is Generalization?
We will know that a client has truly mastered a skill if they can generalize it across multiple people, multiple environments, multiple stimuli, and multiple SDs.
Note Cheat Sheet
1. How patient transitioned to therapy session
2. Important information caregiver provided
3. Skills & targets therapist focused on
4. Skills & targets patient did well at
5. Maladaptive behavior patient engaged in
6. Reactive strategies therapist used
7. "It is recommended to continue ABA therapy per plan of care" [Show Less]