Behavior Modification

Intensive behavior modification using operant conditioning techniques has been viewed with promise. Behavior therapists have focused on treating the specific symptoms of autism, including communication deficits, self care skills and self stimulatory and self destructive behavior. Research ahs demonstrated that children with autism can learn and benefit from such intensive therapy (Lovaas, 1997).

SHAPING

“ The reinforcement of successive approximations to a target behaviour. Used to establish a novel dimension of a behaviour” (Miltenberger, 2001:497).

Used to develop a target behaviour that a person does not currently exhibit.
Use “differential reinforcement” of successive approximations of a behaviour until the person exhibits the target behaviour.
Reinforcement and Extinction are involved when successive approximations to the target behaviour are reinforced and previous approximations are put on extinction.

Text Example: Using shaping to get a rat to press a lever:

1. The rat moves to the side where the lever is located.
2. The rat faces the lever.
3. The rat approaches the lever.
4. The rat rears up on its hind legs.
5. The rat makes a movement toward the lever with a paw.
6. The rat touches the lever.
7. The rat presses the lever.

Miltenberger, R.G. (2001). Behaviour Modification: Principles and Procedures. Toronto:Wadsworth/Thomson Learning

SHAPING

Our Example: Using shaping to teach colouring:

Shaping use of crayon:

1. Give the child a crayon and child makes a mark on a page.
2. The child picks up two crayons and makes scribbles on a page.
3. Continue to increase the number of crayons used for scribbling.

Shaping scribbling to colouring:

4. The child scribbles all over the page.
5. The child scribbles within large boundaries.
6. The child scribbles within slightly smaller boundaries.
7. Continue to reduce the size of the boundaries until size of average picture.

PROMPTING

“A prompt is used to increase the likelihood that a person will engage in the correct behaviour at the correct time” (Miltenberger, 2001:496).

The function of prompts is to produce an instance of the correct behaviour so that it can be reinforced.
The use of prompts makes teaching more efficient. Waiting for trial-and-error can be very slow.
The use of prompts increases the chances that a correct response will occur.

Miltenberger, R.G. (2001). Behaviour Modification: Principles and Procedures. Toronto:Wadsworth/Thomson Learning

Types of prompts:

Other Types of Prompts:

Verbal
Modeling
Stimulus

PROMPT FADING

Once correct response has occurred, prompts must be eliminated.
Prompt fading is the process by which a prompt is removed gradually across learning trials until the prompt is no longer provided (Miltenberger, 2001:179).

Text Example: Teacher fading verbal prompts when teaching child to read words on flashcards.

1. Teacher says word as a verbal prompt while presenting flashcard.
2. Teacher says part of a word while presenting flashcard.
3. Teacher says first letter of a word while presenting flashcard.
4. Teacher only presented the flashcard and did not say anything.

Miltenberger, R.G. (2001). Behaviour Modification: Principles and Procedures. Toronto:Wadsworth/Thomson Learning

Our Example: Fading hand over hand prompts while walking on balance beam.

1. Child holds instructor’s hand.
2. Child holds instructor’s finger.
3. Child rests hand on instructor’s shoulder.
4. Child rests hand on instructor’s shoulder, instructor begins to move away.
5. Instructor walks beside child pointing at end of beam.
6. Instructor waits for child at end of beam.

CHAINING

“Procedures used to teach a person to engage in a chain of behaviours”
(Miltenberger, 2001:490).

A complex behaviour consisting of many component behaviours that occur together in a sequence is called a behavioural chain.
Behaviour chains are often called stimulus-response chains, because each one is made up of individual stimulus-response components that    occur together in a sequence.
Each behaviour or response in the chain produces a stimulus change that acts as an cue for the next response in the sequence.

Text Example: Getting a piece of gum

REINFORCER = CHEW GUM (Miltenberger, 2001:189)

Types of chaining:

Backward Chaining: Use prompting and fading to teach the last behaviour in the chain first. Once mastered, teach second to last behaviour. Continue until entire chain is mastered.
**The learner completes the chain on every learning trial**

Forward Chaining:

Use prompting and fading to teach the first behaviour of the chain first. Then move through the chain from first behaviour to last behaviour.

Miltenberger, R.G. (2001). Behaviour Modification: Principles and Procedures. Toronto:Wadsworth/Thomson Learning

TASK ANALYSIS:

“The Process of analyzing a behavioural chain by breaking it down into its individual stimulus-response components”
(Miltenberger, 2001:190).

Miltenberger, R.G. (2001). Behaviour Modification: Principles and Procedures. Toronto:Wadsworth/Thomson Learning

EXTINCTION:

“A behaviour that has been reinforced for a period of time is no longer reinforced and therefore, the behaviour stops occuring”
(Miltenberger, 2001:87).

As long as behaviours are reinforced, they will continue to occur.
If a behaviour is no longer followed by a reinforcing consequence, the person will stop engaging in the behaviour.
Extinction burst – once a behaviour is no longer reinforced, it often increases briefly in frequency, duration, or intensity before it decreases    and ultimately stops.
During an extinction burst, novel behaviours that do not typically occur in a particular situation may occur for a brief period.
Common misconception- extinction simply means ignoring the behaviour.
Extinction – removing the reinforcer for a behaviour.
Ignoring the problem behaviour functions as extinction only if attention is the reinforcer. Example: Child runs from table when asked to eat    veggies. Can’t ignore because running away from table is being reinforced by escape from eating veggies.

Example:

Child crying = attention from adults
Extinction = removing adult attention whenever the child cries
Adults give attention when child is not crying

Miltenberger, R.G. (2001). Behaviour Modification: Principles and Procedures. Toronto:Wadsworth/Thomson Learning

 

Clarifying the Acronyms of ABA, IBI, VBA:

There exist a number of treatment approaches and philosophies in treatment services for individuals diagnosed with autism. Recently there have been discussions about particular behavioral interventions and their differences. Although therapies vary in implementation of behavioral principles and approaches, the objective remains the same in behaviorism. That is that ABA (or any other acronym used to infer behavioral analysis) is a science. It is a set of principles ( reinforcement, task analysis, prompting, shaping, fading, ect) that is used for teaching. It is not a curriculum, method or a program. It is essential to grasp this basic concept in order for parents to be educated consumers.

There are huge misconceptions of ABA as people attach specific expectations in describing what ABA is and how it works. It is not something you can purchase and it cannot be packaged as a curriculum. The specific activities taught in organizations are not by any means what is referred to as ABA therapy. Individuals adhering to a specific curriculum that was borrowed from a book are not only causing a disservice to the science of behavior analysis but also to the children they treat. The principles are most valuable to the client if teaching is tailored to their needs. A solid understanding of the science allows one to explore the endless possibilities of teaching skills to any population or species in any environment.

Below you will find clarification into the acronyms commonly used to describe treatments used with this population.

 What is ABA?

Behavior Analysis is a science that studies the behavior of human and non-human organisms. It is an attempt to understand, explain, describe and predict behavior.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) grew out of this science in the 1960s as an effort to apply this growing understanding of behavioral processes to the improvement of individual and social conditions. This science-based technology is now well developed, and applications in the area of developmental disabilities have been established for many years.

The application of Behavior Analysis is called Applied Behavior Analysis ( ABA). Its science has been applied for modifying behavior under widely varying conditions. As a result, many individuals have been trained as practitioners and routinely use this technology to address various behavioral needs. Some application of this science includes but is not limited to the following areas:

• education
• autism
• self-injurious behavior
• developmental disabilities
• infant assessment
• gerontology
• organizational performance management
• training and instructional design
• behavioral safety
• the experimental analysis of behavior (basic research)
• brain injury rehabilitation
• human operant research
• animal and pet training
• verbal behavior
• behavior pharmacology, drug self-administration and drug discrimination
• behavior toxicology
• behavioral medicine
• computer modeling of behavior and artificially intelligent agents
• decision support systems
• human factors and user interface design

Perhaps the earliest evidence of the use of behavior analysis was in the 1960s in the area of developmental disabilities. It was evident early on that this approach has beneficial to the needs of individuals who had difficulties in learning. It was further applied to individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism. The application of this science in the area of developmental disabilities has since remained a primary focus for applied behavior analysts. Applied behavior analysis has long been the default approach for teaching skills and ameliorating behavior problems with these populations and is now regarded and respected as an effective treatment philosophy.

Applied behavior analysis has yielded significant gains as a treatment philosophy that involves a comprehensive approach to the needs of individuals with diverse developmental disabilities. Independent evaluations of applied behavior analysis and other approaches have concluded that ABA is the only approach that has been scientifically documented as effective with this population

The science of behavioral analysis is quite complex and sophisticated. However this approach is often simplified for use by individuals not formally trained in behavior analysis.

Therefore parents and students are trained to provide services to individuals with intellectual disabilities and other developmental disorders, by addressing the goals of mastering new skills and ameliorating maladaptive behaviors.

Those trained as behavior analysts are certified to use the principles of behavior analysis. This philosophy use of principles of classical and operant conditioning in order to address the behavioral needs of widely varying individuals in diverse settings. It includes the identification of functional relationships between behavior and environments. It uses direct observation and measurement of behavior and environment.

Certification and responsibilities of Behavior Analysts

Currently there are no regulation is Canada governing the practice of Behavioral Therapy. However, there is a movement to develop a regulatory board that consists of establishing criteria for professionals identifying themselves as behavioral analysts. In addition to years of related education and experience, individuals will be required to become certified to practice the science of behavioral analysis. Practicing behavior analysis involves the following responsibilities:

• provide direct care and supervision of clients
• implement written treatment protocols
• maintain treatment environments
• conduct functional behavioral assessments
• develop behavior plans
• train caregivers in plan implementation
• record, graph and interpret data and
• monitor intervention progress & make appropriate changes

What is IBI (Intensive Behavior Initiative)?

The Ontario government developed an initiative for children with autism called IBI (Intensive Behavior Initiative ). This was a result of the growing concern in regards to effective treatment of children diagnosed with Autism. The Intensive Early Intervention Program (IEIP) for Children with Autism is funded by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS).  Children with autism, aged two to five, who meet the program guidelines are eligible to receive Intensive Behavioral Intervention (IBI) services. 

To receive more information about this service refer to the following link:

http://www.children.gov.on.ca/CS/en/programs/SpecialNeeds/earlyInterventionAutism.htm

What is AVB (Applied Verbal Behavioral)?

The term AVB has been described as a specific program of applied behavior analysis that focuses on teaching verbal behavior through a collection of highly effective teaching procedures taken from the science of behavior analysis. Essentially verbal behavioral analysis is applied behavioral analysis. The term AVB is becoming a term used as an entirely new treatment approach. Effective ABA programs incorporate teaching verbal skills into their curriculum, however the term has gained recognition in part due to some behavioral therapies excluding the teaching of verbal skills. Verbal skills teaching is based on Skinner’s analysis of language.

In 1957, as applied behavior analysis was developing and research on ABA was being published, Skinner published Verbal Behavior, which detailed a functional analysis of verbal behavior. Skinner's research extended operant conditioning to verbal behavior in order to fully account for the range of human behavior.

With the publication of Skinner’s research on verbal behavior, many current applied behavior analysts, including Jack Michael, Mark Sundberg, Jim Partington, and Vincene Carbone, have conducted and published research on verbal behavior. The results of their research can be found in The Analysis of Verbal Behavior journal. The results of this research serves as the basic and applied foundation of teaching VB as part of an ABA program, or what is commonly referred to as AVB.

 In Verbal Behavior, Skinner outlined his analysis of VB, which describes a group of verbal operants, or units of language. The primary verbal operants, which are most often initially discussed in relation to teaching children with autism, are echoics, mands, tacts, and intraverbals.

• The echoic is the verbal operant that relates to vocal imitation. Here the child echos or verbally imitates as the therapists demonstrates.
• Manding is typically a first step in teaching language as it is based in the child's motivation. It is how a child requests what he/she desires.
• Tact includes nouns, actions, adjectives, pronouns, relations, and others. It is a label of something in the environment or vocabulary.
• Intraverbals are typically thought of in terms of conversational language because they are responses to the language of another person, usually answers to "wh-" questions. There are two classes of intraverbals, fill-ins and wh- questions.