1. Using Applied Behavior Analysis in the SchoolsBy
Tracy Vail,MS,CCC/SLP
Speech/Language Pathologist
Let’s Talk Speech and Language Service, Inc
Letstalksls.com

2. What is Applied Behavior Analysis?
The Science of learning
Tells us why people do what they do
Looks at the contingencies of behavior (What happens before and after) to analyze the function
Helps us determine how the environment can be modified to improve learning

3. What is Behavior?
Anything that can be seen, felt and counted by either an individual or others in their environment.
Which of these are behaviors?
Saying cookie, thinking about a cookie, touching a cookie, dreaming about a cookie, baking a cookie, looking at a cookie, reaching toward a cookie

4. What is a Discrete Trial?
Antecedent/Stimulus
Response/Behavior
Consequence (neutral, reinforcement, punishment)
How we manipulate these contingencies determines whether a behavior will increase or decrease.

5. Contingencies Antecedent/Stimulus Response Consequence CSS MO SD
(Function Alt.) Evocative Function Altering
Reinforcement
Soc. Med +
Soc. Med –
Auto +
R Auto –
(s-delta) Extinction
CSS MO SD
Punishment
Positive Punishment
Negative Punishment

6. Reinforcement
Increases the likelihood that a behavior will occur again in the future.
4 categories or “buckets” of behaviors based on the reinforcement history
What serves as a reinforcer is highly variable.
Must be contingent on the behavior you want to increase
Is not a “thing” but an effect on the behavior.
If a behavior is increasing, something is reinforcing it.
If a child bites in circle time and is put in time out then comes back and bites again, what served as a reinforcer?

7. How do you create new Reinforcers?
“Pair” or associate the new thing/person with something the child already finds reinforcing.
The new thing/person becomes a “conditioned” reinforcer.
Learn the child and be the provider of “all good things”

8. Pair Sounds/Talking with Fun!

9. BE the Reinforcer!

10. Motivation Operation Temporarily Increases the value of a reinforcer.
Temporarily Increases the behaviors that have been consequated by that reinforcer in the past.
Ex:If in the past, when I wanted to have some juice, I said “juice”, I’m more likely to say juice again when I want it.
Without motivation, you have no reinforcer. Without a reinforcer, you cannot increase behaviors. If you aren’t increasing behaviors, you aren’t teaching! :0)

11. Socially Mediated Positive Reinforcement
Behaviors that have a history of being reinforced by getting things/attention from people.
Increase by capturing motivation, teaching appropriate behavior and reinforcing.
Decrease by determining reinforcement history, not allowing it to “work” anymore and teaching a replacement behavior to get the same need met.

12. Socially Mediated Negative Reinforcement
Behaviors that have been reinforced by escape or delay of demands involving people.
To increase, determine motivation and teach appropriate communication to get need met.
To decrease, determine reinforcement history, don’t let it work anymore and teach a replacement.

13. Automatic Positive Reinforcement
Behaviors that are reinforced because they feel good.
Often known as “stims”
Are self-reinforcing. The more they do it, the more they will do it in the future.
Teach appropriate ways (or places) to get the sensory need met, limit time spent, and pair with people.

14. Automatic Negative Reinforcement
Behaviors I do because they remove a “bad” or uncomfortable feeling.
Figure out what part of the environment is affecting the child then either desensitize or compensate.
Desensitization: gradual exposure with heavy reinforcement for increased tolerance.

15. Self-Stimulatory Behavior
High stereotypy
Continued absence of alternative behaviors
Impaired learning
Fewer skills acquired

16. So What is Teaching?
Increasing adaptive or new behaviors that will allow the child to be more successful in the world and decreasing behaviors that are maladaptive or that will cause the child to have difficulty in the world.

17. DO Don’t Fade in demands Teach to Fluency Prompt Quickly Fade prompts
Teach errorlessly
Fade in demands
Teach to Fluency
Prompt Quickly
Fade prompts
Make sure all questions have answers
Find numerous reinforcers
Correct errors
Have fun!
follow negative behavior with reinforcement
Remove a child from a reinforcing activity to begin teaching
Give directions to do things you can’t prompt
Give directions without getting compliance
Kill reinforcers by placing too many demands

18. Build Motivation (MO) Establish Reinforcers- everyone wants something!
Start with non-verbal connection then add verbal
How does the child respond to the environment?
Be playful- play as children play
Build anticipation
Do the unexpected
Create routines
Gradually change the routines
Stay connected to find reinforcers
Be animated
Pair yourself and talking with reinforcement

19. Transfer Procedures/Prompting
Teach a new behavior by starting with a behavior that you know the child can already do.
The child is more likely to repeat the same behavior under a different condition
Once the behavior is taught under the new condition, gradually fade the prompt
New learning is build on old learning
The learning remains “errorless”

20. Teaching Procedure for Transfers
Transfer trial- Use the mastered skill to evoke the desired behavior then present the new SD to get the same behavior.
Disractor trial(s)- Present a mastered task or two
Independent trial- Re-present the new SD to evoke the behavior and reinforce correct response heavily

21. Correction Procedure Use whenever the child responds incorrectly
Give the SD + the response
Wait for the echoic
Repeat the SD
Wait for the response
Run a distractor trial (something the child can do easily)

22. What to Teach Early Learners??
People are fun (even kids!)
Words are valuable
I can learn
Playing is fun and teaches me lots of things about the world.

23. Verbal Behavior- Verbal Operants (Skinner)
Antecedent/Stimulus Behavior Consequence
Mand Motivation Says “car” gets car Echoic “Say car” Says “car” social/secondary Tact Car present Says “car” social/secondary Intraverbal “We ride in the ..”Says “car” social/sec.

24. Verbal Operants Mands- “I talk, I get”
What purpose does the communication serve to the speaker and listener?
Mands- “I talk, I get”
Tacts- I can label things in the environment under a variety of conditions
Receptives- I can follow directions, do what others tell me to do
Imitation/Echoics- I can do/say what others do/say
Intraverbal- What I say is dependent upon what others say but is not the same

25. Pairing Sounds with Fun!

26. Imitate All Sounds Produced

27. Reinforce all vocal attempts

28. Pairing with favorite activities

29. Manding The basis of all other verbal behavior
Teach by transferring from echoics or “fill-ins”
Giving up the things we want
With and without items present
With and without someone asking “What do you want?
Teach a variety of sentence forms
Manding from peers
Expand sentence length and teach concepts through mands
Teach manding for information
Manding for attention

30. Choosing Response Forms
If child is non-vocal, must use an alternative/augmentative system
Augmentative communication encourages rather than discourages vocal productions
Experiment to determine how the child responds to various forms
Picture/object exchange
Signs
Communication Boards
Vocal
Voice output devices

31. Manding with PECS

32. Manding with Signs

33. Be sure not to fade signs too quickly

34. Watch for Sign/Vocal Inconsistencies

35. Shaping Vocals through Mands

36. Gradually Build Syllables

37. Mands for Info, Spontaneous Tacts

38. NET Manding/Mands for Info

39. Begin Teaching in “scripted” play

40. Generalize in less structured format

41. Teaching Concepts through Mands

42. Imitation Teach through physical prompting or anticipating actions
Important for independent learning and play
Teach child to do multiple actions in response to “Do this”
Gradually increase difficulty and complexity

43. Mix NVI’s with other Operants

44. Echoics- Vocal Imitation
Teach by transferring from mand, motor imitation, songs, “sound play” and pairing with reinforcement
Use visual and/or physical prompting as necessary
Gradually increase length and complexity
Shape through the mand

45. Teaching Isolated Sounds

46. Receptive
Teach by transferring from imitation or with physical prompts
Teach the child to respond to a variety of SDs (touch, find, show, where’s the etc.)
Start with items the child can mand for as well as simple instructions (i.e. come, sit, clap)
Gradually increase complexity. Closely monitor conditional discriminations

47. Add receptives to reinforcing activities

48. Receptive Objects

49. Tacts
Teach by transferring from receptive (if child tacts), mand, fill-in, intraverbal or echoic.
Labeling objects, actions, parts, features, classes, functions
Be sure to vary SD’s
Verbal modules- teach the child to discriminate between question forms
Build up sentences and break them down

50. Fill-in to Tact Transfers

51. Intraverbal Talking about things not present
Transfer from fill-in, tact, or echoic
Create “intraverbal links”
Begin with songs, rhymes, stories and daily activities
Gradually increase complexity
Teach reversal fill-ins early
Mands for information + intraverbals = conversation

52. Fill-ins with Books

53. Fill-ins with Songs

54. Intensive Teaching
Use to practice skills taught in the natural environment
Make sure instructors have mastered transfer and correction procedures to fluency
Mix and vary to make sure the child is responding to the correct SD

55. Intraverbal FFC’s/Categories in Intensive Teaching

56. Use Available Reinforcers

57. Dealing with Negative Behaviors
New Behavior (talking) won’t be used if the old behavior (hitting) still works
Must determine function of the behavior before determining how to respond
Look at what happened right before and right after the behavior
Put time between negative behavior and prompting appropriate communication
The child never gets anything for negative behavior
Don’t live your life trying to avoid negative behaviors
Get a functional analysis by a behavior analyst if problems persist

58. Suggested Readings Educate Towards Recovery by Robert Schramm
The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (The ABLLS) by Partington and Sundberg
The VB-MAPP by Mark Sundberg
The Mariposa School Training Manual
Handouts available at letstalksls.com (Answers Database)

59. Thanks for who you are for children!