I recently went to Seattle
and, while I was in beautiful State of Washington, I went to Chicken Camp. Since posting a few pictures on Facebook of
me holding a chicken, I’ve been getting tons of questions. This blog will cover the answers to three
main questions: What it is, Why I Went,
and What I Learned!
1) What is Chicken Camp? As many of you
know, I’m a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and work with children with
autism using the science of behavior, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA is based on operant conditioning which is
a theory formulated by BF Skinner in the 1930s.
BF Skinner and his
colleagues studied animals (mostly rats and pigeons) and discovered the basic
principles of behavior; most importantly that positive reinforcement could
increase behavior in all animals, including humans.
Beginning in the 1960s,
Karen Pryor began using operant conditioning principles with animals and
developed a technology called Clicker Training.
With Clicker Training, a clicker, whistle, or bell is used to audibly
mark a behavior as correct and is immediately followed with a reinforcer.
In the past decade,
TAGteach (clicker training for humans) developed out of Karen Pryor’s Clicker
Training, which is an excellent technology for teaching children a variety of
skills as well as adults.
Terry Ryan, an
Internationally recognized expert in the field of animal training runs chicken
camps. Chicken camps are 2 or 4 days
long and are held either at Legacy Canine Training Center in Sequim, Washington
or on site around the world when Terry is brought in to speak to small groups
of about 20. Terry doesn’t travel with
chickens though so for the training opportunities outside of Washington, the
hosts need to work with local 4-H Clubs or farmers to supply the chickens.
Terry has worked and
continues to work closely with Karen Pryor and is also TAGteach certified. The first two-day chicken camp is basic in
nature with lecture, videos, and hands-on activities with chickens;
incidentally the chickens are raised on the premises. Many people attend chicken camp to get better
at training their dogs but, increasingly, managers and human trainers have been
attending to sharpen their people-training skills. Our 2-day chicken camp was an advanced
training since all twenty of us (who worked in pairs) were BCBAs (or had
advanced ABA knowledge) so our camp was tailored to meet our unique needs.
2) Why did I go to chicken camp? Like chickens,
many of the children I work with including my 15- year-old son with autism, do
not understand complex human language.
Since becoming certified as a Level 1 TAGteacher in 2010 and after
reading “Reaching the Animal Mind” by Karen Pryor around the same time, I have become
convinced that the key for me to become a better Behavior Analyst was to learn
more about animal training.
I don’t own any pets, so in an effort to get some
animal training under my belt, I was directed to look into Terry Ryan's chicken
camp. I found out that Terry's organization was located in Washington
State just 2 hours from Seattle. Because
so many Behavior Analysts were scheduled to go the ABAI conference in Seattle in
May 2012, I inquired with Terry about setting up an advanced ABAI 2-day chicken
camp immediately prior to ABAI.
While
Terry has previously conducted private chicken camps for groups such as the FBI
and for managers from a Fishing Boat Company, she had never hosted camp for a
room full of eager Behavior Analysts. I
didn’t know if the idea would be appealing to other BCBAs but was happy to sell
out the workshop 2 months prior to the end of May.
3) What did I learn? My chicken camp experience
was excellent! While I was initially
nervous to handle the chickens, I soon learned the skills needed and felt
successful in every way. Here are a few
specific things I learned or were reinforced during the 2-day camp:
- When teaching
people, it is important not to jam too much information in every minute. During chicken camp we took a 10-minute break
every 50 minutes. When we took our first
2 breaks (50 minutes after we got started and then another one hour later), I
was thinking that these constant breaks were excessive. By the afternoon of the first day though I
became to appreciate the frequent breaks, which led to excellent networking, a
relaxed training environment, and happy “campers.”
- Reinforce early,
not late. This is especially important
for new/difficult behaviors. When we
were first teaching our chicken to peck the red chip, for example, we were
instructed by Terry to click as soon as her beak was going toward/almost touching
the chip. I applied this in the past
week when I was working with a 3-year-old client. We were having a difficult time “pairing up”
the intensive teaching table so as soon as he started to approach/walk toward
the table, I directed the therapist to turn on the iPad video. In the past, I might have waited until he was
sitting to reinforce and we wouldn’t have been as successful.
- Don’t assume you
know what the extraneous variables are to which the chicken or child may be
responding. Since returning from chicken
camp, I feel that I am much more aware how difficult it is to evoke target
behaviors and reinforce immediately since we work in uncontrolled settings with
multiple variables operating at all times.
- If you suddenly
are not getting target behavior, the animal may need to rest, may be full, or
may need to lay an egg. As a nurse and a
behavior analyst, I am keenly aware that most of the kids we work with
sometimes have physiological issues in addition to autism, which can be a
factor.
- Short sessions
are best to keep everyone on his or her toes.
In addition to the humans taking breaks every hour, we also were careful
not to overwork the chickens. With the
chickens, we targeted a behavior for 30-60 seconds at a time, then picked up our
chicken and re-grouped. We only repeated
the short intervals for about 10 minutes then the chickens were put back in
their cages for a drink and a rest. The
chickens were not the only ones who needed a break every 30-60 seconds, since
the instructors needed time to analyze what went right/wrong and to plan for
the next interval.
- Don’t over-prompt
by physically trying to move the chicken or by “luring” or “baiting” the
chicken to do the task. For instance, to
get the chicken to go around a cone, don’t put the food out so the chicken just
moves for the food. Instead, reinforce
head or leg movements in the right direction with a click (indicating the
behavior was correct) followed by a food treat.
In general, children with autism are physically prompted and “lured” too
often. Since camp, I’m more aware that
reinforcing successful approximations is a much better way to go!
- If the chicken is
making repeated errors, the skill is too high and/or the reinforcement is too
low. If the chicken/child is stuck on a
program, he or she doesn’t have the prerequisite skills or you haven’t figured
out how to teach the skills he/she needs.
If you are not getting the target behavior, increase the reinforcement,
reduce the field size, give a better prompt, or somehow look to make the task
easier. Once the chicken/child is
successful, you can ramp up from there. The
idea that the chicken/student/child/trainee is never wrong was heavily
reinforced during our 2-day chicken camp. If they don’t “get it” you are not
“teaching/training” them correctly
Here is a 3-minute video with
some highlights of our chicken camp experience:
If
you are interested learning more about behavior analysis and directly improving
your own shaping skills with animals, please email Terry at terry@legacycanine.com or check out her web site: www.legacycanine.com for more info about chicken camp. To learn more about using ABA to teach
children with autism, read my book “The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach Children with Autism and Related
Disorders” or visit my web site www.vbapproach.com.
It’s been over a year since I wrote my last blog but I’m officially re-starting writing my blogs today! During my blog-writing hiatus, I finished up a PhD in Leadership with a dissertation entitled “The Effects of Fluency-Based Autism Training on Emerging Educational Leaders.” My dissertation is now available through the UMI system and also through the resource page of my website: http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com.
During my blog break, I presented in a lot in great places including Hawaii, Florida, Maine, Wisconsin, Colorado, Virginia, and Brisbane, Australia. I am also excited about a few upcoming speaking engagements including Western PA in April, Seattle at a Friday all-day ABAI workshop in May, and in Paris, France in July. Check out my web site for details on these workshops.
Every time I speak or consult with a school or family, I find myself constantly saying “I wrote a blog on that!” in response to a question from someone in the audience or when I’m reviewing programming recommendations.
Now that I’m resuming my blogs, I wanted to make sure you all are aware of the blogs I’ve written since 2009 as they all still apply. In addition to helping individual parents and teachers, I am aware that my blogs have also been used to stimulate discussion during staff training sessions and during undergraduate and graduate courses in ABA and special education.
To read any of these blogs, go to the “Blog Archive” button at the top of my web site. Here is the direct link http://verbalbehaviorapproach.com/myarchive.html to access the blogs below!
2010 Archive
2009 Archive
The ability to respond “yes” or “no” to questions is a very complex skill involving different operants. It has been my experience that a child needs to master yes/no mands (Answering yes or no to “Do you want a cookie?”) before you should attempt to introduce yes/no tacts (Is this a bed?) or yes/no intraverbals (Does a cow say quack?). Assessing yes/no within each operant is a good place to start.
I've done a lot of work with teaching yes/no mands to my son with autism as well as several other children. Teaching a child to say “no” or to respond with a head shake NO can be taught early to replace problem behavior such as crying or pushing items away but teaching a child to say “yes” should not be done until important prerequisites are in place.
I recommend not teaching "yes" mands until the child is spontaneously manding for dozens of items in and out of sight and manding for several actions too. I've see many children who have a defective yes mand because someone taught them to answer “yes” too early. The main issue is that they say "yes" when someone offers them something (Do you want candy or Do you want a tickle) but they cannot ask for those items (candy) or actions (tickle) spontaneously by using the item or action name. This often leads to problem behavior.
Once children can spontaneously mand for many items and actions out of sight, this is how I start teaching yes/no mands. First, I gather three things the child loves (and will almost always mand for or take) and three things they don't like and would usually push away (raisins or another non-preferred food item and certain videos). I then use these items during short (10-15 minute) yes/no mand sessions. I ask “Do you want a ___?” while holding one item and prompting yes/no and doing a transfer trial. For some children I have used textual prompts which are the written words "yes" and "no.” Textual and/or verbal prompts need to be faded carefully though by using transfer trials.
Here is an example of a prompted trial followed by a transfer trial:
Hold up a raisin (non-preferred) and say “Do you want a raisin?” prompt NO verbally, with a head shake and/or the word NO written on an index card. The child needs to say or head shake “no.” Then immediately complete the transfer trial by taking away the textual prompt (if used) and asking the question again “Do you want a raisin?” The child says “no” without any prompt and the item is removed.
I create many contrived situations, alternate between things they want and don’t want, and take trial by trial data during these short yes/no mand sessions. Once this skill is solid with the 6 items (3 items they like and 3 items they don’t like) in sight, I then specifically work on generalizing to other items and moving mastered items out of sight.
You also have to be careful about not accepting sloppy responses such as "pretzel, yes." The answer has to be yes or no when teaching yes/no mands. Be careful also not to overuse yes/no questions outside of these yes/no mand sessions when the child is just learning this skill. Otherwise, the child may lose the ability to spontaneously mand for items.
Yes/No tacting (answering “Is this a pen?” or “Is this blue?” or “Am I standing?”) is a much harder skill and should not be introduced until the child can indicate yes/no for mand items out of sight (Do you want ketchup on your hot dog? Or Do you want ice cream?). He or she also needs a solid tacting repertoire for items, features, actions, etc.
For children with the ability to respond yes or no with manding but who have yes/no tacting difficulty, I have had success with teaching yes/no tacts within the mand frame. When my son was learning to tact yes and no and would mand for cheerios spontaneously, I pulled out cheerios and asked "Are these cheerios?" He said "yes" and then got the cheerios. Once he had this skill solid I pulled out a different box of cereal when he manded for cheerios and said "Are these cheerios"....then he said “no” and I pulled out another box and asked "Are these cheerios?" and he said “no” then I finally pulled out the cheerios. Eventually (and in random order) the answer was “yes” and he received the cheerios. I then moved on to presenting yes/no tacts with flash cards without a mand component. When I started with flashcards I used “Is this an apple?” as the only question and had a mixed pile of apples and other things that were very different from apples. Once yes/no tacts are mastered (Is this a bed?, Is this a car? as you present random pictures), you’ll need to also teach children to respond to yes or no to tacts involving feature, function and class (“Does this have wheels?” or “Can you eat this?”).
For yes/no intraverbals, it is important that the instructor know the answer to the question they are asking. For example, asking “Have you ever been on a boat?” is not a good question if you don’t know whether the student has ever been on a boat. There are many children and adults with autism who answer “yes” often (and incorrectly) because they don’t understand complex language. For this reason, I usually don’t focus on teaching intraverbal yes/no responses. I directly teach yes/no mands and tacts and let the intraverbal yes/no responses develop more gradually (and only teach basic, functional and important yes/no intraverbals).
For more information about improving verbal behavior in children and adults with autism, go to my web site: http://www.vbapproach.com/.
I am happy to announce a series of you tube clips that I posted a few days ago that may make getting started with the Verbal Behavior Approach a little easier for both parents and professionals! There are now three short (6-8 minute) You Tube clips on the assessment and beginning ABA/VB intervention for Mia, a 2 year old lgirl recently diagnosed with PDD-NOS.
I have permission from Mia's parents to post these clips on you tube so that others may benefit from my work with Mia. Hopefully these clips will be the first three in a series of videos that I will post as Mia makes progress!
Clip #1 shows Mia's problem behaviors and poor instructional control at baseline. Clip #2 demonstrates for parents and professionals what to do to help Mia and Clip #3 shows me reviewing Mia's VB-MAPP and Barriers with her mother. All three clips were filmed during a 3-hour initial assessment in June 2010.
Clip #4 was filmed in July 2010 and shows progress in 3 weeks.
Here are the links:
Clip #1/Mia's Baseline Problem Behavior: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCbBLhLjoXA
Clip #2/ABA/VB Interventions to Start Immediately: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPUII8DWlCo
Clip #3/VB-MAPP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zgn3Tqy8nM
Clip #4/Progress after 3 weeks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=665jj4i29Ag
I’m looking forward to watching Mia progress on her journey with ABA/VB! For more information about the Verbal Behavior Approach, go to: http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/
Last spring a friend of mine asked me if I had ever heard of TAGteach. When I said that I hadn’t, she asked me if I knew anything about clicker training for animals. I was familiar with the concept of using audible markers with animals, thinking mostly of the whistle blowing at Sea World to signal to the dolphin that the move was correct and that the dolphin would be receiving reinforcement soon. My friend explained that TAGteach used the same principles of positive reinforcement, conditioned reinforcement and shaping as clicker training. She also told me that TAGteach was being used at her son’s school for children with autism. I was intrigued by the concept and assumed that the “A” in TAG stood for autism but I was wrong.
The acronym TAG means Teaching with Acoustical Guidance and was used first with gymnasts, not children with special needs. It all started when Theresa McKeon purchased a horse in 2005 and had difficulty training it. She went on-line and learned about Karen Pryor’s clicker training technology. Theresa used clicker training until the horse was calmer and then sold it. In the process of using clicker training with her horse, Theresa, a national gymnastics coach, decided that clickers might be very helpful to her young students. When a gymnast had difficulty with a handstand, for instance, the skills of the handstand could be broken down and each skill could be taught separately. When one of the students got her feet to the 12 o’clock position or put her arms over her ears, the coach could click to signal that the position was correct.
In her book, Reaching the Animal Mind, Karen Pryor describes her experience in visiting Theresa’s gym for the first time. After the parents of the gymnasts complained that they didn’t like the use of animal clicker training with their children, Theresa and Joan Orr (the co-founder of TAGteach) made the decision to change the name to TAGteach instead of clicker training when the technology is applied to humans. This simple semantic change worked to ease the concerns of the gymnasts’ parents and TAGteach began to spread to dancing, golf, other sports and eventually to special education. To view videos of TAGteach from Karen Pryor’s Reaching the Animal Mind web site, go to: http://reachingtheanimalmind.com/chapter_11.html.
Dr. Julie Vargas (BF Skinner’s daughter) also wrote an excellent book, Behavior Analysis for Effective Teaching, which highlights some applications of TAGteach to children with autism. In addition TAGteach has a great web site ( http://www.tagteach.com/), a Yahoo group, Facebook page, and an excellent e-learning program I completed last summer. I highly recommend the e-learning program and/or a live 2-day TAGteach seminar to anyone and everyone!
In preparation for a symposium on TAGteach at the ABA International Conference in Texas, I used TAGteach to teach my son, Lucas, how to tie shoes. It took about 1 ½ hours in total over a few weeks and I will be presenting data and this video in Texas. Here is a you tube video as a sneak peak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K2FsjICr34
To learn more about TAGteach, check out the books listed above and/or http://www.tagteach.com/. For those of you who will be in Texas for the ABAI conference over Memorial Day Weekend, you can learn more about this technology by attending the TAGteach symposium #379 held on 5/31/10 at 10:30am where I will be presenting on TAGteach and Autism.
Visit my web site: http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/ for more information about me or my book and/or join The Verbal Behavior Approach Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Verbal-Behavior-Approach/183142072329?ref=mf.
As both a Registered Nurse and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), I find myself frequently reminding people that some behaviors are caused by medical issues and cannot effectively be treated behaviorally.
Here is a little review of the four main functions of problem behavior. Two functions are Socially Mediated which means that other people have been involved in the past that have reinforced the behaviors. The other two functions are Automatic which means that no other person needs to be involved. The child or adult engages in problem behavior because the behaviors are automatically reinforcing. Here are the four main functions broken down further:
1) Socially Mediated Positive Reinforcement (Attention/Access to Tangibles). In the past when the child engaged in problem behaviors, things were ADDED such as attention and tangibles.
2) Socially Mediated Negative Reinforcement (Escape from Demands). In the past when the child engaged in problem behaviors demands were REMOVED (or delayed or made easier).
3) Automatic Positive Reinforcement (Self Stimulation). The child engages in problem behavior because in the past when they have engaged in this behavior pleasure/reinforcement has been ADDED.
4) Automatic Negative Reinforcement (Pain Attenuation). The child engages in problem behavior because in the past when they have engaged in the behavior, pain was REMOVED (or lessened).
In Chapter 2 of my book (The Verbal Behavior Approach), I cover the first three functions in pretty much detail but I don’t explain Automatic Negative Reinforcement too well except to mention that children with problem behaviors which come on suddenly or which you suspect might be medical should see a physician. In many cases, however, it is difficult for you or any physician to determine if a problem behavior is caused by a medical problem, especially in children with autism who cannot fully communicate about pain or discomfort.
I had an experience with my own son in the past few weeks since I wrote my last blog which I decided to write about to illustrate the importance of looking at medical issues when evaluating a child for the first time or when an established client experiences problem behaviors which start abruptly or increase without a clear explanation.
Lucas, who is 13 and has moderate autism, showed an increase in self injurious behavior (SIB) over the past few months. While in the past he would occasionally bite his knuckle at school, the rate and intensity of his knuckle bites went up significantly (from approximately one knuckle bite a day at school to 10 knuckle bites occurring both at home and school). This increase occurred in the past two months and at times, in addition to the knuckle bites, Lucas would sometimes hit his head and cry.
Lucas’ teacher and aid at school kept careful ABC data and the behaviors usually appeared to be related to access to tangibles and/or escape. But the demands were not higher than usual and sometimes he would engage in problem behavior without a clear antecedent. The professionals who worked with Lucas for years were all concerned that his behaviors were worse than ever. I was concerned too and noticed that sometimes at home when he engaged in problem behaviors, he cried real tears (and engaged in SIB) while on reinforcement. At these times when I asked him what was wrong, he would almost always say “eyes” but I didn’t know if he was saying eyes because he was crying or if he was truly in pain.
I finally took him to the pediatrician who agreed to do a battery of blood tests and a CAT scan of his head and sinuses. Because we knew Lucas wouldn’t tolerate a CAT scan without sedation, the doctor had to arrange a CAT scan with anesthesia. The MD and I agreed that is everything came back normal; we would chalk up Lucas’ problem behaviors to puberty and treat it behaviorally.
While the blood work and CAT scan of the head were within normal limits, Lucas’ sinus CAT scan showed “sinus disease” which has responded well to antibiotics and allergy medicine. I’m happy to report that Lucas’ problem behaviors are now back to baseline and we will work hard to implement behavior procedures to get rid of his SIB altogether.
For more information about reducing problem behaviors in children with autism, please read Chapter 2 of my book ( http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/), listen to a radio show on reducing problem behavior ( http://old.autismone.org/radio/?archive=5729) and/or read my previous blogs.
I consulted this week with a client I will call Dan. Unlike most of my other clients who are children with autism, Dan is in his twenties. He attends an adult day training program each day and volunteers with a job coach at various locations such as the hospital laundry.
Over the past three or four yeas since I’ve consulted on Dan’s case, I have learned a lot from him and his parents. I learned about adult services waiting lists, adult day training programs, and job coaches. I also feel that working with Dan has helped me improve my ability to teach others self care and vocational skills.. The most important thing that I continue to learn from Dan during each consultation is the importance teaching children functional skills. After this consultation, for example, I decided to hold an extra reading program we were using at home with my son, Lucas (who is now 13) because it was starting to cause him frustration and was not completely functional. Dan’s last consultation also made me decide to start teaching Lucas to identify numbers past 100 since Dan was sorting music into hymnals and needed to find the spot in between number 345 and 347 to place song number 346.
I believe that all of my previous blogs are applicable to adolescents and adults with autism (as well as other disabilities such as Down Syndrome). One of my blogs about the top three skills all individuals with autism need is particularly relevant: http://verbalbehaviorapproach.blogspot.com/2009/09/big-three-skills-for-individuals-with.html.
Since working with several teenagers and a few adults with autism using the verbal behavior approach, I would recommend the following, especially if the teens and adults you are working with are not conversational:
1) Read my book (The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach Children with Autism and Related Disorders) and take advantage of many free resources on my web site: http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/. Also read Self Help Skills for People with Autism: http://www.amazon.com/Self-Help-Skills-People-Autism-Systematic/dp/1890627410/ref=pd_sim_b_11.
2) Purchase the VB-MAPP ( http://www.avbpress.com/vbmapp-set.html) and complete the assessment (parents will most likely need assistance from a teacher or behavior specialist to complete this assessment). With the assessment complete, you can use this information to prioritize language goals based on your son’s or daughter’s (or client’s) strengths and needs. Self help and vocational goals are very important too and should be a major focus for older children, teens, and adults.
3) Parents may need to locate an advocate to help you navigate the system and to ensure that the transition to adult services is as smooth as possible. To find an advocate, contact your local autism society or mental health association.
A few months ago, I evaluated a 4-year-old boy named Bobby. When I said “Hi Bobby,” he replied “Hi Bobby.” My son Lucas (who is now 13) had similar issues when he was younger so I learned strategies to help him overcome this problem well before I became a Behavior Analyst. As a BCBA, I now run into greeting problems fairly frequently so I thought I’d write about some strategies I often use to address this issue.
1) Until you can build the component skills required for greetings, encourage parents, staff and other students to eliminate the child’s name when saying “hi” and “bye.” This way you will prevent the error and the child will be more successful. If someone interacts with the child and does not know this strategy or if they forget and say “Hi Bobby” and get an echo, just have them drop back to “hi” and get a correct echo of “hi.”
2) Next take pictures of all important people in the child’s life who he sees often (i.e. mom, dad, sister, grandma, cousin, friend) and make two sets of these pictures. You will need two copies of each picture since you will want to start with matching picture to picture. Instead of saying “match” or “put with same,” just say “mom” or “mommy” as you hand the picture to the child and point to the identical picture of “mom” while you have him match. If the child is echoic, he might say “mom.” If he does say “mom” you might want to ask “who’s that?” and have him say “mom” as a tact.
3) Once the child can easily tact all the people he sees regularly without any prompts (both in pictures and when the real person is around) and he can also say “hi” and “bye” without prompts, you can try to put greetings together. If the child cannot fluently tact pictures of people who he sees often and/or if you don’t have good echoic control (Child echoes “hi” when someone says “hi” or the child says “ball” when a therapist says “ball”), I think it is probably too early to put greetings together. In this case, just have all people say “hi” and “bye” without the child’s name until the pre-requisites are met.
4) To work on putting the greeting with the name, you’ll need two people. One is the person walking in or out and greeting the child and the other person is used to prompt the child from the side or behind. For example I’m with Bobby so when mom says “Hi Bobby,” I immediately prompt “Hi Mommy.” You will most likely need several prompted trials before systematically fading your prompts.
5) If the child is still having difficulty, you might also consider making a video of people ringing the doorbell and someone opening the door and having each person who comes to the door say “Hi Bobbie.” When viewing the video, an adult should sit and watch the video with the child and prompt the child for each clip as each new person rings the doorbell and the door is opened. This was a key strategy for Lucas and after viewing the video only a few times with prompting, Lucas mastered this skill. The video showed the doorbell ringing, me opening the door then therapist # 1 (Nina) would say “Hi Lucas.” I would prompt “Hi Nina.” On the video, she would ring the bell again, door would open, Nina would again say “Hi Lucas.” This time, Lucas would say “Hi Nina” with a reduced prompt or without a prompt from me. Therapist # 2 (Eric) would then ring the bell for the same type of practice.
6) The two main things to remember when considering teaching greetings are: 1) Make sure the child has the pre-requisite skills for greetings (tacting of people’s names and good echoic control of 2-3 word utterances) and to teach greethings errorlessly as many times as needed using two adults and/or a video.
For more information about teaching greetings, see page 99 of my book, The Verbal Behavior Approach ( http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/).
A new HBO film entitled "Temple Grandin," will premier on February 6th. This movie details the life of animal researcher and autism advocate, Temple Grandin. Here is a blog about the movie which includes an interview with Temple written by a friend of mine, Chantal Sicile-Kira: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chantal-sicile-kira/temple-grandin-the-hbo-mo_b_420575.html.
I have always found Temple to be incredibly inspirational. For the past few years I have been working with Jodi Goren-Rode and Keystone Pictures to support Jodi’s effort in making a documentary about Temple Grandin. Here is a 5-minute video clip Jodi put together a few years ago available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAu6_Llfh2A. This YouTube clip, which gives an overview of the documentary Jodi is producing, has been viewed over 24,000 times and gives a brief synopsis of the life and work of Temple. As I say in the clip, Temple is probably the most recognized person with autism in the world and has done many great things for the autism community.
I had the privilege of having lunch with Temple a year before I wrote my book. After I told her a little about myself (that I had a son with autism and became a BCBA to help others), she said “You should write a book!” It was an amazing experience to have lunch with Temple and she provided me with much hope and inspiration.
I also met Temple’s mother, Eustacia Cutler a few years later and, after reading my book (The Verbal Behavior Approach), Eustacia wrote the following endorsement which is available on my web site under book endorsements ( http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/book3.html) :
“Written with style, warmth and real know-how, Mary Barbera has managed to combine valuable therapeutic advice with her own eloquent story.”
Eustacia Cutler, Author
A Thorn in My Pocket: Temple Grandin's Mother Tells the Family Story
I am excited to see the HBO movie premiering Feb 6th! I’m sure as I watch the movie, I will learn much more about Temple’s life and work.
I recently conducted a full day assessment on a child I will call Dennis, a 4-year-old with a diagnosis of autism. One the concerns of Dennis' parents was their inability to get his attention by calling his name. As I conducted a VB-MAPP assessment, this was a deficiency in the Listener Responding area and was also an IEP goal not mastered for over a year.
Not responding to name when called can be one of the first hallmark signs of autism. This is considered a “red flag” on the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) and a diagnostic indicator on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). Since many children and adults with autism have difficulty in this area, I thought I would address it in this week’s blog.
I created and have used the following procedure to address this issue with dozens of children with autism and found it to be very successful. The key is to pair the child’s name with improving conditions (reinforcement) since any behavior that is reinforced will maintain or increase. The following is an excerpt from page 106 of my book (The Verbal Behavior Approach).
First, tell everyone in the environment to stop using, or limit the use of the child’s name throughout the day. Most importantly, do not link the child’s name to demands (e.g.: “Dennis, go get your shoes”, “Dennis come here”, etc.) . Limiting the use of the child’s name will actually help him to learn to respond when his name is called, because he won’t tune it out as part of a long list of demands.
Next gather several of Dennis’ strongest consumable or controllable reinforcers (chips and bubbles, for instance) and go behind him when he’s engaged in another activity. Call his name while standing behind him and then immediately touch his shoulder and hand him a chip or blow bubbles. Gradually fade your prompts by standing a foot or two further away and by delaying the touching of his shoulder by a second or two. By using this procedure, Dennis will learn that when he hears his name, good things happen.
For the best results, I recommend using this procedure in both home and school environments and also recommend taking data every trial (10 or 20 trials per day) so that your distance and the reinforcement can be systematically faded out as the child becomes successful with responding to his name.
For more information, read my book and/or past blogs available at: http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/.
I completed a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) recently on 9-year-old boy I’ll call Sam. His mother decided to home school Sam because she was worried that the public school her son attended might call the police if his behaviors continued to escalate.
Sam was diagnosed with high-functioning autism just after the age of three. He was included in general education classes since his IQ was in the normal range. Sam spoke in full sentences and could reportedly read at grade level. Sam’s outbursts, however, were very disturbing to the teachers and other students. While at school, Sam was sent to the principal’s office on multiple occasions and was suspended once when he knocked over a desk.
While an FBA is conducted to analyze the function of problem behaviors, I believe that a big part of an FBA should be dedicated to examining the child’s language and academic skills. In Sam’s case, his language deficits were very apparent to me as I completed a VB-MAPP assessment, even though he was a puzzle to school district personnel.
Sam displayed defective mands throughout the assessment since almost all of his requests revolved around escaping work. He asked his mom “Can we be done?” and “Is it almost time for a break?” 30 times during a 20-minute work session. During the full day evaluation, Sam also only asked a few general questions starting with words such as “what,” “can” and “does.” I didn’t hear any complex mands for information with “why,” “how,” or “which” questions.
While Sam’s tacts were relatively strong, things fell apart for Sam when he was asked questions and needed to respond intraverbally. When I asked Sam to tell me some animals, foods, colors, and pieces of clothing or asked him simple “what” and “where” type questions, he was fairly accurate. However, when I asked him to tell me some things that are usually red, he looked around the room (looking for something to tact). I then asked him to close his eyes and tell me some things that are usually red and he demonstrated problem behavior. He screamed “Don’t tell me to close my eyes!” Similar problem behaviors were seen when how and why questions were asked.
The VB-MAPP assessment showed major skill deficits in manding for information and in the intraverbal repertoires. Sam’s problem behavior was primarily related to a history of escape from work involving high intraverbal demands. A few of the interventions recommended included the introduction of a token economy system, teaching Sam how to mand for information and using tact to intraverbal transfers to teach him to more effectively answer complex “wh” questions. An SRA program called Language for Thinking as well as a BCBA for six hours per month to oversee programming were also recommended and implemented.
If a student is displaying problem behaviors that are disruptive to his learning or the learning of others, the “problem behavior” box should be checked off on one of the first pages of the IEP. If this box is checked, a FBA needs to be conducted, preferably by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). A Behavior Intervention Plan should also be written and, once staff are trained on the plan (by the person who wrote it), it should be followed closely. Ongoing analysis and support for staff is also needed.
I believe that assessing the verbal and non-verbal operants as well as all academic areas should be a part of every FBA. Professionals who conduct FBA’s, as well as other professionals and parents who are working with students with significant problem behaviors need to understand the difference between mands, tacts, and intraverbals and the importance of assessing the verbal and non-verbal operants. A focus on the skill strengths and deficits (and not just on the problem behavior) will help each student with autism reach their full potential.
For more information, read my book (The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach Children with Autism and Related Disorders) and/or check my web site ( http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/) for downloadable information at no cost.
An ongoing challenge is how help parents and professionals get started with the Verbal Behavior Approach. Several months ago I published a short article entitled “Getting Started with the Verbal Behavior Approach” in Autism File magazine I think it is great for both parents and professionals who are brand new to the VB Approach and want a very brief overview. The article appears on the home page of my web site in the lower right hand corner. Here’s the direct link: http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/autism_file.pdf
I do have permission to copy and distribute freely so feel free to pass it along!
In addition, there are many other free resources on my web site including Frequently Asked Questions Regarding VB and Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Potty Training. These two FAQ articles are available in both English and Spanish: http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/faq.html
Go to: http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/ to access information to help you (or a parent or professional you know) get started with the Verbal Behavior Approach.
On a plane ride home from an ABA conference last May, I read a book entitled: What You Need to Know About Motivation and Teaching Games by Steven Ward, MA, BCBA. I literally started recommending the book right away to Andy Bondy and Lori Frost who happened to be sitting next to me on the plane!
In the past six months, I have recommended this book to many Behavior Analysts and parents as I have found it to be a very useful guide to help effectively teach children with autism to play games. The step-by-step breakdown of how to teach 12 common games such as “Go Fish” and “Memory” is excellent and the data sheets provided are superb!
When I returned home eager to teach Lucas how to play “Go Fish,” his therapist stated that he already could play the game. So I copied the blank “Go Fish” data form from Steve’s book and asked her to play the game with Lucas. In the past when I’ve watched Lucas play games I knew it didn’t look good but, by taking data using the data sheet provided, I was able to easily count errors and prompts. I was also able to quantify a lack of motivation. I was even able to immediately identify the trouble spots in the game such as Lucas’ inability to hold seven cards in his hand and fan them out so he could actually see what cards were in his hand. Using the book, Lucas can now play “Go Fish” with a few modifications. His motivation to play this and other games has improved too.
I highly recommend this book to parents and professionals interested in helping children with autism or related disorders learn to play and, most importantly, enjoy games! For more information about What You Need to Know About Motivation and Teaching Games by Steven Ward, MA, BCBA go to: http://www.wholechildconsulting.com/.
On another note, I also ventured into the social media world a little more and created a Facebook fan page for The Verbal Behavior Approach. Become a fan by going to: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Verbal-Behavior-Approach/183142072329?ref=mf#/home.php?ref=home. As always visit my web site: http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/ for more information about my book, to listen to VB radio shows, or to download free information.
Many people are confused about how to use ABA to teach functional, multi-step skills such as putting on shoes, washing hands, or setting a table. Several years ago I was consulting in a classroom and we were working with a 14 year-old girl with Down Syndrome who was minimally vocal. We were focused on trying to teach her to mand for items when her teacher jumped in and asked if we could help the girl learn how to set a table since this was a goal on her IEP.
Following the teacher’s motivation, I switched gears and told her that we could use ABA to teach her student how to set a table. I went on to explain that a multi-step skill like setting the table is taught much differently than teaching a child to mand for or tact items. When the teacher pointed me toward the table setting supplies, I began asking questions such as “Should she set the table for 2 or 4 people?” and “Do you want her to carry the plates over with the silverware on top or should she carry just the plates over first?” The teacher said she didn’t know and that she just wanted her to set the table.
For chained skills, the first step is to create a task analysis. This involves writing down each step of the skill in order. If there is more than one adult working with a child on a skill, it is important that the task list be created with everyone’s input and this needs to be followed closely. For hand washing, for example, you’ll need to decide if adults are going to prompt the child to pump the soap 3, 4, or 5 times and for setting the table, it needs to be decided in advance how the child should proceed with each step. Once the task analysis is created, the key to teaching these skills is that, in most cases, adults should use gentle physical prompts from behind and NO vocal prompting.
Chapter 11 of my book (The Verbal Behavior Approach available at: http://www.amazon.com/Verbal-Behavior-Approach-ChildrenDisorders/dp/1843108526/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205440059&sr=8-1) covers the basics of teaching chained skills using hand washing as the example.
There is another book which I would also recommend reading to learn how to teach these skills called Self Help Skills for People with Autism. This book is available at: http://www.amazon.com/Self-Help-Skills-People-Autism-Systematic/dp/1890627410.
One other resource that is excellent is a self-care checklist developed by Dr. Mark Sundberg available as a supplement to the VB-MAPP. You can download this free checklist at: http://site.avbpress.com/VB-MAPP_Supplement-Self-care.pdf. This will help you assess your child’s self-help skills and assist you with prioritizing which skills should be taught first.
Once you assess your child’s self-help abilities, I recommend you start with easy-to-prompt skills such as putting on shoes or hand washing so you can practice your skills by getting behind your child. For hand washing, I suggest you stand directly behind the child with your arms around the child gently prompting his hands. As the child turns on the water and pumps the soap dispenser three times, for instance, you can feel how much physical prompting is needed and guide his hands from behind. You should also be able to feel when prompting for each step can be faded.
Avoid vocal language during the teaching of chained tasks. This is not the time to be asking the child to tact “soap” or to be questioning “what step is next?” During multi-step self-care, leisure and/or vocational tasks, you should remain silent and provide as much gentle physical guidance from behind as is needed for the child to be successful with each step of the task.
Consistent prompting and prompt fading will be most effective when the adults working with the child take data and make decisions based on the data. Don’t forget about reinforcement too since teaching these tasks can involve high demands.
If the child you are working with seems uninterested or avoidant of the task, your goal may not be to teach the whole task. Instead you may need to start with the last step of the task first followed by high reinforcement and then fade in the other steps gradually and systematically.
For more information, visit my web site: http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/
Imagine you are at the beach on a beautiful sunny day having a cold drink and reading a great book. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most reinforcing activity, you would rate being at the beach on this day to be a 10. Without warning, I abruptly come up to you and say “all done beach, time to load heavy boxes in a truck.” You would most likely not like this at all and might start displaying problem behaviors in the form of arguing, stomping you feet, and slamming your chair onto the sand. You might even refuse to leave your preferred activity and literally dig your heels into the sand. What I want to illustrate is that we all have problems with transitioning from high preferred to low preferred activities. The key is to ease transitions by not asking a child to transition from a 10 (a highly preferred activity) to a 2 (work) constantly throughout their day. I will briefly describe five techniques to ease transitions.
1) Dangle the carrot (the reinforcement) before problem behavior occurs.
In the beach example above, if I would have come up to you and offered you $50 to help me load 5 heavy boxes in the truck that would have been fine but waiting to offer cash until you start stomping your feet and refusing to move is a very bad idea. Remember any behavior that is reinforced will maintain or go up. Propose the reinforcement while you place the demand to transition not after problem behavior occurs.
2) Don’t physically move a student from one location to another (even if they are small enough to carry or move).
I wouldn’t even think about physically dragging you off the beach to help me load heavy boxes as this could lead to me getting arrested for assault. It amazes me that some people try to physically move students with autism from one activity to the next. If you try to prompt the child to move and he or she resists with equal but opposite pressure, this is considered a physical restraint. If you are currently using too much physical guidance for transitions, you need to stop and implement some other appropriate interventions.
3) Whenever possible, give choices.
If I would have come up and stated that I needed help with some heavy boxes and asked you when would be a good time for you to transition, you would probably have been a lot more cooperative. You may have suggested that we load the boxes when you finished your drink or after you read to the end of the chapter in the great book you were reading. We make a lot of choices throughout the day, especially when we are faced with difficult or unpleasant tasks. We need to give our students with autism as many choices as possible to ease transitions.
4) Sandwich harder activities between two preferred activities and consider using schedules and timers.
Some students benefit from visual schedules and the use of timers to indicate that one activity is over and a new one is beginning. The use of a “promise” reinforcer is also successful for many students. A promise reinforcer is used when it is time to transition to a less preferred area. The child is approached with a favorite toy or a small edible reinforcer and this is used as the “carrot” and a visual reminder that reinforcement is available for a smooth transition. Some students need several small edible reinforcers on the way to a less preferred area. It is also important that all the hard activities are spread out throughout the day and placed in between reinforcing activities. In the beach example, if you knew that you would be at the beach from 1 to 4 pm then you would spend 10 minutes helping to load boxes in a truck followed by going home for pizza, the task of loading boxes would not have been such a big deal.
5) Make sure all “work” stations are paired with reinforcement and avoid the word work whenever you can.
Some of the best classrooms and home programs I have seen have strong reinforcers at every “work” area. Each area has some electronic device (a computer, DVD player, or music box) as well as a separate box of toys and items kept on top of a rolling cart that can go with the student and his instructional materials to each area. I often tell professionals and parents to avoid the word “work” for students who have difficulty with transitions and to spend a few minutes at the beginning of each session pairing yourself and the materials with reinforcement. If students are not running towards the next activity or at least moving there without problem behavior, your demands are too high and/or your reinforcement is too low.
Check out chapter 2 and 4 of my book (The Verbal Behavior Approach) for more tips on easing transitions! http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/.
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As many of you know I’ve been the Lead Behavior Analyst for the PA Verbal Behavior Project since 2003. I always receive a lot of questions about the Project so I wanted to give some basic information via this blog.
The PA VB Project started in 2002-3 school year with two pilot classrooms in the Wilkes-Barre PA area. The main goal of the Project is to establish public school classrooms that provide teaching procedures using Applied Behavior Analysis and the Analysis of Verbal Behavior to improve communication, social and other relevant skills for students with autism.
The Project has grown over the years and we now serve over 100 public school autism classrooms throughout the State of PA. The Project is supported solely by the PA Department of Education and provides three main services. Each Project classroom receives: 1) training; 2) some materials such as Language Builder Cards, VB-MAPP protocols, and Direct Instruction Materials; and 3) on site guided practice by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA’s) and those studying to become BCBA’s. The largest parts of our budget has and will always be on site coaching since studies show that most people retain little information and are not able to apply much after lecture alone.
The VB Project does have some outcome data based on a site review checklist and student assessment scores and we have presented this data at the last several International ABA conferences. This year we will have even more outcome data since we are now using the VB-MAPP for all of our 600+ students. Hopefully this data will be published in the future.
Check out this youtube video about the PA Verbal Behavior Project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCkYqW1GDdo
Here is a free downloadable parent handbook too:
http://www.pattan.net/files/Autism/VB-FamHandbk062209.pdf
Contact http://www.pattan.net/ for more information about the PA VB Project.
For children who do not yet speak, I usually recommend teaching 3-5 signs at a time and to teach these signs as mands first. Many of these signed mands will need hundreds of practice trials before a child will be able to request an item using a sign without assistance. Careful prompting and prompt fading across many trials per day is usually needed.
To teach a child to mand using sign language, hold out a preferred item and make sure the child wants the item by giving a “freebie” and/or looking for a reach, eye gaze, or smile. If the child does not want the item, you should not proceed. If the child wants the item and has some ability to imitate, I would then recommend you model the sign.
If the child cannot yet imitate, check for the motivation (MO) and then take the child’s hands and help him or her perform the sign. After the child performs the correct sign (with an imitative or physical prompt), deliver the reinforcer. Each time you or the child signs the word and when you deliver the reinforcer, it is important to say the item name.
I would also focus on trying to increase vocalizations by using simple inset puzzles or two sets of identical first word flash cards you can buy at the Dollar Store. As you hand the child a pig puzzle piece or a picture of a pig to match with the pig picture on the table, say the word “pig” three times (pig, pig, pig) as you hand the child the pig and as the child puts the pig in the puzzle or matches the picture. If the child says the word as he is matching, give lots of extra reinforcement but don’t worry if no words are heard during the activity. Bombarding your child with many single words a day is key so continue these activities daily.
My book (The Verbal Behavior Approach ) especially chapter six should be particularly helpful in learning more about teaching non-vocal and minimally vocal children. Check http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/ for more information and listen to a free radio show on this topic at: http://www.autismone.org/content/2008-02-08-120000-mary-lynch-barbera-rn-msn-bcba
I received a question on my blog two weeks ago asking about the differences between the ABLLS and the VB-MAPP. This week I’ll address this question.
The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills, otherwise known as the ABLLS, was written by Dr. James Partington and Dr. Mark Sundberg in 1998. The ABLLS was not written as a “stand alone” book. Instead, it is one of three books that were written to go together. Many people (including me) credit the publication of Drs. Sundberg and Partington’s three-book collection (including the ABLLS) with the creation of the Verbal Behavior Approach. Without the ABLLS, my son with autism who is 13 years old would not have progressed to the point he is now and I most likely would not have become a BCBA or written my book. I am therefore eternally grateful to Drs. Sundberg and Partington for publishing the ABLLS.
The Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) was written by Dr. Mark Sundberg and published by AVB Press ( http://www.avbpress.com/) in 2008. This newer assessment tool has many advantages over the ABLLS.
Some of the things that I like better about the VB-MAPP include: 1) Skills as well as barriers are assessed; 2) The tool was field tested with over 150 typical children and dozens of children with autism; 3) There are three clear levels in the MAPP so you can gauge the skills of a child with autism with age ranges of typically developing children; 4) Once the VB-MAPP is completed, the boxes can be added up to obtain a score (making progress more objective and the tool more appealing to researchers); 5) Practitioners who use the VB-MAPP are more likely to develop a balanced program with emphasis on improving the child’s deficits without further splintering skills; 6) The MAPP contains a transition assessment which is helpful in making decisions about the level of inclusion or group instruction that may be appropriate; and 7) I find the VB- MAPP to be easier to administer.
Both the VB-MAPP and ABLLS can be used as assessments, curricula, as well as skills tracking guides. Both tools consist of a series of boxes (although the MAPP has far fewer boxes) requiring completion by an adult who is familiar with the child and, more importantly, knows how to assess skills accurately. The initial assessment using the VB-MAPP or ABLLS can take hours to complete, especially if the learner has more advanced skills.
They are both great tools for a consultant trained in the Verbal Behavior Approach, but for a parent without any background in ABA, the VB-MAPP and the ABLLS can be very overwhelming. In order to assess accurately using one of these tools and program most effectively for your child, consultation with a BCBA familiar with Skinner’s Analysis of Verbal Behavior is strongly advised.
The ABLLS, ABLLS-R (A revised ABLLS published by Dr. Partington in 2006) and the VB MAPP assessment tools are all available at http://www.difflearn.com/ and information regarding BCBA’s can be found at http://www.bacb.com/. After completion of a thorough ABA/VB assessment, lots of programming advice can be found in my book: The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach Children with Autism and Related Disorders ( http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/).
For all adults and children, including students with autism, when you see problem behavior (crying, whining, hitting, biting, flopping to the ground, etc.), the demands are almost always too high and/or the reinforcement is too low.
If the child is displaying problem behaviors when the parent interacts with him, when the therapist arrives or when it is time to go to school, the parent, therapist, or teacher has most likely become aversive. He or she did not pair themselves well with reinforcement and has most likely made abrupt demands. To correct the situation, the adults need to learn about pairing themselves, the materials, and the environment with reinforcement.
If your child loves to play legos a certain way, for instance, the adult should sit next to him and let him play "his way" for a session or two. He or she should be taking notes about what the child likes during the first few sessions and the child’s reaction if the adult sits near him, talks, or plays alongside. During subsequent sessions the adult should interject comments, demands or questions very carefully.
The adult's demands should be so subtle that the child is unaware when pairing has stopped and demands have begun.
If the child is not running towards the people, classroom, therapy room, and/or the materials, pairing most likely needs to be addressed. Pairing is not a once and done activity. It needs to happen every day as new activities, people and materials are introduced.
Chapter 4 of my book (The Verbal Behavior Approach) should help you learn more about pairing. http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/.
I’ve been consulting with children and a few adults with autism for seven years now and I had a revelation about two years ago soon after I published my book. I now believe that there are three main skills every child and adult with autism needs to be successful. These skills, I believe, are the most important skills regardless of the person’s age or level of functioning.
The Big Three are:
1) Problem behaviors at or near 0
2) The ability to request wants and needs
3) Independent toileting
Whether your child is 5, 15, or 50 years of age, I think without these three skills, he or she will have little opportunity for inclusion at school or in the community. In addition, without these three skills, parents often cannot access babysitters, respite providers, schools, or work opportunities for their children. They also have a difficult time taking their children to pools, restaurants, on planes and even to visit friends or relatives.
If you or other people are working on different skills (double digit math or reading for instance) but your child has not mastered “The Big Three,” think about suggesting some additions and/or changes to your child’s program.
For more information, check free resources on my web site: http://www.verbalbehaviorapproach.com/ and read my book (The Verbal Behavior Approach) specifically chapter 2 (reducing problem behaviors); chapter 4-6 (pairing and manding) and chapter 11 (toilet training). You can also access radio shows on these three topics on my web site.
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