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Dr. Van Camp received her Ph.D. from Louisiana State University under the direction of Dorothea Lerman, Ph.D. She completed her Internship with University of Florida and The Department of Children and Families, Behavior Analysis Services Program, where she later became Director of Research. She is currently an associate professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She has published research on the topics of functional assessment and function-based treatments in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavior Therapy. Her research on caregiver training in child welfare has been published in Research on Social Work Practice. Her current research is in the area of assessment of physical activity in children, translational evaluations of reinforcer preference and reinforcer strength, and assessment and treatment of problem behavior. Dr. Van Camp teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Applied Behavior Analysis, and is the Director of the Severe Behavior Program at the Center for Pediatric Behavioral Health, a training clinic affiliated with UNCW.

Abstract

Identifying the function of problem behavior is a crucial step in developing effective evidence-based interventions. The most widely researched and valid functional assessment method is the experimental functional analysis described by Iwata et a. (1982), which involves presenting an establishing operation and providing the putative reinforcer contingent on problem behavior in the test conditions. In the case of severe problem behaviors, some behavior analysts may attempt to identify function via less valid methods (indirect or descriptive assessment) so as to not evoke and reinforce problem behavior.   An alternative strategy is to conduct the functional analysis by reinforcing precursor behaviors rather than the target problem behavior. In this workshop I will present research on precursor functional analysis, describe how to identify reliable precursors, and provide participants the opportunity to practice these skills during role-plays.

Dr. Tom Cariveau is currently an assistant professor in the department of psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He received his doctoral degree in school psychology from the University of Oregon under the mentoring of Dr. Tiffany Kodak and completed a predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship under the mentoring of Dr. Alice Shillingsburg at the Marcus Autism Center and Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. During his postdoctoral fellowship, he was fortunate to receive a training fellowship from the Autism Science Foundation under the advising of Dr. Larry Scahill. Tom’s interests are in methods to increase the efficiency of skill acquisition programs for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities, social validity of practices, and understudied populations (e.g., females with autism spectrum disorder, individuals who are “minimally verbal,” etc.).

Abstract

The value of early intervention services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is well-established. Children with ASD may engage in behaviors that influence the efficacy of early intervention programming. As a result, behavior analysts may utilize a variety of strategies to reduce the frequency of these competing behaviors and train appropriate alternative responses. Recent research has evaluated the effects of presession pairing or rapport building on rates of problem behavior and time on-task for individuals with developmental disabilities. These procedures are typically described as pairing a therapist with high rates of reinforcement and have primarily included adolescents and adults with vocal verbal behavior. Similar procedures are of considerable interest for younger populations and those with less developed vocal repertoires. This presentation will describe a structured intervention protocol in which we systematically utilize differential reinforcement and demand fading procedures to increase participants’ allocation of responding to behaviors that are necessary for early intervention programming (e.g., maintaining close proximity to the therapist and compliance with demands). This protocol arranges a concurrent schedule with no physical guidance by the therapist. Participants included nine female participants diagnosed with ASD, under the age of 6 years old, and with no functional vocal repertoires. Implications for arranging early intervention programming and future directions will be discussed.

Charles Wood, Ph.D., BCBA-D is a Professor and Doctoral Program Coordinator in the Department of Special Education and Child Development at UNC Charlotte. Dr. Wood earned his undergraduate degree in Psychology from Western Michigan University and master’s and doctoral degrees in Special Education and Applied Behavior Analysis from The Ohio State University. His teaching and research interests included multi-tiered academic and behavioral interventions, instructional design, and single-case research.

Abstract

Professional development through in-service training may not be of sufficient duration, intensity, and specificity to improve teachers’ or therapists’ instructional skills. Due to the increased need to support teachers’ or therapists’ use of evidence-based practices, coaching can extend and strengthen professional development and increase instructional effectiveness. This session describes a behavior-analytic, multi-level approach to coaching, and provides implications for practice and research.