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History (see Disclaimer below) New
study in the Journal of Applied Behavior
Analysis shows social
reinforcement can produce significant improvement in joint attention
in children with autism. In a new study in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Bridget A. Taylor and Hanna Hoch (Alpine Leaning Center, Paramus, New Jersey) show how prompting and social reinforcement may be used to produce socially significant improvements in joint attention in children with autism. The three children in the study ranged in age from 3 to 8 years, and like many children with autism, showed only incomplete and unreliable joint attention prior to the study. That is, people with autism will often look at objects when directed to by others, but then do not reliably continue the interaction by commenting or looking back at the person who initiated the interaction. Taylor and Hoch's intervention increased looking at items from about 70% of the time to virtually 100% of the time. Comments about the items by the children increased from about 25% of occasions to virtually 100%. Looking back at the person who initiated the interaction increased from about 10% of opportunities to nearly 80%. These results indicate that some of the most fundamental components of everyday social interactions may be effectively taught to children with autism using standard behavioral techniques. Reference:
Review of published
studies concludes that weighed vests are ineffective as a treatment
for behavior problems in children with autism and other disorders.
In general, the strength of the claimed effects for weighted vests inversely related to the quality of the research methodology. According to the authors:
In addition to the weakness of the the data supporting the effectiveness of weighted vests, Stephenson and Carter also describe unclear and inconsistent criteria for the use of the vests and apparently little attention to the orthopedic risks to children carrying up to 10% of their body weights for extended periods. The authors concluded that while there might be reason to look more closely at the claimed benefits of weighted vests, they should not be recommended as an effective clinical intervention.
Study Reference
References
New quantitative case
analysis by BAAM members shows improvements in important cognitive
and adaptive measures by children with autism after participation
in intensive behavioral treatment.
The behavior of children in 72 parent- child dyads was assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and Vineland Adaptive Behavior scales before and after individualized parent training. Parents were trained to use basic behavioral techniques and concepts such as differential reinforcement, response-cost, reinforcement thinning, shaping, chaining, prompting, programmatic generalization, errorless teaching, establishing and transferring stimulus control, mand training,and motivational operations. In keeping with important methods of promoting generalization and maintenance of treatment gains and the least-restrictive treatment philosophy, parents were taught to incorporate the interventions to the extent possible into everyday activities. According to the authors, "Perhaps most important, parents were taught to incorporate many of these behavioral principles during various day-to-day activities with their children" (p. 171; see BAAM video series for examples of behavioral interventions incorporated into everyday activities.). It is also important to note that the parents were instructed to teach adult-directed and child-directed activities. The latter is especially important in promoting peer socialization. The results of the program were impressive. According to the authors,
During the 4.1 month average interval between pre-test and post-test, the children showed an average of 8.2 months overall developmental gains on the Mullen and and 5.7 months on the Vineland. According to the authors:
Putting these gains in a larger perspective, the authors also note:
Results such as these suggest that well designed parent-training programs in behavioral treatments for autism can results in gains similar to those seen in some more intensive center-based programs. Of critical importance in achieving this level of success is maintaining parent engagement with the program and good fidelity to program procedures. References:
Links: Survey
of 469 Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) shows
treatment preferences and other beliefs.
Behavior News 07-20-2008
The questions asked in the survey were designed to assess a sizable number of issues, including:
The major results of the survey are indicated in the table below:
The discrepancies in some cases between the reported level of empirical support and the use of certain interventions suggests that some BCBAs might be required to use methods they themselves do not endorse. For instance, only a little more than half of the BCBAs who reported using Sensory Integration as reported that it was an empirically supported treatment. There is also reason to believe that a small number of BCBAs have earned the credential for professional enhancement purposes rather than to demonstrate an adherence to a scientific approach to behavior. Even so, the authors remain concerned about the number of BCBAs who seem to endorse treatments with little or no demonstrated empirical validity. "Unfortunately, BCBAs also appear to be persuaded to use fad treatments because they are easy to use, even though they do not particularly see them as effective in changing behavior" (p. 210). Reference:
Link: Call for Papers: Education and Treatment of Children Special Issue on Video Modeling Links
Reference:
New
quantitative meta-analysis by BAAM members shows non-contingent
reinforcement (NCR) to be an empirically supported
treatment for problem behavior.
In contrast to some previous narrative and qualitative analyses of the effectiveness of NCR, Severtson, Carr, and Lepper applied an objective set of ratings to the articles they examined. Of the original 59 studies chosen, they found that 24 studies met the basic inclusion criteria. The analysis of those 24 showed that NCR consisting of FT reinforcer delivery, extinction, and response-thinning could be classified as "well-established;" NCR consisting of FT or VT reinforcement and extinction could be considered "probably efficacious." It should be noted that the inclusion criteria were quite stringent, and excluded studies that had not included an experimental functional analysis of likely reinforcers. Thus, a number of NCR studies with valid experimental designs and strong treatment effects were excluded from the analysis. Reference:
B.F.
Skinner's classic Science and Human Behavior available
as free download for personal use from the B.F. Skinner Foundation. The B.F. Skinner Foundation has made Skinner's classic Science and Human Behavior available as a free PDF download for personal use. Published in 1953, Science and Human Behavior was Skinner's third book on behavior analysis. Skinner applied behavioral principles to the analysis of human behavior at all levels, from individual responses to basic stimuli, to private behavior such as thinking and dreaming, to social and cultural behavior. Science and Human Behavior is rightly considered one of the foundational works of behavior analysis, and served as the introduction to the science of behavior for an entire generation of behavior analysts. It is indispensable reading for all modern behavior analysts as well. Those who believe behavior analysis is unconcerned with the depth and breadth of human behavior will likely be surprised by the scope and prescience of Skinner's analysis. A half-a-century of research in basic and applied behavior analysis has only strengthened the empirical foundations of what in 1953 was substantially theoretical. Related Links:
New
review of twenty-five autism treatment studies shows Applied
Behavior Analysis (ABA) is more effective and better researched
than other approaches. A new review of twenty-five treatment outcome studies to be published in the journal Research in Developmental Disabilities shows that comprehensive autism treatments based on applied behavior analysis (ABA) principles are superior in effectiveness to treatments based on the TEACCH or Colorado Health Science models. Treatment models other than ABA have also received comparatively little attention from researchers, leading to the conclusion that they cannot be deemed either "Well-Established" or "Probably Efficacious."
Eikeseth graded each study according to its scientific merit and magnitude of treatment effect on a rigorously defined three-point scale (1=highest; 3=lowest). Five studies, all ABA-based treatments, achieved Level 1 or 2 scores of scientific merit. Eleven studies received a score of 3 on scientific merit--nine of which evaluated ABA and two evaluated TEACCH. Nine studies were deemed to have "insufficient scientific value" (ISV). Six of the ISV studies evaluated ABA, one evaluated TEACCH, and two investigated the Colorado program. Outcome analyses showed that four ABA studies received Level 1 ratings of treatment effectiveness. A Level 1 outcome rating indicated that "children receiving ABA made significantly more gains than control group children on standardized measures of IQ, language and adaptive functioning." Three ABA studies received Level 2 ratings. Level 3 ratings were achieved by two TEACCH and five ABA studies. The rest of the studies did not have sufficiently well described procedures or outcomes to evaluate. Eikeseth's analysis demonstrates that ABA remains the only comprehensive approach to autism that can claim to be effective based of high-quality outcome data. Eikeseth points out that only three of the many comprehensive autism treatment approaches have been subjected to any kind of rigorous analysis. Thus, many children are being treated in programs of entirely unknown effectiveness. The difficulty of establishing long-term effectiveness is recognized. But that fact does not mean that shorter-term assessments are not possible--with the possibility that children in programs that are not effective after a reasonable period might be moved to a more effective intervention. Reference
Police
scandal revealed in dismissed FC abuse case. Coercion and deception
improperly used in interrogation of 13-year-old boy with Asperger's
syndrome. Recent Developments
Highlights & Details
Just
days following the dismissal of all charges against parents accused
of sexually abusing their daughter, news sources are revealing
previously unreported details of the coercive interrogation of
the girl's brother with Asperger's syndrome.
In
an extensive interrogation, a police officer lied to the boy, saying
the police had videotapes of sexual encounters and other physical
evidence proving the allegations that the father had assaulted the
daughter. No such videotapes or evidence existed. The boy initially
resisted the questioning. But after repeated threats and false statements
from the police interrogator, the boy began making up bizarre reports
of sexual activities denied by all others in the case. This interrogation
occurred without the knowledge of the child's court-appointed guardian,
and without parents or attorneys present.
The boy's questioning occurred shortly after the police questioned the daughter about abuse through the discredited technique facilitated communication. Despite numerous verifiable errors in the allegations, and no independent evidence of abuse, the parents were charged of rape, abuse, and witness tampering. No attempt was made by the school, police, or prosecutor to test the validity of the girl's original facilitated accusations or any of those made later by the same facilitator. Based on false facilitated allegations of guns at the parents' house and an unauthorized visit by the parents to the children at the Rabbi/guardian's home, the father was placed in prison for 80 days, the mother was placed on an electronic tether, and the children were removed. Despite court authorization, the mother was not given the opportunity to visit the son for several weeks. (See Behavior News 03-11-08) In a January hearing, FC critics and an FC advocate agreed that the FC accusations could not be trusted. The experts cited factors such as the poor training of the facilitator, the scientific evidence against FC, and many verifiable errors throughout the accusations. Despite a favorable decision by the judge to allow the facilitated testimony into the record, the prosecution's case began to fall apart in a January hearing when FC failed to produce a single correct answer in two separate in-court tests. In these tests, the facilitators had not been allowed to hear the simple questions asked of the girl. The facilitators had claimed they could successfully facilitate without hearing the questions. Defense experts James T. Todd and Howard Shane had testified that scientific evidence showed that FC involves complete control of the output by the facilitators, and had predicted that FC would fail in court when the facilitators did not know the questions.(See Behavior News 02-11-08) Other news coverage
Information and commentary on FC:
It is BAAM's official position that the accumulated scientific evidence has convincingly demonstrated that facilitated communication does not work as its advocates say it does, and that output from FC should never be used to support allegations of sexual abuse. Read and sign the BAAM Resolution on Facilitated Communication Other FC Resolutions and Statements All
charges dropped in facilitated communication abuse case. In a hearing conducted Tuesday morning (03-11-08), Oakland County Michigan District Judge Marc Barron agreed to dismiss all charges against an Bloomfield Hills Michigan couple accused of sexual abuse and witness tampering through the discredited autism intervention, facilitated communication. In facilitated communication, a "facilitator" typically holds the hand or arm of a person who cannot speak, supposedly to prevent impulsive movements, thereby allowing typed communication. In a surprise development on Monday (3-10-08), prosecutors moved to dismiss all charges without informing the defense. The prosecution claimed that the girl with severe autism at the center of the case had expressed, through facilitation, that she was not willing to testify in court. Oakland County Chief Prosecutor David Gorcyca wrote, "The option of alternative proofs have been fully evaluated and found to be not legally sufficient to sustain the requisite burden of proof." Defense experts had stated in a January hearing that overwhelming scientific evidence shows that messages authored through facilitated communication are authored by the facilitator, not the person with autism. Based on the original allegations, the father had been placed in jail from early December to late February with no bond. The mother had been placed on an electronic tether. The children had been removed, and the mother afforded only very limited opportunities to visit the son. In a January hearing, FC critics and an FC advocate agreed that the FC accusations could not be trusted. The experts cited factors such as the poor training of the facilitator, the scientific evidence against FC, and many verifiable errors throughout the accusations. These errors included misidentified and non-existent family members, and religious statements inconsistent with the family's Jewish faith. The family's orthodox Rabbi had vigorously disputed allegations that the parents had visited the children in his home in defiance of court orders. The prosecution's case suffered additional difficulties in the January hearing when FC failed to produce a single correct answer in two separate tests. In these tests, the facilitators had not been allowed to hear the simple questions asked of the girl. The facilitators had testified that it was not necessary to hear the questions to "facilitate" successfully. Defense experts had testified that scientific evidence showed that FC involves complete control of the output by the facilitators, and had predicted that FC would fail when the facilitators could not hear the questions. Prosecution
moves to drop all charges in facilitated communication abuse
case. Hearing scheduled for Tuesday, March 11. In a surprise development on Monday (3-10-08), Oakland County Michigan prosecutors moved to dismiss all abuse and witness tampering charges in an case involving allegations produced using the discredited autism intervention technique, facilitated communication. In facilitated communication, a "facilitator" typically holds the hand or arm of a person who cannot speak, supposedly to prevent impulsive movements, thereby allowing typed communication. In Monday filings, the prosecution claimed that the girl with severe autism at the center of the case had expressed, through facilitation, that she was not willing to testify in court. Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that messages authored through facilitated communication are authored by the facilitator, not the person with autism. Defense experts had testified that the girl had virtually no expressive verbal ability and estimated non-verbal cognitive abilities in the 2-3 year-old range. Prosecutors stated that without the girl's testimony there is insufficient evidence to proceed with the case. Oakland County Chief Prosecutor David Gorcyca wrote, "The option of alternative proofs have been fully evaluated and found to be not legally sufficient to sustain the requisite burden of proof." Based on the original allegations, the father had been placed in jail from early December to late February with no bond. The mother had been placed on an electronic tether. The children had been removed, and the mother afforded only very limited opportunities to visit the son. In an important reversal, the father had been released from jail on personal bond in late February. In an additional reversal of previous rulings, Oakland County Judge Joan Young ordered that the girl and her brother, who has Asperger's syndrome, be returned to the parents immediately. In a January hearing, FC critics testifying for the defense and an FC advocate testifying for the prosecution had all agreed that the accusations accepted by the court could not be trusted. The experts cited factors such as the poor training of the facilitator, the total absence of any protection against facilitator control in generating the allegations, overwhelming scientific evidence showing that facilitators unconsciously control the FC output, and many verifiable errors and inconsistencies throughout the accusations themselves. These errors included misidentified and non-existent family members, misspellings that had not appeared in other FC transcripts, and religious statements inconsistent with the family's Jewish faith. The family's orthodox Rabbi had vigorously disputed allegations that the parents had visited the children in his home in defiance of court orders. In a dramatic courtroom moment, the prosecution's expert witness, an FC advocate who had already agreed with the defense experts in repudiating the prosecution's contentions about the reliability of the accusations, revealed that she had called the police prior to their interview of the child and facilitator. She had warned of the problem of facilitator control and suggested protective protocols. Her advice was rejected. In a separate development, it was also revealed that the thirteen year-old brother was interviewed early in the case without the guardian's knowledge, and without parents or an attorney present. The prosecution's case suffered additional difficulties in the January hearing when FC failed to produce a single correct answer in two tests conducted on two different days. In these tests, the facilitators had not been allowed to hear the simple questions asked of the girl. The facilitators had testified that it was not necessary to hear the questions to successfully "facilitate" successfully. Before and after the failed demonstrations, defense experts had testified that scientific evidence showed that FC involves complete control of the output by the facilitators, and that FC reliably fails when the facilitators cannot hear the questions or do not know the answers. A hearing to rule on the prosecution's dismissal request is scheduled for 10 am Tuesday (3-11) in front of Bloomfield Hills District Judge Marc Barron.
Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention (EBCAI) brings together professionals from several disciplines to promote evidence-based practice (EBP) in serving individuals with communication impairments. We target speech-language pathologists, special educators, regular educators, applied behavior analysts, clinical psychologists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists who serve children or adults with communication impairments. We select and appraise the latest and highest quality studies and reviews related to assessment, intervention, diagnosis, and prognosis published across 60+ professional journals in speech-language pathology and related fields. We make these appraisals accessible through value-added structured abstracts that include expert commentary about the quality of the evidence as well as its practical implications. This affords the practitioner a one-stop reading experience to stay on top of research findings in order to facilitate evidence-based decision-making. Researchers and university professors will benefit from access to cutting-edge and clinically relevant studies. EBCAI also provides a forum for the dissemination of original research and discussion of methodologies and concepts that advance EBP as well as of experiential accounts of relevant stakeholders involved in the EBP process. Please consult the Information for Authors for the specific kinds of submissions EBCAI seeks to publish. Links:
Iceland:
The Most Scientific Nation on Earth.
Links: Facilitated
Communication Allowed in Court in Michigan, Science Rejected. Despite
the failure of facilitated communication (FC) to produce a single
correct answer in two separate courtroom tests during a two-day
special hearing, accusations "facilitated" by a Walled Lake Schools
paraprofessional have been admitted in an ongoing Oakland County
Michigan sex abuse case.
In a dramatic show of agreement across FC lines, the defense and prosecution experts all stated that the accusations accepted by the court could not be trusted due to factors such as the poor training of the facilitator, the total absence of any protection against facilitator control in generating the allegations, the scientific evidence demonstrating the problem of facilitator control, and many verifiable errors and inconsistencies throughout the accusations themselves. These errors included misidentified family members, non-existent relatives, misspellings that had not appeared in previous FC transcripts, and religious statements inconsistent with the family's Jewish faith. Other incidents in the accusations have been strongly disputed by the family's Rabbi. The prosecution's expert witness, an FC advocate who had testified to the unreliability of the accusations, revealed that she had called the police prior to their interview of the child and facilitator. She had warned of the problem of facilitator control and suggested protective protocols--including the use of an independent, naive facilitator. Her advice was rejected. It has also been revealed that the thirteen year-old brother, who has the developmental disability Asperger's syndrome, was interviewed in early December by the West Bloomfield police without the guardian's knowledge, and without parents or an attorney present. After allowing the prosecution to conduct two tests of FC with the child, with the person responsible for the original accusations also facilitating in court, the judge refused to permit the defense experts to conduct any validity tests at all. The judge also denied the defense a Daubert hearing on the scientific admissibility of FC. By doing so, the judge rejected the role of science in determining the reliability of FC as courtroom testimony. The father, who had been in jail since the beginning of December with no bond, was released on an electronic tether in late February; the mother is also on an electronic tether; the children have been taken away. The facilitator responsible for the original accusations continues to work with the child and served as the de facto FC "interpreter" in court. Circuit court judge Joan Young has ruled that FC can continue with the girl in school--where it has been used for the last three years without being tested for reliability. Commenting on the lack of physical evidence, repeated failures of FC to work in court, and other significant weaknesses in the case, Detroit Free Press columnist Brian Dickerson has described the prosecution's case as a "breathtakingly unprofessional witch hunt." Todd
R. Risley, behavior analysis pioneer, dies of heart surgery complications.
Risley contributed to the field of behavior analysis in many different ways. He was best known for his collaboration with Montrose Wolf and Hayden Mess in 1964 on the behavioral treatment of problems associated with autism, "Application of Operant Conditioning Procedures to the Behavior Problems of an Autistic Child--sometimes called the "Dicky Article"--and for the seminal 1968 JABA article, "Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis," with Donald Baer and Montrose Wolf. It is accurate to say that Wolf, Risley, and Mees's work with Dicky, using reinforcement principles to establish functional independent living skills in a child who probably would not have had them otherwise, set the stage for virtually all systematic applied behavior analytic interventions with autism to follow. The 1968 Baer, Wolf, and Risley article, "Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis," literally defined an entire field. Although Risley will be sorely missed by all those who knew him, his enduring contributions to the science of behavior will continue to benefit untold numbers of people with disabilities.
The Behavior Analyst Certification Board's BCBA and BCABA credentialing programs are now accredited by the National Council for Certifying Agencies in Washington, DC. The NCCA is the accreditation body of the National Organization for Competency Assurance. According to Gerald Shook, Chief Executive Officer of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board,
Links: The Michigan Psychology
Licensing Board decreases requirements for full psychology license
applicants and increases requirements for applicants for limited
licensure. Other changes made. The Michigan Psychology Licensing Board has enacted a sweeping list of changes to licensure requirements and other rules for licensed and limited-license psychologists. The new provisions were made effective August 14, 2007, with various provisions becoming active on future dates. The most important changes are:
The changes enacted for full licensure primarily affect doctoral-level psychologists while the changes enacted for the limited license affect mostly masters-level psychologists. The effect of the new regulations is to relax the requirements for gaining full licensure and increase the requirements for acquiring limited licensure. There is no increase in privileges for limited-license psychologists or practice-parity with other mental health professionals with similar or less training in psychological assessment and treatment. Among the changes which would go into effect in 2009 and 2010 are to:
Albert Ellis (September 27, 1913 - July 24, 2007) died today of natural causes related to age (obituary). Ellis is known for developing "Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy" (REBT), an approach in which certain psychological problems are attributed to faulty thinking and emotional responses to life events. By therapeutically altering the troublesome thinking and emotions, the client may subsequently respond in more effective ways. In this view, Ellis considered thinking and feelings as private events that could be aversive to experience in themselves or lead, as links in a chain of behaviors, to dysfunctional overt behavior. Ellis's basic philosophy, that the past cannot be changed but our responses to it can be, bears similarities to the philosophy of Stoicism. Ellis also recognized certain similarities between REBT and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), viewing ACT with apparently more favor than ACT practitioners viewed REBT. In a 2005 article, "Can Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Resolve Their Differences and Be Integrated?" (abstract), Ellis disagreed with ACT founder Steven C. Hayes (abstract) and stated:
Links:
Spanish
language version of "ABCs of ABA" released as a two-DVD freeware-set
by FEAT-Houston and TXABA Cost The DVDs are free, but FEAT-Houston suggests a $20 donation so that we may reprint the DVDs when they have all been distributed.http://udgserv.cencar.udg.mx/~ceip/Aparicio.htmrders may be placed through the FEAT-Houston website. www.feathouston.org. Software
giant Microsoft, building supplier Home Depot, cover costs of behavioral
treatments for autism. Microsoft, which sells the Windows operating system, and Home Depot, the familiar "big box" hardware and building supplies outlet, cover the costs of intensive behavior therapy for their employees' dependents with autism. Persuaded by the documented success of applied behavior analysis-based treatments for autism, these employers started providing substantial treatment benefits several years ago. They are among the few major employers that provide such benefits to their employees. Parent advocacy was instrumental in getting the ball rolling. Behavior analysts at the University of Washington, the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and Marcus Institute provided expertise for program development. The stories at Microsoft and Home Depot are similar. As reported on May 8, 2007 on the SmartMoney.com web site:
Few other companies or insurers provide the kind of support for effective autism treatments that Microsoft and Home Depot do. These examples suggest that this situation can be changed by strong advocacy within the corporation along with the assistance of knowledgeable behavior analysts. From the perspective of the company, support for well-done early intensive therapy has significant long-term financial benefits, can reduce employee absenteeism, and has significant social benefits (cost-benefit analysis). Related links:
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