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Many individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have communication deficits (Smith et al., 2020), and research suggests that various communication modalities, including vocalizations, picture exchange, sign, and assistive technologies, can be taught (McLean et al., 1996). However, because communication modalities are often selected arbitrarily (Orozco et al., 2023), the acquisition and maintenance of communication may be affected (Kunnavatana et al., 2018). Furthermore, little research has focused on the acquisition of communication modalities in adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In Study 1, we replicated a prerequisite assessment (Valentino et al., 2019) with a large number of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who were referred for communication deficits. In Study 2, we replicated and extended Valentino et al. (2019) and Gutierrez et al. (2007) by conducting a preliminary evaluation of the validity of the prerequisite assessment with a subset of participants from Study 1. That is, we conducted a mand evaluation to evaluate the degree to which discriminated manding occurred across common modalities. Results of Study 1 showed that many participants displayed weak potential prerequisite skills for most, if not all, communication modalities. The results of Study 2 showed that participants’ potential prerequisite skills from Study 1 sometimes mapped onto modalities acquired during the mand evaluation, but additional manipulations were sometimes necessary for differentiated responding to be acquired with these modalities. For some participants, another modality was necessary (i.e., item exchange).
Quando se fala em PECS (Sistema de Comunicação por Troca de Figuras), ainda é comum ouvir frases como: “Ah, é aquele sistema de figuras para crianças que não falam”. Embora essa definição pareça simples, ela reduz enormemente o verdadeiro potencial do protocolo. Um dos maiores desafios no Brasil é justamente esse: muitas pessoas ainda enxergam […]
If you’ve ever looked at behavior and thought, “I know what happened, but I’m not sure why it happened,” you’re not alone. The four-term contingency in ABA becomes incredibly powerful in helping us understand behavior fr...
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems allow individuals with vocal speech delays to meet their wants and needs. However, when signs are used as AAC, the implementers and caregivers must also learn signs. Longo et al. Behavioral Interventions, 37(3), 713–731 (2022) found that a self-study training (SST) in which adult participants observed videos paired with text was both efficacious and efficient in teaching eight component and 16 compound signs, arranged in a matrix. We systematically replicated SST, with changes to the matrix design and targets evaluated. The dependent variables were text-sign intraverbal and sign-vocal tacts for component and compound targets. Performance in a role play condition was also evaluated before and after training. SST was implemented with three adult participants using a multiple probe design across behaviors (submatrices). For the first two participants, SST of six compound, diagonal targets led to the acquisition of 30 untrained compounds and 12 component targets across modalities (i.e., text-sign intraverbals, sign-vocal tacts, listener responses) and contexts (i.e., role play). Similar results were obtained with the third participant, though acquisition of submatrix 2 was observed following intervention with submatrix 1. These results have implications for designing training to support implementers teaching sign as AAC.
Verbal operants are a major focus in applied behavior analysis and one of the most commonly studied topic areas for the RBT and BCBA exams. While the terms can feel overwhelming at first, verbal behavior becomes much eas...
This article discusses three contributions to the special issue from the Symbolic Processes cluster in the second Theory and Philosophy conference. Each of the articles advances a naturalistic, learning-based account of complex linguistic and social phenomena. The article by Barnes-Holmes and colleagues suggests a refinement of relational frame theory (RFT) informed by findings emerging from research conducted with the IRAP protocol for the past decade. Degli-Espinosa offers a behavioral reinterpretation of the development of theory of mind with implications for understanding its absence in certain populations and the potential for remediation where necessary. Palmer presents a thorough-going behavioral account of word order in novel utterances and, by way of example, offers a blueprint for the analysis of syntactic organization in spoken languages more generally. This paper discusses the articles’ conceptual innovations, empirical grounding, and the implications of the analyses for future research. The discussion ends with an appreciation of the shared philosophical and methodological commitments reflected in these articles.
Emergent stimulus relations are a topic that often feels abstract when you first encounter it, but they are an important part of stimulus equivalence and higher level learning in applied behavior analysis. These concepts...
We previously discussed the effects of verbal stimuli, often called “rules” or “instructions,” in terms of their function-altering effects (Blakely & Schlinger The Behavior Analyst, 10, 183–187, 1987; Schlinger & Blakely The Behavior Analyst, 10, 41–45, 1987). In the current article, we present a mechanism of action for these effects that involves mediating behaviors and only appeals to basic principles of behavior. A mediational theory holds that the key elements of responding effectively to verbal stimuli rely on behavior that occurs at the moment, or just after, a verbal stimulus occurs. Such behavior includes echoic behavior, as well as tacts and intraverbals, and even visual or auditory imagining. These behaviors are automatically reinforced, and in some cases reinforced by the speaker. The reinforcement of these behaviors produces new relations and stimulus functions. In research and clinical practice, these new relations and stimulus functions are said to “emerge” or be “derived” without direct training. According to a mediational theory, however, the relations are directly trained, although the training is not explicit. Thus, in a sense, listeners learn to react to what they see and hear, and as a result, can effectively behave to the events indicated by the verbal stimulus. A mediational theory of verbal relations not only explains verbal relations parsimoniously but has predictive utility.
Healthcare professionals frequently ask individuals to use numerical rating scales to rate their pain intensity, yet individuals often find it challenging to accurately report sensations. The present study explored the efficacy of procedures to teach adults to report the intensity of tactile sensations—rough, heavy, and temperature (hot/cold)—on a numerical rating scale within a multiple baseline design across stimulus sets. The participants felt the stimuli, which were concealed from the participants’ view, by inserting their hands into a stimulus box. The participants mastered the taught intensity tacts and generalized the tacts to novel body parts. One participant also generalized tacts to untaught intensities, and the other participant generalized responding to novel stimuli, untaught intensities, and untaught intensities in novel stimulus sets. These findings are discussed in the context of Skinner’s analysis of how humans learn to talk about private events.
The research literature has revealed mixed outcomes on stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) as a potential procedure to promote vocalizations. In this procedure, the experimenter’s specific vocalizations are paired with the delivery of conditioned or unconditioned stimuli and it has been used to increase vocalizations in individuals with language delays. Some studies demonstrate an increase in participants’ vocalizations, while other studies demonstrate a partial or zero increase in participant’s vocalizations. The current study extends the systematic literature review conducted by Shillingsburg et al. Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 31, 215–235, (2015). We included 12 experimental studies, including published peer-reviewed studies, theses, and dissertations, from 2015 and 2024 that investigated SSP to increase vocalizations in participants with language delays. The studies were analyzed according to participants’ characteristics and specific features of the SSP procedures. A multilevel meta-analysis was conducted for a portion of the studies reviewed to calculate the effect sizes across cases and studies. Overall, we found a significant effect of the SSP procedure on increased rates of vocalizations of individuals with language delays. Directions for future research are discussed.
In Verbal Behavior, Skinner (1957) defined verbal behavior as “behavior reinforced through the mediation of other persons” (p. 2) in which the delivery of reinforcement has been “conditioned precisely in order to reinforce the behavior of the speaker” (p. 225). By contrast, as part of relational frame theory (RFT), S. C. Hayes and colleagues instead defined verbal behavior as “the action of framing events relationally” (Hayes, Fox, et al., 2001, p. 43). The central task of this article is to clarify and resolve or dismiss this definitional dispute. Specifically, I investigate the nature of this dispute by determining what kind of definition each offers. As a result, I conclude that Skinner’s serves as a lexical definition—an assertion about the customary usage of the term verbal behavior (and its cognates). On the other hand, RFT’s qualifies as a type of persuasive definition; namely, a hybrid possessing some features of both stipulative and lexical definitions. As such, I argue that the two definitions serve different goals and are, therefore, not in conflict. Given that juxtaposing these two disparate definitions constitutes an “apples and oranges” comparison, I conclude that this faux dispute requires no resolution. Instead, I propose its dismissal. Lastly, RFT’s proponents raised three principal objections to Skinner’s definition. The fact that the two definitions are not in conflict does not absolve Skinner’s definitions of these objections. Therefore, after reviewing these three arguments, I offer counterarguments and conclude that Skinner’s definition survives largely unscathed.
This blog post will cover how to "design and evaluate procedures to promote emergent relations and generative performance" from G.19 of the 6th Edition BCBA Test Content Outline, formerly known as the Task List (BACB, 20...
Knowing is half the battle when it comes to understanding toddler communication. As parents and caregivers, it is our goal to make sure our children are hitting their communication milestones, but sometimes that is difficult if we don’t know the basics. Asking what is appropriate for each age band and asking what to encourage our […]
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