Lee L. Mason

Collaborative Robotics Projects for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study examines the levels of social interaction of students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders during collaborative robotics projects. An alternating treatments design was used to observe the duration of social interaction of two middle school children with autism spectrum disorders across robotics and nonrobotics instruction as well as structured versus nonstructured activities. Results show that both participants with autism spectrum disorders engaged in higher levels of social interaction during robotics instruction when compared with nonrobotics instruction sessions. However, one participant displayed significantly higher levels of social interaction during nonstructured activities, indicating that the instructional setting may serve as a conditioned punisher for the students social interactions.

Token Reinforcement of Verbal Responses Controlled by Temporally Removed Verbal Stimuli

Establishing control by verbal stimuli over the listener with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), of which circumscribed stimulus control is a defining feature (American Psychiatric Association 2013), may represent a formidable challenge to the typical verbal community. Without directed intervention, individuals with autism often respond indiscriminately to other people’s verbal behavior (Petursdottir et al. 2008; Sundberg and Sundberg 2011). Verbal stimuli are particularly complex, because their effects on the environment are merely temporary. Once the speaker stops speaking, the verbal stimulus no longer exists. The complexity is compounded when the listener with autism is asked to recount events that happened in the past. Within such verbal episodes, the listener with autism may emit prepotent verbal responses under disproportionate environmental control (Kenny et al. 2014). Biro and Russell (2001) define prepotent responses as “an erroneous response that is called out either by some salient feature of the environment or by some feature rendered salient through previous learning” (p. 98). For instance, when asked in the evening, “What did you eat for lunch today?”, the listener with autism may reply with what he/she would like to eat for lunch tomorrow (disproportionate mand control), by listing food items presently on the dinner table (disproportionate tact control), or with partial echolalia (e.g., “Lunch today.”; disproportionate echoic control). Consequently, the speaker’s verbal stimulus fails to exact control over the listener with autism.

Referent-Based Verbal Behavior Instruction for Children with Autism

Skinner’s (1957) analysis of verbal behavior deconstructed language according to stimulus control. Although the functional independence of these verbal operants has been empirically demonstrated, more commonly, a speaker’s verbal behavior is induced by a convergence of controlling stimuli. However, circumscribed stimulus control may inhibit the development of complex verbal repertoires for some individuals, including those with autism spectrum disorders. For this reason, in the current paper, we propose a behavior analytic intervention with the overarching goal of establishing multiple control over verbal behavior through the conditioning of referent stimuli.Referent-based instruction emphasizes teaching the operant class over specific targetsMultiple control is established by converging verbal behavior around the referentProgress is measured in terms of a stimulus control ratioEliminates arbitrary decision making

Increasing Teacher Praise and on Task Behavior for Students With Autism Using Mobile Technology

This study investigated the effects of using mobile technology as an intervention to increase the amount of praise delivered by teachers to low-performing students with autism. Additionally, the study also investigated the impact that praise would have on the on-task behaviors of these students. Participants included five elementary students with autism, two teachers, and two paraprofessionals. Results indicated that prompts from the mobile devices were effective in increasing the amount of praise provided by each of these educators. However, the extent to which teachers’ contingent praise impacted student on-task behaviors was less clear. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

A behavioral phenomenological inquiry of maker identity.

Currently, researchers and educators are dedicating substantive energy to investigating and discussing the potential affordances of makerspaces to support students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. In particular, proponents indicate that broadening participation with makerspaces and the maker movement may increase participation by underrepresented demographic groups in STEM fields. However, many questions have arisen as to whether, how, and to what extent makerspaces are supporting participation by students underrepresented in STEM fields. This study presents an initial investigation of makerspace participation by middle school age girls in a central Texas makerspace. Specifically, this study takes a closer look at students’ verbal behaviors when explaining their participation and interest in the makerspace activities as well as the connections to students’ previous interactional histories that are both directly and indirectly evidenced. Analyses of participant interviews suggest potential benefits to identifying and purposefully facilitating relational frames that could potentially induce greater interest and concomitant participation with formal and informal STEM related content.

A comparison of outcomes from criterion-referenced and experimental evaluations of verbal behavior.

Here, we compare the outcomes of a criterion-referenced assessment of verbal behavior with those of an experimental verbal operant analyses to determine the extent to which the two evaluations yield data supporting similar conclusions. Specifically, we compared the results of functional analyses of verbal behavior with the verbal behavior outcomes measured on the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP; Sundberg, 2008). Five preschool to primary school-age children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder participated in this research. For each participant, we conducted the verbal operant analysis and VB-MAPP within seven days of one another. Results are presented in terms of relative response strength among four primary verbal operants: mands, tacts, echoics, and intraverbals. We found differing stimulus control ratios across these two measures of verbal behavior for each of the 5 participants. Implications for the evaluation and treatment of verbal behavior disorders are discussed within the context of construct validity.

Teaching Emergent Literacy Skills to Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This article provides six fundamental steps for using a task analysis to teach emergent literacy skills to young learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Compared to general education peers, students with ASD score lower on reading measures and often have difficulty acquiring literacy skills via the instruction methods used in typical classrooms. An effective instructional technique for many students with ASD is systematic instruction via task analysis. Task analysis may be a useful tool for teachers of students with ASD to build literacy skills by aligning instruction in missing skills to the curriculum standards. The steps to consider when using a task analysis include what emergent literacy skills will be taught, defining expected steps and correct responses, the instructional method to be used, systematic prompting techniques, piloting and updating the task analysis, and teaching and collecting data. Considerations for implementation for practice are provided.

The effects of an avoidance contingency on postsecondary student SAFMEDS performance

ABSTRACT The current research investigated the effects of an avoidance contingency on the curriculum-based measures of three university students. Contemporary teaching practices in higher education promote the development of higher order skills, which are often contrasted with memorization. However, there is little empirical evidence to support educational practices at the university level. Three students in an introductory applied behavior analysis course participated in this project. Each class day throughout the semester, the participants took part in both a 1-min fluency drill and a daily quiz over the assigned readings. During baseline, these activities were independent of each other. The intervention consisted of making the quiz contingent on each student’s fluency score. The number of vocabulary words identified by each participant increased after the avoidance contingency was applied, indicating that the prevention of daily quizzes served as a negative reinforcer to increase studying. Implications for the use and frequency of assessments in higher education are discussed.

Erratum to: Token Reinforcement of Verbal Responses Controlled by Temporally Removed Verbal Stimuli

In the present study we examined the effects of token reinforcement on the convergent control of immediate and temporally removed verbal stimuli over the verbal behavior of three school-age children with autism who showed specific deficits in intraverbal responding. Throughout the study, participants were systematically introduced to a series of visitors to a university-based autism center, and subsequently probed for information about the visitor they had most recently met. Results show that contingent token reinforcement was effective at establishing control by temporally removed verbal stimuli.