Marc J. Lanovaz

Identifying Stimuli that Alter Immediate and Subsequent Levels of Vocal Stereotypy A Further Analysis of Functionally Matched Stimulation

We used a three-component multiple-schedule with a brief reversal design to evaluate the effects of structurally unmatched and matched stimuli on immediate and subsequent vocal stereotypy that was displayed by three children with autism spectrum disorders. For 2 of the 3 participants, access to matched stimuli, unmatched stimuli, and music decreased immediate levels of vocal stereotypy; however, with the exception of matched stimuli for one participant, none of the stimuli produced a clear abolishing operation for subsequent vocal stereotypy. That is, vocal stereotypy typically increased to baseline levels shortly after alternative stimulation was removed. Detection of motivating operations for each participant’s vocal stereotypy was aided by the analysis of component distributions. The results are discussed in terms of immediate and subsequent effects of preferred stimuli on automatically reinforced problem behavior.

Immediate and Subsequent Effects of Matched and Unmatched Stimuli on Targeted Vocal Stereotypy and Untargeted Motor Stereotypy

The authors evaluated the effects of matched and unmatched stimuli on immediate and subsequent engagement in targeted vocal stereotypy (Experiment 1) and untargeted motor stereotypy (Experiment 2). Results of Experiment 1 showed that (a) matched stimulation decreased immediate engagement in vocal stereotypy for 8 of 11 participants and increased subsequent engagement in vocal stereotypy for only 1 of the 8 participants and (b) unmatched stimulation decreased immediate engagement in vocal stereotypy for only 1 of 10 participants and did not increase subsequent engagement in vocal stereotypy for this participant. Results of Experiment 2 showed that for 8 of 14 participants, untargeted stereotypy increased when the matched or unmatched stimulus was present, after it was removed, or both. The authors briefly discuss the potential clinical implications of using matched stimulation to decrease vocal stereotypy and limitations of the findings.

Expanding Functional Analysis of Automatically Reinforced Behavior Using a Three-Component Multiple-Schedule

Current functional analysis methodology provides the general label “automatic reinforcement” for behaviors that persist in the absence of social consequences. Likewise, current treatment-evaluation methods may demonstrate that a given intervention decreases automatically reinforced behavior. However, neither yields results that indicate whether an intervention contains stimulation that is functionally matched to the product of automatically reinforced behavior. We present a sequential assessment model to evaluate interventions for automatically reinforced behavior using a three-component multiple-schedule. This three-component multiple-schedule can be used to identify interventions that produce an abolishing operation for subsequent engagement in automatically reinforced behavior. We provide a step-by-step description of the procedures and data analysis, as well as a general overview of our findings to date. The potential clinical utility of the methodology and applications for future research are also discussed.

Using single-case experiments to support evidence-based decisions : how much is enough?

For practitioners, the use of single-case experimental designs (SCEDs) in the research literature raises an important question: How many single-case experiments are enough to have sufficient confidence that an intervention will be effective with an individual from a given population? Although standards have been proposed to address this question, current guidelines do not appear to be strongly grounded in theory or empirical research. The purpose of our article is to address this issue by presenting guidelines to facilitate evidence-based decisions by adopting a simple statistical approach to quantify the support for interventions that have been validated using SCEDs. Specifically, we propose the use of success rates as a supplement to support evidence-based decisions. The proposed methodology allows practitioners to aggregate the results from single-case experiments to estimate the probability that a given intervention will produce a successful outcome. We also discuss considerations and limitations associated with this approach.

ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF VOCAL STEREOTYPY ASSOCIATED WITH TELEVISION: A PILOT STUDY

A 6-year-old boy who had been diagnosed with autism participated in a pilot study that showed that (a) television was associated with increased vocal stereotypy and (b) sitting was associated with lower levels of vocal stereotypy. Subsequently, we reduced vocal stereotypy while the television was on by reinforcing sitting on a variable-interval schedule. Results suggest that conditional percentages may be useful for the identification of alternative behaviors as part of treatments for stereotypy.

Using the dual-criteria methods to supplement visual inspection: An analysis of nonsimulated data

The purpose of our study was to examine the probability of observing false positives in nonsimulated data using the dual-criteria methods. We extracted data from published studies to produce a series of 16,927 datasets and then assessed the proportion of false positives for various phase lengths. Our results indicate that collecting at least three data points in the first phase (Phase A) and at least five data points in the second phase (Phase B) is generally sufficient to produce acceptable levels of false positives.

THE UTILITY OF ASSESSING MUSICAL PREFERENCE BEFORE IMPLEMENTATION OF NONCONTINGENT MUSIC TO REDUCE VOCAL STEREOTYPY

We conducted a modified paired-choice preference assessment and used a multielement design to examine the effects of noncontingent access to high- and low-preference music on vocal stereotypy exhibited by children with autism. For 3 of the 4 participants, high-preference music (a) produced lower levels of vocal stereotypy than low-preference music and (b) reduced vocal stereotypy when compared to a no-interaction condition. Results underscore the potential importance of assessing musical preference prior to using noncontingent music to reduce vocal stereotypy.

Using Computer Tablets to Assess Preference for Videos in Children with Autism.

Using computer tablets, we assessed preference for videos in five children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Then, we provided access to most preferred and less preferred videos contingent on sitting on one of two chairs within a concurrent schedule design. All participants spent consistently more time sitting on the chair associated with the video selected the most often during the preference assessment, indicating that practitioners may use the tablet-based assessment procedure to identify potential video reinforcers for children with ASD in applied settings.

Newspaper Coverage of Autism Treatment in Canada: 10-Year Trends (2004-2013).

Objective: To compare trends in coverage of empirically supported and alternative autism treatments in Canadian newspapers during a 10-year period and to examine whether the portrayal of empirically supported and alternative treatments differed. Method: We searched a sample of 10 daily local and national Canadian newspapers using the word autism combined with intervention or treatment in the Proquest Canadian Newsstand and Eureka.cc databases, which yielded a total of 857 articles published between 2004 and 2013. In our subsequent analyses, we only included articles whose main topic was autism and that referred to at least one treatment. We then categorized the 137 remaining articles by treatment and rated whether each treatment category was portrayed in a favourable, unfavourable, or neutral manner. Results: In total, 46% of the articles discussed at least 1 empirically supported treatment, 53% at least 1 alternative treatment, and 12% at least 1 uncategorized treatment. Newspaper articles provided favourable, unfavourable, and neutral portrayals of empirically supported treatments in 75%, 10%, and 16% of cases, respectively. In contrast, alternative treatments were portrayed favourably in 52%, unfavourably in 32%, and neutrally in 16% of cases. Our analyses indicated that empirically supported treatments were portrayed more favourably than alternative treatments (X2 = 10.42, df = 2, P = 0.005). Conclusions: Despite some encouraging trends, our study has shown that researchers and clinicians must continue to clarify misconceptions about autism treatment. Families of people with autism spectrum disorders should be directed toward more reliable and accurate sources of information.

Generalization Following Tablet-Based Instruction in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Given that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often require one-to-one individualized instruction, using tablets as teaching tools may represent an interesting option in classrooms with high student to teacher ratios. The purpose of our study was to extend research by evaluating the effects of tablet-based instruction on the generalization of skills in children with ASD. Specifically, we used multiple probe designs to assess the effectiveness of using an app to teach one-word receptive identification to five children with ASD between 4 and 11 years old. Our results indicated that three of the five children displayed generalization on at least two concepts following tablet-based instruction. The tablet-based app may promote generalization of learned concepts in some children with ASD, but our results suggest that it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. As such, our study underlines the importance of conducting individualized assessment prior to using tablet-based instruction with children with ASD.