Mark W. Steege

An evaluation of time in establishing operation on the effectiveness of functional communication training

We examined whether different durations of exposure to relevant establishing operations (EO) during treatment of problem behavior affected treatment efficacy and response bursting. In Study 1, we compared 2 functional communication training (FCT) interventions. In the first treatment, we used a card touch as the target mand; this was associated with limited exposure to the EO because we could physically guide the mand at prescribed times. In the other treatment, we used a vocal response as the mand; this was associated with longer exposure to the EO because it was not possible to guide the response. In Study 2, we exposed participants to time-based reinforcement schedules that were yoked to the schedules of obtained reinforcement from the 2 FCT interventions in Study 1. Results indicated that limited exposure to the EO was associated with less response bursting, larger and more rapid reductions in problem behavior, and faster acquisition of the alternative mand.

Evaluation of multiple schedules with naturally occurring and therapist-arranged discriminative stimuli following functional communication training

Many studies have shown that (a) functional communication training (FCT) is effective for reducing problem behavior, and (b) multiple schedules can facilitate reinforcer schedule thinning during FCT. Most studies tha have used multiple schedules with FCT have included therapist-arranged stimuli (e.g., colored cards) as the discriminative stimuli (S(D) s), but recently, researchers have evaluated similar multiple-schedule training procedures with naturally occurring S(D) s (e.g., overt therapist behavior). The purposes of the current study were to compare the effects of arranged and naturally occurring S(D) s directly during (a) acquisition of discriminated functional communication responses (FCRs) and (b) generalization of discriminated FCRs when we introduced the multiple schedules in novel contexts in which the naturally occurring stimuli were either relatively easy or difficult to discriminate. Results showed that (a) 2 of 3 participants acquired discriminated responding of the FCR more rapidly with arranged than with naturally occurring stimuli, (b) 2 of 3 participants showed resurgence of problem behavior , and (c) 2 of 3 participants showed greater generalization of discriminated responding to novel contexts with arranged stimuli than with naturally occurring stimuli. We discuss these results relative to the conditions under which naturally occurring and arranged S(D) s may promote rapid and generalized treatment gains.

Providing Outclinic Services

The implementation and evaluation of effective behavioral treatments is most commonly conducted in controlled settings, such as inpatient units, residential facilities, or classrooms. This occurs because those settings provide opportunities for direct observation over extended time periods. Direct observation of trends in behavior, when coupled with measures of treatment integrity, provides the information needed to evaluate functional control (i.e., the relation between the independent and dependent variables can be directly assessed within subjects over time and across treatment conditions). Functional control over behavior is a necessary condition for defining an effective treatment, and thus the majority of behavioral research is completed within controlled settings.