Philip W. Drash

Using mand training to establish an echoic repertoire in young children with autism.

This research describes a method that initially establishes a mand repertoire as the first component in producing echoic and tact repertoires in young children with limited verbal repertoires. The subjects were 3 nonverbal children with autism, aged 2.5 to 3.5 years. The results indicated that establishing a mand repertoire as the starting point for echoic training produced the acquisition of an initial echoic repertoire in all 3 children within the first 10 sessions. Two of the children also began tacting during the same period. A mand repertoire was acquired by all subjects by the sixth session. Negative vocal behavior was rapidly reduced without the use of aversive contingencies by shaping inappropriate vocalizations into acceptable vocal mands. Our discussion analyzes those contingencies that contribute to the effectiveness of the manding procedure and compares this procedure with the conventional vocal imitation model. We also discuss variables that may contribute to the long-term success of language training programs and describe strategies for preventing language delay in typical infants and children.

Increasing Assignment Completion and Accuracy Using a Daily Report Card Procedure.

Home-based reinforcement techniques have been used successfully to decrease a number of disruptive classroom behaviors. Few studies have been conducted, however, examining the effects of home-based reinforcement as a tool to increase positive school performance. This study examined the effects of a daily report card procedure designed to increase the completion and accuracy of in-class assignments in two youngsters described as having a behavioral history of difficulty in completing seat work, a problem commonly encountered in elementary school classes. The use of the procedure produced immediate significant changes in rates of both completion and accuracy for the two participants in the study. Results and problems of using the home-based reinforcement procedure are discussed.

A functional analysis of verbal delay in preschool children: Implications for prevention and total recovery.

Delays in acquiring age-appropriate verbal repertoires in preschool children with no known organic etiology may be explained by defective or absent behavior-environmental contingencies. This paper presents six possible behavioral paradigms that describe verbal episodes between parents and their preschool children and how these interactions may inhibit or prevent the acquisition of verbal behavior. These paradigms are contrasted with parent-child interactions that typically result in age-appropriate verbal repertoires. Identifying the reinforcement contingencies that produce delays in acquisition of verbal behavior could lead to the development of more effective behavioral programs for remediating nonorganic language delay. Recommendations for prevention, treatment and total recovery from functional verbal delay and associated mental retardation are presented. The relation between contingency-shaped and rule-governed behavior in the shaping of verbal behavior is discussed.

An analysis of autism as a contingency-shaped disorder of verbal behavior

This paper analyzes autism as a contingency-shaped disorder of verbal behavior. Contingencies of reinforcement in effect during the first to third year of a child’s life may operate to establish and maintain those behaviors that later result in a diagnosis of autism. While neurobiological variables may, in some cases, predispose some children to be more or less responsive to environmental variables than others, our analysis suggests that reliance on neurobiological variables as causal factors in autism is unnecessary. We present six paradigms that may play critical etiologic roles in the development of behaviors labeled as autistic. Recognizing these contingencies and their resulting behaviors during the first two years of a child’s life may contribute substantially to earlier identification, more effective treatment and, quite possibly, to the development of Applied Behavior Analysis programs for the prevention of autism that could be implemented immediately. Conceptualizing autism as a contingency-shaped disorder of verbal behavior may provide a new and potentially more effective paradigm for behavioral research and treatment in autism.

A standard methodology for the analysis, recording, and control of verbal behavior

Lack of a standard methodology has been one of the major obstacles preventing advancement of behavior analytic research in verbal behavior. This article presents a standard method for the analysis, recording, and control of verbal behavior that overcomes several major methodological problems that have hindered operant research in verbal behavior. The system divides all verbal behavior into four functional response classes, correct, error, no response, and inappropriate behavior, from which all vocal responses of a subject may be classified and consequated. The effects of contingencies of reinforcement on verbal operants within each category are made immediately visible to the researcher as changes in frequency of response. Incorporating frequency of response within each category as the unit of response allows both rate and probability of verbal response to be utilized as basic dependent variables. This method makes it possible to record and consequate verbal behavior in essentially the same way as any other operant response. It may also facilitate an experimental investigation of Skinner’s verbal response categories.

Is autism a preventable disorder of verbal behavior? A response to five commentaries.

This paper presents a response to five commentaries on our article An Analysis of Autism as a Contingency-Shaped Disorder of Verbal Behavior (Drash & Tudor, 2004). One of the principal objectives of that article is to provide the behavior analysis community and the autism community with a conceptual basis for analyzing autism as a behavioral disorder rather than a neurological disorder. This analysis provides a logical and testable behavioral answer to the question of the etiology of autism, a question that has baffled scientists and researchers for more than half a century. Elements of the original article with which reviewers expressed concern include: need for more data, need for greater emphasis on neurological and epidemiological factors in autism, the relative importance of verbal behavior as a core deficit of autism, and disruptive and avoidant behavior as a primary variable in the etiology of autism. We provide a behavioral response to each of these concerns. We also show how our analysis will provide a conceptual foundation for behavior analysis to begin developing urgently needed programs for prevention and earlier intervention in autism.

Rapid Reduction of Off-Task Behavior in Retarded Children by Use of Light-Out

The effectiveness of a light-out procedure in reducing periods of off-task behavior in retarded children was evaluated. Four children ages 3 to 10 yr. (mean IQ 32) were trained on a lever-pressing task as an analogue to discrete-trial training procedures. Positive reinforcement sessions were alternated with concurrent escape/avoidance procedures during which light-out was contingent upon nonresponding in an alternating treatment design. The light-out contingency rapidly and effectively reduced the length of time off-task and slightly increased response rate. Educational and therapeutic implications for retarded and autistic children include adaptation of the procedure for decreasing off-task behavior during discrete-trial training, such as in speech and language remediation.

Community-Based Residential Treatment for Autistic, Developmentally Disabled, and Predelinquent Children

Residential treatment for children with severe behavior problems (we are referring mainly to autistic children with developmental disabilities and children with antisocial and delinquent behaviors) has traditionally meant placement in a seven-day residential facility, often far removed from the child’s home community. In many cases, parents visit their children only on major holidays. Furthermore, the location of the facility is often in rural areas that are inaccessible to many community activities. This geographic separation frequently results in permanent institutional placement of the child.