Tag Archives: Sam Blanco BCBA

Tip of the Week: Two Essential Considerations When Toilet Training Boys

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Last year, I had the opportunity to interview Gary Weitzen, the Executive Director of POAC Autism Services and the Autism Shield Program. (You can see the blog post about that interview here.) In the months since our interview, many of his comments have stuck with me, but one in particular has impacted my daily work with students. He said, “A lot more boys have autism than females but the vast majority of educators in special ed, and in particular with autism, are females.” He went on to provide examples of how this fact influences some skill development, specifically with toilet training.

Child on Toilet 2 BlogThis leads to several considerations to take into account when toilet training boys. I agree with Weitzen that some of these issues arise from the simple fact that women are predominantly toilet training boys. However, it’s also possible that such issues arise from the fact that many boys are trained in early intervention or preschool years without consideration of the implications of those training techniques several years down the line, and without further intervention or training later in life. Either way, it’s important to recognize that training of life skills should be completed in such a way as to develop effective skills that are similar to those of the child’s same-age peers. To that end, here are two considerations:

Consider hygiene. Something I had never thought about prior to my conversation with Weitzen is that after boys use the bathroom, then zip up their pants, it’s easy for a little urine to drip onto their pants. Especially once children reach upper elementary and middle school grades, a spot of urine can be socially isolating or an invitation for bullying. Weitzen acknowledges that it can be difficult to teach boys to gently shake their penis before zipping up, especially because teachers don’t want to inappropriately touch the students. However, for the long term, it’s essential that teachers find a way to teach this simple action.

Consider the topography of the behavior. When we think about topography, we basically mean, “What does the behavior look like.” When initially toilet training, teachers will typically have the student pull his/her pants down to the floor. Weitzen shared a personal experience from several years ago, when he was a chaperone on a field trip with his son who is autistic. At one point, the teachers asked him to take the boys to the bathroom, so Weitzen went in with eight 14-year-old boys with autism. He said, “They took their pants and pushed them right down to their knees at the urinal at Medieval Times. So we had seven hairy tushies in the room. Out in public! And what happens is other dads and other boys came in there and everyone’s laughing and commenting and pointing.” This is the type of situation that teachers and parents do not want students to experience. When toilet training, it’s essential to recognize that the topography of the behavior in the male restroom is to unzip the pants, and then pull the fabric aside in order to urinate in the urinal. While it may be easier to teach students to pull their pants down in the initial phases of toilet training, it’s important to continue shaping behavior until it has the appropriate topography.

If our students continue to pull their pants down completely, they become targets for bullying, or worse. Weitzen says that on multiple occasions, he’s had parents report to him that their child used the bathroom at the urinal, and when they pulled their pants to the floor, another student took a picture of them. “Four different moms told me that, and if four moms told me that, I can’t imagine how often that’s happening,” Weitzen said. “And even if they’re not sharing the photo, well now you’re the weird kid who sticks his butt out. And you’re isolated and you’re picked upon, so we have to be real. We have to realize our guys live in the real world and teach them the skills that they need.”

WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, MSED, BCBA

Sam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals. Sam is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott College.

Simplifying the Science: Teaching Siblings About Behavior

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When I first came across this study, Behavioral Training for Siblings of Autistic Children, I was immediately hesitant. There’s something about the idea of sibling-as-therapist that makes me cringe a little bit. When I work with the families of children with autism, the hope is that the siblings of the child with autism still have a childhood without being pushed into the role of caregiver. And I also want the child with autism to have independence and feel like an individual who is heard, which may be more challenging if their siblings are issuing demands just as a parent or teacher would. But as I read the study, I realized that the work they completed had incredible social significance.

Siblings Playing Together BlogIn the study, there were three pairs of siblings. The ages of the children with autism ranged from 5 years old to 8 years old. The ages of the siblings ranged from 8 years old to 13 years old. The researchers trained each sibling of a child with autism how to teach basic skills, such as discriminating between different coins, identifying common objects, and spelling short words. As part of this training, the researchers showed videos of one-on-one sessions in which these skills were taught, utilizing techniques such as reinforcement, shaping, and chaining. What the researchers did next was the part that really stood out to me: they discussed with the siblings how to use these techniques in other environments. Finally, the researchers observed the sibling working with their brother/sister with autism and provided coaching on the techniques.

It should be noted here that the goal of the study was not to have the siblings become the teacher of basic skills. Instead, it was to provide a foundation of skills in behavioral techniques for the sibling to use in other settings with the hope of overall improvement in the behaviors of the child with autism. The researchers demonstrated that, after training, the siblings were able to effectively use prompts, reinforcement, and discrete trials to effectively teach new skills. But, perhaps the most meaningful aspects of the study were the changes reported by both siblings and parents. The researchers provide a table showing comments about the sibling with autism before and after the training. One of the most striking comments after the training was, “He gets along better if I know how to ask him” (p. 136). Parents reported that they were pleased with the results and found the training beneficial.

This study provides excellent evidence that structured training for siblings has real potential for making life a little easier for the whole family. The idea isn’t that they become the therapist, but instead that knowledge truly is power.

References

Schriebman, L., O’Neill, R.E. & Koegel, R.L. (1983). Behavioral training for siblings of autistic children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 16(2), 129-138.

WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, MSED, BCBA

Sam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals. Sam is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott College.

Autism Awareness Month Interview Series: Creating Positive Change in ASD Treatment Through Science, Support and Education with David Celiberti, PhD, BCBA-D

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We couldn’t be more thrilled to wrap up our Autism Awareness Month Interview Series with David Celiberti, PhD, BCBA. Dr. David Celiberti is the Executive Director of the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) and provides consultation to public and private schools and agencies in the U.S. and Canada. Here, Dr. Celiberti shares his wealth of knowledge and experience in creating positive change in autism treatments through scientific research and high-quality education and support.

Don’t forget to check out the other interviews from our Autism Awareness Month Interview Series here!

Creating Positive Change in ASD Treatment
Through Science, Support, and Education
with David Celiberti, PhD, BCBA-D

SAM BLANCO: I consider the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) to be an invaluable resource for both parents and practitioners. You serve as the Executive Director. Before we discuss ASAT, can you tell us a bit about your background?

DAVID CELIBERTI: First and foremost, thank you for the opportunity to participate in this interview, particularly as you are asking about topics that are near and dear to my heart. I have been fortunate to have a career in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) where the journey has been just as reinforcing as the destination. I continually urge young people to work hard at finding a career path consistent with their passions. Among my many reinforcers in the field of ASD treatment are interactions with parents and siblings who did not choose a life that included ASD, but still love unconditionally, roll up their sleeves and embrace powerful roles as agents of change. Additionally reinforcing has been my collaboration with myriad professionals, particularly those who are grounded in, and informed by, science. Perhaps most inspiring, though, are the individuals with ASD themselves who work so hard to acquire new skills, learn effective strategies for negotiating their experiences, and remind us daily that science-based treatments, such as applied behavior analysis (ABA), truly make a difference.

I currently serve as the halftime Executive Director of ASAT. I view this role not as a job but as a “lifestyle”, and I am so proud of what ASAT accomplishes every year, even with a tiny operating budget. We have an incredible board of directors from diverse professional backgrounds such as special education, behavior analysis, psychology, social work, sociology, law, medicine, speech-language pathology, computer science, family advocacy and business. Many of our board members have family members with ASD. Their commitment to helping other families and professionals find a clearer path to effective intervention is astounding to me. We also have scores of volunteer coordinators, externs, and an active Media Watch team who do much of the “heavy lifting”, helping ASAT remain productive, current, and responsive to the needs of the autism community.

SB: For those out there who aren’t familiar with ASAT, can you talk a little bit more about the organization’s mission and why it continues to be such an essential resource?

DC: With respect to our mission, we improve the quality of life for individuals with ASD and their families by promoting the use of safe, effective treatments, which are grounded in science, for people with ASD. As you know, there are over 400 treatments for autism, with the vast majority lacking any semblance of scientific support. We achieve our mission by sharing accurate, scientifically-sound information with professionals, parents and journalists; and by countering inaccurate or unsubstantiated information regarding autism and its treatment as it comes up. Unfortunately, there is so much out there which distracts consumers from making the best possible choices. Our overarching goal is to help parents and providers become savvy consumers of information who can truly discriminate science from pseudoscience. This means being armed with the knowledge to ask practitioners and marketers of ASD interventions critically important questions related to the state of their science, consult with knowledgeable and impartial professionals about potential treatments, and establish methods for assessing the benefits of treatments when they are adopted by the family and their intervention team. It is absolutely heartbreaking that autism treatment has become the type of business in which parents of children with autism must work so hard just to sort through so many options and mixed messages just in order to help their sons and daughters.

For more information, your readers can visit ASAT’s comprehensive website at www.asatonline.org. On the website, they will find extensive information about the scientific support (or lack thereof) behind the full array of treatments proposed for autism; resources and guidelines on how to make informed choices and weigh evidence in selecting treatment options, and information for various groups such as parents of newly diagnosed children, parents of older individuals, teachers, medical providers, and members of the media community. We encourage people to revisit ASAT’s website often, as information about autism treatments is frequently updated to reflect the latest research, and new content is routinely added.

ASAT also publishes a free quarterly newsletter, Science in Autism Treatment. Sign-up information is available at https://asatonline.org/signup. The quarterly e-newsletter features:

  • Invited articles by leading advocates of science-based treatment;
  • A Clinical Corner which responds to frequently asked questions about autism treatment;
  • A Consumer Corner which recommends resources that can guide and inform treatment decisions;
  • A Focus on Science column which is designed to empower families to make educated treatment decisions by highlighting those elements that constitute science-based interventions as well as warning signs of unsubstantiated treatment;
  • Detailed summaries of specific treatments for autism;
  • Book reviews;
  • Highlights of our Media Watch efforts and discussion of accurate, and inaccurate, portrayals of autism and its treatment by the media;
  • Reviews of published research to help consumers and professionals understand and gain access to the science;
  • Critiques of policy statements related to autism treatment; and
  • Interviews with those who advance science-based treatment and confront pseudoscience.

Finally, your readers can also follow us on Facebook and on Twitter at @asatonline.

SB: You have dedicated a lot of your time to providing services for underserved populations, from direct services to organizing fundraisers that support organizations that serve economically disadvantaged children. Why is this an important area of work for you?

DC: When I was in graduate school in the late 1980s and early 1990s at Rutgers University under the mentorship of Dr. Sandra Harris, I was struck that only a tiny percentage of students with ASD were receiving the lion’s share of the available expertise and resources. This disparity was troubling to me as I recognized that there were scores of other children with ASD who were receiving “generic” special education services which did not yet incorporate state-of-the-art behavior analytic intervention. My hope was to one day dedicate a portion of my time to supporting students with ASD in inner city communities. As my career unfolded, I had the opportunity to work at the Rutgers Autism Program, where part of my duties focused on outreach. I started working in rural Maine in 1997, helping public schools develop and implement educational programs to students with ASD, and have now returned over 110 times! It is not that urban setting that I had envisioned as an idyllic graduate student; however, I quickly realized how rewarding it was to provide services in geographic areas that did not have the existing resources, and to assist public schools in providing high quality educational experiences.

Hoboken, New Jersey, where I live, is home to a significant number of economically disadvantaged students. I began to seek collaborative relationships between ASAT and other local organizations which focused on poverty. The common thread was the importance of providing children with meaningful, socially valid and effective opportunities to realize their fullest potential despite the myriad obstacles that they face. That resonated well with me as someone whose career focuses on the treatment of ASD. To date, my fundraising efforts have benefited four Hoboken-based organizations combating the barriers associated with poverty.

SB: I would like to go back to your reference about public school programs. In your view, what are some of the key elements of a high quality education for students with autism?

DC: This is such an important question! In a nutshell, a high-quality education would include the following elements:

  • Be truly individualized – An educational plan should truly fit the child like a glove fits a hand. Services should not be about what a provider likes to do, but rather what the student needs, as determined through ongoing, valid assessment.
  • Be comprehensive – A high quality education targets the full array of skills that will promote success at home, school and community and uses a wide range of techniques based on science that are well fitted to the skills being targeted.
  • Keep the future in mind when selecting goals – The skills needed to be successful and marketable in the next setting (be that a particular job or even Mr. Walker’s 4th grade classroom) must be identified and addressed.
  • Use well conceptualized behavior management strategies – When addressing challenging behavior, these strategies should take into account the underlying function of the behavior, include carefully selected antecedent and consequence based supports, and build skills to help students better meet their needs in a way which promotes their day-to-day independence and opportunities.
  • Consider and offer inclusion opportunities carefully – Ensure that it occurs with the appropriate supports and is delivered by adequately trained staff. Social skill development does not occur through pure exposure alone; rather, skill acquisition occurs when inclusion is approached as a systematic, individualized process, with proper supports, monitoring of data, and a goal of challenging the individual with ASD while not overwhelming them, or inadvertently creating isolation.
  • Carefully implement instruction, including modifications and accommodations – Promote early success and carryover, identify and use powerful motivators, and consider how to motivate students to work hard, to learn new skills, and to minimize frustration.
  • Allocate resources thoughtfully – Intervention and teaching-team members need solid training in order to implement teaching procedures and services. Regularly scheduled team meeting promote coordination, particularly when multiple disciplines are involved.
  • Engage parents – Not only is it important to continually seek input from parents about treatment priorities and goal selection, parents benefit from the training, collaboration, and information that will enable them to embrace their role as a co-pilot in their child’s intervention. This support should include siblings, grandparents, and other significant individuals for whom parents consent to their involvement. Engagement should occur throughout the educational journey and be adjusted to face the unique needs and challenges at each point in time.
  • Take data collection seriously – Ongoing data collection enables one to objectively assess progress, make timely adjustments, and remain accountable to those we serve. No provider should get a “pass” on data collection.
  • Start early and get it right from the start! – We know that early intervention can make an incredible difference. Don’t squander precious time on interventions that are not time-tested and research based.

SB: You’ve been instrumental in implementing change in many aspects of our field of ABA and ASD treatment in general. Do you have your thoughts on two or three areas that you think need to be addressed differently? How can we improve our work there?

DC: There is certainly room for improvement. Promoting science and science-based interventions such as ABA is not an area in which we have been very successful. Media representations tend to favor less science-based treatments, perhaps because their promoters use more sensationalized language when describing both their methods and their outcomes. Behavior analysts must take a closer look at how they market their work so that their outcomes can be more understandable and appreciated by various stakeholders (e.g., media, funding sources, consumers). We must also be more proactive in helping the media approach autism treatment in a more accurate manner.

Autism is clearly a spectrum disorder. In recent years, we have seen many higher functioning persons with ASD who have been very vocal; generously sharing their views about the appropriateness of treatment. Although their views and perspectives are important, I worry that the public, policy makers, and other important stakeholders may take these views as applicable to the entire spectrum. I believe this has the potential to do parents a tremendous disservice when they try to acquire the resources, tools, and experiences which will enable their son or daughter (who may not be on the upper end of the spectrum) to realize his or her fullest potential. On the other hand, one important take-away message is the importance of cultivating and celebrating the strengths of individuals with ASD rather than approach our work from a pure deficit model.

Another significant concern is that the hundreds of thousands of children with ASD who were diagnosed in the last two decades are growing up and becoming hundreds of thousands of young adults with ASD; as a society, we are failing them. When children with ASD turn twenty-one, funding for services drastically changes. As a result, there are very few quality programs for adults. We are facing a crisis in the field, with a scarcity of services for adults with ASD and the absence of a clear strategy for closing the gap between the ever-increasing need, and an unprepared supply of resources. Autism awareness must include important conversations about how we can help adults with ASD live and work independently, develop meaningful relationships, reduce challenging behaviors that may limit opportunities, access faith communities, and enjoy the array of recreational pursuits which are available within their communities. Those are important conversations to have and these conversations should translate into actionable items at every level of service delivery.

SB: With Autism Awareness month drawing to a close, what would you like the general public to know about autism treatment?

DC: Even though ASD is no longer the rare disorder it once was, each person with ASD is unique. Efforts to help them realize their fullest potential should be individualized to meet the specific needs of each individual with ASD across settings such as home, school, community and the workplace; and informed by input from the individual, as well as his or her family.

Do not believe everything you hear. There are dozens of purported “miracle cures” and “breakthroughs” for ASD which receive widespread media attention, even if they have not been proven effective. Sadly, effective treatments rarely gain media attention.

On a related vein, do not believe everything you read. Not all information on the internet is reliable and accurate, and celebrities are neither trained nor equipped to define or guide ASD treatment even though many appear comfortable in that role. On the other hand, there is a large body of research published in peer-reviewed scientific journals which should guide autism treatment. Visit our website to learn more at www.asatonline.org.

Lastly, there is hope and tremendous opportunity. With the right treatment, individuals with autism can lead happy and fulfilling lives. Research indicates that interventions such as ABA can effectively help children and adults with ASD realize their fullest potential. As stated earlier, we know that early and intensive behavioral intervention can make a huge difference, both with respect to human potential and significant cost savings across the lifespan.

SB: How can the general public make a positive difference?

DC: It cannot be overstated that it takes a village to help individuals with ASD learn to enjoy and benefit from all that their communities have to offer. Every member of the public can make a difference in supporting individuals with ASD and their families. There are so many positive ways the public can help. Although I will share several examples here, this list is by no means exhaustive:

  1. If you have a family member or a neighbor who has a child with ASD, ask specifically how you may be helpful (e.g., assist with siblings, offer play dates, help with transportation to therapies, or provide an empathic ear).
  2. If you see a family struggle in the community, do not stare, comment, or judge. In some cases, it may be appropriate to go over and assist (e.g., “I see you are helping your little guy, may I help you put your bags in the car?”). Family members may take you up on your kind offer or may just decline.
  3. If your children are interested, inquire if there are opportunities for them to help classmates with ASD at their school (e.g., becoming a lunch buddy, peer tutor). This is particularly beneficial in the later grades when opportunities for students with ASD to interact meaningfully with their typically-developing peers is lessened.
  4. At school board meetings encourage board members to learn about best practices in special education which are scientifically validated. Inquire if special education resources are being spent on interventions that lack scientific support or are not being spent on those that do possess such support (e.g., ABA). In fact, a research basis should inform most decisions.
  5. Some faith communities are very welcoming to families of individuals with ASD, whereas others are not. Discuss this within your place of worship. Identify steps that can be taken to help individuals with ASD participate in their religious communities in a positive and meaningful manner. This applies to both religious ceremonies, as well as day to day participation.
  6. Encourage organizations to be more accepting of persons with ASD and to take appropriate steps to learn how to create meaningful inclusion opportunities (e.g., seeking out information, soliciting training and education, learning from others who are doing this with success).
  7. If you are involved with youth sports or other extracurricular activities, offer to coach and/or mentor a player with ASD.
  8. Encourage your town or city to provide and/or create recreational opportunities that include individuals with ASD as there is often a tendency to focus only on separate experiences.
  9. Support ASD organizations that put science first. Research how your donations are used.

ABOUT DAVID CELIBERTI, PHD, BCBA-D

DCelibertiDr. David Celiberti is the Executive Director of the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT). He previously served as the President of the Board of Directors of ASAT from 2006 through 2012. In response to the increasing number of parents attending professional conferences to learn about applied behavior analysis, he also founded the Parent-Professional Partnership SIG for the Association for Behavior Analysis International in 2000 and served as its Co-President until 2014. He had also served as President of the Autism Special Interest Group (SIG) from 1998 to 2006. He currently sits on a number of Advisory Boards in the area of autism, as well as in early childhood education. He has organized fundraising initiatives to support afterschool programming for economically disadvantaged children in Northern New Jersey. Dr. Celiberti is in private practice and provides consultation to public and private schools and agencies in the U.S. and Canada. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Rutgers University in 1993. He has authored several articles in professional journals and presents frequently at regional, national, and international conferences. He has taught courses related to ABA at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, supervised individuals pursuing their BCBA and BCaBA, and in prior positions had conducted research in the areas of applied behavior analysis, family intervention, and autism.

Autism Awareness Month Interview Series: Getting the Services Your Child with Autism is Legally Entitled To with Gary S. Mayerson, JD

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This week, our exclusive interview series with BCBA Sam Blanco features the renowned Gary Mayerson, JD, founder of Mayerson & Associates, the very first civil rights law firm in the nation dedicated to representing individuals with autism and related developmental disorders. In this interview, he reveals valuable advice for parents and caregivers on how to find and obtain the services their children are entitled to.

Getting the Services Your Child with Autism is Legally Entitled To
with Gary S. Mayerson, JD

SAM BLANCO: Can you address any common misconceptions related to IDEA or LRE?

GARY MAYERSON: The federal IDEA statute is governed primarily by what is “appropriate” for the student, as opposed to what is “best” or “optimal.” Unfortunately, the IDEA statute does not define the word “appropriate” and that confusion accounts for many of the conflicts that will arise between parents and school districts, who are obligated to provide a FAPE (a “free and appropriate public education”). On the other hand, LRE, otherwise known as “least restrictive environment,” is one of the few “maximizing” provisions in the IDEA statute. LRE is Congress’ mandate that students with disabilities be educated with their non-disabled peers to the “maximum extent appropriate,” even if doing so requires supplemental aids and services. The LRE mandate requires school districts to consider what is known as “the full continuum” and not rely upon “one size fits all” special education classrooms.

SB: What is the most important piece of advice you can give to parents as they begin the process of finding an appropriate school placement for their child?

GM: The best advice I could give parents who are just getting started is to seek out the best possible baseline of assessments and evaluations to tease out the strengths and challenges, identify and address any interfering behaviors, and hopefully get a good sense as to how their child learns, i.e., what kinds of programs are likely to be effective or not. Without the benefit of solid evaluations, the discussion at the IEP meeting will likely be relegated to “this is what the parents want.” When parents are able to provide quality evaluations, the discussion is elevated to “this is what professionals are recommending.” School districts are far more likely to take action based on the recommendation(s) of experts. Early intervention is always best. Accordingly, once evaluations and assessments are available to guide intervention, services should start ASAP. Parents of children diagnosed on the autism spectrum who are just getting started will find very useful information at www.autismspeaks.org. Autism Speaks offers an online “100 Days Kit” to help parents wade through the initial time frame following a diagnosis.

SB: Many parents struggle with the costs associated with autism. What advice do you have for them to alleviate some of the expenses?

GM: This is a thorny topic because even families with significant financial resources will struggle to pay for the daunting cost of effective programming where autism is the core disability. Today, most states (including New York) have enacted insurance reform, which means that many intervention services will be covered by private insurance, typically limited to an annual cap of approximately $40,000 or so. Parents should also consider obtaining home and community based services by filing for a “Medicaid waiver.” In addition to accessing insurance benefits and applying for a Medicaid waiver, families should register with early intervention (“birth to three”) and later, with their Committee on Preschool Education (3-5) and later, with their Committee on Special Education (5-21) to secure a public program. If, however, the public program is not appropriate or adequate, with timely advance notice, parents can file for a hearing to seek to obtain reimbursement or other funding for services and programming that is appropriate. Even short of a lawsuit, if parents are unhappy with the school district’s evaluation, they can request an “independent (private) evaluation” at the expense of the school district.

SB: Do you have recommendations for how parents keep track of records for legal purposes?

GM: Good record keeping is absolutely essential for parents. A great low tech, low cost method every parent should employ– keeping a $.99 notebook “log” of all your conversations with evaluators, school district personnel and providers. Everything important needs to be confirmed and documented in writing. This, however, does not mean sending a letter by certified mail. Faxes are just fine (but be sure to keep the fax transmittal confirmation), as are emails. Make sure to save every notice, letter and communication. For the IEP meeting, parents should either take good notes or, in situations where distrust has arisen, consider tape recording the meeting. Parents who observe schools that are being recommended by the school district also should record their observations, both good and bad.

SB: What resources do you recommend for parents to educate themselves about their legal rights?

GM: While there often is no substitute for seeking the assistance of an experienced attorney or other advocate, there actually are a number of good resources for parents to turn to in order to become better informed as to their child’s rights and entitlements. Parents, for example, will find useful information at www.wrightslaw.com and at www.mayerslaw.com. Our law firm invites parents to sign up for the firm’s quarterly informational newsletter. In addition, parents should carefully review the “parental rights” booklet that all school districts are required to provide in the context of the IEP process. Parents can also contact their local SEPTA or PTA. Finally, each state’s department of education will post, online, valuable information that parents can access free of charge, 24/7.

SB: Do you discuss estate planning for parents of children with special needs? When do you advise parents to begin making those plans?

GM: Parents of special needs children live with constant worry, knowing that they will not be able to live and protect their child forever. All parents–even those without any financial resources–should have a will that addresses estate planning issues, and the question of who will take over the parental role when the parent is no longer around to do so. Parents with financial resources, or who expect to come into money in the future, need to engage counsel to set up a “special needs trust” for their child—so as to allow the child to receive Medicaid and Social Security benefits without endangering the estate when such benefits are accessed. It is never too early to discuss estate planning issues, and too many parents overlook estate planning issues until it is too late. Parents also should timely commence guardianship proceedings well before the child reaches the age of majority (18 in most jurisdictions). Otherwise, a child who reaches the age of majority without a guardianship order may leave the jurisdiction and put themselves in danger with parents being left with little, if any, legal recourse. This is not to say, however, that obtaining guardianship is a given. Obtaining guardianship requires a showing, deemed acceptable to the court, that the child is incapable of making their own decisions.

SB: Can you describe legal considerations across the lifespan? For instance, what should the preschooler’s parents be considering as opposed to the teenager’s parent?

GM: The perspective and legal considerations when a child is a preschooler are different than when a child reaches his or her teens. While learning can and will continue into adulthood, most scientists and educators are in agreement that the same effort will produce greater learning, with a greater “rate of acquisition,” when the same child is younger. For this reason, judges and hearing officers are most comfortable “investing” significant public resources in the younger child. Because of the value of “early intervention,” parents need to obtain a diagnosis and classification as soon as possible. This means obtaining quality assessments that come with specific recommendations. Parents of children at the preschool age should thus timely receive the services and service levels that are being recommended by professionals. When the child enters his or her teens, that child still may require intensive services. However, as mandated by federal and state law, when a child is about to turn 16 (15 in New York), the IEP is supposed to shift into high gear with “transition” assessments, vocational training, and post-secondary outcomes. At all stages, parents should make sure that educators and service providers are promoting “generalization,” and that increased independence and self –sufficiency is the constant beacon on the horizon.

ABOUT GARY S. MAYERSON, JD

Gary Mayerson is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. In early 2000, Gary founded Mayerson & Associates as the very first civil rights law firm in the nation dedicated to representing individuals with autism and related developmental disorders.

Gary speaks regularly at national conferences and major universities and has testified before Congress on the subject of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (“IDEIA”). At the invitation of the United Nations, Gary spoke on the subject of facilitating inclusive education. Gary is well published in the field and is the author of How To Compromise With Your School District Without Compromising Your Child (DRL Books 2005), the “Legal Considerations” chapter appearing in the Second Edition of Dr. Donna Geffner’s book, Auditory Processing Disorders (2013), and the “Autism in the Courtroom” chapter appearing in the Fourth Edition of Dr. Fred R. Volkmar’s seminal treatise, Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders (2014).

Gary has been interviewed by the Today Show (NBC), Dan Rather (HDNet), Katie Couric, CNN, HLN, ABC, NPR, New York Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Congressional Quarterly Researcher and the New York Times, among other media. In 2014, after being peer-nominated and vetted across 12 factors by an attorney led research team, Gary was named by Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top attorneys in the New York metropolitan area.

In addition to the U.S. Supreme Court, Gary is admitted to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gary is responsible for more than sixty reported federal court decisions, including Deal v. Hamilton County, the very first autism case to ever reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Gary’s work also was instrumental in T.K. v. NYCDOE (bullying recognized as a “FAPE” deprivation), R.E. v. NYCDOE and C.F. v. NYCDOE (cases rejecting school district’s attempts to rely upon “impermissible retrospective evidence” at trial), T.M. v. Cornwall (least restrictive environment mandate as applied to ESY), L.B. v. Nebo School District (pertaining to “supported inclusion” and Congress’ “least restrictive environment” mandate), V.S. v. NYCDOE (parents have a procedural right to evaluate the school assignment) and Starego v. NJSIAA, a federal court settlement affording Anthony Starego, a 19-year-old high school placekicker with autism, an unprecedented fifth season of interscholastic competition (incredibly, that additional season had a storybook ending, with Anthony and his team going on to win the 2013 State Championship 26-15 after Anthony contributed points from two successful field goals!).

Gary has served on the national board of Autism Speaks since its inception in 2005 and founded its Federal Legal Appeals Project, a pro bono initiative at the federal level. In addition, Gary serves on the Boards of JobPath, a not-for-profit based in Manhattan that is dedicated to securing and supporting meaningful employment opportunities for adults with autism, and ALUT, Israel’s largest autism not-for-profit. Gary also serves on the Professional Advisory Board of the New England Center for Children (NECC), a residential school for students with autism located in Southborough, Massachusetts.

Gary testified before the New York City Council in support of “Avonte’s Law,” a safety enhancement measure introduced by Councilmember Rob Cornegy that, once fully implemented, will provide an additional layer of protection for students with autism who have a propensity to wander. Most recently, Gary and attorneys Maria McGinley and Jacqueline DeVore worked behind the scenes to help secure a conditional pardon from the Governor of Virginia for “Neli” Latson, a young man with autism, previously placed in solitary confinement, who is now receiving the therapeutic treatment that he needs.

Autism Awareness Month Interview Series: Developing Social Skills With Young Learners with Mary Jane Weiss, PhD, BCBA-D

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This week, we’re excited to share the second installment in our series of exclusive interviews with autism experts for the month of April, featuring Mary Jane Weiss, PhD, BCBA-D. In this interview with BCBA Sam Blanco, Dr. Weiss discusses some of the most effective ways for parents and practitioners to develop social skills in young children, as well as some of the most common errors that are made in teaching these important skills.

Developing Social Skills with Young Learners
with Mary Jane Weiss, PhD, BCBA-D

SAM BLANCO: What advice do you have for parents of young learners who are concerned about social skills?

MARY JANE WEISS: Well, we all need to be concerned about social skills. One related issue is social motivation. If a learner is socially interested, social skill training is considerably easier. If not, we need to work on making social interaction meaningful and rewarding. What are the favorite activities of this child? How can we embed ourselves into them? Can we teach manding for them so that we grant access? Can we create social routines within them? How can we make something that is not yet social begin to be social?

SB: What are activities parents can engage in to help their learners develop stronger social skills?

MJW: Parents are in a great position to teach social skills, because there are endless opportunities to use as teaching moments.  Think of requesting: there are countless moments in every day to work on requesting – food, drinks, snacks, tissues, a ball, to go outside, to play a game, to make a silly face…Imitation too is so easy to work on and the list of things to imitate is long.  Can your child imitate how you clean the table, sweep the floor, load the dishwasher, open the mail, help a younger sibling do a puzzle? And joint attention: capture the unusual moments in every day and create a social exchange around them!

SB: When considering social skills for young learners, what are the first skills you focus upon?

MJW: Imitation, Joint Attention, Manding… I think we have to start with these.  They are core socio-communicative skills.  Many higher order skills require these foundations.  And I think we need to focus on pairing ourselves with great things to naturally build approach behaviors and naturally reduce avoidance behaviors.

SB: Many parents and practitioners are concerned about eye contact. Can you talk about that skill? Why is it important? Do you start with eye contact? 

MJW: There are many opinions about this.  I was trained to be aware of the ways in which eye contact can be trained to be non-functional.  For example, if we ask for eye contact before every instruction, we run the risk that learners will depend on that cue in order to attend/be ready for ANY OTHER instruction.  That is not a desired outcome.  On the other hand, the absence of eye contact is very stigmatizing, and does not invite social bids.  Here are some ideas for making it functional:

  • Build eye contact through engaging playful interaction.
  • Try not to over-rely on any attentional cue (but especially not “look at me”).
  • Experiment with more natural ways to get eye contact on command (e.g., in response to name or given as a group instruction to all).

SB: Are there any common mistakes you see in teaching social skills?

MJW: YES, thanks for asking that question! The biggest mistake I have seen is teaching social skills in rote and contrived situations that do not represent natural experiences. When we teach a list of social questions, we are not necessarily helping learners to develop social conversation skills. We do not ask people their name, address, favorite food, and siblings’ names as conversation (beyond the first day of meeting someone!). We need to teach CONTEXT. We do not ask someone about their weekend each time we see them on Monday. We only do that the FIRST time.  Sensitivity to context is often absent from social skill instruction.

Also, I see people focusing on responsivity to questions.  We need to broaden the responsivity training.  In fact, many social exchanges start with comments.  Someone comments about something, and we respond with comments or questions.  Most children with autism are taught to respond to questions.  Sometimes, they do not even realize that a comment is a social opportunity.

Finally, we need to teach INITIATION skills.  How do we start a conversation, ask someone to play with us, ask for something we need, request to join a game?  We have to balance our instruction in responding with instruction in initiation!

SB: There’s a common misconception that ABA is solely teaching skills at a table in discrete trials. How can ABA be useful in teaching social skills?

MJW: ABA can be useful in teaching a wide variety of social skills well beyond DTI!  I really like the work on scripts.  I also like the way Jed Baker has outlined social skills training for non-vocal learners.  I absolutely love the Crafting Connections curriculum; it is so focused on socially valid skills.

SB: What resources do you recommend to parents?

MJW: There are several curricular resources that I think can be useful.  Some of my favorite books are:

The Social Skills Picture Book: Teaching play, emotion, and communication to children with autism
Jed Baker (Author)
ISBN: 978-1885477910, Publication Date: 2003

Building Social Relationships: A Systematic Approach to Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Social Difficulties
Scott Bellini (Author)
ISBN: 978-1931282949, Publication Date: 2006

Social Skills for Teenagers with Developmental and Autism Spectrum Disorders: The PEERS Treatment Manual
Elizabeth A. Laugeson and Fred Frankel (Authors)
ISBN: 978-0415872034, Publication Date: May 20, 2010

Teaching Conversation to Children With Autism: Scripts And Script Fading
Lynn E. McClannahan and Patricia J. Ph.D. Krantz (Authors)
ISBN: 978-1890627324, Publication Date: 2005

Crafting Connections: Contemporary applied behavior analysis (ABA) for enriching the social lives of persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Mitchell Taubman, Ron Leaf, and John McEachin (Authors)
ISBN: 978-0975585993, Publication Date: 2011

I also really like the book series below:

  • Joy Berry series of books (Help Me Be Good series)
  • Cheri Meiners series of books (Learning to Get Along series)

SB: Is there any particular assessment you recommend practitioners use to assess social skills?

MJW: There are a variety of assessments that target social skills. Some are useful for group interaction (e.g., the ABLLS-R has a section on classroom relevant skills……).  The VB-MAPP has some elements that are very socially relevant, including the Barriers Assessment and the Transitions Assessment.  Those assessments help to identify individuals that may be ready for more group instruction or more naturalized instruction.

SB: Are there any particular studies you direct practitioners to that are related to social skills training for individuals with autism?

MJW: I really like the work of Justin Leaf and his colleagues at Autism Partnership.  Their elegant studies have been real contributions to the empirical literature.  Bridget Taylor has also done some excellent work, including in some centrally important areas such as joint attention.

ABOUT MARY JANE WEISS, PHD, BCBA-D

Mary Jane WeissMary Jane Weiss, Ph.D., BCBA-D has been working as a behavior analyst serving people with autism for over 25 years. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Rutgers University in 1990, and became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2000. She is currently a Professor of Education at Endicott College, where she directs the graduate programs in ABA and Autism. She previously served as an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University, and as Director of Research and Training and as Clinical Director of the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center at Rutgers University for 16 years. Her clinical and research interests center on defining best practice ABA techniques, on evaluating the impact of ABA in learners with autism spectrum disorders, and in maximizing family members’ expertise and adaptation. She is a regular presenter at regional and national conferences on topics relevant to ABA and autism. She is a past president of the Autism Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavior Analysis, a former member of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts Board of Directors, and she currently serves on the ethics review committee of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, on the Scientific Council of the Organization for Autism Research, on the Legislative Affairs Committee of the New Jersey Association for Behavior Analysis, and on the Board of Trustees of Autism NJ.

Autism Awareness Month Interview Series: Essentials of Verbal Behavior with Mark Sundberg, PhD, BCBA-D

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Today marks the start of Autism Awareness Month. This year, we’re thrilled to introduce a series of exclusive interviews with renowned experts on topics that are of interest and importance to both parents and professionals working with students on the autism spectrum. We can’t think of a better way to kick off this series than with an information-packed interview with Mark Sundberg, PhD, BCBA on the Essentials of Verbal Behavior.

Dr. Sundberg hardly needs an introduction. He is the author of the VB-MAPP, Teaching Language to Children with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, and co-author of the original ABLLS. Additionally, he has published over 50 professional papers and 4 book chapters and taught more than 80 university courses on behavior analysis, verbal behavior, sign language, and child development. He is a licensed psychologist with over 40 years of clinical experience.

We’re honored that Dr. Sundberg agreed to kick off Autism Awareness Month here at Different Roads and answer these questions on Verbal Behavior from BCBA Sam Blanco. A big thank you to Cindy Sundberg as well for her help with the interview.

Essentials of Verbal Behavior
with Mark Sundberg, PhD, BCBA-D

SAM BLANCO: There is often confusion about what differentiates ABA and Verbal Behavior. Can you tell us what Verbal Behavior is and how it relates to ABA?

MARK SUNDBERG: In the 1950s B. F. Skinner published the book Science and Human Behavior (1953). In that book he described how the basic concepts and principles of behavior analysis could be applied to human behavior. This book is credited for starting the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) (Morris, Smith, & Altus, 2005). A few years later Skinner published the book Verbal Behavior (1957) which contained a detailed analysis of language, a topic he addressed frequently in Science and Human Behavior and other writings. The verbal behavior (VB) approach (or ABA/VB) to autism treatment is based on these two Skinner books, and over 60 years of conceptual and empirical research that has evolved primarily from this original material.

Regarding the similarities and differences between ABA and VB, first they both make use of the same principles, procedures, and research basis of behavior analysis (Skinner, 1953). That is, they both use the basic procedures of prompting, fading, shaping, reinforcing, and so on (cf. Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). The primary difference between the two approaches is the analysis of language that underlies the assessment and intervention programs. The VB approach makes use of Skinner’s (1957) behavioral analysis of language along with ABA principles and procedures, while most ABA and cognitive-based programs use the traditional expressive and receptive framework of language. Although this seems to be changing in that more ABA approaches and outcome studies are incorporating aspects of Skinner’s analysis (e.g., manding) into their intervention programs (e.g., the Sallows & Graupner, 2005 outcome study).

The main advantage of Skinner’s treatment of language for children with autism is that he breaks down expressive language more thoroughly and functionally. He suggests that the “mand,” “tact,” and “intraverbal,” are functionally different from each other because they are controlled by different environmental variables. For example, the mand is under the functional control of motivational variables (what a child wants), while the tact is under the functional control of nonverbal discriminative stimuli (what a child sees, hears, etc., but may not want). It is not uncommon to encounter children with autism who have dozens of words as tacts, but no words as mands (their mands may occur in the form of tantrums or other negative behavior). In the traditional analysis of expressive language this distinction between the mand and the tact is not made, thus a resulting intervention program may not completely or accurately address a child’s needs. These important differences in verbal skills are not typically assessed by most of the common assessment tools used for children with autism (Esch, LaLonde, & Esch, 2010). For more details on the value of incorporating Skinner’s (1957) analysis of verbal behavior into ABA programs, the reader is referred to Petursdottir and Carr (2011) and Sundberg and Michael (2001).

SB: Can you tell us a bit about developing the VB-MAPP? It must have been quite an undertaking!

MS: I’ve been working on applying Skinner’s (1957) analysis of verbal behavior to language assessment and intervention since the 1970s when I was one of Jack Michael’s graduate students at Western Michigan University. This topic became the foundation of my doctoral dissertation (Sundberg, 1980), and has been the main focus of my professional career. The VB-MAPP was designed to be an assessment tool that is comprehensive, precise, developmentally matched, and functionally valuable to the child. As a result, the information obtained from the VB-MAPP can assist in IEP planning and help to establish intervention priorities, and serve as a curriculum guide for the program. The VB-MAPP is also designed to serve as a dependent measure in empirical research, and outcome research. In addition, problem behavior and various other “barriers” impact learning and should be assessed along with language, learning, and social skills. If left unattended, these barriers can slow down a child’s skill acquisition or possibly bring any gains to a complete standstill, and leave the child susceptible to other problems. Thus, the VB-MAPP also contains an assessment of 24 barriers that might affect a child (e.g., escape and avoidance, prompt dependency, demand weakens motivation).

The VB-MAPP has greatly benefited over the years from the many parents and professionals who have provided feedback or conducted field-testing with typical children and children with special needs in schools, homes, clinics, and community settings. This feedback and field-testing provided us with a wealth of information that influenced many aspects of the VB-MAPP, such as checks for generalization throughout the assessment, tips for the tester, more information in the Guide about the skills being assessed, and a placement program to provide general direction for intervention and IEP development. Our own field-testing activities also helped us with many of the improvements, such as the refinement of the sequence and validity of the intraverbal assessment (e.g., Sundberg & Sundberg, 2011), and separating play skills into independent play and social play for a tighter assessment of this area. In addition, there is now a more extensive body of conceptual and empirical research that has advanced our overall understanding of language acquisition and the treatment of autism.

We were also fortunate to have Barbara Esch, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCBA-D include her Early Echoic Skills Assessment to the VB-MAPP. Her tool presents a state-of-the-art method to quickly assess a child’s echoic repertoire, and it fits well within the VB-MAPP. The VB-MAPP also contains a short transition assessment that resulted from many years of consulting to special education classrooms and attending IEPs. We thought it would be useful to create a piece of the assessment that could help to determine what type of educational format might best suit an individual child (e.g., 1:1 vs. small group instruction, inclusion). The targeted milestones in the VB-MAPP have been carefully chosen and matched to those of typically developing children, thus providing a clearer picture of how a child with autism is performing. We aligned the VB-MAPP with standardized, and well-respected assessments, including the APES, Bayley-III, PLS-IV, and the Vineland-II. As a result of these various features, the VB-MAPP moves beyond just an assessment of basic skills to a more thorough and functional assessment of the whole child.

The work on the VB-MAPP and making ABA and verbal behavior understandable and accessible continues to be an on-going process. After the VB-MAPP was published in late 2008, we received interest from professionals wanting electronic versions and foreign language translations. The VB-MAPP is now also available as an app and web-based format, as well as in several different languages including Chinese, French, Italian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish, with other languages in various stages of development.

SB: For a learner who is just developing language, what does research show is the appropriate developmental order for teaching verbal skills? (For example, do you teach “I want _______” to a learner who only has ten words?)

MS: The design of the VB-MAPP directly addresses the issue of using typical developmental milestones as a framework for the assessment and the intervention program. For example, it is common to have adjectives, prepositions, and answering WH questions on an IEP for a child who may only have a 30-word vocabulary. Developmentally, that small of a vocabulary size indicates that the child may not be ready for tasks that require the child to modify nouns with their properties or location, let alone answer WH questions about them. Likewise, adding carrier phrases such as “I want” to a mand may be of little value to a child who only has ten words. The child would probably benefit more from first learning more mands and tacts. There are many aspects to developing a child’s verbal skills, even though the learning patterns demonstrated by typical children can guide us, each child is different and still requires an individual analysis of what curriculum sequence might work best for him.

SB: Why is it important for a learner to have a certain number of mands before moving on to other verbal skills?

MS: There is no magic number of mands. My point (from Skinner) has been that manding is the only type of verbal behavior that directly benefits the child. Mands allow a child to get access to things and activities that are important to him. That’s motivating for the child, and increases chances that he will initiate verbal interactions and emit language in a more natural way, as well as participate in other instructional activities. The other types of verbal behavior (e.g., echoic, tacting) don’t have the same effect. I have found repeatedly that it is often quite easy to establish a mand for a nonverbal child (especially using sign language or PECS), and it becomes much easier to use this newly established rapport to teach the child other skills. A variety of different verbal skills are necessary for a functional communication repertoire. Sooner or later the child must learn other language skills such as tacts, intraverbals, and listener skills. My tendency to encourage practitioners to emphasize the mand has been mainly due to its value to the child, but also to offset the historical tendency by many ABA programs to ignore the mand, teach it late in an intervention program, not appreciate the difference between motivational control and stimulus control, or assume that the mand will just emerge from other types of training.

SB: How do you measure verbal behavior?

MS: Verbal behavior can be measured by using many of the same recording systems common to behavior analysis (e.g., Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007), such as rate, frequency, time samples, discontinuous measurement, etc. However, it is important to carefully identify all the antecedent variables that are involved. For example, it is not enough to simply record that a child says the word “ball” 10 times in a 1-hour period. The measurement system, like all ABC recording systems, must also include the antecedent sources of control that evoked that response. If the ball is present, the response is part tact, if an EO for the ball is present, the response is part mand, if an echoic prompt is given, the response is part echoic, and so on. A child who emits “ball” 10 times as an echoic is not behaving in the same way as a child who emits “ball” 10 times as a mand or tact. In short, a verbal behavior measurement system not only records the topography of responses, but their function as well. Thus, there may be several different data sheets that all measure a child’s acquisition of the word “ball,” but each differ in important ways (e.g., “ball” as a tact vs. “ball” as an intraverbal). More detail on measuring and recording verbal behavior can be found throughout the VB-MAPP Guide, as well as in Sundberg & Partington (1998).

SB: One resource I frequently use is the 300 Common Nouns list. Can you talk about how this list is useful?

MS: The goal of the list is to take some of the guesswork and randomness out of selecting new targets for vocabulary development by providing a group of common nouns that young typically developing children might acquire. In addition, the lists are designed to track the acquisition of a new word (e.g., spoon) across a variety of conditions. For example, there are columns for both tacting and listener skills, as well as for generalization and more complex demonstrations of a skill. The list also provides the basis for moving an individual word to more complex types of verbal behavior. For example, when adding a verb or an adjective to a noun (e.g., “white plastic spoon”) staff should cautiously select nouns that have been acquired and generalized as identified by the data entered on the list. Movement to intraverbal and LRFFC tasks should also involve nouns that have been mastered and the list provides an initial guide for making this progression. There is a common verbs list as well posted in the downloads section at www.avbpress.com.

SB: What recommendations do you have for a parent or practitioner who is first encountering verbal behavior?

MS: Language and the ability to communicate is perhaps the single most important aspect of human behavior, correspondingly, it is quite complex. Language is a part of everyday life and can be taught not only in formal (discrete) sessions, but in everyday activities including play, bath time, arts and crafts, in the grocery store, and while out on a family drive. Our book “Teaching Language to Children with Autism or Other Developmental Disabilities” (Sundberg & Partington, 1998) was designed to be an easy-to-understand application of Skinner’s analysis, and I would recommend that book, or other user-friendly VB books (Barbera, 2007; Weiss & Demiri, 2011). In addition, there are websites that contain tips, materials, data sheets, YouTube videos, and a variety of other material that can be useful for helping parents and teachers to understand how to apply a behavioral analysis of language in an ABA program.

ABOUT MARK SUNDBERG, PHD, BCBA-D

Mark SundbergMark L. Sundberg, Ph.D., BCBA-D received his doctorate degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Western Michigan University (1980), under the direction of Dr. Jack Michael. He is the author of the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP), and co-author of the original ABLLS and the book Teaching Language to Children with Autism or Other Developmental Disabilities. He has published over 50 professional papers and 4 book chapters. He is the founder and past editor of the journal The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, a twice past-president of The Northern California Association for Behavior Analysis, a past-chair of the Publication Board of ABAI, and has served on the Board of Directors of the B. F. Skinner Foundation. Dr. Sundberg has given hundreds of conference presentations and workshops nationally and internationally, and taught 80 college and university courses on behavior analysis, verbal behavior, sign language, and child development. He is a licensed psychologist with over 40 years of clinical experience who consults for public and private schools that serve children with autism. His awards include the 2001 “Distinguished Psychology Department Alumnus Award” from Western Michigan University, and the 2013 “Jack Michael Outstanding Contributions in Verbal Behavior Award” from ABAI’s Verbal Behavior Special Interest Group.

References
Barbera, M. L. (2007). The verbal behavior approach. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2007). Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.

Esch, B. E., LaLonde, K. B., & Esch, J. W. (2010). Speech and language assessment: A verbal behavior analysis. The Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis, 5, 166-191.

Morris, E. K., Smith, N. G., & Altus, D. E. (2005). B. F. Skinner’s contributions to applied behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 28, 99-131.

Petursdottir A. I., & Carr J. E. (2011). A review of recommendations for sequencing receptive and expressive language instruction. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 44, 859–876.

Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York: Free Press.

Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Sallows, G. O., & Graupner, T. D. (2005). Intensive behavioral treatment for children with autism: Four-year outcome and predictors. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 110,
417-438.

Sundberg, M. L. (1980). Developing a verbal repertoire using sign language and Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Western Michigan University.

Sundberg, M. L., & Michael, J. (2001). The benefits of Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior for children with autism. Behavior Modification, 25, 698-724.

Sundberg, M. L., & Partington, J. W. (1998). Teaching language to children with autism or other developmental disabilities. Concord, CA: AVB Press.

Sundberg M. L., & Sundberg, C. A. (2011). Intraverbal behavior and verbal conditional discriminations in typically developing children and children with autism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 27, 23–43.

Weiss, M. J., & Demiri, V. (2011). Jumpstarting communication skills in children with autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.

Tip of the Week: Recognizing Fad Autism Treatments

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Learning that your child has autism is incredibly overwhelming. You’re under intense stress to make the best decisions possible for your child, and to do so quickly. Add to the fact that autism is a popular topic in the news and social media, so tips and quick fixes frequently show up in headlines and news feeds. Autism is considered to be a fad treatment magnet, and while some of the fad treatments are ineffective, others are flat out dangerous. How is it possible to parse through all this to find reliable information? Here are a few tips to help you out:

  1. Avoid products or organizations that promise a cure or rapid progress. All children respond to intervention at different rates. There is no known cure for autism, and there is no “quick fix” either.
  2. Avoid products or organizations that use scare tactics. Anyone who is trying to scare you into using their products or services does not have your best interest at heart. Instilling fear in parents can make it more difficult to make knowledgeable choices and increase the pressure already felt. Scare tactics are generally used to encourage you to make a snap decision, often at a high monetary cost.
  3. Avoid products or organizations that utilize subjective testimonials instead of data-driven science to measure progress. Testimonials may be compelling, but without scientific research it’s impossible to know what actually caused progress. Research should be completed that illustrates an intervention or treatment is directly linked to progress.
  4. Avoid products or organizations that advertise easy solutions which don’t require a professional’s help. Many of the behaviors presented with autism are incredibly challenging. Approaching those issues without the assistance of a trained professional can be detrimental or potentially dangerous for your child, especially when your child exhibits self-injurious behaviors.
  5. Avoid products or organizations that do not measure progress for the intervention being used. It should be very clear what the expected outcome of a product or treatment is, as well as how it will be measured. Relying on informal reports from either parents and/or teachers does not supply valid information about the effectiveness of the product or treatment.
  6. Be wary of treatments that require “faith” to work. If a treatment is not working, it is not because you didn’t believe in it, it’s because something in the treatment needs to be changed to meet the unique needs of your child.

So where can you find valid information? The Association for Science in Autism Treatment is a reliable source for up-to-date information about the many types of treatment available for individuals with autism. The website is packed with useful information, but you may find “Questions to Ask Marketers of Autism Interventions” especially helpful as you make decisions about your child’s treatment. You may also want to pick up Sabrina Freeman’s book, The Complete Guide to Autism Treatments: A Parent’s Handbook: Make Sure Your Child Gets What Works!

 

WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, MSED, BCBA

Sam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals. Sam is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott College.

Tip of the Week: Use Noncontingent Reinforcement – A Powerful Addition to Your Intervention

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Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is the presentation of reinforcement independent of behavior, and there are many studies out there that demonstrate it can have a significant impact on behavior.

Before we get to how you can use it with children with autism or other developmental disabilities, it’s important to recognize that noncontingent reinforcement happens all the time with all of us. A few common examples:

  • You’re walking alongside your child. Your child reaches up and grabs your hand. This is a behavior you like, but it did not occur because of any one behavior you exhibited, such as reaching for their hand or requesting their hand. They just did it spontaneously. This probably changes your behavior: you may smile, initiate a conversation, or give their hand a special squeeze.
  • It’s snack time at your preschool. You realize the bag of popcorn you’re giving for snack is almost empty, so you give each student a few extra kernels of popcorn. They did not “earn” it for good behavior, it was just a little extra reinforcement. This may change your students’ behavior: they may sit still a little longer as they eat the additional snack, say thank you, or exclaim, “More popcorn! Yay!”
  • A common example in preschool is placing a child on your lap during story time. They didn’t earn it, but it may change their behavior. For example, instead of calling out to get your attention, they may sit quietly for the duration of the story.
  • You’ve come home from a stressful day at work. You want to just sit down and veg in front of the TV for a few minutes, but discover that your husband has cooked dinner. This may change your behavior: you may sit down at the dining room table or give him a hug. Again, you didn’t exhibit a specific behavior that “earned” you dinner; it was presented independent of your behavior.

Noncontingent reinforcement can be a powerful addition to your interventions. But it looks a bit different when you’re using it as part of your intervention. You want to provide continuous access to the reinforcer maintaining the problem behavior so that the problem behavior becomes unnecessary. The preschooler sitting on the teacher’s lap is an excellent example, because the child has continuous access to the teacher’s attention. This can be faded over time, but can be an effective starting point for reducing problem behaviors when used in conjunction with other strategies.

Research has shown that noncontingent attention can decrease destructive behavior, noncontingent juice can decrease rumination, noncontingent access to preferred items can decrease inappropriate mealtime behavior, and noncontingent social interaction can decrease vocal stereotypy (Hanley, Piazza, & Fisher, 1997; Kliebert & Tiger, 2011; Gonzalez, Rubio, & Taylor, 2014; Enloe & Rapp, 2013). There is much more research out there that demonstrates that noncontingent reinforcement can impact behavior. Here are a few tips for using it:

  1. Make sure it matches the function. If your student is engaging in destructive behavior in order to escape a task, then providing noncontingent attention is unlikely to produce the behavior change you are expecting.
  2. Decide on a method for providing noncontingent reinforcement. Will you provide it continuously (like the preschooler sitting in the teacher’s lap) or provide it on an interval schedule (such as providing verbal attention every 2 minutes)?
  3. Take data! You need to know if the noncontingent reinforcement is actually decreasing the problem behavior or increasing the desired behavior. Define the behavior you want to change and then take data on its frequency, rate, or duration.
  4. Account for other students’ needs. If you are only using noncontingent reinforcement for one student, you need to be prepared to address the needs of other students. For example, if just one preschooler gets to sit in the teacher’s lap every day at story time, you may see an increase in problem behaviors from the other preschoolers in the class.
  5. Plan ahead! Our ultimate goal is that our learners be as independent as possible. Plan for how to fade your intervention over time.
  6. Take a look at the research. There are a few studies cited at the end of this article, but you may be able to find research simply by searching for “noncontingent” and the name of your problem behavior.

Noncontingent reinforcement is much easier to implement than many interventions that are available and can have a huge impact on your learner’s behaviors.

References
Enloe, K., & Rapp, J. (2013). Effects of noncontingent social interaction on immediate and subsequent engagement in vocal and motor stereotypy in children with autism. Behavior Modification , 38(3), 374-391.

Gonzalez, M., Rubio, E., & Taylor, T. (2014). Inappropriate mealtime behavior: The effects of noncontingent access to preferred tangibles on responding in functional analyses. Research in Developmental Disabilities , 35(12), 3655-3664.

Hanley, G. P., Piazza, C. C., & Fisher, W. W. (1997). Noncontingent presentation of attention and alternative stimuli in the treatment of attention-maintained destructive behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 30(2), 229-237.

Kliebert, M. L., & Tiger, J. H. (2011). Direct and distal effects of noncontingent juice on rumination exhibitied by a child with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 44(4), 955-959.

WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, MSED, BCBA

Sam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals. Sam is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott College.

Tip of the Week: Stop Behavior Early in the Behavior Chain

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Recently I was working with a family to toilet train their son Jonathan, a six-year-old with autism. (Names and identifying characteristics have been changed to protect confidentiality.) When he eliminated in the toilet, part of his reinforcement was getting to watch the water go down the toilet after flushing. At some point, he developed the behavior of putting his hands into the toilet water as it was flushing.

When I went in to observe the behavior, one of my goals was to identify the steps in the behavior chain. Pretty much everything we do can be viewed as part of a behavior chain, in which one action is a cue for the following action. For Jonathan, each time he placed his hands in the toilet water, the behavior chain looked like this:

Pulled up pants
Stepped towards toilet
Pressed button to flush toilet
Stepped back
Watched water as it flushed
Stepped forward again
Leaned down
Put hands in water

Behavior chains can be even more detailed than the one above, depending on the needs of your learner. Identifying the steps in the behavior chain for an undesirable behavior can have a huge impact on your interventions. For Jonathan, we were able to stop the behavior of putting his hands in the toilet water by interrupting the behavior early in the behavior chain. It’s too late and unsafe to stop him once he’s leaning forward to put his hands in the water. Through prompting, which we faded as quickly as possible, we changed his behavior chain to this:

Pulled up pants
Stepped towards toilet
Pressed button to flush toilet
Stepped back
Watched water as it flushed for 3-5 seconds
Stepped towards sink
Leaned forward
Turned on water
Put hands in water

Instead of waiting for him to engage in the inappropriate behavior, we redirected him several steps earlier in the chain, providing a gestural prompt toward the sink and had him start washing his hands 3-5 seconds after he had started watching the water flush. This was ideal for two reasons: first, it was the expected step in an appropriate toileting behavior chain and second, it provided an appropriate and similar replacement behavior since Jonathan was still able to put his hands in water.

This behavior chain was relatively easy to change. While it may not be as easy in some interventions you may try, it’s essential to remember to stop the behavior early in the behavior chain. It’s much easier to give a child an activity that requires use of their hands as soon as you see them lift their hands out of their lap than it is to remove their hand from their mouth if they’re biting it. And it’s much easier to redirect a child to put their feet back under their desk than it is to get them to stop once they’re sprinting out of the classroom. Looking at the behavior chain and considering when to intervene as a part of your intervention plan is quite possibly the extra step that will make your plan successful.

WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, MSED, BCBA

Sam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals. Sam is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott College.

Tip of the Week: Using Activity Schedules to Improve Bedtime Routine

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Many of the families I work with struggle to get their child with autism through the bedtime routine. An activity schedule can help your child independently manage the routine.

You should select 3-5 tasks that your child can complete independently. The final task should be something that your child finds reinforcing, preferably something that can be done in or near the bed, such as being read to or listening to music. Based on your child’s reading skills, you can use pictures or text for the schedule.

You can arrange the activity schedule as a picture schedule or a checklist. Below are two samples. For the picture schedule sample shown below, I did an online search for the appropriate images, but when possible, I prefer to actually take a picture of the item or the learner engaged in the activity.

PICTURE SCHEDULE: I use self-adhesive laminating paper (which you can purchase at any office supply store) and laminate all pieces. Each task on the schedule has Velcro so the learner can arrange items in the order he/she wishes and can remove them once that activity is complete.

CHECKLIST SAMPLE: I use self-adhesive laminating paper for checklists as well. This way the learner can use a dry erase marker or crayon and reuse the same page each day. For many learners, I attach this to a clipboard and the clipboard hangs in an easy-to-reach spot.

What I like about the activity schedule beyond the fact that it promotes independence is that it also allows for some choice. The reinforcing activity must always come last, but the learner can choose what they want to have for that reinforcing activity. The learner can also have some flexibility for what order to place the items on the schedule. For example, your learner might prefer to pack his lunch before taking a shower. When implemented correctly, it’s a win-win for both parents and children.

For more information on implementing activity schedules, I highly recommend the book Activity Schedules for Children with Autism by McClanahan & Krantz.

Note: if you decide to use the iPad as the final item on the activity schedule, you should set the timer so the iPad turns itself off. To do this:

1) open the Clock app
2) click “Timer” on the bottom right of the screen
3) click “When Timer Ends”
4) scroll all the way to the bottom of that menu and click “Stop Playing”
5) set the timer for the appropriate amount of time,
6) hit “Start”

WRITTEN BY SAM BLANCO, MSED, BCBA

Sam is an ABA provider for students ages 3-12 in NYC. Working in education for ten years with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental delays, Sam has developed strategies for achieving a multitude of academic, behavior, and social goals. Sam is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott College.