We evaluated the effects of listener training on the emergence of categorization and speaker behavior (i.e., tacts) using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design. Four children with autism learned to select pictures given their dictated category names. We assessed whether they could match and tact pictures by category. After training, 3…

This study examined the degree to which training procedures influenced the integrity of behaviorally based dog training implemented by volunteers of an animal shelter. Volunteers were taught to implement discrete-trial obedience training to teach 2 skills (sit and wait) to dogs. Procedural integrity during the baseline and written instructions…

We evaluated the effects of instructive feedback (IF) on the emergence of spoken category names with 2 children who had been diagnosed with autism. IF stimuli were presented during listener discrimination training and consisted of presenting the category name associated with each target stimulus. Results suggest that participants acquired the…

Script-fading procedures have been shown to be effective for teaching children with autism to initiate and participate in social interactions without vocal prompts from adults. In previous script and script-fading research, however, there has been no demonstration of a generalized repertoire of vocal interactions under the control of naturally…

Working with elementary students with disabilities, we used alternating treatment designs to evaluate and compare the effects of 2 computer-based flash card sight-word reading interventions, 1 with 1-s response intervals and another with 5-s response intervals. In Study 1, we held instructional time constant, applying both interventions for 3?min.…

The preschool life skills (PLS) program (Hanley, Heal, Tiger, & Ingvarsson, 2007; Luczynski & Hanley, 2013) involves teaching social skills as a means of decreasing and preventing problem behavior. However, achieving durable outcomes as children transition across educational settings depend on the generalization and long-term maintenance…

In an attempt to address risk factors associated with extensive nonfamilial child care, we implemented the preschool life skills (PLS) program (Hanley, Heal, Tiger, & Ingvarsson, 2007) in two community-based Head Start classrooms. A multiple baseline design across classrooms, repeated across skills, showed that the program resulted in a 5-fold…

We evaluated the effects of white noise played through headphones on off-task behavior, percentage of items completed, and percentage of items completed correctly for 3 students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Headphones plus white noise were associated with decreases in off-task behavior relative to baseline and…

We taught social responses to young children with autism using an adult as the recipient of the social interaction and then assessed generalization of performance to adults and peers who had not participated in the training. Although the participants' performance was similar across adults, responding was less consistent with peers, and a…

We examined whether adults with dementia could learn to emit a picture-based communication response and if this skill would maintain over time. Three women with moderate to severe dementia were taught to exchange a picture card for a highly preferred activity. All participants quickly learned to exchange the picture card and maintained this…

Discrete-trial instruction (DTI) is a teaching strategy that is often incorporated into early intensive behavioral interventions for children with autism. Researchers have investigated time- and cost-effective methods to train staff to implement DTI, including self-instruction manuals, video modeling, and interactive computer training (ICT). ICT…

Continuous and discontinuous data-collection methods were compared in the context of discrete-trial programming. Archival data sets were analyzed using trial sampling (1st 5 trials, 1st 3 trials, and 1st trial only) and session sampling (every other session, every 3rd session, and every 5th session). Results showed that trial sampling…

Despite a large body of research demonstrating that generalization to novel stimuli can be produced by training sufficient exemplars, the methods by which exemplars can be trained remain unclear. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate 2 methods, serial and concurrent presentation of stimuli, to train sufficient exemplars. Five preschool…

This study is a replication and extension of Reeve, Reeve, Townsend, and Poulson (2007) evaluating the effects of a treatment package that included multiple-exemplar training, video modeling, prompting, and reinforcement on helping of 3 adolescents with autism. Results demonstrated that all participants acquired the helping responses. Probes…

Individuals who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders can have difficulty acquiring new skills, and teaching procedures found to be efficient with 1 individual may not be efficient with others. However, relatively little research has evaluated methods to identify efficient, individualized response-prompt and prompt-fading procedures.…