Better conversational skills correspond to a higher quality of life for adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we taught vocal--verbal responses discriminated by compound arrangements of concealed conversation partner mands to two college students with ASD. Participants learned to engage in self-questioning about…

Successful conversation requires that the speaker's behavior is sensitive to nonvocal listener responses. We observed children with autism spectrum disorder during conversation probes in which a listener periodically displayed nonvocal cues that she was uninterested in the conversation. We used behavioral skills training to teach conversation…

The study examined effects of aversive taste treatment of thumb sucking on untreated habitual hair pulling by two young males (ages 2 and 5). Concomitant with successful treatment of thumb sucking, hair pulling was also eliminated. Results suggest an efficient method for changing behaviors that are difficult to treat directly. (Author/JW)

Belke and Spetch's (1994) work with pigeons on choice between reliable and unreliable reinforcement is discussed. Hypothetical applied examples address variables that influence preference for unreliable reinforcement, including signaling and its context, conditioned reinforcement, and duration of reinforcement schedules. Implications regarding…

The article discusses the applied and clinical importance of the relationship between verbalizations and relevant behavior (i.e., between what people say and what they do). The analysis of verbal regulation in correspondence training has the theoretical complexity and sufficiency of the operant analysis of antecedents, behaviors, and consequences.…

A long-term followup (from 26 to 57 months) of echolalia and correct question-answering was conducted with six mentally retarded adult subjects identified from three previously published studies. Echolalia was lower than in baseline in 80.6 percent of the followups. Issues related to the study of maintenance are discussed. (Author/DB)

Analyses of stereotypy by a woman with severe mental retardation showed that the behavior was maintained by escape from demands. A sequence of high-probability requests issued immediately prior to a task-related request established a momentum of compliance that increased compliance with task-related demands, which was accompanied by collateral…

An intermittent reinforcement procedure using tangible reinforcers was successful in maintaining the occurrence of nutritious snack choices by three developmentally normal preschoolers (ages 4-5), behaviors which had initially been established using correspondence training procedures. (JW)

The two experiments involving six developmentally-delayed preschoolers showed that the delay technique is quick to teach and simple to implement, that delays provide opportunities for children to initiate, that teachers can generalize their use of delay to novel self-selected situations, and that teachers can maintain their use of delays over…

Two studies involving five students (ages 9-17) with autism found that stereotypy was multiply determined or occurred across all assessment conditions (attention, demand, no-attention, and recreation conditions) and that the presumed association between response topography and behavioral function may be less important than previously realized.…

Results of a series of three experiments with four developmentally disabled males (ages 7-13) who exhibited hand flapping and body rocking indicated that some forms of repetitive stereotyped behaviors may serve social functions (e.g., escape from aversive situations), and that teaching a functionally equivalent communicative alternative can be an…

This paper summarizes basic research on response effort in diverse applied areas including deceleration of aberrant behavior, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, oral habits, littering, and problem solving. The paper concludes that response effort as an independent variable has potent effects, and research exploring the applied benefits of…

This study, involving 4 children (ages 6 and 11) with autism, demonstrated that a self-management technique was effective in improving responsiveness to verbal initiations from others and in extending responsiveness to settings (community, home, and school) without the presence of a treatment provider. Concomitant reductions in disruptive behavior…