For children with developmental or language delays, mand interventions have been identified as an integral part of educational programming (e.g., Greer & Ross, 2008; Shafer, 1994; Sundberg & Michael, 2001). Mands, which are the most elementary forms of verbal behavior, allow individuals to begin to contact social contractual contingencies;…

The form of a verbal response allows for reinforcement mediation and language transmission across cultures. Reinforcement, in turn, plays a decisive role in learning verbal forms. The present work addresses methodological limitations of previous studies, providing further evidence of the role of automatic reinforcement in achieving parity with…

A synchronous-reinforcement schedule is a type of schedule of covariation in which the onset and offset of the reinforcer covaries with the onset and offset of behavior. This study was a proof-of-concept demonstration of the efficacy of synchronous reinforcement for on-task behavior (completing a preacademic skill) and an evaluation of…

This study determined if previously reinforced academic responding recurred when alternative responses were differentially reinforced and subsequently placed on extinction, and whether the magnitude of resurgence was related to the rate of differential reinforcement for the alternative behavior. Three kindergarten students read Greek letters aloud…

Group contingencies have been used successfully to modify a variety of behaviors for children with diverse characteristics across multiple settings. However, these interventions have not been applied to increase social interactions (SI) between typically developing children and those with multiple or severe disabilities (MSD). Furthermore, little…

Although there is substantial functional behavioral assessment (FBA) literature suggesting that function-based interventions are effective for improving problem behavior, only a limited number of studies have examined the effectiveness of function-based antecedent versus consequent interventions. Additionally, although there has been a recent…

Manding for preferred items and activities is a critical skill for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, little research has evaluated procedures to teach children with ASD to mand with their peers. This study evaluated the effects of a teaching package involving least-to-most prompting to increase peer-directed vocal…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative efficacy of non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) and differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) after behavioral functions were identified through indirect, descriptive, and experimental assessment. Participants included three preschool-age children in three center-based classrooms in a…

Activity schedules, guided compliance, and differential reinforcement are often used to reduce transition-related problem behavior in children with autism. One potential way to increase the effectiveness of these procedures when transitioning children from preferred to nonpreferred activities is to alter the motivating operations for…

The provision of reinforcement to increase desired behaviors is a crucial element of behavior analytic intervention for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Formal preference assessments, like the multiple stimulus without replacement procedure (MSWO), are often used to determine reinforcers used during intervention. While…

Today, the use of formal preference assessments, including paired-stimulus preference assessments, is widely utilized to help determine which items to use as reinforcers during intervention. A second way to determine potential reinforcers is to analyze multiple dimensions of a stimulus in the moment, a procedure known as in-the-moment reinforcer…

This article describes Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Young Children (PTR-YC), a model based on extensive research that is designed for feasibility and effectiveness for treating challenging behaviors in classroom settings. This model is designed to meet the needs of children with and without disabilities who engage in challenging behavior that…

Research on functional response classes has applied significance because less severe forms of problem behavior have been found to co-occur with more severe forms. In addition, the most severe forms of problem behavior are sometimes targeted for intervention without monitoring other less severe forms. In such cases, it is unknown whether and how…

Some children make impulsive choices (i.e., choose a small but immediate reinforcer over a large but delayed reinforcer). Previous research has shown that delay fading, providing an alternative activity during the delay, teaching participants to repeat a rule during the delay, combining delay fading with an alternative activity, and combining…

Functional analyses (FA) have proven useful for identifying contingencies that influence problem behavior. Research has shown that some problem behavior may only occur in specific contexts or be influenced by multiple or idiosyncratic variables. When these contexts or sources of influence are not assessed in an FA, further assessment may be…