DevelopinganEducationalProgram

forChildrenwithAutism
MarkL.Sundberg,Ph.D.,BCBA
www.marksundberg.com

ElementsofanEducationalProgramfor
ChildrenwithAutism

Assessmentofachildsneeds
Identificationofanindividualizedprogram(IEP)
Constructinganindividualizedcurriculum
Developinganinterventionprogram
Measuringprogress(Datacollection)
Ongoinganalysisandadjustment

ElementsofanEducationalProgramfor
ChildrenwithAutism

Classroomdesign/dailyschedule
Creatingalanguageandsocialskillseducational
environment
Behaviorproblems
Stafftraining
Parenttraining
Integration/inclusion

AssessmentofanIndividual
ChildsNeeds

Whatexactlyisitthatachildwithautismneedstolearn,andin
whatorder?
Theneedforaconceptualframeworktoguideassessment(and
intervention)
Lotsofchoices,confusing,toomany,noresearch,lotsofmoney,
(currentlyontheinternet,thereare406differenttreatmentsfor
autism,Romanczyk,2007)
BehaviorAnalysis(BehavioralPsychology)providesan
evidencedbasedfoundationforunderstandingtheissuesaffecting
childrenwithautism,andforguidinginterventionprograms

FourPowerfulToolsforChildren
withAutism

1)Thebasicteachingproceduresthatformthe
foundationofAppliedBehaviorAnalysis(or
BehaviorModification,DTT,ITT,etc.)
2)Thefunctionalanalysisofbehavior(ABC),or
behavioranalysis
3)Skinnersfunctionalanalysisofverbalbehavior
(e.g.,mands,tacts,intraverbals)
4)Signlanguage(andtoalesserdegreePECS)

AssessmentofanIndividual
ChildsNeeds

Ourfirsttaskistoidentifytheexistingskillsofeachchildin
theclassroom
Ournexttaskistoidentifythelanguage,social,behavioral,
andlearningbarriersthatarepreventingmorerapidlearning
Thefailuretoconductanappropriateassessmentresultsin
oneofthebiggestproblemsinprogramsthatservechildren
withautism:Aninappropriatecurriculum
Weneedatoolthatiseasytouseandwillprovideteachers,
parents,andstaffwiththenecessaryinformationtodevelop
anappropriateinterventionprogram

TheImportanceofLanguageand
SocialBehavior

Theprimaryfocusofaninterventionprogramfor
childrenwithautismshouldbeonthedevelopmentof
effectivelanguageandsocialskills
Thereclearlyareseveralotherareas,suchasplay
skills,visualmotorskills,fineandgrossmotor,etc.,
butlanguageandsocialskillsaretypicallythemost
significantdeficitsforchildrenwithautism,and
carefultrainingisthekeytothemostsignificantgains

WhatisLanguage?

Howdowetalkaboutit?
Howdowemeasureit?
Whatareitsparts?
Howdoweassessit?
Howdoweteachit?
Whattheoryoflanguageshouldweusefor
childrenwithautism?

ABehavioralApproach
toAutismTreatment

Behavioralpsychologyhasalottoofferthosewhoworkwith
childrenwithautism
Basicteachingproceduresandmethodologyderivedfrom
AppliedBehaviorAnalysis(Bmod,ABA,DTT)
Theseproceduresandmethodshaveasolidresearch
foundationthatcanbeeasilyfoundinover1500empirical
studiesthathavebeenconductedoverthepast60years

BehavioralProcedures

Reinforcement
Prompting
Fading
Modeling
Shaping
Chaining
Pairing
Differentialreinforcementprocedures(e.g.,DRO,DRI,DRL)
Intermittentreinforcementprocedures(e.g.,FR,VR,FI,VI)

BehavioralProcedures

Extinctionprocedures(e.g.,plannedignoring)
Punishmentprocedures(e.g.,reprimands,timeout)
Generalizationandmaintenance
Discriminationtraining
Errorlesslearning
Transferofstimuluscontrol
Taskanalysis
Fluencyprocedures
Contingencycontracting
Tokeneconomies

AdditionalBehavioral
ProceduresandMethods

Individualizedassessmentandinterventionprogram
Frequentopportunitiestorespond
Useofdiscretetrialteachingprocedures
Incidental&naturalenvironmentteachingprocedures
Datacollection
Interspersaltechniques
Behavioralmomentumtechniques
Independentandpeerplaytraining
Socialinteractiontraining
Parentandstafftraininginbehavioranalysis
Functionalanalysesofproblembehavior(Iwata,etal.1982)

Shaping

Thedifferentialreinforcementofsuccessive
approximationstoatargetbehavior
Taskanalysis(smallsteps)
Changingcriteria

TheValueofBehaviorAnalysis
forChildrenWithAutism

Whatelsedoesbehavioralpsychologyhavetooffer?
Inadditiontotheuseofspecificprocedures(e.g.,prompting,
fading,anddifferentialreinforcement),asecondandcritical
contributionofbehavioralpsychologyinvolvestheanalysisof
thecausesofbehavior
Forexample,afunctionalanalysis(antecedentbehavior
consequence)isapowerfultoolforidentifyingthecausesof
problembehavior

BehavioralPsychology:
Thethreetermcontingency(AnABCanalysis)
AntecedentBehaviorConsequence
Comeinsiderunsaway
delaytocomingin
&beingchased

TheValueofBehaviorAnalysis
forChildrenWithAutism

Whatelsecanabehavioralapproachoffer?
SkinnersanalysisoflanguagefoundinthebookVerbalBehavior
(Skinner,1957)
Languageislearnedbehaviorunderthefunctionalcontrolof
environmentalvariables(Skinner,1957),justlikeatantrum
ThesamebehavioralprinciplespioneeredbySkinnerthatprovide
thefoundationofdiscretetrialtraining(DDT),appliedbehavior
analysis(ABA),naturalenvironmenttraining(NET),pivotal
responsetraining(PRT),etc.,alsoprovidethefoundationfor
Skinnersanalysisoflanguage

TheBehavioralClassification
ofLanguage

Skinner(1957)callsthiscollectionoflanguageskillsThe
ElementaryVerbalOperants(e.g.,mand,tact,echoic,intraverbal,
textual)
Theelementaryverbaloperantsareseparaterepertoiresand
functionallyindependentatthetimeofacquisition,andeachmustbe
taught
Speakerandlistenerskillsareseparaterepertoiresandeachmustbe
taught
Morecomplexlanguage,suchasconversationsandlanguagerelatedto
socialskills,iscomprisedofthesebasicelements

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPP

BasedonSkinners(1957)analysisofverbalbehavior
Basedontypicallanguagedevelopmentmilestones
By identifying milestones, as opposed to a task analysis of
individual skills, the focus can be sharper, and the direction clearer
Fieldtestdatafromapproximately75typicallydevelopingchildren
Fieldtestdatafromover150childrenwithautism
Basedonthebodyofempiricalresearchthatprovidesthe
foundationofBehaviorAnalysis
BasedontheempiricalresearchonSkinnersanalysisofverbal
behavior

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPP

TherearefourcomponentsoftheVBMAPP
TheVBMAPP:SkillsAssessmentcontains165verbalbehavior
milestonesacross3developmentallevels(018mos.,1830mos.,30
48mos.)and16differentverbaloperantsandrelatedskills
TheVBMAPP:SkillsTaskAnalysisprovidesafurtherbreakdown
ofthedifferentskillareasintheformofachecklistforskillstracking
TheVBMAPP:BarriersAssessmentexamines22common
learningandlanguagebarriersfacedbychildrenwithautism
TheVBMAPP:IEPGoalsprovidesover200IEPobjectives
directlylinkedtotheskillsandbarriersassessments,andverbal
behaviorinterventionprogram(Sundberg,inpreparation)

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPSkillsAssessment

The assessment is designed to identify the childs existing language

and related skills
An assessment should probe a representative sample of a repertoire
Typical verbal milestones can provide the frame for the sample
Typical verbal milestones can help to avoid focusing on only minor
steps
Typical verbal milestones can help to avoid targeting skills for
intervention that are developmentally inappropriate
IEP goals can match the milestones, not individual skills

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPSkillsAssessment

The 16 skills assessed on the VB-MAPP include:

The elementary verbal operants (e.g., echoic, imitation, mand, tact,
intraverbal)
The listener skills
Vocal output
Play and social skills
Visualperceptualskills,andmatchingtosample
Grammaticalandsyntacticalskills
Groupandclassroomskills
Beginning academic skills

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPSkillsAssessment

The milestones are broken into three developmental levels (see Skills Form)
Level 1: 0-18 months
Level 2: 18-30 months
Level 3: 30-48 months
Thescoresforeachskillareapproximatelybalancedacrosseachlevel
Thereare5itemsand5possiblepointsforeachskillarea(e.g.,level1,tact)
Therearethreeboxesinallsectionsforthreeseparateadministrations
(SeeTactAssessmentFormSample)
Eachofthe165itemsisscored0,1,or1/2basedonthecriteriainthe
VBMAPPinstructionmanual
Lookingfortheoperantlevel;Iftheskillisbelowtheoperantlevelscore
quicklyandmoveon,ifitisclosetotheoperantlevel,testit

VBMAPPLevel1:Tact

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPSkillsAssessment

Thetotalforthefiveitemsismarkedonthetopofeachskillarea
Thetotalsforeachskillareaareaddedforallthreelevelsandplacedonthe
VBMAPPScoringForm
There are three sub-tests:

Echoic

Listener Responding by Function, Feature, and Class (LRFFC)

Intraverbal
The total score on the sub-test is converted to a milestone score on the VBMAPP forms
The items on these sub-tests, as well as the VB-MAPP in general, have been
adjusted many times based on the field-test data (See VB-MAPP
Assessment Forms)
VB-MAPP samples

VBMAPPSfor
TypicallyDevelopingChildren
LisaHale
MarkL.Sundberg
RikkiRoden
CarlT.Sundberg
CindyA.Sundberg

VBMAPPsfor
ChildrenwithAutism

MarkL.Sundberg
CarlT.Sundberg
ShannonRosenhan
ShannonMontano
KaisaWeathers

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
SkillsTaskAnalysis

The milestones can be considered floors in a building,

and the task analysis contains the steps between each
floor
There are 165 milestones and approximately 600 total
tasks in the VB-MAPP task analysis
The task analysis form also allows for more detailed skills
tracking

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

Itisimportanttofindoutwhatachildcando(TheVBMAPPSkills
Assessment),butalsoimportanttoknowwhattheycantdo,andanalyzewhy
theycantdoit
The VBMAPPBarriersAssessment is a tool that is designed to identify and
score 22 different learning and language acquisition barriers
Once a specific barrier has been identified, a more detailed descriptive and/or
functional analysis of that problem is required
There are many ways that a verbal repertoire or related skill can become
defective, and an individualized analysis will be necessary to determine what the
nature of the problem is for a specific child, and what intervention program
might be appropriate

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

CommonLearningandLanguageAcquisitionBarriers

Instructionalcontrol(Escape/avoidance)
Behaviorproblems
Defectivemand
Defectivetact
Defectivemotorimitation
Defectiveechoic(e.g.,echolalia)
Defectivematchingtosample

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

CommonLearningandLanguageAcquisitionBarriers

Defectivelistenerrepertoires(e.g.,LD,LRFFC)
Defectiveintraverbal
Defectiveplayandsocialskills
Promptdependent,longlatencies
Scrollingresponses
Defectivescanningskills
Failuretomakeconditionaldiscriminations(CDs)
Failuretogeneralize

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

CommonLearningandLanguageAcquisitionBarriers

WeakoratypicalMOs
ResponserequirementsweakenstheMO
Selfstimulation
Articulationproblems
Obsessivecompulsivebehavior
Reinforcementdependent
Doesnotattendtopeople/materials

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
ScoringtheVBMAPPBarriersForm
Rate the child on the VB-MAPP Barriers Assessment Form using a Likert-type scale of 1
to 5
A score of 1 or 2 would indicate that there are no significant barriers, and a formal
intervention plan may not be required.
A score of 3, 4, or 5 would indicate that there is a barrier, that probably should be
addressed as part of the intervention program
For some children the immediate focus of the intervention program is on removing a
particular barrier, rather than language instruction
The most common immediate barriers to remove involve instructional control problems,
or other behavior problems

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
DefectiveVerbalBehavior
Adescriptivefunctionalanalysisofverbalbehavior(Skinner,Chap1)
Abehavioralanalysisofwords,phrases,andsentencesemittedbychildrenwith
autism
Samebasicprinciplesofbehaviorasnonverbalbehavior
Whatisthesourceofcontrol?
Thesesourcesofcontrolwilloftenrevealthatwhatappearstobeacorrectresponse
informisactuallyincorrectinfunction
Mightnotbethesamesourceofcontrolobservedinatypicallydevelopingchild
(e.g.,Ihavearedshirton)
Eachverbaloperantcanbesusceptibletounwantedsourcesofcontrol

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
DefectiveVerbalBehavior
Defectivemands(Iwantcandy.Whatsthat?)
Defectivetacts(Bounceball,Blackcar,Undertable)
Defectiveintraverbalresponses(PoopiesevokedbyWhatdoyousmellinthe
oven?)
Thebehavioranalystmustdeterminewhatthecorrectsourceofcontrolshould
be,andhowthatsourcecanbeestablished
Thefunctionalanalysisofverbalbehaviorisongoing
Thefailuretoconductsuchananalysismayresultinroteordefectiveverbal
repertoiresthatcanbecomedifficulttochange
Thisishowbehavioranalysisisdifferent,thisiswhatwedo

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

AnAnalysisofaDefectiveMandRepertoire

Asubstantialnumberofchildrenwithautismhaveanabsent,weak,ordefectivemand
repertoire
Manyofthesesamechildrenhaveextensivetactandlistenerskills,aswellasother
elevatedscoresontheVBMAPPSkillsassessment
Often,underthesecircumstancesitisnotuncommontoseethechildengageinatantrum
orsomeotherformofnegativebehaviorasamand
AwordacquiredunderSDcontrolmaynotautomaticallytransfertoMOcontrol
ThisdistinctionbetweenSDandMOantecedentcontrolisnotsystematically
incorporatedintomanyofthepopularlanguageassessmentandinterventionprograms
designedforchildrenwithautism
Therearemanypotentialcausesofadefectivemandrepertoireandafunctionalanalysis
isnecessarytodeterminethecauseforanindividualchild

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Potentialcausesofanabsent,weak,ordefectivemandrepertoire.
Mandtrainingisnotpartofthechildsearlylanguagetraininghistory
Thetargetresponseformistoodifficultforthechild
Whenachildhasnoorlimitedvocalbehavior,signlanguageorPECShasnotbeentried
TheresponserequirementistoohighandweakenstherelevantMO
ThereisnocurrentMOineffectfortargeteditem(e.g.,satiation,weaktobeginwith)
Theresponseispromptboundbyphysical,echoic,imitative,orverbalstimuli
AnonverbalstimulusacquirescontroloftheresponseandblocksMOcontrol
AverbalstimulusacquirescontroloftheresponseandblocksMOcontrol
Motivation(MO)doesnotcontroltheresponseform

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Potentialcausesofanabsent,weak,ordefectivemandrepertoire
ThechildhasweakMOsingeneral
Freeorcheapaccesstoreinforcerswithoutmanding
SelfstimulationorobsessivebehaviorscompetewithotherMOs
Asmallgroupofmandshasastronghistoryofreinforcement(e.g.,cookies,juice,
Skittles)
Thereisalimitedavailabilityofestablishedimitativeorechoicresponses
NovariationincapturedorcontrivedMOs
Negativebehaviorfunctionsasmands
Inappropriatemandsbecometoostrongandareintermittentlyreinforced
Thecurriculumispoorlysequenced
Fadingouttheobject/nonverbalstimulustoosoon

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Potentialcausesofanabsent,weak,ordefectivemandrepertoire
Asingleresponsetopographyfunctionsasthemand(e.g.,more,please,that)
Cantestablishdifferentialresponsetopographies
Scrollinggetsreinforced
Notenoughmandtrialsareprovidedeachday
Pooraudiencecontrol
Mandsonlyrequiredandreinforcedinspecificsetting
Generalizationtrainingisnotprovided
Verbalinformationdoesnotfunctionasreinforcementforthechild
Mandingdoesnotcomeunderthecontrolofnaturalcontingencies
Ahistoryofpunishmentforattemptsatmanding

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessmentand
PlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Potentialcausesofscrolling
Responsesthatarefirsttrainedarenotcompletelyacquired(weakSDcontrol)
Failuretoidentifythatscrollingisoccurring
TheresponseisactuallyunderaspecifictypeofpromptratherthanthetargetSD
Theamountofdiscriminationtrainingisinsufficient
Newwords/signsareaddedtooquickly
Scrollinggetsintermittentlyreinforced
Newstimuliandnewresponsesaretoosimilar
Formands,newMOsandspecificreinforcementaresimilartotheearlierones
Maintenanceandgeneralizationtrialsareinsufficient
Failuretoreinforcefirstwrongresponseevokesthenextresponse
Curriculumisoutofsequence
Scrollingislessworkthandiscriminating

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Instructional control/non-compliance (escape and avoidance)
Many children with autism have learned to emit a variety of negative and disruptive
behaviors to avoid or terminate demands placed upon them (CMO-R)
These behaviors range from mild behaviors such as looking away or not responding, to
severe aggressive and self-injurious behaviors
However, the function of the behaviors is often the same: to escape from doing things
they dont want to do (e.g., hair brushing, car seats, instructional demands), or any stimuli
that indicate that unwanted things or activities are coming (avoidance) (e.g., bedtime,
turning off the TV, table tasks)
These types of behaviors are common in typically developing children, but can become
quite severe for a child with autism

Thereareanumberofpotentialcausesforinstructionalcontrolproblems.Itisthejobof
thebehavioranalystconductadescriptiveand/orfunctionalanalysistodeterminethe
specificcauseforeachindividualchild

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

Potentialcausesofnoncompliantbehaviors

Avoidanceorescapeofthedemandis(negatively)reinforced(notfollowedthrough)
Thechildhasalonghistoryofsuccessfulavoidanceandescapebehavior
Extinctionburstsarereinforced
Intermittentreinforcementdevelopspersistence
Positivereinforcementalsofollowsthenegativebehaviors
Notenoughreinforcementisprovidedforcompliance
Effectivereinforcersarenotidentified,ortheycannotcompetewithnegativereinforcement
Thedemandistoohigh(e.g.,taskexpectationsandcurriculumissues)
Thedemandsareunclearorvague
Thedemandrequirethatthechildgiveuppowerfulreinforcers
Thedemandsareintheformofthreats(coercive)
Thestepstosuccessfulcompliancearetoolarge
Theinterventionprogramisinconsistent

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

AnAnalysisofaDefectiveTactRepertoire

Thetactrepertoireislesssusceptibletobecomingdefectivethanthemandorintraverbal,duein
part,tothenatureofthecontrollingvariablesforthetact
Nonverbalstimuluscontrolismoremeasurableandaccessible,andingeneral,muchclearerthan
motivationalcontrol(mand),andverbalstimuluscontrol(intraverbal)
Itisoftenthecasethatthewrongnonverbalstimulusacquirescontrolofatact
Forexample,whenteachingtactsrelatedtoverbs,thegoalisthatthespecificmovingnonverbal
stimulusevokesaspecificresponse,nottheobjectrelatedtothemovement
Somechildrenlearntoemitawordthatisaverbinformbutnotinfunction,asintheresponse
Drinkingjuicewhenjustshownacup,orThrowingballwhenshownaball
Similarproblemscanbeobservedineffortstoteachtactsrelatedtoprepositionsandadjectives(e.g.,
aboveandbelow,bigandlittle)
Goneunchecked,thesetactingerrorscanbedifficulttochangeandcanbecomethesourceofother
verbalproblemslaterintraining,suchasintraverbalroteresponding

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Somecommoncausesofanabsent,weak,ordefectivetactrepertoire
Alimitedamountofformaltacttraininghasbeenprovided
Otherbarrierssuchasinstructionalcontroldominatetheeducationalactivities
Articulationisunintelligible,andaugmentativecommunicationhasnotbeentried
Tactingispromptboundbyechoic,imitative,orotherSDs(e.g.,lipprompts)
Scrollingthroughtargetedtactsgetsreinforced
Singleresponsetactshavebeenoverconditioned
LimitedtrainingwithmultipleSDsandmultipleresponsetacting
Thewrongsourceofcontrolisestablished(e.g.,tactingverbsoremotionsfrompictures)

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Somecommoncausesofanabsent,weak,ordefectivetactrepertoire
Failuretoanalyzecomplexitiesoftactsinvolvingprepositions,pronouns,
adjectives,privateevents,socialbehavior,etc.
VerbalstimulidonotestablishafeatureofnonverbalstimuliasanS D(IV/Tact
combo)
Poorlysequencedcurriculum
Generalizationtrainingisnotprovided(stimulusandresponseclasses)
Nospontaneoustactingduetoadditionalpromptsintraining(S Deffect)
Nospontaneoustactingduetoaversivevariablespresentintraining(MO
Reflexive)
Tactingnotreinforcedbynaturalorautomaticcontingencies
Thechildhasapunishmenthistoryfortacting
Excessiveorinappropriatetactinggetsreinforced

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
AnAnalysisofaDefectiveIntraverbalRepertoire
Intraverbalbehaviorismostpronetobecomingroteforchildrenwithautism
Thetaskofdirectlyteachingintraverbalbehavioriscomplicatedandendless
Earlyintraverbaltrainingisprettystraightforward,butby34yearsofage,atypical
childacquires1000sofdifferentintraverbalrelations
Mostadultshavehundredsofthousandsofdifferentintraverbalrelationsasapartof
theirverbalrepertoires(e.g.,newspaper,books,theinternet)
Contactwiththeseverbalstimulicanevokenumerousintraverbalresponses,suchas
discussionsofthefacts(e.g.,globalwarming,autism,SDvs.theMO)
Thenumberofdifferentintraverbalrelationsfaroutnumbersthenumberofdifferent
mandsandtacts.Thefrequencyofmandsmaybegreaterthanintraverbals,butoftenthe
mandsarerelatedtoarelativelysmallsetofMOs
Languagewouldbesimpleifaverbalrepertoirewaslikeapassengerlistonashipor
plane(Skinner,1957)

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
AnAnalysisofaDefectiveIntraverbalRepertoire
Manychildrenwithautismhaveagreatdealofdifficultyacquiringmeaningfulintraverbalbehavior.
Somehaveacquired100softactsandLDs,butfailtoacquiremorethanafewsimpleintraverbal
relations
Tacting,imitation,echoic,matching,LDs,textual,andtranscriptivehaveadegreeofsamenessthat
maycomeeasierforchildrenwithautismthanintraverbalbehavior
Notonlyaretheantecedentsfortheserepertoiresmoreconsistentandclearer,butalsotheresponse
isfrequentlythesame(AspoonisusuallySpoon,2isalwaysTwo)
Intraverbalrelations,bytheirverynature,involveconstantlychangingSDsandresponses
Forexample,atreeisalwaysatreeforechoic,tacting,matching,etc.,butthediscussionabouttrees
canbecomprisedofhundreds,ifnotthousands,ofdifferentintraverbalrelations
Furthermore,thediscussionabouttreesmayneveroccurexactlythesamewayeachtime
However,thistypeofdefectiveintraverbalbehaviorisnotuncommonforsomehighfunctioning
individualswithautism,andespeciallythosewithAspergers

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
AnAnalysisofaDefectiveIntraverbalRepertoire
VerbalSDsareusuallymuchmorecomplicatedthanthenonverbalSDs
VerbalSDsusuallycontainmultiplecomponents,occurringinabrieftimeframe
MultiplewordsasSDsalmostalwaysinvolveverbalconditionaldiscriminations
Vocalverbalstimuliaretransitory,nonverbalstimulitendtobemorestatic
AttendingtoverbalSDsisoftenmorelaboriousthanattendingtononverbalSDs
Visualstimulimayblocktheestablishmentofcontrolbyverbalstimuli
Manywordsthatarenotclearlyevokedbyacorrespondingnonverbalstimulus(e.g.,the,
a,cant,usually,if,its,for,of,anyway,whatever)butformtheVCDs
IVresponsesaretypicallymorecomplexthanresponsesassociatedwithtacts
TheMLUofatacttendstobemuchshorterthantheMLUforanintraverbal
Thereisoftenonlysomuchthatcanbesaidaboutaspecificnonverbalstimulus(e.g.,
thetactbikevs,IVstoryaboutabike)
Thetactresponseisoftenshapedtoincludeonlythesalientinformation

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

Somecommoncausesofanabsent,weak,ordefectiveintraverbalrepertoire
Thechildhasnotreceivedformalintraverbaltraining
Thechildisgiventraining,butitstooearlytofocusonintraverbals
Thechildsechoicrepertoireistoostrong(echolalia)
Nonverbalstimulicontrolresponseform(tactpromptbound)
MOscontrolresponseforms(strongIVsonfavoritetopics)
Theintraverbalcurriculumisoutofdevelopmentalandbehavioralsequence
Roteintraverbalresponseshavebeenfirmlyestablishedduetoconditioninghistory
OutofcontextorirrelevantintraverbaltrainingmayestablishoddformsofIVbehavior
Singleverbalstimuliandsingleverbalresponseshavebeenoverconditioned

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Somecommoncausesofanabsent,weak,ordefectiveintraverbalrepertoire

Thespecifictargetresponsesarenotinthechildsrepertoireastacts,LDs,orLRFFCs

Thechilddoesnotattendtomultipleverbalstimuli(Sdeltas)

Thechilddoesnothavesufficienttrainingonverbalconditionaldiscriminations

Verbalstimulusclasseshavenotbeenestablished

Verbalresponseclasseshavenotbeenestablished

Pooraudiencecontrol

NoautomaticreinforcementforIVbehavior

Apunishmenthistoryforintraverbalbehavior

Anextinctionhistoryforintraverbalbehavior

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

AnAnalysisofaDefectiveListenerRepertoire

Thebehaviorofthelistenerinvolvesseveralindependentrepertoires
Thelistenerasanaudiencefortheverbalbehaviorofothers
Thelistenersnonverbalbehaviorevokedbythewordsofothers
Thelistenerscovertverbalbehaviorevokedbythewordsofothers(thispartisactually
speakerbehavior,butcommonlyanderroneouslyreferredtoaslistener,orreceptive,
behavior.

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

SomeCommonCausesofanAbsent,Weak,or
DefectiveListenerRepertoire
Thespeechofothersdoesnotfunctionasaconditionedreinforcer
ThespeechofothersdoesnotfunctionasanSDforattending
Thechilddoesnotreinforcetheverbalbehaviorofothers
Thechilddoesnotmediatereinforcementfortheverbalbehaviorofothers
ThechildhasnotbecomeanSDforcertainverbalbehaviorfromothers
Thechildhasnotreceivedformallistenertraining
Scrollinggetreinforcedinlistenertraining
Inadvertentpromptscontrolcorrectresponses(eyegazes,position,handplacement)

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

SomeCommonCausesofanAbsent,Weak,or
DefectiveListenerRepertoire
Thechildhasaweakconditionaldiscriminationrepertoire
Verbalstimulidoesnotevokescanning(orattendingtothearray)
Thechildhasbeenoverconditionedwithlimitedarray
Thechildhasbeenoverconditionedwithsinglestimulusandsingleresponse
Generalizationtraininghasnotprovided(stimulusandresponseclasses)
Thechildstimswiththematerials
NoLRFFCtraininghasbeenprovided
Thecurriculumispoorlysequenced

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Somecommoncausesofanabsent,weak,ordefectivevisualperceptionand

matchingtosamplerepertoire
Thechildmayhavesometypeofvisionimpairment
Thechildhasnotreceivedformaltrainingonvisualdiscriminationtasks
Adultshavepoorinstructionalcontrol
Thechildstimswithmaterials
Thetargetedvisualtasksareoutofdevelopmentalsequence(curriculum)
Thechildispromptboundbyposition,bodymovement,eyeorpointing
prompts,etc.
Thereisareinforcementhistoryforpositionpreference,orspecificresponse
patterns
Scrollingbehaviorgetsreinforced
AverbalconsequencelikeNoisreallyanSDtopickanotheritem

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Somecommoncausesofanabsent,weak,ordefectivevisualperceptionand

matchingtosamplerepertoire
Ifnoreinforcementisprovidedforfirstselection,thechildquicklyselectsanotheritem
Thereisafailuretoscanvisualarraysandcomparisonsefficiently
Thereisafailuretomakeconditionaldiscriminations
Overconditioningwithasmallarray(limitedarrayvariation)
Thetaskistooeasybecausethecomparisonstimuliareverydifferentfromeachother
Limitedtrainingwithlargearrays,scenes,andarraysinthenaturalenvironment
Limitedtrainingwithsimilarstimuliinthearray
Limitedtrainingwithlargearraysandsimilarstimuliinscenesandinthenatural
environment

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

SomeCommonCausesofanAbsent,Weak,or
DefectiveListenerRepertoire
Thechildhasaweakconditionaldiscriminationrepertoire
Verbalstimulidoesnotevokescanning(orattendingtothearray)
Thechildhasbeenoverconditionedwithlimitedarray
Thechildhasbeenoverconditionedwithsinglestimulusandsingleresponse
Generalizationtraininghasnotprovided(stimulusandresponseclasses)
Thechildstimswiththematerials
NoLRFFCtraininghasbeenprovided
Thecurriculumispoorlysequenced

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Somecommoncausesofanabsent,weak,ordefectiveechoicrepertoire
Physiologicalvariables(e.g.,weakmusclecontrol,severeillnesses,cerebralpalsy)
Littleornotrainingorencouragementofechoicrespondinghasbeenprovided
Weakautomaticreinforcementforechoicandvocalbehavior
Possibleautomaticpunishment(orotherformsofpunishment)forvocalbehavior
Thechilddemonstratesalowrateofbabblingorvocalplay
Adultshavepoorinstructionalcontrol
Vocalselfstimulationinterfereswithechoicdevelopment

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Somecommoncausesofanabsent,weak,ordefectiveechoicrepertoire
ThechildhasweakMOsforsocialinteractionwithotherpeople
Thechilddoesntattendtovocalstimuli
Thetargetedvocalsounds,blends,andwordsareoutofdevelopmentalsequence
Thechildhasanaversive(failure)historyregardingattemptstoteachechoicbehavior
Generalizationtraininghasnotbeenprovided
Repertoiretoostrong(echolalia,promptbound)
Automaticreinforcementforoutofcontextverbalresponses(Delayedecholalia)

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessmentand
PlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Potentialcausesofscrolling
Responsesthatarefirsttrainedarenotcompletelyacquired(weakSDcontrol)
Failuretoidentifythatscrollingisoccurring
TheresponseisactuallyunderaspecifictypeofpromptratherthanthetargetSD
Theamountofdiscriminationtrainingisinsufficient
Newwords/signsareaddedtooquickly
Scrollinggetsintermittentlyreinforced
Newstimuliandnewresponsesaretoosimilar
Formands,newMOsandspecificreinforcementaresimilartotheearlierones
Maintenanceandgeneralizationtrialsareinsufficient
Failuretoreinforcefirstwrongresponseevokesthenextresponse
Curriculumisoutofsequence
Scrollingislessworkthandiscriminating

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment
Instructional control/non-compliance (escape and avoidance)
Many children with autism have learned to emit a variety of negative and disruptive
behaviors to avoid or terminate demands placed upon them (CMO-R)
These behaviors range from mild behaviors such as looking away or not responding, to
severe aggressive and self-injurious behaviors
However, the function of the behaviors is often the same: to escape from doing things
they dont want to do (e.g., hair brushing, car seats, instructional demands), or any stimuli
that indicate that unwanted things or activities are coming (avoidance) (e.g., bedtime,
turning off the TV, table tasks)
These types of behaviors are common in typically developing children, but can become
quite severe for a child with autism

Thereareanumberofpotentialcausesforinstructionalcontrolproblems.Itisthejobof
thebehavioranalystconductadescriptiveand/orfunctionalanalysistodeterminethe
specificcauseforeachindividualchild

VerbalBehaviorMilestonesAssessment
andPlacementProgram:
TheVBMAPPBarriersAssessment

Potentialcausesofnoncompliantbehaviors

Avoidanceorescapeofthedemandis(negatively)reinforced(notfollowedthrough)
Thechildhasalonghistoryofsuccessfulavoidanceandescapebehavior
Extinctionburstsarereinforced
Intermittentreinforcementdevelopspersistence
Positivereinforcementalsofollowsthenegativebehaviors
Notenoughreinforcementisprovidedforcompliance
Effectivereinforcersarenotidentified,ortheycannotcompetewithnegativereinforcement
Thedemandistoohigh(e.g.,taskexpectationsandcurriculumissues)
Thedemandsareunclearorvague
Thedemandrequirethatthechildgiveuppowerfulreinforcers
Thedemandsareintheformofthreats(coercive)
Thestepstosuccessfulcompliancearetoolarge
Theinterventionprogramisinconsistent

ThankYou!
Formoreinformationonverbalbehavior
andlinkstoothermaterialgoto:
www.marksundberg.com