Individual Positive Behavior Supports

Fredda Brown, Jacki Anderson, Randall L. De Pry, Fredda Brown, Jacki Anderson, Randall L. De Pry

• Publisher: Brookes Publishing
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781598577778
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Behaviorism
• Index: Psychology

Aligned with the Association for Positive Behavior Support's Standards of Practice, this graduate-level text is an authoritative PBS primer for professionals preparing for work in educational and community-based settings. More than 60 leading scholars present the critical skills and knowledge professionals need to translate the principles and science of PBS into person-centered interventions that improve lives. Covering a broad range of ages, disabilities, and settings, this comprehensive textbook fully prepares professionals to support all people with challenging behavior, effectively and respectfully.

PREPARE PROFESSIONALS TO

• Use the foundations of PBS and applied behavior analysis (ABA) in everyday practice
• Conduct person-centered functional behavior assessments
• Select and design effective behavior interventions and curricular modifications
• Develop comprehensive, multielement PBS plans tailored to individual needs and goals
• Ensure fidelity of behavior-plan implementation
• Facilitate generalization and maintenance of behavior changes

PRACTICAL MATERIALS: Vignettes that illustrate effective approaches; online companion materials for instructors, including PowerPoints that enhance teaching and learning and study questions for discussion and reflection. TOPICS COVERED:

• antecedent strategies
• consequence strategies
• functional behavior assessments /li>
• person-centered planning teams
• data-based decision making
• single-subject research methodology
• systematic instruction
• self-determination
• quality of life
• visual supports
• partnering with families
• curricular modifications
• self-management strategies
• behavior assessment and data analysis
• systemic change
• culturally responsive PBS
• future directions for PBS
• and more!

II

Basic Principles of Behavior

---

STANDARDS ADDRESSED IN THIS SECTION

I. A. Practitioners of positive behavior support (PBS) have the following historical perspectives on the evolution of PBS and its relationship to applied behavior analysis (ABA) and movements in the disability field:

1. History of applied behavior analysis and the relationship to PBS

2. Similarities and unique features of PBS and ABA

III. A. Practitioners of PBS utilize the following behavior assessment and support methods that are based on operant learning:

1. The antecedent behavior consequence model as the basis for all voluntary behavior

2. Operational definitions of behavior

3. Stimulus control, including discriminative stimuli and S-deltas

4. The influence of setting events (or establishing operations) on behavior

5. Antecedent influences on behavior

6. Precursor behaviors

7. Consequences to increase or decrease behavior

III. B. Practitioners of PBS understand and use antecedent manipulations to influence behavior, such as the following:

1. Curricular modifications

2. Instructional modifications

3. Behavioral precursors as signals

4. Modification of routines

5. Opportunities for choice/control throughout the day

6. Clear expectations

7. Precorrection

8. Errorless learning

III. C. Practitioners of PBS understand and use the following consequence manipulations to increase behavior:

1. Primary reinforcers and conditions under which primary reinforcers are used

2. Types of secondary reinforcers and their use

3. Approaches to identify effective reinforcers, including the following:

a. Functional assessment data

b. Observation

c. Reinforcer surveys

d. Reinforcer sampling

4. Premack principle

5. Positive reinforcement

6. Negative reinforcement

7. Ratio, interval, and natural schedules of reinforcement

8. Pairing of reinforcers

III. D. Practitioners of PBS understand the following consequence manipulations to decrease behavior:

1. The use of punishment, including characteristics, ethical use of punishment, and potential side effects of punishment procedures.

Any use of punishment, including strategies that are found within integrated natural settings, must be within the parameters of the 11 key elements identified in IC, with particular attention to IC9, “Techniques that do not cause pain or humiliation or deprive the individual of basic needs.”

2. Differential reinforcement, including the following:

a. Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior

b. Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior

c. Differential reinforcement of zero rates of behavior

d. Differential reinforcement of lower rates of behavior

3. Extinction, including the following:

a. Characteristics of extinction interventions

b. How to use extinction

c. Using extinction in combination with interventions to develop replacement behaviors

4. Response cost, including the following:

a. Cautions associated with use of response cost

b. Using response cost with interventions to develop replacement behaviors

5. Time-out, including the following:

a. Types of time-out applications

b. How to implement time-out

c. Cautions associated with use of time-out

d. Using time-out with interventions to develop replacement behaviors

III. E. Practitioners of PBS understand and use the following methods for facilitating generalization and maintenance of skills:

1. Forms of generalization, including the following:

a. Stimulus generalization

b. Response generalization

c. Generalization across subjects

2. Maintenance of behaviors across time

IV. A. Practitioners of PBS understand that data-based decision making is a fundamental element of PBS and that behavioral assessment and support planning begins with the following techniques for defining behavior:

1. Using operational definitions to describe target behaviors

2. Writing behavioral objectives that include the following:

a. Conditions under which the behavior should occur

b. Operational definition of behavior

c. Criteria for achieving the objective

IV. B. Practitioners of PBS understand that data-based decision making is a fundamental element of PBS and that the following techniques for measuring behavior are critical components of behavioral assessment and support:

1. Using data systems that are appropriate for target behaviors, including the following:

a. Frequency

b. Duration

c. Latency

d. Interval recording

e. Time sampling

f. Permanent product recording

2. Developing data collection plans that include the following:

a. The measurement system to be used

b. Schedule for measuring behavior during relevant times and contexts, including baseline data

c. Manageable strategies for sampling behavior for measurement purposes

d. How, when, and if the interobserver agreement checks will be conducted

e. How and when procedural integrity checks will be conducted

f. Data collection recording forms

g. How raw data will be converted to a standardized format (e.g., rate, percentage)

h. Use of criterion to determine when to make changes in the instructional phase

IV. C. Practitioners of PBS use the following graphic displays of data to support decision making during the assessment, program development, and evaluation stages of behavior support:

1. Converting raw data in standardized format

2. Following graphing conventions, including the following:

a. Clearly labeled axes

b. Increment scales that allow for meaningful and accurate

3. Representing the data in the following ways:

a. Phase change lines

b. Clearly labeled phase change descriptions

c. Criterion lines

IV. D. Practitioners of PBS use the following data-based strategies to monitor progress:

1. Using graphed data to identify trends and intervention effects

2. Evaluating data regularly and frequently

3. Sharing data with team members for team-based, person-centered decision making

4. Using data to make decisions regarding program revisions to maintain or improve behavioral progress, including decisions relating to maintaining, modifying, or terminating interventions

5. Using data to determine if additional collaborations, support, and/or assistance is needed to achieve intended outcomes

---

The seven chapters that make up Section II provide a comprehensive introduction to a science of human behavior commonly referred to as applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA is a systematic approach to understanding human behavior that is based on an extensive and replicable research literature (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968). ABA has played a critical role in the evolution and current practice of positive behavior support (PBS). Carr et al. (2002) write, “Applied behavior analysis has made two major contributions to PBS. First, it has provided one element of a conceptual framework relevant to behavior change. Second, and equally important, it has provided a number of assessment and intervention strategies” (p. 5). The chapters that follow will provide the reader with a strong grounding in ABA, including outlining the basics of behavior, behavioral assessment, and research-based interventions that support the practice of PBS. Finally, each of these chapters provide case examples that help illustrate major points.

Chapter 6, “Applied Behavior Analysis as a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Positive Behavior Support,” provides a historical overview of ABA and introduces key concepts that are used throughout the book. The chapter illustrates how ABA provides a rich literature that informs PBS practices for improving the quality of life of those receiving positive behavior interventions and supports. Chapter 7, “Antecedent Strategies to Change Behavior,” focuses on strategies that are instituted prior to a response. The authors discuss a number of research-based strategies that can be used in both school and community-based settings by PBS practitioners, such as curricular modifications, modification of routines, opportunities for choice, and precorrection. Chapter 8, “Consequence Strategies to Change Behavior,” examines the role that consequences play for increasing, decreasing, or maintaining responding. Pay close attention to the discussion on the use of aversive strategies and how a PBS framework differs from a more traditional behavior analytic perspective when it comes to behavior reduction strategies. Chapter 9, “Facilitating Generalization and Maintenance of Behavior Change,” examines evidence-based strategies for facilitating the generalization and maintenance of responses. The chapter provides an overview of the research basis for generalization and maintenance and covers critical topics such as stimulus and response generalization and schedules of reinforcements. Chapter 10, “Defining, Measuring, and Graphing Behavior,” provides a comprehensive overview of key concepts such as data, operational definitions, behavioral objectives, stages of learning, measuring and recording behavior, reliability, and graphing basics. Chapter 11, “Single-Case Designs and Data-Based Decision Making,” extends content presented in the previous chapters and examines how practitioners make data-based decisions based on graphic displays of data. Specific single-case designs are discussed, including assumptions and guidelines for their use. Chapter 12, “Systematic Instruction,” serves as a capstone for this section and illustrates an approach—systematic instruction—that incorporates principles of applied behavior analysis in a structured format for teaching new skills for people who experience challenging behavior.

Randall L. De Pry

REFERENCES

Baer, D.M., Wolf, M.M., & Risley, T.R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1, 91–97.

Carr, E.G., Dunlap, G., Horner, R.H., Koegel, R.L., Turnbull, A.P. Sailor, W., . . . Fox, L. (2002). Positive behavior support: Evolution of an applied science. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 4, 4–16, 20.

6

Applied Behavior Analysis as a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Positive Behavior Support

Teri Lewis

A student stops what she is doing to hold the door for a classmate entering the same building. A person is startled and moves away from a dog when walking through his neighborhood. While one person enjoys camping by a lake, another person delights in listening to a symphony orchestra. A song comes on the radio and the person listening begins to tear up and thinks of her grandmother whom she hasn’t thought of for months. How do we develop habits (e.g., always put your keys in the same place)? Why do we choose what to do when (e.g., decide whether you would like to try bowling)? And why is it that something in your day suddenly sparks a memory of friend you haven’t thought of for years?

Behavior analysis is a systematic approach to understanding behavior within an environmental context. Based on the principles of both classical and operant conditioning, behavior analysis is aimed at understanding and improving behavior (e.g., Alberto & Troutman, 2008; Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). Critical to this scientific approach is a focus on determinism, empiricism, and philosophical doubt. Determinism is the belief that events are lawful and orderly and, as such, understandable (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007). However, the understanding of phenomena must be based on empirical methods, including objective assessment, repeated measurement, and quantitative analysis. Philosophical doubt requires the scientist to continually question assumptions and rely on objective measurement over subjective beliefs. These guiding principles continue to influence both the science and practice of behavior analysis today. Research in beha...