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UCSB Koegel Autism Center

Journal of

Positive Behavior Interventions

Volume 9, Number 4, Fall 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS AND ABSTRACTS

Editorial
Robert L. Koegel and Robert H. Horner


Escape-maintained problem behavior in a child with autism: Antecedent functional analysis and intervention evaluation of noncontingent escape and instructional fading.
Laura R. Butler and James K. Luiselli

A functional analysis with a 13-year-old girl who had autism documented that her problem behavior was maintained by escape from instruction. Additional assessment revealed that certain types of requests and specific practitioners were associated with the highest frequency of problem behavior. In a subsequent intervention evaluation, response reduction was achieved using a combination of noncontingent escape and instructional fading. The frequency of requests presented to the child also increased with intervention. The study highlights the importance of identifying specific sources of control over escape-maintained problem behavior and manipulating antecedent variables to affect change.

Measuring school-wide positive behavior support implementation: Development and validation of the benchmarks of quality.
Rachel Cohen, Don Kincaid, and Karen Elfner Childs.

School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) has been implemented in more than 4,000 schools as a means of addressing problem behavior in a systemic fashion. Preliminary outcomes (e.g., office discipline referrals, suspensions) indicate the effectiveness of SWPBS in decreasing school-wide behavior problems and creating a positive school climate. Although the results of a majority of the program evaluations yielded significant findings, there has been a lack of measurement of treatment fidelity, possibly due to the absence of expedient, effective assessment tools. This article describes the theoretical background and development, including a qualitative pilot study and psychometric properties, of the School-wide Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ; Kincaid, Childs, & George, 2005), a tool intended to measure the implementation of SWPBS. Descriptive data on the instrument, including internal consistency, test-retest reliability, interrater reliability, and concurrent validity, were collected and analyzed. Results indicate that the BoQ for SWPBS is a reliable, valid, efficient, and useful instrument for measuring the fidelity of implementation of the primary or universal level of PBS application in individual schools. Future considerations for evaluating the psychometric properties of the BoQ include extending the data collection and analysis to many more schools across multiple states.

Using perseverative interests to elicit joint attention behaviors in young children with autism: Theoretical and clinical implications for understanding motivation.
Laurie A. Vismara and Gregory L. Lyons.

Various explanations have been offered in the literature on the underlying cause of joint attention deficits in autism. One possible explanation is that children with autism are capable of producing joint attention but lack the social motivation to share their interests with others. The current study used a single-subject reversal design with alternating treatments to examine whether joint attention initiations for social sharing would occur as a collateral effect of utilizing the motivational techniques of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) in conjunction with perseverative interest stimuli for three young nonverbal children with autism. Results indicated an immediate increase in joint attention initiations when perseverative, or highly preferred, interests were incorporated within the motivational techniques of PRT. Additional findings included collateral increases in joint attention initiations toward less preferred interests, as well as improvements in the quality of interaction between the children and caregivers. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and clinical implications for understanding the role of motivation in the development of joint attention in autism.

Adding functional behavioral assessment to first step to success: A case study.
Deborah Russell Carter and Robert H. Horner.

First Step to Success is a manualized early intervention program with documented success in reducing the problem behavior of young children. Walker and colleagues (2005) are now engaged in analyses of variables that will increase the proportion of children for whom First Step is effective. A possible enhancement to the First Step to Success protocol is the use of functional behavioral assessment and individualized, function-based behavior support. The present analysis provides a case study with one 6-year-old student who received First Step to Success. Following the coaching phase of First Step, a reversal design was employed in which function-based features of behavior support were withdrawn and then re-implemented. Analysis of problem behavior and academic engagement data suggests that incorporation of function-based features enhanced the impact of First Step to Success. Implications for modifications of the First Step protocol and future research are provided.

Three-tier models of reading and behavior: A research review.
Rachel M. Stewart, Gregory J. Benner, Ronald C. Martella, and Nancy E. Marchand-Martella.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the research literature on three-tier models of reading and behavior and to provide a descriptive analysis and meta-analytic review of these models. An in-depth review of 17 articles was conducted on the similarities and differences between and among three-tier models of reading (n = 5), models of behavior (n = 7), and integrated models (combining reading and behavior; n = 5). Descriptive analyses were conducted across three areas: student populations, intervention level, and setting. Finally, a meta-analytic review was completed of 11 of the 17 investigations. Scientific evidence shows that one or more levels of these three-tier models leads to improved reading or behavior performance; however, there is a paucity of research detailing the integration of three-tier reading and behavior models. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.