A Behavioral Approach to Language Assessment and Intervention for Children With Autism

Mark L. Sundberg, Ph.D., BCBA marksundberg@astound.net

Language

The primary focus of an intervention program for children with autism should be on the development of effective language and social skills

What is Language?

How do we talk about it? How do we measure it? What are its parts? How do we assess it? How do we teach it? What theory of language should we use for children with autism?

Theories of Language

Linguistic theory can be classified into three separate, but often overlapping views: biological, cognitive, and environmental Proponents of the biological view (e.g., Chomsky, 1965; Pinker, 1994) argue that language is innate to humans and primarily a result of physiological processes and functions, and language has little to do with environmental variables, such as reinforcement and stimulus control Brain------->Words No significant applications of Chomsky or Pinker to autism

Theories of Language

Cognitive psychologists argue that language is controlled by internal cognitive processing systems that accept, classify, code, decode, and store verbal information (e.g., Brown, 1973; Piaget, 1926; Slobin, 1973), and language has little to do with environmental variables, such as reinforcement and stimulus control Language is viewed as expressive and receptive, and the two are referred to as communicative behavior that is controlled by cognitive processors Cognition------>Words Cognitive theory, and the resulting expressive-receptive framework dominates the current language intervention programs for children with autism, including many behavioral programs

How is Language Measured in a Traditional Linguistic Analysis?

The focus is on response forms, topography, and structure Phonemes Morphemes Lexicon Syntax Grammar Semantics Mean length of utterances (MLU); words, phrases, sentences Classification system: nouns, verbs, prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, etc.

An Environmental Analysis of Language: Skinners Book Verbal Behavior

Language is learned behavior under the functional control of environmental contingencies What happens when a man speaks or responds to speech is clearly a question about human behavior and hence a question to be answered with the concepts and techniques of psychology as an experimental science of behavior (Skinner, 1957, p. 5) The analysis of verbal behavior involves the same behavioral principles and concepts that make up the analysis of nonverbal behavior. No new principles of behavior are required Chapter 1 of Verbal Behavior is titled A Functional Analysis of Verbal Behavior

A Functional Analysis of Verbal Behavior: The Basic Principles of Operant Behavior

Stimulus Control (SD) Motivating Operation (MO/EO)

Response

Reinforcement Punishment Extinction Conditioned reinforcement Conditioned punishment Intermittent reinforcement

How is Language Measured in a Behavioral Analysis?

The verbal operant is the unit of analysis (e.g., mands, tacts, & intraverbals) MO/SD Response Consequence

Form and function is measured

A Behavioral Approach to Language

What does behavioral psychology have to offer to parents and professionals who work with children with autism? Basic teaching procedures and methodology derived from Applied Behavior Analysis These procedures and methods have a solid research foundation that can be easily found in over 1500 empirical studies that have been conducted over the past 60 years

Behavioral Procedures

Reinforcement Prompting Fading Modeling Shaping Chaining Pairing Differential reinforcement procedures (e.g., DRO, DRI, DRL) Intermittent reinforcement procedures (e.g., FR, VR, FI, VI)

Behavioral Procedures

Extinction procedures (e.g., planned ignoring) Punishment procedures (e.g., reprimands, time out) Generalization and maintenance Discrimination training Errorless learning Transfer of stimulus control Task analysis Fluency procedures Contingency contracting Token economies

Additional Behavioral Procedures and Methods

Individualized assessment and intervention program Frequent opportunities to respond Use of discrete trial teaching procedures Incidental & natural environment teaching procedures Data collection Interspersal techniques Behavioral momentum techniques Peer and social interaction training Parent and staff training in behavior analysis Functional analyses of problem behavior (Iwata, et al. 1982)

A Behavioral Approach to Language

What else does behavioral psychology have to offer? In addition to the use of specific procedures (e.g., prompting, fading, and differential reinforcement), a second and critical contribution of behavioral psychology involves the analysis of the effects of those procedures on behavior It is not enough to simply immediately deliver an edible to a child after a particular behavior, but an analysis of the effects of that edible on behavior is essential to determining if the edible is indeed a form of reinforcement The same can be said for all of the behavioral procedures

A Behavioral Approach to Language

What else can a behavioral approach offer? Skinners analysis of language found in the book Verbal Behavior (Skinner, 1957) Language is learned behavior under the functional control of environmental variables (Skinner, 1957), just like a tantrum

Skinners Analysis of Verbal Behavior

The traditional linguistic classification of words, phrases and sentences, as expressive and receptive language blends important functional distinctions among types of operant behavior, and appeals to cognitive explanations for the causes of language behavior (Skinner, 1957, Chapter 1) At the core of Skinners analysis of language is the distinction between the mand, tact, and intraverbal (traditionally all classified as expressive language) Skinner identified three separate sources of antecedent control for these verbal operants EO/MO control------->Mand Nonverbal SD--------->Tact Verbal SD-------------->Intraverbal There is an established body of empirical support for this distinction (for a review of the research, see Sautter & LeBlanc, 2006)

The Behavioral Classification of Language

Mand: Asking for reinforcers. Asking for Mommy because you want mommy Tact: Naming or identifying objects, actions, events, etc. Saying Mommy because you see Mommy Intraverbal: Answering questions or having conversations where your words are controlled by other words. Saying Mommy because someone else says Daddy and...

The Behavioral Classification of Language

Echoic: Repeating what is heard. Saying Mommy after someone else says Mommy Imitation: Copying someones motor movements (as they relate to sign language). Placing a 5 hand on the chin after someone else places their 5 hand on their chin Copying-a-text: Writing Mommy because someone else writes Mommy Textual: Reading words. Saying Mommy because you see the written word Mommy Transcription: Writing and spelling words spoken to you. Writing Mommy because you hear Mommy spoken Listener: Following instructions or complying with the mands of others. Touching a picture of mommy when asked Touch mommy

The Behavioral Classification of Language

Skinner (1957) calls this collection of language skills The Elementary Verbal Operants The elementary verbal operants are separate repertoires and functionally independent at the time of acquisition, and each must be taught Speaker and listener skills are separate repertoires and each must be taught More complex language, such as conversations and language related to social skills, is comprised of these basic elements

The Application of Skinners Analysis of Verbal Behavior

Language Assessment Determine the operant levels of verbal (and related) skills Identify language acquisition/learning barriers Obtain developmental comparison data Where to begin intervention (placement) Establish IEP goals Curriculum design Teaching strategies (e.g., augmentative communication, DTT-NET) Track progress, make changes

The Application of Skinners Analysis of Verbal Behavior

Language Assessment Traditional assessments Based on the expressive-receptive distinction (e.g., Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Expressive One-word Vocabulary Test). Standardized vs. criterion referenced assessments Verbal behavior assessment Based on the elementary verbal operants Based on a functional analysis of verbal behavior and other related behaviors

The Application of Skinners Analysis of Verbal Behavior

Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program: The VB-MAPP (Sundberg, 2007) The VB-MAPP contains 150 verbal behavior milestones across 3 developmental levels and 14 different verbal operants and related skills In addition, the program includes an assessment for language acquisition barriers A detailed task analysis of each verbal operant and related skill A curriculum placement system An IEP guide, and progress scoring system for each verbal operant and related skill

The Application of Skinners Analysis of Verbal Behavior

Language Intervention The focus is on the verbal operants and related skills, rather than on the expressive-receptive distinction The verbal operants provide a behavioral framework for daily language training, IEP development, skill tracking, etc. Mand training Role of motivating operations (MO/EO) in verbal behavior Intraverbal training Role of verbal conditional discriminations in verbal behavior Multiple control and joint control Automatic reinforcement

The Application of Skinners Analysis of Verbal Behavior

A descriptive functional analysis of verbal behavior A behavioral analysis of words, phrases, and sentences emitted by children with autism Same basic principles of behavior as nonverbal behavior What is the source of control? Might not be the same source of control observed in a typically developing child (e.g., I have a red shirt on) Each verbal operant can be susceptible to unwanted sources of control Defective mands (I want candy. Whats that?)

The Application of Skinners Analysis of Verbal Behavior

A descriptive functional analysis of verbal behavior Defective tacts (Bounce ball, Black car, Under table) Defective intraverbal responses (Poopies evoked by What do you smell in the oven?) The task for the behavior analyst is to determine what the correct source of control should be, and how that source can be established The functional analysis of verbal behavior is on-going The failure to conduct such an analysis may not only result in rote or defective verbal repertoires, but unchecked, these repertoires may become difficult to change

Verbal Behavior Teaching Strategies

Early mand training Frequent opportunities to mand Use of the MO to teach the other operants Contriving and capturing MOs Use of multiple control procedures

Verbal Behavior Teaching Strategies

Establishing verbal stimulus control and verbal conditional discriminations Listener responding by function, feature, and class(LRFFC) Typical language development as a curriculum guide Stimulus-stimulus pairing procedures Automatic reinforcement

Verbal Behavior Teaching Strategies

Interspersal techniques (mixing the verbal operants in training Mixed VB) VB modules Behavioral momentum procedures Errorless learning procedures Using transfer of stimulus control procedures to teach new operants

Verbal Behavior Teaching Strategies

Minimal use of punishment First trial data and probe data Variation in intonation, pitch, prosody, pacing, etc. Augmentative communication Discrete trial as well as natural environment training The childs daily schedule and IEPs are driven by the elementary verbal operants

Conclusions

A behavioral approach to language intervention for children with autism consists of six components 1) the use of the basic teaching procedures and methodology derived from applied behavior analysis 2) the use of a conceptual analysis of language based on Skinners functional analysis of verbal behavior 3) the use of the verbal operants as a basis for language assessment

Conclusions

4) the use of the verbal operants as a basis for language intervention 5) the use of a functional analysis of verbal behavior to analyze all aspects of verbal development, including language barriers 6) the use of a variety of teaching strategies that are suggested in part by a verbal behavior analysis of language

Conclusions

Behavior analysis in general, has provided a powerful conceptual and methodological treatment strategy for children with autism Skinners behavioral analysis of language can only improve the gains already accomplished In 1978 B. F. Skinner wrote Verbal Behaviorwill, I believe, prove to be my most important work (p. 122) Perhaps this is because language is the most important aspect of human behavior Language is the most important aspect of the treatment of children with autism

Thank You!
For an electronic version of this presentation email: marksundberg@astound.net