The New England Center for Children® (NECC®), a leader in autism education, research, and technology, is proud to participate in the Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis and Therapy (BABAT) 2018 Annual Conference.  NECC has 170 staff attending the conference this week and NECC staff are presenting 39 papers, workshops, symposia, and posters throughout the three-day event, October 10-12.  

Caitlin Heer, an NECC clinical coordinator and graduate student in the Western New England University master’s degree program at NECC, is a finalist in the BF Skinner Foundation/BABAT Student Poster Award this year. Read the abstract, below.

Heer, C., Heidgard, A., Roche, K., Tremblay, J., & Karsina, A.J. (October 2018). Assessing the reinforcing value of and preference for token reinforcement systems. Poster.

Abstract: We evaluated the efficacy of tokens as conditioned reinforcers for 6 participants who attended a school for children with developmental disabilities. We conducted progressive ratio reinforcer assessments across 4 conditions (paired token, unpaired token, primary reinforcement, and control) to assess the effectiveness of tokens exchanged for primary reinforcers, tokens alone, and primary reinforcers. Additionally, for 4 participants, a concurrent-chains preference assessment was conducted to determine if tokens exchanged from primary reinforcers were preferred over primary reinforcers. The results varied across participants, showing that each individual’s token system should be evaluated to determine their effectiveness. While results were idiosyncratic, we were able to conclude that tokens exchanged for primary reinforcers functioned as reinforcers for 3 of 6 participants, and 2 of 4 participants showed a preference for tokens exchanged for primary reinforcers over primary reinforcers only. IOA was collected during 35.3% of sessions with a mean total IOA of 97.7% (range, 92 -100%).

The full listing of papers, workshops, symposia, and posters follows. 

  1. Ahearn, W.H. (October 2018). The Automatic Reinforcement Symposium (Bing, bing, boom, boom). Symposium to be chaired and discussed.
  2. Ahearn, W.H. (October 2018). Licensure and ethics in Massachusetts: Updates and Q & A. Workshop.
  3. Anderson, B., & Bourret, J.C. (October 2018). Exchange schedules affect the reinforcing efficacy of tokens. Poster.
  4. Anderson, C.A., Zaidi, F.Z., & Bancroft, S. (October 2018). When teaching leisure isn’t enough: Increasing preference for leisure activities by embedding natural reinforcers. Paper.
  5. Bancroft, S. (October 2018). A non-leisurely approach to teaching leisure. Symposium.
  6. Butler, C., & Graff, R.B. (October 2018). Long-term stability of preference and reinforcing efficacy of edible, tangible, and social stimuli. Paper.
  7. Couger, K., & MacDonald, R.P.F. (October 2018). Social referencing to teach the discrimination between safe and dangerous stimuli in toddlers with autism.
  8. Courant-Morgan, M., Dickson, C.A., Yoshida, K., & Sanchez, H. (October 2018). Cultural competency, diversity, and inclusion in behavior analytic services.  Panel discussion.
  9. Cruger, F., Sedano, A., Roscoe, E.M., & Hedquist, C. (October 2018). Treatment of stereotypy: Differential reinforcement schedules and reinforcer delivery rate. Poster.
  10. Dickson, C.A., & Langer, S.N. (October 2018). Building general repertoires for children with autism. Workshop.
  11. Gutfleish, J., Karsina, A.J., Rojas, D., Glassman, H., Griffin, M., & McGrail, E. (October 2018). The effects of category and choice on preference. Paper.
  12. Hall, V., & Roscoe, E.M. (October 2018). Increasing leisure item engagement across multiple stimuli in individuals with restricted interests. Poster.
  13. Hasse, A., & Johnson, C. (October 2018). Establishing two-dimensional identity matching performances with a stimulus control shaping procedure. Poster.
  14. Heer, C., Heidgard, A., Roche, K., Tremblay, J., & Karsina, A.J. (October 2018). Assessing the reinforcing value of and preference for token reinforcement systems. Poster.
  15. Heiberger, M., Schweon, R., & Ahearn, W.H. (October 2018). Examining stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) procedures: From SSP to direct reinforcement. Paper.
  16. James, K., Thorsvaldsdottir, E., & Karsina, A.J. (October 2018). Using antecedent strategies to teach implementation of the brief response restriction preference assessment. Paper.
  17. Janetzke, S.J., Bourret, J.C., & Lloveras, L.A. (October 2018). A review of applications of progressive ratio schedules. Poster.
  18. Jarvis, E.I., Little, C.S., & Bancroft, S. (October 2018). Evaluation of strategies for teaching social skills during leisure engagement. Paper.
  19. Karsina, A.J. (October 2018). Assessing the effectiveness of using video modeling in staff training. Symposium.
  20. Karsina, A.J. (October 2018). Evaluating the role of categories on displacement and stability of preference. Symposium.
  21. Karsina, A.J., & Holcomb, W. (October 2018). Ethics of BACB supervision: Best practices, challenges, and ABA-Lite. Workshop.
  22. Lanphear, J., & Bourret, J.C. (October 2018). A descriptive assessment of functional analysis methodology at a behavior-analytic school for individuals with autism. Poster.
  23. MacDonald, R.P.F. (October 2018). Examining social behavior in persons with autism spectrum disorder. Symposium.
  24. MacDonald, R.P.F., Peterson, P., Holohan, B., & Walker, C. (October 2018). Establishing social repertoires in toddlers with autism: The nuts and bolts of teaching. Workshop.
  25. MacLean, K., & Toran, G.T. (October 2018). Assessment and treatment of trichotillomania: Are competing items effective when treating multiply controlled behavior? Poster.
  26. MacManus, C., Ahearn, W.H., & Fergus, R. (October 2018). Persistence of responding following DRA in multiple phases of extinction. Paper.
  27. Mahoney, R., & Bourret, J.C. (October 2018). Random sampling affects background probability calculations in descriptive assessments.
  28. Marcus, J., Hanley, G.P., Sears, K., Gover, H., Ruppel, K., & Warner, C. (October 2018). Meals without tears: The treatment of food selectivity in children with autism. Paper.
  29. McCullough, E.M., Toran, G.T., & Dickson, C.A. (October 2018). Multiple exemplar training: A demonstration of two strategies.
  30. McVarish, A., & Roscoe, E.M. (October 2018). Increasing varied leisure item engagement in an individual with restricted interests. Poster.
  31. Newman, Z., Lundstrom, S., & Roscoe, E.M. (October 2018). Assessment and treatment of immediate echolalia. Poster.
  32. Pendharkar, T., & Bourret, J.C. (October 2018). Decreasing energy usage through the use of feedback, prompts, and rewards. Poster.
  33. Reilly, R., & Karsina, A.J. (October 2018). Increasing procedural integrity of behavior management guidelines using the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services. Poster.
  34. Schaefer, A., & Roscoe, E.M. (October 2018). Evaluating the paired-stimulus preference assessment for identifying social reinforcers for skill acquisition. Evaluating the paired-stimulus preference assessment for identifying social reinforcers for skill acquisition.
  35. Steinhauser, H., Foster, R., & Ahearn, W.H. (October 2018). A naturalistic approach to the treatment of stereotypy. Paper.  
  36. Sutherland, L., && Karsina, A.J. (October 2018). Increasing behavior data collection using the Performance Diagnostic Checklist – Human Services. Poster.
  37. Thorvaldsdottir, E., & Karsina, A.J. (October 2018). Using video modeling and enhanced instructions to teach implementation of the brief response restriction preference assessment. Paper.
  38. Toran, G.T., & Ahearn, W.H. (October 208). Assessing and enhancing social behavior of individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Paper.
  39. Wilhelm, L. (October 2018). Examining social behavior in persons with autism spectrum disorder. Symposium.