why we do what we do -...

Why We Do What We Do …

Meeting the Unique Learning Styles of Students with Autism

Presented by: Dana Rusher, AU Consultant

NC DPI EC Division

Objectives• Discuss the “Why” of What We Do• Comprehensive Planning for Autism

Programs • Universal Design for Learning & Autism• Learning Styles of Autism• Informal Assessment• The Ziggurat: 5 Levels of Intervention

• Evidence-Based Practices• Emphasis on Reinforcement and Prompting

• TED talk – Simon Sinek “Start with Why”

The Golden Circle

What’s Our Why?

• Why –• How –• What –

• Let’s also start with “Why” when choosing the strategies and interventions we use with students with autism

• Why – Must know the learning styles/characteristics of the students’ autism

• How – Specially Designed Instruction• What – Evidence-Based Practices,

Research-Based Interventions, Tried and True Strategies

• Write your Golden Circle statement …

COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING

Keys to Comprehensive Program Planning

• Begin with assessment• Select/Design interventions with students’

underlying characteristics of autism in mind• Strategically implement selected/designed

interventions – at the right time – across settings

• Monitor through data collection

It isn’t ALWAYS an individual student problem

• Assess environment and program first

A word about assessment …

• Essential for instructional programming• 2 tools:

• Effective Implementation and Support of an Educational Program for Autism Spectrum Disorders

• Potential Environmental Features Checklist

Potential Environmental FactorsActivity

• Think of your classroom or a classroom you spend time in …

• Complete the Potential Environmental Factors Checklist for this classroom

• 15 minutes

The Effects of Autism on Learning

“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn”

Ignacio Estrada


Characteristics that most affect learning:• Attention• Time and Organization Problems• Sensory Struggles• Engagement and Initiation Concerns• Communication Deficits• Social Difficulties


Attention• Focus on details• Problems with central coherence (hammer

ex)• Difficulty taking multiple perspectives

(Theory of Mind)


Time and Organization Difficulties• Time is abstract• Sequencing is hard• Concept of finished• Trouble with initiation


Sensory Struggles• Over-stimulation• Under-stimulation• Anxiety


Engagement and Initiation Concerns• Lack of …• Narrow interests• Understanding of relationship between

behavior and reinforcements

The Effects of Autism on LearningCommunication Deficits

• Reciprocity and Negotiating• Joint Attention

• Shared focus of two people on an object

• Pragmatics • The social use of

language• Difficulty understanding

language with multiple meanings

• Humor• Idioms, Metaphors

• Receptive/Expressive Language

• Language: Rhythm, Pitch, Inflection and Volume

• Body Language, Facial Affect, Interpretation of Non-Verbal Behavior of Others

• Concrete and Literal Thinking

• Sarcasm• Synonyms


Social Difficulties• Solitary• Interact only to achieve desired goal• Personal space• Perspective taking

Learning Strengths Associated with Autism

• Take chunks of information quickly• Remember information for a long time• Use visual information meaningfully• Learn long routines and have motivation for

repeat familiar routines• Understand and use concrete rules• Concentrate on topics of specific interest

UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING (UDL)

Universal Design for Learning

Basic ideas:• Students are unique• Bring individual characteristics to the

classroom• These characteristics influence how they

learn best

Combs, 2015

Universal Design for Learning

• … a set of principles for curriculum development that give ALL individuals EQUAL opportunities to learn

• … a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for EVERYONE

The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)

Classroom Environment

• Visual input• Auditory input• Movement opportunities• Physical Conditions• Social-Emotional Climate

Combs, 2015

Visual Input

• Physical Structure/Boundaries• Schedules• Work systems• Visually structured tasks• Communication

Combs, 2015

Auditory Input• Consider teacher voice volume• Monitor and limit unnecessary adult

conversation• Include sound-absorbing items in the

classroom• Teach students to control voice

volume• Practice what volume of voice can be

heard at different distances• Provided whisper phones for reading

aloud or talking to partnersCombs, 2015

Movement Opportunities

• Clear movement routines• Preventing unnecessary

movement• Build in movement

opportunities/breaks

Combs, 2015

Physical Climate

• Temperature• Lighting• Smell

Combs, 2015

Social-Emotional ClimateTeachers must manage their own mindsets

• Realize they have a lifelong impact on students

• Ensure their classrooms are safe and secure for ALL students

• Believe all students want and can be successful

• Believe social-emotional needs must be addressed

• Be empathetic

• Help students take ownership of their own learning

• Believe in building on students’ individual strengths and areas of interest

• Support an environment where there is no fear of making mistakes or being humiliated

• View discipline as a teaching process, not a system of punishment

Combs, 2015

Multiple Means of RepresentationPerception – Language, Mathematical Expression, and Symbols - Comprehension

Perception

• Understand each student’s underlying characteristics of autism

• Incorporate varied activities and modalities• Technology: classroom and personal

amplification systems, closed captioning on videos/TV, speech recognition software (to translate teacher’s voice to text),

• Are we providing visual representation to support and supplement auditory instruction?• Pictures• Charts• Graphs• Videos

Combs, 2015

Language, Mathematical Expression, & Symbols• Pre-teach vocabulary, expressions, or symbols that

will be used in a lesson• Jot down commonly used “questions” or “direction”

words on popsicle sticks. Keep in jar and use when you are asking questions in class. (e.g., Instead of “Tell me what happened in the story”, “Summarize what happened in the story”

• Students maintain a notebook that is a self-created dictionary/thesaurus

• Flipbooks (index cards on snap ring) as resource for commonly used symbols and their meanings

• Teach how to use online dictionaries (on phones, tablets, etc.)

• Teach students how to scan text for unknown vocabulary and go on a scavenger hunt to learn meanings from others Combs, 2015

Comprehension• Use multi-media to capture student interest• Provide background experience• Use graphic organizers• Use examples and nonexamples• Ask guiding questions to lead students through

the problem-solving process• Provide manipulatives and hands-on

experimentation• Provide multi-sensory options for exploration of

concepts• Rephrase questions using different words to

encourage flexibilityCombs, 2015

MULTIPLE MEANS OF EXPRESSIONPhysical Action - Expression & Communication -Executive Functioning

Physical Action• Provide a variety of positional options work tasks

(e.g., desks, tables, standing easels, lying on floor, etc.)

• Provide options for interacting with materials (e.g., hands, mouse, joystick, switch, keyboard, etc.)

• Provide options for responding (bell instead of braising hand, voice output device rather than speaking)

• Provide dictation apps for students with fine-motor limitations

• Provide collaborative group activities to balance the strengths and limitations of all students

Combs, 2015

Expression & Communication

• Provide multi-media options for students to create projects (Power Point, video, music, artwork, models, animations, etc.)

• Teach, model, and practice the use of advance/graphic organizers as a prewriting tool

• Allow the use of technology to support written expression with word prediction, speech-to-text apps, spelling and grammar check, etc.

• Encourage and respond enthusiastically to the student’s mode of communication

Combs, 2015

Executive Functioning

• Provide agendas for keeping track of important dates

• Teach students about personal goal setting• Provide students with charts and checklists to

assist in monitoring progress• Teach, model, and practice strategies for

prioritizing tasks.• Provide detailed rubrics to be used for

evaluating work

Combs, 2015

MULTIPLE MEANS OF ENGAGEMENTInterest - Effort & Persistence –Self Regulation

Interest• Plan the “anticipatory set” of the lesson• Allow students to choose topics that interest them

whenever possible• When content is non-negotiable, allow students

options for showing their attainment of information

• Provide a wide variety of groupings to allow students high levels of engagement and participation.

• Provide consistency in structure, routine, classroom organization, and behavioral expectations

• Prime students for changes to lesson anxiety• Provide copious amounts of genuine praise and

encouragement Combs, 2015

Effort & Persistence• Teach, model, and practice individual and class-wide

goal setting• Explain learning objectives and keep them visible (use

easy-to-understand “I Can Statements”)• Provide individual and/or group incentives for task

completion• Consider using learning contracts• Encourage the use of peer buddies• Incorporate student interests and learning styles• Provide many different options for independent and

collaborative work• Provide regular, informative feedback in many forms• Give positive feedback and incentives for persistence,

improvement, connections, and attitude

Combs, 2015

Self-Regulation• Model and reinforce problem-solving on an

individual and class-wide level• Encourage and model self-reflection and analysis

of social situations• Consider using a teaching method curriculum for

identifying emotions, expressing them, and responding to them in appropriate ways

• Use peers to model and reinforce appropriate interactions

• Plan breaks to allow for self-regulation activities• Teach self-monitoring of expected behaviors• Provide individual and class-wide incentives for

making good choices in communication and behavior

Combs, 2015

UDL Activity

• Think of a student who is served in a general education classroom …

• Are there UDL strategies the student that would benefit the student?

• 5 minutes

So there’s this student with autism …

Now what??• Identify student’s characteristics of autism

and link to intervention• This means we have to know WHAT works

with our students …

Aligning intervention to the characteristics of a student’s

autism

• How do I know what a student’s characteristics of autism are?• Informal Assessment

AssessmentFormal and informal assessment have different

roles

Informal Assessment

Goals

Formal Assessment

Refined GoalsTeaching Strategies

The University of North Carolina TEACCH Autism Program

Formal Assessment• Standardized Tests: identify a profile of

strengths and weaknesses• Cognitive and Achievement:• Standardized IQ and Achievement Tests• Language, Occupational Therapy,

Physical Therapy, Neuropsychological, Adaptive Skills

• Formal assessments often have a requiredmethodology for presentation of materials aswell as scoring


A Good Assessment Leads to Individualization

• WHAT to teach• Which skills the student is ready to learn

• HOW to teach• How to setup an optimum learning environment

for the student• Strategies to use when teaching

Assessment is NOT Teaching


Where to Complete Informal Assessment

• Some skills lend themselves to one-to-one settings and others can easily be assessed in a group.• Might be determined by skill or by the learning

styles of the student.• Take place in natural settings• Need to assess across settings to determine

level of generalization


When to Complete Informal Assessment

• As student demonstrates mastery of one skill and ready to learn next level or generalization

• Daily, weekly, monthly, end of curriculum unit• When need to set short-term teaching goals

• Skills to be learned• Skill generalization• Increasing the types of

strategies/instructions the student can learn to understand


Informal Assessment Strategies

• Within context of familiar work system• Assess using a variety of teaching and

visual strategies as well as various materials• Assess new skills in the midst of more

familiar or independent activities• Sometimes it is all on one curriculum area

or it might be a mixture of curriculum areas


Assessment Areas = Curriculum Areas

• Academic Skills and Readiness• Communication/Language• Social/Play/Leisure• Fine/Gross Motor skills• Self Help/Domestic skills• Vocational/Community skills


What to Look for During Informal Assessment

• Interests and motivators• Strengths• Emerging “ready to learn” skills• Learning style

• organization, attention, independence, approach to materials, problem-solving strategies

• Weaknesses


Organization and Work Habitsthat Affect Learning

Attention• Length• Engagement• Shifting

Concept of Time

• First/Then• Part of the Day• All Day

Organization of Information• Matching• Sorting• Categorizing• Sequencing

Problem Solving Skills• Trial and Error• Scanning

Management of Materials

• Cooperative Use of Hands• Organization of Materials• Use materials as intended


Scoring Informal Assessments

• PASS: skill is there (next steps might be generalization and expansion)

• FAIL: skill is not present; no interest

• EMERGE: partial skill and/or high interest (often good teaching goal)


Collect Data During Assessment


Informal Assessment to Goals/ObjectivesInformal Assessment

Strategies

GoalsTeaching

Strategies


Individualized Teaching

Goal/Activity

Emerging Skills

Strengths and Interests

Parental and Other

Professional Priorities

FunctionalIndependenceGeneralization

From Assessment to Individualized Teaching Goals/Objectives


Individualized Goals/Objectives to Teaching

Informal Assessment

Teach

Strategies

GoalsTeaching

Strategies


From Informal Assessment to Teaching

• Incorporate information about learning style into structure of activity

• Use developmentally appropriate activities and materials

• Use strengths to support weaknesses• Incorporate interests to highlight important

information, increase attention and motivation


Teaching Strategies

• Build in visual cues which will make sense to the student on worst days and with less familiar people

• Tailor language to student’s developmental level and receptive understanding

• Combine and link tailored verbal communication with visual information• What am I going to do?• How do I do it?• For some individuals, why will I do it?• Key words or concepts that we are trying to teach.


Data: Hitting a Ball with a BatSkill/Activity P E F

Engagement and Interest

Strength/Learning Style/ Attention

Hold bat X Excited to get bat

Put ball on T-stand

X After hitting one time, did not go and get the ball to try again

Swing bat X Kept swinging until he hit the ball

Hit ball X Not frustratedwhen he missed

Did not know where to stand. Often stood too close to ball

From Assessment to TeachingSTRENGTHS AND

INTERESTSORGANIZATION

AND WORK HABITS

EMERGING SKILLS

Activity and Materials

Skills That Are Ready to be

Learned

Place to StandBox of Balls

T-StandHit Photo of

Thomas

Structured Needed for Independence

Hitting the BallThomas the TankWhiffle Ball & Bat

Teaching for Independence

• Provide multiple opportunities for practice and familiarity

• Teach competency and fluency• Data helps to evaluate

• Success of teaching strategies• Variables that may be affecting learning


Data Collection on Teaching Activity

1- failure/does not complete 2 - physical prompt 3 - verbal and or gestural prompt to task or visuals 4 - independent using visual cues 5 - totally independent, no modifications


Teaching and RestructuringInformal Assessment

Teach Restructure

Strategies

GoalsTeaching

Strategies


Teaching and Restructuring

1- failure/does not complete 2 - physical prompt 3 – verbal and or gestural prompt to task or visuals 4 - independent using visual cues 5 - totally independent, no modifications


Ongoing Process from Assessment Towards Independence

Informal Assessment

Teach

IndependenceMastery

Restructure

Strategies

GoalsTeaching

Strategies


Let’s Problem-Solve

Learning Styles of AutismInformal Assessment Plan

THE ZIGGURAT

THE INTERVENTION ZIGGURAT

How Do We Know What Interventions, Practices,

Strategies to Use?• National Professional Development Center

on ASD• National Standards Project• Tried and true practices we’ve used with a

particular student

LEVELS OF THE ZIGGURAT AND POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS

SENSORY & BIOLOGICAL

Sensory and Biological

• The base of the Ziggurat• Some sensory/biological differences – out

of our control• Sleep schedules• Prescriptive medications• Diet

Sensory and Biological• Provide a sensory diet

• With guidance from OT

• Monitor and addressenvironmental stressors:• Sound, light,

proximity/personal space, textures

• Movement needs

• Monitor and address:• Appetite/hunger• Arousal/activity level

(e.g., fatigue, hyper)• Posture and movement• Medical need

Sensory Issues

Sensory Issues

• Proprioceptive (body awareness)• Gustatory (taste)• Tactile (touch)• Visual (sight)• Auditory (sound)• Vestibular (balance)• Olfactory (smell)

Sensory Diet is …

• A planned and scheduled activity program designed to meet a child’s specific sensory needs (Yack et al.,1998)

• Incorporates naturally occurring opportunities for children to get the sensory stimulation they need (Willbarger, 1995)

Miller & Robbins, 2005

Sensory Key Points• Sensory dysfunction influences all aspects

of an individual’s life.• There are seven types of sensory

dysfunction• Interventions need to occur in ALL of the

individual’s environments.• Assessments must be completed and

interventions must be supervised by a trained occupational therapist.

My friend, Judy Endow

REINFORCEMENT

Reinforcement

“If you do not have good reinforcers and are not working to establish them, you might as well

just go home”

Leaf & McEachin

Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior

“The way positive reinforcement is carried out is more important than the amount”

B.F. Skinner

Reinforcement Reminders• Essential for teaching new skills• Involve students in the process of selecting

reinforcers• Start with high rate of reinforcement for

new skills• Use variable rate of reinforcement for

maintenance• Reinforce approximations of behavior

Reinforcement Reminders

“You may not have to look any further than your child’s special

interest to find the perfect reward”

Sakai, 2005, p. 52

Positive Reinforcement

• The presentation of a stimulus that increasesthe likelihood of that behavior occurring again.

Examples: - Giving a child access to the iPad, after completing math problem• For adults - paycheck

Token Economy• A type of positive reinforcement• Based on a monetary system in which

tokens are used to obtain desired reinforcers

Negative Reinforcement:

• The removal of an unpleasant stimulus contingent upon a behavior that increases the likelihood of that behavior occurring again. Examples: • Giving a child a break from work after he

completes three activities• Taking Advil to relieve a headache

Misconceptions about Reinforcement

• Reinforcement decreases intrinsic motivation

• Reinforcement is bribery• Reinforcers always involve food• What is reinforcing for one individual is

reinforcing for all

Reinforcement• Notice that BOTH positive and negative

reinforcement INCREASE the likelihood of a behavior happening in the future

• With positive reinforcement you present a stimulus, and with negative reinforcement you take away a stimulus. Both are preferred situations to the student

• Negative reinforcement is NOT PUNISHMENT

More Misconceptions about Reinforcement

• Once a reinforcer, always a reinforce• All reinforcers are equally effective• Reinforcers should only be assessed once

per year• Some students are impossible to motivate• At a certain age, reinforcement is no longer

necessary

How Do I Identify Reinforcers?

• Observation of the student• Free time• Consistently approach an item• Affect during reinforcement


• Things to observe (student):• What item/activity maintains the student’s

attention?• The student’s facial expression when

engaged with different items• What does he/she choose when given a

choice?


• Things to observe (other staff):• What reinforcers are they using most often?• Are these reinforcers effective?• How do they use verbal praise?• How do the most effective staff use

reinforcement?• How do their methods differ from your

own?


• Interviews• Parent • Other teachers/related service personnel• Therapists• Paraprofessional

• Trial and Error• Daily

Reinforcement Checklists

Why Identify Reinforcers?

• You need to know what will be effective• Everyone is motivated to learn• Teaching efforts will be maximized• Allows the student to realize his/her

maximum potential

ReinforcementPrimary Reinforcement• Stimuli an individual finds inherently

reinforcing (food, drink)• No effort is needed to make the item(s)

reinforcingSecondary Reinforcement• Stimuli not reinforcing on their own

(tokens, money, verbal praise, games/activities)

• Not inherently reinforcing

Reinforcement• Always pair primary with secondary

reinforcement• Fade primary reinforcers so the individual is

gradually learning with secondary reinforcement

• Often depends on what skills you are teaching

ReinforcementCategories of Reinforcers:• Verbal Praise• Social Contact• Edible Items• Tangible Items• Activities• Advanced Motivation Systems

ReinforcementVerbal Praise• “Great job!”• “Way to go!”• “Good for you”• Behavior specific praise such as: “good

walking,” “nice writing,” “I like it when you do quiet work”

ReinforcementSocial Contact• High fives• Hugs (younger students)• Hand shaking• One-to-one social conversation• Thumbs up

ReinforcementTangible Items• Stickers• Stuffed animals• Toy cars• Jewelry• Electronic toys• Books• Games

ReinforcementActivities• Access to computer or iPad• Jumping on the trampoline• Blowing bubbles• Watching a video• Using the treadmill

** Be creative!

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Refers to the frequency at which reinforcement is delivered

• By changing the schedule you can change the rate of responding

Vismara, 2010


Continuous Reinforcement • Reinforcing every occurrence of a target

behavior• Used when teaching a new skill or when

the learner is having difficulty with a previously learned skill

Vismara, 2010


• Intermittent Reinforcement • Some, but not all instances of the target

behavior are reinforced. • Used for maintaining skills once they are

established.• Thinning the reinforcement means shifting

from a continuous to intermittent schedule.

Vismara, 2010

Differential Reinforcement

• At its most basic … the application of reinforcement in the event of a correct response, and

• …no reinforcement when there is not a correct response.

Let’s take a look … Differential Reinforcement.mp4


• Most fundamental & most important principle in applied behavior analysis

• Also – one of the most misapplied!

It’s better to shape up the behavior than to ship out the student …


Janet is a 12 year old student with HFA in the 7th grade. Her Science teacher has developed a strategy to support her learning in his class. Each time Janet walks away from her group at the lab table, her teacher will escort her back to the group. Each time Janet is working with her lab mates, she will receive a coupon that she can “cash in” after class for a technology magazine she likes.


Purpose of the strategy being used with Janet?• To discriminate when she will receive

reinforcement (the coupon) and when she will not.


Alan is 11 years old and has autism. Although he likes science, he has difficulty staying with his group and working on the lab assignments. In fact, Alan generally has a lot of difficulty interacting with his peers throughout the day. His IEP states “Alan needs to learn how to initiate and maintain conversations with peers.”


• Basic principle of DR – discrimination• A process for behaving one way in one

situation and behaving in a completely different way in another situation.

• Think back to Janet … what was she learning to discriminate

Discrimination … the ability to tell the difference between environmental events


Discrimination• Typically develops as a result of DR• Think about our daily lives


How could we use differential reinforcement with Alan?

Differential ReinforcementAlan• Will receive reinforcement (check marks because

he likes them) only when he is engaged in specific conversation with his peers.

• Whenever Alan is talking with peers about the science lesson he receives a checkmark

• When he is not in conversation with his peers (or the conversation is not about science, he will not receive a checkmark.

Differential Reinforcement Steps for Implementation:

1. Identify the interfering behavior2. Determine the function of the interfering

behavior3. Identify data collection measures and

collect baseline data4. Select a differential reinforcement

procedure

Vismara, 2009

Differential Reinforcement 4. Select a differential reinforcement

procedure:• Identify functionally similar behaviors

• Determine the type and amount of functional skills

• Determine how frequently these skills occur• Consider what the behavior looks like, the

frequency of the interfering behavior, how severe the behavior is, how the behavior is interfering with the environment, and where the behavior is most likely to occur

Vismara, 2009

Topography(what the interferingbehavior looks like)

Severity/intensity

Frequencyofinterferingbehavior

Impact onenvironment

Proceduretoconsider

Unacceptable (studentlooks extremely out ofplace and odd, e.g.,twirling in circles in thelunch room.)

Very severe/intense(dangerous)

Constant Severe (verydistracting ordisruptive)

DRI

Odd/bizarre or different

Prettysevere(potentiallydangerous)

Frequent Significant(disruptsenvironmentbut notseverely)

DRI orDRL

Slightly odd but notenough to cause stigma

Somewhatsevere(causesproblems butis notdangerous)

Occasional Tolerable(environmentis impactedto a tolerableamount)

DRO orDRA

Within what would beexpected for a similaraged student

Not at allsevere(annoying,inconvenientordistracting)

Rarely Minimally(minimalimpact onenvironment)

DRO,DRA, orDRH

Vismara, 2009


5. Create an Intervention Plan• Define other procedures to be incorporated

(functional communication training, visual supports)

• Administer reinforce assessments• Decide on a schedule of reinforcement• Establish criteria for changing the schedule

of reinforcement• Specify timeline for data collection

Vismara, 2009


6. Implement the Intervention• BEFORE the behavior occurs:

• Choose which behavior to reinforce based on the intervention plan

• Explicitly teach the replacement or alternative skills

• Continuously reinforce the other/alternative/incompatible behavior

• Match the reinforcement to the function of the behavior Vismara, 2009


6. Implement the Intervention• IF/WHEN the interfering behavior occurs

prompt and immediately respond to the alternative behavior by:• Prompting frequently to ensure there are

enough instances of the behavior to reinforce and

• Being consistent?

Vismara, 2009


6. Implement the Intervention• AFTER the plan has been in place for a

certain amount of days, the reinforcement schedule can be altered

Vismara, 2009


7. Collect outcome data8. Review/Modify the Intervention Plan

Vismara, 2009

Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (DRO)

• The reinforcer is given as long as the targeted inappropriate behavior does not occur OR

• It is given in the absence of targeted behavior.

• This serves to directly decrease the inappropriate behavior

Vismara, 2010

DROAdvantages• Easy for teachers to use in most classrooms• You are working directly with the undesired

target behavior by reinforcing it’s absenceDisadvantages• Not designed to teach and/or increase any

particular appropriate behavior. Only reinforces the absence of certain behaviors.

• Run the risk of reinforcing undesired behaviors.

Good morning!Let’s review …• Principles of UDL can assist teachers to

be proactive in how classroom environments are set up and instruction is presented that will benefit ALL students

• MUST know each individual’s unique learning style related to the characteristics of autism in order to select interventions that will be effective

• Informal assessment – necessary to understand these learning styles

Good morning!Let’s review …• Ziggurat Model – a framework for

developing and implementing comprehensive interventions for students with autism

Let’s review …• Reinforcement:

• Reinforcing• Pairing• Switch it up• Contingent and Immediate• Fading• Consistency

Let’s review …Positive Reinforcement:• Positive reinforcement works by presenting a

motivating/reinforcing stimulus to the person after the desired behavior is exhibited, making the behavior more likely to happen in the future.

• Examples:• A mother gives her son praise (positive

stimulus) for doing homework (behavior). • The little boy receives $5.00 (positive stimulus)

for every A he earns on his report card (behavior).

• A father gives his daughter candy (positive stimulus) for cleaning up toys (behavior)

Let’s review …Negative Reinforcement:• Negative reinforcement – a certain stimulus

(usually an aversive stimulus) is removed after a particular behavior is exhibited. The likelihood of the particular behavior occurring again in the future is increased because of removing/avoiding the negative consequence

• Examples:• Bob does the dishes (behavior) in order to avoid

his mother nagging (negative stimulus).• Natalie can get up from the dinner table (negative

stimulus) when she eats 2 bites of her broccoli (behavior).

DROClaire is a 4 year old child with autism. She attends a preschool program operated by the local school system. Every morning, Claire enters the classroom and for the first half engages in solitary play with the instructional materials on the floor mat. After about 20 minutes and as the other children are playing, Claire often tries to take the materials the other children are playing with. If they refuse to give them up, she hits them. She engages in this behavior of hitting pretty routinely in the mornings.

DROWhen it happens, her teacher has to intervene and remove Claire to the other side of the classroom. This angers Claire and causes her to engage in even more severe displays of hitting. Her teacher and the teacher assistants don’t know what to do. They have tried giving her other materials. They have tried talking to her. The have even tried having her play in the corner by herself. But Claire is intent on taking the materials away from her peers.

DRO• How can we describe Claire’s behavior?• What do we know?

• What she is doing• How her peers respond• What the teacher does both prior to and after

Claire’s response of hitting

DROWhat Claire’s teacher did …• Collected baseline data for 3 days• Recorded the time of day when Claire

entered the classroom and the time of day when she hit

• On average, Claire went 15 minutes before she hit one of her peers

• Schedule for DRO was set at every 8 minutes (an interval about half as short as the average baseline level)

DROWhat Claire’s teacher did …• Established a criterion for increasing the

DRO interval• Start at a small enough interval so that the

student can earn more reinforcement for NOT engaging in the target behavior than for displaying it (typically this interval should be one half as short as the average baseline)

• Lengthen the interval over time. Base decision on data – what success is the student having at each interval length

DROWhat Claire’s teacher did …• Determined a powerful reinforcer (through

a reinforcement sampling technique found stroking the back of her neck was very powerful)

• Had to decide whether to reset the DRO interval following a response occurrence or to wait until the next scheduled interval, AND

• Had to decide whether to respond to the undesired behavior in any other way or to ignore it

DROWhat Claire’s teacher did …• Had to decide whether to reset the DRO

interval following a response occurrence or to wait until the next scheduled interval, AND

• Had to decide whether to respond to the undesired behavior in any other way or to ignore it

• Thoughts?

DROClaire’s Implementation Plan• Who to implement – TA (for consistency) kept

track of the 8 minute interval by using her wristwatch

• When to implement – During the first hour of the morning when the TA was in the room

• Materials – Teacher made sure Claire had available all the play materials she enjoyed.

DROResults of Claire’s Implementation Plan• 1 week of implementation – Claire was no longer

hitting her peers during the first hour of the day• Receiving reinforcement (neck strokes) every 8

minutes• By mid-morning (TA out of room) hitting

increased to rate of once every 22 minutes• During 30 minute lunch period and hour after

lunch (TA back in classroom), hitting was eliminated. Received neck strokes every 8 minutes during these intervals

DROResults of Claire’s Implementation Plan• After 1st week – increased interval to 10 minutes, then

12 minutes, and then 15 minutes over the next 3 weeks

• Claire maintained a zero level of hitting• However, Claire continued to demonstrate hitting

during the time the TA was out of the classroom (still at a much lower rate than baseline)

• Teacher’s question: What procedure could she implement when the TA was out of the classroom?

• What behavior(s) could she teach Claire that would allow her to successfully socially interact with her peers?

Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behavior (DRI)

• The reinforcer is given when another behavior is used or observed.

• Differs from DRA because the new behavior is incompatible with the inappropriate behavior.

• For example, a student will receive reinforcement for sitting appropriately. Sitting is incompatible with running because the two cannot occur at the same time. Increasing sitting behavior will result in a decrease in running behavior.

Vismara, 2010

Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior (DRA)

• The reinforcer is given when another more appropriate behavior is used or observed.

• Serves to increase the appropriate behavior while decreasing the inappropriate behavior.

• Functional Communication Training (FCT) is one type of DRA intervention.

• DRA interventions are often used to teach replacement behaviors for challenging behaviors. Vismara, 2010

Using a Token Board as a Reinforcement System

Claire

How could DRI or DRA be used to teach Claire how to appropriately socially interact with peers?

Think about what skills Claire may need to be taught to help her socially interact appropriately with peers …

Examples of Token Boards

Token EconomyA reinforcement system where tokens represent actual currency.

The tokens that are earned can be exchanged for a variety of back-up reinforcers.

Examples of Token Economy

Examples of Behavior Contracts

Half day

Examples of Behavior Contracts

Full day

Other examples of reinforcement systems

• Puzzle piece system

Other examples of reinforcement systems

• Reinforcer embedded in schedule

Simplest Reinforcement System

Exemplary Reinforcement-Based Interventions

• Social Stories/Social Articles

• Red and Green Choices

• The Way to A

• Give more independence

• Technology• First-Then chart

• Permit self-selection of an activity

STRUCTURE & VISUAL SUPPORTS

Structure & Visual/Tactile Supports

“And it is best if you know a good thing is going to happen, like an eclipse or getting a microscope… And it’s bad if you know a bad thing is going to happen like having a filling or going to France. But I think it is worst if you don’t know whether it is a good thing or bad thing which is going to

happen.”

From: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, by Mark Haddon, 2003

“I like everything still. It gives you a full feeling. It gives you a full attention. With

something quick, you don’t get the full idea of it. With something still, you take a

look at it and you get to know the whole look and feeling”

Warden from Rage for Order (BBC, 1996)

Common Misperceptions

• If an individual can read then he/she does not need pictures or symbols

• He’s in high school, he does not need anindividualized schedule

• I can stop using a visual schedule once my client learns the routine

• If an individual has not looked at his/ her schedule in three weeks he/she does not need it anymore

Visual Schedule

• Highly structured environments provide an opportunity for those with autism to succeed

• Increased predictability and understanding results in:• Decreased problem behavior• Increased independence

Visual Schedule

• Research on visual schedules showsthat they are:• Effective across age ranges• Effective across settings

Schedules are effective in decreasing• Off-task behaviors• Disruptive behavior• Noncompliance• Aggression• Tantrums• Property destruction

Schedules

• Based on student’s learning style, need for predictability, builds in flexibility, helps withtransitions

• Must be individualized: how much information, picture/object/word, transition tool

• On-line training (with CEU’s): http://www.aheconnect.com/newahec/cdetail.asp?courseid=teacch

Individualizing Schedules

• Continuum of visual cues


• Object Level


• Photo Schedule


• First/Then Picture Schedule


Multi- step picture scheduleLeft-to-right Top-to-bottom

Individualizing Schedules• Picture/word multi-step schedule


• Full day written schedule

Individualizing Schedules• Written Schedule with behavioral reminders

built in


Transitions• Transition with card

• mark it off• put card in finished pocket

Other structure/visual supports

• Structured Teaching• Physical Layout/Boundary markers• Work systems, Visually structured activities

• Video Modeling• Choice Boards• Social Stories• Cartooning• Priming• Modeling• Communication Systems• Timers

Work Systems/Activity Systems

Work System answers 4 questions:• What do I have to do?• How much do I have to do?• When am I finished?• What happens next?


• Way to incorporate interests• Use in work and in play, recreation, leisure• Need to individualize

• visual cue (objects, photo, picture, words)• organizational sequence (l-r, top to bottom)• concept of finished (mark off, back on shelf,

separate shelf, basket)• motivation or interest (what happens next)

Work Systems

Left to Right or

top to bottom

Work Systems

Picture matching

Work Systems

Written

Work Systems

File Folder Work system: good in regular education classroom

Work Systems

Use in all areas

Work Systems

Work Systems

Programmed into iPhone using Reminders App

Work Systems

General List

What is missing?


• Tasks in independent work must be mastered tasks

• Finished work goes in “finished” location• Do NOT allow student to take work apart• Provide physical/gestural prompts when

needed, then fade• Keep verbal prompts to a minimum

Problem-Solving

• Schedules• Work Systems• Physical Structure

TASK DEMANDS

Task Demands

• Aims at identifying existing barriers• “Obstacle Removal”• Important to consider level of task difficulty• For learning to occur, demands must fall

between being too easy and too excessive (zone of proximal development)

Task Demands

Easy(independent skills withor without modification and structural supports)

Challenging/Emerging(possible withassistance)

© Ruth Aspy, Ph.D., Barry G. Grossman, Ph.D.

Zone of Proximal Development Too Demanding

Leve

l of D

eman

ds

3 questions to ask to ensure the appropriate level of task

demand 1. Are you asking for performance of a skill

that is too hard?2. Are you asking for performance of a skill

that has not been taught?3. Are you asking for a task to be

accomplished without the necessary supports?

Task Demand Interventions

• Most are antecedent-based• Consider social functioning, repetitive

behavior, communication (key diagnostic characteristics of AU and identified on UCC), and associated features of sensory, cognitive, motor, and emotional vulnerability as areas of demand to be addressed at this level of Ziggurat

PromptingABA Autism Training - Chapter 3 - Prompting.mp4

• Any help given to learners that assist them in using a specific skill

• Often used in conjunction with other EBPs(e.g., time delay and reinforcement)

• Generally given by adult or peer before or as learner attempts to use a skill

• Prompting RELIES on reinforcing all correct responses (whether prompted or not)

Neitzel & Wolery, 2010

Prompting ProceduresLeast to Most• Prompt hierarchy is used to teach learners with

autism new skills• Hierarchy is comprised of at least 3 levels – the

first providing the learner with the opportunity to respond without prompts

• Can be used with discreet skills (naming pictures, greeting peers, reading words) or chained skills (dressing/undressing, making a sandwich, washing hands)

• Use when learner may be using the target skill, but not consistently OR if the learner is regressing


Prompting ProceduresSimultaneous Prompting• Requires 2 sessions: instructional and probe• Instructional session: task direction/cue and

controlling prompt are delivered simultaneously• Probe session: task direction/cue is delivered

without the prompt (tells if learning is actually occurring)

• One of most effective near-errorless learning procedures

• Can be used 1:1 or in small group instruction• Can be used with discrete or chained skills • Use to teach new target skills


Prompting Procedures

Graduated Guidance• A controlling prompt is provided and then

gradually removed during a teaching activity• Requires judgement by adult about type and

amount of prompting to provide based upon the learner’s response

• Should only be used with chained skills that include a physical response (washing hands, putting on coat)

• Easily embedded within ongoing routines and activities


Types of Prompts

• Gestural Prompts: Adult makes movements that cue learners to use a particular behavior or skill (e.g., pointing to the top of the paper where the learner needs to write his name)

• Verbal Prompts: statements are made that help the learner acquire target skills (e.g., “You might need to try it a different way,” “Write your name”)


Types of Prompts• Visual Prompts: Adult provides pictures of

the events that provide learners with information about how to use the targeted behavior or skill (e.g., task analysis checklist, transition picture card)

• Physical Prompts: Adult touches the learner to help them use the target skill or behavior (e.g., tapping a learner’s hand to cue him to begin writing his name, teacher putting hand over learner’s to help her write her name) Neitzel & Wolery, 2010

Types of Prompts• Model Prompts: Adult performs the target

skill or behavior. Full model prompts can be verbal if the skill being taught is verbal, or they can be motor responses if the skill being taught involves moving a body part.


Prompting: Steps for Implementation

• Prompting-Complete-10-2010.pdf• Autism Internet Modules

• www.autisminternetmodules.org• Case Studies

Tips for Using Prompting Procedures

Learners with autism are very at-risk for becoming prompt dependent …• Use minimal prompting• Fade as quickly as possible (increases

independence and generalization)

More Task Demand Intervention Ideas

Social Task Demand Interventions

• Priming• Peer network• Circle of Friends• Peer Buddies • Play Dates• Integrated Play Groups• Multiple opportunities to practice targeted

skills

Communication Task Demand Interventions

• Scripts• Communication Partners• Limiting the use of sarcasm and abstract

language• Providing additional time to process verbal

information• Limiting verbal directions to 1 or 2 step and

write them down

Sensory Task Demand Interventions

• Individually designed sensory diets• Use of earplugs, seat cushions, oral sensory

“tools”, other fidgets• Avoiding/limiting time in settings that are

over-demanding

Cognitive Differences Task Demand Interventions

• Alternative assignments• Frequent reinforcement• Break larger projects into smaller (more

manageable) parts• Increase pace of instruction• High interest activities• Reduce distractions• Allow movement, snacks, drinks of water,

fidgets

Motor Differences Task Demand Interventions

• Alternatives to handwriting• Reduce demands of activities that require

skills affected by motor differences

Emotional Vulnerability Task Demand Interventions

• Feeling word banks/faces depicting emotions

• Writing/drawing in journal• Visual schedules• Advance warning of transition or change• Pre-exposure• Practicing• Routines• Safe place/person

SKILLS TO TEACH

Skills to Teach

“The teacher who does not understand that it is necessary to teach autistic

children seemingly obvious things will feel impatient and irritated”

Hans Asperger

Skills to Teach

• What is it about the situation that comes naturally to everyone else but is missing for this person? Why is it that others do not show the same behavior?

• What is it that has not occurred to me to teach?

• What is the seemingly obvious. That is the thing to teach.

The Hidden CurriculumLocker room rules• If there are people taking

showers or changing their clothes, do not stare at them or make comments about their bodies

• It is not appropriate to touch others in the restroom or shower

• Change into your P.E. clothes in the locker room, not the hallway.

Myles, Trautman, Schelvan, 2004, p.55

Communication Skills

• Use appropriate greetings• Communicate needs, ask questions• Start/sustain/terminate conversations• Match affect to situation/topic

Asperger Syndrome: An Owner’s Manual by Ellen S. Heller Korin

Skills to Teach

• How to ask for help• How to ask for a break• How to follow an individual schedule• How to work independently• Improved literacy/math skills

Common Skills to Teach Strategies

• Social Narratives• Adult directed play routines• PECS• Modeling social/communication skills• Scheduled work system to teach skills for

independence

Emotion Regulation

Social Skills

Life Skills

Begin With The End In Mind …

• Maximize independence

• Encourage flexibility

• Teach generalization of skills

• Teach self-advocacy

What

How

WHY

ReferencesAspy, R. & Grossman, B. (2007) The Ziggurat Model: A Framework for Designing Comprehensive Interventions for Individuals with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Shawnee Misson, Kansas. Autism Asperger Publishing Co.Bogin, J., & Sullivan, L. (2009). Overview of differential reinforcement of other behaviors. Sacramento, CA: The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, M.I.N.D. Institute, University of California at Davis School of Medicine. Hearsey, Kathy. (2014). Priorities: Planning for the future, foundations of autism. Presentation given at Exceptional Children DIvision EC Conference, Autism Institute.

References

Neitzel, J., & Wolery, M. (2010). Prompting for children and youth with autism spectrum disorders: Online training module. (Chapel Hill: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, FPG Child Development Institute, UNC-Chapel Hill). In Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI), Autism Internet Modules, www.autisminternetmodules.org. Columbus, OH: OCALI.TEACCH 5 Day Training, presented summer 2013The University of North Carolina TEACCH Program http://teacch.com/

ReferencesVismara, L., Bogin, J., Sullivan, L. (2010). Differential reinforcement: Online training module. (Sacramento, CA: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, M.I.N.D.Institute, University of California Davis). In Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI), Autism Internet Modules, www.autisminternetmodules.org. Columbus, OH: OCALI.

Vismara, L., Bogin, J., & Sullivan, L. (2009). Differential reinforcement of other behaviors: Steps for implementation. Sacramento, CA: The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, M.I.N.D. Institute, University of California at Davis School of Medicine.

Dana Rusher

[email protected]

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