April 18, 2018
by Carole Zangari -
How can we better support people who have challenging behavior? When that behavior is related to communication needs, as it so often is, Functional Communication Training is often part of the answer. But how can we provide those kinds of supports in ways that are efficacious and feasible? And what about other sorts of behaviors that impact safety, learning, and quality of life? In today’s video, we learn about a parent training approach developed by the Research Units in Behavioral Intervention (RUBI) Autism Network. Many thanks to Dr. Bearss and the Els for Autism Foundation for making this archived webinar available. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Bearss, K., Johnson. C., Smith, T., Lecavalier, L., Swiezy, N., Aman, M., McAdam, D., Butter, E., Stillitano, C., Minshawi, N., Sukhodolsky, D., Mruzek, D., Turner, K., Neal, T., Hallett, V., Mulick, J., Green, B., Handen, B., Deng, Y., Dziura, J., & Scahill, L.(2015). Effect of parent training versus parent... [Read More...]
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: Challenging Behavior, FCT, problem behavior
November 1, 2017
by Carole Zangari -
In most special education settings here in the US, professionals recognize the relationship between problem behavior and communication. For the most part, we’ve gotten better at acknowledging that when people hit, yell, flop to the ground, or throw materials, there’s a reason for their behavior. And many times, the behavior is a means of communicating. How do we determine what the communicative function is? How can we help the person communicate in safer, more effective ways? In today’s featured video, Laura Ferguson, of the Kentucky Autism Training Center at the University of Louisville, addresses these questions. Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S7eIRvvoL0&list=PL2_i8EyveJe_UNsVzunszW3-Y3dEplws3
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: Challenging Behavior, FCT, problem behavior
December 28, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
“Behavior is communication.” We’ve all heard it, but knowing what to do help a learner communicate effectively in less stressful, more socially appropriate ways is a complex issue that is best addressed through teamwork and collaboration. In this video, Rob Haupt shares some basic thoughts on Functional Communication Teaching from an ABA perspectivie.
Filed under: Video of the Week
Tagged With: Challenging Behavior, FCT, Rob Haupt
December 9, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
Research reviews are helpful tools for SLPs looking to implement evidence-based practices in their clinical work. In this month’s Research Tuesday post, we look at the work of Drs. Virginia Walker and Martha Snell, who conducted a meta-analysis to look at the relationship between challenging behaviors and AAC interventions. They looked at 54 different research studies with a total of 111 children and adults with AAC needs. They conducted both analytical and descriptive analyses. The research studies included participants at the emerging, prelinguistic, and multi-word levels of communication. Challenging behaviors were codes as distracting, disruptive, and/or destructive. Effect sizes were calculated using the Non-overlap of All Pairs method. Among their findings: AAC interventions reduce challenging behavior across a wide range of participants, including children and adults with a variety of developmental disabilities. AAC interventions were more effective with children (12 and under) than they were with adults (18 years and... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Challenging Behavior, FBA, FCT, Martha Snell, Research Tuesday, Virginia Walker
March 19, 2014
by Carole Zangari -
The other day we heard from an SLP who was supporting a child with significant communication difficulties. She contacted us because the team had hit a snag in their communication supports for this student. The student was successfully able to communicate with PECS but rarely did so. Instead, she used her body and challenging behavior to express herself most of the time. “Why does she hit when she can use her PECS book to tell us what she wants?” We’re not any more clairvoyant than you are, but we certainly had some ideas about this. Functional Communication Teaching can be very effective in helping people reduce their use of challenging behaviors in favor of more socially accepted means of communication. BUT, there are some of the basic principles that are have to be attended to when designing and implementing a set of behaviors that will replace the challenging behavior. This... [Read More...]
Filed under: PrAACtical Thinking
Tagged With: Challenging Behavior, FCT, functional communication teaching, Pat Mirenda