1	Summer Institute Verbal Behavior & Curriculum Matrix – Component Analysis
2	Verbal Behavior In 1957 B. F. Skinner completed and published his book VERBAL BEHAVIOR and outlined a systematic approach to the development of language in the human species. Skinner provided an analysis of language based on the same environmental principles of behavior he previously used to analyze non-verbal behavior (Skinner, 1938, 1953).
3	Verbal Behavior Skinner makes the theoretical point that language is behavior caused by environmental variables such as reinforcement, motivation, extinction and punishment. This development was not viewed as a “cognitive ability” but, instead as a set of behaviors that contextually ensure that people become members of a verbal community.
4	The Operants Mimetic Mand Echoic Tact Pliance Tracking Intraverbal Autoclitics
5	The Mimetic: Imitation, this behavior is non-verbal in form. It is the tendency to imitate someone else’s modeled motor movements. The tendency to “clap” when someone else “claps”. Generalized reinforcers / Automatic reinforcement.
6	The Mand: Not all language functions should be brought under SD control. The Mand is a verbal operant that is under the functional control of establishing operations. Mands, regardless of their appearance or form, function as demands, commands, or requests. Perhaps the easiest way to define a mand is that this verbal behavior specifies the reinforcement. The word “water” when one is thirsty is a mand. It is possible of course to condition or contrive these establishing operations in order to teach mands.
7	The Mand: Mands take many forms. People mand for items, attention, information and relief from aversive stimuli for example.
8	Establishing Operations: Establishing Operations (EO) can be defined as an environmental event or operation that affects the individual by momentarily altering the reinforcing effectiveness of other events. EO also affects the frequency of behavior that has been reinforced by those other events. Establishing Operations can be utilized to teach many verbal responses by making a previously neutral stimulus function as a reinforcer. Proper manipulations of EO may evoke behavior by changing what functions as reinforcement.
9	Establishing Operations: Improper applications of the principles of EO can result in verbal responses becoming or remaining under the functional control of SDs. Simply asking "What do you want?" or "What do you need?" at an inappropriate moment can result in the failure to bring verbal responses under EO control.
10	SD or EO? As both Establishing Operations (EO) and Discriminative Stimuli (SDs) evoke behavioral responses, it is often difficult to identify which is at work.
11	SD or EO? The differences between EO and SDs relate mostly to the process of bringing specific responses under functional control of specific stimuli. With an SD this control is established because the stimulus (instruction) is always correlated with a high frequency of reinforcement (rewards).
12	SD or EO? EO does not make reinforcement more available, it makes it more valuable to the individual at a particular time. And this change in value affects the motivational variables that increase the likelihood of an individual emitting a behavioral response at a particular time.
13	SD or EO? Responses under the control of EO occur due to environmental events or operations, not specific instructions. An SD may be required to alter the likelihood that a mand is emitted, but the EO must ultimately control the response.
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15	SD’s and EO’s are different One says reinforcers are available and the other says they are more valuable. Both may evoke the same behavior.
16	The Echoic: The echoic behavior class is essentially the ability to repeat or “echo” back verbal behavior or patterns of phonetic sounds in the presence of those similar sounds. The typical reinforcement that is received for this type of behavior in children is social reinforcement. It is a basic skill of building verbal behavior and indeed can be developed in children who have never had an echoic through the use of the mimetic, non-contingent reinforcement , automatic reinforcement procedures and even through the use of augmentative communication. It is simply the tendency to say “cat” when you hear someone else say “cat”.
17	The Tact: The tact is a behavior class that includes identifying objects, actions, events, attributes or other observable conditions in the presence of those conditions. Simply it is the tendency to say “water” when one sees “water”. Or “running water” when one sees “running water”.
18	Intraverbal: Essentially here the operant class is under the control of other verbal behavior, this is where conversation occurs. It is simply the tendency to say “water” when someone else says, “drink”. The intraverbal is a behavior class that includes responding that is controlled by non-matching verbal stimuli. Simply it is the tendency to say “lamb” when one hears “Mary had a little _____” or to say “weasel” when one hears “pop goes the ______”. Many forms of IQ testing seem to actually be measures of the intraverbal response class. Intraverbal behavior is the basis or primary behavior in social interaction and conversations between individuals.
19	Verbal Behavior Did you know that Skinner defined the functional relations in his program as relations between people and not individual processes? This is an often-missed fact. For example, a mand is only a mand if the listener responds to it as such.
20	Receptive: Receptive skills are behavior that humans emit as the “listener”. They can include responding to the name, feature, function, class or other quantifying identification element as well as actions on the part of the listener.
21	Receptive: It is essentially the tendency to touch “water” when someone else says “water?”. Zettle and Hayes have completed a parallel analysis of listener behavior to Skinner’s analysis of speaker behavior.
22	Receptive: In Hayes’s analysis pliance is the listener’s response to a mand, tracking is the listeners response to the tact, augmenting the response to the intraverbal. Often times many programs fail to use more comprehensive analysis of listener behavior in programming for children with autism.
23	Receptive: This leads to gaps in children’s response patterns. This failure in programming might lead children to look like ADHD children when the begin to habilatate. Strong receptive understanding benefits the speaker more than it benefits the listener.
24	Pliance Pliance is a response specified by the “speaker”. Pliance is always maintained by generalized social reinforcers. Pliance is passing the salt when a speaker says “pass the salt”.
25	Tracking Tracking is a listener response where there is not a direct correlation between the speaker’s utterance and listener's response. Tracking is maintained through natural consequences and generalized social reinforcement when it is a natural consequence of the response. Tracking is getting out an umbrella when someone says, “It is raining out”.
26	Curriculum Matrix
27	Why? Complexity of behaviors to be changed. Number of behaviors to change. Necessary pre-requisites.
28	Skills & Interaction
29	Assessment Interview Assessment (Key Informant & Significant Others) Review of Relevant School Records Psychometric Evaluations (when necessary) Observation of Classroom Setting Direct Observation
30	Assessment Basic Domains Cognition/developmental adaptive behavior levels Academic skills Social/emotional skills Communication skills Behavioral Language Assessment Leisure-time activities Prevocational/vocational skills Self-help, independent-living skills Community-based skills Family Stressors Maladaptive / Aberrant Behavior
31	Assessment CHLOE (Cumulative Hierarchical Learning Operant Evaluation) Cooperation with Adults Mands Motor Imitation Vocal Play Echoic Matching-to-Sample Tacting Pliance Tracking Intraverbals Letters and Numbers Social Interaction
32	Assessment Self-help, Independent-living skills Self-feeding Self-toileting Self-dressing Personal Hygiene Hands, face, teeth, bathing, washing hair, tissue use Household Daily Living Food preparation, clean-up, making a bed, setting table, laundry Community Daily Living Restaurant skills, making change, use of a telephone, shopping
33	CHLOE Current version 2.4 (development edition). Release version 1.0 based on development edition 2.5 Key differences in two versions.
34	CHLOE More task analysis – Key behaviors Early learning (10 – 24 months) 100 new items. Language – 112 new items Self Help – Adaptive behavior 225 new items. Play and Leisure – 158 new items. Total area of CHLOE in release edition 13 months to 6 years.
35	CHLOE A built in curriculum matrix tool.
36	Assessment Analysis of Problem Behaviors Interview with Key Informants and significant others Direct observation Definition of target behaviors (FAIF) Baseline data for target behavior (behavior to be decreased) including a quantitative measurement over a specified period of time (baseline should be stable with at least three consecutive data points).
37	Assessment- Based on Behavioral Function Environmental antecedents Social antecedents Temporal antecedents Organismic antecedents Behavior topography: Frequency of behavior and/or intensity and/or duration described (including duration between incidents)
38	Assessment- Based on Behavioral Function Consequences described Environmental independent variables maintaining this behavior. Reinforcement preference assessment Formal and informal methods employed to identify reinforcers for the individual. Baseline data for functionally equivalent behavior (behavior to be increased) Assessment method described Procedures for collecting data on behavior to be increased described (e.g., with whom, where, when?). Method appropriate: Data collection procedures for a. appropriate.
39	Assessment- Based on Behavioral Function Objectives How much change is expected How much time will expected changes take How will change occur What are the benchmarks for these changes Measurable Time limits
40	Assessment- Based on Behavioral Function Intervention Implementation schedule and location of program Plan schedule, location of plan implementation, names or positions of staff responsible for implementation provided. Data collected and graphed Description of data collection strategy by staff, data graphed by responsible staff (typically a lead staff person).
41	Assessment- Based on Behavioral Function Replacement behavior component Training of a functionally equivalent desirable behavior described (or may be cross indexed with a specific skill training objective if new skill is functionally equivalent). Reinforcement target defined (for the replacement behavior) . SR+ schedule provided (for the replacement behavior) SR+ schedule appropriate (for the replacement behavior
42	Assessment- Based on Behavioral Function Antecedent intervention Description of antecedent manipulations including preventative methods, environmental manipulations, schedule changes, behavior diversion or distraction, and engagement. Consequence-based intervention Description of consequence manipulations including response cost, time out, contingent observation, verbal prompts, and extinction. Aversive fading If aversive component present, specific plans to fade its use are described.
43	Assessment- Based on Behavioral Function Plan description Plan can be understood by the persons who will be carrying it out. Generalization/maintenance Description of steps to be used to program plan generalization and maintenance. Emergency intervention specified Specific descriptions of emergency methods described including physical control, restraint, crisis methods, duration of physical control, use of other emergency services. Consent for emergency interventions and aversive (if applicable).
44	Assessment- Based on Behavioral Function Titration plan If individual is taking medications, plan provided for gradual decrease contingent on changes in behavior. Quality assurance Review schedule Reliability checks Treatment integrity/implementation checks Revision history Social validation
45	Curriculum Development – Process to Instruction Complete Functional Assessments Complete Skills Assessments Develop Criterion-based Goals and Objectives Develop Short-term Objectives Begin Systematic Instruction Provide Ongoing Assessment of Progress Train for Generalization Probe for Generalization Probe For Maintenance Add new Objectives in Relevant Skill Areas
46	Curriculum Development Based on comprehensive assessments Individualized programming to address specific behavioral excesses and deficits Decisions based on baseline data Some instructional programs are based on commercially available curricula Includes programming for generalization across persons, settings, stimuli, responses, and time
47	Curriculum Development Individual Protocols include: Written response definitions Written Criterion Written description of the instructional procedure Written description of prompting procedures Written description of expansion procedures
48	Determine developmental differences Compare the excess and deficit behaviors of this individual against the bell curve of normal behavior. Determine what outliers exist.
49	Prioritize sequence of behavior to be altered If potty training is required it might be more important to teach toileting skills before A-B-C’s. If child is self injurious it may be more important to reduce this behavior before potty training.
50	Determine Deficit & Excess Behavior What behaviors are in deficit? How wide are deficits? What behaviors are in excess (inappropriate)? Level of danger? To what extent are they inappropriate? What are differences in performance across environments or individuals?
51	Determine Intensity of Treatment
52	Determine likely environments Is performance of behavior different across different environments? If so, will treatment in this environment better change the behavior in that environment; or Will training be required in other environments first to support changes in target environment?
53	Determine likely protocols Looking at all of the deficit behavior commit to a sequence of necessary prerequisites. Address behavioral deficits in order of necessary prerequisites in order to support subsequent behavior change Assists in reducing potential regression Create a Curriculum Matrix to outline behavioral acquisition targets.
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55	Determine likely instruction methods What produces the most rapid change for the student? What methods are the team most likely to reliably implement? What methods are most likely to be supported in the environment?
56	Make recommendations Honest and frank recommendations Give parents and others the plain and simple truth. Making it sound nice, might lead to expectations that are unrealistic. Negotiation does not come without a price. Better not to be involved with “negotiated” programs or programs created by “committee”. Realization that the act of playing the game changes the rules.
57	Component Analysis Component Analysis is simply taking a complex behavior apart and then analyzing each of the relevant tasks within the more complex behavior until one reaches the most basic behavior components.
58	Component Analysis Let’s take a behavior like mimetic or imitation. What are the components? Student can control facial muscles? Student is aware of hands, feet, arms, and legs and their position in space? Student can adequately control fine and gross motor movements? Student engages in peek a boo activities? Student engages in making faces? Student engages in turn taking imitation gross motor in nature? Student engages in turn taking imitation, fine motor in nature?
59	"Specific Target Behavior" Specific Target Behavior: Instructor and student take turns imitating one another’s verbalizations, fine and gross motor movements. General Instructions: Method I – Contingent Imitation. This protocol is designed to increase the consistency, accuracy and rate of imitation that student engages in on a daily basis. The team will contingently imitate student’s motor movements during the set time interval during the day. METHOD Step One: Instructors imitate student’s motor movements, fine and gross, including verbalizations for a period of five minutes at least eight times per day. Step Two: Instructors imitate student’s motor movements, fine and gross, including verbalizations, attempting to vary motor movements in a turn taking episode, for a period of five minutes at least eight times per day. Step Three: Instructors imitate student’s motor movements, fine and gross, including verbalizations. The instructors take turns introducing various motor movements of their own in turn taking episodes. This should occur for a period of five minutes at least eight times per day.
60	"Specific Target Response" Specific Target Response: An ability to imitate the actions of others is an essential element to language and learning for all children. This protocol is designed to assist Student to acquire the behavior of imitation.
61	Practice Let’s take a complex behavior “Manding” and conduct a component analysis. Let’s discuss our results. Making the assumption that the child has the pre-requisites, arrange a curriculum matrix for Manding.
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