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Maggie Kearns Applied Behavior Analysis 1. Student Profile: JJ is a 17-year old male student with an intellectual disability.

He attends Centennial High School where he follows the functional life skills curriculum. He also participates in a general education painting class, adapted physical education, and has a vocational placement at the Champaign Public Library where he works twice a week for 1.5 hours. JJ can speak in a very low, masculine voice, but often uses a voice as though he is trying to sound like a child. He has very high receptive communication skills and responds well when directions are given to him in simple steps. He also has very high expressive communication skills, being able to initiate and respond to many social interactions. He enjoys talking with others about rap music, movies, and basketball. He also really enjoys rapping at various times, such as when he is walking down the street. He will communicate when he needs help with a task, but often struggles to communicate exactly what he needs help with. An example of this is at the CPL when JJ is working and he is having difficulty getting a book that he is putting away to fit on the shelf. He will say, I need help, when asked to specify what he needs help with, he may respond the book. When asked to further explain what he needs help with, he may be unable to do so. When given a direct question of what he needs help with, he will respond with a correct answer, indicating that he knew what he needed help with but was unable to verbalize that to others.

Operational Definition: JJ uses a voice that is very high pitched and child-like to communicate to others. Looking down towards the floor and avoiding eye contact often accompany this behavior. Example: JJ saying, I need help in a high-pitched voice while looking downwards.

Non-example: Student using a quiet, whispering voice.

2. A-B-C Observation ABC data sheets attached to back of document. ABC Data Summary: JJ frequently uses a baby voice when speaking. After observing him during his work shift and recording data on the antecedents, the behavior, and the consequences of the behavior, I have seem many different situations in which he uses this voice. From the recordings, I have formed the conclusion that he most often uses the baby voice when he is in need of assistance. He will say I need help, or I dont know in this voice, indicating that he needs help with a certain task or is unsure of what he should be doing. This occurred multiple times as he was working and unsure of how to complete a task that he was assigned. In response to his request for help, he would receive assistance from the paraprofessional at work with him. Very often, the paraprofessional would provide more support than necessary. Another circumstance that resulted in JJ using his baby voice multiple times throughout his work shift was when he was caught off guard or surprised by something, such as books falling off the cart or him hitting his hand. As a result of him using his baby voice in these instances, he received child-like attention from the paraprofessional, such as her overly making sure that his hand was okay when he hit it.

3. Functional Assessment Interview FAI data sheets attached FAI data summary:

JJ uses his baby voice throughout multiple situations. According to the interview that I conducted with the speech pathologist that works with JJ on a weekly basis, the behavior occurs in a variety of settings and during multiple activities. He is a very independent student in man academic tasks, but relies strongly on others to direct him in general, such as when to do what task. He often uses a baby voice when communicating with adults on various topics, such as his daily life, and then receives child-like attention in return. This attention seems to motivate him to use the baby voice more so that he continues receiving the attention. Another time that he seems to consistently use the baby voice is when he is working independently and does not know what to do or is confused. The result of the behavior in this situation is that he receives assistance on the task that he is performing, often more assistance than he truly needs. The last situation in which he commonly uses the baby voice is when communicating with peers, and he seems to receive the same response as he does when he does not use a baby voice. The interview was very informative and gave me a very in-depth understanding of the function of JJs behavior.

Summary Statements: While talking with adults about various topics, JJ talks in a baby voice to receive attention from the adults that is similar to the type of attention that a child would receive. When JJ is doing work independently and is confused or does not know what to do, he talks in a baby voice to receive assistance in completing the tasks that he is working on. When JJ is communicating with a peer or a group of peers on various topics, he will talk in a baby voice and then receive responses from peers that appear to be the same responses that the peers would give him even if he was not using the baby voice.

3. Functional Assessment Observation FAO data sheets attached FAO data summary: The data from the functional assessment observation provided very similar information to the A-B-C information and the functional assessment interview. It seems as though JJ uses his baby voice the most when he seeks to gain attention, typically from adults, as they tend to provide him with child-like attention. Additionally, he receives assistance from others when he uses his baby voice to express the need for help; the assistance he receives is often more than he would need, but he accepts it and therefore does not have the opportunity to do the work as independently as he could. These situations have seemed to reinforce his behavior and encourage him to continue using it across many settings and while around a wide variety of individuals. The greatest difference that I identified was that JJ did not use his baby voice to communicate with peers. Because the data collected very much reflects the data collected during the functional assessment interview, I chose to keep two of the summary statements the same. I also chose to eliminate the last summary statement because it no longer seemed applicable to the program. I say this because the initial summary statement yielded information about JJ communicating with peers, but during the FAO I did not see any instance of JJ using the baby voice while communicating with peers.

Functional Analysis Manipulations Hypothesis: While talking with adults about various topics, JJ talks in a baby voice to receive attention from the adults that is similar to the type of attention that a child would receive. This hypothesis was formed using information collected during A-B-C observations, a functional analysis interview, and a functional analysis observation. The data collected during all three of these components indicated that JJ often uses a baby voice when speaking with adults. He uses this voice across a variety of topics, and as a result receives attention from the adults that is similar to the attention that a child would receive. This attention includes the adult using a motherese voice (changing voice to be high-pitched and sweet) and performing actions like rubbing his back or pulling in his head to rest it on their chest.

When JJ is doing work independently and is confused or does not know what to do, he talks in a baby voice in order to receive heavy assistance in completing the tasks that he is working on. This hypothesis was also formed using data collected during A-B-C observations, the functional analysis interview, and a functional analysis observation. The data collected during these all indicated that JJ uses the baby voice when he is unsure of what to do and cannot complete a task independently. As a result of him using the voice during this type of situation, he receives assistance from the paraprofessional or other adult that is supervising him. While it is not wrong for him to receive the help, it seems as though he is receiving more help than he actually needs. Often, the paraprofessional would simply perform the task for him instead of supporting him in doing the task on his own.

The first functional analysis manipulation that I will conduct to determine if the first hypothesis (While talking with adults about various topics, JJ talks in a baby voice to receive attention from the adults that is similar to the type of attention that a child would receive.) would be to use a multi-element approach in which varying consequences for him using a baby voice would be given over multiple sessions. During one session, he would receive child-like attention (i.e. cuddling him, high-pitched voice, etc.). During another session, he would receive attention that is age-appropriate, such as communication in a more formal manner. In a final session he would receive no attention from the adult. These sessions would be repeated two times in order to obtain more reliable results. If higher rates of the behavior are seen during the session when he receives child-like attention, then this would confirm my hypothesis that he is reinforced by child-like attention that he gets from adults. The second manipulation that I would perform to determine if the second hypothesis (When JJ is doing work independently and is confused or does not know what to do, he talks in a baby voice to receive assistance in completing the tasks that he is working on.) would be to switch off giving JJ hard tasks and easy tasks for 10-minute increments and recording how many times he uses a baby voice to communicate, compared to how many times he uses an adult voice to communicate. I would conduct this FAM at the Champaign Public Library, where the student has a vocational placement and puts books away. The hard task that I will use is to give him books that do not have a match on the shelf. Because he would not be able to simply match the books, he would need to determine the correct placement of each book by comparing it to other books on the shelf, a task that he regularly needs assistance to complete. The easy task would be providing him with books that do have a match on the shelf so that he could match it to determine the placement, a skill that he has mastered. If JJ used the baby voice consistently

more times during the phases when presented with difficult tasks than when presented with easier tasks that he is more comfortable performing, then this manipulation would confirm my hypothesis of him using a baby voice when presented with a difficult task and is unsure or confused about what to do.

Results: Session # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Easy Tasks Hard Tasks Easy Tasks Hard Tasks 2 0 3 3 6 4 4 6 1 3 0 2 7 5 4 6

Number of Times Using Baby Voice

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1

Easy

Function Analysis Manipulation


Hard Easy

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Session

Preference Hierarchy: Preference Assessment Attached 1. Listening to music 2. Cookies 3. Computer time 3. Drink from vending machine 4. Magazine 5. Pretzels 6. Free time with peers

I created a list of activities and items that my student has shown interest in throughout my time working with him over the past three months and used those items in a preference assessment. The assessment had five different sessions, conducted each school day for a week. I

recorded the order that the student picked each item and then totaled each items score and determined the rankings of all of the items to determine the hierarchy.

Data Collection Technique: I am using an event recording approach to collecting data on how many times JJ uses a baby voice per day. I chose this data collection method because it will help to identify the number of times that he is using the voice during each period of the day. Each days is broken up by class period so that the data will show how many times he uses the baby voice during each class period, demonstrating any patterns that may occur and indicating any times of day or activities that may need to be adjusted in order to create a more positive environment for him to complete work.
Date 1st hour
2nd hour 3rd hour

4th hour 5th hour 6th hour 7th hour 8th hour Total

Instructions for gathering data: On the data chart, write in the date. Throughout the course of each hour, an instructor that is with JJ will record any instance that JJ uses a baby voice to communicate by putting a tally

mark in the corresponding box. At the end of the day, record the total amount of occurrences of the behavior. Repeat each day until the data is consistent, or at least for five consecutive days.

Baseline Data Data-recording form attached

JJ Baseline Data
60 58

Number of Occurrences

56 54 52 50 48 46 44 42 40 1 2 3 4 5 6

Day

Inter-Observer Agreement (IOA) IOA Data collection attached I gathered data to determine the inter-observer agreement by observing my student and having the paraprofessional do the same. We observed for a 25 minutes session while he worked at the Champaign Public Library, separated into 1-minute intervals. During each interval, we recorded the number of times we observed JJ using a baby voice using tally marks. At the end of the interval, if he did not use a baby voice then we recorded a 0. I then combined all of the

information onto one data sheet and calculated the IOA by determining the number of intervals that both observers agreed (23), dividing that by the total number of intervals (25) and multiplying it by one hundred. We had a 92% IOA.

Intervention Program Antecedent-based Interventions: The first aspect of the intervention would be to provide JJ with a social story that describes why it is important for him to use a voice that makes him sound his age. An example of a social story for him is: Most high school students like to be treated like adults. If I use my big voice when talking with others, they will treat me like an adult. I can use my big voice when I need help, when I am not sure about something, or even when just having a normal conversation. JJ could read this social story at the beginning of each school day. This story includes a sentence about using his voice when he needs help or when he is unsure of something because those were both situations that were identified as times when he commonly uses his baby voice.

Alternative Skills: A direct replacement behavior that JJ could use instead of communicating with a baby voice would be to use his adult voice. He has a very masculine voice that makes him sound very much his age, but does not always choose to use it. If he replaced his baby voice with his masculine voice, he would not be given some of the attention that he often gets as a result of using the baby voice.

Consequent-based intervention: JJ will carry around with him a Blurt-Chart type paper that will allow him to selfmonitor when he uses his baby voice (chart is attached at back). Each time that he uses his baby voice, he will be reminded to use his big voice and will cross off a box on the chart. As time goes on, the goal is that he will start to monitor himself and realize on his own when he uses his baby voice. He will then have to restate in his big voice whatever question or comment he initially said in his baby voice, and will then receive a response from whomever he is talking with. If he is requesting help with a task, he will have to restate his request for help, mark it down on his chart, and then he will receive assistance at the level that he needs it. At the end of each day, he will talk with a teacher or paraprofessional about the number of times he used his baby voice that day and how he could improve the next day. If he reaches his goal, he will earn time for the following day to listen to music. Allowing him to take part in crossing off how many times he uses his baby voice will allow JJ to become more aware of when he is using it. Additionally, setting a goal each day for decreasing how many times he uses the voice and reinforcing it with free time to listen to music (his top preference for a reward as identified from the preference assessment) will motivate him to decrease his use of the voice. According to my observations and data collection, JJ is reinforced by assistance when he needs it and communication from others. Restraining from providing him with a response to what he has said or providing him with assistance when he needs it will not give him the reinforcement that he desires until he uses his big voice and he will receive that reinforcement.

Goal For the Day: Less than

1 11 21 31 41 51

2 12 22 32 42 52

3 13 23 33 43 53

4 14 24 34 44 54

5 15 25 35 45 55

6 16 26 36 46 56

7 17 27 37 47 57

8 18 28 38 48 58

9 19 29 39 49 59

10 20 30 40 50 60

Data-collection procedure: At the end of each day, the total number of times that JJ used his baby voice will be recording on the data-recording form (shown on next page). JJ will fill out the data sheet with an instructor according to the chart that he filled out throughout the day. He will record the date at the bottom of the data-recording form and then shade in up to the number of times that he used his baby voice. This data collection will help to see the progress of the intervention and if changes must be made to help JJ be successful at decreasing the amount of times that he uses his

baby voice. If consistent progress is being made, then changes will not have to be made to the intervention. If; however, his behavior is continuing in the same manner and he is not decreasing the amount of times he uses his baby voice, then changes will have to be made to the program.

JJ Intervention Data 60 58 56 54 52 50 48 46 44 42 40 38 36 34 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Date

References: Iskander, J. M., & Rosales, R. (2013). An evaluation of the components of a social stories intervention package. Research in autism spectrum disorders,7(1), 1-8. In this study, social stories were used to target problem behaviors in students that have disabilities. The social stories were the first phase of the intervention, followed by adding in a differential reinforcement of zero behavior (DRO) procedure. The student would sit with an instructor and read aloud the social story and then answer comprehension about the questions. During the DRO phase, praise was given on a regular (1 minute) schedule only if the problem behavior had not occurred during that one minute. During the social story phase of the intervention, the use of problem behaviors decreased. During the social story and DRO phase, the problem behaviors further decreased, making the intervention successful. I will use the social story aspect of this program to target my students use of a baby voice when communicating with others.

Menzies, H. M., Lane, K., & Lee, J. (2009). Self-Monitoring Strategies for Use in the Classroom: A Promising Practice to Support Productive Behavior for Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders. Beyond Behavior, 18(2), 27-35.

This study focuses on using self-regulation skills to make students more aware of their behavior in order to eliminate problem behavior and increase desired behavior. The different components of self-regulation are self-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-instruction, and goal setting. This study used self-regulation skills as a way to monitor and improve academic work, but I will be using the skills in a strictly behavior way. My student will take part in self-monitoring, selfevaluation, and goal setting in order to decrease his use of a baby voice and increase the use of his adult voice.

OMea, M. L. (2013). Implementing Applied Behavior Analysis for Effective Orientation and Mobility Instruction of Students with Multiple Disabilities. Journal Of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 107(1), 65-70.

This journal describes the benefits of using applied behavior analysis to implement positive behavior supports for students with disabilities. It focuses on the importance of using data collection to make informed decisions on what are triggers for the student, the motive for the student to perform a certain behavior, and what the student is reinforced by. Using this information can lead directly to implementing supports and manipulating the environment to ensure the student will use desired behaviors, instead of using problem behaviors to get what they want.

Soenksen, D., & Alper, S. (2006). Teaching a Young Child to Appropriately Gain Attention of Peers Using a Social Story Intervention. Focus On Autism & Other Developmental Disabilities, 21(1), 36-44.

This article focuses on using social stories to teach children with disabilities how to appropriately gain attention from peers. While they focused on the skill of getting a peers attention, this same concept could be used for my student in using proper communication with others. A social story intervention was implemented in which the student had a social story that included verbal and visual cues. The intervention was implemented using a multiple-baseline approach and the results indicated that it was successful in increasing the target behaviors.

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