ABAT FREE Procedures and Intervention Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Discrete trial training (DTT) is characterized by which structural format?
- Child-led, embedded teaching with naturally occurring reinforcers
- A structured, massed trial format with a clear SD, response, and consequence, repeated in rapid succession (Correct answer)
- Continuous, whole-session naturalistic teaching embedded in play
- Group instruction without individual reinforcement
Correct answer: A structured, massed trial format with a clear SD, response, and consequence, repeated in rapid succession
DTT uses a controlled, structured format with a clear discriminative stimulus, an expected response, a consequence, and an inter-trial interval — run in repeated massed trials.
Discrete trial training (DTT) is a structured teaching method derived from Lovaas's original work that presents skills in repeated, structured trials. Each trial consists of: (1) an SD (instruction/antecedent), (2) an opportunity for the learner to respond, (3) a consequence (reinforcement for correct responses, error correction for incorrect), and (4) an inter-trial interval. Trials are typically run in massed or blocked formats. DTT enables high rates of practice, precise prompting, and systematic data collection, making it effective for establishing new behaviors and building foundational skills, though it requires active generalization programming.
Question 2: Which of the following is an evidence-based ABA procedure for teaching a learner to tolerate delays to reinforcement?
- Extinction
- Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) with gradually increasing intervals (Correct answer)
- Response blocking
- Positive punishment
Correct answer: Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) with gradually increasing intervals
DRO with gradually increasing intervals teaches the learner to go progressively longer periods without engaging in problem behavior by reinforcing the absence of the behavior across longer and longer intervals.
Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) delivers reinforcement when the target behavior has not occurred during a specified interval. By starting with a short achievable interval and systematically increasing it, the learner is shaped to tolerate longer and longer delays to reinforcement. This procedure can be combined with skill-building (e.g., teaching waiting or delay tolerance as a specific skill) and is particularly useful for learners whose problem behavior is maintained by immediate access to tangibles or attention and who need to learn that reinforcers are not always immediately available.
Question 3: Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) targets which verbal operant first?
- Intraverbal
- Tact
- Mand (Correct answer)
- Echoic
Correct answer: Mand
PECS begins by teaching the learner to initiate a mand (request) by exchanging a picture of a desired item with a communicative partner.
The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), developed by Bondy and Frost, teaches non-verbal or minimally verbal individuals to communicate using picture cards. Training begins in Phase I with teaching the learner to mand — to physically exchange a picture of a desired item with a communicative partner to obtain that item. PECS progresses through six phases, developing spontaneous requesting, discrimination among pictures, sentence structure, and tacting. The mand-first approach capitalizes on the learner's natural motivation and establishes communication as purposeful and functional from the very first teaching opportunity.
Question 4: Social stories, as an intervention for learners with ASD, are designed to:
- Reduce escape-maintained problem behavior through extinction
- Describe social situations and appropriate social responses using a structured narrative format to build social understanding (Correct answer)
- Replace verbal communication with visual supports
- Provide positive reinforcement for social behaviors
Correct answer: Describe social situations and appropriate social responses using a structured narrative format to build social understanding
Social stories describe a specific social situation, the perspectives of others, and appropriate responses, helping learners understand social contexts and expectations.
Social stories, developed by Carol Gray, are brief, personalized narratives describing social situations and appropriate responses. A properly formatted social story includes descriptive sentences (who, what, where, when), perspective sentences (others' thoughts/feelings), and directive sentences (suggested behavior). Social stories target social understanding and perspective-taking deficits common in ASD. They are classified as an evidence-based practice (EBP) by the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice (NCAEP) for improving social knowledge, though direct behavior change may require supplementary behavioral supports.
Question 5: Video modeling as an ABA intervention involves:
- Recording problem behavior for review during supervision sessions
- Using video recordings of models performing target behaviors for the learner to observe and imitate (Correct answer)
- Filming sessions for data collection purposes only
- Using video games as a reinforcer in a token economy
Correct answer: Using video recordings of models performing target behaviors for the learner to observe and imitate
Video modeling presents recordings of a model performing the target skill, which the learner watches and then imitates, leveraging observational learning.
Video modeling (VM) is an evidence-based intervention in which video recordings of a model — an adult, peer, or the learner themselves (video self-modeling) — performing a target skill are presented for the learner to observe. The learner then imitates the modeled behavior in the target setting. VM is effective for a wide range of skills in individuals with ASD, including communication, social skills, daily living skills, and play skills. Advantages include consistent presentation, learner control, natural generalization to video-familiar environments, and potential for self-monitoring.
Question 6: Token economies function as a behavior management system by:
- Delivering natural reinforcers contingently on the absence of problem behavior
- Using conditioned reinforcers (tokens) that can be exchanged for backup reinforcers, bridging the delay between behavior and primary reinforcement (Correct answer)
- Removing all primary reinforcers to increase motivation
- Using intermittent primary reinforcement only
Correct answer: Using conditioned reinforcers (tokens) that can be exchanged for backup reinforcers, bridging the delay between behavior and primary reinforcement
Tokens function as conditioned reinforcers that bridge the delay to backup reinforcers, allowing behavior to be reinforced consistently even when backup reinforcers cannot be immediately delivered.
A token economy involves: (1) a set of target behaviors, (2) tokens (conditioned reinforcers such as stickers, points, or chips), and (3) backup reinforcers (items or activities exchanged for tokens). Tokens function as conditioned reinforcers through their consistent pairing with backup reinforcers. They bridge the delay between behavior and primary reinforcement, making it possible to reinforce many behaviors across a long period without delivering primary reinforcers after every response. Token economies are versatile, applicable across ages and settings, and can be used for both skill acquisition and behavior reduction (via response cost).
ABAT FREE Procedures and Intervention Questions and Answers 2
Discrete trial training (DTT) is characterized by which structural format?