PA/NJ Advanced VB Workshop (5 slots left) with Behavior Analysts, Inc.

[Guest guest]

Behavior Analysts, Inc.

Advanced Professional Workshop: Teaching Verbal Behavior

Nov 8-10, 2004

$450

Only 5 positions left open.

We have invited Behavior Analysts, Inc. for a conference on advanced

VB (teaching verbal behavior) procedures. Presenters

are Dr. Ann Powers (co-director of the stars school along with

Dr. Partington) and Stacey Carrol.

18 BCBA credits are available for the workshop. What follows is a

portion of the brief course outline; more information can be found at

www.behavioranalysts.com/training/workshop-teaching-verbal-

behavior.html or you can contact Robyn at RCatagnus@....

Location to determined, but will be in Bucks, Mercer, or Ocean County

of PA/NJ.

This workshop is designed as an intensive and highly-interactive

advanced

seminar for professionals with extensive experience in behavior

analysis and at

least one year of developing and supervising programs for children

with language

delays using the ABLLS as an assessment tool in a verbal behavior

approach.

Generally, prior attendance at the Teaching Children with Language

Delays

workshop is recommended.

Based on inservices developed for consultants at Behavior Analysts,

Inc., this

workshop includes specific case reviews, and covers the theory and

practice of

designing and problem-solving educational programs based on an

analysis of a

child's verbal behavior. In addition to general principles of verbal

behavior,

the workshop covers establishing operations, prompt-dependency and

generalization issues, and conditional discrimination, and goes into

depth on

procedures for teaching mands, RFFC, and intraverbals. Focus is also

placed on

supervision of staff.

Verbal Behavior

Participants will be able to:

… define and distinguish between verbal and nonverbal behavior

… describe the behavioral view of typical language development

… distinguish between speaking and listening behavior in terms of

function

… define and give an example of each verbal operant: mand, tact,

intraverbal,

echoic, textual, receptive/RFFC

… classify a verbal interaction in terms of the verbal operants

… be able to determine appropriate instructions/responses to teach a

given word

as any given verbal operant

Instructional Control

Participants will be able to:

… define and give examples of reinforcers and conditioned reinforcers

… assess a student¹s reinforcers and generate ideas for expanding a

student¹s

repertoire of reinforcers

… describe the key steps in establishing the instructor as a

conditioned

reinforcer

… describe the key steps in establishing initial instructional control

… identify common problems in establishing and maintaining

instructional control

Prompt Dependency

Participants will be able to:

… explain how differential reinforcement and correction procedure

helps

alleviate prompt dependency

… explain the critical elements of SD presentation for reducing prompt

dependency

… describe methods of array management and prompt variation to reduce

prompt

dependency

… define and distinguish between shaping and fading

… describe how shaping can be used to eliminate prompt dependency

… describe how prompt-dependency may occur with fading procedures and

how it can

be alleviated

Motivation and Mand Training

Participants will be able to:

… define establishing operations (EO) and give examples

… explain how the EO fits into the analysis of behavior

… distinguish between EOs and reinforcement and discriminative stimuli

… explain how EOs can affect negative behavior

… explain the role of EOs in mand training

… capture motivation to use for mand training

… contrive motivation to use for mand training:

facilitate spontaneous manding

implement procedures for manding for missing items

implement procedures for manding for information

… select first words for use in mand training

RFFC-IV Training

Participants will be able to:

… define conditional discrimination and give examples

… explain the role of conditional discrimination in language training

… generate sufficient RFFC trials to establish conditional

discrimination

… determine appropriate first word sets and SDs for RFFC and IV

training to

avoid rote responding

… program teaching FFC across the verbal operants

… transfer RFFC and tact skills to intraverbals for early and advanced

vocabulary items

Programming for Generalization

Participants will be able to:

… Define and give examples of stimulus and response generalization

for each

verbal operant.

… Determine possible reasons a skill may fail to generalize.

… Program for stimulus generalization.

… Program for response generalization.

… Program match-to-sample skills to increase generalization

Naturalistic Teaching

Participants will be able to:

… implement teaching sessions using a mixed verbal behavior approach

… develop plans for teaching IEP objectives in the context of ongoing,

motivational activities, using discrete trial teaching techniques

… identify and implement strategies for capitalizing on natural

learning

opportunities

Structured Case Review

Throughout workshop plus additional half-day or more on third day.

Participants will categorize their cases according to a number of

common problem

areas. Through problem-identifying checklists and facilitated group

discussions,

cases will then be discussed, and participants will generate action

plans for

further problem-solving and implementation of revised program

procedures.

Categories of case problems to be discussed:

… noncompliance

… prompt-dependency

… generalization

… spontaneity

… lack of acquisition