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ABC
recently conducted invited workshops on autism in Bahrain in the Persian
Gulf. Arrangements are being made for the establishment of an Applied
Behavior Analysis based school funded by the government to be set up an
supervised by ABC there. Additionally, several parents are working with ABC
to set up some home based programs in Bahrain
.
In February of 2004, ABC established an "ABC
School
" in Wuhan
,
China
. It is a joint venture with owners of an existing
school there. Additionally, ABC will offer workshops on "Behavioral
Treatment of Autism" sponsored by Beijing
University
in Beijing
.
The
Infant and Toddler Program was
kicked off in November 2004 and continues to grow in attendance and
acceptance in the Southern Los
Angeles
area. The program is
being offered in Duarte
,
California
. Further plans are to begin a new program in North Los Angeles
and Sacramento
.
In February 2005, ABC presented a workshop in Moscow
where they continued their efforts in establishing an ABA
program in Russia
, and the Ukraine
is also under current consideration.
In March 2005, ABC presented a workshop in Manila
, the Philippines
.
ABC conducted a
5-day Parent Training (May 19-23, 2008
) and 5-day
Behavior Technician Training (May
26-30, 2008
) at Lusofona
University
in Portugal
.
TAG
Training with Children Diagnosed with Autism
Victoria
Fogel, B.S., B.C.A.B.A.
Applied
Behavior Consultants, Inc.
TAG research was conducted at ABC
School
, Sacramento
. Behavior Analyst Victoria Fogel
and Teachers Stanley Androlowicz and Kerry Madden
implemented TAG and collected data. Permission was obtained for student
participation in the TAG study and release of data and video for this
presentation.
Proposed Questions
-
Will toe walking decrease with the use of TAG?
-
Will articulation of vocal imitation
improvefaster
with the
implementaion
of TAG?
-
Will attending, imitation, and interaction with peers increase with peer
tagging?
-
Will TAG be an effective teaching tool with children diagnosed with Autism?
Results
-
Within 25 TAG sessions, toe walking decreased for Amanda by 16% with the
combination of TAG and backward chaining -
an area we had been previously working on for two years.
-
Data showed greater gains made by shaping with TAG for vocal imitation, versus
shaping exclusively with
reinforcers
following the behavior. Dylan increased his correct vocal imitations by 33% in
11 TAG sessions.
Rayna
increased her correct vocal imitations by 25% in 6 TAG sessions.
-
From direct observations, an increase in social interactions, imitations, and
attending to peer with the user of peer tagging looks promising. We observed
Miguel and Matthew discriminating between correct and incorrect responses made
by their peers. We also observed an increase in response time and attending to
teachers. Miguel would give Matthew the correct answer if he did not respond
immediately to a question. He would often request to be Tagged and stated that
he likes TAG because "He wins!"
-
Based on the data collected, TAG is an effective teaching tool for children
diagnosed with Autism. Our students responded positively to TAG. They were
requesting
taggers
and to be tagged. For our staff, TAG increases behavioral skills in
observation, analysis, and teaching strategies.
Other Areas We Found TAG to be Helpful
-
Trouble shooting lessons
-
Improving vocal
imitaion
-
Staying on task
-
Decreasing self-stimulatory behaviors
-
Increasing eye contact
-
Increasing fine motor skills (tri-pod)
-
Increasing shaping skills of staff
-
Assisting teachers in the break down of behaviors in a specific, observable,
and measurable way
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