Test Tuesday

Given the following example, what would be the most appropriate response.  You are a BCBA that is well-trained and experienced with toilet-training and feeding disorders.  Most of your clients are referred to you for these reasons.  However, a client's mother has just contacted you to help with her son that has severe self-injurious behavior.  She insists that they have tried all antecedent modifications and reinforcement procedures, and she insists that a punishment procedure be implemented.  What would be the FIRST thing you would do.

1.  Refer the client to another BCBA that specializes in self-injurious behavior. 

2.  Read books, do research, and speak to others in the field to educate yourself on self-injurious behaviors, but in the mean time start procedures based on your research and recommendations from others. 

3.  Put in a punishment procedure because a punishment procedure can be implemented once all alternatives have been tried. 

4.  Conduct your own FA's and determine the function of the problem behavior to determine which procedure would be most effective.

1. Refer the client to another BCBA that specializes in self-injurious behavior. 

In this situation, with little experience in other areas besides toilet-training and feeding, it is unethical to begin treatment.  However, you can refer the client to another BCBA for their SIB behavior, and in the mean time you can educate yourself on the client's SIB.  You can read research, consult with other BCBA's that specialize in the field, and you can educate yourself on the the SIB.  Once you are educated, you can begin working with the client, but in the mean time the client should be receiving services from another certified behavior analyst in the field.

Characteristics of Good Definitions

So, you here all the time that you need to write good, clear definitions when defining target behaviors.  For example, you would not just define a target behavior as "hitting" because what one person might score as hitting, another person might not. 

Therefore, it is VERY important that you learn how to write good definitions.

So, what are the characteristics of good definitions?

Objective

The definition should only refer to events that are observable.  

For example:  You cannot say that the client has to be "sad" or appear "angry" when hitting for it to be scored as hitting.  However, you can say that the client has a negative affect, it is paired with crying, etc.  All of the events have to be observable.

Objective=Observable

Clear

It has to be readable and unambiguous.

There should not be any questions.  For example, if you are writing a definition for eloping, you should put how many feet the client has to leave the area for it to be scored as eloping.  Otherwise, the therapist might have many questions about what is considered eloping

Clear=unambiguous

Complete

Precise and concise definitions

Complete=precise

Test Tuesday

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a good operational definition?

1.  Objective

2.  Concise

3.  Socially valid

4.  Clear

5.  Complete

3.  Socially Valid