The use of a pairing procedure in conditioning vocalizations to evoke parroting and echoic responses to teach mands

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The use of a pairing procedure in conditioning
vocalizations to evoke parroting and echoic
responses to teach mands

• Chanie Kessler, MS
• Gina Feliciano, Ph.D.,BCBA
• Jessica Rodriguez, MA,BCBA
• Shema Kolainu-Hear our Voices

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Relevant Literature

• Yoon and Bennett (2000) and Miguel, Carr, and
  Michael (2002) used the stimulus-stimulus pairing
  procedure. Participants in both studies were
  preschoolers with language delays.
• In both studies two or more of the participants
  demonstrated an increase in the rate of the
  target sound immediately after the pairing
  sessions.
• The results showed that the vocal sounds
  eventually extinguished.
• Esch, Carr, and Michael (2005) further evaluated
  the stimulus- stimulus pairing with three
  children with autism. The results pairing had no
  effect on increasing the rate of the target
  vocalizations.

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Relevant Literature

• Research in the last 10 years have reported
  inconsistent findings regarding the efficacy of
  pairing procedures in eliciting vocalizations for
  students with developmental disabilities and
  speech delays.
• The current investigation stems from results
  presented in a poster last year
• Pairing procedure led to an increase in echoics
  and mands
• We wanted replicate the findings with
  participants whose vocal verbal behavior is not
  forthcoming.

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Method

• 4 participants initially 2 PreK, 2 school age
• All participants non vocal with limited speaker
  abilities
• relied on gestures
• PECS introduced for 3 of 4 participants.
• None of the students had echoic repertoire ages
  range 4-7
• Conducted in classroom 613
• ABA/VB program in a borough of NYC.
• Each student attended school for at least 1 yr-up
  to 3 years.
• 2 participants completed entire study

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Method

• DV Echoics to mand
• IV Pairing procedure (12 pairings per minute/5
  min pairing)
• Design Pre-pairing-post pairing

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Method

• Pre-training 5-5 minute time samples to select
  target sounds
• Selected 2-3 most frequently occurring sounds
• Review of performance on previous echoic to mand
  training
• Pre-Pairing (Baseline)
• VB procedures used school wide
• 3-5 correct echoics-opportunity to mand
• Mastery criterion-10 consecutive correct mands
• Pairing
• Presentation of preferred items every 5
  seconds-for 5 minutes
• Post Pairing
• Return to VB procedures

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IOA

• Completed for each target sound for each student
• Conducted by second observer/experimenter
• Participant S
• 26-32 of sessions,
• 100 IOA
• Participant M
• 31 of sessions
• 90-94 IOA

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Results-Pairing sessions
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Results-Pairing Sessions
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Results
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Results
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Discussion

• Pairing procedures were successful for 1 of the
  4 participants.
• S has mastered to criterion during the post mand
  training the target sounds ga, ba, and mm.
• S has continued to use the target sounds
  effectively throughout his school day to mand.
• 3 other students showed little results using the
  pairing procedure. There was no increase in the
  number of target vocalizations.

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Discussion

• There are prerequisites that are required to be
  part of the students repertoires in order for
  the pairing procedure to be effective. We
  theorize that listener skills may be the
  determinant if pairing procedures can be
  successful.
• A previous study was done listener repertoires
  seems comparable to S.
• Pairing procedures was successful in teaching
  Participant to use the target sounds ga, ah, ee,
  mm, go, gi, ye, and oo during mand training
• More research is needed to evaluate the
  prerequisites crucial for stimulus-stimulus
  pairing procedures to be successful.

 G1Great chanie
 G1Great chanie
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Discussion
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Some References

• Esch, B. E., Carr, J. E., Michael, J. (2005).
  Evaluating stimulus-stimulus pairing and direct
  reinforcement in the establishment of an echoic
  repertoire of children diagnosed with autism. The
  Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 21, 43-58
• Miguel, C.F. ,Carr, J.E. Michael, J.
  (2001/2002). The effects of a stimulus-stimulus
  pairing procedure on the vocal behavior of
  children diagnosed with autism. The Analysis of
  Verbal Behavior, 18, 3-13
• Smith, R., Michael, J., Sundberg, M. L.
  (1996). Automatic reinforcement and automatic
  punishment in infant vocal behavior. The
  Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 13, 39-48.
• Sundberg, M. L., Michael, J., Partington, J.
  W., Sundberg, C. A. (1996). The role of
  automatic reinforcement in early language
  acquisition. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior,
  13, 21-37.
• Yoon, S Bennett, G.M. (in press). Effects of a
  stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure on
  conditioning vocal sounds as reinforcers. The
  Analysis of Verbal Behavior, XX, xx-xx.
• Contact us at Gfeliciano_at_skhov.org