BCBA Task List 6th Edition Study Guide - Part 2

Overview

• Part two of the six edition BCBA Task list study guide, focusing on Task List items F through I.
• The third part will cover ethics.
• Key focus on developing and evaluating behavior analytic procedures and supervision.

F: Assessment

F1: Identify Relevant Sources of Information

• Review past records at the outset of a case.
  • Educational: IEPs, grades.
  • Medical: Medications, diagnoses.
  • Historical: Previous ABA services, therapy outcomes.
• Use indirect assessments as background.

F2: Cultural Variables in Assessment Process

• Consider cultural variables: language, traditions, norms.
• Assess primary language in the home, family values, and beliefs.
• Respect differences in cultural norms.

F3: Design and Evaluate Skills Assessments

• Evaluate skills and areas of need.
• Consider developmental levels, resources, and stakeholder involvement.
• Use systematic evaluations to guide skill acquisition plans.

F4: Design and Evaluate Preference Assessments

• Differentiate between preference assessments and reinforcer assessments.
• Types: Interviews, free operant, single stimulus, forced choice, multiple stimuli (with/without replacement).

F5: Design and Evaluate Descriptive Assessments

• Direct observation of behavior in natural environments.
• Use ABC recording, event recording.

G: Behavior Change Procedures

G1: Design and Evaluate Reinforcement Procedures

• Reinforcement increases future behavior.
• Positive reinforcement: adding a stimulus.
• Negative reinforcement: removing a stimulus.

G2: Differential Reinforcement

• Reinforce a desired behavior; put others on extinction.
• Types: DRI, DRA, DRO, DRL, DRH, DRD.

G3: Time-Based Reinforcement

• Fixed/variable time schedules, similar to non-contingent reinforcement.

G4: Conditioned Reinforcers

• Reinforcers paired with primary reinforcers.
• Tokens, money as examples.

G5: Motivating Operations and Discriminative Stimuli

• MOs alter the value of a consequence, SDs signal availability.

G6: Simple and Conditional Discriminations

• Simple discrimination: responding to a single antecedent.
• Conditional discrimination: response based on multiple antecedents.

G7 & G8: Prompting Procedures

• Stimulus prompts: act on the stimulus.
• Response prompts: act on the response.
• Fading prompts to transfer control to the natural SD.

G9: Modeling Procedures

• Use models to teach imitation.

G10: Instructions and Rules

• Instructions: prompts; Rules: statements of contingencies.

G11: Shaping

• Differential reinforcement of successive approximations.

G12: Chaining

• Task analysis to break complex behavior into steps.
• Forward, backward, total task chaining.

G13: Training Procedures

• Discrete trial, naturalistic, free operant procedures.

G14: Group Contingencies

• Dependent, independent, interdependent contingencies.

G15: Generalization

• Plan and promote stimulus and response generalization.

G16: Maintenance

• Ensure behavior change persists post-intervention.

G17: Punishment

• Positive and negative punishment to decrease behavior.

G18: Emotional and Elicited Effects

• Consider emotional responses and elicited effects of procedures.

G19: Emergent Relations

• Untrained responses from learned associations.

H: Selecting and Implementing Interventions

H1: Intervention Goals

• Goals should be observable and measurable.

H2: Recommend Interventions

• Base on assessment, scientific evidence, client preferences.

H3: Socially Valid Alternatives

• Replace reduced target behaviors with socially valid alternatives.

H4: Unwanted Effects

• Plan for unwanted effects of reinforcement, extinction, punishment.

H5: Possible Relapse

• Plan for and mitigate relapse of target behavior.

H6: Procedural Integrity

• Use IOA (Inter-observer agreement) to ensure integrity.

H7: Effectiveness of Intervention

• Base on data, decide to continue, modify, or discontinue interventions.

H8: Collaboration

• Work with multidisciplinary teams for client benefit.

I: Supervision

I1: Benefits of Supervision

• Improve outcomes, prevent treatment drifts, ensure procedural integrity.

I2: Supervisor Relationships

• Establish clear goals and expectations.

I3: Equity in Supervision

• Tailor supervision to supervisee needs, recognize biases.

I4: Supervision Goals

• Base on assessment of supervisee skills, cultural variables.

I5: Performance Management

• Use competency-based training, reinforce good performance.

I6: Function-Based Approach

• Identify function of supervisee behavior, improve performance.

I7: Efficacy of Supervisory Practices

• Collect data to evaluate supervision practices.

Conclusion

• Focus on detailed planning and evaluation to enhance client and supervisee outcomes.
• Next part will cover ethics.