Scientist Practitioner #2: Acquisition Diagnostics, Flow Charting, and Identifying Mechanisms of Action is the kind of topic that looks straightforward until it collides with the speed, ambiguity, and competing demands of clinic sessions and day-to-day service delivery. In Acquisition Diagnostics, Flow Charting, and Identifying Mechanisms, for this course, the practical stakes show up in service continuity, accurate reporting, and defensible clinical decisions, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via The Verbal Behavior Conference
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Join Free →In this, the 2nd hour of the scientist-practitioner model of clinical practice and staff training, I will introduce acquisition diagnostics (AD), which is a method for using science to guide the modification of programs that are not working as planned. In AD, a program that is not making progress is identified; next, hypotheses regarding the cause of this problem are identified. Then, tests of each hypothesis are conducted. Some tests are brief experiments and others involve gathering facts about the learner that might provide clarity. For example, some learners may not have the requisite foundational skills (e.g., echoic behavior) to learn a more complex skill. Still others involve close examination of the flow-charted procedures using color coding to identify potential procedural flaws that can be tested or modified. I will present several cases that will demonstrate the AD procedure. One presentation will involve clients who appear to be waiting to be prompted, or who frequently respond incorrectly to seemingly get prompted. Given the hypothesis that prompts might function as reinforcers, and therefore strengthen waiting/incorrect responses, I will show how a reinforcer assessment of prompts might be conducted and how the results translated into more effective procedures.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
| COA | 1 | — |
Elbert Blakely received a Ph.D. in 1988 from Western Michigan in Psychology with a specialty in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). He has worked in the fields of developmental disabilities, mental health, behavior pharmacology, experimental analysis of behavior, organizational behavior management, and database design. Dr. Blakely has co-authored 25 articles and one book. The articles address research questions in the areas of the experimental analysis of behavior, applied behavior analysis, conceptual issues, and behavior pharmacology. Dr. Blakely is an Assistant Professor at Florida Institute of Technology, where he teaches courses in applied behavior analysis, radical behaviorism, and behavior pharmacology. He also provides consultation to organizations and providers who deliver ABA services to children and adults.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
258 research articles with practitioner takeaways
252 research articles with practitioner takeaways
239 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.