Derived Relational Responding Applications for Learners with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities: A Progressive Guide to Change

402 Pages·2009·3.247 MB·English

by  Ruth Anne Rehfeldt, Yvonne Barnes-Holmes

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Breakthrough Applied Behavior Analytic Techniques ic r PRACTICAL
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This book offers a series of revolutionary intervention programs for applied L R
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work in human language and cognition targeted at students with autism and a
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other developmental disabilities. It presents a program drawn from derived stimu- e
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advanced verbal, social, and cognitive skills. t n
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The first part of this book provides step-by-step instructions for helping students t
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learn relationally, acquire rudimentary verbal operants, and develop other basic
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language skills. In the second section of this book, you’ll find ways to enhance n s
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students’ receptive and expressive repertoires by developing their ability to read, O o and Other Developmental Disabilities
spell, construct sentences, and use grammar. Finally, you’ll find out how to teach th n
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students to apply the skills they’ve learned to higher order cognitive and social r

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functions, including perspective-taking, empathy, mathematical reasoning, intel- e n
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ligence, and creativity. This applied behavior analytic training approach will help l Three sections of skill-building
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students make many substantial and lasting gains in language and cognition not p strategies to help individuals with
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possible with traditional interventions. e developmental disabilities:
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l 2 Establish prerequisite skills for normal language
D Progressive
RUTH ANNE REHFELDT, PH.D., BCBA, is an associate professor in the Rehabilitation i
s 2 Acquire early relational operants
Institute of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. She holds doctoral and master’s degrees a
b
in psychology from the University of Nevada and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the i
li Guide to 2 Speak with meaning & listen with understanding
University of Puget Sound. She is also a board-certified behavior analyst. t
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s 2
Read with comprehension
YVONNE BARNES-HOLMES, PH.D., is a lecturer in psychology in the department of psy-
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chology at the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, Ireland. A Change 2
Use appropriate syntax
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Foreword writer STEVEN C. HAYES, PH.D., is a University of Nevada Foundation Professor of E 2
E H Develop reasoning, problem solving & creativity
Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is author of innumerable books and scientific S
- F
articles, including the successful acceptance and commitment therapy workbook Get Out of Your H E 2 Be more empathetic, observant & self-regulating
Mind and Into Your Life. O L
D
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T
ISBN: 978-1-57224-536-5 M
E
57995 S
EDITED BY RUTH ANNE REHFELDT, PH.D., BCBA
&
YVONNE BARNES-HOLMES, PH.D.
newharbingerpublications, inc.
www.newharbinger.com 9 781572 245365 FOREWORD BY STEVEN C. HAYES, PH.D.

Derived Relational Responding
Applications for Learners
with Autism and Other
Developmental Disabilities
A Progressive Guide to Change
EDITED BY
RUTH ANNE REHFELDT, PH.D., BCBA
& YVONNE BARNES-HOLMES, PH.D.
Context Press
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
Publisher’s Note
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with
the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert
assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books
Copyright © 2009 by Ruth Anne Rehfeldt and Yvonne Barnes-Holmes
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
5674 Shattuck Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
www.newharbinger.com
All Rights Reserved
Acquired by Catharine Sutker; Cover design by Amy Shoup;
Edited by Karen Stein; Text design by Tracy Carlson
A copublication of New Harbinger Publications and Noetic Books
PDF ISBN: 978-1-57224-874-8
The Library of Congress cataloged the print edition as:
Derived relational responding : applications for learners with autism and other developmental disabilities / edited by Ruth Anne
Rehfeldt and Yvonne Barnes-Holmes ; foreword by Steven C. Hayes.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57224-536-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-57224-536-0 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Autistic children--Rehabilitation. 2. Developmentally disabled children--Rehabilitation. I. Rehfeldt, Ruth Anne. II. Barnes-
Holmes, Yvonne.
[DNLM: 1. Autistic Disorder--rehabilitation. 2. Association Learning. 3. Conditioning, Operant. 4. Developmental Disabilities-
-rehabilitation. 5. Reinforcement (Psychology) WM 203.5 D598 2009]
RJ506.A9D457 2009
362.198’9285882--dc22
2008052211
Contents
Series Editor Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
FOREWORD
An Applied Behavioral Psychology of Language and Cognition . . .ix
Introduction and Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
PART 1
Establishing the Prerequisites for Normal Language
CHAPTER 1
Reinforcer Identification Strategies and Teaching Learner
Readiness Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Thomas S. Higbee, Utah State University
CHAPTER 2
The Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) and Its
Relation to the Development of Stimulus Relations in Persons
with Autism and Other Intellectual Disabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
W. Larry Williams and Marianne L. Jackson, University of Nevada, Reno
CHAPTER 3
Observing Responses: Foundations of Higher-Order
Verbal Operants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Dolleen-Day Keohane and Jo Ann Pereira Delgado, Columbia University
Teachers College and CABAS; and R. Douglas Greer, Columbia University
Graduate School of Arts and Science Teachers College
CHAPTER 4
Joint Attention and Social Referencing in Infancy as
Precursors of Derived Relational Responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Martha Peláez, Florida International University
CHAPTER 5
Establishing Mand and Tact Repertoires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Linda A. LeBlanc and Courtney M. Dillon, Western Michigan University;
and Rachael A. Sautter, Y.A.L.E. School
PART 2
Speaking with Meaning and Listening with Understanding
CHAPTER 6
Nonrelational and Relational Instructional Control . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Jonathan Tarbox, Center for Autism & Related Disorders; Rachel S. F.
Tarbox, Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles; and
Denis O’Hora, National University of Ireland, Galway
CHAPTER 7
Naming and Frames of Coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Caio F. Miguel, California State University, Sacramento; and
Anna I. Petursdottir, Texas Christian University
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
iv Derived Relational Responding
CHAPTER 8
Acquiring the Earliest Relational Operants: Coordination,
Difference, Opposition, Comparison, and Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . 149
Carmen Luciano, Miguel Rodríguez, Israel Mañas, and Francisco Ruiz,
University of Almeria, Spain; Nicholas M. Berens, Center for Advanced
Learning, Reno; Sonsoles Valdivia-Salas, University of Albany, New York
CHAPTER 9
Applying Relational Operants to Reading and Spelling . . . . . . . . 171
Deisy G. de Souza, Julio C. de Rose, and Camila Domeniconi, Universidade
Federal de São Carlos, Brazil
CHAPTER 10
Syntax, Grammatical Transformation, and Productivity:
A Synthesis of Stimulus Sequences, Equivalence Classes,
and Contextual Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Harry A. Mackay, Northeastern University and Praxis Inc.; and Lanny Fields,
Queens College and the Graduate School of the City University of New York
CHAPTER 11
Extending Functional Communication Through
Relational Framing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Rocio Rosales and Ruth Anne Rehfeldt, Southern Illinois University
PART 3
Self, Reasoning, Problem Solving, and Creativity
CHAPTER 12
Training Analogical Reasoning as Relational Responding . . . . . . 257
Ian Stewart, National University of Ireland, Galway; Dermot Barnes-Holmes,
National University of Ireland, Maynooth; and Tim Weil, University of
Nevada, Reno
v
CHAPTER 13
Understanding and Training Perspective Taking as
Relational Responding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Louise McHugh, University of Wales, Swansea; and Yvonne Barnes-Holmes
and Dermot Barnes-Holmes, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
CHAPTER 14
Establishing Empathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Sonsoles Valdivia-Salas, University of Albany, New York; Carmen Luciano, University
of Almeria, Spain; Olga Gutiérrez-Martinez, University of Central Barcelona, Spain;
and Carmelo Visdómine, Justice Administration, Madrid, Spain
CHAPTER 15
Mathematical Reasoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Chris Ninness, James Holland, Glen McCuller, Robin Rumph, Sharon Ninness,
and Jennifer McGinty, Stephen F. Austin State University; and Mark Dixon,
Southern Illinois University
CHAPTER 16
Developing Self-Directed Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Carmen Luciano, University of Almeria, Spain; Sonsoles Valdivia-Salas,
University of Albany, New York; Francisco Cabello-Luque, Universigy of
Murcia, Spain; and Monica Hernandez, Universigy of Jaén, Spain
CHAPTER 17
Teaching Flexible, Intelligent, and Creative Behavior . . . . . . . . . . 353
Catriona O’Toole, Carol Murphy, and Dermot Barnes-Holmes, National University
of Ireland, Maynooth; Jennifer O’Connor, ABACAS, Kilbarrack, Ireland
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
vi Derived Relational Responding
Dear reader,
Welcome to New Harbinger Publications. New Harbinger is dedicated to publishing
books based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and its application to spe-
cific areas. New Harbinger has a long-standing reputation as a publisher of quality, well-
researched books for general and professional audiences.
Most existing books in the ACT series focus on teaching either practitioners or
members of the general public how to develop acceptance and mindfulness skills, and
how to apply those skills to various aspects of their experience. Although theoretical con-
structs and concepts are discussed to some extent in these books, they never take center
stage. This book is different. It explicitly deals with relational frame theory, a new behav-
ioral psychology of language and cognition that has emerged on many fronts over the
past thirty years. Human behavior is qualitatively different from and more complex than
animal behavior, and many would agree that it is the complexity of human language and
cognition that sets us apart from nonhuman animals. So making advances in understand-
ing how language and cognition work to our advantage and to our detriment is truly
important.
One of the goals of acceptance and commitment therapy is to help people move
beyond the tyranny of the mind that brings so much unnecessary suffering into the lives
of virtually all of us—not just people with clinical diagnoses. Because RFT provides an
understanding of how the mind works, it is helpful for an ACT therapist (and in fact
any other therapist) to know and understand RFT. However, psychotherapy is only one
application of RFT, and this book makes it clear that RFT has much broader practical
implications and applications. A glance at the table of contents will immediately show
the incredibly broad scope of RFT. Indeed, what sets this book apart from other books
on RFT is the formidable range of areas and applied topics from education and clinical
psychology that are covered in it. Several of the chapters examine specific skills that are
essential to all human functioning, such as reasoning (including mathematical reasoning),
perspective taking, and establishing empathy. All chapters present a balance of theory,
empirical data, and specific applications that bring theoretical concepts to life—often in
the form of real-life or case examples. The authors also offer useful suggestions on how to
apply RFT knowledge in a variety of contexts.
As part of New Harbinger’s commitment to publishing books based on sound, scien-
tific, clinical research, we oversee all prospective books for the Acceptance and Commitment
Therapy Series. Serving as ACT series editors, we comment on proposals and offer guid-
ance as needed, and use a gentle hand in making suggestions regarding the content,
depth, and scope of each book.
Books in the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Series:

Have an adequate database, appropriate to the strength of the claims
being made.

Are theoretically coherent. They will fit with the ACT model and under-
lying behavioral principles as they have evolved at the time of writing.

Orient the reader toward unresolved empirical issues.

Do not overlap needlessly with existing volumes.