Promoting Happiness Among Adults With Autism On The Severe End Of - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Promoting Happiness Among Adults With Autism On The Severe End Of The Spectrum: Evidence-Based Strategies

Dennis H. Reid, Ph.D., BCBA

Why Focus on Happiness?

n Pursuit of happiness is a fundamental

right

n Happiness a primary concern of family

members

n Reductions in problem behavior

Evidence Base

n LITERATURE REVIEWS

n Dillon & Carr (2007). Assessing indices of

happiness and unhappiness in individuals with developmental disabilities. Behavioral Interventions, 22, 229-244.

n Reid & Green (2006). Life enjoyment,

happiness, and antecedent behavior

• support. In J.K. Luiselli (Ed.), Antecedent

assessment & intervention. (pp. 249-268). Baltimore, Brookes Publishing.

n More later . . .

In Some Ways, Happiness a Risky Venture in ABA

n A private event n Usually measured by verbal report – can be

risky

n Verbal reports very difficult for people who

lack vocal communication

n Still, happiness is viewed by society as

important . . .

n For people with intellectual disabilities, it should

not be taken for granted; it should be targeted and addressed like any other desired outcome

Qualifications

n Happiness on day-to-day basis vs.

major lifestyle changes

n Focus on happiness and personal

growth

n That is, not in place of personal growth

Evidence-Based Protocol to Promote Happiness

n Identify indices of happiness and

unhappiness

n Validate identified indices n Act to increase situations accompanied

by happiness indices

n Act to decrease situations accompanied

by unhappiness indices

n Monitor and evaluate routinely

Identifying Indices of Happiness and Unhappiness

n Common indices

n Happiness: smiling, laughing, yelling while

smiling

n Unhappiness: frowning, grimacing, crying,

yelling without smiling Qualification for people with severe disabilities

Identifying Happiness Indices: Caregiver Opinion

n Common practice n Concerns with validity n To promote validity:

n Ensure familiarity of caregivers n Obtain caregiver consensus

Identifying Happiness Indices: Preference Assessments

n How preference assessments relate to

indices of happiness and unhappiness

Validating Happiness and Unhappiness Indices

n Identify situations in which a person

usually experiences happiness and unhappiness

n Observe indices in above situations n Compare occurrence of indices across

situations

n Provide repeated choices

REFERENCE Identifying and Validating Indices of Happiness and Unhappiness among Adults with Autism (and severe intellectual disabilities)

Parsons, M. B., Reid, D. H., Bentley, E., Inman, A., & Lattimore, L. P. (2012). Identifying indices of happiness and unhappiness among adults with autism: Potential targets for behavioral assessment and

• intervention. Behavior Analysis in Practice,5, 15-25

www.abainternational.org

Increasing Happiness

n The importance of personal

relationships

n Role of familiarity of staff n Preferred vs. nonpreferred status of staff

Familiarizing New Staff for Working with Adults Severe Disabilities: A Case for Relationship Building

Parsons, M.B., Bentley, E., Solari, T., & Reid, D.H. (in press). Behavior Analysis in Practice

Purpose

n Evaluate effects of familiar vs.

unfamiliar staff on behavior of adults with autism on severe end of spectrum

n Evaluate effects of a familiarization

process for new staff

General Procedures

n Setting (work focus) n Participants

n

4 men with features of autism on the severe end of the spectrum

n DVs: happiness and unhappiness

indices, compliance, problem behavior,

• n task

n Familiarization program: fun time and

phase-in

20 40 60 80 100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

20 40 60 80 100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Familiar Experienced Staff and Unfamiliar Experienced Staff Percentage of Instructions with Participant Compliance

• ● Familiar

○ ○ Unfamiliar Participant

• Mr. Lutz

Participant

• Mr. Fox

Observation Sessions

S1 S2 S3 S4

Developing a Relationship: Summary

n Spend time doing things that the

person likes to do

n Fun Time Program

n Establish familiarity (phase-in) n Occurrence of happiness indices during

interactions suggests a good relationship

Increasing Happiness

n The power of pleasant social attention n Impact on some problem behavior

Increasing Happiness

n Providing individual choices n Choice opportunities must be provided

based on individual skill level for responding with a meaningful choice

LICS

Increasing Happiness

n Accessing preferences n Two-step process

n 1) identify individual preferences n 2) embed in daily activities

n Initial procedure to reduce problem

behavior

Increasing Happiness by Reducing Unhappiness

n Rationale: continuum of happiness and

unhappiness

n Impact on some problem behavior n Process

n Identify situation with unhappiness indices n Eliminate the situation if possible n Alter the situation

Making Undesired Activities More Enjoyable: Example

n Preference-Based Teaching

n Reid & Green (2005) n

www.behaviordevelopmentsolutions.com

n Rationale

n Some learners engage in challenging

behavior to escape or avoid teaching programs

n If teaching programs are fun, no need for

challenging behavior

To Effectively Promote Happiness . . .

n Happiness should be a goaled, desired

• utcome just like more traditional
• utcomes

n Must have behavioral objectives for

monitoring and increasing/maintaining happiness (indices)

n Informally, how often do we see

individuals happy and unhappy?

Don’t Forget Support Staff

n It is unlikely staff will effectively promote

consumer happiness if staff are frequently discontented with their work environment

Reference for Increasing Happiness

n Reid, D.H. (2016). Promoting Happiness

Among Adults with Autism and Other Severe Disabilities: Evidence-Based Strategies.

n www.behaviordevelopmentsolutions.com

n Contact: n Denny Reid; drhmc@vistatech.net