Dixon, M. R., Peach, J., Daar, J. H., & Penrod, C. (2017). Teaching complex verbal operants to children with autism and establishing generalization using the PEAK curriculum. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, n/a-n/a. doi:10.1002/jaba.373
Reviewed by: Donnell C. Major, Master’s Candidate, and Frank R. Cicero, PhD, BCBA, Seton Hall University
Why research this topic?
Intensive behavioral teaching at a young age, more commonly referred to as Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI), has been found to be an empirically supported intervention for young children on the autism spectrum. Due to its research-based support, commercially available assessment and curriculum packages have been developed to semi-standardize the EIBI instruction and evaluation procedures. One of these packages is the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge or PEAK Curriculum. Based on the verbal behavior theories of B.F. Skinner, the PEAK promotes the teaching of 184 distinct skills through contingency-based learning and skill generalization. Unfortunately, although this curriculum is being used in practice to guide instruction and evaluate learner progress, there have been no published studies investigating the ability of a commercially-available, manualized curriculum to teach and generalize complex verbal operants.
What did the researchers do?
The acquisition and generalization of three verbal skills taught through the PEAK’s Generalization Module was investigated with three young children with autism spectrum disorder. Instruction followed the PEAK contingency-based model and was administered in the children’s typical classrooms. Instruction with the PEAK was conducted each school day for approximately 30-60 minutes. The primary research question was whether or not skills taught through the PEAK curriculum would generalize to novel stimuli. Three specific skills were used as targets: 1) the ability to be creative in problem solving (PEAK Generalization Program 141: Creativity Paths); 2) the use of words or phrases to increase likelihood that a request will be honored (PEAK Generalization Program 13P: Autoclitic Mands); and 3) the ability to lie or change facts from the truth when commenting on the environment (PEAK Generalization Program 7D: Distorted Tacts). During treatment, responses were introduced and practiced within discrete trial teaching sessions. After establishing preferences through a data-based preference assessment, correct responses were reinforced with preferred tangibles. Incorrect responses were followed by a least-to-most prompting hierarchy to prompt a correct response. Progress data were collected as per PEAK curriculum instructions. Skill generalization was assessed through the administration of trials using novel stimuli in place of stimuli used in teaching trials.
What did the researchers find?
As predicted, the three skills introduced through the PEAK curriculum were successfully acquired by all three learners. Skill acquisition was established through direct teaching using a combination of differential reinforcement and prompting. With regard to the generalization of learned skills, results indicated that all three skills taught through the PEAK Generalization Module generalized to novel stimuli without the need for further instruction.
What are the strengths and limitations of the study?
The study provided an experimentally sound display of the ability of a commercially available curriculum package to increase generalizable, verbal behavior in young children with autism. The study used a rigorous experimental design and was replicated across three participants. Instruction was provided directly within the learners’ typical classrooms, increasing social validity of the procedures.
There were limitations of the study with regard to the specific skill areas that were taught. For example, although the PEAK curriculum teaches the difference between a distorted and an accurate tact (i.e., lies vs. truth), it does not teach when it is appropriate to engage in a distorted versus an accurate tact. In addition, the relative similarity between the stimuli used in training and in generalization trials could have inflated generalization responses. The generalization data may be different if more dissimilar materials were used instead.
What do the results mean?
Based on these results, we have preliminary evidence that a manualized curriculum and instructional guide, such as the PEAK, can be used to promote generalized skills in young learners with autism. This may lead to increased standardization of EIBI curricula and procedures, saving instructional time and improving learner outcomes. Data also provide support for the use of Skinner’s verbal behavior theories in the conceptualization of human language development, specifically as related to the verbal behavior of young children with autism.
Citation for this article:
Major, D. C., & Cicero, F. R. (2019). Research synopsis: Teaching complex verbal operants to children with autism and establishing generalization using the PEAK curriculum. Science in Autism Treatment, 16(10).
