Running head: AUTISM CASE: BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION PLAN 1 10 AUTISM CASE: BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION PLAN Autism Case: Behavior Intervention Plan Meredith Barlow Prof: Terrance Bryant October 1, 2014 Autism Case: Behavior Intervention Plan Scenario 3 Johnny is a six-year-old child with autism. His communication skills are significantly deficient and he demonstrates a wide variety of problem behaviors. Most concerning is the tendency for him to demonstrate self injurious behavior that has recently increased in frequency and intensity. An ER visit was necessitated by a recent incident of this behavior. Some of Johnny's more intense characteristics related to autism spectrum disorders include repetitive and ritualistic behavior patterns and an apparent need to collect and acquire a variety of specific tangible items such as Hot Wheels cars and Legos. Johnny is generally only “well behaved” when access to these items is free and frequent. Introduction In this behavior intervention plan a case of Johnny who is six years old with autism I presented. This disorder is characterized by impaired communication which involves verbal and non-verbal and also impaired social interaction. This case is associated with restricted and receptive behavior. Johnny is deficient communication skills and demonstrates a variety of problems in the behaviors that he portrays. The most concerning is his tendency to show or demonstrates a self injurious behavior over the recent time. This has necessitated an ER visit due to his recent behavior incident. Autism spectrum disorders are some of his intense characteristics. This includes ritualistic and repetitive behavior patterns. This also includes his apparent need to collect some specific tangible objects or items such as Legos and Hot Wheels cars. He only behaves well when he accesses these objects. The target behavior The target behavior based on the information in the scenario is to ensure that Johnny becomes social and interact well with other children and family members. It is also intended that Johnny leave his behavior of finding company in specific tangible items such as Hot Wheels cars and Legos. He should also be taught to speak and communicate well using verbal and non-verbal signs kin which he is deficient. There is no cure for autism but corrective psychological treatments are carried out to ensure that Johnny’s behavior is reversed. These interventions are based on the beliefs of an individual and anecdotes as opposed to data and science. An ER visit will also target to assess the undesirable behaviors and disorders that are associated with autism in children. According to a research done by Groth-Marnat, G, (2003), many impairments and barriers to learning and communication can be corrected through the process of application of behavioral interventions and instructions in a systematic manner. There are two major goals or objectives in the process of reversing the impairment of learning and comm ...

1. Running head: AUTISM CASE: BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION
PLAN 1
10
AUTISM CASE: BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION PLAN
Autism Case: Behavior Intervention Plan
Meredith Barlow
Prof: Terrance Bryant
October 1, 2014
Autism Case: Behavior Intervention Plan
Scenario 3
Johnny is a six-year-old child with autism. His communication
skills are significantly deficient and he demonstrates a wide
variety of problem behaviors. Most concerning is the tendency
for him to demonstrate self injurious behavior that has recently
increased in frequency and intensity. An ER visit was
necessitated by a recent incident of this behavior. Some of
Johnny's more intense characteristics related to autism spectrum
disorders include repetitive and ritualistic behavior patterns and

2. an apparent need to collect and acquire a variety of specific
tangible items such as Hot Wheels cars and Legos. Johnny is
generally only “well behaved” when access to these items is
free and frequent.
Introduction
In this behavior intervention plan a case of Johnny who is six
years old with autism I presented. This disorder is characterized
by impaired communication which involves verbal and non-
verbal and also impaired social interaction. This case is
associated with restricted and receptive behavior. Johnny is
deficient communication skills and demonstrates a variety of
problems in the behaviors that he portrays. The most concerning
is his tendency to show or demonstrates a self injurious
behavior over the recent time. This has necessitated an ER visit
due to his recent behavior incident. Autism spectrum disorders
are some of his intense characteristics. This includes ritualistic
and repetitive behavior patterns. This also includes his apparent
need to collect some specific tangible objects or items such as
Legos and Hot Wheels cars. He only behaves well when he
accesses these objects.
The target behavior
The target behavior based on the information in the scenario is
to ensure that Johnny becomes social and interact well with
other children and family members. It is also intended that
Johnny leave his behavior of finding company in specific
tangible items such as Hot Wheels cars and Legos. He should
also be taught to speak and communicate well using verbal and
non-verbal signs kin which he is deficient. There is no cure for
autism but corrective psychological treatments are carried out to
ensure that Johnny’s behavior is reversed. These interventions
are based on the beliefs of an individual and anecdotes as
opposed to data and science. An ER visit will also target to
assess the undesirable behaviors and disorders that are
associated with autism in children.
According to a research done by Groth-Marnat, G, (2003),
many impairments and barriers to learning and communication

3. can be corrected through the process of application of
behavioral interventions and instructions in a systematic
manner. There are two major goals or objectives in the process
of reversing the impairment of learning and communication in
adults or children living with autism disorders. These goals
are:
1. The elimination or decrease of stereotyped, inappropriate and
maladaptive behaviors that are known to disrupt the social
functioning and the learning process of a child.
2. The increase in the appropriate and the desired social
functional behaviors. This will help the child to excel in .the
learning environment by developing good communication skills
both, verbal and non- verbal skills.
The importance of Antecedent stimuli and conditions in the
assessment of the target behavior
According to Dawson, G. (1989), antecedent stimuli are very
important in the assessment of the target behavior kin Johnny’s
case. An antecedent stimulus is the occurrence prior to a
behavior. An antecedent stimulus is a stimulus which is
responsible for maintaining an occurrence to become a
repetitive be the behavior. The maintained presence or absence
and continuous existence or inexistence of an antecedent
stimulus is known as the stimulus control. It is the defined as
the situation in which a behavior of some which can .be
undesirable is triggered by the presence or absence of a
stimulus In the case of assessing the target behavior of Johnny
who diagnosed of autism, the knowledge of stimulus control and
antecedent stimulus is very crucial. The behavior of Johnny to
demonstrate self injurious behavior should be assessed to
determine the antecedent stimulus behind it. Stimulus control on
the basis of his behavioral changes over time should also be
developed. This will helps the psychological assessors of
Johnny to determine his target behavior in order to find the best
behavioral interventions and instructions to use in order to help
him recover from these disorders associated with autism.

4. Motivation operation is a behaviorism concept that is used in
psychology of behavior. It refers to process of explaining the
effectiveness of consequences of operant conditioning in
different situations and moments in which a person is exposed
to. Operant conditioning is a type of conditioning in which the
behavior of a person modified through antecedents and
consequences e.g. through rewards and punishment. Johnny’s
behavior of being anti-social and the deficiencies in the
communication skills which has drove him to find company in
tangible items and objects such as Hot Wheels cars and Legos,
can be as a result operant conditioning. This may have been as a
result of the antecedents and the consequences that are
associated with antecedents.
Discriminative stimulus is a stimulus that discriminates between
closely related stimuli and respond positively only in the
presence of that stimulus. Discriminative stimulus can be
associated with a kind of reinforcement that exerts control over
a given form of behavior. Discriminative stimuli are known to
influence the occurrence operant response and thus can be
describe as the reason behind the change in behavior due the
rewards and punishment used to change ones behavior to a
desirable one. In Johnny’s case, the discriminative stimulus
might contribute well in the process of trying to reverse his
undesirable behavior caused by autism associated disorders. The
psychiatrist should be concerned on the process of locating and
identifying the cause of his undesired behavior and autism
disorders. He should try to apply the discriminative stimulus
reversed to behavior.
The importance of consequence stimuli and conditions in the
assessment of the target behavior
The use of consequence stimuli and conditions are very crucial
in the assessment of the target behavior in the case Johnny’s
autism disorder. Consequence stimulus and conditions shapes
the behavior of someone from childhood and this is influenced
by the conditions and the environment the one is exposed to.
Dawson, G. (1989) asserts that punishment and reinforcement

5. are the two core tools to influence the process of operant
conditioning. Reinforcement is la consequence that is known to
cause a particular behavior to occur more frequently.
Punishment is consequence that reduces the occurrence of a
behavior which has been more frequent before. In Johnny’s case
the interplay of reinforcement and punishment must have
enhanced the development of autism disorders which caused
Johnny to have impairments in communication in both verbal
and non-verbal signs. It is also a potential cause of his anti-
social behaviors and the behavior of finding company in objects
and items rather than his friends and family members.
Reinforcement can be categorized into three; these are positive
reinforcement, negative reinforcement and automatic
reinforcement. Positive reinforcement also referred to as
reinforcement will occur when a response or behavior is
followed by a stimulus that will encourage or increase the
frequency of a behavior. Negative reinforcement also known as
escape, it occurs when a behavior or a response is followed by
the removal a stimulus and thus increases the frequency of
occurrence of that behavior. Automatic reinforcement is an
occurrence that is evident when a person’s behavior creates an
outcome which is favorable without the influence of another
person.
In the view of Steege, M., & Watson, T. S. (2009), automatic
reinforcement can be categorized into to as automatic positive
reinforcement and automatic negative reinforcement. Automatic
positive reinforcement is one that occurs when an individual
obtains something out of his or her own behavior. Automatic
negative reinforcement is an occurrence which causes on to
escape or avoids something as a result of his or her behavior.
In the case of Johnny’s, automatic reinforcement which is
obtained or is a result of his own behaviors defined by cognitive
may have developed to form his behavior of being anti-social.
The development of autism and its related disorders can also be
attributed to automatic reinforcement which can be positive or
negative depending on the process of obtaining or avoiding

6. something.
Addressing the components of the SMIRC model in an FBA in
the Johnny’s case
The components of SMIRC model are:
1. S – stimulus
2. M – motivating operations
3. I – individual or organism variables
4. R – response
5. C – consequence
According to Cipani, E., & Schock, K. M. (2011), Functional
behavioral assessment (FBA) refers to the processes or
procedures that are developed to ascertain the reasons and the
purpose of the behaviors that are portrayed by individuals with
communication impairments and other severe cognitive
disabilities. This includes autism which is in Johnny’s case
above. Individuals cannot fully explain why they display those
behaviors and thus this procedures of assessing the functional
behaviors was developed. This is done by collecting date on the
environmental variable the influence the behavior of an
individual
In the functional behavioral assessment (FBA) is used to
address the components of the five components of the SMIRC.
These are covered and explained well in the assumptions that
taken in the assessment of the functional behaviors of
individuals and the organism. These assumptions are:
1. The challenging behaviors that affect individual have a
reason for their occurrence and do not occur in a vacuum.
2. A behavior occurs in reaction or response to a stimulus which
is identifiable.
3. The behaviors of individuals are strengthened or weaken by
the consequences of the responses that follow them.
4. Behaviors are believed to be forms of communication. One
should try to identify the message that is carried by a behavior.
It tells of the environment or situations in which one is exposed
to as either favorable or unfavorable.
5. Misbehavior is sometimes justifiable or understandable in

7. some circumstances. This might be a way in which one acts to
protect herself or escape a dangerous situation.
Ethical obligations or concerns that would be necessary to
address within the case scenario of Johnny
There are some of the ethical obligations, considerations and
concerns that are used in addressing the case of autism.
Individuals like Johnny that has autism and the associated
disorders need to be handled in a way that does not infringe in
to their rights to life and personal space and privacy. Groth-
Marnat, G. (2009) asserts that physicians are important in
correcting and reversing the psychological problem of
individuals but ethics must be observed in carrying out the
process. Some of these ethical obligations and concerns in the
Johnny autism case include:
1. The respect for individual’s autonomy
2. Equal opportunity at work and in school
The respect for individual’s autonomy
Autonomy is the act of making decisions on your own. This is
one of the ethical issues in the process of carrying out
psychological assessments and the provision of behavioral
instructions and interventions to individual. The physicians
should not go deeper to an extent of affecting the autonomy in
decision making of an individual. In Johnny’s case of autism,
the physician should provide the corrective measures of
restoring the communication skills and social behavior and not
to the extent of affecting his autonomy development. When the
autonomy is limited one will only be relying on decisions made
by others.
Equal opportunity at work and in school
Hersen, M., & Thomas, J. C. (2003) suggested that there are
differences in the behaviors that students and workmates
exhibit. These behavioral differences should not be taken to
discriminate students at school or workmates at work. There can
be no point at which the individuals bear the same behavior.
Johnny has autism and the related disorders and he should not
be discriminated at school since he has poor communication

8. skills both the verbal and the non-verbal skills. He has the right
to equal opportunity in schools like other children who do not
have autism and the related disorders.
Conclusion
In conclusion, behavior intervention plan provides the behavior
strategies in which a psychological disturbed child or an adult
can be assessed and given the necessary corrections. The
undesired behaviors that are caused by environmental factors
that surround a person can be corrected through behavior
intervention plan. In the case of Johnny with autism, he can be
made to be social and find a company in friends by carrying out
a behavior intervention process on him.
References
Cipani, E., & Schock, K. M. (2011). Functional behavioral
assessment, diagnosis, and treatment: A complete system for
education and mental health settings. New York: Springer Pub.
Dawson, G. (1989). Autism: Nature, diagnosis, and treatment.
New York: Guilford Press.
Groth-Marnat, G (2003). Handbook of Psychological
Assessment, (4th ed). John Wiley & Sons
Groth-Marnat, G. (2009). Handbook of psychological
assessment. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
Hersen, M., & Thomas, J. C. (2003). Comprehensive handbook
of psychological assessement. New York: Wiley.
Steege, M., & Watson, T. S. (2009). Conducting School-Based
Functional Behavioral Assessments, Second Edition: A
Practitioner's Guide. New York: Guilford Press.
Research Paper and Presentation
The final research paper is 8-10 pages.
It follows good essay structure with an introduction plus thesis,
body, and conclusion.

9. You must use APA formatting: See web links for video tutorial
on how to format APA style.
The paper must have references and in-text citations.
You will conduct an original investigation into one of these
sociolinguistic phenomenon or question. Then, you will match
your results to the data provided in the assigned readings for
this class.
Primary research means that you will conduct a survey or do
your own analysis.
1. What are some documented differences in the discourse styles
of men and women? Select a particular group to research.
Identify the sociolinguistic principles affecting these
differences.
1. Analyze the dialog of two characters in a movie or
novel/short story.
2. Collect sample conversations from one couple to analyze
3. Select a group that has not been analyzed previously or look
at a language group that has gender differences in its language.
· Identify a language policy in the U.S. and its effects. This
policy might be governmental, educational, or associated with a
business.
· How do immersion language programs mimic first language
acquisition? Choose one to analyze. Some possible programs are
Total Physical Response, The Silent Way, The Defense
Language Institute, and Language Camps. Participate in one of
these methods and keep a journal of your experience or people

10. who have learned a language through one of these methods.
· Languages are being lost at an alarming rate, what can be done
to reverse this language loss? Use one example language
(interview someone from that language group). Some possible
authors to read are Fishman, Crawford, and Reyhner.
· Overall the US is a multi-lingual country, but the amount of
multilingualism may vary from area to area. Take the area
where you live and explore the multilingual nature.
1. Usually, immigrant languages are lost by the third
generation. Another possibility is to explore how certain
populations have been able to maintain their heritage languages.
· If you have a young child, keep a daily journal (recordings are
good too) of sounds, words, or sentences produced by the child.
Compare your data to information about language acquisition.