Alpine Learning Group is a state approved, private special education school in Paramus, New Jersey, United States. Established in 1988, the school serves students aged 3 to 21 with autism spectrum disorder, and it is known to be a prestigious educational and research facility utilizing applied behavior analysis (ABA) services.Although private schools are often independently operated, Alpine is tuition-free.
In grassland ecosystem management, mowing influences the tolerance mechanism of plants by modifying their growth and reproductive traits; however, the specific processes involved remain unclear. This study focused on the Elymus species (Elymus nutans ‘Aba’, Elymus sibiricus ‘Qingmu No.1’, Elymus submuticus ‘Tongde’, Elymus breviaristatus ‘Tongde’, and Elymus sibiricus ‘Tongde’) and systematically evaluated the effects of different mowing intensities (no mowing, light, moderate, and heavy mowing) at three growth stages (jointing, booting, and flowering) on plant tolerance and the role of growth and reproductive traits in this mechanism. The results revealed that mowing generally reduced plant height and the reproductive branch quantity, while significantly increasing the tiller number, seedling number, and relative growth rate. However, the responses of rhizome length and vegetative branch height varied across the growth stages. Mowing during the jointing stage had the most significant effect on morphological traits, with vegetative reproduction contributing the most to tolerance and increasing with mowing intensity. Overall, the plant response to mowing timing was more pronounced than its response to changes in individual traits. Moderate mowing at the jointing stage significantly increased growth rate, tiller number, and seedling number, thereby enhancing mowing tolerance. In contrast, heavy mowing at the booting and flowering stages markedly reduced reproductive branch quantity and rhizome length, resulting in diminished mowing tolerance. The study indicated that differences in the mowing stage and forage species regulated adaptive changes in growth and reproductive traits, thereby influencing tolerance mechanisms. Grassland management should fully consider the effects of mowing at different growth stages to optimize the utilization and management of the Elymus grasslands.
Despite the vast amount of research on increasing independence for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, there is a lack of research on techniques for fostering independent on-task behavior and accuracy in the absence of an instructor. Though increasing distance of the instructor and altering reinforcer delivery have been shown in a few studies to produce independence in the absence of an instructor, no study to date has compared the effects of systematic fading and complete removal of an instructor. In the current study, we evaluated the effects of three conditions on the on-task behavior and accuracy of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: instructor present (instructor with participant and conditioned reinforcers delivered within session ), instructor absent (instructor not with the participant and no within-session conditioned reinforcers), and instructor fading (gradual, systematic fading of instructor and thinning of within-session conditioned reinforcers). Across all three participants, the intervention was effective in maintaining criterion levels of on-task behavior and accuracy. Responding generalized to novel instructors and remained high during maintenance evaluations for all participants. Clinicians rated the procedures as having high social validity.
We used an adapted alternating treatments design to compare the effects of traditional and embedded discrete trial teaching (DTT) with adults with autism. Traditional DTT consisted of the instructor presenting a discriminative stimulus to start each trial (“Point to___”), implementing a prompt (i.e., manual guidance), and providing reinforcement (i.e., praise and token) for correct responding. Embedded DTT consisted of presenting this same trial structure within an ongoing activity (e.g., playing bean bag toss). The percentage of correct responses improved with the introduction of both types of DTT; however, for both participants, embedded DTT showed faster acquisition (i.e., fewer trials to criterion) but longer session durations than traditional DTT. Participants showed more positive affect during embedded DTT and chose it more often relative to traditional DTT. These results replicated and extended the results of Geiger et al. (Behav Anal Pract 5(2):49–59, 2012. 10.1007/bf03391823) and have implications for considering participant assent and interest in ABA-based instruction.
