Behavioral Detectives: A Staff Training Exercise Book in Applied Behavior Analysis

Known as the “Dark Overlord of ABA”, Dr. Bobby Newman is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst, and has his license to practice as a Psychologist. He was a contributing author for numerous other book projects and wrote more than two dozen articles concerning the field of applied behavior analysis. He also provides treatments, staff training, and consultations worldwide, and has received honors for his work by parents and professionals alike. Moreover, Dana R. Reinecke is also a Licensed Psychologist and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst, and her work focuses mainly on consulting for school and home programs for children on the autism spectrum. She is also an online instructor for the American College of Applied Science (Newman & Reinecke, 2007).

Both of the professionals previously mentioned are the primary authors of Behavioral Detectives: A Staff Training Exercise Book in Applied Behavior Analysis, along with various other contributing writers, consisting of other Behavioral Analysts, parents of children with autism, Special Education teachers, and Social Workers, who each have their own individual chapters. This essay will provide a review of this particular book, highlighting the main points, behavioral principles discussed and their importance in society, and whether or not the target audience was reached.

The authors’ purpose in publishing this book is to inform teachers, professionals who work in the field of applied behavior analysis, psychologists who work with children on the autism spectrum or who have other developmental disabilities, and parents of children with developmental disabilities and/or autism about how to implement behavioral principles properly in order to achieve individual goals in modifying behavior in accordance to the needs of each child. Through the use of this knowledge, each child will have an improved quality of life, in school and in other aspects of life, through the use of basic behavioral analytic principles. The material presented in this book is very easy to read and absorb, for not only is it clear and concise, but it’s also entertaining, providing humor intermittently throughout each chapter.

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This book is also cleverly set up as a series of detective mysteries, hence the title of the book, Behavioral Detectives, which one can make presumptions about in terms of what the solutions may be before turning to the back of the book to see what the actual solution was. The language is accessible and very easy to comprehend, even for those who aren’t familiar with the technical language pertaining to the behavioral principles being examined. The length of the book at only two-hundred and sixty pages, along with the larger font that is used, contribute to the accessibility of how it is written, guaranteeing it a simple read for any adult interested in the topic.

Throughout this instructional manual of sorts, case studies regarding distinct types of situations involving the reinforcement or punishment of behaviors in educational settings are briefly explained, demonstrating how each case isn’t being handled effectively and the problems with how the interventions are being presented. To educate on how each scenario should’ve played out, the authors include solutions to each problem in terms of how the behavioral interventions were executed, so that in the future, these interventions are applied correctly, which, in turn, will decrease undesirable behaviors and increase desirable behaviors in students who are exposed to ABA. Individual to each case study, behavioral principles, like negative punishment, differential reinforcement, and extinction, just a few of the many principles observed through the total of 59 case studies, are applied through the use of programs, including token economy and motivation, and techniques that involve the removal or addition of reinforcers, prompting, and the like in order to increase desirable behavior or to decrease undesirable behavior. These behaviors could be anything from inappropriate social behaviors, disobeying instructions from teachers and aides, self-injurious behaviors, and any other behaviors that inhibit the success of the child in school and in life as a whole.

As stated, throughout Behavioral Detectives, a series of case studies and solutions are presented, and each situation discussed is equally as unique as the next and require distinctive behavioral interventions. Behavioral modification techniques are not “one size fits all”; every child responds differently to various versions of these methods. Additionally, some children don’t respond well to different types of behavioral interventions simply because they’re implemented improperly. For example, described in Case Study #1 was how Nancy, a preschooler diagnosed with Trisomy 21, was prescribed a treatment plan that incorporated token economy with a response-cost procedural element in order to increase the frequency of refraining from engagement in aggressive behaviors, such as slapping (Newman and Reinecke, 2007, p. 13). Her reward for disengaging in slapping would be computer time, which was her choice, but because of the manner in which this program was used, she rarely earned any rewards and lost tokens rather quickly, which were penalties for her aggressive behaviors.

Thereafter, Newman (2007) proposed that the administration of the reinforcement wasn’t working, for Nancy started out with 25 tokens and would only receive reinforcement if there were any left after three-hour intervals (p. 132). “With such a system, the consequence (Nancy earns a reinforcer from the menu) is the same regardless of whether she slapped no times, 1 time, or 24 times!” (p. 132) The system was changed inevitably, and the staff working with Nancy moved to having her earn the tokens by not engaging in the undesirable behavior for a certain period of time, designated by a timer, and after earning enough tokens, she would be able to cash them in for a reinforcer. After this differential reinforcement program was put in place, replacing the old program, her slapping behaviors reduced significantly. This is just one of many instances in the book in which the author effectively solved a problem of social importance and had the data to support how effective it truly was.

Similar to Nancy’s case, Newman draws from his day-to-day experiences as a behavior analyst to highlight how simple behavioral principles are applied erroneously more frequently than one, especially in the field of behavior analysis, would deem acceptable when it pertains to improving the quality of life of autistic and developmentally disabled children. Supplementary accounts from parents and other professionals in the fields of psychology and education are examined as well, detailing struggles prevalently experienced both at home and in school settings. Jeff Samuel, in Case Study #58, anecdotally articulates how potty training his autistic son, Dylan, was at the forefront of the goals that he desired for his son to achieve through his ABA program (Newman and Reinecke, 2007, p. 128). He claims that the type of reinforcement should be task-specific, the reinforcer should be “immediate and awesome”, and that consistency between therapists and parents is essential to the effectiveness of the reinforcement (p. 128).

A motivational reward system was designed, thusly, calling it the “Potty Lotto”, to encourage the therapists to encourage Dylan to use the bathroom appropriately; they would occasionally receive a reward if Dylan used the toilet properly (p. 248). After two months, Dylan was successfully potty trained, and the therapists were given not one, but two reasons, to be happy. When it pertains to this particular case study involving Dylan and potty training, the information given is so important to know, for this is a basic adaptive skill that every child should obtain early on in life. With the data supporting that this program indeed works, this can be employed across the board in other ABA in-home and in-school curriculums. This can be said for all of the other program solutions provided as well throughout the book.

Social competence comprises a myriad of skills needed to appropriately function in society and engage with others. In the case of Patrick, who was diagnosed with moderate mental retardation, from Case Study #38 on page 85, his ability to socialize, specifically in terms of greeting others, came to be a bit excessive. He was consistently repeating the word “hello”, and its overuse, even when people weren’t in the room with him, constituted that he didn’t quite understand how to properly use the greeting. Therefore, an extinction plan was put in place, and this involved ignoring the greeting. However, the behavior was still continuing. What the staff working with Patrick didn’t realize was that they were intermittently reinforcing his behavior, for when he was appropriately using the greeting, they would respond, but other than that they wouldn’t respond. “Common sense logic might suggest that this lesser level of reinforcement might lead to behavior that more easily extinguishes. In fact, the opposite effect is generally noted” (Newman and Reinecke, 2007, p. 213).

Since extinction didn’t seem to be the best treatment plan for Patrick’s behavior of excessively repeating the word “hello”, Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates of behavior was implemented instead, ensuring that the behavior is being reinforced after a long period of time has elapsed when which it becomes an appropriate use of the word. Because of this method of treatment used, Patrick’s behavior of greeting decreased to a rate that was socially-appropriate, indicating that this intervention was a success (p. 215). This is merely another illustration of how behavioral principles work and how they do relate to problems of social importance. Social skills are crucial in adapting to and integrating into society successfully, and these applied principles are providing further pathways to improving these skills in many children who have deficits in these particular areas of functioning.

Behavioral Detectives delivers a case-by-case representation of the everyday use of behavioral principles with the purpose of modifying behavior in special needs youths, and these cases are delivered in a way that is both thoughtful and quirky and fully addresses in universal terms what the essence of behavior analysis is and how it contributes positively to society. This book, furthermore, explains how successful these behavioral principles are by detailing many different circumstances that were altered for the better by applying behavior analytic principles, achieving its purpose in supporting the credibility of behavior analysis as an applied science. The intended audience was indeed reached, for it is a relatable and insightful literary work for anyone working with children with autism or developmental disabilities, anyone planning to work with special needs children, and for the parents of these same children.

This particular book’s strengths lie within the fact that it is written by not just professionals in the field of behavior analysis, but by parents, teachers, and psychologists who have individual experiences in observing these behavioral principles at work and who each observe these situations through unique lenses. It shows all facets of what is encompassed in behavior analysis, which requires the involvement of everyone, from therapists to teachers to parents, for ABA interventions to be effective in treating children and allowing for their growth and eventual success in whatever areas with which they struggle. It also demonstrates the versatility of behavioral analytic principles, for they can be applied to various and distinct types of situations that which necessitate the employment of these principles.

Before reading through Behavioral Detectives, I wasn’t aware of the many specific ways that these behavioral principles are applied, and of course some of the principles that weren’t covered in class as of yet were new to me, such as avoidance, ratio schedules of reinforcement, and differential reinforcement, among multiple other classifications of behavioral principles. I feel as though I’ve gained a lot of introductory, yet useful, knowledge that I can benefit from when I begin on my journey to becoming a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst myself. Quite frankly, also, I would recommend this book to anyone I know, for it’s an enjoyable and educational read for anyone, whether they know about the topic and are interested or don’t know about it and have the potential to gain interest in it.

Perhaps recommending this book to others will indirectly start a chain reaction of awareness about applied behavior analysis, and it will lead to more people entering the field or to more children with special needs receiving these types of services. It may even lead to more funding being put toward therapeutic services such as these. All of these possibilities have the potential to foster community efforts to make the quality of life of these children a central concern, for children on the autism spectrum and/or who have developmental disabilities need the best care and for it to be easily accessible as well.

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