What is Verbal Behavior Therapy

Shannon has a home Verbal Behavior (VB) therapy program. Her therapists include undergrads, graduate students and special education professional with backgrounds in psychology, special ed, social work, and speech pathology.  Therapists work with Shannon after school for 3 hours and for 3 hours per Saturday and Sunday.  (~21 hours/week). This instruction is in addition to the services and education she receives at her school.

 

The home VB program is overseen by a VB consultant:

Morgan McCloskey, MA, CCC-SLP/BCBA

Morgan joined ICAN, Inc. in May, 2007. She is a nationally certified Speech Language Pathologist, and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Ms. McCloskey’s primary responsibilities include evaluation and treatment of children with developmental speech and language disorders including autism and other related disorders. Morgan also implements and monitors ABA programs and conducts parent and teacher trainings for home instruction utilizing teaching procedures of ABA with emphasis on B.F. Skinner’s analysis of Verbal Behavior. Ms. McCloskey also has experience in treatment of individuals with voice and fluency disorders, reading difficulties, neurogenic communication disorders as well as Apraxia, Dysarthria and Dysphasia. Ms. McCloskey has training in RDI (Relationship Development Intervention) and is PROMPT trained.

 

 

Below is a description of VB therapy as described by ICAN of Washington http://www.icanofwashington.com/home.php

ABA / Verbal Behavior

Verbal Behavior (VB) is, in fact,  Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).  Verbal Behavior is not a separate approach, therapy, or entity.  It is the application of the science of behavior analysis (applied behavior analysis) with emphasis on B.F. Skinner's analysis of Verbal Behavior.

In 1957, B.F. Skinner published Verbal Behavior, outlining his analysis of language as behavior.  Skinner classified language into operants, or functional units of language, (Receptive; Mimetic/Echoic; Mands; Tacts; Intraverbals). The application of these verbal operants into your teaching is known as Verbal Behavior (VB).  Each program incorporates teaching the child across all units of language, using Discrete Trial Training (DTT) and Natural Environment Teaching (NET), by means of errorless teaching techniques and manipulation of the child's motivation.  Each specific teaching procedure can be linked to emperical research.  The combination of specific teaching procedures and establishing motivational moments throughout the child’s day ensures success for the child! 

To summarize, a Verbal Behavior program combines the following elements:
• Skinner’s analysis of verbal operants
• Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
• Natural Environment Teaching (NET)
• Establishing Operations (EO)/Motivational Operations (MO)
• Specific teaching procedures (see definitions)