Leigh Anne Williams

Bio: Leigh Anne Williams is an academic researcher from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The author has contributed to research in topics: Transitive relation. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 26 citations.

Derived Equivalence Relations of Geometry Skills in Students with Autism: An Application of the PEAK-E Curriculum.

Abstract: The present study evaluated the efficacy of equivalence-based instruction (EBI) as described in the PEAK-E curriculum (Dixon, 2015) for promoting the emergence of derived geometry skills in two children with high-functioning autism. The results suggested that direct training of shape name (A) to shape property (B) (i.e., A-B relations) was effective for both participants. Following A-B training, both participants demonstrated emergent relations that are consistent with symmetry (B-A), as well as emergent shape name (A) to shape picture (C) relations that are consistent with transitivity (A-C). The results expand on existing literature by demonstrating the emergence of an A-C relation when neither A nor B stimuli were ever trained to C stimuli and illustrate the efficacy of EBI for training geometry skills.

An Internal and Critical Review of the PEAK Relational Training System for Children with Autism and Related Intellectual Disabilities: 2014-2017

Abstract: The PEAK Relational Training System was designed as an assessment instrument and treatment protocol for addressing language and cognitive deficits in children with autism. PEAK contains four comprehensive training modules: Direct Training and Generalization emphasize a contingency-based framework of language development, and Equivalence and Transformation emphasize an approach to language development consistent with Relational Frame Theory. The present paper provides a comprehensive and critical review of peer-reviewed publications based on the entirety PEAK system through April, 2017. We describe both psychometric and outcome research, and indicate both positive features and limitations of this body of work. Finally, we note several research and practice questions that remain to be answered with the PEAK curriculum as well as other many other autism assessment and treatment protocols that are rooted within the framework of applied behavior analysis.

Establishing derived categorical responding in children with disabilities using the PEAK‐E curriculum

Abstract: The purpose of the study was to evaluate a procedure to generate derived categorical responding by three children with disabilities and to promote the emergence of untrained intraverbal categorical responses In the study, three 4-member equivalence classes including three stimuli (A, B, and C) and a category name (D) for each class were trained using a match-to-sample procedure Test probes were conducted for categorical responding, including both a trained (D-A) and two derived (D-B, D-C) relational responses, as well as the emergence of untrained intraverbal categorical responding (D-A/B/C) throughout the study Relational training was effective at promoting the emergence of categorical responding, and two of the three participants demonstrated the emergence of additional intraverbal responding without prior training The results provide further evidence supporting the practical utility of stimulus equivalence as well as the PEAK-E curriculum

Derived Relational Responding and Intelligence: Assessing the Relationship Between the PEAK-E Pre-assessment and IQ with Individuals with Autism and Related Disabilities

Abstract: The present study evaluated the relationship between derived relational responding demonstrated by 64 individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities (90.63% of which had an autism diagnosis) and their corresponding performance on standardized IQ assessments. Participants’ relational abilities were assessed using the Promoting the Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Equivalence Pre-Assessment (PEAK-E-PA), and IQ was assessed using either the WISC-IV Short Form assessment or the WPPSI-III Short Form assessment. The data indicated a strong, significant correlation between participant scores on the PEAK-E-PA and IQ both in terms of raw IQ (r = .843, p < .01), as well as full scale IQ (r = .804, p < .01), which is further analyzed in terms of each of the four subtests of the PEAK-E-PA (reflexivity, symmetry, transitivity, and equivalence). The obtained results have implications for a behavior analytic understanding of factors that relate to the development of intelligent behavior in individuals with disabilities.

Carrying the baton: Evolution science and a contextual behavioral analysis of language and cognition

Abstract: The contextual behavioral science (CBS) tradition is now carrying the baton passed forward by its progenitor, B. F. Skinner: a request to explore the implications of evolution science concepts for behavioral science. This article examines the 30-year history of Relational Frame Theory (RFT) research in the light of modern evolution science concepts. It distills an evolutionary approach into six interlocking features: variation, selection, retention, context, dimension, and level. Most of these dimensions have been touched upon in RFT research to date. By making the connection between CBS and evolution science explicit, however, important lines of existing and potential RFT research are emphasized and key evolutionary concepts that have not been emphasized are given greater weight. CBS researchers in general, and RFT researchers in particular, are positioned to carry the evolution science baton and to use it to help advance a natural science of behavior. It will need to be gasped firmly as CBS runs through the ultimate challenge faced by behavioral science: creation of a comprehensive and pragmatic analysis of human language and cognition.

Equivalence-based instruction of academic skills: Application to adolescents with autism.

Abstract: This study evaluated the efficacy of three equivalence-based instruction procedures on the acquisition of novel academic skills by 3 adolescents diagnosed with autism in a school setting. The skills targeted for instruction were related to topics in history, science, and mathematics, and were taught using different training structures from the PEAK-E curriculum. All participants demonstrated mastery of the trained relations and the tested derived relations following all variants of equivalence-based instruction.