A Clinical Tutorial on Methods to Capture and Contrive Establishing Operations to Teach Mands

Area of Science:

• Behavior Analysis
• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Language Intervention

Background:

• Mands are crucial for language development in vulnerable populations.
• A gap exists between research findings and practical application in behavior analysis.
• Procedural drift is a risk due to the complexity of establishing operations (EOs) for mands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a contemporary review of three procedures for contriving EOs.
• To enhance the practical application of mand training in clinical settings.
• To bridge the research-practice gap in language intervention.

Main Methods:

• Review of three procedures for contriving establishing operations (EOs): incidental teaching, interrupted chains, and programmed reinforcer restriction.
• Discussion of recent literature examples for each procedure.
• Provision of resources for implementation, including integrity checklists and role-play scenarios.

Main Results:

• The review synthesizes current knowledge on contriving EOs for mand development.
• Practical considerations and examples are provided to guide implementation.
• Resources are offered to support practitioners in applying these procedures effectively.

Conclusions:

• Effective implementation of mand training requires understanding and precise application of EO contrivance procedures.
• Bridging the research-practice gap can accelerate the adoption of evidence-based language interventions.
• This tutorial offers valuable resources for clinicians seeking to improve mand acquisition in their clients.