Joint Control

The Role of Joint Control in Teaching Complex Responding to Children with Autism and Other Disabilities

Vincent J. Carbone

Skinner’s (1957) analysis of language has much to offer clinicians interested in teaching verbal behavior to persons with autism.  Much of the research in this area has emphasized the teaching of speaker behavior with less work dedicated to a thorough analysis of the contingencies operating on the behavior of the listener. Possibly due to this lack of attention cognitive explanations of comprehension, understanding and word recognition have persisted. A special form of multiple control called joint stimulus control may provide an alternative and cogent analysis of complex listener and other behavior. The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of the conceptual analysis of joint control and the basic and applied research that has followed.  Video demonstrations of the teaching of joint control with participants from a published study conducted in our clinic and additional clinical applications will be presented to illustrate the implementation of joint control procedures in applied settings.

Friday September 23 12:00 to 3:00 pm EST.