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Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities
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Behavioral Cusps

A Person-Centered Concept for Establishing Pivotal Individual, Family, and Community Behaviors and Repertoires

Garnett J. Smith

University of Hawaii at Manoa, garnett{at}hawaii.edu

Dennis McDougall

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Patricia Edelen-Smith

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Cumulative-hierarchical learning (CHL) and behavior, a premise first introduced by Staats in 1975, describes hoW higher-level behavioral patterns and structures can emerge from interactions among a set of loWer-level actions. Proponents of CHL emphasize the importance of pivotal response interventions, behavior repertoires, generative learning, and the development of behavioral cusps, the human equivalent of the computer World's killer application, or "killer app" (Wikipedia, n.d.). Rosales-Ruiz and Baer (1997) defined a behavioral cusp as an entry point for pivotal behavioral change that, once initiated, so profoundly alters, displaces, or transforms one's behavioral repertoire that it renders preexisting behavioral repertoires obsolete. In this article, We demonstrate hoW behavioral cusps can be used to construct CHL behaviors and repertoires of persons With autism and other pervasive developmental disorders Within and across five pivotal behavioral elements. We also describe hoW behavioral cusps could be used to improve the quality of the collaborative conversations during person-centered planning sessions.

Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 21, No. 4, 223-229 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/10883576060210040301
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