Student Research Symposium Program Portal: Submission #188

Submission information
Submission Number: 188
Submission ID: 9036
Submission UUID: 76beca47-d440-48e7-9806-808ea24afe74

Created: Wed, 01/28/2026 - 06:28 PM
Completed: Wed, 01/28/2026 - 06:28 PM
Changed: Wed, 01/28/2026 - 06:28 PM

Remote IP address: 146.201.10.18
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Primary Student Contact First Name Lydia
Primary Student Contact Last Name Wilkinson
Pronouns she/her
Primary Student Contact FSU Student Email lkw21b@fsu.edu
Photo of all individuals presenting this work IMG_5882.png
Major(s) of all individuals presenting this work Applied Behavior Analysis
Bio of all individuals presenting this work Lydia Wilkinson is a second year graduate student at Florida State University and a clinician with the Early Childhood Autism Program. Her academic and clinical interests focus on communication behaviors, early language development, and prevention-oriented interventions for children with autism. Her current research examines the use of functional analysis methodology to inform spontaneous mand training.
Poster Title A Functional Analysis of Communication Behaviors
Abstract The purpose of the present study is to replicate and extend functional analysis procedures described by Plavnick and Ferreri (2013) to examine multiple topographies of communication and the motivating operations under which they occur in young children with autism spectrum disorder. One child aged 2–6 years with a limited vocal repertoire and established nonverbal communication will participate. A paired-stimulus preference assessment will identify preferred stimuli for experimental conditions. Using a multielement design, communication responses will be assessed across play (control), attention, tangible, and demand conditions to identify differential responding associated with specific environmental contingencies. Dependent variables will include the frequency or latency of gestural communication topographies identified through indirect assessment and pilot probes. A secondary purpose is to evaluate the correspondence between indirect assessment outcomes and directly observed communication behaviors. Results are expected to clarify the functional relations between motivating operations and communication responses, supporting the development of function-based interventions to promote spontaneous manding prior to the emergence of problem behavior. This study contributes to prevention-oriented assessment practices in applied behavior analysis and early communication intervention.
Research Mentor Name Leah Koehler
Research Mentor's College (or High School) Florida State University
Research Mentor's Department (or Subject) Psychology
Research Mentor's Email koehler@pc.fsu.edu
Additional Research Mentor(s)
Co-presenter(s)
Keywords Autism Spectrum Disorder, Communication, Manding, Functional Analysis
Poster Session/Number
Work Complete
Presentation Modality Face to Face Poster session
Poster PDF
Poster Thumbnail
I will be printing my poster Yes
Year 2026
Annual description 5th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 17, 2025
Update URL https://pc.fsu.edu/student-research/symposium/research-symposium-program-portal?element_parents=elements/student_photo&ajax_form=1&_wrapper_format=drupal_ajax&token=w3nVstPOSoGPv5vh7xcGGqVA-7j7L3659AdLRnDXLpw