PEAK Relational Training System: Direct Training Module Paperback – February 14, 2014

This book is definitely a 'must have' for all behavioural practitioners interested in teaching programs that incorporate advanced cognitive behavioural skills. The PEAK Relational Training System targets relational responding such as stimulus equivalence, derived relational responding, transformation of functions effects, as well as basic verbal skills of the type usually targeted using 'Skinnerian' principles of behaviour. Step-by-step instructions, and materials that can be copied, will facilitate practitioners in assessing and teaching basic and advanced verbal skills. For example, simple requests (mands), labelling (tacts), conversation (intraverbal) are taught, but also more complex skills involving metaphor, uncertainty/guessing, and generative language.The current manual is one of four PEAK manuals all targeting different learning aspects in a hierarchical manner. This first book is concerned with foundational skills, and is largely focussed on Direct Training Programs, which may also be described in terms of contingency-based responding. Thus, the more advanced 'derived' (untaught) learning receives less extensive treatment here than in the other three manuals, however, the skills taught in this manual are thought to be prerequisite for more complex language skills.The style of writing is clear and simple, but also detailed and explicit regarding the specific skills to be targeted, how to record data (data sheets for each learning objective), the use of prompt levels and so forth, so that it will be an easy-to-follow guide for practicing behaviour analysts teaching children with diagnosed autism or other learning disorder/disadvantage.In Dixon’s terms, the PEAK program may be able to fulfil the ambition of bringing behavioural language programs to ‘the next level’, because of targeting advanced verbal skills that have been previously neglected by behavioural practitioners such as, for example, emergent verbal behaviour (untaught exponential generativity), metaphor, analogy, inference. These are important components of an advanced verbal repertoire that are not readily encompassed by an operant approach that excludes behavioural research in stimulus equivalence (e.g., Sidman, 1971), and relational frame theory and transformation of functions effects (RFT; Hayes, Barnes-Holmes & Roche, 2001). The PEAK program retains traditional effective teaching methods based on applied behaviour analysis, such as positive reinforcement, prompting, fading and usual behavioural strategies, but expands this by also incorporating skills based on contemporary behaviour research literature in derived relational responding.Certainly in earlier days in my career as a behaviour analyst I was frequently asked questions by behavioural practitioners: 'How is relational frame theory relevant to practical teaching programs?', or 'How would I go about designing a behavioural teaching program for derived relational responding skills that are of practical use in a child's daily life?'. I think the PEAK working manuals will provide practical answers to questions of this sort, and that PEAK will inspire behavioural practitioners to design more sophisticated teaching programs encompassing complex elements of verbal behaviour that seem essential to an advanced, comprehensive and flexible language repertoire. I hope that many behavioural practitioners will find the PEAK system an invaluable resource in this regard.Dr Carol Murphy, BCBA-D

The content is great and easy to use, but the copy I received is very poor quality. Graphics are all black and white and very blurry, rendering them useless in explaining how to use the data recording system. The copy I received has a different cover than shown. I previously purchased the generalization module and it was of much better quality. Not sure what's going on with this series, as none of the other books appear to be available anymore.

This system is seems much easier to carry out in a classroom setting and takes much less time than ABLLS. It is not just an assessment, but a lesson guide as well. Everything is there. I will be testing it out in January.

As a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, I cannot tell you how grateful I am of this book. Parents should also research the ABA literature and protocols that are available at JEAB and JABA, but it is not always easy to do this. PEAK can help immensely, especially if you are working with a BCBA. I recently bought the second volume of it at ABAI and I look forward to the coming volumes.