Wayne W. Fisher, PhD

Wayne Fisher, PhDWayne W. Fisher, PhD
Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders
Munroe-Meyer Institute
985450 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE 68198-5450

Phone: (402) 559-8863
E-mail: wfisher@unmc.edu

Professional Summary:

Wayne W. Fisher, Ph.D. is the H.B. Munroe Professor of Behavioral Research in the Munroe-Meyer Institute and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He is also the Director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, a board certified behavior analyst at the doctoral level (BCBA-D), and a licensed psychologist. He was previously a Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and served as Executive Director of the Neurobehavioral Programs at the Kennedy Krieger Institute (Baltimore) and the Marcus Behavior Center at the Marcus Institute (Atlanta), where he built clinical-research programs in autism and developmental disabilities with national reputations for excellence. Dr. Fisher’s methodologically sophisticated research has focused on several intersecting lines, including preference, choice, and the assessment and treatment of autism and severe behavior disorders, that have been notable for the creative use of concurrent schedules of reinforcement, which have become more commonplace in clinical research primarily as a result of his influence. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed research studies in 28 different behavioral and/or medical journals, including: (a) the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, (b) Psychological Reports, (c) American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, (d) Pediatrics, (e) the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, and (f) The Lancet. Dr. Fisher is a past Editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, a Fellow in the Association for Behavior Analysis, and recipient of the Bush Leadership Award and the APA (Division 25) award for distinguished contributions to applied behavioral research.

Education:

PhD, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 1982
BS, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 1977

Courses Taught:

Assessment and Treatment of Severe Behavior Disorders
Principles and Applications of Choice Responding and Behavioral Economics

Research Interests and Projects:

  • Function-based approaches to understanding and treating severe behavior disorders
  • Principles of choice responding and concurrent operants
  • Behavioral approaches to the assessment and treatment of autism
  • Behavioral economics

Selected Publications: (within the last 5 years)

  • Mudford, O. C., Zeleny, J. R., Fisher, W. W.,Klum, M., Owen, T. (2010 in press). Calibration of observational measurement of rate of responding. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
  • Kodak, T., Fisher, W. W.,Clements, A., & Bouxsein, K. J. (in press). Effects of computer-assisted instruction on correct responding and procedural integrity during early intensive behavioral intervention. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
  • Lomas Mevers, J., Fisher, W. W., Kelley, M. E. (2010). Evaluation of variable-time delivery of food items as treatment for problem behavior reinforced by escape. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,43(3), 425-435.
  • Tiger, JH, Fisher, W.W., Bouxsein, KJ. (2009). Therapist- and self-monitored DRO contingencies as a treatment for the self-injurious skin picking of a young man with Asperger syndrome. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42(2), 315-9.
  • Kodak, T., Fisher, W. W.,Kelley, M. E., Kisamore, A. (2009). Comparing preference assessments: selection- versus duration-based preference assessment procedures. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 30(5), 1068-77.
  • Tiger, J. H., Fisher, W. W.,Toussaint, K. A., Kodak, T. (2009). Progressing from initially ambiguous functional analyses: three case examples. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 30(5), 910-26.
  • Bouxsein, K. B., Tiger, J. H., & Fisher, W. W.(2008). A comparison of general and specific instructions to promote task engagement and completion. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41, 113-116.
  • Roscoe, E. M., & Fisher, W. W.(2008). Evaluation of an efficient method for training staff to implement stimulus preference assessments. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41, 249-254.
  • Fisher, W. W.,& Kodak, T., & Moore J.W. (2007) Embedding an identity-matching task within a prompting hierarchy to facilitate acquisition of conditional discriminations in children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40, 489-499.
  • Roane, H.S., Falcomata, T.S., & Fisher, W.W.(2007). Applying the behavioral economics principle of unit price to dro schedule thinning. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, 40, 529-534.
  • Tiger, J. H., Bouxsein, K. J., & Fisher, W. W.(2007). Treating excessively slow responding of a young man with Asperger syndrome using differential reinforcement of short-response latencies. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, 40, 559-563.
  • Moore, J. W., & Fisher, W. W.(2007). The effects of videotape modeling on staff acquisition of functional analysis methodology. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40, 197-202.
  • Kelley, M. E., Fisher, W. W.,& Lomas, J. E. (2006). Some effects of stimulant medication on response allocation: A double-blind analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39, 243-247.
  • Shabani, D. B., & Fisher, W. W.(2006). Stimulus fading and differential reinforcement for the treatment of needle phobia in a youth with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39, 449-452.
  • Roscoe, E. M., Fisher, W. W., Glover, A. C., & Volkert, V. M. (2006). Evaluating the relative effects of feedback and contingent money for staff training of stimulus preference assessments. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39, 63-77.