Isaac Melanson
- Assistant Professor
Contact Info
Biography —
Dr. Isaac Melanson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science at the University of Kansas. His research focuses on the prevention of emerging challenging behavior, evaluating safe and valid functional assessment approaches, and analyzing patterns of preference and choice for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A board-certified behavior analyst at the doctoral level, Isaac has clinical supervision experience in assessing and treating severe challenging behavior as well as implementing skill acquisition programing with young learners. Isaac is committed to collaborative research with professionals, undergraduate students, and graduate students and aims to foster a safe and inclusive training environment for all.
Education —
Research —
Research interests:
- Challenging behavior prevention
- Functional behavioral assessment and function-based intervention
- Assessment safety and validity
- Patterns of preference and choice
Selected Publications —
Melanson, I. J., Fahmie, T. A., Livingston, C. P. (2026). Access to arbitrary stimuli during fixed-lean schedule thinning. Behavior Analysis in Practice. Advance online publication.
Livingston, C. L., Loder-Lafferty, B. H., Tran, J. P., Melanson, I. J., Cengher, M., & Kwak, D. (2025). Evaluation of a sequential extinction procedure on preference for communication modalities during functional communication training. Behavioral Interventions, 40(4), e70053. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.70053
Stephens, M., Wessel, M., Melanson, I. J., & Kranak, M. P. (2025). A concise review of social validity assessments during functional analyses of challenging behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 58(4), 896–905. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.70031
Melanson, I. J., Fahmie, T. A., & Kastner, K. M. (2025). The potential evocative effect of leisure item omission in the attention and escape conditions of a functional analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-025-01060-1
Kaur, J., Kranak, M. P., Mitteer, D. R., Melanson, I. J., & Fahmie, T. A. (2025). A scoping review of consecutive controlled case series studies. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 58(2), 270–286. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.70006
Reilly, M., Sullivan, E. K., Kaur, J., Melanson, I. J., & Fahmie, T. A. (2025). Incorporating trauma-assumed practices into the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior evoked by corrective feedback. Clinical Case Studies, 24(2), 98–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534650125131768
Livingston, C. P., Schneider, D., Melanson, I. J., Anderson, H. J., Bryan, S., & Martinez, S. E. (2025). Variables influencing physical activity for children with developmental disabilities who exhibit problem behavior. Behavioral Interventions, 40(1). e2067. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.2067
Melanson, I. J., Fahmie, T. A., Salvetti, E. L., & Rahaman, J. A. (2025). Validating social reinforcer classes for low-severity challenging behavior identified by sensitivity tests. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 58(1), 182–197. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.2925
Livingston, C. P., DeBrine, J. E., Melanson, I. J., Tomasi, B., & Kwak, D. (2025). Comparison of caregivers’ and children’s preference for mand topography during functional communication training. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 37(3), 429–447. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-024-09959-3
Rahaman, J. A., Fahmie, T. A., Melanson, I. J., DeBrine, J. E., & Zangrillo, A. (2024). A concise review of the correspondence between the traditional functional analysis and alternative assessment formats. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 57(2), 515–520. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.1060
Melanson, I. J., Thomas, A. T., Brodhead, M. T., Sipila-Thomas, E. S., Miranda, D. R. G., Plavnick, J. B., Joy, T. A., Fisher, M. H., & White-Cascarilla, A. N. (2023). An evaluation of preference stability within MSWO preference assessments for children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 56(3), 638–655. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.988
Livingston, C. P., Melanson, I. J., Anderson, H. J., & Martinez, S. E. (2023). Evaluation of a break-to-choice chained-schedule intervention for multiply maintained problem behavior. Behavioral Interventions, 38(3), 836–848. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.1941
Melanson, I. J., & Fahmie, T. A. (2023). Functional analysis of problem behavior: A 40-year review. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 56(2), 262–281. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.983