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 —
Livingston, C. P., DeBrine, J. E., Melanson, I. J., Tomasi, B., & Kwak, D. (2024). Comparison of caregivers’ and children’s preference for mand topography during functional communication training. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities. Advance online publication. 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
Jeglum, S. R., Melanson, I. J., & O’Brien, M. J. (2023). Evaluating convergent validity between RAISD and MSWO rankings across informants. Behavioral Interventions, 38(4), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.1964
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
Miranda, D. R. G., Brodhead, M. T., Sipila-Thomas, E. S., Fisher, M. H., Plavnick, J. B., Thomas, A. L., & Melanson, I. J. (2023). Analysis of four measures of positional bias within a multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment. Behavioral Interventions, 38(2), 401–426. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.1919
Lloyd, K., Melanson, I. J., Moorehouse, A., & Klatt, K. P. (2021). Investigating the effects of error-correction procedures across different skill sets for children with autism. Behavioral Interventions, 36(2), 407–421. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.1775
White, A. N., Melanson, I. J., Siplila-Thomas, E. S., & Brodhead, M. T. (2021). A methodological review of preference displacement research. Behavioral Interventions, 36(1), 171–194. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.1758
Sipila-Thomas, E. S., Foote, A. J., White, A. N., Melanson, I. J., & Brodhead, M. T. (2021). A replication of preference displacement research in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 54(1), 403–416. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.775