A comparison of fixed and repetitive models to teach object imitation to children with autism.

A well-established imitative repertoire can facilitate the acquisition of functional communication, social behaviors, and observational learning. Although early intensive behavioral intervention programs for young children with autism incorporate imitation training, learners with autism may exhibit difficulties in acquiring an imitative repertoire. Few studies have evaluated the types of models responsible for acquisition when teaching imitation to children with autism. A preliminary evaluation with fixed and repetitive model targets suggested that children with autism may acquire imitation more rapidly when taught with repetitive models (Deshais & Vollmer, 2020). The purpose of the current study was to compare the rates of acquisition when teaching with repetitive and fixed models for six children with autism. The findings suggested that (a) fixed models resulted in the most efficient acquisition for 10 of 16 comparisons, (b) fixed and repetitive models had similar efficacy for four comparisons, (c) and the repetitive condition was most efficient for two comparisons.

Developing and Delivering Behavioral Interventions Through Telehealth.

This special issue on telehealth in Behavior Modification features 10 studies related to developing and delivering behavioral interventions through telehealth. The studies in this issue cover a variety of topics including using telehealth to train caregivers, training clinicians to use telehealth, and directly implementing interventions or assessments through telehealth. The special issue concludes with a comprehensive literature review examining variables that impact the effectiveness of telehealth as a service-delivery tool.

Evaluating the Use of Video Modeling With Voiceover Instructions to Train Therapists to Deliver Caregiver Training Through Telehealth.

Caregiver training is an important component of behavioral intervention; however, many barriers exist for in-person training. Alternatively, behavioral therapists may use telehealth as a service delivery method. To effectively train caregivers through telehealth, therapists should receive explicit training, but there has been limited research on effective methods for teaching this skill. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate video modeling with voice-over instruction (VMVO) to train therapists to implement 11 component skills of caregiver training through telehealth to teach confederate caregivers to implement a guided compliance procedure. We measured the therapist's implementation of the component skills during a scripted role-play before and after video-model training within a multiple baseline design across participants. We also conducted maintenance and generalization probes to a novel skill. All seven therapists learned the skill, but three therapists required a feedback component in addition to the VMVO. The results suggest that VMVO may be an efficient and effective method for training therapists to conduct caregiver training via telehealth. Furthermore, results indicate that component skill analyses may be valuable to monitor skills that require remediation.

A Tutorial for the Design and Use of Assessment-Based Instruction in Practice.

Assessment-based instruction can increase the efficacy and efficiency of skill acquisition by using learner data to select an intervention procedure from a comparison of potential interventions. Although there are many published examples of assessments that guide the selection of skill-acquisition procedures, there are limited resources available to practitioners to guide the development of assessments for use in practice. This article describes a sequence of steps that Board Certified Behavior Analysts can follow to design and use assessment-based instruction in practice. These steps include (a) pick a topic to evaluate, (b) identify interventions to include in the assessment, (c) identify target behavior, (d) select an experimental design, (e) select a skill and targets, (f) equate noncritical procedures across conditions, (g) design templates for data collection, (h) conduct the assessment, and (i) use assessment results to guide practice. Included in these steps are examples and materials for how to conduct components of assessment-based instruction.

Stimulus Control Research and Practice: Considerations of Stimulus Disparity and Salience for Discrimination Training.

Stimulus control plays a prominent role in behavior-analytic service delivery, as many discrimination skills are necessary for daily interactions. Clarification and standardization of terminology are necessary for the advancement of research and practice on stimulus control. The purpose of the present article is to provide an overview of stimulus control and discrimination training as they relate to the disparity and salience of stimuli. An overview and examples of stimulus disparity and stimulus salience are provided, followed by recommendations for efficacious service delivery.

Comparison of sounds and words as sample stimuli for discrimination training.

A portion of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty acquiring conditional discrimination. However, previous researchers suggested that the discrimination of nonverbal auditory stimuli may be acquired more efficiently (Eikeseth & Hayward, 2009; Uwer, et al., 2002). For example, a child may learn to touch a picture of a piano after hearing the musical instrument more quickly than when the auditory stimulus is the spoken word "piano." The purpose of the present study was to extend previous research by assessing the acquisition of conditional discriminations with sample stimuli presented as either automated spoken words or high- and low-disparity nonverbal auditory stimuli (i.e., environmental sounds). Conditional discriminations with high-disparity environmental sounds as sample stimuli were acquired rather than or more efficiently than those trained with low-disparity environmental sounds and words as sample stimuli.

Tolerance of face coverings for children with autism spectrum disorder.

Healthcare professionals and government officials have advised the use of personal protective equipment, such as face masks and face shields, to assist with limiting the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Due to the prevalence of challenging behavior associated with other medical routines, the present study evaluated a treatment package composed of graduated exposure, prompts, reinforcement, and escape extinction on tolerance of wearing a face covering for up to 5 min for 12 children with ASD in a systematic replication of Cox et al. (2017) and Sivaraman et al. (2020). We also extended previous research by measuring generalization of face covering type (i.e., face shield) and the efficacy of a treatment extension for tolerating a face covering for up to 15 min during the participants' trial-based instruction and play periods.

An evaluation of parent preference for prompting procedures.

Parent participation in intervention can enhance intervention efficacy and promote generalization of skills across settings. Thus, parents should be trained to implement behavioral interventions. The purpose of the current investigation was to evaluate parent preference for and acceptability of 3 commonly used prompting procedures. We trained parents of children with disabilities to use 3 empirically validated prompting strategies (i.e., least-to-most, most-to-least, and a progressive-prompt delay). Once the parent reached the mastery criteria with each prompting procedure, we evaluated his/her preference for each of the procedures using a concurrent-chains arrangement. We also measured treatment acceptability of all procedures throughout the study. All participants met the mastery criteria for each of the prompting procedures and showed a preference for least-to-most prompting. Results suggest parents' acceptability of procedures prior to training were different than posttraining/post-child practice. In addition, acceptability rating scores obtained at the end of the investigation corresponded to preference of intervention during the concurrent-chains arrangement. The results demonstrate the benefits of objective measures for studying preference for behavioral, skill-acquisition procedures.

A comparison of stimulus set size on tact training for children with autism spectrum disorder.

Previous studies on skill acquisition have taught targets in stimulus sets composed of different numbers of stimuli. Although the rationale for selection of a stimulus set size is not clear, the number of target stimuli trained within a set is a treatment decision for which there is limited empirical support. The current investigation compared the efficiency of tact training in 4 stimulus set sizes, each of which included 12 stimuli grouped into (a) 4 sets of 3 stimuli, (b) 3 sets of 4 stimuli, (c) 2 sets of 6 stimuli, and (d) 1 set of 12 stimuli. Results of all 4 participants with autism spectrum disorder show tact training with larger (i.e., 6 and 12) stimulus set sizes was more efficient than training with smaller (i.e., 3 and 4) stimulus set sizes.