Randomized controlled trial of seminar-based training on accurate and general implementation of practical functional assessments.

General and long-term outcomes of functional analysis training have not yet been reported. Within a randomized control trial, we trained 18 behavior analytic practitioners to interview caregivers, design and then conduct a personalized analysis as a part of a practical functional assessment (PFA). Participants were randomly assigned to groups, and those who experienced the seminar prior to conducting PFA with a confederate demonstrated more component skills than those who were provided the same materials but did not experience the seminar (mean scores: 87%, 36% respectively). Participants who experienced the seminar considered the training valuable and reported greater confidence in their ability to achieve control in an analysis. Several participants then conducted a PFA with a client who engaged in SPB. Results showed that skills transferred to these authentic applications. Results suggest that a seminar-based training can increase practitioners' ability to functionally analyze problem behavior and leads to subsequent analytic activity.

Brief report: treating stuttering in an adult with autism spectrum disorder.

Stuttering and autism can co-occur and when they do it presents a significant communication challenge. This study examined the effectiveness of a modified version of the fluency rules program (FRP; Runyan and Runyan, Stuttering and related disorders of fluency, in 2007) to reduce stuttering frequency in a man with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The participant's percentage of stuttered words (%SW) was calculated during conversational interactions with multiple conversation partners both within and outside of the clinic treatment sessions. Visual inspection methods revealed a reduction in %SW from an average of 14.5 %SW during baseline to 2.07 %SW during the withdrawal phase. The mean baseline reduction in %SW from baseline to the second treatment phase was 91.8 %. The FRP holds promise for reducing %SW in persons with ASD who stutter.