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Conducting Parent-Mediated Treatment via Telehealth to Reduce Problem Behavior |
Saturday, May 25, 2024 |
4:00 PM–4:50 PM |
Convention Center, 100 Level, 114 |
Area: AUT; Domain: Applied Research |
Chair: Alessandro Dibari (Fondazione Oltre le Parole Onlus) |
Discussant: Rachel Metras (VIA Centers for Neurodevelopment) |
CE Instructor: Alessandro Dibari, M.S. |
Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, practitioners shifted from in-person service provision to virtual service provision. This shift caused many families to take new roles in their children’s behavior analytic programs, such as collecting data or implementing programs themselves. This symposium describes two different parent-training programs conducted via telehealth to reduce the problem behavior of a 5-year-old child and an 18-year-old young adult with autism spectrum disorders in Italy. In both studies, parents implemented the entirety of the assessment and treatment process with distance-based coaching from a behavior analyst. Following a functional analysis, parents implemented individualized treatment packages to reduce their children’s problem behaviors. The comprehensive function-based intervention packages included demand fading plus differential reinforcement without extinction in the child’s case, and a skill-based treatment process (e.g., Hanley et al., 2014) in the adult’s case. Both studies produced positive treatment outcomes. Participants’ problem behaviors reduced relative to baseline, and alternative behaviors such as communication, toleration, and cooperation increased in ecologically relevant settings. In addition, parents expressed satisfaction with the treatments used. Results suggest that parent-mediated treatments guided by a behavior analyst can be completed as effectively and efficiently via telehealth as in person, both with young children and young adults. |
Instruction Level: Intermediate |
Keyword(s): parent training, problem behavior, SBT, telehealth |
Target Audience: Basic |
Learning Objectives: Identify the benefits of providing remote telehealth services for families and caregivers; Analyze and describe the function and skill-based treatment and demand fading plus differential reinforcement that lead to socially validated outcomes; Describe how to conduct an efficient and effective functional assessment of problem behavior |
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A Parent Training Program to Increase Academic Compliance in a Child With Autism During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
CRISTINA CITEREI (Fondazione Oltre le Parole), Alessandro Dibari (Fondazione Oltre le Parole Onlus), Romilda Napolitano (Fondazione Oltre le Parole), Daniele Rizzi (Fondazione Oltre le Parole Onlus - Pescara) |
Abstract: The health emergency caused by Covid-19, with the consequent measures of social distancing, produced operational problems with the implementation of services to people with disabilities and their families. In the present study, we conducted a parent training program almost completely via telehealth to teach a parent some strategies to increase the compliance of their son with academic tasks. The boy was a 5-year-old with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who engaged in challenging behavior when asked to comply with academic tasks, and which was maintained by negative reinforcement. The intervention consisted of a package which included behavioral skills training (BST) with written instructions, video modeling, rehearsal and feedback, to implement demand fading procedures and concurrent schedules arrangements. The results are presented through a changing criterion design and show socially validated improvements. The intervention reduced challenging behavior to zero, allowing the parents to increase the number of academic tasks presented to the child |
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Parent-Mediated Skill Based Treatment to Reduce Problem Behavior Through Remotely Supervision |
ROBERTA SIMEOLI (Neapolisanit Clinical and Research Center; ), Floriana Canniello (Neapolisanit Clinical and Research Center), LUIGI IOVINO (Neapolisanit Center), Maria Gallucci (Aias Onlus sez. Nola), MARIA ROSARIA RICCO (Neapolisanit Clinical and Research Center), Angela Granata (Neapolisanit Clinical and Research Center), Rossella Apicella (Neapolisanit Clinical and Research Center) |
Abstract: Reducing problem behavior is a challenge for families. During Pandemic Covid-19 period caregivers were found to manage problem behaviors of their children without having direct support. In this study we want to empathize how was possible to reach a significant reduction in problem behavior in an autistic boy aged 18 years with self-injury behaviors, by a Parent-mediated Skill based treatment (SBT) implementation supervised remotely during COVID-19 pandemic period. The Performance-Based IISCA (Iovino et al., 2022) was used to understand problem behaviors. After achieving control over problem behavior, the SBT protocol was implemented, teaching communication, toleration, and a range of contextually appropriate behaviors through chaining and differential reinforcement. The protocol was immediately transferred and implemented by the parents and then generalized to other settings. The pre-and post-treatment Parenting Stress Index was administered to assess the level of stress in the parent-child system, and social validity rating was assessed using a 7-point scale that measured parents' satisfaction. The results showed the efficacy of the protocol in reducing problem behaviors and increasing the boy's communication, tolerance and cooperation in the ecological setting. In addition, parents referred satisfaction of the treatment used, and there were lower levels of stress after treatment. |
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