Association for Behavior Analysis International

Families with one or more children diagnosed with autism tend to experience higher levels of stress as compared to families with neurotypical children. It is widely believed that access to services, particularly applied behavior analysis (ABA) caregiver training, aids in decreasing stressors. In fact, caregivers who are highly stressed are less likely to seek services, less able to engage in learning behavioral strategies and, instead, research indicates stress often increases as a result of caregiver training alone. Additionally, this familial stress is not limited to parents and caregivers, but siblings of diagnosed individuals also tend to report decreased life satisfaction and increased likelihood of experiencing feelings of anxiety and engaging aggressive behaviors. Throughout this symposium the presenters will demonstrate the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), two behaviorally based therapeutic strategies, targeting parent engagement and sibling relationships. Results from these studies indicate these interventions may benefit overall family well-being, increase access to services, and improve fidelity with behavioral interventions.

This presentation is appropriate for graduate students or BCBAs with an interest in expanding their skillsets. ACT and PCIT are reliant on in the moment modifications to practice and, ACT in particular, is most effective when clinicians have a grasp of functional analysis of verbal behavior. Individuals with emerging to fluent skills in these are most likely to benefit from this presentation.

A growing body of literature demonstrates the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for improving parent stress and parent-child relationships. One potential use of ACT is through telehealth groups as a means to build support networks and increase accessibility. While curriculum has been developed and demonstrated effectiveness for individual intervention, in current practice we aim to determine if the same curriculum may also be effective in group intervention meeting via telehealth. To date, participants include 12 parents of neurodiverse children who participated in a 6-week virtual series to increase individually identified value-based behaviors. Outcomes measured include parent stress, mindful engagement, social validity of the intervention, and subsequent access to other evidence-based interventions and supports. Initial findings indicate an overall improvement in stress and mindfulness for most participants. Modifications to the curriculum based on social validity feedback and observed outcomes will be discussed. These results are encouraging that such interventions may aid in decreasing parent stress and ultimately increasing engagement in evidence-based practices to support the needs of themselves and their children.

One of the most important predictors of success for a child with a Neurodevelopmental Disorder (NDD) is the support from the family system. Siblings of a child with an NDD are often neglected from the conversation of support and treatment; however, challenging behaviors often associated with NDDs can have a significant impact on the sibling relationship, which could result in a compromised quality of life for all siblings. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) have both shown to be efficacious in producing positive outcomes for children with NDDs and their families.The current study expanded PCIT and ABA research to the NDD population, by documenting how siblings can effectively learn and utilize the Child-Directed Interaction (CDI) skills of PCIT to help strengthen the sibling relationship with a child with an NDD. Participants included two sibling dyads in which one sibling was Autistic, and their older sibling was neurotypical. Outcomes include neurotypical sibling’s correct implementation of CDI skills during ten-minute play sessions, and parent and sibling reports of feasibility and relevance of the sibling intervention. Findings suggest that sibling’s participation in treatment, and the impact on the relationship, can inform future sibling interventions for children with NDDs.