Association for Behavior Analysis International

The symposium features four studies on training undergraduates or caregivers to implement behavior analytic treatments. Hallie Ertel will present on the efficacy of and caregiver preference for differing ratios of low-p to high-p instructions to increase compliance, and the results suggest that caregivers tend to prefer the most efficacious ratio. Elizabeth Foley will present on a self-instruction package on implementation of guided compliance, and the results suggest that this type of training is an efficacious alternative when resources are limited. Mary Halbur will present an evaluation on caregiver preference and acceptability of three prompting strategies prior to and following acquisition of caregiver implementation. These results provide insight on how to improve the accuracy of preference and acceptability measures. Finally, Maegan Pisman will present on an evaluation to teach caregivers to implement multiple evidence-based strategies within a play context. Given the acquisition, generalization, and child-preference outcomes, this intervention seems well suited for caregivers to use when teaching young children with an autism spectrum disorder. We are excited and honored that Dr. Nicole Heal is serving as the discussant given her expertise and passion for these areas of research.

Target audience will include practitioners interested in efficacious training procedures for staff and caregivers

The high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence, which involves the delivery of a series of high-probability instructions immediately before delivery of a low-probability instruction, is a commonly used procedure to increase compliance among children and individuals with intellectual disabilities. Although the modal ratio of high-p instructions to low-p instructions is 3:1, other ratios may be more effective. In the current study, we compared three ratios of high-p to low-p instructions (i.e., 1:1, 3:1, and 5:1) during use of the high-p instructional sequence to increase compliance among three children with autism. Results suggest that the 5:1 ratio was most effective. Although less effective, the 3:1 ratio and 1:1 also produced increases in compliance. In addition, we had each participant's caregiver nominate the most preferred ratio and we then evaluated caregiver implementation of the most effective ratio. In general, the most preferred ratio was also the most effective ratio, even when implemented by caregivers. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Previous researchers have suggested that caregiver participation in intervention can enhance intervention 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 caregiver preference for and acceptability of three commonly used prompting procedures. Experimenters trained caregivers of children with disabilities to use three evidence-based prompting strategies (i.e., least-to-most, most-to-least, and a progressive prompt delay). Once the caregiver reached the mastery criteria with each prompting procedure, his/her preference for each of the strategies was evaluated using a concurrent-chains arrangement. Additionally, treatment acceptability of all procedures was measured multiple times 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 suggested that caregivers' preferences for procedures prior to training were different than post-training/post-child practice. In addition, indirect assessment scores corresponded to choice trials during the end assessments. The data obtained during this study support the utility of objective measures for studying preference for behavioral skill-acquisition procedures.