Association for Behavior Analysis International

Training direct service providers to implement programming with fidelity is integral to the success of any program within the field of behavior analysis. In addition, we recognize the caregivers? key role in ensuring consistency in the daily life of clients outside the direct service provision environment. With an understanding that both of these roles are equally important to the overall success of programming from acquisition to maintenance, the authors in this symposium seek to improve training modalities for both parties through evidence-based, behavior analytic procedures. These studies employ both single-subject and group designs to answer empirical questions about the most effective ways to ensure direct service providers and caregivers alike, are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to facilitate the most optimal outcome for each client.

The content of this symposium is appropriate for all levels of training and certification.

In behavior analytic practice, it is imperative that consumers receive programming as quickly as possible to ensure maximum effects (Reichow, Barton, Boyd, & Hume, 2012). In addition, it is vital that the individual delivering these services are adequately trained. The purpose of this study is to compare two CBI methods, one didactic and one active responding, to evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge acquisition in individuals seeking the Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) certification. Participants included eight individuals seeking certification for the purposes of either working in a home-based agency delivering applied behavior analysis (ABA) programming to individuals on the autism spectrum, or for application in a public school district classroom. The authors randomly assigned participants to one of four groups, which included training in either a didactic model or an active student responding (ASR) model, utilizing a modified Solomon four-group design.

There is a large body of research indicating that when positive behaviour support is implemented within schools, there are decreases in school discipline referrals and challenging behaviour Carr et al., 1999; Dunlap & Carr, 1997, Gore et al., 2013; LaVigna, Christian, & Willis, 2005). There are only two studies that have used school wide positive behaviour support in a school where the majority of students have been diagnosed with intellectual disabilities. This study implemented positive behavior support school wide for a school with the majority of students diagnosed with an intellectual disability using validated measures and direct observations with both school staff and students. Results indicated increases in positive feedback to students were achievable after five hours of training in positive behaviour support. Additionally, student incidents were lower for five of the six students observed in this study. Individual data, limitations, barriers, and future directions will also be discussed.

As more children are being diagnosed with ASD prior to the age of three, early intervention is recommended and considered best practice. While the nature of parent involvement can vary across approaches, it is essential that parents learn strategies to implement at home during everyday activities (CDC, 2017). This paper will examine the feasibility of implementing a parent-mediated naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention for young children with ASD, in the home setting. The researcher developed a 12-week intervention program, and used Behavior Skills Training (BST) to train parents to fidelity, on the six motivational procedures of Pivotal Response Training (PRT) during everyday routines. A multiple baseline design was used across nine parent-child dyads. Results of the study show that in addition to parents achieving fidelity with the intervention procedures, there were also improvements in social communication behaviors, and a decrease in challenging behaviors for all child participants. Additionally, parents reported lower levels of stress and were overall satisfied with the intervention.

Telehealth includes various forms of technology that can be used in the behavior field to train, supervise and consult. Current research supports the use of telehealth in consultation, parent training, and behavior technician training, however fidelity of performance is a common limitation across studies (Fisher et al., 2014; Suess et al., 2014; Wacker et al., 2013). The present study utilized a delayed multiple baseline design across three participants to measure the fidelity of behavior technician performance following telehealth training. Pre-test and baseline probes were used prior to training to assess participant's initial knowledge of Precision Teaching. Following telehealth training, a series of three competency assessments were administered to probe participants post knowledge, along with a generalization and maintenance probe that included role-playing. Results indicate that prior to telehealth training participant's performance was 40% correct or below and following telehealth training participant's performance was at 85% correct or above for competency. Participant performance was maintained during maintenance and generalization phases with scores between 80% and 100% correct.