Association for Behavior Analysis International

Many parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) around the world have limited or no access to behavior analytic knowledge or services leaving them without support or guidance. In particular, the parenting challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic have greatly increased parents’ need for support and guidance. Training parents with behavior analytic knowledge or skills can potentially help overcome these challenges. The purpose of this symposium is to present two different parent training programs designed to provide skills and knowledge that parents need to improve the quality of life for their children and families. The first presentation will make a comparison between telehealth versus in-person training for parents residing in India. The second presentation will reveal the results of a qualitative study aimed at identifying some barriers that limit parents’ access to behavior analytic knowledge and will discuss the development and evaluation of a web-based and self-directed parent training program designed to overcome some of these barriers.

Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts, Graduate Behavior Analysis Students

Early Intervention (EI) is shown to be an effective educational program to increase behavioural outcomes of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Landa, 2018) and that systemic behavior-analytic approaches provide highly beneficial parent-training (Gena et al, 2016). Delivery method of EI and parent training has traditionally been in person, whether in the home or a center. While new delivery methods using digital platforms are emerging, researchers are beginning to explore and support the efficacy of telehealth as a service delivery model (Simacek et al, 2017). In this study, we share a comparison of outcomes from an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)-based parent-implemented EI program delivered in-person versus the same program adapted and delivered virtually through telehealth. The results of the in-person program demonstrated significant gains across all domains. The outcomes of the virtual version of the program indicate that the telehealth EI was as effective as the one delivered in person. In countries where trained professionals and access to in-person ABA services are limited, having EI program virtually-delivered is critical. Especially in light of a pandemic and limited in-person contact such service delivery models may prove to be beneficial to families worldwide.

Access to behavior analytic knowledge is limited in many parts of the world leaving parents without support. Parent training could be a potential solution to help close some of the gaps. The results of our qualitative study revealed at least five different barriers that limit parents’ access to useful behavior analytic knowledge: time, cost, lack of awareness, waiting list, and lack of support. The purpose of the current project is to develop and evaluate a web-based program to overcome some of these barriers. This parent training program will incorporate non-technical language to present short modules in order to teach parents about the basic behavioral competencies. First, the modules will be brief to help address time constrain as a barrier. Second, the web-based platform will allow self-directed progress and asynchronous access to help address time, waiting list and lack of support barriers. Third, the training will be offered at an affordable and low cost in order to address cost constraint as a barrier. Fourth, the use of non-technical language will ease parents’ understanding and adoption of the material. The presentation will describe the results of an evaluation of the parent-training program.