Association for Behavior Analysis International

Individuals with intellectual disabilities tend to have more medical issues relative to the general population, thus increasing the importance of access to medical care. A significant barrier to healthcare access for many individuals with intellectual disabilities is the ability to comply with basic medical examinations and critical procedures which involve needles. Some medical professionals address non-compliance with sedation or restraint, which can be dangerous to patients and medical staff. Previous research has evaluated behavior analytic interventions to increase individual’s compliance with medical procedures, including venipuncture and dermipuncture procedures. We identified and systematically reviewed a number of articles which investigated strategies to increase compliance with blood draw or injection procedures to determine their efficacy and experimental rigor, according to What Works Clearinghouse Standards (What Works Clearinghouse, 2017). All studies used a variety of behavioral intervention packages and resulted in compliance with medical procedures involving needles. Results of the review indicate that behavior analytic interventions can be an effective treatment for compliance with medical procedures involving needles. Participants are representative of a variety of intellectual disabilities and ages, suggesting that these interventions are generalizable across age and disability. Practical implications, future research lines, and methodological considerations are discussed.

Empirical evidence strongly suggests the need for training individuals with intellectual disabilities in critical safety skills, yet this is often neglected for this population. Despite the vast evidence that many individuals with disabilities do not have the knowledge on how to responds to safety or dangerous situations, little has been done to examine safety skills instruction. Basic first aid, has long been considered a vital safety skillset to live autonomously for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether Behavior Skills Training is an effective intervention for teaching six CPR and First Aid skill sets to mastery. Next, participants were exposed to six hypothetical safety situations (i.e., concussion, CPR+AED, dislocation, fainting, first aid review, and seizure). Data were collected using pre- and post-assessments, and maintenance assessments by evaluating percent steps completed correctly per safety skill set. Upon conclusion, the participants showed mastery in all six CPR and First Aid skills in post-training assessment, and maintained learned skills in a one-week follow up assessment.