Association for Behavior Analysis International

The Association for Behavior Analysis International® (ABAI) is a nonprofit membership organization with the mission to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.

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48th Annual Convention; Boston, MA; 2022

Event Details


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Symposium #555
CE Offered: BACB
Evaluating Behavioral Interventions for Individuals Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder Delivered via Direct Telehealth
Monday, May 30, 2022
4:00 PM–4:50 PM
Meeting Level 2; Room 258A
Area: AUT/VBC; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Julia Ferguson (Autism Partnership Foundation)
CE Instructor: Julia Ferguson, Ph.D.
Abstract:

Many applied behavior analytic service providers for autistics/individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have had to transition from in-person service delivery to providing services through telehealth – directly or otherwise. Much of the telehealth research in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA) has focused on training other individuals through telehealth to implement in-person ABA-based procedures. More research is needed to guide best practices for behavioral interventions delivered via direct telehealth. This symposium includes three studies that evaluated behavioral interventions (i.e., the Cool versus Not Cool™ Procedure, instructive feedback within a dyad arrangement, and discrete trial teaching) for autistics/individuals diagnosed with ASD delivered via direct telehealth.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): DTT, Instructive Feedback, Social skills, Telehealth
Target Audience:

The target audience is practicing behavior analysts (e.g., BCBA, BCaBA, RBTs) and those providing intervention for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) identify and describe some conditions under which behavioral interventions for autistics/individuals diagnosed with ASD delivered via direct telehealth may be effective; (2) identify and describe at least three behavioral interventions for autistics/individuals diagnosed with ASD that can be effectively delivered via direct telehealth; (3) identify and describe at least two skills that can be effectively targeted through behavioral interventions delivered via direct telehealth.
 
Evaluating the Cool versus Not Cool™ Procedure via Telehealth
JOSEPH H. CIHON (Autism Partnership Foundation; Endicott College), Julia Ferguson (Autism Partnership Foundation), Justin B. Leaf (Autism Partnership Foundation; Endicott College), Ronald Leaf (Autism Partnership), John James McEachin (Autism Partnership)
Abstract: Autistics/individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly display qualitative impairments in social behavior that commonly result in the use of interventions directly targeting the development of social skills. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for effective social skills interventions that can be delivered via telehealth. The Cool versus Not Cool™ procedure has continually been documented as effective within the literature. However, its reported use has been limited to in-person delivery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Cool versus Not Cool™ procedure conducted via telehealth to teach three children diagnosed with ASD to change the conversation when someone is bored. The results of a nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants demonstrated that all three participants reached the mastery criterion in four to eight sessions. Responding generalized to another adult for two of the three participants and all three participants maintained correct responding. Social validity measures indicated the skill was important to teach, the intervention was acceptable and effective, and the telehealth format was an acceptable replacement for in-person intervention for these three participants.
 

Maximizing Behavioral Intervention Delivered via Telehealth for Individuals Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder

JULIA FERGUSON (Autism Partnership Foundation), Maddison J Majeski (Autism Partnership Foundation; University of North Texas), Joseph H. Cihon (Autism Partnership Foundation; Endicott College), Justin B. Leaf (Autism Partnership Foundation; Endicott College ), John James McEachin (Autism Partnership), Ronald Leaf (Autism Partnership)
Abstract:

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many applied behavior analytic service providers have had to quickly change how they provide services for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and transition away from in-person service delivery. One way in which behavior analysts have adapted is to provide services directly through telehealth. This study sought to evaluate the effects of instructive feedback in a dyad arrangement during discrete trial teaching delivered via telehealth to teach tact relations to six children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. During all sessions all participants and the experimenter were located in different physical locations. Results of a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design demonstrated that all participants learned their primary and secondary targets. Five of the participants acquired the observational primary and secondary targets without direct teaching. Areas of future research and clinical implications are discussed in the context of telehealth service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic and in general.

 

A Comparison of Direct Telehealth and In-person Discrete Trial Teaching When Teaching Expressive Labels

Kandice Knopp (Autism Partnership; Endicott College ), Julia Ferguson (Autism Partnership Foundation), Jessica Piazza (Endicott College), CHRISTINE MILNE-SEMINARA (Autism Partnership Foundation), Joseph H. Cihon (Autism Partnership Foundation; Endicott College ), Justin B. Leaf (Autism Partnership Foundation; Endicott College )
Abstract:

Recent behavior analytic research has demonstrated that the provision of applied behavior analytic services via direct telehealth can be an effective teaching modality for some learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Historically, teaching procedures based on applied behavior analysis, including discrete trial teaching (DTT) have been provided and evaluated via in-person delivery. This study sought to compare the implementation of DTT via direct telehealth to DTT implemented in-person within and across participants. Specifically, this study evaluated the two delivery modalities in terms of skill acquisition, maintenance, efficiency, and learner responding during teaching sessions. Results of an adapted alternating treatments design nested into a multiple baseline design demonstrated that all three participants diagnosed with ASD met the mastery criteria for the expressive labels taught. Areas of future research, participant prerequisite skills, and clinical implications will be discussed in the context of these results.

 

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