Association for Behavior Analysis International

The use of prompting hierarchies (Lovaas, 1987; Ogletree & Oren, 2001) in early intensive behavior intervention programs is effective in promoting skill acquisition; however, it is debatable which settings are most beneficial in the implementation of such programs(Smith, Buch, & Gamby, 2000); (Weisz, Weiss, Donenberg, 1993). Clinic-based treatments offer such advantages as consistent supervision and more frequent modifications to interventions and treatment plans, while home-based treatments offer teaching in the natural environment and more opportunities for generalization. The purpose of the current investigation was to combine clinic and home-based programs in which parents were trained to implement clinic-based procedures in an incidental teaching approach. Participants included 3 parent-child dyads. We collected data on the percentage of accurate responding for each target skill in both home and clinic settings. In clinic settings, a trained paraprofessional served as both therapist and data collector. In home settings, parents served as both therapist and data collector. Results indicated consistent skill acquisition across clinic and home settings.

The National Research Council stresses the importance of creating early intervention goals that facilitate independence and responsibility. Which means, for a young child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), these early intervention goals should help them integrate into a classroom setting and in social situations. Despite this recommendation, many early intervention services are delivered in a 1:1 format, which does not fully prepare young children for a classroom setting. Social skills and school readiness behaviors are more appropriately targeted in a small group setting that mimics a typical classroom. Participation within a classroom requires particular skill sets that include, but are not limited to, attending to the teacher, appropriately following receptive instructions, transitioning, sitting with a group of peers, toileting, and interacting with peer. This presentation will discuss the importance of these skills. A description of the behaviors targeted within the early intervention classroom as well as data collection techniques will be provided. The author will also discuss the feasibility of continuing to incorporate and collect data on a variety of individualized targets.

Errorless prompting strategies have been shown to be effective when teaching children a variety of skills. However, in a classroom setting, errorless prompting can prove difficult. Training teachers to fade prompts within discrete trial training sessions and collect data that meet the teachers needs and aid in program implementation may be challenging in the school environment. In the present study 3 classroom teachers and 3 paraprofessionals working in self-contained autism classrooms in both rural and metropolitan public school districts were trained by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in methods of implementation and data collection associated with a modified errorless teaching strategy. Procedural fidelity data were collected to ensure that the teachers were mixing and varying easy vs. difficult tasks, using the correct materials, employing the correct prompt hierarchy, and collecting data correctly during 1: 1 discrete trial instruction. Data will be presented to show procedural fidelity of all trained steps in the modified errorless procedure developed for use in public school classrooms.

In the present study 3 classroom teachers working in self-contained classrooms for students with autism in both rural and metropolitan public school districts were trained by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in methods of implementation and data collection associated with discrete trial training. The teachers were also trained to make data-based decisions according to specified rules for making changes in program targets and for adding or fading prompts used during teaching. The training model included a 3 years post-training consultation with decreased intensity across years given high rates of fidelity with the overall program objectives. A first year classroom involved intense supervision and guidance for decision making. Year 2 and 3 classroom teachers received progressively less direct supervision. The teachers experience in using these methods ranged from 1 to 3 years. Data will be presented showing the types of teacher decision making errors. Data on differences between years of experience and errors will be shown to demonstrate stability or increase in proficiency with the methodology across the years of training.