Association for Behavior Analysis International

In the decades since the "coercive family process" was introduced by Patterson (1982), it has become the defining explanatory framework for the problem behavior of children with conduct disorder. Unfortunately, no similar model exists for these behaviors as observed in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This talk will introduce the "concession process" as a new framework from which to understand how these behaviors develop over time. Important new longitudinal data from parents as well as children with ASD will be described along with data from a randomized clinical trial showing how addressing this concept can significantly improve treatment outcomes. Outcomes show that this new treatment—called "positive family intervention"—can result in significantly improved child behavior that maintains over at least 12 months. Implications for understanding challenging behavior at home, in school, and in the community will be discussed.

In 2009 the National Autism Center published the National Standards Project in an effort to address the need for evidence-based practice guidelines for Autism Spectrum Disorders. The authors conducted an empirical evaluation of all available services for this population and summarized all intervention types as either: 1) Established, 2) Emerging or 3) Unestablished. Although some of the interventions identified as Emerging are based on a foundation of ABA, the authors noted that an increased level of empirical evidence is required for these to be considered Established. Floortime (Emerging) is identified as a treatment based on developmental theory, with an emphasis on building social relationships. Although widely acknowledged amongst the behavior analytic community as a non-empirically supported treatment, some previous authors have noted that the approach involves a combination of procedures based on established ABA techniques (Metz, Mulick, & Butter, 2005). For the current investigation, retrospective analyses of video-recorded Floortime sessions were conducted in an effort to systematically identify the behavioral contingencies in operation. All sessions were conducted by a certified Floortime therapist and scored by two independent observers with advanced training in ABA. Data were recorded in a manner consistent with standard descriptive functional behavioral assessments, both therapist and child behaviors were recorded, and response measurement procedures were individualized per dyad. Results are presented with respect to the potential limitations and contributions presented by the Floortime model, and related implications for the dissemination of ABA-based services for individuals with ASD and the larger field of behavior analysis.

We conducted an Internet survey of parents who managed Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention programs for their young child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The survey presented questions about the number of hours of intervention provided, pay rates for teaching assistants and professional supervisors, training for intervention staff, and parent assessment of program success. In addition we obtained information on the total program costs over a one year period, source(s) of parent- provided program funds, parent loss of income due to program management and the availability of outside funding support. We asked a series of questions as to whether credentials in ABA served as a factor in hiring program supervisors or direct teaching staff. This survey has been completed. In this presentation we will provide highlights of the finding as well as a sample of the parents responses to open ended questions. The results will likely be of interest to those concerned with the quality and costs of EIBI programs, training for interventionists, and for those concerned with the public policy aspects of equitable provision of this resource-intensive yet highly effective program option for children with ASD. This survey was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Florida Atlantic University.