Association for Behavior Analysis International

Effectiveness of an instruction should not be considered the only factor when deciding a procedure. Efficiency of the instruction is another factor to consider while designing instruction. A multiple baseline design across behaviors was used to examine the effects of simultaneous prompting procedure delivered along with instructive feedback and observational learning stimuli in heterogeneous small group arrangement in teaching academic skills to students with ASD. Three 10 and 11 years old male students with autism spectrum disorders participated in the study. Results showed the simultaneous prompting procedure delivered in group arrangement in teaching academic skills to students with ASD was effective and they acquired their instructive feedback stimuli and observational learning stimuli. Furthermore, the simultaneous prompting procedure was effective in the maintenance and generalization of the acquired target skills and they maintained the instructive feedback stimuli and observational learning stimuli over time and across persons and materials. All these findings provide the groundwork for suggesting teachers to use the simultaneous prompting procedure with the presentation of nontarget information and providing opportunity of observational learning when teaching students with ASD. Future research is needed to support these findings.

Study #1: Teaching a basic skill such as matching can be very challenging for children with severe developmental delays. However, teaching basic skills such as matching and sorting can be beneficial to the childs educational foundation. This current study examined the effectiveness of a visual modification when teaching basic matching skills to a 3.1 yoa child with severe developmental delays including autism and other genetic diagnoses. The visual modification consisted of blank pieces of 8x11 paper, dark-lined boxes drawn on 8x11 paper, lighter versions of the same box on the paper, and a blank tabletop. The visual modifications were systematically faded by lightening the boarders of the boxes on the sheets of paper and then in order to ensure correct responding with gradually more and more independence. The results showed that the child learned to match up to 32 different identical items using the visual modifications. The visual modifications were able to be successfully faded out within 30 training sessions. Following discrete training, this child was also able to match in an increased field (FO2 to FO3), match novel items, and match 2D to 3D and 3D to 2D items after the visual modification was successfully faded. Study #2: The second study conducted was to evaluate how basic matching skills taught in study #1 can generalize to receptive language skills. After the matching targets were mastered, receptive skills were targeted such as Give me (item). Specifically, we were interested in evaluating if we could teach basic language skills using receptive programs for the same child with severe delays using the same items from the previous matching program. The receptive programs included the SD Give me (item) all in a field of 2 stimuli Step 1: SD with visual item available in RBT possession Step 2: SD with a visual flash of the item requested (3-5 seconds) Step 3: SD with out visual present Thus far, the data show receptive language skills were acquired for 1 of 5 items introduced. The child is able to give the correct item when given the SD Give me (item) with out a visual present. Data collection is ongoing as we increase the number of items for receptive identification. Limitations include a possibility of item memorization, and high sessions to acquisition, FO2 not FO3.

Behavior-Analytic intervention is difficult to disseminate among the population affected by autism, in developing countries such as Brazil, due to its high cost. Because of that, Behavior-Analytic intervention is still not accessible to a large portion of the affected population. Previous research has shown that parent-implemented intervention may be one effective alternative format of intervention for a considerable number of families. In the current research, we search for experimental data comparing efficiency of parent-implemented intervention to intervention implemented by professionals. Two children diagnosed with autism (Luke and Lucelle) participated, as well as their caregivers, and three professionals. The professionals were psychologists who were engaged in the Graduate Program on Theory and Research of Behavior, at the Federal University of Par (UFPA). All caregivers participated in an instructional videomodeling training program to implement DTT. The independent variable was the implementation of intervention programs by caregivers versus by professionals. The dependent variable was the child's performance accuracy. Each child was given training with both parent and professional implementation for different targets of all intervention programs. For example, for Program A, target A1 and A2 were taught by professionals and A3 and A4 by parents. For Program B, targets B1 and B2 were taught by parents and B3 and B4 by professionals. A multiple probe experimental design (with alternation of treatment) was used. For Luke, no difference of acquisition was observed between targets taught by parents versus by professionals. For Lucelle, when some difference was found, it was based on the fact that she mastered some of targets more quickly with parental implementation than with professional implementation. One possible explanation is that the social pairing between this child and her parents is stronger than with professionals. The overall data confirm that parent-implemented intervention is as an alternative to disseminate Behavior-Analytic intervention to autism. Future research will investigate the profile of families suitable for this intervention format.

Recent research has pointed out that caregiver-implemented teaching is a promising tool to disseminate behavior-analytic intervention in developing countries such as Brazil (with little governmental support for that issue). Parent-implemented intervention may make high quality intervention more accessible to the affected population. This paper presents data from a study using an online-based learning system and evaluating its efficacy on teaching one parent of a child with autism (Vanessa) and an undergraduate student (Sandra) to implement discrete trials. The dependent variable was the implementation accuracy of teaching programs. The independent variable was the exposition to an online-based system, comprising instructional videos about 1. Discrete trials; 2. Prompting Procedures; and 3. Correction Procedures, and questionnaires about them. Once a final questionnaire about all modules was answered correctly, the participants implemented the programs with a confederate (intervention), and after achieving at least 85% of accuracy in two consecutive sessions, programs were implemented with children with autism (generalization phase). Vanessas performance increased from 60% in the baseline phase to 98,5% in the last intervention session. Sandras performance increased from 63% in the last baseline session to 98% in the last intervention session. By this research, we can develop a promising procedure to reduce the presence-based workload throughout this process, in order to make possible for the behavior analysts to disseminate this type of intervention a wider portion of the population, in developing countries, where there is little availability of qualified professionals for that purpose.