Behavioral Interventions最新文献

This study evaluated the effectiveness of behavioral skills training (BST) as an intervention to improve bowling form of three adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability. We used a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design to evaluate the changes in each participant's bowling form. Across all three participants, form improved with BST alone and one participant's form improved even more with the addition of a tangible reinforcement component. However, the number of pins knocked down did not substantially change across participants between baseline, intervention, and follow-up. The results of this study suggest that BST is an effective intervention for improving specific components of sports-related skills, such as bowling form, in individuals with intellectual disability, though further research is needed to evaluate its impact on performance outcomes.

Behavior analysts often need to rely on interobserver agreement (IOA) as a substitute for direct measures of the accuracy of collected trial-by-trial data. In these situations, behavior analysts often report the sum of instances wherein two people agreed divided by the total opportunities where they could have agreed. Though this is easy to calculate, easy to communicate, and provides a balanced comparison of agreement relative to total opportunities, it does not provide specific information on disagreements, is misleading with imbalanced datasets, and has decreased corrective utility with ceiling/floor effects. In this manuscript, we describe eight alternative measures from the binary classification literature. For each measure, we describe its benefits and drawbacks and the conditions under which each might have greater practical utility based on the function of analyzing IOA data. Understanding the measures described in this manuscript may allow behavior analysts to get more information from their IOA data.

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often taught within inclusive classrooms, which provide opportunities to develop social communication and peer interaction skills. Pivotal response training (PRT) and peer-mediated intervention (PMI) are evidence-based practices that promote social skill development. We used a concurrent multiple probe across peers design to evaluate the effects of training three third-grade peers to use PRT as a PMI to promote the social communication and play behaviors of a classmate with ASD during recess. Generalization measures were conducted in the classroom during free play. Results indicated a functional relationship between training peers on PRT and increased use of PRT and between peers' use of PRT and the target child's communication to peers, confirmed by Tau-U and visual analysis. A functional relation between peers' use of PRT and the target child's play with peers was not demonstrated. Similar effects were observed in the generalization environment.

Visual schedules (VS) are often recommended with individuals with autism to improve transitions in educational settings based on the assumption that enhanced predictability will improve transitions. However, previous literature reviews have not examined the evidence that the VS intervention component contributes to improved transitions. We searched peer-reviewed journals in the APA PsychInfo database and included studies in which researchers implemented a VS and measured increases in appropriate behavior (e.g., on-task) and/or decreases in problem behavior (e.g., aggression). Based on the current review, the included studies provided insufficient evidence that the VS component of the intervention contributed to improved transitions with individuals diagnosed with ASD. We found that VS are typically presented along with other treatment components with documented efficacy, and few component analyses have been conducted. Practice recommendations and areas for future research are discussed.

Haptic feedback involves the delivery of a vibratory stimulus contingent upon a behavior targeted for increase or decrease. Among other applications, it has been used to prompt initiation of social interactions and increase on-task time in children with disabilities. In the current study, we used a combination reversal and nonconcurrent multiple baseline design to evaluate haptic feedback delivered via a bracelet to reduce toe walking exhibited by an adolescent with autism and a typically developing young adult. The feedback was effective to reduce toe walking to low levels. In addition, participants reported that the bracelet was helpful to improve their gait. Participants also noted that they would be willing to wear the bracelet outside of research sessions. We discuss the possible behavioral mechanisms responsible for the effects of the haptic feedback and provide directions for future research.

The high-probability instructional sequence (HPIS) is a widely used behavior analytical intervention comprising multiple components and procedural variations; therefore, identifying the key elements contributing to its efficacy is crucial. Twenty articles published between 2010 and 2022 met our inclusion criteria. We quantified the association between HPIS procedural variations and the intervention's efficacy. Across the studies included in this review, HPIS was associated with a moderately large effect or a large effect and deemed as effective for at least 60% of the data sets when (a) during the compliance assessment, compliance was exposed to appetitive consequences, (b) during the HPIS evaluation, the same combination of stimuli (e.g., edible and praise; tactile stimulus and praise) was delivered contingent on compliance with the high-p and low-p, and (c) during the HPIS evaluation different consequences were provided for compliance with the low-p and high-p and combined stimuli were presented as a reinforcer following compliance to low-p (i.e., praise for compliance with the high-p and praise and tactile stimulus for compliance with the low-p). The associations identified in this review can guide the design and implementation of HPIS in applied settings. Additionally, the results highlight the need for additional empirical evaluations of isolated and combined components of HPIS to determine their relative contribution to the intervention efficacy and to determine the generality of the results of previous studies.