Behavioral Interventions最新文献

Equivalence-based instruction (EBI) and transfer of function are effective with neurotypical adults and children; however, only one study to date evaluated their effectiveness with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We used EBI to teach three preschool children with ASD to form three age-appropriate classes (categories) consisting of three stimuli each. We directly taught two relations between stimuli in each class (e.g., firefighter-doctor; doctor-teacher), and the remaining relations between the stimuli (e.g., doctor-firefighter, teacher-doctor, doctor-teacher, teacher-doctor) emerged. Then, we taught participants to respond as listeners when asked about the function of a stimulus in each category (e.g., point to a state when asked, “Point to a place where people live”). As a result, the respective function transferred among the other stimuli in each category. This study supports the effectiveness of EBI and transfer of function with children with ASD learning age-appropriate skills in an applied setting.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of measures are necessary to provide evidence-based educational intervention services among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across countries. Language plays an integral role in the cross-cultural adaptation and validation process of measures. Currently, there are limited validated tools in Chinese available to assess special education teachers' skills in functional behavior assessments and interventions in Mainland China to effectively support students with ASD. This study aimed to validate a Chinese version of the Skills and Needs Inventories in Functional Behavior Assessments and Interventions (SNI-FBAI-CN) in mainland China. The SNI-FBAI, originally developed and validated in Singapore, in the English language, was translated, culturally adapted, and then administered to 239 special education teachers in two schools for children with ASD in China. Results show that the SNI-FBAI-CN has a three-factor structure (i.e., skills in behavioral assessment, skills in behavioral interventions, and needs for training) that fits the data well, with good reliability for the overall scale, as well as the three subscales. Partial measurement invariance was established between the Chinese and the original Singapore samples, providing additional construct validity evidence for this tool. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed.

Oral hygiene is an important self-care skill that some children may lack, especially children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although some studies have evaluated procedures for teaching toothbrushing, no previous studies have demonstrated procedures for teaching flossing, which is essential for oral hygiene. This study evaluated an intervention for teaching water flossing to two children with ASD and two children without an ASD diagnosis. The intervention package included backward chaining, video modeling, and reinforcement, with some components implemented by a caregiver and some components implemented by an experimenter via telehealth. Behavioral skills training was used to train caregivers prior to implementation of the study. Results indicated that the intervention package was effective in teaching all participants to independently floss their teeth with a water flosser. Effects maintained for all participants 1-week after completion of teaching. Questionnaires given to caregivers, participants, and dental professionals indicated high social validity.

Justice-involved youth (JIY) display skills deficits in a variety of domains, but particularly in life skills such as health habits, obtaining a job, and maintaining finances. These skills are particularly important for JIY, who often come from historically disenfranchised communities. This population encounters many challenges as they transition from juvenile correctional facilities to their respective communities. To have the greatest impact, these skills should likely be taught prior to the transition. Thus, the purpose of this study was to teach basic personal finance skills to adolescent males in a juvenile residential treatment facility, using an information packet with rehearsal and feedback. The intervention was specifically chosen to be minimally invasive due to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic relating to providing services to JIY. Data were analyzed visually using nonconcurrent multiple baseline designs. The results of the study showed the intervention was moderately effective at teaching basic financial skills relating to budgeting, banking, and credit to four participants.

Social stimuli are some of the most commonly used reinforcers. Previous research shows that preference for social stimuli can be identified using paired-stimulus preference assessments (PSPA) employing various stimulus modes (e.g., pictures of the actual social stimuli). To date, no study has evaluated the correspondence in preference for social stimuli identified via PSPAs completed using three differing stimulus modes. Therefore, this study compared the correspondence in preference hierarchy identified via PSPAs completed using video of the social stimuli (VSM), pictures of the actual social stimuli (PSM-A), and drawings of the social stimuli (PSM-D) and whether preference hierarchy remained stable over repeated administration of the PSPAs (i.e., 1 month). Moreover, we assessed participants' preference for the three types of stimulus modes. Results demonstrated that during the initial PSPAs, preference hierarchies were most similar across the PSPAs completed using VSM and PSM-A, that preference was most stable across repeated administration of the PSPAs completed using the VSM, and that participants' preference for differing stimulus modes was idiosyncratic. Moreover, the PSPAs completed using the VSM required the longest amount of time to create materials and administer the assessment.

Staff implementation fidelity of behavioral interventions is an ongoing challenge in many educational settings. The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS) is one tool that may be effective in identifying effective solutions to identified staff performance issues. This study examined the use of the PDC-HS to assess and identify interventions for increasing staff delivery of token reinforcers within a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) school-wide system. Participants included five classroom teachers, ranging from 2 to 22 years of teaching experience. A concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used including a baseline condition, implementation of a non-indicated intervention based on the PDC-HS, and implementation of a PDC-HS indicated intervention. The number of teacher-delivered tokens per school day was measured across the study. Results indicated participants' daily number of delivered tokens increased following implementation of the PDC-HS indicated intervention.

Establishing conditioned reinforcers is often critical to treatment for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs). Although researchers have evaluated several procedures, methods and results vary across studies, making it difficult to draw conclusions about these procedures' general and relative effectiveness. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the overall and relative effectiveness of stimulus-stimulus (S-S) pairing, response-stimulus (R-S) pairing, and operant discrimination training (ODT) for establishing conditioned reinforcers for children on the autism spectrum or who have an IDD. Thirty-one studies, including 12 theses and dissertations, met inclusion criteria. Eight studies evaluated S-S pairing, 20 evaluated R-S pairing, and nine evaluated ODT. Combined, S-S pairing, R-S pairing, and ODT were effective at establishing conditioned reinforcers in only half of all attempts. However, analysis indicated that R-S pairing is the most effective procedure, followed by S-S pairing and ODT, in that order.

A group contingency is one in which a common consequence (e.g., a reinforcer or a punisher) is contingent on the behavior of one member of a group, the behavior of part of a group, or the behavior of every member in a group. The most commonly used group contingencies in behavior-analytic practice and research include interdependent, independent, and dependent group contingencies. Group contingencies are advantageous for multiple reasons, including their versatility, as they have been demonstrated to be effective across individuals, settings, and behaviors. Additionally, they are efficient as they can facilitate behavior change in multiple individuals at once. Previous literature reviews have supported the use of group contingencies with children; however, there has yet to be a systematic literature review conducted on group contingencies with adults. Because group contingencies have multiple benefits, it is important that a literature review be conducted to assess the evidence of these interventions when implemented with adults. A literature review of studies utilizing group contingencies with adults was conducted. Trends across studies, the efficacy of different group contingencies, clinical implications, and recommendations for future research are provided.

The Brief Experimental Analysis (BEA) is an effective method for identifying interventions to improve academic skills but rarely been applied to individuals with writing deficits and individuals with intellectual disabilities. This study extends the BEA literature by identifying effective writing interventions to increase writing speed for a 16-year-old female with an intellectual disability. A BEA was used to evaluate four interventions (i.e., tracing, oral instruction, fixed ratio reinforcement, and response dependent reinforcer magnitude) for writing speed. Results identified fixed ratio reinforcement and response dependent reinforcer magnitude as most effective in increasing writing speed; results maintained over an extended treatment evaluation.