| Abstract: Abstract
The purpose of the current investigation was to evaluate the effects of training parents to implement functional communication training (FCT) and the effects of that intervention on the occurrence of their children’s problem behaviors in natural (home) settings. The investigation assessed whether the training resulted in correct parental implementation of procedures and determined whether it produces concomitant changes in the child's behavior. A functional assessment of problem behaviors was conducted to determine the functions of problem behaviors. A multiple baseline across dyads was used. Data were collected on appropriate parent implementation of FCT. In addition, further measures included parents’ implementation of prompting appropriate communicative behavior while blocking/ignoring problem behavior. Results suggest that parents can be taught to implement FCT successfully and prompt or block/ignore inappropriate behavior, which decreased the rates of problem behaviors.
DESCRIPTORS: autism, blocking, developmental disabilities, differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors, extinction, functional analysis, functional communication training, ignoring, parent-training, problem behavior, reinforcement |