Association for Behavior Analysis International

As the incidence rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continue to rise, innovative delivery models for wide-scale dissemination of effective, empirically validated treatments for ASD are urgently needed. Parent-implemented interventions for ASD offer multiple advantages, and a number of non-behavior analytic, developmental interventions for ASD have distinguished themselves from ABA-based interventions by explicitly centering on parent-implementation. Non-behavior analytic, parent-implemented developmental interventions have also been the focus of multiple randomized clinical trials (RCTs), and despite mixed outcomes, contribute to an increasing volume of ASD intervention research in disciplines outside behavior analysis. This symposium will explore critical issues in the evaluation and dissemination of a parent-implemented intervention based on Skinners analysis of verbal behavior, including preliminary treatment outcomes comparing parent-implemented behavior analytic and non-behavior analytic interventions, as well as the development and early evaluation of a telehealth delivery model of parent-implemented behavior analytic intervention based on Skinners analysis of verbal behavior.

Early interventions for ASD based on Applied Behavior Analysis have not traditionally been designed exclusively for parent-implementation. Recently, several developmental interventions for ASD have distinguished themselves from thoroughgoing behavior analytic interventions by explicitly centering on parent-implementation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a parent-implemented ABA intervention based on Skinners analysis of verbal behavior (ABA/VB) and Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) as adjunctive treatments to treatment-as-usual (TAU) by conducting a small, randomized pilot trial. ABA/VB and RDI have vastly different theoretical bases as well as different primary targets for intervention; however, both approaches assume that joint attention and verbal behavior, respectively, will emerge as a corollary effect of the intervention. To prepare for evaluation, 16-session adjunctive, parent-implemented intervention manuals for ABA/VB and RDI developed, manualized, and validated. Outcomes were assessed at pre-treatment, post-treatment (3 months) and at 3 months follow-up (6 months post-baseline) via direct observation and standardized measures. Preliminary pilot results indicated that the parent-implemented ABA/VB intervention group experienced gains in responding and initiating forms of joint attention and verbal behavior, whereas the gains in RDI intervention group were largely limited to responding forms of joint attention and verbal behavior.

Telehealth technology has the potential to remove barriers to wide-scale dissemination of effective parent-implemented intervention. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a telehealth delivery model of a parent-implemented intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) based on the science of Applied Behavior Analysis and Skinner�s analysis of verbal behavior (ABA/VB). A multiple baseline across participants design was used to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of a parent-implemented VB intervention delivered through a web-based videoconferencing platform for 6 parent-child dyads. Parent training was delivered through in-person coaching and video conferencing software over 10-weeks. Parents were coached in the implementation of verbal acquisition and behavior reduction strategies for 1 hour each week by trained graduate student therapists. Direct observations of the parent-child interactions including parent implementation fidelity and rates of child verbal behavior were collected at the beginning of each session. Preliminary results indicated parents� levels of implementation fidelity and rates of child manding increased after treatment was introduced, and these improvements were maintained throughout telehealth phase of the study. These initial results suggest that telehealth delivery of the parent-implemented ABA/VB intervention may be effective as a primary treatment delivery vehicle or as an adjunctive mechanism to promote maintenance of treatment gains.