Parent‐implemented behavioral skills training of social skills

Impairment in social skills is a primary feature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Research indicates that social skills are intimately tied to social development and negative social consequences can persist if specific social behaviors are not acquired. The present study evaluated the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) on teaching four parents of children with ASDs to be social skills trainers. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across parent–child dyads was employed and direct observation was used to assess parent and child behaviors Results demonstrated substantial improvement in social skills teaching for all participants for trained and untrained skills. Ancillary measures of child performance indicated improvement in skills as well. High levels of correct teaching responses were maintained at a 1 month follow‐up. This study extends current literature on BST while also providing a helpful, low‐effort strategy to modify how parents can work with their children to improve their social skills.     

Training parent implementation of discrete-trial teaching: effects on generalization of parent teaching and child correct responding

Behavioral skills training was used to teach 3 parents to implement discrete-trial teaching with their children with developmental disabilities. Parents learned to implement discrete-trial training, their skills generalized to novel programs, and the children's correct responding increased, suggesting that behavioral skills training is an effective and efficient method of teaching discrete-trial teaching to parents.     

Evaluating parent-implemented behavioral skills training for teaching firearm safety skills

Research shows that behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training (IST) are effective interventions for teaching safety skills to children. In addition, the efficiency of these interventions can be increased when parents, teachers, or peers are taught to implement them. The purpose of this study was to replicate Novotny et al. (2020) and evaluate a web-based program for teaching parents to conduct BST to teach safety skills to prevent gunplay. We randomly assigned 18 children to the parent-conducted BST group or a control group and evaluated the intervention in a posttest only control group design. Children in the control group or treatment group who did not score a three in the in situ assessment (do not touch, get away, and tell an adult) received IST from their parents and were assessed again. Results showed that safety skill scores were statistically significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control group. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant increase in safety skills scores following IST for children who received it.     

Effects of behavioral skills training on parental treatment of children's food selectivity

We used behavioral skills training to teach parents of 3 children with autism spectrum disorder and food selectivity to conduct a home-based treatment package that consisted of taste exposure, escape extinction, and fading. Parent performance following training improved during both taste sessions and probe meals and was reflected in increases in children's acceptance of bites and decreases in their disruptive behavior. Parents also reported that increases in diet variety were maintained at follow-up.     

Effects of a Center-Based Parent Training Package on Parents’ Accuracy of Generalized Program Implementations at Home

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a parent training package on parents’ accuracy of program implementations and their children’s goal achievements on parent-implemented programs at home. Parents also completed a quiz with questions about three-contingencies before and after the training. Three mother-child dyads participated in this study. All three children were 4-year-old boys with developmental delays. We employed a multiple baseline across three parent-child dyads as the primary design combined with a pretest and posttest. The individual parent training sessions consisted of office meetings and in-vivo classroom coaching sessions on program implementations. Each parent was trained individually to mastery criteria on program implementations using the Teacher Performance Rate Accuracy Scale (TPRA). After completing the parent training package, all parents acquired program implementations skills, and their program implementation skills were generalized to teach new behaviors at home with a high level of fidelity. Their quiz scores on three-term contingencies also increased to a relatively high level.     

Impact of Child and Parent Motivation on Social Skills Training Outcome

This study explores child and parent motivation at the start of a social skills training group program and its relationship with treatment outcome. A total of 59 children (aged 7–12) participated. Parents were more aware of, distressed by, and motivated to change the presenting problem than were their children. Greater parent awareness of their child’s difficulty making and keeping friends and perceived importance of their child learning ways to make and keep more friends significantly predicted more improved social skills. Increasing parents’ awareness and perceived importance of treating the presenting problem at the start of therapy may increase treatment effectiveness.     

Enhancing the training integrity of human service staff using pyramidal behavioral skills training

This experiment used a pyramidal training model to evaluate the effects of behavioral skills training (BST), delivered in a 1-time group-training format, on the extent to which 25 human service staff implemented BST when training others how to implement behavioral procedures. Results indicated that (a) the training workshop increased BST integrity to mastery levels for the majority of participants with varying levels of education, organizational positions, and training experience, (b) the training effects generalized to teaching an untrained skill, and (c) high levels of BST integrity maintained at follow-up 4 to 6 weeks after training for all 3 participants with whom probes were conducted. Moreover, participants indicated high levels of satisfaction with both the training workshop and BST as a training procedure.     

Using behavioral skills training with preservice teachers in the university classroom

Preservice and novice teachers often identify behavior management as an area of weakness that they attribute to a lack of sufficient instruction during their teacher preparation. Behavioral skills training (BST) is an evidence‐based teaching methodology based on the principles of applied behavior analysis used to teach new skills. This study investigated the use of BST in the university setting to teach undergraduate preservice teachers enrolled in a field‐based special education course to implement a token economy during small group instruction with children. A single‐case research design was used to assess the effectiveness of using BST by evaluating accuracy of implementation before and after BST. Results showed BST was an effective teaching procedure and social validity measures collected from the preservice teachers indicated BST was acceptable to all participants. Limitations and needs for future research are discussed.     

A preliminary evaluation of two behavioral skills training procedures for teaching abduction-prevention skills to schoolchildren

Although child abduction is a low-rate event, it presents a serious threat to the safety of children. The victims of child abduction face the threat of physical and emotional injury, sexual abuse, and death. Previous research has shown that behavioral skills training (BST) is effective in teaching children abduction-prevention skills, although not all children learn the skills. This study compared BST only to BST with an added in situ training component to teach abduction-prevention skills in a small-group format to schoolchildren. Results showed that both programs were effective in teaching abduction-prevention skills. In addition, the scores for the group that received in situ training were significantly higher than scores for the group that received BST alone at the 3-month follow-up assessment.     

A Teacher-Consultation Approach to Social Skills Training for Pre-Kindergarten Children: Treatment Model and Short-Term Outcome Effects

This study evaluated the post-treatment outcome effects of a classroom-based social skills program for pre-kindergarten children, using a teacher-consultation model. The pre-K RECAP (Reaching Educators, Children, and Parents) program is a semi-structured, cognitive-behavioral skills training program that provides teachers with in-classroom consultation on program implementation and classroom-wide behavior management. Data on children's social skills and behavior problems were collected from parents and teachers at pre- and post-treatment, for 149 children aged 4–5 years (of whom 56% were girls). Significant treatment effects were found for teacher but not parent reports, with treatment group children improving significantly more than comparison group children in their teacher-rated social skills and internalizing and externalizing problems. These results provide some preliminary support for the efficacy of the program on children's social skills and behavior problems, and for a teacher-consultation model for training teachers to implement school-based mental health programs.     

COMMUNICATION SKILLS TRAINING FOR PARENTS: EXPERIMENTAL AND SOCIAL VALIDATION

Coordination of professional services on behalf of children often hinges on the involvement of informed parents. The purposes of this study were to identify and experimentally and socially validate skills required of parents for effective communication with professionals. Target skills were identified on the basis of judges' social validation ratings of (a) sample interactions between parents and professionals and (b) the behaviors comprising a resultant task analysis. Eight parents were then trained in these skills via an instructional package. Results of a multiple baseline design across subjects and grouped skill domains showed that each parent acquired the targeted skills during simulated conferences and that correct responding usually generalized to actual conferences. Independent judges validated training outcomes, and participating parents indicated satisfaction with the curriculum.     

Peer tutoring to prevent firearm play acquisition, generalization, and long-term maintenance of safety skills

Hundreds of accidental injuries and deaths to children occur annually in the United States as a result of firearm play. Behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training have been found to be effective in teaching children the skills to use if they find a firearm, but training requires substantial time and effort. The current study examined the use of peers as tutors as a potential way to decrease the time and resources needed to teach these safety skills to youngsters. Peer trainers conducted BST and in situ training with other children. Children taught by the peer trainers acquired the safety skills and demonstrated them in naturalistic situations in which the skills were needed. Furthermore, all of the peer trainers acquired and maintained the skills. These results support the use of peer tutoring for teaching safety skills to other children.     

Telehealth and in‐person training outcomes for novice discrete trial training therapists

The efficacy and efficiency of telehealth and in‐person training were compared while teaching seven undergraduate students to implement components of discrete trial training. A multiple‐baseline design across skills with elements of multiple probe and delayed multiple baseline combined with an alternating‐treatments design was used to evaluate the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) on (a) implementing a multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment, (b) setting up an instructional context, (c) delivering antecedent prompts, and (d) delivering consequences for accurate and inaccurate responding. Two skills were trained via telehealth and two skills were trained in‐person using BST procedures with a mock student. All participants provided high acceptability ratings for both training procedures. Results also showed that telehealth training was as efficacious and efficient as in‐person training for all skills across all participants. Five of six participants showed high levels of maintenance of the newly acquired skills; these five also exhibited the skills during a novel instructional task.     

Preliminary evaluation of a parent training program to prevent gun play

Recent research has shown that behavioral skills training with in situ training is an effective strategy to teach children the safety skills needed if they ever encounter an unattended firearm. The current study evaluated the use of parents as trainers to increase the efficiency of training. The success of parent training on their children's safety skills was evaluated in a multiple baseline across participants design. The results showed that the training was effective for 3 of the 4 children.     

Evaluation of behavioral skills training to prevent gun play in children

This study evaluated behavioral skills training (BST), in a multiple baseline across subjects design, for teaching firearm safety skills to 6 6- and 7-year-old children. Similar to previous research with 4- and 5-year-olds, half of the children acquired the safety skills following BST and half acquired the skills following BST plus in situ training.     

Back to sleep: Teaching adults to arrange safe infant sleep environments

There are over 3,000 sleep related infant deaths each year in the United States. Attempts to teach medical personnel and parents safe infant sleep practices in the infant sleep training literature have demonstrated mixed results. Thus, strategies to teach arrangements of safe infant sleep environments warrant further investigation. Behavioral skills training (BST) is an evidence-based teaching strategy shown to successfully teach various safety skills to children and adults. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of behavioral skills training to teach safe infant sleep practices to typically developing adults. Specifically, differential responding was assessed across multiple environmental arrangements typical of contexts parents may be exposed to when putting an infant to sleep. BST significantly improved appropriate arrangement of a safe sleep environment for infants for all 8 participants.     

Evaluation of Peer Training for Teaching Abduction Prevention Skills

Child abduction is a serious problem, with approximately 100 children killed each year by nonfamily abductors. Training programs to teach children the correct skills to use if they ever come into contact with a stranger can be effective when they incorporate behavioral skills training (BST) and in-situ training (IST) into their protocol. However, these methods can be rather time and energy consuming. The current study evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of a peer tutoring approach to teaching abduction prevention skills. Peer trainers implemented BST sessions and IST sessions with their younger peers. Children successfully acquired the target safety behaviors taught by the peer trainers, and use of the skills generalized to their natural environment.     

PARENT EDUCATION PROJECT III: INCREASING AFFECTION AND RESPONSIVITY IN DEVELOPMENTALLY HANDICAPPED MOTHERS: COMPONENT ANALYSIS,GENERALIZATION, AND EFFECTS ON CHILD LANGUAGE

We evaluated the effects of a parent training program consisting of verbal instruction, modeling, and feedback on the affection and responsivity of 3 developmentally handicapped mothers towards their children. The results indicated the following: First, the training package increased maternal physical affection, praise, and imitation of child vocalizations. These parenting skills increased to levels found in comparison groups of nonhandicapped mothers. Second, the training package was more effective than verbal instruction alone, the latter being the predominant method presently used by social service workers. Third, most maternal gains were maintained over a 3- to 18-month follow-up period, although one mother required a reinforced maintenance procedure. Fourth, instructing mothers to generalize served to increase the generalization of newly acquired skills from play times (the training context) to child-care tasks (e.g., diapering, feeding). Fifth, teaching the parents to imitate child vocalizations was related to gains in both the frequency and quality of verbal behavior of the two language delayed children as measured by standardized developmental tests and in vivo comparisons with age-matched children (who had nonhandicapped parents). These results show that behavioral instruction can improve important child-rearing skills of developmentally handicapped mothers, with corresponding benefits to their children.     

TEACHING A PARENT TO TRAIN A SPOUSE IN CHILD MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

This study analyzed several aspects of the training of a mother and father in child management techniques for use with their 6-year-old severely developmentally delayed son. The mother received clinic training in procedures for increasing her son's independent dressing skills; subsequently, she was asked to teach the same procedures to her husband with no assistance from the trainer. For both parents, procedures were introduced sequentially across two components of parent behavior in a multiple baseline design. Examinations were made of (a) the effectiveness of initial child management training on the mother's behaviors, (b) her ability to teach the same techniques to her husband independently, (c) the generalization of both parents' skills from the training setting (a dressing task) to two untrained activities (eating and toy use), and (d) the impact of training on the child's behavior. Results showed that the mother learned to implement the trained procedures and successfully communicated them to her husband, as evidenced by substantial positive changes in both parents' behaviors after being introduced to the child management skills. Both parents showed some generalization to the untrained activities, and their written comments following training indicated they understood the procedures. Clear-cut improvements were observed in the child's attending and independent performance of dressing and toy use skills concurrent with parent training. A 2-year follow-up report indicated that both parents retained their knowledge of skills taught, continued to use the procedures, and rated the training as very helpful in teaching the child self-help skills.