A Review of Online Training Approaches for Behavior Analytic Practices and Assessments

The picture exchange communication system (PECS) is an evidence-based communication intervention designed to improve communication skills in people with limited to no functional speech. Because of this, professionals frequently look for opportunities to receive training in how to implement PECS. Though most training methodologies have included robust, and time intensive, training methodologies, one recent study used video modeling (VM) with voice-over instructions and text descriptions to train three future professionals in the implementation of PECS. Thus, to find even more efficient and effective training methodologies, this study aimed to train future professionals in the first three phases of PECS using VM alone and, if necessary, verbal feedback. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across three participants was used in the study. The results indicated all three participants demonstrated an immediate change in skills following VM alone, with only one participant requiring brief feedback in Phase 1. This was further evidenced by large effect sizes. Thus, results indicate that training future professionals using VM was both more efficient and equally effective when compared to previous training methodologies.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and board-certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) work with clients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In general, these practitioners support a variety of skills during treatment, including language, social skills, daily living, and academics. Video modeling (VM) is an intervention that is often used to improve skills (e.g., independent living, social, behavioral, academic) for clients with disabilities. It is unknown how SLPs and BCBAs are specifically using VM to support clients, including those with ASD. The primary purpose of this study was to use an existing perception scale to analyze SLPs' and BCBAs' perspectives on and use of VM. Results have indicated that while most practitioners have heard of VM and use it with clients, barriers related to training and video creation still exist. VM is still predominantly used in clinics and special education classrooms, indicating that this evidence-based strategy is being used, but more training and generalization support is needed.

Satellite LEOP operation requires many operators with different specialties to properly conduct the demanding operations such as satellite control, flight dynamics, mission equipment operations, and other operations. Each of these operators has specialized backgrounds, skills and knowledge. Therefore, some satellite operators may only know a little about the ground system while some ground system operators may only know a little about the satellite system. It is of no doubt that training is necessary to ensure the operators obtain the necessary skills and knowledge for smooth and reliable satellite operation. However, the training of satellite operators tends to pose a dilemma in balancing its necessity with limited budget and time constraints. For LEOP operation training, the operators may number around 400 people, with many of them also responsible for pre-launch preparations, thereby being too busy with those duties to attend the operator training. At JAXA’s request, an equally effective and efficient training methodology has been developed and applied by SED (Space Engineering Development Co., Ltd.) over the course of three JAXA satellite projects. The methodology was successful in reducing the cost of training while also improving its quality. Effective planning consisting of web-based self-training and practical training is the major element of this training. At the planning stage, the skill map clarified training items in order to avoid unnecessary training of the operators. As a result, excessive training was removed, successfully reducing the manpower cost. The web-based self-training mitigated the time investment and provided greater flexibility, more effectively training the operators. In the practical training, a satellite simulator was used to simulate virtual TT&C operation. This simulator use also resulted in an increased internalization of the skills required by the operators. In this paper, the methodology of the training, along with its effects and results are introduced and discussed.

Optimizing social skills development is an important goal for families of children with autism spectrum disorders. This is a compact book edited by Andy Bondy (codeveloper of PECS) and Mary Weiss (a Board Certified Behavior Analyst) written to assist families and clinicians toward that goal. It consists of chapters written by experts in the field and is a valuable resource on available evidence-based practices for social skills development. The first chapter opens discussion of teaching social skills, the elusiveness of the term “social skills,” the need for an assessment of a child's social behavior, and identification of potential target goals. It highlights the importance of prioritizing the child's treatment plan with consideration for age, general skills, environment-appropriate goals, family priorities, ease of acquisition, individual interests, and flexibility in sequencing. Specific interventions used in teaching social skills development are then discussed, including strategies such as time delay, most to least prompting procedures, script fading procedures, audio taped scripts, incidental teaching, video modeling procedures, and pager prompts. One intriguing parenting program discussed in the book is the Sunny Starts program. It focuses on improving parent-child interactions through play and is targeted toward toddlers and their parents. It encourages parents to look for opportunities for social attending, such as the toddler's eye gaze and body movements and to identify their child's preferences and interests to help sustain their interaction. The program teaches parents to work through the acronym “DANCE”: Decide, Arrange, Now!, Count, and Enjoy. Parents first “Decide” if this is the right time to engage in play. Then, they “Arrange” their environment for the play. “Now!” refers to reminding parents to respond immediately with an enthusiastic affect when their child displays approximations. “Count” refers to parents monitoring goal responses, and finally “Enjoy” reminds parents to consider adjusting their teaching moment to ensure that both the child and they are happy. Another teaching modality described is the Claremont Autism Center's Social Skills group program, which targets higher functioning children with autism. This includes Naturalistic teaching strategies, peer mediated strategies, video modeling, scripts, self-management, and parent training. It focuses on the benefits of teaching social skills in small group settings, simulating learning among same-aged children, and providing an opportunity to practice skills with peers. Strengths of this book include that it illustrates the various strategies available in teaching social skills and highlighting the evidence behind these strategies. Many teaching strategies work within the framework of applied behavior analysis, moving toward teaching in a more natural setting, and identifying the child's intrinsic motivation to increase social behaviors. Most of the strategies discussed target children with autism, and not adults, although they may be adapted to the needs of adults with autism. Strategies may not be applicable to all children with autism. For example, when using video modeling to teach social skills, the prerequisite skills of generalized motor imitation, attending to a video, and delayed imitations of actions must be met. Ultimately, there is no single teaching modality that can address all the needs of a child's social skill development at once. This book helps to emphasize the importance of choosing social skills that are meaningful to the child and family, having a strong understanding of the goals set, developing a strategy to monitor progress, and finding ways to generalize learned social skills to broader settings. It also discusses the role of support in the home, the community, and in school with a life course perspective. Although many clinicians acknowledge the importance of social skills programs for individuals with autism, they can also benefit from a deeper understanding of the available evidence-based practices and how to maximize utility of such programs across settings. Although this book may be too advanced for parents without formal training in behavioral interventions, clinicians treating children with autism can guide families through the principles described in the book. They can ask more insightful questions about the nature of their child's social skills program and how social skills are reinforced in different settings. They can offer direction on other ways to teach children social skills and ultimately help improve outcomes.

This Multiperspectival Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (MIPA) delves into the nuanced experiences of 20 special education teachers across severe, mild to moderate, and early childhood backgrounds collaborating with Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) in school settings. While identifying facilitators and barriers to this collaboration, the study sheds light on factors that contribute to a breakdown in rapport between teachers and BCBAs. Notable challenges include perceived condescension, feelings of blame for intervention shortcomings, and receiving recommendations deemed non-feasible or impractical. Despite these hurdles, special education teachers acknowledge the expertise of BCBAs and value their contributions. The study underscores the imperative for enhanced collaboration, communication, and mutual understanding between BCBAs and special education teachers to effectively support students exhibiting challenging behaviors in diverse school settings. Recommendations include BCBAs incorporating teacher-focused measures of social validity to foster a more collaborative and supportive partnership and tailoring BCBA training to address specific challenges encountered within educational settings.

Autistic children and their families from heritage-language-speaking homes are underrepresented in empirical research and would benefit from receiving care tailored to their linguistic and cultural needs. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) commonly support autistic children in the United States but have reported limited knowledge and training in how to support bilingual children, their families, nor the bilingual staff who support them. The following research question was addressed: Do BCBA leaders in autism care who complete an asynchronous online professional development training demonstrate (a) increased knowledge, (b) improved self-efficacy, and (c) improved attitudes toward supporting multilingual Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) staff and recipients of multilingual ABA services compared to BCBA leaders in a waitlist-control group? Part of a larger sequential exploratory mixed methods study, this randomized waitlist control trial measured the impacts of a professional development training related to autism and multilingualism in ABA care on BCBAs' knowledge, self-efficacy, and attitudes. Social validity data were also collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The training significantly increased the intervention group's knowledge and reported self-efficacy compared to participants in the waitlist control group but had no significant effect on participants' attitudes. In addition, participants perceived the training as socially valid. Implications highlight the need for more attention on professional development research for autism providers, to examine pre-service training, and for clinical leaders to examine their workplace environment to promote effective and fair practices.

Based on the most recent Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts Behavior Analyst Certification Board, (2020), board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) are required to engage in collaborative practices with other related service professionals. However, the extent to which BCBAs are trained in collaborative practices and have opportunities to implement such practices is unknown. We examined training experiences in collaborative practice, and the frequency of collaborative practices for behavior analysts who have been associated with school environments. Using latent class analysis (LCA), three profile models emerged within our results that describe the frequency of collaborative practices. Participating BCBAs reported little to no training in collaborative practices. It should be noted that BCBAs employed by public school districts report engaging in high-level collaborative practices. Future research is needed to determine the quality of training in collaborative practices for behavior analysts and ways to support implementation efforts in accordance with the Ethics Code.

Board certified behavior analysts are ethically required to first address destructive behavior using reinforcement-based and other less intrusive procedures before considering the use of restrictive or punishment-based procedures (ethics standard 2.15; Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2020). However, the inclusion of punishment in reinforcement-based treatments may be warranted in some cases of severe forms of destructive behavior that poses risk of harm to the client or others. In these cases, behavior analysts are required to base the selection of treatment components on empirical assessment results (ethics standard 2.14; Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2020). One such preintervention assessment is the stimulus avoidance assessment (SAA), which allows clinicians to identify a procedure that is likely to function as a punisher. Since the inception of this assessment approach, no studies have conducted a systematic literature review of published SAA cases. These data may be pertinent to examine the efficacy, generality, and best practices for the SAA. The current review sought to address this gap by synthesizing findings from peer-reviewed published literature including (1) the phenomenology and epidemiology of the population partaking in the SAA; (2) procedural variations of the SAA across studies (e.g., number of series, session length); (3) important quality indicators of the SAA (i.e., procedural integrity, social validity); and (4) how the SAA informed final treatment efficacy. We discuss findings in the context of the clinical use of the SAA and suggest several avenues for future research.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a video modeling (VM) procedure at teaching three staff members who were working with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to implement a token economy, use an error correction procedure, and conduct a multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment. The study was conducted at a summer camp for children with ASD located on a university campus and at a school for students with special needs in mainland China. All participants successfully generalized instructional skills learned during the VM intervention to sessions with children with ASD. Maintenance of instructional skills was also seen during follow‐up. These results indicate VM to be an economical and effective approach to training staff to implement various behavioral strategies. Moreover, the validity of VM as an effective intervention for staff training is increased by inclusion of blind ratings by five Board Certified Behavior Analysts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented practitioners of applied behavior analysis (ABA) with new and uncharted challenges. Upholding ethical responsibilities while navigating an international public health crisis has opened areas of uncertainty that have no precedent. Although there is general guidance on how to respond ethically from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) in their publication specific to the COVID-19 crisis (BACB, 2020, March 29, Ethics Guidance for ABA Providers During COVID-19 Pandemic, retrieved from https://www.bacb.com/ethics-guidance-for-aba-providers-during-covid-19-pandemic-2/), there remains a huge responsibility on the individual practitioner to make potentially life-changing decisions. In that regard, practitioners are urged to ensure that they rely on socially significant and valid decision-making processes. The goal of this article is to provide an exercise in accounting for stakeholder feedback and connecting with patients and families regarding their input on the acceptability of treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The exercise is in the form of a structured parent interview to help practitioners account for the setting variables and social validity of treatment during a crisis. It is our ethical responsibility to remember this critical dimension of our science and practice.

The field of behavior analysis relies on supervised fieldwork to shape the repertoires of individuals aspiring to sit for the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB®) exam. Board Certified Behavior Analysts® (BCBAs®) who are providing supervision to those seeking certification must follow the supervision and ethics requirements as directed by the BACB. We conducted a survey of BCBAs currently providing supervision to gather information about current practices and barriers. The top areas of success and need are presented based on the responses of 284 participants who completed the entire survey, along with recommendations.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as offline learning activities were blocked, teachers’ training activities were moved from face-to-face to online training. Therefore, teachers had to join an increasing number of online training sessions. However, few studies have focused on teachers’ satisfaction with online training. To address this gap, based on the American user satisfaction theory model (ACSI), this study established the factors of expectation of online training quality, perceived online training quality, perceived online training value, and teacher satisfaction with online learning, and aimed to explore their relationships with six hypotheses. A total of 397 middle school teachers who had online training experience participated in the survey through an online questionnaire. SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 23.0 were used to analyze the data. The results showed that (1) expectation of online training quality was positively correlated with perceived online training quality; (2) expectation of online training quality was negatively correlated with perceived online training value; (3) perceived online training quality was positively correlated with perceived online training value; and (4) perceived online training value was positively correlated with online training satisfaction. The findings imply that teachers should be informed in advance of various difficulties that may be encountered in online training, so as to reduce their expectations of online training quality. In addition, in order to improve teachers’ perceived quality and perceived value of online training, intervention strategies should be proposed, online training platforms should be optimized, and online training methods should be innovated to improve teachers’ sustainable development ability.

This review analyzed the quality of 39 single-case studies and 83 individual experiments focused on teaching employment skills to individuals with developmental disabilities. Experiments were assessed and included in further analyses based on the basic design standards and evidence standards (KRATOCHWILL et al., 2010, 2013). Study elements were also rated according to descriptive quality indicators indicating the level of study design, procedure replication, maintenance and generalization of skills, and procedural fidelity. Video modeling, audio cueing, visual, and prompting interventions were primarily implemented in a majority of the 38 studies and 75 experiments that passed the design and evidence standards. These interventions were then assessed according to the 5-3-20 evidence-based standard (HORNER et al., 2005; KRATOCHWILL et al., 2010, 2013). According to overall analyses, quality video modeling interventions were considered as the only evidence-based intervention according to the 5-3-20 indicators (HORNER et al., 2005, KRATOCHWILL et al., 2010, 2013). This review analyzed the quality of 39 single-case studies and 83 individual experiments focused on teaching employment skills to individuals with developmental disabilities. Experiments were assessed and included in further analyses based on the basic design standards and evidence standards (KRATOCHWILL et al., 2010, 2013). Study elements were also rated according to descriptive quality indicators indicating the level of study design, procedure replication, maintenance and generalization of skills, and procedural fidelity. Video modeling, audio cueing, visual, and prompting interventions were primarily implemented in a majority of the 38 studies and 75 experiments that passed the design and evidence standards. These interventions were then assessed according to the 5-3-20 evidence-based standard (HORNER et al., 2005; KRATOCHWILL et al., 2010, 2013). According to overall analyses, quality video modeling interventions were considered as the only evidence-based intervention according to the 5-3-20 indicators (HORNER et al., 2005, KRATOCHWILL et al., 2010, 2013).

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