Comparison of Enhanced and Standard Data Sheets on Treatment Fidelity and Data Collection for Tact Training.

Abstract

Specifically designed data sheets have been recommended to assist with the fidelity of implementation of treatment procedures. The present study extended previous research (e.g., Bottini et al.Behavior Analysis: Research & Practice 21(2), 140-152,2021; LeBlanc et al. Behavior Analysis in Practice 13(1), 53-62, 2020) by comparing an enhanced data sheet (i.e., the inclusion of randomized targets, prompts for treatment components of securing attending and reinforcement) to a standard data sheet (i.e., targets not preset, no prompts for treatment components) on the fidelity of tact training of features. Ten behavior therapists participated in each condition (n = 20). Participants first watched a brief instructional video explaining the teaching procedure and their assigned data sheet, followed by conducting a treatment session with a confederate serving as a child with autism spectrum disorder. The enhanced data sheet resulted in higher fidelity on multiple variables including randomizing of targets and data collection.