The Use of Behavioral Skills Training and In-Situ Training to Teach Children to Solicit Help When Lost: A Preliminary Investigation

Abstract

Abstract Behavioral skills training (BST) was combined with in-situ training to teach young children to solicit help when they become lost from a caregiver at a store. Three children were taught to approach a cashier, tell the cashier their name, and inform the cashier that they are lost. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of training. One of the three participants successfully met the criterion with the BST + in situ training treatment package alone, and the other two participants required an incentive to meet the criterion. All participants maintained the safety skill at follow-up evaluations. DESCRIPTORS: behavioral skills training, early childhood, in-situ training, lost child, safety, social skills training ********** A missing or lost child is defined as "when the child's whereabouts are unknown to the primary caregiver, resulting in the caregiver being alarmed for at least 1 hour" (U.S. Department of Justice, 2002). In a recent parent survey, it was reported that 90% of families have lost a young child in a public place, and that 20% of families have lost a child more than once. Although the vast majority of these children are reunited with their family, being lost may expose a child to other dangers such as abduction and accidents (U.S. Department of Justice, 2002). The frequency with which children become lost and the potential dangers involved in separation make it important to teach safety skills in situations in which children might become separated from a caregiver. Behavior analysts have taught safety skills to children using behavioral skills training (BST). For example, researchers have evaluated the use of BST to teach gun play prevention skills (Himle, Miltenberger, Flessner, and Gatheridge, 2004; Miltenberger et al., 2004; Miltenberger, et al., 2005) and abduction prevention skills (Johnson et al., 2005; Johnson et al., 2006). BST typically consists of instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and praise or corrective feedback. Participants who do not perform the safety skill to criterion during the assessment sessions often receive "in situ" training. In situ training involves teaching the skill in the natural environment. For example, in situ training in the context of what to do when finding a firearm consists of a therapist entering the room, pointing out the firearm, and conducting a training session "in the moment" (Miltenberger et al., 2004). Some research (e.g., Himle et al., 2004; Johnson et al., 2006; Miltenberger et al., 2004) has shown that BST alone is ineffective for some participants; an in situ training component is often needed to meet the mastery criterion (see Miltenberger (2008) for a review of BST and situations in which in situ training is necessary in the context of firearm injury prevention). Although there have been several studies focusing on teaching safety skills to children, few have focused on teaching children to seek assistance when lost from caregivers in a store or public place. Taber, Alberto, Seltzer, and Hughes (2003) taught six teenagers with moderate disabilities to use a cell phone when separated from a caregiver. Taylor, Hughes and Richard (2004) taught teenagers with autism to seek assistance when lost through the use of a pager and a communication card. No research, however, has focused on using BST and in-situ training to teach young, typically developing children to solicit help when separated from caregivers in public. In the current study, BST and in-situ training were used to teach these skills. Method Participants and Settings Participants were recruited via flyers posted at a private school. In order to participate, children had to be between the ages of 4 and 6 and have no medical or developmental disability. In addition, their caregivers had to have reliable transportation. Three typically developing children and their caregivers participated. …