Abstract
Access to behavior-analytic professionals who can implement interventions like discrete-trial instruction (DTI) may be limited for families living in rural communities. We trained four rural parents of children with autism to implement DTI accurately with a confederate using in vivo behavioral skills training. The DTI skills that parents demonstrated with a confederate generalized to working with their children. We then assessed whether periodic supervision during videoconferencing maintained parents’ DTI skills following training. Parents accurately implemented untrained DTI programs with their children and maintained accurate implementation over several months of remote supervision occurring twice a week, weekly, and biweekly. Videoconferencing may be an effective way for individuals responsible for direct implementation to maintain contact with behavior analysts who are not locally accessible.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported in part by Grant R40 MC 20444 from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Combating Autism Act of 2006), Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. The authors would like to thank Aimee Giles and Keegan Kowcheck for their assistance in developing the materials.
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Subramaniam, S., Brunson, L.Y., Cook, J.E. et al. Maintenance of Parent-Implemented Discrete-Trial Instruction during Videoconferencing. J Behav Educ 26, 1–26 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-016-9258-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-016-9258-z