Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is more prevalent than any other disease under the umbrella of dementia (Alzheimer's Association, 2013). Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) are the typical front-line care staff who care for individuals in aging care (Sengupta, Harris-Kojetin, & Ejaz, 2010). The present study investigated the use of a pyramidal training model to teach aging facility staff to be able to conduct trainings and to teach direct care staff antecedent strategies shown to be effective when communicating with individuals with AD. Pyramidal training resulted in two tiers of staff successfully implementing training for subsequent tiers of staff and subsequent staff demonstrated mastery of the trained material. However, during maintenance observations, some decreases were observed both with regard to training integrity as well as implementation of the trained material.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OFDanielle N. Crespo, for the Master of Science degree in Behavior Analysis and Therapy, presented on January 18, 2022, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: A COMPARISON OF FEEDBACK SEQUENCING FOR INCREASING SKILLS WITH IMPLEMENTING BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION PLANSMAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Paige Boydston Schools and school employees have been tasked with providing social, emotional, and behavioral supports to a rising number of students. Training staff to implement these supports with fidelity is crucial. Providing feedback to staff implementing behavior intervention plans is a method to increasing performance. In the present study, a multiple baseline across behaviors was utilized to compare different sequences of feedback statements on paraprofessional job performance. Three feedback sequences were compared: Positive-Corrective-Positive (PCP), Positive-Positive-Corrective (PPC), and Corrective-Positive-Positive (CPP). The results of this study showed the PCP condition, commonly known as the feedback sandwich, showed the quickest results to mastering skills. However, results from a preference questionnaire showed most paraprofessionals preferred the CPP sequence, with the PCP sequence being rated second in preference. Overall, results from this study show the PCP sequence may be an effective tool in training paraprofessionals in a school setting.

Several researchers have suggested that safety skill instruction has been neglected amongst individuals with intellectual disabilities even though injuries occur at an exceedingly higher rate than the general population. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness, generality, and maintenance of the use of behavior skills training to teach 6 CPR and first aid target skills to young adults with intellectual disabilities. Overall, the current study's results suggest that an intervention package using instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback was effective in teaching CPR and first aid skills as well as generalizing across instructors. Additionally, the current study suggests that although behavior skills training was effective at teaching and generalizing mastered target skills, maintenance was not obtainable for all participants across all target skills after a 1-week follow up assessment. Lastly, the intervention package rated high for social validity amongst all participants. Future research should continue to focus on exploring the effectiveness, generality, and maintenance of these results.

Research demonstrates that video modeling and visual activity schedules have been effective in teaching students with disabilities a variety of skills. However, the instructional procedures used to teach students to acquire the necessary skills to perform the tasks can take time for the students and the instructors. A behavior skills training package was investigated within a multiple probe design across students to determine if four elementary aged students with intellectual disability, with and without autism spectrum disorder, could acquire self-instructional skills. The dependent variables in the study were the effects of behavior skills training on the acquisition of self-instructional skills and the effects of video activity schedules on the acquisition of novel skills. The independent variable was behavior skills training. Three students were able to acquire the self-instruction skills in an effective and efficient manner using behavior skills training. After learning how to navigate the video activity schedules, three students were able to generalize and maintain the self-instruction skills to learn novel tasks. The results suggest that behavior skills training may be an effective instructional strategy for teaching self-instructional skills to students with intellectual disability.

The purpose of this study was to utilize a multi-component intervention to increase confident water skills for three typically developing children, and to evaluate whether fearful behaviors decreased as the intervention progressed. The intervention, comprised of goal setting, self-monitoring, behavioral skills training and positive reinforcement, was used in community pools to teach basic water skills. Results suggest the intervention was successful in increasing confident water skills, while intervals with positive affect and fearful behaviors demonstrated variability.

Hand washing has been proven to be effective in preventing many serious diseases World Health Organization (WHO, 2009). Nonetheless, both the general public and many healthcare professionals fail to wash their hands. Very little research has been conducted outside of healthcare settings to evaluate the adherence of hand-washing procedures. This study investigated if hand washing adherence in a residential setting can be improved with the use of verbal and graphical feedback a probabilistic bonus. Results suggested that the probabilistic bonus had a substantial impact on hand washing performance: more so than signs, educational in-service, and verbal-graphical feedback alone. Reactivity data were collected and showed performance was weak to non-existent throughout all phases until the probabilistic bonus. This final phase improved performance when staff did not know they were being watched, however, performance was only moderate and variable both within- and between-staff

The purpose of the study was to evaluate if a novel approach to the didactic component of Behavior Skills Training (BST) would have an effect on parent treatment integrity responding to child problem behavior. During baseline, the researcher observed parent responses to child problem behavior across brief intervals. Additionally, a foundational ABA concepts didactic session took place with the researcher. In the second phase, parents participated in didactic learning sessions to learn about functions of behavior, as well as the appropriate function-based responses to their child’s problem behavior outlined in his/her Behavior Intervention Plan. During the BST phase, the researcher modeled function-based responding and/or provided performance feedback to parents on their correct or incorrect responses to child problem behavior. Results showed that the novel approach to the didactic component in BST was effective at increasing parent correct responding to child problem behavior for 2 out of 3 families.

Shyness is characterized by anxious and reluctant behaviors that may put children at risk for underperforming academically. Previous research has observed that active behavioral engagement in the classroom improves academic performance, however, shy children show deficits in this type of engagement. The current study examined whether behavior skills training (i.e., instruction, modeling, rehearsal and feedback) improved active engaged behavior in pre-K and kindergarten-age children using a multiple baseline across participants design. Four children between 3 to 5 years of age with varying shy behaviors as reported by their parents were asked to complete a series of math worksheets prior to and during intervention. Participants’ hand -raising and question asking were measured. Due to limitations, it is unclear whether the present study’s BST protocol was effective in increasing engagement. Future research should examine the use of BST, in-situ training, and application of skills in the natural setting.

No description available.

Currently, there is no known research on teaching gun safety skills to individuals with developmental disabilities. Research has shown that children typically engage in gunplay behaviors if they find a firearm. These behaviors can lead to unintentional firearm injuries and even death, especially for young children. Previous research has shown the success of video modeling for teaching various skills to individuals with autism. This study examined the effectiveness of video modeling for teaching gun safety skills to three children with autism spectrum disorder, and found that video modeling was effective for one participant, but in situ training was needed to promote maintenance. For a second participant, IST was effective for skill acquisition and maintenance. Finally, a modified IST procedure was effective for a third participant when implemented by a trainer but not when implemented by his mother.