Evan H. Dart

Antecedent Strategies to Promote Children’s and Adolescents’ Compliance with Adult Requests: A Review of the Literature

Abstract Compliance with adult requests and directives has often been described as a keystone behavior in children, meaning it is associated with engagement in other desirable and socially appropriate behaviors. As such, a great deal of research has been directed toward identifying strategies that increase compliance in children. Antecedent strategies, which focus on increasing the probability of compliance prior to or during the delivery of the directive or request, are popular because they have the potential to prevent noncompliance; however, it is not clear which of the numerous antecedent strategies are effective or for whom. Therefore, a systematic review of the antecedent strategies for compliance was completed. Forty-two studies were identified evaluating eight different antecedent strategies for children aged 1–19. It was determined that high-probability command sequences, effective instruction delivery, and errorless compliance training may all be considered evidence-based antecedent strategies to increase children’s compliance with adult requests.

Generalizability of Multiple Measures of Treatment Integrity: Comparisons Among Direct Observation, Permanent Products, and Self-Report

Abstract The concept of treatment integrity is an essential component to data-based decision making within a response-to-intervention model. Although treatment integrity is a topic receiving increased attention in the school-based intervention literature, relatively few studies have been conducted regarding the technical adequacy of treatment integrity assessment methods. In light of recent research utilizing generalizability theory (G theory) to assess the dependability of behavioral measurement in schools, the current study used G theory to examine the dependability of direct observation, permanent products, and self-report as measures of treatment integrity when six teachers implemented the Good Behavior Game across three study sites. Results indicated that direct observation yielded the most reliable treatment integrity data, followed by permanent products and self-report. Specifically, when assessment of treatment integrity is conducted twice per week, direct observation should provide a dependable e...

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Acceptability of Teleconsultation.

ABSTRACT School-based psychological services are typically provided through a triadic model of consultation in which a school psychologist works directly with a teacher or school staff member to address the academic, behavioral, or mental health concerns of a student. With advances in current technology, school psychologists have the capacity to use videoconferencing to engage in their consultative responsibilities. Teleconsultation has the potential to improve the provision of consultative services by increasing school psychologists’ efficiency and providing individuals, especially those in rural areas, access to greater service. The current study evaluated the effectiveness and acceptability of teleconsultation as a means to deliver behavioral consultation services to three teachers and their students. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline across subjects was used. Results showed that consultants could develop a behavioral intervention with a teacher and effectively implement the intervention to improve student outcomes. Teachers also rated teleconsultation as an acceptable means for service delivery.

The Effects of Peer-Mediated Check-In/Check-Out on the Social Skills of Socially Neglected Students

Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) is a moderately effective Tier 2 intervention often used to address attention-maintained problem behaviors in schools. Recent studies on CICO have demonstrated the effectiveness of the intervention when combined with social skills training and when utilizing students’ peers as interventionists. Using a concurrent multiple baseline across participants design, the present study evaluated the effectiveness of peer-mediated CICO to target social skills in elementary school students identified as socially neglected using a sociometric classification system. Results, implications for practice, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Promoting Accurate Variability of Social Skills in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Restricted and repetitive behavior is a central feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with such behaviors often resulting in lack of reinforcement in social contexts. The present study investigated training multiple exemplars of target behaviors and the utilization of lag schedules of reinforcement in the context of social skills training to promote appropriate and varied social behavior in children with ASD. Five participants with ASD between the ages of 7 and 9 attended a twice-weekly social skills group for 8 weeks. A multiple probe design across skills was utilized to assess intervention effects. During baseline, participants demonstrated low levels of skill accuracy and low appropriate variability in responding. During continuous reinforcement with one trained exemplar, skill accuracy increased while appropriate variability remained low. Training of three exemplars of target skills resulted in minimal improvements in appropriate variability. Introduction of a Lag 2 schedule with three trained exemplars was generally associated with increased appropriate variability. Further appropriate variability was observed during Lag 4 with three trained exemplars. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Assessing the Accuracy of Classwide Direct Observation Methods: Two Analyses Using Simulated and Naturalistic Data:

Two studies investigated the accuracy of eight different interval-based group observation methods that are commonly used to assess the effects of classwide interventions. In Study 1, a Microsoft Visual Basic program was created to simulate a large set of observational data. Binary data were randomly generated at the student level to represent 30–min observations using a 15-s momentary time sampling procedure for 5,000 students distributed evenly across 200 classrooms. Additionally, five classroom types were generated to determine if the base rate of behavior affected the accuracy of each method. Each of the eight observation methods were applied to the simulated data and compared to a criterion to determine their accuracy in estimating rates of classroom behavior. A two-way ANOVA identified a significant main effect for observation method, F(3.40, 663.07) = 15,824.22, p < .001, and a significant interaction between coding method and classroom composition, F(13.60, 663.07) = 40.04, p < .001. In Study 2, to replicate Study 1 using authentic observation data, we compared the accuracy of the same eight methods using a small sample of observations collected in an actual classroom. The results of both studies suggest that six of the eight methods (i.e., two Individual methods and four Planned Activity Check methods) are accurate assessments of group behavior. Furthermore, although classroom composition was associated with statistically significant differences between the accurate methods, we do not consider them large enough to be practically relevant.

Legal, Regulatory, and Ethical Issues in Telehealth Technology

Abstract The use of communication devices and other assistive technology to deliver professional health services to clients in remote locations is frequently referred to as telehealth. Pioneered by the medical field, telehealth is becoming increasingly more prevalent in other human service fields, such as professional psychology, and appears to be an effective, efficient, and acceptable service delivery platform. The digital delivery of psychological services introduces a host of ethical, legal, and regulatory issues that practitioners must be familiar with if they intend to use telehealth technology to provide services remotely. The purpose of this chapter is to familiarize readers with professional guidelines that have been established by state laws, regulatory boards, and professional organizations to govern the use of telehealth; to discuss specific ethical concerns related to privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent in telehealth; and to address issues regarding third-party reimbursement for telehealth services.

The Quiet Classroom Game: A Class-Wide Intervention to Increase Academic Engagement and Reduce Disruptive Behavior

Abstract. The current study investigated the effectiveness of the Quiet Classroom Game, an interdependent group contingency using an iPad loaded with a decibel meter app, for increasing academically engaged behavior. Three first-grade classrooms in the southeastern United States, identified as displaying high levels of noise and disruptive behavior, were included in the study. A multiple-baseline design with an embedded ABAB condition sequence was used to evaluate the effect of implementation of the Quiet Classroom Game on academically engaged behavior, disruptive behavior, and classroom decibel level. Implementation of the intervention resulted in large increases in academically engaged behavior, moderate to large reductions in disruptive behavior, and large decreases in classroom noise. Results of social validity checklists administered to teachers and students indicated acceptability and utility of the intervention. Findings of the study suggest that the Quiet Classroom Game may be an effective method for increasing the academically engaged behavior and decreasing the noise and disruptive behavior of first-grade students in a general-education setting.

Enhancing appropriate and variable responding in young children with autism spectrum disorder

ABSTRACT Objective: The present study utilized lag schedules of reinforcement, in conjunction with training multiple exemplars and provision of prompts, to promote appropriate variability of social skills. Methods: Participants included in three children between the ages of 5 and 7 with ASD. Participants attended a social skills training program twice per week for eight weeks. A multiple probe design across target social skills was used to assess the effects of intervention. Results: Findings indicate that training multiple exemplars alone did not appreciably increase appropriate and variable responding, whereas the addition of lag schedules of reinforcement and prompting to training multiple exemplars resulted in appropriate and variable responding that exceeded baseline levels. Conclusion: Use of lag schedule of reinforcement in conjunction with prompts was more effective than multiple exemplar training in isolation for increasing appropriate variability of social skills.

A Systematic Review of Function-Modified Check-In/Check-Out

Check-in/check-out (CICO) is widely used as a Tier 2 intervention within school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports. Evidence suggests that traditional CICO is primarily effective for students demonstrating problem behavior maintained by adult attention. A growing body of research has investigated function-modified CICO to address behaviors maintained by other consequences. The purpose of this review was to examine the evidence-base for function-modified versions of CICO to identify (a) the procedures used to assess students’ behavior function and (b) the types of modifications and additions to CICO that have been empirically evaluated. We systematically reviewed 11 studies that examined the effects of function-based CICO. Researchers determined behavior function using a combination of direct observations and indirect assessments. These methods were more involved than a brief behavior screening. The modifications and additions to traditional CICO included changes that were functionally relevant and functionally independent. Based on the results of this review, more research is needed before function-based CICO can be considered an evidence-based practice. Moreover, the extent to which educators can implement function-based CICO without researcher support is also unknown. The implications of this review are discussed in terms of future research and practice.