An evaluation of parent implemented <scp>web‐based</scp> behavioral skills training for firearm safety

Novotny’s team asked parents to teach kids firearm safety at home. They gave families a free web manual with short videos and checklists.

Parents watched each step, rehearsed with their child, then scored the skill. The researchers tracked how many kids reached mastery without any BCBA in the room.

Half of the children passed every safety step after only parent-run training. The rest needed a quick five-minute in-situ booster from the experimenter.

Once that booster was added, every child met the safety criteria. Skills stayed strong when checked weeks later.

Novotny et al. (2023) ran a direct replication and got the same split: half of kids mastered with parents alone, half needed a brief IST boost.

Orner et al. (2021) looks like a contradiction at first. They gave autistic preschoolers the same BST package and saw mixed results. The difference is the kids: autistic preschoolers often need extra practice and incentives, while the web study used mostly typical children.

Geurts et al. (2008) shows the idea is bigger than parents. They swapped parents for peer tutors and still got solid safety skills, proving the BST steps, not the trainer, drive the change.

You can hand families the web manual today and let them start while they wait for services. Tell parents to run the steps until the child hits mastery. If the child stalls after two cycles, schedule one short in-situ visit and retest. This cuts your direct hours in half while still keeping kids safe.