Progressive Functional Analysis and Function-Based Intervention Via Telehealth: A Replication and Extension.
Parents coached over Zoom can run a full progressive FA and FCT at home and cut severe behavior by a large share.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Seventeen families of kids with autism joined the study. Each child showed daily hitting, screaming, or self-injury.
A BCBA coached the parents through Zoom. The coach walked them step-by-step through a progressive FA and then a matched FCT plan.
What they found
Every child hit the a large share behavior-reduction mark. Gains held one month later without extra clinic visits.
Parents rated the telehealth coaching as easy to follow and worth their time.
How this fits with other research
Davis et al. (2023) ran a similar Zoom model but used trial-based FAs. Both studies got the same good result, so the exact FA format seems flexible.
Schieltz et al. (2022) first showed telehealth FA+FCT works at scale (the kids). Emily et al. tighten the steps into a clear progressive script and give us the hard a large share number.
Perry et al. (2024) left out telehealth and still saw parent success. Adding video coaching keeps the wins while cutting travel time for rural families.
Why it matters
You can now send the FA kit by mail, meet on Zoom, and still get clinic-level outcomes. Rural clients keep their slot, you keep your schedule, and the kid keeps the gain.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate a progressive functional analysis (FA) model and function-based intervention delivered by caregivers with coaching via telehealth. Children diagnosed with autism and at least one caregiver (e.g., parent) participated in the study. We conducted three assessments prior to and following intervention: a researcher-developed 10-min observation, the Parental Stress Index, and the externalizing section of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Rating Scales, Third Edition (VABS-3). We included 47 participants in the present evaluation of the progressive FA model. We identified the function of challenging behavior for 36 participants. A function was not identified for nine participants who exhibited low or no challenging behavior during the assessment; the results were inconclusive for two participants. For the 17 participants who participated in the intervention evaluation phase, each of the participants achieved the mastery criterion, which was an 80% reduction in challenging behavior for most participants. Additionally, there was a statistically significant decrease in the VABS-3 externalizing behavior measure from pre- to post-assessment, although neither of the other pre-post measures resulted in statistically significant changes. This study replicates and extends previous research, supporting the use of progressive FA model and function-based interventions to improve challenging behavior.
Behavior modification, 2025 · doi:10.1177/01454455241291785