Pyramidal training for families of children with problem behavior.
Train one caregiver to mastery, then let them coach the rest of the household—skills stick and spread.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Najdowski et al. (2003) worked with three families who had children with problem behavior.
One parent in each family first learned a behavior plan to mastery.
That parent then taught the same plan to two other family members using prompts and feedback.
What they found
Every caregiver who got the second-round coaching used the plan correctly.
Children’s problem behavior stayed low after all adults followed the steps.
Training one person well created a ripple of good practice inside the home.
How this fits with other research
Shingleton‐Smith et al. (2024) later showed you can do the same ripple through a screen. They coached parents of toddlers at-risk for autism online and still saw wide skill gains.
McDevitt et al. (2026) used a different twist: they added real-life chaos like siblings running by. Both studies kept high treatment fidelity, proving the core idea holds in new formats.
Williams et al. (2023) warns the ripple can break. They saw caregivers slip back when tough behavior returned, so booster check-ins matter even after pyramidal success.
Why it matters
You can stretch your hours. Train one caregiver to mastery, then have them coach others in the home. Check fidelity for the first few days, schedule quick booster calls, and you multiply correct implementation without extra travel.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The pyramidal training model was extended to multiple family members of children with behavior disorders. Three primary caregivers were taught to implement individualized treatments for problem behavior. They were then taught how to use various instructional strategies (e.g., prompting, feedback) to teach 2 other family members to implement the treatment. Results showed that pyramidal training was effective in increasing caregiver implementation of treatments across three families.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2003 · doi:10.1901/jaba.2003.36-77