English - Keynote Address: The Value of Translational Research for Practitioners: Treating Severe Behavior Problems via Telehealth (Spanish slides) is the kind of topic that looks straightforward until it collides with the speed, ambiguity, and competing demands of home routines and caregiver-led implementation, telehealth contacts and remote supervision. For this course, the practical stakes show up in clinically sound remote service delivery, clearer caregiver support, and decisions grounded in observable interaction, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Puerto Rico Association for Behavior Analysis
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Join Free →In this presentation, I describe the development of a highly effective and efficient treatment program for young children with autism who display severe challenging behavior. The treatment, which was comprised of functional analysis plus functional communication training, was implemented entirely by parents in their homes with only remote coaching provided by applied behavior analysts via telehealth. This treatment package was initially developed over several years in parents' homes with on-site coaching provided by applied behavior analysts. The treatment, after being shown to be effective in reducing problem behavior, was made increasingly effective over several years by conducting translational studies to improve the long-term maintenance of the effects of treatment. Once the treatment was shown to have positive long-term effects, and to be rated as being highly acceptable to parents, it was then made to be more efficient by providing all coaching of parents by applied behavior analysts via telehealth. I will describe the development of this treatment package, the initial implementation of the treatment in the homes of participating families, and then the evolution of the implementation of the treatment via telehealth. I will then present the results of conducting the treatment by parents in their homes, with coaching by applied behavior analysts on-site and via telehealth. Objectives: The learner will be able to describe how the results of functional analyses are used to develop reinforcement-based treatments for challenging behavior. The learner will be able to define functional communication training. The learner will be able to state how functional communication training is used to reduce the occurrence of problem behavior. The learner will be able to describe the overall effectiveness of functional communication training in reducing problem behavior when conducted by parents in their homes with coaching provided remotely by applied behavior analysts.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
| COA | 1 | — |
Dr. David P. Wacker is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Pediatrics, The University of Iowa. Dr. Wacker first joined the Department of Pediatrics as a faculty member in 1982. For more than 30 years, he directed the Biobehavioral Service, and outpatient clinic serving persons with developmental disabilities who displayed severe problem behavior. He was also the director of two distinct areas of NIH-funded research programs. His translational research area studied the factors that lead to long-term maintenance of treatments that reduce severe problem behaviors displayed by young children with disabilities. The funded projects, based on the theory of Behavioral Momentum, showed that maintenance of reinforcement treatments, such as functional communication training, can be improved even when challenged (e.g., via brief periods of extinction). His second area of research has involved the delivery of functional communication training within the homes of young children with autism. The results of these projects have shown that treatment implemented entirely by parents with coaching by applied behavior analysts via telehealth is just as effective as treatments delivered in vivo. It is the combination of these two areas of research that will be the focus of his keynote address. Dr. Wacker has published over 150 articles in peer-reviewed journals and co-authored two books on functional communication training. He is a Fellow in the American Psychological Association and the Association for Behavior Analysis International, a former Editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, and a former member of the review panel for the Biobehavioral Study Section of NIH. He has received recognition for both his research (e.g., Don Hake Translational Research Award, APA), and teaching (e.g., College of Medicine Distinguished Mentorship Award). He is most proud of the 48 bound copies of dissertations that sit proudly on his shelf at home, including one by Dr. Padilla Dalmau.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
258 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.