EVALUATION OF BEHAVIORAL SKILLS TRAINING FOR TEACHING FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT SELECTION SKILLS TO PARENTS

Scant research has addressed the issue of teaching parents to conduct a functional assessment and design a treatment for problem behavior. The present study utilized behavioral skills training to teach parents how to conduct ABC recording, write a summary statement based on the data collected, and make appropriate treatment choices. Eight parents participated in one 3-h class in which a trainer used instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback to teach these three skill sets. Prior to class, during class, directly after class training, and 1 to 2weeks following class, the participants viewed videos showing a problem behavior serving a different function in the context of a parent child interaction. The percentage of correct responding for each dependent variable (ABC recording, summary statement, and treatment choices) was calculated, and baseline and post-treatment scores were compared via a multiple baseline across participants design. The results showed an increase in the percentage correct for most skills for most participants. These results show that it is possible to teach parents to conduct a functional assessment and choose proper treatment strategies. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.