Conducting In-Home Functional Analyses of Aggression and Self-Injury Exhibited by Boys with Fragile X Syndrome.

Objective: Boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS) are at increased risk for exhibiting aggression and self-injury that can be extremely disruptive to families. Few studies, however, have examined the extent to which social-environmental factors can influence these behaviors, particularly in home settings.

Methods: Caregivers of 32 boys with FXS, aged 3 to 10 years, were coached by a board-certified behavior analyst to implement a functional analysis (FA) with their child in their home over 2 days.

Telehealth-enabled behavioral treatment for problem behaviors in boys with fragile X syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) are at increased risk for exhibiting problem behaviors such as aggression and self-injury. However, many children with FXS have limited access to behavioral treatments that have known efficacy due to the low availability of treatment providers and the wide geographical dispersion of families with FXS across the country. Telehealth may offer a cost-effective and practical solution to overcome these significant barriers.

Increasing Vocalizations and Echoics in Infants at Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Infant siblings of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis (i.e., infants at risk of ASD) are excellent candidates for early interventions based on the principles of applied behavior analysis.

Interpreting functional analysis outcomes using automated nonparametric statistical analysis.

Current methods employed to interpret functional analysis data include visual analysis and post-hoc visual inspection (PHVI). However, these methods may be biased by dataset complexity, hand calculations, and rater experience. We examined whether an automated approach using nonparametric rank-based statistics could increase the accuracy and efficiency of functional analysis data interpretation.

Telehealth Delivery of Function-Based Behavioral Treatment for Problem Behaviors Exhibited by Boys with Fragile X Syndrome.

Telehealth is increasingly being employed to extend the reach of behavior analytic interventions to families of children with developmental disorders who exhibit problem behaviors. In this preliminary study, we examined whether function-based behavior analytic interventions could be delivered via telehealth over 12 weeks to decrease problem behaviors exhibited by ten boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS), aged 3- to 10-years. Results showed that for eight children who completed treatment, rates of problem behavior decreased from baseline by 78.

Development of Communication in Infants: Implications for Stimulus Relations Research.

Early forms of stimulus-response relations are learned by infants to communicate with caregivers. The infant communication abilities begin with the learning of eye gazing, joint attention, social referencing, and naming, among others. Learning to engage in these early communication skills facilitates the development of more advanced phenomena seen in equivalence class formations and derived relational responding research.

Preliminary findings of a telehealth approach to parent training in autism.

Telehealth or online communication technologies may lessen the gap between intervention requirements for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and the available resources to provide these services. This study used a video conferencing and self-guided website to provide parent training in the homes of children with ASD. The first eight families to complete the 12-week online intervention and three-month follow up period served as pilot data.