Evaluating Behavioral Skills Training as an Evidence-Based Practice When Training Parents to Intervene with Their...

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Developmental Disabilities Research
• Parent Training Interventions

Background:

• Parental involvement is crucial for effective intervention with children with disabilities.
• Behavior Skills Training (BST) is a structured approach to teaching skills.
• Evidence-based practices (EBPs) require consistent implementation for optimal outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the efficacy of Behavior Skills Training (BST) for parents of children with disabilities.
• To evaluate the quality of evidence supporting BST in parent training.
• To synthesize findings on BST's effectiveness in promoting the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs).

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of 20 single-subject studies.
• Inclusion of 67 individual cases analyzed using What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards.
• Focus on studies where parents were trained to implement EBPs with their children.

Main Results:

• BST is a demonstrably effective method for training parents to implement a variety of EBPs.
• Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities were the primary participants.
• Methodological quality assessment confirmed the robustness of the evidence.

Conclusions:

• Behavior Skills Training (BST) is a reliable and effective strategy for empowering parents to support their children's development.
• Practitioners can confidently utilize BST to train parents of children with disabilities in implementing EBPs.
• The findings support the widespread adoption of BST in clinical and educational settings.