Effectiveness of a Brief Functional Analysis and Functional Communication Training Conducted Through Telehealth

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Telehealth Interventions
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Research

Background:

• Challenging behaviors in children with ASD often require intensive intervention.
• Telehealth offers a potential solution for delivering behavioral services remotely.
• Training school personnel is crucial for generalizing interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of telehealth-delivered brief functional analysis and functional communication training (FCT).
• To assess the ability of school interventionists (speech-language pathologists and teaching assistants) to implement FCT with children with ASD.
• To determine if telehealth facilitates remote collaboration between clinicians and school personnel.

Main Methods:

• A multiple baseline across participants design was used.
• Three interventionist-child dyads participated, with interventionists trained via didactic methods and synchronous coaching from a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).
• Interventionists implemented functional communication training to decrease aggression, elopement, and disruption.

Main Results:

• Despite early termination for two participants due to COVID-19 school closures, preliminary data suggest interventionists could implement FCT.
• Evidence indicates that telehealth is a viable model for remote delivery of assessment and intervention procedures.
• The study highlights the potential for effective collaboration between clinicians and school personnel via telehealth.

Conclusions:

• Telehealth is a valid and effective model for delivering behavioral assessment and intervention services remotely.
• School personnel can be trained via telehealth to implement functional communication training for children with ASD.
• Remote collaboration through telehealth can support the reduction of challenging behaviors in children with ASD.