An Evaluation of Behavioral Skills Training On the Implementation of Peer-Mediated Discrete Trial Training

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of behavioral skills training on the implementation of an evidence-based teaching method by student interventionists for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three elementary school students were trained to use an applied behavior analysis (ABA) based instructional method, known as discrete trial training (DTT), to teach academic skills to children with ASD. A multiple baseline across individuals was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the behavioral skills training and peer-mediated DTT procedures. Generalization of the interventionist’s ability to teach new, previously untrained target behaviors was assessed by conducting generalization probes throughout the study. The results of this study replicated the results of previous studies that have demonstrated the utility of BST to train others to implement DTT in school settings. And, similar to previous research, peer-mediated DTT resulted in an improvement in the acquisition of targeted academic skills. Furthermore, this study provided preliminary evidence that the elementary students may generalize DTT procedures across a variety of target skills. Additional research is needed to determine the long-term effectiveness of peer-mediated DTT in school settings

Perspectives for the Delivery of Early Intervention Services via Telemedicine in Rural States: Outcomes from the COVID-19 Pandemic

The current study describes outcomes for seven families who participated in telehealth services from an early intervention clinic in a rural state during the COVID-19 pandemic. Families received different levels of care from a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA®) over three months, ranging from one hour to 20 hours per week. The telemedicine sessions primarily focused on teaching caregivers to implement protocols that focused on rapport-building (i.e., Time-In [TI]), increasing child compliance with instructions (i.e., Effective Instruction Delivery [EID]), and language acquisition programs selected from the Promoting Emergence of Advanced Knowledge (PEAK) Comprehensive Assessment and Curriculum. At the conclusion of the telemedicine sessions, parents implemented the protocols with high degrees of treatment integrity, and improvements in skill acquisition on a standardized language assessment were observed for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Implications for providing telemedicine services to rural and underserved communities without access to early intervention services and future directions for research are discussed

Evidence That Two ATP-Dependent (Lon) Proteases in Borrelia burgdorferi Serve Different Functions

The canonical ATP-dependent protease Lon participates in an assortment of biological processes in bacteria, including the catalysis of damaged or senescent proteins and short-lived regulatory proteins. Borrelia spirochetes are unusual in that they code for two putative ATP-dependent Lon homologs, Lon-1 and Lon-2. Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, is transmitted through the blood feeding of Ixodes ticks. Previous work in our laboratory reported that B. burgdorferi lon-1 is upregulated transcriptionally by exposure to blood in vitro, while lon-2 is not. Because blood induction of Lon-1 may be of importance in the regulation of virulence factors critical for spirochete transmission, the clarification of functional roles for these two proteases in B. burgdorferi was the object of this study. On the chromosome, lon-2 is immediately downstream of ATP-dependent proteases clpP and clpX, an arrangement identical to that of lon of Escherichia coli. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Lon-1 and Lon-2 cluster separately due to differences in the NH2-terminal substrate binding domains that may reflect differences in substrate specificity. Recombinant Lon-1 manifested properties of an ATP-dependent chaperone-protease in vitro but did not complement an E. coli Lon mutant, while Lon-2 corrected two characteristic Lon-mutant phenotypes. We conclude that B. burgdorferi Lons -1 and -2 have distinct functional roles. Lon-2 functions in a manner consistent with canonical Lon, engaged in cellular homeostasis. Lon-1, by virtue of its blood induction, and as a unique feature of the Borreliae, may be important in host adaptation from the arthropod to a warm-blooded host

Legal, Regulatory, and Ethical Issues in Telehealth Technology

The use of communication devices and other assistive technology to deliver professional health services to clients in remote locations is frequently referred to as telehealth. Pioneered by the medical field, telehealth is becoming increasingly more prevalent in other human service fields, such as professional psychology, and appears to be an effective, efficient, and acceptable service delivery platform. The digital delivery of psychological services introduces a host of ethical, legal, and regulatory issues that practitioners must be familiar with if they intend to use telehealth technology to provide services remotely. The purpose of this chapter is to familiarize readers with professional guidelines that have been established by state laws, regulatory boards, and professional organizations to govern the use of telehealth; to discuss specific ethical concerns related to privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent in telehealth; and to address issues regarding third-party reimbursement for telehealth services

Peer-Mediated Discrete Trial Training Within a School Setting

The present study evaluated the feasibility and effects of a peer-mediated, school-based, discrete trial training (DTT) protocol for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Six typically developing elementary-age peers were trained to implement a basic DTT protocol. A multiple baseline across student interventionists design was utilized to evaluate the integrity with which trained peers implemented the DTT protocol and the efficacy of the student interventionists in training target academic behaviors. Results indicate that student interventionists acquired skills to implement the DTT protocol with high levels of integrity. Additionally, it was observed that participation in peer-mediated DTT resulted in mastery of target academic skills by participants with ASD. Measures of acceptability indicated high levels of student interventionist satisfaction with intervention procedures

Assessing the Accuracy of Classwide Direct Observation Methods: Two Analyses Using Simulated and Naturalistic Data

Two studies investigated the accuracy of eight different interval-based group observation methods that are commonly used to assess the effects of classwide interventions. In Study 1, a Microsoft Visual Basic program was created to simulate a large set of observational data. Binary data were randomly generated at the student level to represent 30-min observations using a 15-s momentary time sampling procedure for 5,000 students distributed evenly across 200 classrooms. Additionally, five classroom types were generated to determine if the base rate of behavior affected the accuracy of each method. Each of the eight observation methods were applied to the simulated data and compared to a criterion to determine their accuracy in estimating rates of classroom behavior. A two-way ANOVA identified a significant main effect for observation method, F(3.40, 663.07) = 15,824.22, p \u3c .001, and a significant interaction between coding method and classroom composition, F(13.60, 663.07) = 40.04, p,.001. In Study 2, to replicate Study 1 using authentic observation data, we compared the accuracy of the same eight methods using a small sample of observations collected in an actual classroom. The results of both studies suggest that six of the eight methods (i. e., two Individual methods and four Planned Activity Check methods) are accurate assessments of group behavior. Furthermore, although classroom composition was associated with statistically significant differences between the accurate methods, we do not consider them large enough to be practically relevant

Peer-Mediated Check-In/Check-Out For Students At-Risk For Internalizing Disorders

The present study investigated the effectiveness of peer-mediated check-in/check-out (CICO) on the internalizing behaviors of elementary school students. A nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design across participants was utilized to evaluate the intervention\u27s effectiveness for 3 students in 1st and 2nd grade. Two 5th grade students were trained to implement CICO under the supervision of an adult intervention specialist. The peer-mediated CICO procedure was effective for 2 of the 3 participants as evidenced by moderate to large effect sizes; however, all 3 participants were identified as at-risk on a universal screener for internalizing problems. The results suggest peer-mediated CICO may be a resource-efficient Tier II strategy to meet the needs of students engaging in internalizing behavior within a multitiered framework of service delivery