Single‐case research designs have primarily relied on visual analysis for determining treatment effects. However, current foci on evidence‐based treatment have given rise to the development of new ...methods. This article presents descriptions, calculations, strengths and weaknesses, and interpretative guidelines for 5 effect size indices: the percent of nonoverlapping data, the percent of data exceeding the median, improvement rate difference, nonoverlap of all pairs, and Tau‐U.
Practitioners frequently use single-case data for decision-making related to behavioral programming and progress monitoring. Visual analysis is an important and primary tool for reporting results of ...graphed single-case data because it provides immediate, contextualized information. Criticisms exist concerning the objectivity and reliability of the visual analysis process. When practitioners are equipped with knowledge about single-case designs, including threats and safeguards to internal validity, they can make technically accurate conclusions and reliable data-based decisions with relative ease. This paper summarizes single-case experimental design and considerations for professionals to improve the accuracy and reliability of judgments made from single-case data. This paper can also help practitioners to appropriately incorporate single-case research design applications in their practice.
Purpose: Differential reinforcement and most-to-least prompting were implemented within the context of developmentally appropriate play activities in an effort to improve the eye contact between a ...4-year-old boy with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and his three therapists.
Methods: A multiple baseline design across therapists was used to examine the eye contact of a 4-year-old boy with PDD-NOS. Maintenance data were collected at 1, 2 and 3 months post intervention.
Results: The intervention was effective and improvements in eye contact were maintained for at least 3 months post intervention. However, eye contact did not readily generalize across communication partners.
Conclusions: Results suggest that eye contact may not generalize to communication partners who are not directly involved in intervention. Results are discussed in terms of implications for practitioners and directions for future research.
Visual analysis is the most widely applied method of data interpretation for single-case research as it encompasses multifaceted considerations relevant to evaluating behavior change. However, a ...previous research synthesis found low levels of interrater agreement between visually analyzed ratings of graphed data across all variables under analysis. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the peer-reviewed literature to date for potential moderators affecting the proportion of interrater agreement between visual analysts. Nineteen articles with 32 effects were assembled. Potential moderators evaluated included (a) design families, (b) rater expertise, (c) the provision of contextual information for graphs, (d) the use of visual aids, (e) the provision of an operational definition of the construct being rated, and (f) rating scale ranges. Results yielded an overall weighted interrater agreement proportion of .76. Moderator variables identified produced low to adequate levels of interrater agreement. Practical recommendations for future research are discussed.
Supporting parents in reducing challenging behavior of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) requires the identification of effective, feasible, and sustainable interventions. Functional ...communication training (FCT) is one of the most well-established interventions in the behavioral literature and is used increasingly by parents. However, there is a need for additional evaluation of the literature related to parent-implemented FCT. In the present review, we identified 26 peer-reviewed studies on parent-implemented FCT. We conducted systematic descriptive and social validity analyses to summarize the extant literature. Across studies, parent-implemented FCT was effective in reducing child challenging behavior, and in some cases, intervention outcomes maintained and generalized to novel settings and implementers. However, few studies reported fidelity data on parent implementation of FCT, and data regarding sustained use of FCT by parents were limited. Results of the social validity analysis indicate that while FCT is often implemented by natural change agents in typical settings, parent training is often provided by professionals not typically accessible to parents. These findings suggest that future research is warranted in the areas of parent training and long-term sustainability of parent-implemented FCT.
Antecedent physical exercise has emerged as a potentially promising treatment for reducing challenging behavior and increasing academic behavior in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ...The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of physical exercise conducted prior to instructional sessions (antecedent physical exercise) on academic engagement and stereotypy during instructional sessions for two children diagnosed with ASD. Functional analysis results suggested stereotypy was maintained by automatic reinforcement for both participants. A multielement design was employed to evaluate academic engagement and stereotypy during instructional sessions following randomly sequenced conditions involving either (a) no antecedent exercise, (b) brief durations of antecedent exercise, or (c) antecedent exercise that continued until the participant engaged in a systematically determined behavioral indicator of satiation. Both participants demonstrated higher levels of academic engagement and reduced levels of stereotypy during the instructional sessions which followed antecedent physical exercise that continued until behavioral indicators of satiation occurred. This study replicates previous research suggesting that individuals with ASD may benefit from physical exercise prior to academic instruction and further suggests that the duration of antecedent exercise may be optimally individualized based on behavioral indicators of satiation.
We investigated the effects of a telehealth pyramidal training package on participants’ implementation of incidental teaching. A total of eight adults worked with eight children with autism. Coaches ...were first taught to implement incidental teaching and then taught subsequent interventionists. The training package consisted of an online module and delayed video-based feedback provided via videoconferencing. Following the telehealth training program, coaches and interventionists reached the preset performance criteria and implemented incidental teaching with high fidelity. All of the child participants increased mands above baseline levels. Results suggest that interventionists can be trained via telehealth in behavior analytic interventions.
Functional communication training (FCT) is an evidence-based practice used to mitigate challenging behavior by increasing functional communication skills. To increase the practicality and feasibility ...of FCT in natural settings, thinning schedules of reinforcement are typically programmed following FCT. In this review, we meta-analyzed 28 studies that incorporated a thinning schedule procedure following FCT for 51 children with intellectual and developmental disabilities ages 8 and younger. Using Tau-U, the results demonstrated overall moderate effect sizes for both challenging behavior and functional communication responses. Additionally, moderator analyses pertaining to participant characteristics, interventions, and study quality were conducted. Thinning procedures were most effective for children who had stronger communication repertoire. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
This study presents a literature review of interventions for improving daily living skills of individuals with ASD. This review investigated the quality of the design and evidence of the literature ...base and determined the state of the evidence base related to interventions for improving daily living skills of individuals with ASD. Included studies were evaluated to determine the overall quality of the evidence for each design within each article, based on the What Works Clearinghouse standards for single-case experimental design (Kratochwill et al.
2010
), adapted by Maggin et al. (Remedial Spec Educ 34(1):44–58,
2013
. doi:
10.1177/0741932511435176
). As a result, video modeling was found to be an evidence-based practice. Limitations and implications for future research and for practitioners are discussed.
•This study is a meta-analytic review of video modeling interventions for improving functional living skills of individuals with ASD.•A total of 23 studies were included in this review which met the ...Basic Design Standards developed by WWC (Kratochwill et al., 2010).•The Tau-U effect size was calculated to analyze learners’ age, diagnosis, intervention type, and target outcome.•In overall, video modeling interventions have been found to have moderate effects on improving functional living skills of individuals with ASD.
Many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show deficits in functional living skills, leading to low independence, limited community involvement, and poor quality of life. With development of mobile devices, utilizing video modeling has become more feasible for educators to promote functional living skills of individuals with ASD.
This article aims to review the single-case experimental literature and aggregate results across studies involving the use of video modeling to improve functional living skills of individuals with ASD.
The authors extracted data from single-case experimental studies and evaluated them using the Tau-U effect size measure. Effects were also differentiated by categories of potential moderators and other variables, including age of participants, concomitant diagnoses, types of video modeling, and outcome measures.
Results indicate that video modeling interventions are overall moderately effective with this population and dependent measures. While significant differences were not found between categories of moderators and other variables, effects were found to be at least moderate for most of them.
It is apparent that more single-case experiments are needed in this area, particularly with preschool and secondary-school aged participants, participants with ASD-only and those with high-functioning ASD, and for video modeling interventions addressing community access skills.
