Using Web-based Technology to Expand and Enhance Applied Behavioral Analysis Programs for Children With Autism in Military Families
| Status: | Active, not recruiting |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Neurology, Psychiatric, Autism |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Neurology, Psychiatry / Psychology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | Any |
| Updated: | 2/9/2018 |
| Start Date: | May 30, 2012 |
| End Date: | July 1, 2018 |
Using Technology to Expand and Enhance Applied Behavioral Analysis Programs for Children With Autism in Military Families
The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which technology may be used to
provide (a) state-of-the-art assessment and intervention for children diagnosed with autism
and (b) parent and tutor training for those who care for these children.
Children with autism often have problems with social interaction, language, and repetitive
behavior (e.g., hand flapping and body rocking). Without early and intensive treatments, the
long-term outcomes for children with autism are not very good; therefore, it is very
important that effective treatments are started as soon as possible. Research has shown that
Early Intensive Behavioral Interventions (EIBI) is an effective treatment for autism.
Although EIBI is effective, most children with autism in military families do not receive
EIBI because there are few professionals and paraprofessionals that are appropriately trained
to do this, especially in the remote areas where military families tend to serve. The
investigators want to show that web-based technologies (e.g., web-cams and internet-protocol
cameras) can be used so that professionals in one place can treat children with autism
anywhere in the world. The investigators also expect that providing these services will help
children with autism improve their language, social, and academic skills. The investigators
expect that the gains made by the children will help relieve many daily stressors and worries
that families with children with autism have.
Children with autism who lack adaptive skills require constant help and supervision from
parents. Thus, the improvements in the child's functioning will allow the child to become
more independent and decrease parent stress associated with the need to constantly watch and
help the child. Because EIBI services produce lasting improvements long after the
intervention has ended, this project will provide both short-term and long-term benefits to
the children who participate in the study, which will provide lasting relief to these
dedicated military families.
In the long-term, this project may really change the way in which all (military and
non-military) children and families get effective services that they cannot get now. Also,
the results may help other professionals and researchers in psychology and medicine. That is,
the results should be helpful to any kind of service that uses parent training and
paraprofessionals. Most importantly, these services will improve the overall functioning of
the children with autism and decrease the overall stress on these families as they continue
to serve our country.
provide (a) state-of-the-art assessment and intervention for children diagnosed with autism
and (b) parent and tutor training for those who care for these children.
Children with autism often have problems with social interaction, language, and repetitive
behavior (e.g., hand flapping and body rocking). Without early and intensive treatments, the
long-term outcomes for children with autism are not very good; therefore, it is very
important that effective treatments are started as soon as possible. Research has shown that
Early Intensive Behavioral Interventions (EIBI) is an effective treatment for autism.
Although EIBI is effective, most children with autism in military families do not receive
EIBI because there are few professionals and paraprofessionals that are appropriately trained
to do this, especially in the remote areas where military families tend to serve. The
investigators want to show that web-based technologies (e.g., web-cams and internet-protocol
cameras) can be used so that professionals in one place can treat children with autism
anywhere in the world. The investigators also expect that providing these services will help
children with autism improve their language, social, and academic skills. The investigators
expect that the gains made by the children will help relieve many daily stressors and worries
that families with children with autism have.
Children with autism who lack adaptive skills require constant help and supervision from
parents. Thus, the improvements in the child's functioning will allow the child to become
more independent and decrease parent stress associated with the need to constantly watch and
help the child. Because EIBI services produce lasting improvements long after the
intervention has ended, this project will provide both short-term and long-term benefits to
the children who participate in the study, which will provide lasting relief to these
dedicated military families.
In the long-term, this project may really change the way in which all (military and
non-military) children and families get effective services that they cannot get now. Also,
the results may help other professionals and researchers in psychology and medicine. That is,
the results should be helpful to any kind of service that uses parent training and
paraprofessionals. Most importantly, these services will improve the overall functioning of
the children with autism and decrease the overall stress on these families as they continue
to serve our country.
1. Specific Aim: Technology-enhanced parent training. The investigators will assess whether
E-Learning using the latest web-based instructional technologies provides an efficient
and effective mechanism for training military parents of children with autism,
regardless of their geographic location, to implement effective behavior management and
teaching strategies with high procedural integrity (90% accuracy).
- Hypothesis: Technology-enhanced parent training. Military parents who have a child
with autism can be trained anywhere in the world to implement appropriate behavior
management and teaching strategies based on the principles of applied behavior analysis
(ABA) with 90% accuracy. Parents who receive this technology-enhanced training remotely
will outperform those randomly assigned to a waitlist-control group on competency-based
tests.
2. Specific Aim: Technology-enhanced ABA tutor training. The investigators will show that
E-Learning using the latest web-based instructional technologies provides an efficient
and effective mechanism for training adults to become ABA tutors who implement EIBI
procedures with high procedural integrity (90% accuracy) in areas of the world where
such services would otherwise be unavailable.
- Hypothesis: Technology-enhanced ABA tutor training. Adults anywhere in the world with
at least a high school diploma and no formal training in ABA can be trained in the basic
principles of ABA and to implement EIBI therapy with 90% accuracy. Individuals who
receive this technology-enhanced training remotely will outperform those randomly
assigned to a waitlist-control group on both knowledge and competency-based tests.
3. Specific Aim: Technology-enhanced EIBI services. The investigators will demonstrate that
technology-enhanced telehealth provides remote access to efficient and effective EIBI
services to military families affected by autism.
- Hypothesis: Technology-enhanced EIBI services. Young children with autism in military
families who receive EIBI services that are supervised by University of Nebraska Medical
Center (UNMC) experts remotely via technology-enhanced telehealth will show marked
improvements in cognitive, language, social, play, and adaptive skills and decreases in
problem behaviors relative to children randomly assigned to a wait-list control group.
4. Specific Aim: Reducing stress in military families affected by autism. The investigators
will show that the provision of efficient and effective EIBI services using
technology-enhanced telehealth will reduce family stress among military families
affected by autism.
- Hypothesis: Reducing stress in military families affected by autism. Military
parents of children with autism who receive technology-enhanced EIBI services will
show reductions in self-reported stress levels on both the Child Domain and Parent
Domain subscales of the Parenting Stress Index relative to parents on the
waitlist-control group.
E-Learning using the latest web-based instructional technologies provides an efficient
and effective mechanism for training military parents of children with autism,
regardless of their geographic location, to implement effective behavior management and
teaching strategies with high procedural integrity (90% accuracy).
- Hypothesis: Technology-enhanced parent training. Military parents who have a child
with autism can be trained anywhere in the world to implement appropriate behavior
management and teaching strategies based on the principles of applied behavior analysis
(ABA) with 90% accuracy. Parents who receive this technology-enhanced training remotely
will outperform those randomly assigned to a waitlist-control group on competency-based
tests.
2. Specific Aim: Technology-enhanced ABA tutor training. The investigators will show that
E-Learning using the latest web-based instructional technologies provides an efficient
and effective mechanism for training adults to become ABA tutors who implement EIBI
procedures with high procedural integrity (90% accuracy) in areas of the world where
such services would otherwise be unavailable.
- Hypothesis: Technology-enhanced ABA tutor training. Adults anywhere in the world with
at least a high school diploma and no formal training in ABA can be trained in the basic
principles of ABA and to implement EIBI therapy with 90% accuracy. Individuals who
receive this technology-enhanced training remotely will outperform those randomly
assigned to a waitlist-control group on both knowledge and competency-based tests.
3. Specific Aim: Technology-enhanced EIBI services. The investigators will demonstrate that
technology-enhanced telehealth provides remote access to efficient and effective EIBI
services to military families affected by autism.
- Hypothesis: Technology-enhanced EIBI services. Young children with autism in military
families who receive EIBI services that are supervised by University of Nebraska Medical
Center (UNMC) experts remotely via technology-enhanced telehealth will show marked
improvements in cognitive, language, social, play, and adaptive skills and decreases in
problem behaviors relative to children randomly assigned to a wait-list control group.
4. Specific Aim: Reducing stress in military families affected by autism. The investigators
will show that the provision of efficient and effective EIBI services using
technology-enhanced telehealth will reduce family stress among military families
affected by autism.
- Hypothesis: Reducing stress in military families affected by autism. Military
parents of children with autism who receive technology-enhanced EIBI services will
show reductions in self-reported stress levels on both the Child Domain and Parent
Domain subscales of the Parenting Stress Index relative to parents on the
waitlist-control group.
Inclusion Criteria:
1. Inclusion criteria for children with autism. a. Upon completion of the diagnostic
assessment, children who meet the following inclusion criteria will be considered for
participation. The inclusion criteria are:
- (a) chronological age between 18 and 48 months of age,
- (b) nonverbal mental age greater than 12 months (which is necessary to make an
accurate diagnosis of autism in young children), and
- (c) diagnosis of autism confirmed by meeting the cut-off scores on the autism
diagnostic interview-revised (ADI-R) and the autism diagnostic observation
schedule (ADOS)
2. Inclusion criteria for parents of children with autism. - All parents of children who
are enrolled in this project will be invited to participate in Experiment 1 of this
project if they are available for training during the course of the project.
3. Inclusion criteria for behavioral technicians.
1. The participants for Experiment 2 will be young adults who are interested in
being trained (at no cost) to provide ABA services to children with autism.
Inclusion criteria for participation in this study are:
- (a) age 19 or above;
- (b) completion of, or enrollment in, an associate's or bachelor's degree
program in psychology or a related field;
- (c) completion of at least 12 semester credit hours at an accredited college
or university;
- (d) passage of criminal and abuse background checks; and (e) no prior
training in ABA interventions.
Exclusion Criteria:
1. Exclusion criteria for children with autism
a. Upon completion of the diagnostic assessment, children who meet the following
exclusion criteria will be thanked for their participation, discharged from the
project, and referred for services by other service providers. The exclusion criteria
are:
- (a) chronological age other than between 18 and 48 months of age,
- (b) nonverbal mental age less than 12 months,
- (c) no diagnosis of autism. In addition, children will be excluded if they have a
serious medical condition that would interfere with treatment (e.g., blindness,
deafness, cerebral palsy).
2. Exclusion criteria for parents of children with autism.
a. Active duty military personnel who are unavailable due to deployment during this
project will not participate, but will be offered parent training after their
deployment is completed even if their data are not included in this project.
3. Exclusion criteria for behavioral technicians. a. Individuals who do not meet the
inclusion criteria above and who cannot complete the physical requirements of the
tasks involved in ABA therapy, which requires therapists to be able to speak, hear,
see, sit, stand, walk, and lift 40 lbs. will be excluded from participation.
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