There are over 3,000 sleep related infant deaths each year in the United States. Attempts to teach medical personnel and parents safe infant sleep practices in the infant sleep training literature have demonstrated mixed results. Thus, strategies to teach arrangements of safe infant sleep environments warrant further investigation. Behavioral skills training (BST) is an evidence‐based teaching strategy shown to successfully teach various safety skills to children and adults. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of behavioral skills training to teach safe infant sleep practices to typically developing adults. Specifically, differential responding was assessed across multiple environmental arrangements typical of contexts parents may be exposed to when putting an infant to sleep. BST significantly improved appropriate arrangement of a safe sleep environment for infants for all 8 participants.

Annually, thousands of infant deaths are classified as sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUIDs). In an effort to reduce the risk of SUIDs, the American Academy of Pediatrics has made a number of recommendations to educate caregivers, childcare providers, and healthcare professionals on safe infant sleep practices. The purpose of the current study was to extend the literature on safe infant sleep practices by teaching caregivers to arrange safe infant sleep environments using a mannequin and common infant items. We partnered with community-based agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral skills training delivered in a single training session as part of the ongoing pre-or postnatal care these agencies provided. Following training, all participants demonstrated a substantial change in responding and returned favorable social validity ratings. We discuss these outcomes in light of previous studies, limitations, and future directions.

In the present paper we discuss early markers of infants and children at risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disorders, and review studies that use operant contingencies to shape critical social skills in both typically and atypically developing infants. We emphasize the use of operant learning models to facilitate the early acquisition of infant social skills including eye contact, joint attention, vocal responding, and social referencing. We discuss research that has shown how specific contingencies of reinforcement can be implemented by caregivers to promote the development of their infants’ social behaviors. The assumption is that by strengthening these early social repertoires, the severity of subsequent developmental problems can be lessened or mitigated in those infants who are identified as at risk.

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Previous studies have shown that vocal imitation is critical in the development of early language acquisition; however, few studies have evaluated the use of socially mediated reinforcement to increase infant vocal imitation. This brief report contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating the impact that adult vocal imitation may have on the frequency of infant vocalizations. Specifically, the present study compared the use of contingent and noncontingent adult responses following infant vocalizations and infant vocal imitation of 3 infants of typical development ranging from 3 to 14 months of age. By implementing an alternating treatment design, results suggested that adult contingent vocal imitation produces the highest frequency of infant vocalization and infant vocal imitation.