Procedures and compliance of a video modeling applied behavior analysis intervention for Brazilian parents of children with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

Video modeling using applied behavior analysis techniques is one of the most promising and cost-effective ways to improve social skills for parents with autism spectrum disorder children. The main objectives were: (1) To elaborate/describe videos to improve eye contact and joint attention, and to decrease disruptive behaviors of autism spectrum disorder children, (2) to describe a low-cost parental training intervention, and (3) to assess participant's compliance. This is a descriptive study of a clinical trial for autism spectrum disorder children. The parental training intervention was delivered over 22 weeks based on video modeling. Parents with at least 8 years of schooling with an autism spectrum disorder child between 3 and 6 years old with an IQ lower than 70 were invited to participate. A total of 67 parents fulfilled the study criteria and were randomized into two groups: 34 as the intervention and 33 as controls. In all, 14 videos were recorded covering management of disruptive behaviors, prompting hierarchy, preference assessment, and acquisition of better eye contact and joint attention. Compliance varied as follows: good 32.4%, reasonable 38.2%, low 5.9%, and 23.5% with no compliance. Video modeling parental training seems a promising, feasible, and low-cost way to deliver care for children with autism spectrum disorder, particularly for populations with scarce treatment resources.

Translation, Cultural Adaptation, and Evidence of Instrument Validity for a Morphological Examination Performed in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Since the minor signs are subjective, the expert committee determined that the measurable signs that have specific tables 11 according to age and gender should be used for better clinical interpretation, as in the description of hands and feet. "Large hands" would be literally described as is, but subjectively as "large/hypertrophied hands;" as this description is broad, we chose to define it as "elongated hands, total length of the hand >2 standard deviations or >97 th percentile or enlarged (subjective)."…”

“…8,15,16 Translation and cultural adaptation 7 utilize standardized methods and sensible criteria to produce adequate versions of foreign instruments for use in countries with different languages. 17 This study followed the stages recommended by international guidelines, 9,11 resulting in the development of the translated version of the instrument "Measure of dysmorphology: useful for autism subgroup classification," which incorporates the Brazilian reality and culture. We expect that this work can help non-specialist physicians, in different regions of the Brazilian territory, to recognize minor signs and discrete phenotypic abnormalities, which in most cases go unnoticed and are present in many chromosomal microdeletion and microduplication syndromes.…”

“…An interdisciplinary team made the diagnoses using the criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) 1 and by performing the Brazilian version of the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R). 11 All children have intellectual disabilities. A study conducted by the three university centers mentioned above details the full neuropsychological assessment.…”

Applied Behavior Analysis in Residential Settings: Use of a Mobile Application to Support Parental Engagement in At-Home Educational Activities

“…The main behavioral characteristics of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are qualitative impairment in social interactions, communication and present restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities (APA, 2013). Individuals with ASD may present deficits and/or behavioral excess in different areas of development, such as language, social skills, self-care skills, motor skills and cognitive tasks (Bagaiolo et al, 2017).…”

“…Among the main therapeutic and educational approaches aimed at individuals with ASD, interventions based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) present positive, replicable and evidence-based results for the acquisition basic behavioral and complex developmental repertoires (Bagaiolo et al, 2017;Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007;Leach, 2014). ABA teaching practices are individualized, planned according to each individual's existing behavioral repertoires and aiming towards the acquisition of novel skills.…”