Tara A. Fahmie

Descriptive assessment of conversational skills: Towards benchmarks for young adults with social deficits

SA Hood, BM Beauchesne, TA Fahmie, A Go (2021)

Descriptive assessments are necessary to identify social norms and establish a foundation for experimental analysis. Much of the social skills intervention literature involves goals that have been selected through interviews and direct observation of behavior without a reference to desired outcomes. The purpose of the current study was to extend research on descriptive assessments of conversations by including additional measures and examining conversational behavior across contexts. We conducted a descriptive assessment of social skills exhibited by 16 neurotypical young adults. Participants had 10-min conversations in groups and 1-on-1 with friends and novel individuals. We then assessed variability within and across participants on a wide array of relevant measures. Throughout the conversations, participants shared the conversation time equally, spent most of the conversation time making on-topic comments, and gazed at their conversation partner more frequently while listening than while speaking. These descriptive data extend current research, inform future experimental analyses, and may guide clinical decisions.

Functional analysis patterns of automatic reinforcement: A review and component analysis of treatment effects

Virues-Ortega, Clayton, Pérez-Bustamante, Gaerlan, & Fahmie (2022)

Functional analysis (FA) conditions include different antecedent or consequent events that may disrupt responding. Thus, varying patterns of FA differentiation may predict treatment outcomes of problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. These patterns could be used to inform the development of individualized interventions. An approach to classifying these patterns is to categorize FA outcomes as attention condition lowest, demand condition lowest, and play condition lowest, according to the condition in which problem behavior is most disrupted. In Study 1, we applied this criterion to 120 datasets finding that 60% could be classified using this method, whereas 89% of datasets showed a disruption of 50% or higher. In Study 2, we conducted a treatment component analyses for 3 individuals whose FAs each exhibited one of the 3 distinct patterns. The results indicated that specific elements of the FA conditions could reduce problem behavior. The predictive utility of these disruption patterns is discussed.

Behavioral interventions addressing needle-based medical procedures in individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A scoping review.

Walker, White, Zangrillo, Sellers, & Fahmie

Current strategies to ensure compliance with needle-based medical procedures in populations with intellectual or developmental disabilities can have negative side effects, which include the use of restrictive practices, especially when patients exhibit challenging behavior. Using behavioral strategies may be a safer and effective alternative to traditional approaches. In the current study we sought to provide a scoping review of the research on the use of behavioral strategies to increase compliance with needle-based medical procedures. We analyzed research efficacy at both the study level and individual level to determine the impact of behavioral strategies on (a) compliance with needle-based medical procedures and (b) reduction of challenging behavior. Only one of nine studies met What Works Clearinghouse standards for single-case research design. Most studies were able to produce compliance with actual needle-based medical procedures either during the studies or during follow-up phases. Those studies that measured challenging behavior produced large reductions in challenging behavior throughout their interventions. Most studies used differential reinforcement techniques without extinction. Although study quality was generally limited, studies produced robust effects in all participants. Most studies involved multicomponent treatment packages that make it difficult to determine the effects of individual treatment components. Initial research in the application of behavioral strategies to needle-based medical procedures are compelling, but much more research is needed before recommending specific strategies for practitioners. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

An Evaluation of Ethnicity-Matching for Caregiver Telehealth Training in India

Sivaraman & Fahmie (2022)

Telehealth has become an increasingly viable service delivery option for function-based treatment of problem behavior (Lindgren et al., 2016). However, few applications have occurred with participants outside the United States and little research exists evaluating the role that culture plays in service delivery. In the current study, we compared functional analyses and functional communication training delivered via telehealth by ethnically matched and ethnically distinct trainers to six participants in India. We measured the effectiveness using a multiple baseline design while collecting supplemental measures of sessions to criterion, cancellations, treatment fidelity, and social validity. We directly assessed preference for the ethnically matched and ethnically distinct trainers using a concurrent chains arrangement. Sessions with both trainers were effective in reducing problem behavior and increasing functional verbal requests for participating children, and treatment fidelity was high across training modalities. There were no major differences in sessions-to-criterion or cancellations across trainers. However, all six caregivers demonstrated greater preference for sessions with the ethnically matched trainer.