19845
Descriptive Assessment of Problem Behavior in a Large-Scale Randomized Trial in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Objectives: The purposes of this poster are: 1) to describe the process of co-constructing the function of problem behaviors in children with ASD in the context of a structured parent training program; 2) to describe the problem behaviors and topographies that emerged from the parent –therapist collaboration; and 3) to describe the functions of problem behaviors identified in the parent training program.
Methods: Results were derived from a large-scale multi-site, 24-week, randomized clinical trial of 180 children (age 3 to 6 years, 11 months) with ASD and disruptive behaviors. At baseline, eligible children were randomized to receive either parent training (PT) or parent psychoeducation (PE). 89 children were randomized to PT and 91 children were assigned to PE. Descriptions of the child’s problem behaviors were documented in a “behavior support plan” that was co-constructed by the parent and the therapist over the course of PT.
Results: To date, 59 of 89 behavior support plans for PT subjects were available for review. Parents reported tantrums in 78.0% (46/59) of the subjects, aggression in 62.7% (37/59) and noncompliance in 39.0% (23/59). Parents reported a total of 175 behavior problems with 53 topographies (e.g. crying, flailing). Of the 175 behavior problems reported, the most common were tantrums (26.3%), aggression (21.1%) and noncompliance (13.1%). Of the four functions of problem behavior, parents reported that 62.4% of the behaviors had multiple functions followed by access to a tangible (59.4%), attention (47.1%), escape (42.0%), and sensory (11.6%).
Conclusions: This is the first study to identify the behaviors, topography, and functions of disruptive behaviors using co-constructed parent-clinician descriptive assessments in a large sample of well-characterized young children with ASD. These results suggest that teaching parents to conduct DAs is an effective method to identify the functions of disruptive behavior in young children with ASD.
See more of: Diagnostic, Behavioral & Intellectual Assessment