Dissertation Defenses

Doctoral Dissertation Announcement

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Candidate: Jessa R. Love

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Psychology

Title: Training the Execution of Single-Case Research Methodology Skills in an Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention Setting

Committee:
Dr. R. Wayne Fuqua, Chair
Dr. James E. Carr
Dr. Linda A. LeBlanc
Dr. Richard Malott
Dr. Anne Cummings

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2009 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
1526 Wood Hall

Abstract:
The field of early and intensive behavior intervention (EIBI) for children with autism represents an excellent opportunity to conduct research on clinically relevant problems in an attempt to investigate some of the unanswered questions about which procedures are most effective and efficient. Unfortunately, most therapists providing these services have not likely received adequate training in conducting the single-case design research that is fundamental to this field. Providing such therapists with the skills needed to implement single-case design research protocols could improve the use of the scientist-practitioner model in these settings and greatly expand the base of scientific knowledge in this field. Based on the success of Behavioral Skills Training (BST; i.e., instructions, modeling, rehearsal, feedback) approaches to staff training across a variety of behaviors and settings (Reid & Parsons, 2004), the purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of a modified BST approach for training therapists to design and implement single-case design research protocols in a clinical setting. Specifically, this study (and a corresponding follow-up investigation) aims to answer four questions: (a) Are therapists able to learn the necessary skills? (b) Are therapists able to apply those skills? (c) Are therapists satisfied with the training and experience? and (d) Does therapist involvement in research increase following participation in the training? Key results indicate that therapists are able to both learn and apply the necessary skills as evidenced by statistically significant improvements on six sets of pre and post-tests throughout the training, and high scores on homework assignments that require staff to engage in various aspects of the research process. Implications with respect to the amount of research being conducted in EIBI settings and the impact on clinical practice are discussed.