Parent treatment integrity across multiple components of a behavioral intervention

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often present with challenging behaviors such as aggression, tantrums, or noncompliance. Behavior analytic interventions are considered evidence-based for decreasing challenging behaviors and may include a combination of strategies to teach replacement behaviors and prevent and respond to challenging behaviors. However, multi-component interventions are often implemented in treatment settings by professionals and effects may not generalize to the home. Little research has explored the levels of treatment integrity with which multi-component interventions are implemented by parents. This study evaluated the use of behavior skills training (BST) with ongoing coaching to train parents of two children with ASD to implement multi-component behavioral interventions in the home to decrease challenging behaviors. Treatment integrity was monitored for each treatment component, and attempts were made to minimize barriers to treatment integrity. Results support the use of BST with ongoing coaching. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.