Abstract:
The interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA) is a relatively new functional assessment method. It often associated with a communication training programme that extends basic functional communication training to also include a tolerance response when the communication cannot be reinforced. Although the utility of this communication programme has been demonstrated in several publications, the effectiveness of the training for the significant others, who must ultimately continue the intervention in the natural environment, has yet to be assessed. The current study worked with one female, aged 56-year-old, with Autism Spectrum Disorder and intellectual disability and her four staff. The aim of the current study was to (a) conduct the IISCA, (b) implement the IISCA-informed communication training, and (c) compare the efficiency and effectiveness of hand-over training strategy, in which the staff were trained after the person learnt the communication skills, and hands-on training strategy, in which staff were trained alongside the person as she learnt the skill. The results of the IISCA identified the synthesized contingency of the problem behaviours. The IISCA-informed communication training resulted in meaningful reduction in problem behaviours, clinically increased the compliance behaviour in all three situations, and the behaviour changes sustained when the staff implemented the intervention in the generalisation and a three-week follow-up sessions. The results also revealed that hands-on training and hand-over training strategies were equally effective in teaching staff implementation. However, the efficiency of hands-on training strategy compared to hand-over training strategy was inconclusive. Strengths and limitations of the IISCA, IISCA-informed communication training, and staff training methods that used in the current study were discussed. Suggestions for future research and clinical implication of current study were offered.
