There is limited research using small-scale simulation in applied behavior analysis. We used small-scale simulation to train firearm safety skills to 3- to 5-year-old children and assessed whether the skills generalized to the natural environment through in situ assessment. Three participants completed the training, and all participants learned…

Deficits in safety skills and communication deficits place individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at an increased risk of danger. We used a multiple-probe across-participants design to evaluate the effects of video modeling and programming common stimuli to teach low- and high-tech help-seeking responses to children with ASD when lost.…

We evaluated the efficacy of an instructional procedure to teach young children with autism to evacuate settings and notify an adult during a fire alarm. A multiple baseline design across children showed that an intervention that included modeling, rehearsal, and praise was effective in teaching fire safety skills. Safety skills generalized to…

Children with autism may not develop safety skills (e.g., help-seeking behaviors) without explicit teaching. One potentially hazardous situation is when a child with autism becomes separated from caregivers in a retail establishment or other public setting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a treatment package (rules, role playing, and…

Using a control group design, we evaluated the effectiveness of the "Stranger Safety" DVD (The Safe Side, 2004) and parent training of abduction-prevention skills with 6- to 8-year-old children. Children in the training or control group who did not demonstrate the safety skills received in situ training from their parents. There was no…

Recent research has shown that behavioral skills training with in situ training is an effective strategy to teach children the safety skills needed if they ever encounter an unattended firearm. The current study evaluated the use of parents as trainers to increase the efficiency of training. The success of parent training on their children's…

Kindergarten and first-grade children (N=74) were assigned to four experimental conditions designed to evaluate methods of teaching self-protection. A videotape training program accompanied by behavior rehearsal proved highly effective in teaching safe responses to potential abductors. Three-fourths of those who received no training immediately…

Practicing safety belt use and presenting a skit about it were found to nearly double the rate of belt use among six kindergarten participants who had been inconsistent belt users. Eleven older children and parents of the kindergartners, who watched the play, also increased and subsequently maintained safety belt use. (Author/JDD)