Deficits in eye contact are a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and has been found to negatively affect learning opportunities. Previous research has shown shaping without prompting to be effective in teaching eye contact to children diagnosed with ASD (Fonger & Malott, 2019). The current collaborative study between Behavioral Momentum, India, and Stockholm University, Sweden, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluated the effects of a shaping procedure, implemented by parents trained and supervised via telehealth, to teach two preschool-aged children with ASD to make eye contact in naturalistic social play interactions. A changing criterion design across settings was used. For each child, eye contact was taught in three different child-preferred play settings where the parent was a necessary component. The target behavior was divided into Mve successive shaping phases. Both children acquired eye contact for a duration of 1 to 2 seconds across several settings. Results suggested a high degree of social validity, as measured by the participating parents' selfreports as well as individualized indices of happiness observed in the two children.Furthermore, this study conMrms that when cultural aspects are taken into consideration, telehealth can be used to train and supervise parents across geographical regions.
Paper Session #79.