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. 2025 Aug;55(8):2680-2695.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-024-06373-8. Epub 2024 May 22.

Field Testing the Family Behavior Support Mobile Application (FBSApp) During a Global Pandemic

Erin E Barton  1 , Claire Winchester  2 , Marina S Velez  3 , Mollie Todt  4 , Brandy M Locchetta  5 , Emma Skiba  6
Affiliations

Field Testing the Family Behavior Support Mobile Application (FBSApp) During a Global Pandemic

Erin E Barton et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2025 Aug.

Abstract

We developed and tested an evidence-based mobile application designed to support families in using functional assessment-based intervention strategies with their young children with disabilities and challenging behaviors in home settings. Five families participated in the study. We utilized a multiple-probe across participants design to examine the effects of the FBSApp on parents' use of intervention strategies and childrens' use of challenging behaviors and replacement behaviors. We adapted our procedures to include individualized coaching to provide meaningful and effective support after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A functional relation was not identified between access to FBSApp and caregiver use of strategies; however, the addition of coaching did lead to increased strategy use for two of four caregivers. A functional relation was identified between the use of the FBSApp plus coaching and CB. Families reported the app and coaching procedures favorably. We found that responsive, family-centered research CAN be conducted in spite of significant history events, and that mobile apps and virtual meeting platforms can be an accessible and efficient method for supporting families. The use of single case design allowed for flexible, yet methodologically sound procedures. More work is needed examining effective and efficient virtual supports for families.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Challenging behavior; Early childhood; Parent coaching; Telehealth.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflicting interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

References

    1. AUTHORS. (2022). Family Behavior Support App (version 1.0.1). App Store. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/family-behavior-support-app/id1598406686
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    1. Barton, E. E., Ledford, J. R., Lane, J. D., Decker, J., Germansky, S. E., Hemmeter, M. L., & Kaiser, A. (2016). The iterative use of single case research designs to advance the science of EI/ECSE. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 36(1), 4–14.
    1. Barton, E. E., Lloyd, B. P., Spriggs, A. D., & Gast, D. L. (2018). Visual analysis of graphic data. In J. R. Ledford & D. L. Gast (Eds.), Single case research methodology: Applications in special education and behavioral sciences (3rd ed., pp. 176–210). Routledge.
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