#12 Skill Based Treatment Extensions: Balance, Sleep, Feeding, Preschool Life Skills

Our Guides are designed to get you started with the many resources we have to offer! Have more specific questions? You can always make a post in our FaceBook Community!

There are several great programs that are related to, or extensions of SBT. Balance is an extension of SBT designed for parent implementation for children with emerging (not severe) challenging behaviors. Hanley’s lab developed has also developed a great sleep training protocol. Holly Gover designed an innovative feeding protocol, and Hanley has a whole preschool classroom program called Preschool Life Skills (PLS). Remember, please do not implement outside of your scope of competence. If you are new to these extensions, find a mentor to support you.

Balance resources

Here is an FTF 4 CEU training on the Balance Program

Abstract from the FTF website:

The mission of the Balance Program is to prevent the worsening of early problem behavior in young children with autism via a proactive, skill-building approach. The program consists of 10 customizable lessons, rooted in years of behavioral and early childhood research. Parents serve as the primary implementers with intermittent support from a professional, making the program a good option when access to behavior analytic services is limited—for example, in areas without qualified local professionals, during public health-related shutdowns, or when a child is on a waitlist for comprehensive services. This webinar provides a detailed examination of the program, including the rationale for and research supporting its components. Participants will receive manuals for parents and professionals with step-by-step instructions, data sheets, session logs, and tips. The webinar will also highlight electronic data collection and collaboration options via the new Balance Program app on the web platform Hi Rasmus.

Below you can find some threads related to Balance on our FaceBook page!

FB thread: Balance versus SBT

FB thread: Differences between Balance and SBT

FB thread: Balance nonvocal learner

FB thread: Balance Data Collection in CR

FB thread: How to bill insurance for the Balance Program

Here are some additional resources related to the Balance program

Sleep resources

FTF 7 CEU course on sleep

Abstract from the FTF website:

This course is suitable for both professionals and caregivers who would like to learn more about our biobehavioral approach to the assessment, treatment, and prevention of sleep-related problems. We will describe a collaborate model in which the client and family values, in particular the client’s safety and subjective experience, are incorporated in the selection of goals and in the design of treatment. Participants will be introduced to our comprehensive assessment process for gaining an insight on potential environmental variables (past and present) that affect behavioral quietude and any interfering behaviors that may impede one’s ability to fall asleep, will become familiar with our Sleep Assessment and Treatment Tool (SATT), and will learn about our five-component sleep treatment package. Participants are encouraged to complete the SATT and collect baseline data prior to taking this course, and to use the information from these assessments as guided by the presenter to design a treatment process for one of their own clients. Modifications for individual clients and considerations for value-based and performance-informed decision-making will be discussed.

Check out our sister group for the Sleep related info.

Feeding resources

FTF 7 CEU course on food selectivity

Abstract from the FTF website:

Food selectivity is common among children with and without disabilities and can be highly stressful for families. It is, however, amenable to treatment, and this treatment need not rely on intrusive procedures. In this course, attendees will learn about an assessment and treatment process that focuses on empowering the child in mealtime situations and then shaping progressively braver food-related choices, using synthesized reinforcers, emphasizing client choice, and without the use of escape extinction. This approach has been demonstrated to increase the variety of foods consumed without evoking problem behavior or routinely eliciting negative emotional responding (Gover et al., 2023). Modifications for specific client needs and considerations for performance-based decision-making will be discussed.

Look below to see some discussion about food selectivity on our FaceBook page!

FB thread: Food Selectivity Success Story

FB thread: Definition of Biting Food

FB thread: Data collection for Food Selectivity

Here are some additional resources on treating food selectivity!

An article by Holly Gover and others on choice and assent in food selectivity.

Preschool Life Skills resources

FTF has a 4 CEU course on PLS! Below you can read the abstract:

Abstract from the FTF website:

The Preschool Life Skills (PLS) program is an approach to teaching critical social skills to preschoolers. These particular social skills were selected because they are similar to the functional skills taught following the development of problem behavior and because these are the same skills early elementary teachers have identified as being critical to early school success. The program begins as a class-wide approach to teaching thirteen skills in sequence. The program may then be individualized for learners of different abilities.

The initial evaluation of the program showed that teachers were capable of implementing the program with high integrity, and that problem behavior was reduced by 70% while over a 400% increase was observed in the occurrence of the critical social skills. Since then, the program has been evaluated in peer-reviewed journals by various research groups, implemented in both public and private schools, in both urban and rural settings, in multiple countries, and across the elementary grades with students with and without developmental disabilities.

You’ve made it to the end of this guide, but this is only the beginning! These tools and resources are a great starting point, but you can also utilize our other guides, resources, mentors, and partners to help you along your PFA & SBT journey. Didn’t see your question answered? Want to connect with others? Come join us on our FaceBook community by clicking here. (And don’t forget to answer the membership questions when you join! 😉)