Telehealth Delivery of Function-Based Behavioral Treatment for Problem Behaviors Exhibited by Boys with Fragile X Syndrome

Telehealth is increasingly being employed to extend the reach of behavior analytic interventions to families of children with developmental disorders who exhibit problem behaviors. In this preliminary study, we examined whether function-based behavior analytic interventions could be delivered via telehealth over 12 weeks to decrease problem behaviors exhibited by ten boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS), aged 3- to 10-years. Results showed that for eight children who completed treatment, rates of problem behavior decreased from baseline by 78.8–95.3%. Parent procedural integrity and acceptability ratings remained high throughout the treatment. These data indicate that implementing function-based behavioral treatment via telehealth can be a feasible, acceptable and potentially cost-effective approach for decreasing problem behaviors exhibited by boys with FXS.