Training Caregivers to Teach Critical Social Skills with their own Infants and Young Children

CEUs: 3

This workshop will cover the early infant learning of key social skills using an operant learning paradigm. An emphasis will be placed on behavior analytic caregiver training procedures to increase critical social skills such as vocal imitation, eye contact, joint attention skills, and social referencing. We will examine previous research, discuss present ongoing research, and provide future directions. Procedures such as synchronized reinforcement, contingent reinforcement, shaping, environmental arrangement, and more will be discussed as they pertain to infants and young children. We will first describe experimental illustrations of how operant methodologies and social reinforcement are essential to understanding infant social-learning phenomena. Then we will offer behavioral procedures and interventions that have advanced our research with infants at an increased likelihood of developing autism and other developmental delays like fragile X syndrome. Finally, we will discuss research tactics that can be quick and effective for behavior analysts conducting interventions with infants.

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