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Habit Reversal Treatment (HRT) is a behaviour-analytic intervention for reducing habits in children and adults using response description, response detection, competing response, and social support procedures. Studies were carried out to answer (1) has HRT been used for individuals with autism in the research literature? (2) Is HRT as usual effective for reducing restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRB's) of an individual with autism? (3) What modifications are necessary to implement HRT with individuals with autism? (4) Can HRT be used to increase functional behaviour? In Study 1, a systematic review of HRT found initial support for HRT component among individuals with autism but did find a substantial gap in the literature using an entire HRT procedure. In Study 2, a pilot study with two individuals with autism showed that the application of unmodified HRT replaced the target behaviour with a new RRB in the first participant. Modifications including training to identify antecedent triggers and multiple competing responses. The modifications resulted in successful reduction without new RRB's occurring for the second participant. Study 3, showed that training multiple competing response with a lag schedule reduced target behaviours for two participants with self-harming RRB's. In Study 4, HRT was modified to double the duration of functional play behaviour for a non-verbal child with autism. Study results are discussed including limitations and considerations for future research.

Food selectivity is a common cause of concern in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. In fact, food selectivity is twice as common in children with autism than in typically developing children. The present research started with a systematic literature to review existing studies that examine the effectiveness of behaviour analytic interventions targeting an increase in diet variety. Results showed that a variety of behavioural principles and strategies were combined in these interventions, with the two most frequently used being reinforcement and escape extinction. The absence of functional assessment and preference assessments was noted. Three studies were conducted based on the above findings by implementing a rigorous and replicable intervention protocol that included functional assessment and preference assessment and resulted in the increase of variety of diet for participants diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The studies used a changing criterion research design to evaluate food acceptance under individualised differential reinforcement of alternative behaviour (DRA) conditions. Findings are discussed in the context of intervention effectiveness and impact of using functional assessment and preference assessment.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties in social communication behaviour and restrictive patterns of behaviour. ASD is a complex diagnosis and various levels of support may be required, as such individualised provisions are recommended, which should be based upon high quality research. Provisions grounded in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) have a strong evidence base of being able to successfully provide this support. ABA in the applied branch of the science of behaviour analysis. Tactics based upon ABA have been shown to create socially significant behaviour change and greatly improve the lives of people diagnosed with ASD and their families. Unfortunately, a potential increase in prevalence of ASD and a lack of available expertise has often meant such provision is not available. These shortages are particularly felt globally and in remote areas of well served countries. A potential solution to fill the gap between service need and availability is telehealth. Telehealth uses communication technology to provide remote training and intervention services. There is a growing body of evidence supporting its use to provide ABA-based provision to individuals diagnosed with ASD. This thesis aimed to investigate this delivery platform further. Firstly, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify the status of research in this area, primarily focusing on research outcomes, aims, procedures, participants and quality. This review allowed for the identification of gaps in the literature surrounding international research, which led to the formulation of the main applied project. This project used a telehealth training platform to provide training in naturalistic teaching strategies to five parent/child dyads. Utilising a multiple probe design across participants measures of parent fidelity and child communication behaviour were collected and displayed to demonstrate a functional relation between the training provided and changes in targeted behaviours. Additionally, parent feedback and child affect were measured to provide indications of both parent and child social validity. The research provided a unique contribution to the field by demonstrating the successes of an international training project where both trainer and participants were located outside of the US. The second applied study presented in this thesis provided an extension to the main applied study. Two sets of parent/child dyads participated, both parents resided in a different country from the trainer. The project was extended to include parents who had undertaken theory-based training in ABA and the training was extended to incorporate mand, tact and intraverbal verbal operants. This was a unique contribution to the field, as previous research had only focused on reporting the mand operant in isolation.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental disorder categorised by impairments in social communication and restrictions in behaviours and thought patterns. Applied behaviour analysis (ABA) is the applied branch of the science of behaviour analysis and is considered an evidence-based practice (EBP) for providing interventions for individuals diagnosed with ASD who are in need of support. In order to be suitably qualified to design and implement programs utilising the principles of ABA, an individual should be qualified as a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA). When comparing the number of individuals with ASD who require support with the number of individuals qualified to BCBA level outside of the United States (US), the numbers of are scarce. This often results in individuals with ASD receiving interventions that are not considered an EBP. Secondly, those who deliver such interventions often have little training in the principles of behaviour analysis. Due to the high demand of individuals seeking a professional with a BCBA credential, BCBAs or those working towards the credential often experience a high rate of burn-out due to high service demands and the challenges that lack of effective supervision might pose. There is a huge need to investigate alternative delivery models that can facilitate BCBAs delivering services to those individuals with limited access to a qualified professional. One potential delivery platform is telehealth. Telehealth is the use of video conferencing software to connect individuals to a clinician within a wide range of health-related services. This thesis investigated the use of telehealth to provide behaviour analytic interventions effectively and efficiently and was done in three ways. Firstly, a systematic literature review was conducted to examine the current literature employing telehealth as a platform to deliver behaviour analytical interventions to individuals with ASD. Secondly, gaps highlighted within the systematic review were addressed in the main study. The main study utilised telehealth to train professionals in the principles of ABA and used live coaching telehealth sessions to assist in the acquisition of functional living skills in children with ASD. Finally, a follow-up study extending the current knowledge of conducting functional analysis (FA) and functional communication training (FCT) via telehealth was conducted. Each individual study within the thesis has contributed to the existing knowledge on the use of telehealth to provide behaviour analytic interventions to individuals with ASD. Recommendations for clinicians seeking to employ a telehealth platform and future research directions are discussed.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental disorder characterized by persistent and significant impairments with social communication and a tendency to engage in non-functional restricted and repetitive behaviours which begin in early childhood. Due to an increase in prevalence and lack of specialist services, many regions or entire countries are facing bottlenecks throughout the process of early detection, early screening, diagnosis and beginning services, with the average age of diagnosis currently lying between 4 to 5 years of age. This late age of diagnosis and access to services is very worrying, given many early signs are observable by the child’s first birthday and research has consistently reported that the start of intervention is directly linked to long-term outcomes, with a start prior to two years of age demonstrating the greatest potential to reach optimal outcomes. The present thesis addresses the challenges of early detection and early intervention through a four-fold process. First, a systematic literature review was conducted to establish the earliest behavioural manifestations of autism by identifying the earliest symptoms and signs which can then guide future screening and assessment tools. Second, a pilot study was conducted to assess the feasibility and acceptability of using a 12-week parent-mediated intervention model to increase social communicative behaviours while decreasing autism symptoms in ‘at risk’ infants. Third, a main study employing a multiple baseline across participants research design was conducted to assess the efficacy and social validity of the 12-week intervention program through a parent-mediated service model with symptomatic infants. Lastly, the 12-week program was translated into parent-friendly language, providing parents with a step-by-step procedure manual which can be used to complement professional intervention or for parents to use while awaiting a comprehensive diagnosis or start of services. All four components have uniquely contributed to the field of behaviour analysis and especially very early parent-mediated autism intervention, as well as to the broader field of autism detection during infancy.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), recognised through impairments in social communication skills, and restrictive and repetitive behaviours, affects approximately 1 in every 88 children. 49% of autistic children elope or wander on occasions, subjecting themselves to unsupervised dangers, 24% of these children are exposed to situations of 'near-drowning'. This has led to more than 60% of parents of a child with ASD choosing to avoid activities outside of the house. The research presented in this thesis applied behaviour analytic knowledge to assess and enhance the way in which children with ASD are taught to swim, including being desensitised to the swimming pool environment and the development of water safety skills (targeting skills outlined in the Shepperd Swim School Syllabus). Using inductive single system research designs, procedures were developed to teach water safety that have farreaching implications for safeguarding children with ASD.