Evaluation of a rapport-building intervention for early interventionists working with children on the autism spectrum

Rapport, or the therapeutic relationship between a therapist and client, is essential for successful intervention. In behavior analytic interventions for autistic children, practitioners commonly use pairing to establish rapport. A limited body of research has evaluated how to train interventionists to pair with their child clients. Furthermore, fewer studies have examined the effects of pairing on client behavior. Therefore, we implemented behavioral skills training to teach interventionists pairing skills and assessed the effects of presession pairing on child interfering behavior using a concurrent multiple probe design (with replication). We implemented a pairing protocol before early intensive behavioral intervention sessions with four children (3-5 years old) on the autism spectrum. Interventionists mastered pairing skills during training sessions, which were generally maintained when working with child clients. When interventionists implemented presession pairing, child participants demonstrated fewer interfering behaviors. We discuss implications of our preliminary findings and future directions.