Alla barn med autism har utmaningar med socialt samspel. Många av dem har också avvikande ögonkontakt. Att kunna titta andra människor i ögonen är en förutsättning för mer avancerade sociala färdigheter och ökar möjligheterna till delaktighet i lek- och lärandesituationer. Det här kapitlet beskriver hur ögonkontakt hos barn med autism kan främjas på ett lekfullt sätt. I kapitlet ingår ett exempel från en aktuell studie som använder metoder grundade i tillämpad beteendeanalys. Kapitlet syftar även till att fungera som inspiration och vägledning för pedagoger i förskola eller skola.

Lack of social eye contact is a common characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can limit opportunities for social interaction and social learning. The current study examined a parent-implemented shaping procedure delivered through telehealth to promote eye contact during naturalistic social play for two preschool-aged children with ASD in India. The intervention was implemented without prompting or nonsocial reinforcers, instead relying on preferred social activities. Both children learned to make eye contact, of various durations, across different activities. Self-reports from the participating parents, along with individualized indices of happiness observed in the children, indicate a high degree of social validity. The findings support and extend prior research on shaping without prompting, suggesting that socially maintained eye contact in children with ASD can develop through flexible, naturalistic methods implemented by parents with remote supervision. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

Shaping is an effective and well-established gradual change procedure for teaching new skills that is sometimes combined with other strategies, such as prompting. However, to the best of our knowledge, no review has been published that provides an overview of applications of response shaping in interventions for persons with developmental disabilities. While it is possible to combine response shaping with various prompts, it can also be used without prompts. Results of the current scoping review include a description of the reviewed studies, and a synthesis of the findings. This includes a study of participant samples, experimental designs, teaching settings, assessments used, social validity, and shaping outcomes. This includes a study of participant samples, experimental designs, teaching settings, assessments used, social validity, and shaping outcomes. A majority of the studies targeted persons with autism spectrum disorder, even though other diagnoses were also represented. Most studies employed single-case experimental designs and reported positive outcomes of response shaping, for a variety of target behaviors. This presentation will highlight and discuss the presence or absence of prompting in the reviewed studies. 

Behavior analysts are not recognized or regulated as a distinct profession in Europe. For the most part, European behavior analysts adhered to the standards set by the U.S.-based Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). However, the BACB certification has not been recognized officially in any European jurisdiction. The recent decision by the BACB to discontinue eligibility of non-U.S. residents to apply for the BCBA exam by the end of 2022 has brought the issue of professional regulation outside of the United States into sharp focus. This article offers a snapshot in time of professional recognition of behavior analysts in 21 European countries. It stems from the Erasmus+ funded EuroBA project and its Professional Advisory Group (PAG). The EuroBA project aims to develop common standards and competences for behavior analysts to facilitate national regulation and mutual recognition across Europe.