Safe Utilization of a Holding Chair in Short-Term Parent Training to Reduce High-Risk Behaviors: Commentary on Lesack et al. (2013)

Standardized parent training programs could prove to be a major advance over contemporary practice in psychosocial treatment for problem behavior displayed by children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Current practice guidelines recommend 10–25 hr per week of closely supervised intervention, often in specialized centers (Behavior Analysis Certification Board, 2012). In contrast, Lesack, Bearss, Celano, and Sharp (2014) successfully implemented a parent training intervention in just 22 outpatient sessions. Moreover, they addressed a common, serious yet underresearched problem in ASD: risky, impulsive behaviors such as scaling household furniture and wandering or bolting away from supervised areas. The child’s mother taught the child to comply with directives to stay safe such as remaining seated nearby, and she appropriately implemented a “holding chair” timeout (physically guiding Kevin back to the timeout chair if he began to elope). Thus, Lesack et al.’s (2014) case study illustrates the great potential of parent training.