Patrick Romani, PhD

Research Interests

My research interests focus on identifying the most effective assessment and treatment procedures for children engaging in severe problem behavior (e.g., self-injurious behavior, aggression). Additionally, I am interested in learning how to increase access and decrease costs associated with receiving these clinical services by studying the delivery of these clinical services via telehealth. My other research interests include identifying procedures for decreasing the likelihood treatment relapse will occur.

Publications

• Romani, P. W., Luehring, M. C., Koerner, A., & Baikie, S. M. (2024). Characterization of outcomes of profoundly and non-profoundly autistic individuals admitted to a specialized psychiatric inpatient unit. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. doi: 10.1007/s10803-024-06640-8
• Romani, P. W., Anjom, A., Anderson, T., & Ariefdjohan, M. (2024). Evaluating adolescent patient outcomes and staff member injuries on a general psychiatric inpatient unit. Behavioral Sciences, 14(9), 737. doi: 10.3390/bs14090737
• Luehring, M. C., Romani, P. W., & Ariefdjohan, M. (2024). Preliminary evaluation of behavior technician burnout when working with boarded and traditional psychiatric inpatients diagnosed with developmental disabilities. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 37(2), e12461. doi: 10.1111/jcap.12461
• Romani, P. W., & Koerner, A. M. (2024). Comparison of fixed-ratio and fixed-interval schedules of reinforcement within the treatment of escape-reinforced problem behavior. Journal of Behavioral Education, 33, 1 – 20. doi: 10.1007/s10864-023-09540-6
• Romani, P. W., Hays, T. M., Glover, J., & Swain-Cockrell, A. (2024). Training healthcare professionals to discriminate between examples and non-examples of racial microaggressions. Behavioral Interventions, 39(3), e2013. doi: 10.1002/bin.2013.
• Zangrillo, A. N., Sodawasser, A., DeBrine, J.,Romani, P, & Kettering, T. (2024). Environmental safety design on inpatient and outpatient units. In J. K. Luiselli, F. Bird,H. Maguire, & R. M. Gardner (Eds). Behavior Safety and Clinical Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Springer.
• Quigley, S., Romani, P. W.,& Fields, S. (2024). Social validity. In J. K. Luiselli, F.Bird, H. Maguire, & R. M. Gardner (Eds.), Behavior Safety and Clinical Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Springer.
• Romani, P. W., Luehring, M. C., Trimble, D., & Ladyga, R. (2024). Specialized psychiatric inpatient units for youth with developmental disabilities. In J.M. Leffler, A.D. Thompson, & S. W. Simmons (Eds.), Handbook of Evidence-Based Inpatient Mental Health Programs for Children and Adolescents. Springer Nature
• Romani, P. W. (2024). Pediatric Behavior Clinic. Colorado Association for Behavior Analysis Newsletter.
• Romani, P. W. (2024). Using AI and machine learning to improve mental healthcare. Pediatric Health Advances, Children’s Hospital Colorado.
• Romani, P. W., Hammad, I., & Luehring, M. C. (2023). COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy amongst caregivers of developmentally disabled youth. Clinical Pediatrics, 63(1), 14-17. doi: 10.1177/00099228231201717
• Romani, P. W., Fisher, W. W., Boorse, A. L., & Silver, S. B. (2023). Evaluation of generalization following behavioral skills training for implementing preference assessments. Seven Dimensions, 1(2), 1-26.
• Ringdahl, J. E., Crook, K., Berg, W. K., Wacker, D. P., Molony, M., Romani, P., Ryan, S., Ryan, A., & Zabala, K. (2023). Further evaluation of prompt density, rate of reinforcement, and the persistence of manding. Behavioral Interventions, 38(3), 1 – 16. doi: 10.1002/bin.1944
• Romani, P. W., Ladyga, R., & McCleary, M. (2023). Use of didactic training and feedback to improve quality and acceptability of progress notes written by direct-care staff on a psychiatric inpatient unit. Behavioral Interventions, 38(2), 427-436. doi: 10.1002/bin.1927
• Romani, P. W., Schwien, M., Boydston, D., Lick, J., Hays, T. M., Luehring, M., C., & Richeson, B. (2023). The effect of napping on the function of problem behavior for one child with an acquired brain injury. Clinical Case Studies, 22(3), 307 - 324. doi: 10.1177/15346501221141491
• O’Brien, M. J., Romani, P. W., Berg, W. K., & Wacker, D. (2023). The effects of noncontingent reinforcement on task disengagement following failure of differential reinforcement treatment. Behavioral Interventions, 38(1), 62-79. doi: 10.1002/bin.1916
• Romani, P. W., Luehring, M. C., Hays, T. M., & Boorse, A. L. (2023). Comparisons of functional behavior assessment procedures to the functional analysis of problem behavior when evaluating social functions for problem behavior. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 23(1), 36 - 48. doi: 10.1037/bar0000258
• Romani, P. W., Young, K., Boorse, A. L., & Carson, B. (2023). Evaluation of a telehealth training program to teach educators to implement behavioral assessment and treatment. Education and Treatment of Children, 46(1), 5 - 22. doi: 10.1007/s43494-023-00089-7
• Proterra, K., Ehrlich, S., & Romani, P. W. (2022). Training direct-care staff to implement sensory integration strategies on a psychiatric inpatient unit. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 35, 150 – 156. doi: 10.1111/jcap.12357
• Romani, P. W. & Donaldson, A. M. (2022). Teaching rural educators to ask follow-up questions during open-ended interviews via telehealth. Advances in Developmental and Educational Psychology, 4, 147 – 159. doi: 10.25082/ADEP.2022.01.003
• Romani, P. W. (2021, invited manuscript). Reflections on conducting pediatric mental health research as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics, 11, 35 – 37. doi: 10.1353.nib.2021.0012
• Romani, P. W., Banks, T., Barnes, J. C., Murphy, J., Sannar, E. M., & Anderson, T. (2021). Use of a short-term psychiatric inpatient model to address problem behavior exhibited by youth with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 6, 447 – 458. doi: 10.1080/23794925.2021.1975517
• Romani, P. W., Kennedy, S. M., Sheffield, K., Ament, A. M., Schiel, M., Hawks, J., & Murphy, J. (2021). Pediatric mental healthcare provider’s perceptions of the delivery of partial hospitalization and outpatient services via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 5, 1-14. doi: 10.1080/23794925.2021.1931985
• Romani, P. W., Ariefdjohan, M., Jensen Gaffey, L. L., Torres-Dominguez, M., & Lister, J. (2020). Relations between patient and staff-member characteristics and staff member injury on a psychiatric inpatient unit for children with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 33, 125 – 130. doi: 10.1111/jcap.12291
• Hays, T. M. & Romani, P. W. (2020). Use of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services to assess hand hygiene compliance in a hospital. Behavior Analysis in Practice. doi: 10.1007/s40617-020-00461-8
• Lindgren, S. D., Wacker, D. P., Schieltz, K. M., Suess, A. N., O’Brien, M. J., Romani, P. W., Lee, J., & Waldron, D. (2020). A randomized controlled trial of functional communication training via telehealth for young children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04451-1
• Romani, P. W., Donaldson, A. M., Ager, A. J., Peaslee, J., Garden, S. M., & Ariefdjohan, M. (2019). Assessment and treatment of aggression during public outings. Education and Treatment of Children, 42, 345 – 360. doi: 10.1353/etc.2019.0016
• Donaldson, A. M., Hays, T. M., & Romani, P. W. (2019). Autism spectrum disorder: Effects on child and family functioning. Journal for Student Research, 8, 71 – 76.
• Sabus, A., Feinstein, J., Romani, P. W., Goldson, E., & Blackmer, A. (2019). Management of self-injurious behaviors in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Pharmacotherapy: The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy, 39, 645 - 664. doi: 10.1002/phar.2238
• Lichtblau KR, Romani PW, Greer BD, Fisher WW, Bragdon AK. Remote treatment of sleep-related trichotillomania and trichophagia. J Appl Behav Anal. 2018 Apr;51(2):255-262. PubMed PMID: 29468679
• Fisher WW, Greer BD, Mitteer DR, Fuhrman AM, Romani PW, Zangrillo AN. Further evaluation of differential exposure to establishing operations during functional communication training. J Appl Behav Anal. 2018 Apr;51(2):360-373. PubMed PMID: 29512153
• Romani PW, Alcorn AS, Linares J. Improving Accuracy of Data Collection on a Psychiatric Unit for Children Diagnosed With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Behav Anal Pract. 2018 Dec 31;11(4):307-314. PubMed PMID: 30538904
• 6. Schieltz, K. M., Romani, P. W., Wacker, D. P. Suess, A. N., Lindgren, S., Kopelman, T., Berg, W. K. (2018). Single-case analysis to determine reasons for failure of behavioral treatment via telehealth. Remedial and Special Education, 39, 95-105. doi: 10.1177/0741932517743791
• Romani, P. W. & Schieltz, K. M. (2017). Ethical considerations when delivering behavior analytic services via telehealth. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 17, 312 – 324. doi: 10.1037/bar0000074
• Romani, P. W., Alcorn, A. S., Miller, J. R., & Clark, G. (2017). Preference assessment for dimensions of reinforcement to inform token economies targeting problem behavior. Journal of Behavioral Education, 26, 1- 17. doi: 10.1007/s10864-017-9270-y
• Schieltz, K. M., Wacker, D. P., & Romani, P. W. (2016). Effects of combined reinforcement contingencies on problem behavior maintained by negative reinforcement. Journal of Behavioral Education. doi: 10.1007/s10864-016-9265-0.
• Romani, P. W. (2016). Tantrums. Colorado Parent Magazine.
• Romani, P. W., Alcorn, A. S., Miller, J. R., & Clark, G. (2016, May). Brief evaluation of preference for dimensions of reinforcement to inform a token economy. Poster presented at the 42nd convention for the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Chicago, IL.
• Alcorn, A. S. & Romani, P. W. (2016, May). Assessment and treatment of inappropriate vocalizations maintained by attention in a classroom setting. Poster presented at the 42nd convention for the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Chicago, IL.
• De Souza, A. A., Romani, P. W., Fisher, W. W., & Niebauer, A. A. (2016, May). Use of a DRO procedure to establish the maintenance of treatment effects during transitions followed by a preference assessment for transitions. Poster presented at the 42nd annual convention for the Association of Behavior Analysis International, Chicago, IL.
• Owen, T. M., Fisher, W. W., Greer, B. D., Mitteer, D. R., Romani, P. W., & De Souza, A. A. (2016, May). The effects of limited versus extended establishing-operation exposure during functional communication training. Symposium presented at the 42nd annual convention for the Association of Behavior Analysis International, Chicago, IL.
• Sodawasser, A. J., Romani, P. W., Cavanaugh, B. M., Godsey, A. J., Simmons, C. A., Owen, T. M., Zangrillo, A. N., & Fisher, W. W. (2016, May). Preference for alternative reinforcement within a treatment package to decrease problem behavior during circle time. Poster presented at the 42nd annual convention for the Association of Behavior Analysis International, Chicago, IL.
• Zangrillo, A. N., Fisher, W. W., Greer, B. D., Romani, P. W., Owen, T. M. (2016, May). Preliminary comparisons of the convergent and divergent outcomes of synthesized-and-individual-reinforcement contingencies during functional analysis. Symposium presented at the 42nd annual convention for the Association of Behavior Analysis International, Chicago, IL.
• Retzlaff, B. J., Lichtblau, K. R., Romani, P. W., Greer, B. D., Fisher, W. W., & Bragdon, A. K. (2016, May). Telehealth treatment of sleep-related trichotillomania and trichophagia using improved sleep hygiene and melatonin. Symposium presented at the 42nd annual convention for the Association of Behavior Analysis International, Chicago, IL.
• De Souza, A. A., Romani, P. W., Fisher, W. W., & Niebauer, A. A. (2016, February). Use of a DRO procedure to establish the maintenance of treatment effects during transitions followed by a preference assessment for transitions. Poster presented at the 10th annual Autism Conference for the Association of Behavior Analysis, New Orleans, LA.
• Sodawasser, A. J., Romani, P. W., Cavanaugh, B. M., Godsey, A. J., Simmons, C. A., Owen, T. M., Zangrillo, A. N., & Fisher, W. W. (2016, February). Preference for alternative reinforcement within a treatment package to decrease problem behavior during circle time. Poster presented at the 10th annual Autism Conference for the Association for Behavior Analysis International, New Orleans, LA.
• Romani, P. W., Alcorn, A. S., Miller, J. R., & Clark, G. (2016, February). Brief evaluation of preference for dimensions of reinforcement to inform a token economy. Poster presented at the Psychiatry Research Day, Aurora, CO.
• Garden, S. M., Romani, P. W., Alcorn, A. S., & Graves, B. (2016, April). Evaluation of preference for after-care services for children receiving inpatient psychiatric care. Poster presented at the Four Corners Association for Behavior Analysis Conference, Loveland, CO.
• Alcorn, A. S. & Romani, P. W. (2016, April). Assessment and treatment of inappropriate vocalizations maintained by attention in a classroom setting. Poster presented at the Four Corners Association for Behavior Analysis Conference, Loveland, CO.
• Romani, P, Ringdahl, J, Wacker, D, Lustig, N, Vinquist, K, Northup, J, Kane, A, & Carrion, D. Relations between rate of negative reinforcement and the persistence of task completion. J Appl Behav Anal, 2015, 48.
• Berg, W, Ringdahl, J, Ryan, S, Ing, A, Lustig, N, Romani, P, Wacker, D, Andersen, J, Durako, E. An evaluation of resurgence of mands following functional communication training. Mexi J Appl Behav Anal. 2015;41: 166-186.
• Mitteer, D, Romani, P, Greer, B, Fisher, W. The assessment and treatment of pica and property destruction toward holiday decorations. J Appl Behav Anal. 2015;48.
• Wacker D, Schieltz, K, Romani, P. Handbook of crisis intervention for individuals with developmental disabilities. New York: Springer Roane, Ringdahl, & Falcomata; c2015. Brief experimental analyses of problem behavior in a pediatric outpatient clinic.
• Wacker, D, Schieltz, K, Suess, A, Romani, P, Padilla Dalmau, Y, Kopelman, T, Lee, J, Lindgren S. Clinical handbook of evidence-based practices for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Unknown: Unknown Singh; Forthcoming 2016. Telehealth.
• Romani, P. W., & Luehring, M. C. (conditionally accepted). An evaluation of assessment, treatment, and safety considerations credentialed behavior analysts use when working with clients engaging in severe problem behavior. Behavior Analysis in Practice.
• Sannar, E. M., Winter, J. R., Franke, R. K., Werner, E., Rochowiak, R., Romani, P. W., Miller, O. S., Bainbridge, J. L., Enabulele, O., Thompson, T., Natvig, C., Mikulich-Gilbertson, S. K., & Tartaglia, N. R. (in press). Cannabidiol for the treatment of irritability and aggressive beahvior in children and adolescents with ASD: Background and methods of the Cannabidiol Study in Children with Autism Spectrum DisordEr (CASCADE) study.
• Proterra, K., Ehrlich, S., & Romani, P. W. (in press). Training direct-care staff to implement sensory integration strategies on a psychiatric inpatient unit. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing.
• Romani, P. W., Fisher, W. W., Boorse, A. L., & Silver, S. B. (in press). Evaluation of generalization following behavioral skills training for implementing preference assessments. Seven Dimensions.
• Romani, P. W., & Koerner, A. M. (in press). Comparison of fixed-ratio and fixed-interval schedules of reinforcement within the treatment of escape-reinforced problem behavior. Journal of Behavioral Education.
• Romani, P. W., Hays, T. M., Glover, J., & Swain-Cockrell, A. (conditionally accepted). Training healthcare professionals to discriminate between examples and non-examples of racial microaggressions. Behavioral Interventions.
• Lindgren, S, Wacker, D, Suess, A, Schieltz, K, Pelzel, K, Kopelman, T, Lee, J, Romani, P, Waldron D. Telehealth expands access and reduces costs for treating challenging behavior in young children with autism spectrum disorders using applied behavior analysis. Pediatrics, Forthcoming 2016.
• Greer, B, Fisher, W, Romani, P, Saini, V. Behavioral momentum theory: A tutorial for practitioners. Behav Anal. Forthcoming 2016.
• Fewell R, Romani, P, Wacker, D, Lindgren, S, Kopelman, T, Waldron, D. Relations between consumption of functional and arbitrary reinforcers during functional communication training. J Devel Phys Disabil. Forthcoming 2016.
• Fisher W, Greer, B, Romani, P, Zangrillo, A, Owen T. Preliminary comparisons of the convergent and divergent outcomes of synthesized and individual reinforcement contingencies during function analysis. J Appl Behav Anal. Forthcoming 2016.
• Romani, P. W. (in press, invited manuscript). Reflections on conducting pediatric mental health research as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics.
• Zangrillo, A. N., Sodawasser, A., DeBrine, J., Romani, P, & Kettering, T. (in press). Environmental safety design on inpatient and outpatient units. In J. K. Luiselli, F. Bird, H. Maguire, & R. M. Gardner (Eds.), Behavior safety and clinical practice in intellectual and developmental disabilities. Springer.
• Quigley, S., & Romani, P. W. (in press). Social Valdity. In J. K. Luiselli, F. Bird, H. Maguire, & R. M. Gardner (Eds.), Behavior safety and clinical practice in intellectual and developmental disabilities. Springer.
• Romani, P. W., Luehring, M. C., Trimble, D., & Ladyga, R. (in press). Specialized psychiatric inpatient units for youth with developmental disabilities. In J. Leffler, A. Thompson, & S. Simmons (Eds.), Handbook of Evidence-Based Inpatient Mental Health Programs for Children and Adolescents. Springer
• Romani, P. W., & Miller, J. R. (conditionally accepted). Effects of item framing and age on the reported likelihood of adults supervising young children near pools: A probability discounting analysis. The Psychological Record.
• Fisher, W. W., Greer, B. D., Mitteer, D. R., Fuhrman, A. M., Romani, P. W., & Zangrillo, A. N. (in press). Further evaluation of differential exposure to establishing operations during functional communication training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
• Romani, P. W. & Schieltz, K. M. (in press). Ethical considerations when delivering behavior analytic services via telehealth. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice.
• Romani, P. W., Alcorn, A. S., Miller, J. R., & Clark, G. (in press). Preference assessment for dimensions of reinforcement to inform token economies targeting problem behavior. Journal of Behavioral Education.
• Lichtblau, K. R., Romani, P. W., Greer, B. D., Fisher, W. W., & Bragdon, A. K. (in press). Telehealth treatment of sleep-related trichotillomania and trichophagia using improved sleep hygiene and melatonin. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
• Fisher, W. W., Greer, B. D., Mitteer, D. R., Fuhrman, A. M., Romani, P. W., & Zangrillo, A. N. (in press). Further evaluation of differential exposure to establishing operations during functional communication training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
• Lichtblau, K. R., Romani, P. W., Greer, B. D., Fisher, W. W., & Bragdon, A. K. (in press). Telehealth treatment of sleep-related trichotillomania and trichophagia using improved sleep hygiene and melatonin. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
• Schieltz, K. M., Romani, P. W., Wacker, D. P. Suess, A. N., Lindgren, S., Kopelman, T., Berg, W. K. (in press). Single-case analysis to determine reasons for failure of behavioral treatment via telehealth. Remedial and Special Education.
• Romani, P. W., Donaldson, A. M., Ager, A. J., Peaslee, J., Garden, S. M., & Ariefdjohan, M. (in press). Assessment and treatment of aggression during public outings. Education and Treatment of Children.
• Sabus, A., Feinstein, J., Romani, P. W., Goldson, E., & Blackmer, A. (conditionally accepted). Management of self-injurious behaviors in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Pharmacotherapy.
• Lindgren, S. D., Wacker, D. P., Schieltz, K. M., Suess, A. N., O’Brien, M. J., Romani, P. W., Lee, J., & Waldron, D. (conditionally accepted). A randomized controlled trial of functional communication training via telehealth for young children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
• Romani, P. W., Young, K., Boorse, A. L., & Carson, B. (in press). Evaluation of a telehealth training program to teach educators to implement behavioral assessment and treatment. Education and Treatment of Children.
• 4. Romani, P. W., Luehring, M. C., Hays, T. M., & Boorse, A. L. (in press). Comparisons of functional behavior assessment procedures to the functional analysis of problem behavior when evaluating social functions for problem behavior. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice.
• O’Brien, M. J., Romani, P. W., Berg, W. K., & Wacker, D. (in press). The effects of noncontingent reinforcement on task disengagement following failure of differential reinforcement treatment. Behavioral Interventions.
• Romani, P. W., Schwien, M., Boydston, D., Lick, J., Hays, T. M., Luehring, M., C., & Richeson, B. (in press). The effect of napping on the function of problem behavior for one child with an acquired brain injury. Clinical Case Studies.
• Romani, P. W., Ladyga, R., & McCleary, M. (in press). Use of didactic training and feedback to improve quality and acceptability of progress notes written by direct-care staff on a psychiatric inpatient unit. Behavioral Interventions.
• Ringdahl, J. E., Crook, K., Berg, W. K., Wacker, D. P., Molony, M., Romani, P., Ryan, S., Ryan, A., & Zabala, K. (in press). Further evaluation of prompt density, rate of reinforcement, and the persistence of manding. Behavioral Interventions.

Professional Memberships

• Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI), Member
• Heartland Association for Behavior Analysis (HLABA), Member

Practice Locations

CU Medicine Psychiatry - Outpatient Clinic
1890 N Revere Ct
Anschutz Health Sciences Bldg, Suite 4020
Aurora, CO 80045
303-724-1000

Hospital Affiliation

• University of Colorado Hospital

Specialty Information

Specialties

• Psychology
• Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral, Board Certification (2014)