Social skill interventions have become increasingly popular in recent times, as well as the use of technology to deliver and aid interventions for the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) population. Little research exists on the use of apps to teach social skills to individuals with ASD, in particular the behaviour change procedures that exist within…

Digital technology in primary education can both be distracting and increase attentiveness. Many students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) have difficulties with skills that address attention, and teachers are expected to provide support. Such skills are referred to as Executive Function (EF) in neuroscience, relating to self-regulation,…

This study evaluated the effects of behavior skills training (BST) as a means to acquire and generalize self-instruction behaviors using video activity schedules (VidAS) loaded on an iPod Touch for four U.S. high school students with intellectual disabilities. Behavior skills training procedures were implemented in two different vocational…

Background: Early literacy and numeracy skills are developed during early childhood. Among the many factors that influence the development of such skills, the literature shows that the executive functions, especially the response inhibition (RI)--that is the capability to block out or to tune out what can be considered irrelevant information or…

Social skills deficits are common for children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research indicates there is a need to continue to find ways to support parents in enhancing social skills acquisition in their children with ASD. The present study evaluated the effects of using behavioral skills training (BST), delivered via mobile…

Family-school partnerships are valuable and are associated with improvements in students' academic success. However, teachers often do not receive sufficient training to confidently collaborate with families. Furthermore, parents report feeling unsure of how to support learning at home and dissatisfaction with the special education process. The…

This study investigated the efficacy of two distinct virtual training platforms, TeachLivE™ and Zoom with actors, in preparing preservice practitioners for behavior management in real-world settings. This exploratory study aimed to investigate individual participant skill acquisition and assess which platform better equipped participants with the…

An interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA; Hanley et al. in J Appl Behav Anal 47:16-36, 2014) and related skill-based treatment process can result in socially valid outcomes for clients exhibiting severe challenging behavior when implemented by professionals and then transferred to parents (e.g., Santiago et al. in J Autism Dev…

While the COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected families, it also accelerated the availability and use of video conferencing technology in their homes. Families will continue to experience challenges, even when children safely return to in-person instruction. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how practitioners can use behavioral…

The prevalence of autism continues to rise, yet the ability to receive treatment or caregiver training through traditional in-person methods continues to be a precluding factor for many families. Studies have shown that parent training provides benefits to caregivers and children through increased success of interventions, implementation, and…

We trained six special education staff members in groups of three to conduct differential reinforcement of alternative and differential reinforcement of other behavior procedures using a self-instructional package. Our self-instructional packages were written instructions and PowerPoint™ presentations that incorporated embedded text, video…

Given the high percentage of new teachers who struggle with classroom management, preservice educators need more opportunities to develop their skills in managing challenging student behaviors prior to entering the classroom. There is growing interest in using mixed-reality simulators to provide educators opportunities to receive guided practice…

Special educators are encouraged to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) with fidelity to maximize student achievement. Two national organizations identified Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) as an EBP for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of didactic training alone…

The purpose of this article is to summarize literature relating to training individuals to implement applied behavior analytic procedures via telehealth and identify any gaps in the evidence base for this type of support. A systematic literature search revealed 20 articles focusing on training individuals to implement specific ABA techniques via…

Previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training (IST) for teaching children to protect themselves. However, BST may be resource intensive and difficult to implement on a large scale. We evaluated a computerized version of BST (CBST) to teach safety skills and determined the extent to which…