This study evaluated the measurable impact of the use of virtual interactive training agents (ViTA) as a way to practice interviewing and gain confidence in responding to questions asked during job interviews. Of the total participants (n = 153), the majority were male (72.55%) with an average age of 21.71 years old (SD = 3.14 years). Autism…

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have deficits in conversation skills that can interfere with the development of personal and professional relationships. Further research is needed on efficient interventions for targeting conversation skills in adults with ASD and for evaluating the social validity of the outcomes. In this…

Pyramidal training may offer an efficient approach for disseminating behavior analytic teaching practices into public schools serving students with autism. In this study, we evaluated 16 teachers' use of behavioral skills training (BST) while they trained paraprofessionals to use discrete-trial teaching (DTT). All paraprofessionals demonstrated…

Social communication skills are considered a core deficit in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Evidence-based practices that have emerged to address these critical skills in children with ASD have largely been implemented by researchers, teachers, and parents. Only recently have researchers studied paraprofessionals as…

This study investigated effects of video modeling (VM) when teaching recreation and leisure skills to three high school students with moderate intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder. Results, evaluated via a multiple probe across participants design, indicated that VM was effective for teaching all students to play the Wii.…

The specific neuropsychological and sensory profile found in persons with autism spectrum disorders complicate dental procedures and as a result of this, most are treated under general anesthesia or unnecessary sedation. The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a short treatment and education of autistic and related…

Social initiations make up a core deficit for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In particular, initiated questions during social interactions are often minimal or absent in this population. In the context of a multiple baseline design, the efficacy of using the motivational procedures of Pivotal Response Treatment to increase social…

Discrete trial teaching is an effective procedure for teaching a variety of skills to children with autism. However, it must be implemented with high integrity to produce optimal learning. Behavioral Skills Training (BST) is a staff training procedure that has been demonstrated to be effective. However, BST is time and labor intensive, and with…

The following article reviews the current literature addressing toilet training individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. The review addresses programs typical to toilet training the developmental disability population, most of which are modeled after the original Foxx and Azrin [Azrin, N. H., & Foxx, R. M. (1971). A rapid…

We evaluated the efficacy of a vocational training program including behavioral skills training, and a "performance cue system" (i.e., a proprietary iPhone application adapted for the study) to teach targeted social-vocational skills to six young adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. In two separate studies, participants were employed…

The case study reports the findings of systematic play training with a 7 year old autistic male who had never exhibited play behavior. The research procedure involved three phases: imitation training, training manipulative play, and motivation training. Training during the three phases was conducted three times per week for 7 1/2 months in a quiet…

A study investigated categorization strategy training effects on the abilities of five children with autism to accurately complete uni-, bi-, and tri-dimensional sorting. Five children showed strategy acquisition and generalization during training, four showed strategy maintenance 4 months later, and one showed uni- and bi- dimensional strategy…

This study evaluated the efficiency of an eight-hour parent training course for parents (n=32) of autistic children in Singapore. Parents evaluated the training methods (with theoretical, applied, and emotional bases) positively in terms of usefulness and comfort. The assumption that Asians would not be comfortable sharing their problems was not…

Two experiments involving four mothers of seven autistic children (4 to 13 years old) were conducted to assess the generalized effects of several different parent/teacher training programs. (Author/SBH)

This report discusses findings of a study that investigated the effectiveness of video self-modeling (VSM) for increasing request communication of children with autism. A single subject design using multiple baselines across subjects was used. Four participants (ages 4-6) with autism were taped in the home setting for the purpose of creating VSM…