Training psychology interns to teach verbal and non-verbal repertoires in children with autism spectrum disorder

Daniel Carvalho De Matos,Wellyson Da Cunha Araújo Firmo,Flor De Maria Araújo Mendonça Silva,Pollianna Galvão Soares De Matos

doi:10.33448/rsd-v9i7.3928

Daniel Carvalho De Matos, Wellyson Da Cunha Araújo Firmo + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v9i7.3928

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Abstract

Behavioral Skills Training (BST) represents an effective and efficient approach to train staff in implementing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) interventions to learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with the purpose of reducing undesirable behaviors and establishing more appropriate ones. It comprises the following components: (1) instructions on ABA basic principles, regarding the teaching of behavior targets; (2) modeling, with demonstration of behaviors to be emitted during the teaching; (3) behavioral rehearsal with a confederate; and (4) performance feedback. The goal of the current research was to evaluate the effects of BST training on the establishment of repertoires, in four undergraduate Psychology interns, to teach nonverbal (audiovisual pairing and motor imitation) and verbal (labeling and answering questions) skills to a confederate, who pretended to act like a child with ASD. Thereafter, it was also a goal to assess generalization of the teaching to a real child with ASD. The participants were unfamiliar with ASD and ABA, but the results of the study suggested that BST improved accuracy during the teaching of targets to the confederate. In baseline, the percentage of accuracy per participant were the following: P1 (4.55%); P2 (9.73%); P3 (13.76%); P4 (22.29%). All participants reached criterion when BST, with both immediate and delayed feedback, was implemented. Performance accuracy was above 90% for all. In the end, generalization probes were conducted during the teaching of targets to a real child with ASD, and performance accuracy was also above 90%.

Highlights

Data from the current research suggest that Behavioral Skills Training (BST) training was an effective approach in increasing performance accuracy for all participants, the four undergraduate Psychology students
The participants were not allowed initially to watch Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) sessions to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the beginning of their internship, it is possible that they talked about ABA procedures among them and to the well-trained interns who conducted discrete trial teaching in the laboratory regularly
Just like what happened in previous research (Matos et al, 2019), probes with real children with ASD were only conducted after training and this happened because, from an ethical point of view, it would not be appropriate to let a person, who was a beginning learner, conduct discrete trial teaching to someone with atypical development

Summary

Introduction

Lerman et al (2013), Lerman et al (2015) and Shireman, Lerman & Hillman (2017) effectively taught university students with ASD, and without intellectual disabilities, to implement the teaching of basic skills, verbal repertoires, functional play behaviors and how to appropriately manage problem behaviors of children with ASD. Ferreira, Silva & Barros (2016) conducted a treatment package (modeling, role play with immediate feedback and video feedback) to teach five caregivers (e.g., parents and other relatives) of children with ASD to implement discrete trial teaching of nonverbal and verbal repertoires accurately to a confederate, who pretended to behave like a child with ASD. Generalization of teaching was not assessed with real children with ASD

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