Association for Behavior Analysis International

This symposium will present research on teaching skills to adults with autism and/or developmental disabilities. The first study evaluated video feedback to improve job interview skills, specifically eye contact for young adults with autism and found increases in eye contact after implementing the video modeling intervention. Social validity indicated that the intervention participants thought the intervention helped them and they would recommend it to others. The second study evaluated Behavioral Skills Training (BST) to teach a response to bullying (RtB) to adults with developmental disabilities living in a group home setting. The adults who participated were often reported as being victims of bullying by other men living at the group home. In-Situ Training (IST) was added for participants whose skills did not generalize to the natural environment. BST alone was successful in teaching the RtB to two participants while IST was needed to improve responding for the other two participants.

Individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities often lack the skills needed to gain meaningful employment in the community. One crucial skill is interviewing as this is the first and often the only pre-job interaction an individual has with his or her employer. In a short interaction, the person must convey information about specific work history, employability, and a general impression of character. This study evaluated the effectiveness of video feedback in improving job interview behaviors for three young adults with developmental disabilities. The interview related-behaviors were appropriate greeting, responses to interview questions, and appropriate closing statement. The performance across the participants was assessed in simulated interviews under a multiple-baseline design across behaviors and participants, with the average baseline performances ranging from 0% to 21% and only improving after video feedback was introduced resulting in averages ranging from 93% to 100%. The social validity supports the feasibility of this video feedback intervention. Issues related to future research and implications for the field are discussed.

Bullying is a continuing problem for adults with intellectual disabilities who live in group homes and attend adult day training settings together. Most research in this area focuses on bullying in schools with typically developing children, and therefore, a need for effective behavioral interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities still remains. Previous research has found success in teaching safety skills to a variety of populations using behavioral skills training (BST) and achieving generalization of these skills using in situ training (IST). This study evaluated BST to teach a response to bullying (RtB) to the victims of bullying, with added IST for participants whose skills did not generalize to the natural environment. In situ assessments (ISA) were conducted in the natural setting after BST sessions had already occurred. When BST was not sufficient in evoking the correct response during ISA, IST was added for 2 participants and an incentive was added for 1 participant to increase motivation when responding still did not meet completion criteria. However, BST alone was successful in teaching the RtB to two participants, evident by their responses during ISA. The results of this study are consistent with previous BST and IST research.