| Abstract: Across Canada and the United States, interventions and supports for students with autism are often implemented by paraprofessionals in general education classrooms. Despite the abundance of research on the efficacy of behaviour analytic methods, paraprofessionals in inclusive settings struggle to utilize proactive and planned support strategies with students exhibiting complex behaviour. This paper will discuss the process and impact of a five-year training initiative aligned with the Registered Behaviour Technician (RBT) credential in Surrey School District, British Columbia. After establishing the training program between 2013 and 2017, research was conducted on training effectiveness and 30 paraprofessionals were randomly assigned to either treatment or service-as-usual groups. While both groups received 40 hours of technician training and on-site support, the service-as-usual group received training later in the school year and served as control for the treatment group. All paraprofessionals were individually assigned to students with autism, Grades K-3, with significant skill deficits in the areas of language, socialization, and behaviour. Analysis using a mixed ANOVA revealed statistically significant interaction effects between training group and time for paraprofessional use of proactive and reactive strategies; student maladaptive behaviour; student cooperation with academic tasks; frequency of problematic routines; and paraprofessional ratings of student success. |