Evaluation of a self-instructional package for teaching tutors to conduct discrete-trials teaching with children with autism

A widely used method for teaching children with autism is applied behavior analysis (ABA), and a main component of ABA programming is discrete-trials teaching (DTT). Using a modified multiple-baseline design across participants, we assessed the effectiveness of a DTT self-instructional package (Fazzio & Martin, 2007) for teaching four pairs of newly hired ABA tutors how to apply 21 components of DTT to teach three tasks to a confederate role-playing a child with autism. In Phase 1 (baseline), tutors attempted to teach the three tasks to the confederate. In Phase 2 (manual), tutors mastered a 37-page self-instructional manual and attempted to teach the same three tasks to the confederate. If tutors did not meet a DTT mastery criterion of 80% after studying the manual they watched a 17-min video of an expert in DTT modeling the teaching of a task (Fazzio, 2007), and then once again attempted to teach the three tasks to the confederate. The results were very positive, and they indicate that the training package is a practical, economical and efficient method of instructing newly hired tutors in ABA programs for children with autism.

► We demonstrated effectiveness of a self-instruction package for instructing DTT.
► We assessed a real-world sample of applied behavior analysis tutors.
► The outcomes suggest important implications for clinical agencies.
► We had high social validity, high inter-observer agreement, and high treatment integrity.