Preschool teachers’ selection of social communication interventions for children with autism: An application of the theory of planned behavior

Early Childhood Special Education teachers select practices to use to promote social communication development for their students with autism spectrum disorder. Understanding what evidence-based practices teachers select and why can inform the development of dissemination and implementation supports at the critical Adoption-Decision stage of implementation. The researchers used discrete choice analysis to examine and test the effects of Early Childhood Special Education teachers’ beliefs (self-efficacy, attitude, subjective norms; Theory of Planned Behavior) about key evidence-based practices on their practice selections. To assess malleable determinants of practice selection, this study addressed these aims: (1) assess Early Childhood Special Education teachers’ beliefs (attitudes, subjective norms, and self-efficacy) about key evidence-based practices, (2) describe which evidence-based practices teachers selected, and (3) examine whether teachers’ beliefs predicted practice selections. A web-based survey gathered responses from 222 Early Childhood Special Education teachers. Participants had the most favorable beliefs about naturalistic intervention and the least about discrete trial teaching and scripting. These beliefs aligned with the frequencies with which these practices were selected, and teachers’ beliefs predicted which practices they selected. Together, these findings suggest that beliefs serve as determinants of Early Childhood Special Education teachers’ practice selections that can be acted on to tailor pre-implementation supports and improve implementation from the start. Lay abstract Preschool special educators’ are more likely to choose an educational practice to teach a young child with autism a social communication skill if they have positive beliefs about it. We asked preschool special educators to read a description of an autistic student and their social communication goal and imagine they were the student’s teacher. We then asked them to pick one of five practices to teach the student. We also asked them questions to understand their attitudes about, confidence in their ability to use, and their perception of their coworkers’ support of each practice. There are many research-based practices that a teacher could use to help children learn, and preschool teachers often make these decisions for their students. Teachers’ beliefs varied in how supportive they were of each practice, and research shows people are more likely to do something that their beliefs support. In this study, they had more supportive beliefs and were more likely to use some practices, like naturalistic intervention, than other practices, like discrete trial teaching. By knowing this, researchers can help teachers use practices that their beliefs support and help change teachers’ beliefs to be supportive of a practice they may need to use.

Implementation of a Token Economy in the Process of Skills Development in Distance Learning Classes with a Child with ASD

The research conducted with a five-year-old child diagnosed with childhood autism evaluates the effectiveness of using of a token economy reinforcer system and discrete trial teaching method for establishing matching and discrimination skills (animal discrimination and matching identical stimuli), as well as answering yes/no questions about preferred items. Due to the pandemic, the child did not have the opportunity to attend rehabilitation centers, so the parents agreed to work in a distance format. For this study, the child’s mother was involved as a tutor, who was previously trained to provide prompts and rewards on time. Data collection was carried out online by a specialist. At the end of the training session, the percentage of correct reactions from the total number of samples was calculated. The results of the study demonstrated that the child has mastered these skills, and also partially generalized them in new environmental conditions. The study also showed that cooperation with parents who take part in the process as tutors in a distance learning format is very beneficial and successfully affects the acquisition of new skills, their generalization, as well as the quality of life of the child.

Using a Mixed-Reality Environment to Train Special Educators Working With Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder to Implement Discrete Trial Teaching

Special educators are encouraged to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) with fidelity to maximize student achievement. Two national organizations identified Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) as an EBP for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of didactic training alone (simulating traditional professional development), and the effects of adding coaching in a mixed-reality environment (TLE TeachLivE™), on special educators’ implementation fidelity with DTT in their classrooms teaching students with ASD. Five special educators who had previous DTT training but were not implementing the EBP with fidelity in their classrooms participated. Results suggest didactic training alone was not sufficient to bring special educators to fidelity of implementation with DTT, but after an hour-long session in TLE TeachLivE™, participants were able to implement DTT with fidelity in their own classrooms. Special educators maintained their fidelity of implementation up to 8 weeks after the conclusion of the intervention.