Social Stories for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Validating the Content of a Virtual Reality Program

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects socio-emotional skills and perspective-taking abilities. Although social stories in a form of virtual reality program can help children with ASD, developing them and identifying appropriate responses might be subjective and thus challenging. Using Delphi method, and guided by general case training, we involved 63 parents and clinicians of individuals with ASD, in two rounds of online iteration to refine the stories. Scenarios that reached a 75% agreement level were accepted. This project is the first study to develop and validate a library of 75 short socio-emotional stories that illustrate various types and intensities of emotion in three social contexts of home, school, and community as the content of a virtual reality program.

Video-based Simulations: Considerations for Teaching Students with Developmental Disabilities

The use of video-based multimedia simulations for teaching functional skills to persons with developmental disabilities remains an unexplored application of technology for this group. This article examines the historical literature in this area, and discusses future considerations, design issues, and implications of using multimedia simulations. Implementation issues are presented, and suggestions regarding design, development, and application of multimedia simulations are offered. Considerations address the importance of appropriate role modeling and the combination of video-based simulation and in vivo training to foster generalization and maintenance in the context of transition to the real world.

Preparing staff to enhance active participation of adults with severe disabilities by offering choice and prompting performance during a community purchasing activity

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a multicomponent staff training package on the number of choice responses and performance responses made by adults with disabilities in a community purchasing activity. The multicomponent training package included an inservice (written manuals, a verbal explanation of the information, role play activities, and video examples) performance feedback sessions in the community context, and self-monitoring instruction. Primary data were collected on how each staff offered choices and prompted performance with an individual with severe disabilities in three different fast food restaurants per week. Secondary data were collected on the number of choices individuals with disabilities made and the level of their performance during a purchase in a fast food restaurant. The findings showed that all four of the staff did not give opportunities for choices and used intrusive prompting or performed the skill for the person in baseline, but mastered these skills the first probe after the training sessions. In addition, the staff generalized offering choices and prompting performance across settings and adults with disabilities and maintained the skills. Also, the adults with disabilities increased the number of choice responses they made as well as their level of performance (compared to baseline) after the staff received the intervention.

Acquisition of incidental information during instruction for a response-chain skill

We examined the acquisition of incidental information and observational learning of incidental information by adolescents with moderate intellectual disabilities during school-directed systematic instruction. Effectiveness of constant time-delay instruction for vocational-skill acquisition was evaluated within a multiple-probe design across six dyads. Dyadic instructional arrangements allowed the assessment of incidental information acquired through observation. The constant time-delay procedure was effective in teaching the target vocational skill. In addition, participants acquired and retained approximately 50% of the incidental information to which they were exposed during the consequent events of constant time-delay instruction either through direct verbal presentation or through observation of their peers' instruction.