Charles D. Hamad

Extending the Reach of Early Intervention Training for Practitioners: A Preliminary Investigation of an Online Curriculum for Teaching Behavioral Intervention Knowledge in Autism to Families and Service Providers

Early behavioral intervention (BI), based on the methods of applied behavior analysis, has the strongest and most consistent scientific support as a means of teaching skills to young children with autism spectrum disorder and reducing their restricted and maladaptive behavior. Although individual applied behavior analysis (ABA)-based treatment plans are usually developed, designed, and supervised by a senior-level clinician, they are most often implemented by a practitioner, such as a parent, direct service provider, aide, or an early childhood professional from a related discipline. Unfortunately, few practitioner-orientated training programs are available to geographically disparate persons. Online distance-learning education offers a potential solution to this problem. Fifty-one individuals participated in an initial study of a short, 3-module online course. The results showed a highly statistically significant difference between the mean pretest and posttest scores. The outcomes suggest the feasibility and user satisfaction of teaching BI knowledge acquisition online and thus bolster confidence that future, larger-scale curricula aimed at teaching BI in a distance-learning format is warranted.

Choosing Objectives for a Distance Learning Behavioral Intervention in Autism Curriculum

The national need for individuals trained in applied behavior analysis (ABA) helped persuade the U.S. Department of Education to fund the development of a four-course, undergraduate-level curriculum on the topic. In this article, the authors report the results and application of a four-phase Delphi survey procedure designed to identify the most critical topics to cover in the curriculum. Thirty-four specialists in behavioral intervention participated and identified 74 items, 36 of which eventually emerged as strongly recommended, 27 as recommended and 11 as not recommended. This information was used to select topics and practices to cover in the courses. Other ABA scholars, researchers, and practitioners may find this information useful in designing instructional programs for adults.

Innovations in Behavioral Intervention Preparation for Paraprofessionals Working with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Given the empirically validated success of behavioral intervention based on applied behavior analysis for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities, the demand for knowledgeable and skilled paraprofessional teaching staff is very high. Unfortunately, there currently exists a widely recognized shortage of such practitioners. This article describes the development of an online training program aimed at preparing paraprofessionals for face-to-face training and supervision as part of a solution to the growing demand. The focus of the program has been on moving beyond traditional online pedagogy, which has limited interactivity. Instead, the approach to teaching fundamental knowledge and implementation skills in behavioral intervention methods incorporates first-person simulations, typical of live mentor/mentee training. Preliminary program evaluation data are also described.

Online Learning for Early Intervention Professionals: Transition Planning from Early Intervention to School

Most states in the U.S. require that early intervention (EI) providers receive ongoing professional education and training. Unfortunately, few education and training programs exist for busy professionals who find it difficult to travel to attend traditional face-to-face classes. An alternative to traditional education is Internet-based online learning. This article describes the development and evaluation of an online learning course entitled Transition Planning from Early Intervention to School. Designed for professionals who provide EI services to children with developmental disabilities and their families, the course is available anytime, anywhere and is fully self-contained, which means it does not rely on an instructor for course delivery. Thirty EI professionals completed a field evaluation of the course in which they completed three modules on topics related to transition planning in EI. Learning was assessed through changes in pretest to posttest scores. Course satisfaction and usability were assessed using a Likert-type survey. Participants increased their pretest to posttest scores by an average of 43% and reported moderate to high overall satisfaction.

Teaching Discrete Trial Training The Effects of Asynchronous Computer-Based Instruction on Live Implementation

The present study asked whether naive learners would accurately implement discrete trial training (DTT) methods in a live setting following asynchronous training delivered entirely via computer. Seven naive adult participants received training from portions of a previously developed online program that were relevant to DTT implementation. A unique feature of the training was the use of simulated interaction exercises with an on-screen virtual child. The dependent measure was the accuracy with which participants taught simple skills to an experimental confederate using DTT. A multiple baseline across participants design showed that the computer-based training resulted in accurate live DTT implementation for all participants. Most participants also demonstrated accurate DTT teaching with a novel task. The implications of the study results are discussed in terms of their potential impact on the shortage of trained practitioners of early behavioral intervention methods.

Educating first responders to provide emergency services to individuals with disabilities

OBJECTIVE Individuals with disabilities experience more negative outcomes due to natural and manmade disasters and emergencies than do people without disabilities. This vulnerability appears to be due in part to knowledge gaps among public health and safety emergency planning and response personnel (responders). We assessed the effectiveness of an online program to increase emergency responder knowledge about emergency planning and response for individuals with disabilities. METHODS Researchers developed an online course designed to teach public health, emergency planning and management, and other first response personnel about appropriate, efficient, and equitable emergency planning, response, interaction, and communication with children and adults with disabilities before, during, and after disasters or emergencies. Course features included an ongoing storyline, exercises embedded in the form of real-life scenarios, and game-like features such as points and timed segments. RESULTS Evaluation measures indicated significant pre- to post-test gains in learner knowledge and simulated applied skills. CONCLUSION An online program using scenarios and simulations is an effective way to make disability-related training available to a wide variety of emergency responders across geographically disparate areas.