Abstract
Due to the increasing number of students in need of special education services and the shortages of licensed special education personnel, paraeducators have become critical in the education of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities in school settings. As a result, the training of paraeducators has become a major area of concern. An extensive body of research has demonstrated performance feedback as an effective intervention to address implementation deficiencies among school personnel. However, only a few studies have evaluated the efficiency of performance feedback to improve implementation of interventions by paraeducators. Using a concurrent multiple baseline design across four paraeducators participants, a brief performance feedback intervention consisting of vocal-verbal feedback and skill rehearsal was evaluated for training paraeducators to teaching mands to students with autism and other disabilities. Results indicated an immediate increase in the level of mand-training fidelity from baseline to intervention after implementation of the feedback intervention. In addition, all participants maintained high levels of implementation fidelity up to 4 weeks postintervention. The advantages of designing efficient and effective training interventions for paraeducators, the shortcomings of the current study, and recommendations for future research and practice are discussed.
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Ampuero, M.E., Robertson, R.E. Improving Paraeducator Mand Training for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder through a Brief Performance Feedback Intervention. Educ. Treat. Child. 45, 157–172 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43494-021-00068-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43494-021-00068-w