Abstract
We evaluated a brief, embedded teaching strategy for increasing the independence of adults with autism in performing community activities. Initially, community situations were observed to identify an activity that a support staff was performing for an individual. The staff person was then trained to implement SWAT Support (say, wait and watch, act out, touch to guide) involving least-to-most prompting and praise to teach the individual on the spot to complete the activity. SWAT Support was implemented by support staff with 3 adults during break activities at a community job (Study 1), with 1 adult in a grocery store (Study 2), and with another individual in a secretary’s office (Study 3). All applications of embedded teaching were accompanied by increased participant independence, which generally maintained across follow-up periods of up to 33 weeks. Results are discussed regarding how practitioners could use the teaching strategy to reduce staff and caregiver completion of activities for adults with autism and increase active community participation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bailey, J. S. (2000). A futurist perspective for applied behavior analysis. In J. Austin & J. E. Carr (Eds.), Handbook of applied behavior analysis (pp. 473–488). Reno, NV: Context Press.
Bailey, J. S., & Burch, M. R. (2002). Research methods in applied behavior analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Brackett, L., Reid, D. H., & Green, C. W. (2007). Effects of reactivity to observations on staff performance. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 40, 191–195.
Brown, L., Farrington, K., Knight, T., Ross, C., & Ziegler, M. (1999). Fewer paraprofessionals and more teachers and therapists in educational programs for students with significant disabilities. Journal of The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 24, 250–253.
Cooper, K. J., & Browder, D. M. (1998). Enhancing choice and participation for adults with severe disabilities in community-based instruction. Journal of The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 23, 252–260.
Cooper, K. J., & Browder, D. M. (2001). Preparing staff to enhance active participation of adults with severe disabilities by offering choice and prompting performance during a community purchasing activity. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 22, 1–20.
Inge, K., Dymond, S., & Wehman, P. (1996). Community-based vocational training. In P. J. McLaughlin, & P. Wehman (Eds.), Mental retardation and developmental disabilities (2nd ed., pp. 297–315). Austin, TX: ProEd.
Johnson, J. W., McDonnell, J., Holzwarth, V. N., & Hunter, K. (2004). The efficacy of embedded instruction for students with developmental disabilities enrolled in general education classes. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 6, 214–227.
Lattimore, L. P., Parsons, M. B., & Reid, D. H. (2008). Simulation training of community job skills for adults with autism: A further analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 1, 24–29.
McClannahan, L. E., MacDuff, G. S., & Krantz, P. J. (2002). Behavior analysis and intervention for adults with autism. Behavior Modification, 26, 9–26.
Powers, M. D., (2000). What is autism? In M. D. Powers (Ed.), Children with autism: A parents’ guide (pp. 1–44). Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.
Schepis, M. M., Reid, D. H., Ownbey, J., & Parsons, M. B. (2001). Training support staff to embed teaching within natural routines of young children with disabilities in an inclusive preschool. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 313–327.
Smith, M. D., & Philippen, L. (2005). Autism. In P. Wehman, P. J. McLaughlin, & T. Wehman (Eds.), Intellectual and developmental disabilities (pp. 309–323). Austin, TX: ProEd.
Sowers, J., & Powers, L. (1995). Enhancing the participation and independence of students with severe physical and multiple disabilities in performing community activities. Mental Retardation, 33, 209–220.
Thompson, J. R., Bryant, B. R., Campbell, E. M., Craig, E. M., Hughes, C. M., Rotholz, D. A., et al. (2004). Supports intensity scale users manual. Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Retardation.
Wilder, D. A., Atwell, J., & Wine, B. (2006). The effects of varying levels of treatment integrity on child compliance during treatment with a three-step prompting procedure. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39, 369–373.
Wolfe, P., Kregel, J., & Wehman, P. (1996). Service delivery. In P. J. McLaughlin & P. Wehman (Eds.), Mental retardation and developmental disabilities (2nd ed., pp. 3–27). Austin, TX: ProEd.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Appreciation is expressed to Carolyn Green and Cason Reid for their assistance with data collection.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Parsons, M.B., Reid, D.H. & Lattimore, L.P. Increasing Independence of Adults With Autism in Community Activities: A Brief, Embedded Teaching Strategy. Behav Analysis Practice 2, 40–48 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391747
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391747