Association for Behavior Analysis International

Over the past two decades, practitioners and researchers have recognized the benefits of technology to support intervention and education of individuals with autism and developmental disabilities and those that support their care. In fact, the National Autism Center designates “Technology-based Treatment” as a category of emerging evidence-based treatment. Such technology-based programs and supports have demonstrated success at addressing behavioral, communication, social, and adaptive skill goals and in delivering training to caregivers and clinicians. Innovative technology interventions and supports span a range of modalities, including computers, handheld electronic devices, and virtual reality. Throughout this symposium, presenters will focus on how technology can enhance teaching and learning, with a specific focus on video-based instruction delivery. Yanchik and colleagues will present findings on how portable virtual reality can extend classroom-based learning of clinical skills for students of applied behavior analysis, with video-based instruction embedded in the virtual reality context. Herting and colleagues will present their findings comparing static pictures and video prompting on independent completion of cooking tasks. Results from these studies indicate that technology-delivered and supported instruction led to skill acquisition for both types of adult learners. Presenters will describe benefits of video-based instruction and factors influencing preference for technology.

Educators and practitioners

Within the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA), students must demonstrate mastery of critical clinical skills. Coursework typically includes didactic instruction with minimal opportunities to practice clinical skills, receive individualized feedback, and reach mastery. In-person training barriers reported by students include unrealistic adult role plays and reactivity to being observed. Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to address time and quality barriers. Our research team developed a VR training on core behavior analytic skills. This study incorporated self-guided in-home VR training within clinical coursework and evaluated its feasibility, acceptability, and usability. Participants were first year M.A. In ABA students. In Study 1, 11 participants completed a pre-pilot acceptability survey, took home a portable VR headset, watched a tutorial video, proceeded through four training levels during a 2-week period, and completed post-pilot usability and acceptability measures. In Study 2, 15 new first-year students completed all procedures from Study 1 with the addition of an in-person role play with a researcher on implementation of core clinical skills before and after VR training. Results indicate that the majority of participants completed the training independently, rated the training high in acceptability and usability, and improved in their clinical skill implementation after the VR training.