| Abstract: The development of staff competence has long been an important topic of study in the area of service delivery in developmental disabilities. There is a rich literature on the most efficient ways of training staff to perform their duties, as well as investigations on the extent to which staff maintain skills over time. With the increasing implementation of training programs across community settings, and the lessening focus on centralized service delivery, the need for efficient staff training and mechanisms for supervision remains critical. Technology (e.g., Internet, wireless systems, smart phones, Looxcie, Bluetooth®) may have utility in these areas. The purpose of this study was to use Lookcie® technology to train staff to implement instructional protocols when teaching adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) at various community settings (e.g., grocery store, library, food stores). Specifically, supervisors listened in and viewed via live streaming video staff providing instruction without their awareness of specifically what staff behaviors were being monitored and when during the day the monitoring occurred. The target behaviors consisted of prompting hierarchy implemented by the staff participants as well as instructional program fidelity. Using a multiple baseline design across participants, the findings showed that supervisors could effectively supervise staff from a distance using this technology, and offer support in a way that reduced staff errors in implementing instructional protocols and increased fidelity of programming. Results were discussed in terms of the capacity of technology to support staff when providing services across a wide geographical area. |