Association for Behavior Analysis International

The transition from high school to higher education presents a variety of challenges and pitfalls for many students both with and without autism. Being a successful college student often necessitates that an individual be a versatile and fluent communicator able to collaborate with peers and faculty across a wide range of settings and contexts. Failure to develop the ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with others while in college can have long-term implications far beyond the classroom which can include social isolation and unemployment. Students across the nation routinely report that they do not feel as though they are well prepared for success in college. To date, there has been a limited focus within the behavior analytic research on developing approaches for effective support for college students with and without ASD. This symposium provides several models of explicit coaching and instructional strategies related to being a successful communicator across settings and contexts within a college setting.

Practitioners working with adolescents and adults. Educators/Administrators working in higher education. Prerequisite Skills: Strong foundation of understanding of basic behavior analytic concepts. Familiar with behavior analytic terminology. Familiarity with common behavior analytic research designs and ability to quickly interpret data presented via tables and figures.

An increasing number of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are pursuing postsecondary education at 4-year institutions. Research has shown that typically developing (TD) college students often experience stress and difficulties in transitioning to higher education, and the extent of these difficulties tend to be exacerbated by core characteristics of ASD among college students diagnosed with ASD. Moreover, many higher institutions are beginning to push for a transformation of instructional methods from the conventional lecture approach to an active learning approach, which often involves group discussions and activities with peers. In this context, weaknesses in social and communication skills may create additional barriers for students with ASD if they are frequently required to initiate and respond to social exchanges and collaborate with peers. To identify the needs of college students with ASD in active learning college classes, we conducted an ecobehavioral assessment study through direct observations of students with ASD and TD students to examine their instructional responding in active learning classes. Preliminary results from age- and IQ-matched ASD (n = 6) and TD (n = 17) samples indicate that there are no statistically significant differences in measures of instructional responding. Implications of study findings will be discussed.

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience challenges securing employment, which may partially explain overall underemployment or unemployment in this population. One of the first steps to obtaining employment is participating in a job interview. However, social communication deficits may interfere with an individual with ASD’s ability to participate in a job interview. The current study evaluated the use of behavioral skills training delivered via remote instruction to teach interview skills to four college students diagnosed with ASD. Results showed overall improvement during interviews as well as post-training generalization probes with a career development expert. These data suggest that an individualized approach to training may be an effective strategy to help adults with ASD successfully navigate job interviews.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty engaging in conversations with same-age peers. Deficits in conversation skills can hinder one’s ability to sustain friendships and may lead to social isolation. Research has shown that technology-based interventions can improve conversation skills and reduce the social stigmatization of individualized interventions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of telecoaching and online instructional modules on conversation skills for four high school and college students with ASD. A component analysis was conducted to determine the critical components of the intervention package. Results showed that telecoaching was associated with the most significant improvements in conversation behavior for all participants. Future directions and recommendations for clinicians are discussed.