Paraprofessionals’ Implementation of Constant Time Delay Procedures With Elementary Students With High-Intensity Behavioral Support Needs

Abstract

Paraprofessionals play a significant role in the education system. However, they often need more training on specific instructional strategies to use with the students they work with. In this study, we trained two paraprofessionals working in a self-contained elementary classroom for students with high-intensity behavioral support needs. Each paraprofessional used constant time delay to support students’ learning to read grade-level sight and science words. Paraprofessionals also gathered maintenance and generalization sessions using individualized social stories created by the classroom teacher. Not only did the four student participants meet mastery of their personalized word sets but paraprofessionals also implemented all phases with high fidelity. We discuss limitations, implications for practice, and recommendations for future research.