Effects of Behavioral Skills Training With Video Modeling and In Situ Training on Workplace Conversational Skills of Students With Autism

This study investigated the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) with video modeling and in situ training on workplace conversational skills of four transition-age students with autism enrolled in a U.S. community-based internship program. Intervention sessions began with BST, which included direct instruction, video modeling, conversational practice, and feedback on practice performance, and concluded with in situ training, during which participants conversed with coworkers in their internship settings. Data were collected on participants’ accuracy in conversing with coworkers through mock conversations and in situ trials in internship settings. Findings demonstrated a functional relation between the implementation of the intervention package and increases in skill accuracy on in situ trials for all participants. Substantive improvements in participants’ mock conversation scores within training settings were also noted. Findings highlight the importance of in situ training and how video modeling can be incorporated within a BST instructional sequence.