Comparing the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Behavioral Skills Training and a Brief Performance Feedback Intervention During the Training of Paraeducators Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract Paraeducators have become a critical component in the education of students with autism spectrum disorders in school settings. Due to this, the training of paraeducators is of critical concern for educational settings. The literature has suggested behavioral skills training (BST) as a widely researched intervention to address implementation deficiencies among educators and non-professional staff. However, despite its effectiveness, such approach fails to be adopted by schools as it may require increased time and resources, thus compromising the feasibility of paraeducator training in actual classroom. Limited research exists regarding the effectiveness and potential efficiency of brief training methods that incorporate some of the components of the BST package to train paraeducators in the classroom. Using an adapted alternating treatment design, this study attempted to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of a brief performance feedback (BPF) intervention when compared to the full BST package. Results of the present study suggested similar levels of effectiveness between the brief performance feedback intervention and BST and increased time efficiency of the BPF intervention over BST. Limitations of the current study and recommendations for future research and practice are discussed.