Evaluating Use of Responsive Interaction Strategies by Related-Service Providers

Responsive interaction strategies (RIS) are commonly recommended to encourage engagement, joint attention, and communication in young children with and without disabilities in authentic contexts. Related-service providers, including behavior support specialists and school psychologists, commonly address communication-related goals of young children but may lack adequate training in naturalistic instruction, including RIS. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate baseline-level performance of pre-service related service providers to better understand their use of RIS before receiving training, as well as to identify areas that need specific attention when planning training. Second, the extent to which these professionals displayed increased and accurate use of RIS following training embedded within a university-based course on communication was evaluated. Participants were generally responsive during the pre-test but lacked skills in tailoring linguistic input to and offering play-based support for the child. Following the training, the results were mixed. Pre-service professionals likely need ongoing support to implement naturalistic strategies at criterion. Findings, implications for instructors and researchers, and limitations of this study are provided.