Further Examination of Covert Audio Coaching on Improving Employment Skills among Secondary Students with Autism
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Further Examination of Covert Audio Coaching on Improving Employment Skills among Secondary Students with Autism Kyle D. Bennett • Rangasamy Ramasamy • Toby Honsberger
Published online: 16 February 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
Abstract Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty maintaining employment, and there are few evidenced-based practices to guide professionals when developing employment skills among this population. The purpose of this study was to extend the literature on covert audio coaching (CAC) by examining its effects on high school students with ASD performing a job task. We used a multiple baseline design across participants. With the introduction of CAC, the participants’ job task accuracy and fluency improved. Additionally, the participants’ skills maintained for several weeks and showed preliminary evidence of effectiveness for the same task completed in a community-based worksite. Keywords Autism spectrum disorder Employment training Covert audio coaching Bug-in-ear
Introduction Individuals with disabilities tend to experience less favorable post-school outcomes than their peers (Kohler and Fields 2003; Noonan et al. 2008). This is particularly true for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) matriculating to post-school environments (Targett and Smith 2009; Targett and Wehman 2009). Among the challenges that people with ASD experience is finding employment (Gerhardt and Weiss 2011; Hendricks 2010). Additionally, students with disabilities often require direct teaching on employment tasks if they are to be successful in work settings K. D. Bennett (&) Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199, USA e-mail: [email protected] R. Ramasamy T. Honsberger Department of Exceptional Student Education, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA
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J Behav Educ (2013) 22:103–119
(Brady et al. 2010). However, there are very few evidence-based strategies for teaching employment skills to secondary students with ASD (Hendricks and Wehman 2009), which may be one of the factors responsible for the difficulties this population faces with respect to post-secondary employment (Bennett and Dukes 2013). Recently, investigators have begun to examine the effects of covert audio coaching (CAC) among individuals with disabilities. Historically, researchers have referred to this tactic as bug-in-ear (e.g., Baum and Lane 1976) or mechanical third ear device (e.g., Korner and Brown 1952). However, these terms provide descriptions of the equipment, but not the method. CAC is a method of delivering antecedent prompts and performance feedback (e.g., supportive or corrective statements) privately through a pair of two-way radios and headsets from a distance. It consists of a teacher, coach, supervisor, or other person providing guidance or feedback statements contingent on a participant’s performance, either as an immediate consequence or as an antecedent to preven
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