The study was aimed to evaluate behavior skills training for teaching employment-related skills to students with an autism spectrum disorder. The training was done in a natural environment in a restaurant. The main reason why it chose this topic is that people with disabilities have been facing difficulties getting a job. There a high rate of underemployment especially in people who have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. According to the constitution, the people with disabilities should be provided with training to prepare them for life after school. From the study, it is easy to determine if training in people with autism disorder can help to enhance their chances of getting a job by providing them with adequate skills. The study is significant because it will provide insights into the strategies which can be used to deal with the problem of underemployment in people with disabilities, especially the autism spectrum disorder.
Behavioral skills training comprises of instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. The experimental research design was used in the study. The researcher only involved one person with ASD, who was interested in studying occupational skills. He did not have prior experience in the tasks, and therefore he was appropriate to determine if behavior skill training was appropriate to teach people with autism spectrum disorder job-related skills (Morgan & Wine, 2018). The data regarding the progress of the study was collected through observation. It involved the recording of the tasks which were carried out according to the instructions and the ones which the participant missed out. Thus, a practical experiment was used in the study to determine if BST was an appropriate way of training people with disabilities job-related skills. The research was done in a typical working environment, and any relevant information to help the participant in the execution of the tasks was provided.
The study hypothesized that instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback were important procedures for training people with autism disorder job-related skills. The study assumed that the results obtained from the participant during the training and rehearsal could be replicated in an active working environment. It was also believed that the results obtained from the baseline could be gotten during a normal working environment (Morgan & Wine, 2018). The study speculated that if the participant could catch up and carry out the outlined task during training, they were able to carry out the duties efficiently in the job setting. Although all willing participants had the same chances of the participant in the study, the person selected was favored because he had an interest in studying occupational skills. Additionally, he had already acquired reading and writing skills in his education. This implies that the results obtained would be generalized to any other person with the disorder, who is interested in employment.
The results of the study were recorded in two periods. During the baseline, the percentage of accomplishment of the four tasks was 0% (Morgan & Wine, 2018). However, after the implementation of BST, the significant improved significantly, although at varying levels. This implied that there were some tasks which required more behavioral and skill training than others. This was determined by the complexity of the functions and the number of steps needed completing the activity. During the maintenance probe, the participant was able to maintain the ability to carry out the talks at 100%. However, this decreased during the generalization period. However, the participant was able to grasp and maintain the skills easily when behavioral skill training was used. This was contrary to the baseline, where the ability was zero, and the participant could not perform the task without being helped.
From the discussion of the study, it is evident that behavioral skills training were very effective in teaching the selected skills to the environment. It is one of the methods which should be used to train patients with disabilities like ASD. First, the training takes place in the natural environment, unlike in other techniques which occur in a simulated setting (Morgan & Wine, 2018). According to the study, a person who has undergone behavioral skill training has high chances of maintaining the things learned. They can replicate them even after some time after the end of the training. BST enables people with disabilities to master the critical activities in the execution of the task. Continued repetition of the job through practice ensures that the participants can carry out the task on their own without supervision. The skills obtained during the training can be maintained for an extended period, and still be replicated in a similar setting with the one where the practice took place.
From the discussion of the study, there are various shortcomings which could have affected the performance of the participant. During the baseline, the person was not encouraged to continue with the task despite not knowing what to do (Morgan & Wine, 2018). This implied that in behavioral skill training, the participants should be motivated to keep on trying, as a way of mastering the skills. According to the study, BST is the best method which should be used to train people with disabilities. It is a straightforward technique, which does not involve any complications. Additionally, it is carried out in a natural environment; hence it becomes easy for the participant to maintain the skills obtained. Furthermore, the participant can be able to replicate the skills in different settings involving similar tasks. From the results obtained during the study, it was concluded that behavioral skill training was very efficient in teaching people with disabilities job-related skills.
I agree with the conclusion made in the study. In most cases, the people with autism spectrum disorder have learning disabilities. This implies that they are not able to understand how to carry out some task by depending on the theory provided. They should be involved in practical activities for them to master the concepts in carrying out some functions. This implies that behavioral skill training is the most appropriate method for training people with autism disorder job-related skills. When they take part in real tasks, they have a better opportunity to be able to do the same tasks in different settings. This implies that when people with autism disability undergo behavioral skill training, they increase their chances of being efficient in executing their duties. Thus, this method of training should be offered to people with disabilities so that they can have better chances of securing employment opportunities. Therefore, the findings of the study are evident in real life situations because people with ASD who have undergone behavioral skills training are more efficient in the job market than their counterparts.
There are various improvements which can be done on the study to improve the results obtained and ensure that they can be generalized to other people with disabilities. First, the participants in the behavioral skill training should be encouraged to go on with the tasks during the first trial. This will encourage them to be more confident in the execution of the tasks. This will help to determine the exact ability of the people with the disorder to carry out the duties before undergoing the behavioral task training. Additionally, more people with the disorder should be included in the study. This will help to determine if the results obtained can be to the whole population of people with ASD. For instance, in the current research, only one person was involved. This implies that it is hard to generalize the findings involved to all the people in this population. Thus, in future studies about the effectiveness of BST in training job-related skills, the sample size of the participants should be increased. Additionally, the selection of the participants should be random, to reduce the bias in the results obtained. This will help to arrive at a valid conclusion on whether BST is an effective way of training people with ASD on job-related skills.
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