Rapid training of a community job skill to nonvocal adults with autism: an extension of intensive teaching.

Lattimore et al. (2009) tested a one-day simulated job lesson for three adults with autism who did not speak. The team used fast-paced discrete trial drills in a quiet room away from the workplace.

They measured how well each adult packed first-aid kits. After the drills, the adults tried the same task at the real job site. Later, they also tried two new packing tasks to see if the skill carried over.

All three adults hit the mastery goal after the single day of practice. They kept the skill when they moved to the actual job. They also packed the two new kits correctly without extra teaching.

No problem behavior showed up during training or at work.

Schall et al. (2020) extends this idea. They gave autistic adults a full year of paid internships with daily support. Their group got real jobs 73% of the time, far above the 17% seen without support. The quick simulation jump-starts the skill, while the long internship builds the whole employment package.

Li et al. (2025) used the same discrete-trial format but swapped humans for robots. Preschoolers learned social skills equally well from either teacher. This tells us the DTT frame works for different ages and goals, not just packing kits.

Rutherford et al. (2007) looked at autistic adults already in supported jobs. After 30 months, their thinking skills improved while unemployed peers stayed flat. Perry’s short training gets the foot in the door; longer support keeps the brain growing.

You can teach a work step in one afternoon instead of weeks. Run short, intense simulations away from noise and eyes. Once the learner masters the step, move to the real site and add new but similar tasks. This saves paid staff hours and gets adults with autism earning sooner.