The Effects of Discrete Trial and Natural Environment Teaching on Adaptive Behavior in Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Researchers worked with the toddlers who had autism. All kids were between 18 and 36 months old.

They split the kids into three groups. One group got only discrete trial training (DTT). Another group got only natural environment teaching (NET). The third group got both NET and DTT mixed together.

Each child got 12 weeks of teaching. The team measured adaptive skills before and after. They used the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales to track changes.

Kids who got NET or NET+DTT gained more adaptive skills than kids who got DTT alone. The NET groups also showed fewer behavior barriers after treatment.

DTT alone still helped the most delayed kids. Children with lower starting scores made steady gains with pure DTT.

The NET+DTT blend gave the best overall results for most toddlers.

Eisenhower et al. (2006) showed that mixing DTT with PRT helped preschoolers learn joint attention. Yanchik et al. (2024) updates this by swapping PRT for NET and proving the mix still works for younger kids.

Dell’Aringa et al. (2021) found no speed boost from transfer trials in DTT. The new study goes further by asking if we even need pure DTT for adaptive skills.

Anbar et al. (2024) showed that early skills at 14-24 months predict later problems. Amelia’s work gives us a tool—NET+DTT—to change those early skills before problems set in.

If you run toddler sessions, try starting with NET and layering in short DTT bursts. This mix builds daily living skills faster than drills alone. Save pure DTT for kids who enter with very low scores. Track Vineland every three months months to see the gains yourself.