"What did you say?" Using review of tape-recorded interactions to increase social acknowledgments by trainees in a community-based vocational program.
Five-minute daily replay of work chatter plus self-score, praise, and quick role-play lifts adults with DD to typical coworker greeting levels that last.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two adults with developmental disabilities worked in a community job site.
Staff taped their daily chats with coworkers.
Each morning the trainees listened to short clips, scored themselves, got praise or correction, then practiced better replies with a coach.
The study used a multiple baseline across trainees to see if the five-minute review would boost social acknowledgments.
What they found
Both trainees quickly began saying “hi,” “thanks,” and “okay” back to coworkers.
Their acknowledgment rates jumped to the same level as nondisabled staff.
The gains stayed high for four to eight weeks after coaching ended.
How this fits with other research
Koegel et al. (1992) ran a near-copy of this idea on a school playground. Kids watched their own recess videos, rated them, and earned points for good peer talk. Problem behaviors dropped and prosocial acts rose, showing the tape-review trick works from childhood to adulthood.
van Vonderen et al. (2010) flipped the camera toward staff. After brief instruction, four aides watched clips of their own teaching, got feedback, and began giving sharper prompts to children with severe ID. Trainee correct responses shot up, proving the same review cycle can train workers, not just clients.
Lerner et al. (2012) looks like a clash at first. They used live audio ear prompts, not yesterday’s recordings, to help adolescents with autism greet customers. Both studies hit strong vocational gains, so the “contradiction” is only in the tool: live cue versus replay review. Pick whichever fits your site’s tech and privacy rules.
Why it matters
You can copy this package with any phone that records audio. Play back a three-minute snippet, let the learner score it, give quick praise or a demo, then role-play once. Five minutes later they are back on the job with stronger social currency. No extra staff are needed once the routine is set, and the skill sticks for weeks. Try it during morning break tomorrow.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Record one short coworker exchange today, play it back tomorrow morning, and have the learner rate each time they acknowledged the speaker.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Dana and Rick, two adults with developmental disabilities enrolled in a restaurant training program, had poor prospects for long-term employment because of inappropriate social behavior. They often made no response, mumbled inaudibly, or made a negative remark when spoken to by their supervisors or other employees. Each trainee's Individual Vocational Plan (IVP) included goals of prompt and polite acknowledgement of coworker initiations. Previous efforts to improve Dana and Rick's acknowledging behavior had been unsuccessful. Throughout the study, each trainee's responses to 20 verbal initiations by coworkers (i.e., requests, questions, corrective feedback, praise, and social comments) were recorded during each of two observation periods per workshift. Throughout one of the observation periods during the intervention phases, the trainees carried in their work aprons a small, audio cassette recorder that recorded their interactions with coworkers. The primary intervention consisted of a preworkshift meeting in which the trainee and experimenter reviewed five randomly selected interactions recorded during the previous day's shift. The review included self-evaluation, praise, corrective feedback, and role-play. A multiple baseline across subjects design showed each trainee acknowledged a greater number of coworker initiations as a function of the intervention. Each trainee also acknowledged more coworker initiations during the second observation period when the tape recorder was never worn. In a subsequent intervention phase, Dana reviewed her tape-recorded interactions prior to randomly selected shifts. Rick's acknowledgments increased to a socially valid level when the review procedure was supplemented with graphic feedback. Both trainees continued to acknowledge their coworkers' initiations at levels equal to nondisabled restaurant employees when they no longer wore the tape recorder during a final phase and during follow-up observations 4 to 8 weeks later.
Research in developmental disabilities, 1994 · doi:10.1016/0891-4222(94)90029-9