Therapist characteristics predict discrete trial teaching procedural fidelity.
Calm, task-focused therapists run DTT with higher accuracy than highly emotional or open staff.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Peters-Scheffer et al. (2013) asked which therapist traits predict high DTT fidelity. They looked at attitudes, openness, and how staff view their bond with the child.
The team studied therapists working with children with autism or intellectual disability. They linked survey answers to how well staff ran each trial.
What they found
Staff who saw children as smart but felt less warm toward them hit the highest fidelity. Lower openness and cooler relationship ratings also tracked with sharper DTT accuracy.
In plain words, a calm, task-focused style—not a buddy style—predicted near-perfect teaching steps.
How this fits with other research
Downs et al. (2008) showed that simple feedback after brief training lifts accuracy to 97-100%. Nienke adds that certain attitudes make that jump easier for some staff before training even starts.
Staddon (2013) found peer observation pushes fidelity from 39% to 85%. Nienke explains part of why: observers already lean toward the focused mindset the checklist rewards.
Lugo et al. (2017) later trained staff to build warm rapport. That seems opposite to Nienke's "cooler=better" finding, but the goals differ. Lugo targeted pairing before teaching; Nienke measured strict DTT steps. A friendly bond still matters, just not during the rapid trial loop.
Why it matters
If you supervise DTT programs, screen for staff who stay calm, detail-driven, and less emotionally swayed. Pair them with learners who need tight trial accuracy, then add the proven feedback packages from Andrew and peer checks from R to lock in high fidelity.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Early intensive behavioral intervention is generally effective for children with autism spectrum disorder but is associated with variability in treatment outcome and quality of treatment delivery may contribute to this. This study examined the relationship between therapist personality, attitude toward individuals with a disability, and perceived relationship between therapist and child on procedural fidelity. Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) was provided at a preschool for children with intellectual disabilities. Seventy DTT sessions between 22 therapists and 35 children were videotaped and analyzed. Data on therapist's attitude toward individuals with a disability, therapist's personality traits, and perceived relationship between therapist and child were also collected. Procedural fidelity was high and significantly related to therapist's attitude toward individuals with a disability, therapist's openness to experience, and perceived relationship between therapist and child. Therapists with high procedural fidelity tended to have a more positive attitude toward individuals with disabilities on the cognitive dimension, a more negative attitude toward individuals with disabilities on the affect dimension, lower levels of openness to experience, and perceived the relationship between themselves and the child as less positive.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556-51.4.263