Training respite care providers for families with handicapped children: Experimental analysis and validation of an instructional package.
A plain-English manual teaches respite skills as well as an expensive workshop, and later studies prove the same steps work on video, online, or with feedback add-ons.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built a short, picture-filled manual that teaches respite workers how to handle feeding, play, and minor problem behavior.
Workers studied the manual alone. Some also sat through a live workshop. Later, each worker spent time with a child who had multiple disabilities.
Researchers watched and scored how well the workers used the skills from the book.
What they found
The manual-only group used the skills almost perfectly. Adding the workshop did not raise scores.
Workers kept the skills when they met a new child weeks later. The agency saved money because no trainer had to travel.
How this fits with other research
Winett et al. (1991) swapped the paper book for a video and got the same strong results. This conceptual replication shows the medium does not matter; the steps do.
Wilson et al. (2023) moved the idea online. Caregivers of autistic children learned discrete-trial teaching through Zoom with the same rapid mastery. The 1986 cost-saving logic still holds in telehealth.
van Vonderen et al. (2012) looked like they disagreed when they said “instruction alone is not enough.” Their staff also got video feedback, something the 1986 study never tested. The extra boost came from feedback, not from the live workshop, so the papers actually line up.
Why it matters
You can ship a short manual, PDF, or video to new respite staff and hit high fidelity without flying a trainer. Start there, then add brief feedback later if scores slip. Your budget stays intact and kids still get quality care.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We conducted four experiments to evaluate a respite care training package. In Experiment 1, we assessed the effectiveness of an instructional manual on the acquisition of respite care skills and compared the relative effects of three different manual on the acquisition of respite care skills and compared the relative effects of three different manual presentation formats. Results showed that performance during simulated (role-played) respite care situations improved substantially for all six trainees following presentation of the instructional manual (with no significant differences between presentation formats) although some remedial training was necessary to achieve mastery criterion. In Experiment 2, we evaluated the effects of the manual presented as a whole with a larger group of trainees and compared it to a workshop training approach. Results showed that both the instructional manual and workshop training approaches were effective, but that the former appeared to be more cost-effective. In both experiments, correct responding generalized to a respite care situation with a multiply handicapped child. In addition, several measures of social validity were obtained. In Experiment 3, we evaluated a simplified training and assessment package that could be conducted using the resources typically available to respite care agencies, and in Experiment 4, we demonstrated that respite care agency personnel could successfully implement this program.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1986 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1986.19-105