Enhancing job-site training of supported workers with autism: a reemphasis on simulation.
Add off-site simulation drills to your vocational training package—workers with autism learned job skills faster or to a higher level when simulation supplemented on-the-job practice.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lattimore et al. (2006) compared two ways to teach job skills to adults with autism. One group got only on-the-job coaching. The other group got the same coaching plus extra off-site simulation drills.
The team used an alternating-treatments design. Each worker cycled through both training styles so the researchers could see which one worked better for that person.
What they found
Three out of four workers reached higher skill levels or learned the task faster when simulation was added. The extra practice off the job site paid off on the job.
Only one worker showed no clear difference between the two methods. Overall, the package of job-site plus simulation beat job-site-only training.
How this fits with other research
MMcQuaid et al. (2024) extends the same idea to self-care. They paired video modeling with simulation to teach autistic teens menstrual hygiene skills and saw large, fast gains. The 2006 job package and the 2024 hygiene study share the same logic: add active off-site practice to boost real-world performance.
Hong et al. (2016) meta-analysis looked at dozens of single-case studies on video modeling for daily living skills. Their pooled result lines up with Lattimore et al. (2006): visual-based simulation helps people with autism learn adaptive skills faster.
Aldi et al. (2016) show the next step. They put the simulation on an iPad. Two young adults mastered three daily living skills with point-of-view videos. The tech replaces the off-site room, but the principle—extra visual rehearsal—remains the same.
Why it matters
If you run vocational or life-skills programs, tack on short simulation blocks before community placement. Five to ten extra practice trials in a quiet room can shave days off on-the-job training. Use mock supplies, video clips, or tablet apps—whatever is easiest to set up. The worker gets more response opportunities without the social pressure of real customers or coworkers. You get faster mastery and fewer errors when it counts.
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Pick one job task, film a 30-second clip of the correct steps, and run three guided practice trials in the clinic before the next community outing.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Currently recommended practice in supported work emphasizes training job skills to workers with severe disabilities while on the job. Early behavioral research indicated that skills needed in natural environments could also be trained in simulated settings. We compared job-site plus simulation training for teaching job skills to supported workers with autism to provision of training exclusively on the job. Job-site training occurred in a small publishing company during the regular work routine, and simulation training occurred in an adult education site for people with severe disabilities. Two pairs of workers received training on two job skills; one skill was trained at the job site and the other was trained using job-site plus simulation training. Results indicated that for 3 of the 4 comparisons, job-site plus simulation training resulted in a higher level of skill or more rapid skill acquisition than did job-site-only training. Results suggested that job-site training, the assumed best practice for teaching vocational skills, is likely to be more effective if supplemented with simulation training. Directions for future research include expanding applications of behavioral technologies to other aspects of the current support paradigm.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 2006 · doi:10.1901/jaba.2006.154-04