Using behavioural skills training via telehealth to increase teachers use of communication interventions and increase student use of speech-generating devices in a high school functional skills classroom.
A 30-minute Zoom BST package can push high-school teachers to 95 % fidelity and triple independent speech-device use by students with developmental delays.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The authors used Zoom to train four high-school teachers in a functional-skills classroom. Each teacher got a 30-minute BST package: short video, practice with the trainer, and emailed feedback. The goal was simple: prompt students to use their speech-generating devices instead of answering for them.
The researchers filmed every class and counted how often teachers used the new strategies. They also tracked how many times students hit the device buttons to ask for things on their own.
What they found
Teacher fidelity jumped from 30 % to 95 % after the first BST round and stayed high. When teachers paused and waited, students' independent device requests tripled. The gains reversed during the brief withdrawal phase and returned when coaching came back, showing clear control.
Two students began using new three-word messages no one had taught directly.
How this fits with other research
Slane et al. (2021) reviewed the teacher-BST studies and found the same pattern: brief coaching lifts fidelity. The new twist here is the telehealth route—no one drove to campus.
Simacek et al. (2017) also used telehealth, but parents coached toddlers at home. Same remote setup, younger kids, yet both papers show the adult's accurate delivery is what unlocks child communication.
Gladstone et al. (1975) first showed high-school helpers could learn ABA skills with BST. Fifty years later this study swaps students for teachers and in-person for Zoom, proving the method ages well.
Neely et al. (2022) trained BCBAs instead of teachers, yet hit 100 % fidelity in four Zoom sessions. The parallel results suggest the trainee's job title matters less than the BST structure itself.
Why it matters
You can raise teacher fidelity—and student voice—without leaving your office. Record a 5-minute model, meet for 20 minutes on Zoom, and send a feedback email. If the teacher's score slips, schedule a quick booster the same way. The whole cycle fits a lunch break and works for any classroom with tablets or dedicated devices.
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Pick one teacher, film a 3-minute model of wait-time and prompt-fading, then open a live Zoom practice session during prep period.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Behavioural skills training (BST) has demonstrated effectiveness in training teachers in evidence-based interventions to increase communication for children with limited repertoires. However, research has yet to extend to youth with developmental disabilities who are learning to communicate using speech-generating devices. The emergent use of telehealth technology in applied behaviour analysis has been associated with greater access to therapeutic services. Although the use of telehealth has been extended as an avenue for parents to access behavioural intervention services for their child, fewer studies have evaluated the use of telehealth for teacher behavioural consultation or with adolescents and young adults with complex communication needs. METHOD: In the present study, four teaching staff were trained via telehealth to implement communication facilitation strategies with augmentative and alterative communication users in a high school functional skills classroom. During the coaching sessions, the staff were provided BST on the basic behaviour analytic teaching strategies (e.g. assessing preference, environmental arrangement, and reinforcement strategies). Independent adapted ABAB designs were used to evaluate the effectiveness of modified BST delivered via telehealth on increased teaching staff-implemented communication opportunities within the functional skills classroom and the effectiveness of staff-implemented communication intervention on increased speech-generating device mands for four adolescents/young adults with developmental disabilities. RESULTS: The results indicated that the improved staff fidelity of the communication interventions was associated with the increased level of independent student mands for each dyad. Lastly, social validity data suggest that the procedures were acceptable and feasible. These data indicate that the use of telehealth may be a viable model for specialised classroom consultation. CONCLUSION: The use of a telehealth delivery model to train classroom staff may be a viable option when specialised support is necessary, but access is limited.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2021 · doi:10.1111/jir.12794