Mounting empirical support for early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) has increased demand for early intervention services for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which may include a variety of components such as discrete-trial instruction (DTI) or natural environment teaching (NET). Many caregivers are now learning…

Background and Purpose: Grand Rounds is a teaching methodology that has existed in various forms in medical education for centuries. When a student-run pro bono clinic identified a growing challenge of providing continuity of care for clients and a lack of preparedness in students, they implemented a Grand Rounds model of case presentation within…

People with intellectual disabilities require training to improve independence, and carers are important partners in the process. Studies show that carers are able to motivate family members with intellectual disabilities to participate in training. In addition, family members may serve as cotrainers. To increase carers' participation, it is…

To contribute to increasing the quality and quantity of communication between staff and adults with intellectual disabilities, training was undertaken to enhance the awareness and knowledge of signing as a method of communication. Multidisciplinary team members, residential and day centre staff were trained to use 20 core signs. Training methods…

The last decades have seen increased emphasis on the quality of training for direct-care staff serving people with intellectual disabilities. Nevertheless, it is unclear what the key aspects of effective training are. Therefore, the aim of the present meta-analysis was to establish the ingredients (i.e., goals, format, and techniques) for staff…

The learning modules contained in this document are designed to permit instructors in many settings to deliver high quality training to caregivers of Alzheimers' disease patients. Instructors can prepare by reviewing the Instructor's Guide which outlines the behavioral objectives each learner will be expected to achieve to complete the module as…

This study was undertaken to evaluate a training program on understanding Alzheimer's disease for nursing home caregivers of those with the disease. A pretest/posttest design control group methodology was used to evaluate 81 staff members. Results of the study showed that: (1) staff satisfaction with working with mentally impaired and demented…

Dayspring AIDS support services (DASS), a New England-based health organization, like many service organizations that rely on part-time and volunteer help, lacked the funds needed to improve and/or renew part-time staff and volunteer knowledge and skills. This paper describes an innovative way in which the professional development needs of DASS's…

This paper evaluates a program for assessing and/or training choice-making skills as a means of providing opportunities for adults with profound mental retardation to express food and drink preferences. In Experiment 1, the assessment/training procedure involving repeated, paired-item presentations, resulted in active choice-making and the…

The performance of four direct service providers in feeding, positioning, and transferring physically disabled patients was measured. Use of written instructions led to slight and usually brief changes in performance. The introduction of feedback, especially a continuous schedule, resulted in marked improvements which were maintained. (Author/JDD)

A training curriculum on mental health and aging was developed and disseminated to 32 natural caregivers throughout a frontier state using a train-the-trainer model. Those certified as trainers included social workers, religious professionals, volunteers, long-term care employees, nurses, home health workers, and professional and informal…

This report documents the personal views and experiences gained while conducting training courses for caregivers of persons with mental handicap in many countries of Asia. The experiences are presented as an example of what can be done in a situation of limited material resources to improve the lives of people with mental handicap in developing…

This policy research brief summarizes three studies on training direct service personnel serving people with developmental disabilities, conducted at the Research and Training Center on Residential Services and Community Living, University of Minnesota. The studies provide information on competency-based training, effective training strategies,…

Three experiments, involving five students (aged 13-20) with profound, multiple handicaps, showed that the students could effectively use microswitches to demonstrate toy preferences, to indicate preferences for social attention, and to make specific requests of educational staff in school and community settings. (Author/JDD)

Two studies evaluating a video-based instructional package for training 12 respite care providers found that performance during simulated situations improved in 5 of 6 skill areas, with no differences whether videotapes were viewed alone, with a partner, or with structured group training. Correct responding was generalized and skills were…