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Use of Audio Cuing to Expand Employment Opportunities for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities

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Abstract

We evaluated audio cuing to facilitate community employment of individuals with autism and intellectual disability. The job required promoting products in retail stores by wearing an air-inflated WalkAround® costume of a popular commercial character. Three adolescents, ages 16–18, were initially trained with video modeling. Audio cuing was then used by an attendant who delivered prompts regarding when to perform job skills. The two interventions were evaluated in an interrupted time series withdrawal design during training and then again in an actual job setting. Results show video modeling was not effective. However, the audio cuing produced job performances well above the designated criteria during training and when on the job. These changes were replicated with each participant, demonstrating clear experimental control. The changes proved statistically significant as well. Participants and parents reported high job satisfaction. The challenges of competitive employment for individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This project was made possible in large part by the generous support of the Autism Action Partnership, Omaha, Nebraska. Support was also provide, in part by Project #8188 from the Maternal and Child Bureau (Title V, Social Security Act), Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services and by grant 90DD0533 from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD), Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. Portions of this paper were presented at the 2011 Annual Convention of the Association of Behavior Analysis International.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Munroe Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation, 985450 University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA

    Keith D. Allen & Monica R. Howard

  2. The Prevention Group, LLC, 2320 Paul Street, Omaha, NE, USA

    Raymond V. Burke & Scott L. Bowen

  3. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA

    Raymond V. Burke

  4. University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Dustin P. Wallace

  5. Signs & Shapes International, Inc., Omaha, NE, USA

    Scott L. Bowen

Authors
  1. Keith D. Allen
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  2. Raymond V. Burke
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  3. Monica R. Howard
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  4. Dustin P. Wallace
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  5. Scott L. Bowen
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Keith D. Allen or Raymond V. Burke.

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Allen, K.D., Burke, R.V., Howard, M.R. et al. Use of Audio Cuing to Expand Employment Opportunities for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities. J Autism Dev Disord 42, 2410–2419 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1519-7

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