The Effects of Discrete Trial Teaching on Students with Autism

Abstract

Discrete trial teaching (DTT) is one of the most widely interventions used on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is an intensive and individualized instructional methodology that involves breaking skills into smaller steps and intensely teaching each step until mastered. DTT is known to many as being useful for teaching new forms of behavior and discrimination. The purpose of this study was to investigate if DTT is a useful intervention for increasing communication skills, acquisition, and academic skills in children with ASD, while decreasing their inappropriate behaviors. Data indicated that DTT effectively increased acquisition, academic skills, and communication skills among children with ASD. Children with ASD inappropriate behaviors increased when being instructed with DTT. Results revealed that DTT should be combined with other interventions to enable children to initiate, maintain, generalize, and acquire skills faster.