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Handbook of Social Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorder pp 155–169Cite as

Discrete Trial Teaching and Social Skill Training: Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater

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Part of the book series: Autism and Child Psychopathology Series ((ACPS))

Abstract

Social skills are an elusive target to address in working with individuals with autism, and effective procedures are difficult to identify. Misconceptions exist about how to best address social skill deficits and about which procedures are most likely to produce socially significant outcomes. Discrete trial training (DTT) has a long history of effectiveness in addressing a wide variety of skills, including social responses. In this chapter, we review applications of DTT to address a variety of social skill deficits. The definition of DTT used in this chapter is wide but reflects the definitional elements of DTT (e.g., sequenced instruction, use of prompts, reinforcement of identified responses). A wide variety of skills have been successfully taught with these procedures. In effect, DTT has a long history of effectiveness and a current role in teaching social skills. It is important to identify effective elements and best practice recommendations when using DTT in addressing social deficits. DTT is helpful in addressing skill acquisition in this area, as it enables the instructor to carefully arrange the instructional context and affords many practice opportunities beyond those provided in natural contexts. The advantages associated with DTT should not be overlooked when developing treatment approaches to remediating social skill deficits in individuals with autism.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Endicott College, Beverly, MA, USA

    Mary Jane Weiss, Jennifer Hilton & Samantha Russo

Authors
  1. Mary Jane Weiss
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  2. Jennifer Hilton
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  3. Samantha Russo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary Jane Weiss .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Autism Partnership Foundation, Seal Beach, California, USA

    Justin B. Leaf

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Weiss, M.J., Hilton, J., Russo, S. (2017). Discrete Trial Teaching and Social Skill Training: Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater. In: Leaf, J. (eds) Handbook of Social Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorder . Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62995-7_10

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