Further evaluation of TEACCH's experiential training programs: Change in participants' knowledge, attributions and use of structure

Division TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped CHildren) is internationally recognized as a model program for research, training and direct service to children and adults with autism and their families. Each year TEACCH offers a series of intensive, five-day Summer Training Institutes designed to introduce participants to the topics considered central to the TEACCH philosophy. In addition to the Summer Training Institutes, Division TEACCH offers a number of two-day Training Workshops throughout the academic year. A previous study (Grindstaff, 1998) represented the first attempt to evaluate these training programs. The current study is both a refinement and an expansion of the first. It was hypothesized that training would increase participants' knowledge of autism, reduce their controllable attributions regarding the (mis)behaviors characteristic of children with autism, increase their self-efficacy with regard to changing those behaviors, and reduce negative affect in response to such behavior. Training was also expected to increase participants' use of structured teaching, the specific instructional strategy espoused by the training programs. Furthermore, it was predicted that the Summer Training Institutes would have a greater impact upon participants compared to the Training Workshops. A series of ANCOVAs revealed several significant findings. First, both types of training were equally effective for increasing participants' knowledge of autism. Secondly, both types of training reduced participants' ratings for the controllability of child behavior. Thirdly, participants from the Summer Training Institutes (but not from the Training Workshops) demonstrated an increase in their use of structured teaching. The study failed to find a significant increase in participants' self-efficacy, nor was there a significant decrease in negative affect. Multiple regression analyses revealed that increased knowledge and "uncontrollable" attributions were significant predictors for participants' use of structured teaching. Based on these results, recommendations were made for improving the effectiveness of the TEACCH training programs and for further evaluation of training programs in general.