Generalization Procedures in Training Interventionists for Individuals With Developmental Disabilities

The literature pertaining to training staff, parents, and peers to implement interventions for individuals with developmental disabilities was reviewed for training procedures that incorporated strategies to promote generalization. The search engines for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Pubmed (c) were used to find relevant studies. Studies met the inclusion criteria if they sufficiently operationalized their training procedure, took data on individual trainees' performance, and used a single-subject experimental design. The training procedures were coded for generalization procedures as per Stokes and Baer. Of the 54 studies, 46 considered used procedures to promote generalization. The most prevalent generalization procedures were use of common stimuli, followed by using sufficient exemplars and mediated generalization. Studies demonstrated empirical support for these procedures producing generalized use of newly acquired direct-care skills. The remaining generalization procedures cited in Stokes and Baer were absent or far less prevalent. Future research should explore the use of these procedures and their effectiveness as a technology to bring about generalized responding of interventionists' skills.