Comparing the effects of videoconference and email feedback on treatment integrity

Abstract

Treatment integrity has a direct impact on early intensive behavioral intervention outcomes for children with autism (McDonald et al., 2017). In this study, we compared the effects of email feedback with an embedded graphic component to videoconference feedback on treatment integrity. Participants included 6 teachers who were providing services to children with autism in China. Using an adapted alternating treatment design, the experimenter associated each feedback method with a specific teaching procedure, either discrete trial training or incidental teaching. All teachers improved their integrity to criteria under the email feedback condition, but videoconference feedback produced faster mastery and better-sustained integrity after the removal of the intervention. The teachers preferred videoconference feedback over email feedback in terms of acceptance and effectiveness of the intervention, but they considered email feedback a more efficient type of feedback.