Date of Award

12-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Behavioral Analysis

First Advisor

Kimberly N. Sloman

Second Advisor

Elbert Blakely

Third Advisor

Mark T. Harvey

Fourth Advisor

Aaron Welters

Abstract

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) service providers regularly develop speech and shape articulation when working with minimally vocal children with autism. However, these providers usually have not received training in related subject areas as part of their certification coursework. This results in a gap between their scopes of competence and practice. The present study aimed to lessen this gap by training ABA service providers to take phonemic transcription. The author, in consultation with a speech-language pathologist, developed and implemented a computer-based programmed instruction training package. Studies 1 and 2 employed a concurrent multiple-probe design with an embedded adapted alternating treatments design (AATD) and only an AATD, respectively. Through these designs, two alphabet systems for transcription were compared to see which was acquired faster and with fewer errors: the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which uses unfamiliar and familiar symbols from the alphabets of various languages, and the English Orthographic Alphabet (EOPA), which uses only familiar letters from the American English alphabet. There were six participants, five in Study 1 and one in Study 2. Results showed that the EOPA was acquired quicker and with fewer errors than the IPA. Moreover, three of the six participants mastered only the EOPA, and five of the six participants preferred the EOPA. Implications for future studies of transcription in the areas of staff training and clinical application are discussed.

Download

Share

COinS