Promoting Vocational Knowledge Through Equivalence-Based Instruction for Young Adults with Autism
Young adults with disabilities—particularly those with autism and intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD)—face significant challenges entering the workforce. Nationwide, fewer than 20% of adults with disabilities are employed, compared to over 60% of their non-disabled peers. The rate is even lower among individuals with IDD, sitting around 18%. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic only worsened these disparities, slowing career development and job opportunities.
For behavior analysts and educators, the message is clear: traditional methods aren’t enough. We need instructional systems that address both how to do a job (procedural knowledge) and what jobs entail (declarative knowledge). A promising solution lies in Equivalence-Based Instruction (EBI), a research-based method that boosts declarative understanding using minimal direct teaching. A 2023 study by Belisle et al. explored how EBI can be used to teach vocational knowledge to a young adult with autism. This blog breaks down the study and its applied significance.
Understanding the Learning Gap
Young adults with autism often receive training in procedural skills like setting tables or cleaning surfaces. But many struggle with declarative knowledge—like identifying the responsibilities of various employees or knowing whom to ask for help in a workplace.
These gaps create barriers to:
- Navigating job site hierarchies
- Making independent decisions
- Communicating effectively with coworkers and supervisors
Declarative knowledge gives context to procedural tasks. For vocational education to be successful, both must be taught.
What Is Equivalence-Based Instruction (EBI)?
Equivalence-Based Instruction is a behavior-analytic approach that teaches a few core relationships, allowing learners to derive additional knowledge.
Here’s how it works:
- Teach A–B: Match employee names to job titles.
- Then teach B–C: Match job titles to job responsibilities.
- Result: The student begins to relate A–C and C–A on their own—without direct teaching.
Instead of teaching every possible combination, EBI helps form stimulus equivalence classes, making learning more efficient. This saves instructional time and increases generalization, especially when real-world job coaches or job sites are limited.
The Study: Using EBI in Vocational Training
Jordan Belisle and colleagues (2023) applied EBI to vocational education with a 17-year-old participant named Paul, who had autism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. He was part of a day-treatment program and had received prior instruction using PEAK relational training.
The team’s goal was to increase Paul’s declarative knowledge across three job settings:
- 🏨 Hospital
- 🍽️ Restaurant
- 🏫 School
They used an EBI framework to deliver instruction via PowerPoint slides that included:
- Employee names (e.g., "Mr. Brown")
- Job titles (e.g., "janitor")
- Job responsibilities (e.g., "cleans hallways")
Learning sessions covered:
- Baseline testing
- Direct training of A–B and B–C relations
- Testing for derived A–C and C–A relations
- Booster sessions to strengthen retention after delays
Instruction occurred on a Dell laptop with auditory and visual feedback provided for each response.
Key Findings
Paul showed strong learning outcomes. Here’s what the results demonstrated:
- He mastered directly taught relations across all three job settings.
- He derived untaught relations (i.e., declarative knowledge) in two of three settings.
- Booster sessions successfully restored performance after training delays.
- Teaching fidelity remained high throughout (94% accuracy).
Site-specific outcomes included:
- 🏨 Hospital: Performance dropped after a 21-day break, but booster sessions helped him reach mastery.
- 🍽️ Restaurant: Fast acquisition and generalization of new knowledge.
- 🏫 School: Initial testing challenges were overcome through repeated practice.
Why This Matters for Behavior Analysts
EBI aligns well with behavior-analytic principles and can help fill current gaps in vocational education. Here’s how:
10 Reasons EBI Can Improve Vocational Outcomes for Disabled Learners
- Encourages derived relational responding instead of rote memorization.
- Helps learners understand workplace roles more deeply.
- Uses minimal training to teach complex relations.
- Supports decision-making and autonomy on the job.
- Can be easily adapted with PEAK or similar curricula.
- Enhances generalization across contexts and environments.
- Works in both in-person and remote teaching formats.
- Saves time and resources—ideal for programs with limited staff.
- Addresses social validity by helping learners know who to ask at work.
- Prepares learners for diverse job settings such as retail, hospitals, and schools.
Limitations of the Study
While the study produced promising results, it included several limitations worth noting:
- The stimuli used unfamiliar faces and names, reducing relevance to real workplaces.
- A time delay disrupted training during the hospital phase.
- Variations in instructors may have introduced inconsistencies.
- The study used a nonconcurrent design, limiting control of confounding variables.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Behavior analysts interested in vocational training should consider:
- Designing EBI materials using names and faces of real coworkers or supervisors.
- Assessing whether declarative knowledge translates to on-the-job performance.
- Teaching these skills across larger groups and multiple job settings.
- Exploring how derived learning affects independent job-seeking and vocational planning.
- Creating curriculum guides that employers can adapt to train all new hires.
Final Thoughts
Equivalence-Based Instruction offers a powerful behavioral tool for advancing vocational training among youth with autism and related disabilities. As the field continues to emphasize socially significant outcomes, gaining declarative vocational knowledge can support real-world independence and self-determination.
The work of Belisle et al. (2023) contributes important data showing that derived relational responding through EBI can lead to meaningful skill development—not just in the classroom, but across real vocational environments.
Additional Resources for Practitioners
Here are tools to support implementation of EBI in practice:
- PEAK Equivalence Module Overview
- Step-by-step guides for teaching using stimulus equivalence
- Curriculum development templates for job training with EBI
- Research on derived relational responding and PEAK Generalization
- EBI fidelity checklists for staff and therapists
Learn More
Access the full study here:
🔗 Belisle, J., Burke, R., Janota, T., Dennis, L., & Taylor, S. (2023). Promoting the Emergence of Vocational Knowledge through Equivalence‑Based Instruction with a Young Adult with Autism. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 16, 1216–1221. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00814-z
By integrating EBI into your practice, you can help bridge the vocational knowledge gap and open doors to new opportunities for young adults with autism.
