Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are at risk of experiencing social victimization and should be taught to respond to deceptive statements and victimization scenarios they are likely to encounter as they transition from school to work. Using a multiple probe across participants design, the current study evaluated the effectiveness of behavioral skills with multiple exemplar training (BS+MET) to teach four young adults with IDD a response to victimization protocol. Participants were taught to 1) abstain from retaliation, 2) decline the request, 3) respond with an acknowledgment that the person is attempting to victimize them, and 4) walk or turn away. Two participants demonstrated mastery of this response after only BS+MET, while the other two participants demonstrated mastery of the response after BS+MET and additional in situ training (IST). Additionally, three of the four participants demonstrated generalization across settings, across exemplars, and with coworkers, and they maintained the response up to two-months after the completion of training. This study expands research of BS+MET and IST to teach safety skills to adults with IDD and provides insights into how to improve generalization of skills taught through behavioral skills training. Implications for further research are discussed.
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