Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04571-8

BRIEF REPORT

Brief Report: Improving Employment Interview Self‑efficacy Among

Adults with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities Using Virtual
Interactive Training Agents (ViTA)
Shanna L. Burke1   · Tan Li2 · Adrienne Grudzien1 · Stephanie Garcia2

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract
This study evaluated the measurable impact of the use of virtual interactive training agents (ViTA) as a way to practice inter-
viewing and gain confidence in responding to questions asked during job interviews. Of the total participants (n = 153), the
majority were male (72.55%) with an average age of 21.71 years old (SD = 3.14 years). Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs;
64.71%) and intellectual disability (40%) were the most frequently reported diagnoses. Using a within-subjects repeated
measures design, the repeated measures linear regression analysis found that the average self-efficacy score increased by 0.31
(p = 0.002), and statistically significant increases were found in all three subscales. Further development of virtual reality
interventions like ViTA, that improve outcomes for adults with ASDs and other developmental disabilities, is warranted.

Keywords  Autism spectrum disorders · Employment · Intellectual disabilities · Interviewing · Virtual interactive training
agents · Self-efficacy

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other
developmental disabilities are profoundly underrepresented
in the workforce (Baldwin et al. 2014). The U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics (2019) reports that only 20% of Americans
with a disability were employed in 2018 compared to nearly
70% of non-disabled adults aged 16 and older. Approxi-
mately 50,000 youth with ASD turn 18 each year, and even
among those considered ‘high functioning,’ low level, poor
paying jobs are typical (Chen et al. 2015). Communication
deficits are a prominent symptom of ASD and impact suc-
cess in accessing and maintaining appropriate employment
(Hendricks 2010). Using data from the National Longitudi-
nal Transition Study (n = 830), Chiang et al. (2013) found
that stronger social skills predicted later employment. Effec-
tively engaging potential employers through the interview
process requires communication and social awareness skills
* Shanna L. Burke
sburke@fiu.edu
1
School of Social Work, Robert Stempel College of Public
Health and Social Work, Florida International University,
11200 S.W. 8th Street, AHC5 585, Miami, FL 33199, USA
2 assistance (Taylor and Seltzer 2012).
Department of Biostatistics, Robert Stempel College
of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International
University, 11200 S.W. 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199, USA
and social motivation, areas in which adults with ASD and
other developmental disorders may need additional support
to master.
Research on job interviewing has highlighted that inter-
view-specific anxiety is common in the general population
and as a construct, is different from other forms of anxiety
and includes communication, appearance, performative,
behavioral (e.g. physiological response), and social anxiety
components that interact to influence interview performance
(McCarthy and Goffin 2004). Previous interview experi-
ences may affect future job interviews through diminished
self-efficacy (Tross and Maurer 2008). Thus, for those
struggling with social and communication-based obstacles,
interviewing skills interventions support the development of
competencies that reduce barriers to obtaining a job. Previ-
ous research has indicated that social skills and vocational
training reduced rates of anxiety and depression among
young adults with ASD (Hillier et al. 2011) and employ-
ment has been associated with increased financial independ-
ence across time (Howlin et al. 2005). In turn, an increasing
number of adults with ASD and other developmental dis-
abilities are turning to vocational rehabilitation services for
Advances in technology in recent decades have allowed
researchers to develop computer software and internet-based

13
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behavioral interventions for accomplishing various social
and clinical goals. The American Academy of Social Work
and Social Welfare includes as one of its 12 Grand Chal-
lenges, a mandate to Harness Technology for Social Good
(Trahan et al. 2019). Virtual reality (VR) technology has
been successfully integrated into the treatment of phobias
(Parsons and Rizzo 2008) and post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD; Rizzo et al. 2015) as well as substance use, eating
disorders, and schizophrenia (Freeman et al. 2017). Tech-
nology-based interventions have already been used to assist
children (Magrini et al. 2019) and adolescents (Bellini and
Akullian 2007) with ASD to develop skills and behaviors
that increase communication and functional capacities. In
their review of technology-aided instruction and interven-
tion for ASD youth, Odom et al. (2015) note that adolescents
with ASD often “prefer to access and use technology relative
to other social and leisure activities” (p. 3807). Given the
population’s affinity for technology and existing evidence
for its use in behavioral interventions, studies examining
the potential of VR to support the development of inter-
view skills among adults with ASD have recently begun to
emerge.
The JobTIPs program, which was enhanced to include
interview-specific content for job seekers with ASD, was
evaluated by Strickland et al. (2013) as a randomized con-
trolled trial (RCT). Participants accessed multi-media inter-
view skills content from their home computer and afterward
completed a simulated online interview with a live clini-
cian in avatar form, during which participants were pro-
vided detailed feedback about their performance. Pre and
post simulated interviews for a store clerk position were
used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Smith
et al. (2014, 2015) evaluated a virtual reality job interview
training program delivered via computer (n = 26) for young
adults with an ASD diagnosis. Ten hours of VR training
was provided to participants through five sessions which
were individualized based on participant job interest and
allowed for increasing difficulty. The intervention sought to
enhance participants’ ability to communicate their depend-
ability, capacity to engage in teamwork, honesty, eagerness
(for the position), and professionalism in an interview set-
ting and provided ongoing feedback for most intervention
components. Sessions also allowed participants to practice
establishing rapport and communicating in a “positive way.”
Like Strickland et al. (2013), Smith et al. (2014) documented
considerable, significant effect size increases in performance
between pre and post mock interviews. Recent research by
Arter et al. (2018) with a small group of high school stu-
dents (n = 8) with low reading and comprehension scores
contributed to this positive trend—six students improved
their performance and five were able to advance to a more
challenging interview level. Each of these VR job interview
training interventions used non-immersive technology
13
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
(Bradley and Newbutt 2018; Cheng et al. 2015) to create vir-
tual learning environments. Researchers have distinguished
between immersive and non-immersive VR (Cheng et al.
2015) based on whether the intervention included the use
of a head-mounted display (HMD). Thus far, HMDs have
been integrated into a small number of virtual interventions
developed to increase the social skills (e.g. attention and ges-
turing) of adults with ASD, but their use remains in an early
stage of development and requires additional evaluation to
understand how or if the degree of immersion influences the
development of specific skills (Miller and Bugnariu 2016).
Other technology-based interview skills projects have
produced trending positive results. The European Union
(EU) funded BRAINTRAIN program used a single-player
gaming format to increase “adaptive social decision making”
(de Heer et al. 2019, p. 368) among high functioning adults
with ASD. The game presented participants with increas-
ingly abstract interview questions in the context of greater
levels of environmental stimuli to enhance executive func-
tioning. Evaluation has been limited, however. A user study
with Dutch adults (n = 42) indicated that the game experi-
ence was associated with changes in social responsiveness
in a quarter to nearly one third of participants with ASD
but pre and post-test results were not significant (de Heer
et al. 2019). Alternately, Kumazaki et al. (2020) developed
a non-immersive program that used a female robot to allow
participants (n = 8) to practice taking the role of interviewer
and interviewee during interview simulations. Both studies
sought to improve interview skills and to increase participant
motivation to engage others socially (de Heer et al. 2019)
or to understand that others have viewpoints different from
their own, referred to as a ‘theory of mind’—which is com-
monly impaired in those living with ASD (Kumazaki et al.
2020).
Technology-based activities are often preferred by indi-
viduals with ASDs (Odom et  al., 2015) and promising
preliminarily results from early VR-based interview skills
interventions, combined with a professional mandate to
investigate the application of technology to address behav-
ioral and social concerns of vulnerable and marginalized
groups, suggest that further development of VR interven-
tions that improve outcomes for adults with ASD and other
developmental disabilities is warranted. This study incorpo-
rates and builds on data from a preliminary study examining
the use of the virtual interactive training agent (ViTA), a
VR job interview practice system, to increase performance
during job interviews (Burke et al. 2018). Using a consider-
ably larger sample size compared to our original pilot and
others’ studies (Arter et al. 2018; Smith et al. 2014; Strick-
land et al. 2013), we aimed to (1) evaluate the measurable
impact of ViTA software on participants’ interviewing skills,
(2) evaluate the measurable impact of ViTA software on
participants’ perceived self-efficacy, and, (3) evaluate the
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
relationship between curriculum/intervention program par-
ticipation and the participants’ Marino Interview Assess-
ment Scale (MIAS) score.
Data Collection and Program
Implementation
The ViTA Curriculum
The ViTA program consists of the use of the ViTA system
(intervention) accompanied by a curriculum of instructional
strategies to teach students ways of responding to questions
asked during job interviews, including interview etiquette,
such as greetings, acceptable small talk, and closing or
thanking the interviewer. Job interviews generally take on
a predictable structure, or an “arc,” which informs the vir-
tual human’s (VH’s) script. This interview structure, or arc,
informed the development of the curriculum and was later
used to create the VH’s script used during all interviews.
This arc consists of 10 to 12 standard job interview questions
that (1) have participants demonstrate introductory state-
ments and consistency with social norms; (2) accentuate
the strengths and self-advocacy skills of the participant; (3)
highlights ones’ abilities through self-promotion; (4) allow
for a situational or behavioral example; (5) focus on day-to-
day practicalities of the job, such as hours, availability, and
transportation; and, (6) signal that the interview is ending.
The importance of good first impressions, clear and concise
responses, active listening and showing interest through ver-
bal and non-verbal cues, self-promotion through highlight-
ing strengths and experience, providing clear and concise
responses, and self-promoting by identifying individual
strengths are all emphasized in the curriculum.
ViTA System and Intervention
The ViTA system is available to organizations and licenses
are granted on a 12-month subscription basis at an annual
cost to the organization of $999. This fee covers the cost of
curriculum development, training, research/product devel-
opment, and technical support but does not cover the cost
of equipment. The minimum equipment necessary to prop-
erly run the ViTA DMF Software includes a laptop (rec-
ommended) or another computer, 24″ HD LCD monitor or
larger, HDMI Cable or VGA, 3.5 mm multimedia speakers,
3.5 mm lapel microphone, wireless mouse, and a wireless
keyboard to allow for the remote operation of the Interview
Scenario feature.
To produce a variety of experiences, three male and three
female VHs of varying ages and ethnic backgrounds were
created. Each VH can exhibit soft-touch, neutral, and hostile
behavioral dispositions and is capable of asking an initial
10 to 12 interview questions, which expand to 144 differ-
ent scenarios. Seven different interchangeable backgrounds
(i.e., hotel lobby, business office, and warehouse breakroom)
set situational contexts that closely align with participants’
specific employment interests (ViTA is described in fur-
ther detail in Burke et al. 2018). The ViTA training stimuli
and order of presentation were determined by the program
implementation team. The system provides a wide variety
of distinct training opportunities for a range of job inter-
view interactions that can progress in difficulty level and be
adjusted to the specific needs of the user. The list of stand-
ard job interview questions was derived from the agency’s
experience with vocational job interviews and by searching
for predictable interview questions on the internet. In the
current study, the average length of time from the pre-test
and the post-test, and therefore the length of the curricu-
lum itself, was approximately 22 weeks. A visualization of
a participant interacting with the ViTA system is provided
in Fig. 1.
Sample
Availability or convenience sampling was used as par-
ticipants were students in secondary and postsecondary
programs that were selected based on collaborative agree-
ments and proximity. To be included in this study, par-
ticipants had to have a disability diagnosis, be enrolled
in secondary or postsecondary education, and report a
willingness and consent to use ViTA, engage in the cur-
riculum, and for the data to be collected. The participant
provided assent if they were under 18, and consent if they
were over 18 years of age. A parent or guardian provided
consent if the participant was under 18 or under guardi-
anship, if the participants was over 18 years of age. The
research and evaluation team did not know nor interact
Fig. 1  A participant interacting with the ViTA system
13

with the participants. Consent was obtained by the pro-
gram implementation team, who interacted with the par-
ticipants and teachers, and administered the curriculum,
and implemented ViTA. The evaluation team received de-
identified data, which informs this paper.
Of the total participants (n = 153), the majority were
male (72.55%) and not Hispanic or Latino (60.13%), with
an average age of 21.71 years old (SD = 3.14 years). The
participants reported several different types of disabilities,
including autism (64.71%), intellectual disability (40%),
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or attention
deficit disorder (ADHD; 16.34%), cerebral palsy (4.58%),
Down syndrome (0.65%), Prader-Willi syndrome (0.65%),
and other non-specific types (24.18%). The majority of the
participants had one disability (70.59%), 1.93% reported no
disability, and other participants had multiple disabilities.
The highest number of disabilities was five in a single par-
ticipant (0.65%).
Measures
The Marino Interview Assessment Scale (MIAS) was
designed to measure the degree to which the participant
utilized certain skills in an interview setting. Participants
scored a 1 if they did not use a strategy that was called for
in the context of a specific question. A score of 2 indicated
that skill was still in the beginning stages of implementation
while 3 indicated that the skill was developing. A score of
4 indicated that the interviewee adequately used the skill or
strategy. The highest score, 5, indicated that the participant
was accomplished at the strategy.
Self-efficacy was measured using the VITA-DMF Self-
Efficacy scale. This scale was scored by adding all individual
questions within an individual scale and then dividing this
sum by the number of completed items for that scale. There
are 16 items for the strengths subscale, 25 for the career
subscale, and eight items in the general subscale.
The MIAS and VITA-DMF Self-Efficacy scale were
administered using a within-subjects repeated measures
(pretest-post-test) design, in which each participant serves
as his/her own control. Students participated in four ViTA
interview sessions, one initial face-to-face interview, and
one final face-to-face interview at completion of sessions,
over approximately 22 weeks. Instruments were distributed
to students through web links. Students clicked on these
links, entered a student code (assigned by the classroom
teacher using instructions provided by the program imple-
mentation team), and answered the questions. The informa-
tion was stored in a secure Research Electronic Data Capture
(REDCap; (Harris et al. 2009, 2019) system at Floirda Inter-
national University. The study was approved by the Florida
International University IRB #18-0080.
13
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Statistical Analyses
We performed descriptive analyses to calculate the mean
and standard deviation for continuous variables, and the fre-
quency distribution and percent for categorical variables. We
employed repeated measures linear regression analysis to
estimate the unadjusted and adjusted treatment effect on the
self-efficacy scale as well as the three subscales (strengths,
career decisions, general), and the MIAS instrument, respec-
tively. The average score of each scale was used as the
dependent variable in the regression analysis. The number
of disabilities was used as the control variable since some
participants had multiple disabilities. Other control variables
included age, sex, and ethnicity. All the analyses were con-
ducted in SAS 9.4. A power analysis found that a sample size
of 153 participants provided at least 80% power to detect a
minimum effect size f of 0.11 in the repeated measure analy-
ses for continuous dependent variables with 0.05 level of
significance. This calculation was done in G*Power 3.1.9.4
(Faul et al. 2009).
Results
The mean number of days between the ViTA self-efficacy
pre-test and post-test was 159.09 days (SD = 73.29 days).
The mean number of days between the MIAS pre-test and
the post-test was 151.41 days (SD = 62.68 days). Table 1
displays the demographic composition of the sample, as well
as the self-efficacy mean and standard deviation scores (total
and subsample). The mean of the average scores for ViTA
self-efficacy, including all three subscales of strength, career
decisions, and general, were higher after the treatment than
before. Among the three subscales, the general subscale had
the highest mean both before (3.93, SD = 0.88) and after the
treatment (4.22, SD = 0.76), and the strengths subscale had
the greatest increase from baseline to post-treatment. The
MIAS scale scores were also higher after the treatment.
The results for the repeated measures linear regres-
sion analysis (Table  2) showed that the average score
increased by 0.31 (SE = 0.10, 95% CI 0.101–0.502,
p = 0.003) for self-efficacy, 0.32 (SE = 0.10, 95% CI
0.119–0.524, p = 0.002) for strengths, 0.28 (SE = 0.10,
95% CI 0.075–0.481, p = 0.008) for career decisions, and
0.30 (SE = 0.11, 95% CI 0.09–0.51, p = 0.006) for gen-
eral. All the increases were still statistically significant
but slightly smaller after controlling for age, the number
of disabilities, sex, and ethnicity. The adjusted increase
for self-efficacy was 0.27 (SE = 0.10, 95% CI 0.07–0.47,
p = 0.009). The adjusted results were 0.28 (SE = 0.10, 95%
CI 0.07–0.5, p = 0.006) for strengths, 0.26 (SE = 0.10,
95% CI 0.05–0.5, p = 0.015) for career decisions, and
0.25 (SE = 0.11, 95% CI 0.04–0.5, p = 0.028) for general.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Table 1  Descriptive statistics
Variable Mean SD

Age 21.73 3.17

Sex
 Male 110 73.33
 Female 40 26.67
Ethnicity
 Hispanic or Latino 61 40.67
 Not Hispanic or Latino 89 59.33
Disability ­typea
 Autism 99 66.00
 Down syndrome 1 0.67
 ADHD/ADD 25 16.67
 Intellectual disability 40 26.67
 Cerebral palsy 7 4.67
 Prader-Willi syndrome 1 0.67
 Other 37 24.67
Number of disabilities
 1 108 72.00
 2 29 19.33
 3 9 6.00
 4 3 2.00
 5 1 0.67
N %
Variable Pre Post
Mean SD Mean SD

Self-efficacy 3.66 0.78 3.97 0.74

 Strengths 3.67 0.79 3.99 0.76
 Career decisions 3.61 0.77 3.89 0.79
 General 3.94 0.85 4.24 0.76
MIAS 1.47 0.71 2.56 0.82
a
 Some participants had multiple disabilities

Table 2  Unadjusted and adjusted treatment effect (post vs. pre,  n = 150)

Outcomes Unadjusted effect Adjusted ­effecta
Estimate SE 95% CI p value Estimate SE 95% CI p value

Self-efficacy 0.306 0.099 (0.101, 0.502) 0.003 0.267 0.100 (0.068, 0.465) 0.009
 Strength 0.321 0.102 (0.119, 0.524) 0.002 0.275 0.103 (0.070, 0.480) 0.009
 Career decisions 0.278 0.102 (0.075, 0.481) 0.008 0.254 0.104 (0.047, 0.461) 0.017
 General 0.301 0.107 (0.088, 0.513) 0.006 0.253 0.108 (0.039, 0.467) 0.021
MIAS 1.092 0.095 (0.905, 1.280) < 0.0001 1.089 0.094 (0.902, 1.276) < 0.0001
a
 Adjusted by age, number of disabilities, sex, and ethnicity

Among all three subscales of self-efficacy, strength had and 1.09 (SE = 0.09, 95% CI 0.9–1.28, p < 0.0001), both
the greatest increases both unadjusted and adjusted by with and without controlling for age, number of disabili-
age, number of disabilities, sex, and ethnicity. The MIAS ties, sex and ethnicity, respectively.
increased by 1.09 (SE = 0.09, 95% CI 0.9–1.3, p < 0.0001)

13

Discussion
Findings from this study suggest that ViTA may be an
effective tool to enhance interview skills and self-efficacy
among adults with ASD and other developmental disor-
ders. Interview assessment means measured by the MIAS
were more than one point higher, as scores increased
from 1.47 to 2.56 pre- to post-interview, indicating not
only statistically significant results but likely clinically
significant results. This study replicated positive results
from our earlier pilot study (Burke et al. 2018), but saw a
greater increase between pre- and post scores (0.45 com-
pared to 1.09). Thus, participants demonstrated increased
skill at making appropriate introductory and closing
statements, communicating personal and professional
strengths, identifying examples of previous situations or
behaviors related to the position applied for, and demon-
strating an understanding of day-to-day practicalities of
life on the job. This study also included a measurement
of multiple self-efficacy domains, which saw improve-
ment. Average mean scores for general and sub-domain
self-efficacy (strengths and career decisions) were higher
at similar rates among participants after the intervention.
Results from this study are in line with the limited number
of existing intervention evaluations that have sought to
implement VR programs to enhance interview skills but
our considerably larger sample size, which includes our
pilot study participant results (n = 153), allows for greater
confidence in the results.
Several small RCTs have evaluated VR-based interview
skills interventions. Assessment of the JobTIPS program
(n = 22, all males aged 16 to 19) produced significant and
positive increases on content items, but the impact on par-
ticipant delivery, while positive, was minimal (Strickland
et al. 2013). Similarly, Smith et al.’s study (2014) pro-
duced large or medium effect sizes for most individual
items among treatment group participants in pre and post-
interview simulations. Large effect sizes for role-playing
total scores (group-by-time) were observed among those
who completed the intervention. No such effect was
observed in the treatment-as-usual control group. Unlike
other studies (Arter et al. 2018; Strickland et al. 2013), fol-
low up was completed at six months and those who com-
pleted the intervention had a higher likelihood of being
employed than those who did not (OR 7.82, p < 0.05)
(Smith et al. 2015). ViTA performed better than the EU-
funded BRAINTRAIN program, which was evaluated with
a pretest/posttest design and did not produce statistically
significant results (de Heer et al. 2019).
This study, which documents ViTA’s effectiveness, con-
tributes to the growing evidence for moderately immersive
VR technology’s potential to improve the lives of those
13
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
living with developmental disabilities. ViTA’s developers
report that it was initially designed for high-anxiety popu-
lations, including those with developmental disabilities
because the use of “intelligent virtual agents” removes
the risk of human bias and thus reduces participant anxi-
ety making it a more effective intervention tool (Hartholt
et al. 2019a, b). The most recent iteration of ViTA (devel-
oped after the present study began and not included in
the current study) integrated software that allows the
system to track and provide feedback on non-verbal com-
munication skills including response delay, voice volume,
blink rate, eye gaze, and head orientation (Hartholt et al.
2019a, b). JobTIPS, using a notably different model from
ViTA, reported limited success in improving non-verbal
skills (“delivery”). Additional evaluation of ViTA with its
updated functionality is merited given the importance of
non-verbal communication in social skills, something that
factors heavily into employers’ hiring practices (Walker
et al. 2019).
One of the strengths of this study was the diversity of the
sample, which represented multiple developmental disabili-
ties, including ASD, ADHD/ADD, intellectual disability,
and cerebral palsy among others; 29% of the participants had
multiple disabilities. Nearly 40% of participants reported
Hispanic ethnicity, unlike other studies that did not include
Hispanic participants (Smith et al. 2014; Strickland et al.
2013) thus filling a gap in the literature. Despite the strengths
of this study, certain limitations exist. The research design
was quasi-experimental with pre and posttest measures,
rather than a randomized controlled trial. One of those meas-
ures, the MIAS, was developed for the ViTA pilot study and
as a new, unpublished instrument, does not have test–retest
scores available. It is unclear, therefore, what effect its pre
and post-test application had on outcomes. Additionally, this
study did not have a follow up so it is unknown whether
participants’ interview skill improvements are maintained
across time. In addition, the true clinical significance of the
statistically significant improvements is unknown, including
whether they translate to higher employment rates. Future
research in this area may choose to include generalization
probes, social validity measures, and include distinct follow-
up data collection. Simply, collecting data on how partici-
pants’ positive behavior changes in the study generalized
across people, settings, times, and situations outside of the
academic setting would be insightful.
VR interventions offer a range of other benefits to con-
sumers and researchers. As it is computer-based, VR tech-
nology allows for greater accuracy and ease in data col-
lection due to its capacity for “precise control of complex,
multisensory, [and] dynamic 3D stimulus presentations” so
that “sophisticated behavioral interaction is possible and
such physical activity can be precisely tracked, recorded,
and analyzed to study human performance and behavior”
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
(Rizzo and Koenig 2017, p. 879). Rizzo and Koenig (2017)
note that VR increases safety in both research and practice
settings, as error risk is reduced. Now that technology costs
associated with VR are lower, it can be used to reduce bar-
riers to care, as consumers may have transportation issues or
reside outside of regions where specialized programs exist
(Rizzo and Koenig 2017). The application of VR to mobile
phone technology may further increase accessibility among
economically marginalized groups, as those who lack inter-
net access often have a mobile phone (Trahan et al. 2019). It
is also expected that VR technology will continue to increase
in quality over time, producing ever more realistic digital
environments and avatars, as researchers work to produce
more accurate human representations (Tessier 2018). Given
the benefits of VR technology, programs such as ViTA have
the potential to be part of successful transition programs
(Walker et al. 2019) for adults with various developmental
disabilities moving from school to work settings in a range
of communities.
Author Contributions  SLB conceptualized the study, partnered with
the Dan Marino Foundation to evaluate their implementation of ViTA,
and contributed to all aspects of the research, analysis, and writing the
manuscript. AG contributed to the writing of this manuscript. TL con-
ducted the statistical analyses and wrote the methods and results. SG
was the data manager, designed the online format of the data collection
tools, and assisted with the data analysis.
Funding  This research was funded by the Dan Marino Foundation, a
Google Impact Challenge Grant, and FIU Embrace.
Compliance with Ethical Standards  Duda, S. N., & REDCap Consortium. (2019). The REDCap con-
Conflict of interest The evaluation of the ViTA program was ap-
proved by the Florida International University Institutional Review
Board (IRB-18-0080). In addition, the school systems with students
engaged in this research provided independent approval. The program
itself gained informed consent from students and their parents, and
independent of the authors of this manuscript, engaged the students,
implemented the curriculum, scored the assessments, and collected the
data. The authors report no conflicts of interest.
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