Podcast Summary: ABA Inside Track – Episode 336

Episode Title: Preschool Life Skills Three-view
Date: February 25, 2026
Hosts: Robert Perry Crews, Jackie McDonald, Diana Perry Cruz

Episode Overview

This episode marks the third in-depth discussion (“three-view”) of the Preschool Life Skills (PLS) curriculum. The hosts revisit the topic due to new research, their ongoing use of PLS in practice, and its consistent relevance in behavior analytic interventions for young children. They review three recent research articles expanding upon PLS, focusing on its application through the Response to Intervention (RTI) model, trauma-informed practices, and telehealth parent training. The tone throughout is casual, humorous, and passionate about the importance of early social skills instruction.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction & History of Preschool Life Skills

• What is Preschool Life Skills?
  Developed by Greg Hanley et al. (2007), PLS is a class-wide curriculum teaching pro-social and functional skills critical for kindergarten readiness: following instructions, functional communication, delay/denial tolerance, and friendship skills.
• Foundational Idea:
  PLS targets the very skills teachers rate as essential for classroom success and aligns them with the functions of common problem behaviors in early childhood settings.
• “If my child could just sit still, follow directions, and be nice, I could teach them everything else.”
  – Rob, summarizing teacher feedback (07:10)
• Why revisit?
  Post-pandemic, the importance of explicit social skill teaching is even more pronounced as children lost opportunities to naturally acquire these skills.

[04:23 – 25:00] Article 1: Falligant & Pence (2017): PLS Using RTI with Preschoolers with Developmental Disabilities

RTI Model Breakdown:

• Tier 1: Class-wide instruction, all children get basic skills lessons (e.g., “stop, look, say yes”).
• Tier 2: Small group instruction for those who don’t meet mastery.
• Tier 3: One-on-one instruction with individualized modifications and higher reinforcement (e.g., edibles), plus role play and more intensive prompting.

Key Findings:

• Majority of children acquired most skills through Tier 1 or Tier 2; a few needed Tier 3 with modifications.
• Skill generalization to novel adults/peers was variable; friendship skills proved most difficult to generalize.
• “Some of the kids, they ditched the ‘saying okay’ when doing ‘respond to name’...it was just one more thing to do with the device that wasn’t necessary for this context.” – Rob (23:04)

Notable Insights:

• Importance of efficient movement through the tiers—don’t leave kids “floundering” at an inappropriate tier.
• Value in arranging “evocative situations” (e.g., sabotaged materials) to ensure skill application opportunities.

[30:49 – 46:27] Article 2: Reese et al. (2024): PLS to Support Skill Development for Children with Trauma Histories

Novel Extensions:

• Targeted older children (ages 9 and 12) with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), rather than only preschoolers.
• Conducted in a clinic, one hour per week, with involvement of parents/caregivers for generalization attempts.
• Included participant social validity feedback, rare in previous studies.

Procedures & Modifications:

• Used Behavior Skills Training (BST), with an emphasis on children articulating rationales for skills.
• Focused on skills deficits identified via a caregiver questionnaire and tailored evocative situations accordingly.

Results & Reflections:

• Skills were generally acquired across 6-8 sessions, but maintenance and generalization (especially at home) were variable, with modest increases at home.
• Participants enjoyed the program but were unsure if it directly helped them manage their problems—suggesting value in increased dosage or more frequent sessions.
• “Both of the participants enjoyed the program, but both...thought that they weren’t sure whether the program helped them manage their problems, which I thought [was] interesting.” – Jackie (45:28)

Social Validity:

• Caregiver involvement appeared critical for generalization success; lack of participation led to poorer home outcomes.

[47:01 – 60:21] Article 3: Lee et al. (2024): Parent-Delivered PLS via Telehealth

Innovations:

• Taught parents, via telehealth, to implement PLS with their preschool-aged, typically developing children.
• Integrated video modeling and weekly “tip sheets” for parent guidance.
• Used parent-submitted videos for measurement, adding a data-rich “diary” of contexts and practice settings.

Results:

• Parents’ correct implementation improved from 0-50% at baseline to 65–90% post-training.
• Children’s skill performance increased; both omission (not doing the skill) and commission (problem behavior) errors decreased.
• Diary entries showed skills practiced across varied home/community settings (mealtime, shops, birthday parties, “the garden”).

Challenges & Considerations:

• Possible parent selection bias in submitted videos; real-world error rates in unsupervised settings are unknown.
• “They might record and record until they got a good one and then sent in the good one.” – Diana (59:33)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On PLS as “Behavioral Inoculation”:
  “Preschool life skills...it always reminds me of the good behavior game. I feel like both of these are kind of like behavioral inoculation types of skill sets.” – Diana (64:43)
• Re: Generalization Difficulties:
  “The peer/friendship skills tend to be the hardest skills...I mean, sometimes I don’t look up because I actually don’t want anyone to talk to me!” – Rob (24:49)
• On Revisiting the Topic:
  “We really focused a lot more on the extensions...so hopefully...if you’ve never heard of it, you’re saying, wow, that sounds like it works in lots of settings with lots of populations. Pretty effective...” – Rob (62:20)
• Lighthearted Banter:
  Reusing “three-view” as a title, snow ice cream recipe analogies, and birthday jokes keep the episode’s tone engaging and informal.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:29] – Host intro and motivation for a third PLS episode
• [05:17] – Comprehensive intro to PLS: its rationale, history, and original research
• [14:13] – Tiered instruction explanation; group instruction strategies
• [30:49] – Article 2 review: PLS with trauma-affected, older children
• [47:01] – Article 3 review: Parent training via telehealth
• [63:18] – Reflections, dissemination, and discussion of real-life implementation attempts
• [64:28] – Related episode recommendations (“Pairings”) and thematic connections (Good Behavior Game, PBIS)

Takeaways & Recommendations

• PLS is highly adaptable: It can be effective with:
  • Children with and without disabilities
  • Those with trauma histories
  • Older children, and in various delivery formats (classroom, clinic, telehealth)
• Generalization is still tough: Peer/friendship skills and home transfer require robust parent/caregiver involvement and likely booster sessions.
• Parent training via telehealth shows promise: BST plus video modeling is both effective and accessible but needs mechanisms to capture less-than-ideal implementation, too.
• Practical Suggestions:
  • Consider RTI-based tiered approaches for efficient group/individual instruction.
  • Actively arrange evocative situations for teaching, both in schools and at home.
  • Don’t hesitate to adapt the PLS curriculum for setting, age, or learner needs.
  • Include direct social validity measures from both caregivers and children.

Related Episodes (as suggested by hosts)

• Preschool Life Skills Deep Dives: Ep 34, Ep 95
• Joy & the Big Four: Ep 205 (with Dr. Shayla Alai Rosales)
• The Good Behavior Game: Ep 21, Ep 237
• PBIS/Tiered Support: Ep 102
• EBD Treatment (Dual Dx): Ep 231

Fun Pairing: Snow Ice Cream Recipe

Tied to PLS themes—requires instruction following, waiting, requesting help, and sharing. Variants:

• Classic snow + cream + sugar
• “Sugar on snow” (maple syrup on fresh snow)
  As discussed in the episode’s “pairings” segment! (67:23)

Final Thoughts

This “three-view” affirms PLS’s status as a robust, research-backed tool for instilling foundational social and communication skills in preschoolers and beyond—even, with adaptation, in older and high-needs populations. The hosts’ real-world experiences and good humor make the how-to and why-to of PLS both practical and inspiring for behavior analysts and educators alike.