Students with emotional and behavioral disorders have historically experienced poor outcomes in the area of reading. One strategy that has been suggested for improving oral reading fluency for ...students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders is repeated reading. However, there has not been an evidence-based review that examines the use of this intervention for this population. The purpose of this study was to conduct an evidence-based review that examined the use of repeated reading in improving oral reading fluency outcomes for students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders according to the Council for Exceptional Children’s Standards for Evidence-Based Practices in Special Education. To focus on students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders, we only included studies that included or disaggregated results for the target population. Although this narrow scope resulted in only six studies for inclusion, repeated reading was classified as having mixed evidence for improving the oral reading fluency of students with emotional and behavioral disorders and insufficient evidence for students at risk. We discuss the implications for research and practice.
Restricted interests of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can act as a barrier to learning important life skills. Embedding the interests of individuals into their learning environment ...can act to establish motivation to participate. A meta-analysis of 20 single-case studies on embedding interests of individuals with ASD was conducted to determine overall effects and potential moderating variables. Data were aggregated across domains of variables including dependent variables, participant characteristics, and learning contexts. The correlation between self-stimulatory or ritualistic behaviors and primary outcomes was evaluated. Publication bias and consistency of the Tau/Tau-U nonoverlap effect size with visual analysis were tested via moderator analyses. The literature suggests that embedding interest for learners with ASD can either be beneficial or distractible. Effects ranged from negative to strong, with several moderators identified. Practitioners should take caution when using this intervention with students who display self-stimulatory or ritualistic behaviors when their interests are present.
•We investigated the accuracy and efficacy of primary caregivers’ AAC intervention implementation with one adult with ASD.•Participants were four primary caregivers and one adult with ASD.•We ...implemented a single-case multiple probe design.•Results indicated that caregiver participants rapidly met the mastery criteria.•The participant with ASD used the AAC app independently more often during intervention phases than during baseline.
Many researchers have investigated the effectiveness of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems on improving communication skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and communication complex needs (CCN); however, few studies included adults with ASD. Also, there is a lack of research on primary caregiver implemented interventions with high treatment fidelity although primary caregiver-implemented interventions have been used effectively with adults with ASD and their families. This study investigated the accuracy of primary caregivers’ implementation of a tablet-computer based AAC system while they were providing instruction to an adult with ASD. Also, independent use of AAC system of the participant was examined. We implemented a multiple probe design across three instructional coaching steps to examine the accuracy of the caregivers’ AAC implementation. One adult with autism and CCN and his four primary caregivers participated in this study, twice a week for seven weeks. Both visual and statistical analyses were utilized. Results indicated that, with instructional coaching, all of the caregivers were able to implement the procedures of the AAC mode with the participant accurately, as demonstrated via visual inspection and statistical analyses. Nevertheless, there was little improvement in the participant's independent use of the AAC mode. Limitations and suggestions for future researchers are discussed.
•This study presents a meta-analytic review of single-case experimental studies involving tablet-mediated interventions for individuals with ASD.•This meta-analysis includes 26 studies that meet ...minimum criteria on quality standards developed by What Works Clearinghouse (Kratochwill et al., 2010/2014).•The Tau nonoverlap effect size with the Kruskal-Wallis and the Dunn post-hoc tests were calculated to analyze participant age, participant diagnosis, independent variable, outcome measure, setting, and context.•Results show that tablet-based interventions for individuals with ASD have moderate to large effects across the variables analyzed.•Although effects were strongest for participants with high-functioning autism, a majority of research in this review targets individuals with classic autism or autism and intellectual disabilities.
There is a growing amount of single-case research literature on the benefits of tablet-mediated interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). With the development of tablet-based computers, tablet-mediated interventions have been widely utilized for education and treatment purposes; however, the overall quality and evidence of this literature-base are unknown.
This article aims to present a quality review of the single-case experimental literature and aggregate results across studies involving the use of tablet-mediated interventions for individuals with ASD.
Using the Tau nonoverlap effect size measure, the authors extracted data from single-case experimental studies and calculated effect sizes differentiated by moderator variables. The moderator variables included the ages of participants, participants’ diagnoses, interventions, outcome measures, settings, and contexts.
Results indicate that tablet-mediated interventions for individuals with ASD have moderate to large effect sizes across the variables evaluated. The majority of research in this review used tablets for video modeling and augmentative and alternative communication.
To promote the usability of tablet-mediated interventions for individuals with ASD, this review indicates that more single-case experimental studies should be conducted with this population in naturalistic home, community, and employment settings.
Assessing performance of individuals with disabilities in relation to their preferences is a method of determining the social validity of practices. The benefits of using vocational preferences on ...related behavioral outcomes of individuals with disabilities such as task completion, challenging behavior, and indices of happiness, have been explored through several studies. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the effects of preference for certain vocational activities on performance outcomes for individuals with disabilities. A comprehensive search resulted in a total of 16 included studies. Studies were analyzed according to (a) participant characteristics (e.g., diagnosis, age), (b) setting, (c) work tasks, (d) service provider, (e) experimental design or observational method, (f) preference assessment method, (g) independent variable, and (h) outcomes. Studies were appraised with quality indicators for single-case research. While outcomes were primarily positive in support of incorporating preferred vocational conditions, quality indicators were generally lacking and there are numerous areas calling for future research.
Behavior analysts acting as supervisors of individuals pursuing Behavior Analyst Certification Board certification are tasked with designing effective and ethical supervision and training systems. ...Behavior analyst supervisors and their trainees may face challenges fulfilling their responsibilities in the midst of barriers that include competing contingencies, transitions, and interruptions. In this article, we review potential obstacles faced by supervisors in designing effective supervision through site closures and transitions to telepractice as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore related potential barriers faced by trainees serving clients through public school settings, as well as through insurance-funded agencies in the United States. We review some practical solutions and offer tools for supervisors and trainees to consider at this time. We present a template for trainees to help them develop a personalized applied behavior analysis fieldwork plan for their supervision, a client/family needs assessment, and a corresponding trainee needs assessment to assist with adaptations to supervision and service delivery in an individualized manner.
•This study presents a literature review of caregiver-implemented interventions for improving communication skills of children with ASD.•The quality of the research design for caregiver-implemented ...communication interventions for children with ASD was evaluated.•A total of 40 studies were identified to meet the design standards and included in this review.•About one-third of studies included in this review was found to meet the design standards.•The studies that failed to meet the design standards were mainly due to a lack of IOA collected with the minimum quality thresholds.
Most children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) spend most of their waking hours at home with their caregivers; thus, involving caregivers in interventions may increase communication interaction opportunities across time and settings.
In this review, an analysis of the quality of the research on communication interventions implemented or mediated by caregivers of children with ASD was conducted based on the What Works Clearinghouse guidelines (Kratochwill et al., 2010) and adapted by Maggin et al. (2013).
About one-third of studies included in this review were found to meet the design standards, indicating that those studies utilized a high quality of research design. The studies that failed to meet the design standards were primarily those that lacked sufficient interobserver agreement data collected in each condition, thus, not meeting the minimum quality thresholds. To evaluate an overall effectiveness, a total of 31 single-case experiments were evaluated with the evidence standards. As a result, about half of the experiments were found to have either strong or moderate evidence of an effect.
The findings in this review suggest issues that need to be addressed in the field related to quality of designs in single-case research on primary caregiver-implemented communication interventions for children with ASD. Limitations and implications for future research and for practitioners are discussed.
Trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) allows for the systematic and experimental assessment of challenging behavior in applied settings. The purposes of this study were to evaluate a professional ...development package focused on training three Head Start teachers to conduct TBFAs with fidelity during ongoing classroom routines. To assess the accuracy of the TBFA results, the effects of a function-based intervention derived from the TBFA were compared with the effects of a non-function-based intervention. Data were collected on child challenging behavior and appropriate communication. An A-B-A-C-D design was utilized in which A represented baseline, and B and C consisted of either function-based or non-function-based interventions counterbalanced across participants, and D represented teacher implementation of the most effective intervention. Results showed that the function-based intervention produced greater decreases in challenging behavior and greater increases in appropriate communication than the non-function-based intervention for all three children.
Trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) is a procedure for experimentally identifying the function of challenging behavior within applied settings. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects ...of a TBFA teacher-training package in the context of two Head Start centers implementing programwide positive behavior support (PWPBS). Four Head Start teachers were trained in TBFA procedures as part of ongoing technical assistance on individualized behavior supports. Following training and performance feedback, all teachers were able to implement TBFA with 100% fidelity during simulation probes. With minimal additional coaching, teachers implemented TBFA sessions with a child in their classroom with 100% fidelity. Implications for future research and for the use of TBFA in early childhood settings are presented.
The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of parent training on parent implementation of functional communication training (FCT) in the trained routine and in a novel routine. Three young ...children with developmental delays and their parents participated. A multiple-probe across parent-child dyads was used to evaluate the impact of parent training on parent fidelity of FCT. The data indicated that verbal and written instructions with performance feedback resulted in accurate implementation of FCT during the trained routine. The generalization assessment suggested that instructions and performance feedback promoted generalization for one parent and an additional training component was needed for another parent. The third parent did not complete the generalization assessment. The results suggest verbal and written instructions and performance feedback can lead to accurate implementation of FCT during the trained routine, but additional training components may be necessary to facilitate generalization to a novel routine.
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