Individuals who are dually diagnosed with Down Syndrome (DS) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) frequently engage in vocal stereotypy that can interfere with learning, impede socially appropriate behavior, and disrupt others. Response interruption and redirection (RIRD) is an intervention that blocks and redirects stereotypy to reduce behavior.…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine if the RIRD intervention is effective in reducing vocal stereotypy in an individual with an autism spectrum disorder in the natural classroom setting with and without immediate reinforcement. The RRBs displayed by individuals with ASD may have a negative effect on the individual's ability to…

For children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), horizontal transitions can be anxiety-ridden and challenging, leading to undesirable behaviors (Chavez, 2018; Nuske et al., 2018). Few research studies focus on the transition needs of children diagnosed with ASD (Kuo et al., 2018; Nuske et al., 2019; Shattuck et al., 2018). This…

Alternative school settings for students who are identified as "disruptive or dangerous" are playing an increasingly prominent role in the world of public education, yet many gaps in the research literature are abound. This dissertation study is an effort to contribute to an understanding of the students placed in these alternative schools,…