Many teachers and parents of young children with disabilities, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are familiar with young children who engage in repetitive and restrictive behaviors such as flapping, spinning, and rocking. This type of restrictive and repetitive behavior, or stereotypy, can be common, over time it can become problematic…

The research literature has revealed mixed outcomes on various procedures for increasing vocalizations and echoic responding in persons with disabilities (Miguel, Carr, & Michael "The Analysis of Verbal Behavior," 18, 3-13, 2002; Stock, Schulze, & Mirenda "The Analysis of Verbal Behavior," 24, 123-133, 2008). We…

Purpose: This study examined the impact of using a collaborative process with person-centered teams and a functional assessment of problems in the workplace to design individualized goals and self-management interventions to support young adults with disabilities. These young adults had achieved employment through a customized employment process…

Challenging behaviors refer to those behaviors that decrease the child's ability to engage and participate in classroom routines (Dunlap, Wilson, Strain, & Lee, 2013), and therefore, the dilemma in the scenario above is common to early childhood and early childhood special education teachers due to an increase in children experiencing autism…

This article describes how applied behaviour analysis can be implemented effectively and affordably in a maintained special needs school in the UK. Behaviour analysts collaborate with classroom teachers to provide early intensive behaviour education for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and function based behavioural…

When conducted correctly, functional behavior assessments (FBAs) can help professionals intervene with problem behavior using function-based interventions. Despite the fact that researchers have shown that effective interventions are based on function, recent investigators have found that most behavioral intervention plans (BIPs) are written…

The current study examined the effects of motivating operations on problem behavior and academic engagement for 2 students with autism. Classroom sessions were preceded by periods in which the participants had access or no access to the items functionally related to their problem behavior. Results suggested that presession access may result in…

Functional Communication Training (FCT) is an intervention that involves teaching a communicative response to decrease the occurrence of challenging behavior in individuals with disabilities. FCT is a two step intervention in which the interventionist first determines the function, or purpose, of the challenging behavior and then teaches a…

We examined the effects of three different presession conditions on tangibly maintained problem behavior for 2 students with autism, using individual-participant multielement designs. First, an analogue functional analysis demonstrated that problem behavior was maintained by access to tangible items. Next, topographies of item rejection were…

We evaluated the utility of an assessment for identifying tasks for the functional analysis demand condition with 4 individuals who had been diagnosed with autism. During the demand assessment, a therapist presented a variety of tasks, and observers measured problem behavior and compliance to identify demands associated with low levels of…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether students with identified behavioral needs were provided a different level of behavioral intervention based on their special education disability category verification. A second purpose of this study was to determine what caused potential differences as interpreted by individuals working in the…

As any parent of a child with autism knows, your life changes and you take on new roles after your child receives a diagnosis of autism. Ready or not, you are now expected to be an expert on interventions, support professionals, and special education. Suddenly, your concerns and worries are different from the parents around you. While they may be…

As the need to train more teachers to work in inclusive classrooms increases, college instructors should identify and implement course assessments measuring their effectiveness in training practices. Skills in managing the challenging behaviors of students with disabilities, such as autism and emotional disturbances are important for teachers…

This study evaluated the effects of using differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) with a differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) resetting time schedule to reduce stereotypy in a child with Rett Syndrome. The primary purpose of the investigation was to compare latency and choice as dependent measures to identify…

In the current investigation, the processes of functional assessment and function-based intervention were used to resolve the severe challenging behaviors of a boy with autism and mental retardation in an inclusive kindergarten in South Korea. A multicomponent intervention was developed in collaboration with classroom personnel and was implemented…