Teaching strategies that work for typically developing children often do not work for those diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. However, teaching strategies that work for children with autism do work for typically developing children. In this article, the author explains how the principles and concepts of Applied Behavior Analysis can be…

We retrospectively compared 2 groups of children receiving either behavioral treatment (n=13) or eclectic treatment (n=15) for an average of 12 hours per week. Children were assessed on intelligence, language, adaptive functioning and maladaptive behavior at pretreatment and 2 years into treatment. The groups did not differ significantly at…

Children with autism exhibit significant deficits in imitation skills which impede the acquisition of more complex behaviors and socialization, and are thus an important focus of early intervention programs for children with autism. This study used a multiple-baseline design across five young children with autism to assess the benefit of a…

Numerous researchers have employed functional communication training (FCT) to address both the communication and behavioral needs of children with autism. Thus, the purpose of this review is to examine FCT, particularly, the environments and individuals involved in the training and the effectiveness of FCT with children who have a diagnosis of…

The study reports on a data-based work experience model for secondary students with autism. The objectives were to increase competency and independence, provide a variety of experiences to assess skills and preferences, and modify interfering behaviors. Five autistic students, aged 16-20, were sent to community work sites providing a variety of…

This paper presents a case study of a young girl diagnosed as autistic and having a history of tantrums, who was grouped with six other students with mild to moderate disabilities. Intervention plans developed by her teacher and a consultant addressed the girl's needs for more positive social and communication skills, focusing on increasing…

This paper briefly reviews the research in social and behavioral interventions with autism in the past 30 years. Progress in the areas of decreased placement in highly restrictive environments, parent training, effective treatments, functional behavioral analysis, and emphasis on improved quality of life is noted. Research needs in the area of…

The atypical antipsychotic medication risperidone was evaluated using a double-blind, placebo-controlled design to treat destructive behavior in two males (ages 6 and 24) with autism. Destructive behavior during the demand condition was significantly reduced during the medication phases, whereas it continued to occur to obtain tangible items and…

A study evaluated a therapeutic intervention program for young adults with severe autism at the Oasi Institute in Troina, Sicily. The program, which integrates gentle teaching, humanistic applied behavior analysis, and functional communication training, provides opportunities to acquire functional skills through errorless learning activities.…

Functional communication training, extinction, and response chaining decreased escape-maintained aberrant behavior and increased task participation of 3 youth, ages 10 through 15, with moderate mental retardation, 2 of whom also had autism. Task escape was contingent on verbally responding and completing task steps. Behavior chaining also…

This commentary finds that the study reported in EC 605 442, which indicated long-term gains for children with autism who experienced intensive behavioral intervention as preschoolers, is reliable, correct, and important. The commentary supports the use of quasi-random assignment to experimental or control group when truly random assignment is not…

A functional analysis was performed on a five-year-old nonverbal Autistic female with severe self-injurious behaviors. The self-injurious behaviors (hand-to-head, hand-to-jaw, hand-to-face) and loud vocalizations were targeted. Two types of sessions, enriched environment and instructor controlled preferred stimuli, were alternated throughout the…

The principle of motivation has resurfaced as an independent variable in the field of behavior analysis over the past 20 years. The increased interest is the result of the refinements of the concept of the motivating operation and its application to the learning needs of persons with developmental disabilities. Notwithstanding the increased…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of contingency mapping, a new visual support strategy designed to enhance clients' understanding of the contingencies associated with functional equivalence training (FET). The study was conducted in a general education classroom with an adolescent boy with autism who engaged in prompt dependent behavior. A…

The article describes language development techniques used with a 5-year-old autistic boy to increase his verbal behavior. Intervention consisted of 1.5 hour sessions four times a week over an 8-month period. The intervention focused on increasing nonvocal imitation, vocal imitation, verbal labeling, and verbal discrimination. Development of…