As the adults battle the COVID-19 pandemic's effects, children are also dealing with its fallout. In addition to the health effects, since March 2020, the pandemic has caused long-term school closure, which forced school-aged youth to deal with the stress of social isolation; moreover, since youth have returned to school, there has been an uptick…

Teachers continue to struggle with challenging behaviour, and because of this, many leave the field shortly after being hired. In order to respond appropriately to such challenges, teachers must understand why students misbehave. This case study analysed what four high school teachers considered challenging behaviours in their classrooms. The most…

Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have poor post-secondary outcomes, including those with high-functioning ASD (HFASD), who do not have intellectual disability. Special education services for youth with HFASD often focus on academic outcomes rather than preparing students for negotiating other aspects of adult life. This scoping review…

Teachers are responsible for providing an education to students of all ability levels. Recent data suggest that roughly 95% of students with a disability are receiving some form of education in their general education setting. Individuals with disabilities tend to engage in higher levels of disruptive behaviors (e.g., talking out in class,…

Considerable evidence has shown that physical exercise could be an effective treatment in reducing stereotypical autism spectrum disorder (ASD) behaviors in children. The present study seeks to examine the underlying mechanism by considering the theoretical operant nature of stereotypy. Children with ASD (n = 30) who exhibited hand-flapping and…

Researchers have demonstrated that comprehensive behavioral intervention can result in significant improvements in the lives of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; e.g.; Lovaas, "Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology" 55(1):3-9, 1987; McEachin et al., "American Journal of Mental Retardation"…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a pervasive developmental disorder in which individuals experience deficits in communication, restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, as well as social interaction and reciprocity (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). For adolescents with autism, anxiety often interferes with these symptoms making them…

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) is committed to supporting State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and partners in ensuring that schools and preschool programs have additional tools to foster safe, inclusive learning environments that increase students' engagement and sense of well-being. The Office of…

Many young children entering early childhood programs demonstrate challenging behaviors that place them at risk for emotional/behavioral disorders (EBDs), which impact their future success in school. The purpose of this study was to conduct a conceptual replication of BEST in CLASS by examining child outcomes from BEST in CLASS--Web, a web-based…

American education has been threatened by low student achievement, high teacher attrition, and proficient teacher shortages for decades. Disruptive classroom behaviors are the primary contributor to teacher attrition and the interlinked dichotomy, but relative to special education, general education lacks both competent teacher preparation and…

This brief provides considerations for conducting and implementing functional behavior assessments (FBA) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs) using virtual technology. There are many situations in which virtual FBA/BIP implementation may be necessary or desired. For example, virtual FBA/BIPs can support students attending schools in areas that…

Up to 80% of children diagnosed with ADHD have symptoms that persist into adulthood (Barkley et al., 2007), and up to 8% of college students report having the disorder (DuPaul et al., 2009). COVID-19 has exacerbated ADHD-related difficulties with concentration, academic performance, and emotional distress (Breaux et al., 2021; Pollak et al.,…

This cluster randomized controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of the CHAMPS classroom management program on the social behavioral and academic outcomes of a large diverse sample of middle school students within an urban context. Participants included 102 teachers and 1,450 students in sixth to eighth grade. Two-level hierarchical linear models…

The World Health Organization identified the promotion of "Nurturing Care Environments" as a global health priority. Responsive caregiving, 1 of 5 domains describing nurturing care, is critical for healthy child development. Relatively little research has evaluated population-level interventions aimed to increase responsive caregiving…

A pivotal response treatment package consisting of clinician-delivered and parent-implemented strategies was recently found to be effective in improving language and social communication deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder. Reciprocal vocal contingency, an automated measure of vocal reciprocity, may provide stronger and…