Anxiety often co-occurs with autism spectrum disorder, yet there are few valid and reliable instruments for measuring anxiety in youth with autism spectrum disorder. This article describes the modification of the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale for youth with autism spectrum disorder and systematic psychometric evaluation in a well-characterized…

Although a demand analysis is helpful for identifying potential establishing operations for the functional analysis (FA) demand condition, it may not always be practical due to time constraints. A potential alternative is the Negative Reinforcement Rating Scale (NRRS), an indirect assessment tool that may serve as a time efficient alternative to a…

Data derived from universal screening procedures are increasingly utilized by schools to identify and provide additional support to students at risk for behavioral and emotional concerns. As screening has the potential to be resource intensive, effort has been placed on the development of efficient screening procedures, including brief behavior…

The present study examined the relationships between the standardized applied behavior analysis (ABA) direct assessment, the PEAK Comprehensive Assessment (PCA), and established assessments commonly used in educational and clinical settings, including the Childhood Autism Rating Scale - Third Edition (CARS-3), the PDD Behavior Inventory (PDDBI),…

School-based universal screening for behavioral/emotional risk is a necessary first step in the identification of students who might need services within a behavioral response to intervention model. When choosing among the available screening measures, psychometric information such as reliability and validity of the scores is critical to inform…

The aim of this study was to provide psychometric evidence related to the "Behavioral and Emotional Screening System Teacher Rating Scale-Preschool" form's (BESS TRS-P) ability to identify emerging problems in preschool children. Reliability and validity associated with screener scores were compared by analyzing teacher ratings of…

A line of research has supported the incremental and construct validity of multi-informant assessment. Accordingly, multiple universal screening systems have been designed to support the collection of information from multiple informants. The purpose of the study was to expand the "Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener"…

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a 25-item screening measure for emotional and behavioral problems in children and adolescents aged 4 to 16. Structural equation modeling was used to test the five-factor structure of teacher and parent ratings on the British version of the SDQ in a community sample of 501 Canadian children aged…

The current study examined between-teacher variance in teacher ratings of student behavioral and emotional risk to identify student, teacher and classroom characteristics that predict such differences and can be considered in future research and practice. Data were taken from seven elementary schools in one school district implementing universal…

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the reliability of Direct Behavior Ratings--Social Competence (DBR-SC) ratings. Participants included 60 students identified as possessing deficits in social competence, as well as their 23 classroom teachers. Teachers used DBR-SC to complete ratings of 5 student behaviors within the general…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the internal consistency reliability, validity, and diagnostic accuracy of Social, Academic, and "Emotional Behavior Risk Screener--Teacher Rating Scale" (SAEBRS) scores. Teachers (n = 68) universally screened 1,242 elementary students using two measures: the SAEBRS and the "Behavioral and…

Children and youth with deficits in social competence present substantial challenges for schools, teachers, parents and peers. These challenges cut across disciplinary, instructional and interpersonal domains and they frequently create chaotic home, school and classroom environments. Schools are charged with teaching an increasingly diverse…

Research Findings: This study explored the quality of teacher-child interactions within the context of a newly developed standardized task, Teacher-Child Structured Play Task (TC-SPT). A sample of 146 teachers and 345 children participated. Children who displayed the highest disruptive behaviors within each classroom were selected to participate.…

This study provides preliminary analysis of the Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale-2nd Edition--Self-Report, which was designed to screen individuals aged 10 years and older for anxiety and behavior symptoms. Score reliability and internal and external facets of validity were good for a screening-level test.

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…