Recent legislation has increased the emphasis on including students with disabilities in the general education classroom. However, students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit a wide range of behaviors that make inclusion difficult. To date, there has been little research to identify best practices in reducing problem behavior and…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates the implementation of a behavior intervention plan based on a functional behavioral assessment when a student's behavior necessitates disciplinary actions. However, IDEA does not provide any clear guidelines as to what the plans should contain nor how they can address behaviors that…

This dissertation examined the perspectives of New Jersey public school special education administrators on factors that influenced their decision to use or not use applied behavior analysis (ABA), an educational methodology, for their in-district programs serving children with autism. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has called…