Many students with autism engage in a variety of complex stereotypic behaviors, impacting task completion and interfering with social opportunities. Self-monitoring is an intervention with empirical support for individuals with ASD to increase behavioral repertoires and decrease behaviors that are incompatible with successful outcomes. However,…

Individuals with developmental disabilities (DD) depend on caregivers to meet physical, emotional, and social needs. This makes relationships with caregivers particularly important to quality of life. Without intervention, social interactions may be limited and ineffective, affecting relationships with caregivers and thus quality of life for…

Trolling and cyberbullying are predominant behaviors in an internet culture often motivated by a desire to create discord or distress. Despite significant effort, the verbal, psychological, and emotional abuse spurred by individuals who troll or cyberbully is impossible to fully monitor and control. In addition, psychological interventions for…

The goal of this project was to evaluate the effects of an innovative intervention model created specifically for youth in alternative school settings. The Motivational Interviewing with At-Risk Students (MARS) Mentoring Program is a unique intervention rooted in self-determination and behavior modification theories and delivered through a…

The purpose of this systematic literature review was to summarize single-case intervention studies involving paraprofessional-implemented systematic instruction for students with disabilities. In the 19 reviewed studies, 60 paraprofessionals received training to implement systematic instruction with most learning naturalistic language strategies,…

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to explore how PBIS and equity interacted according to school and district leaders. Research methods/approach: This study examined how five schools made meaning of the implementation process, ongoing efforts, and structures created. Through a case study including interviews, focus groups, and observations,…

This study explores the use of framing techniques to help educators, administrators, and leaders to determine the effectiveness of programs designed to reduce elementary school male aggression.

This column presents a strategy for teachers to use with students with challenging behaviors motivated by a desire to escape a setting. Although many detailed strategies are available for students with behavior problems, few provide a structured approach for working with the students motivated by escape or avoidance. To effectively intervene with…

Many neurological and psychiatric disorders are characterized by deficits in cognitive flexibility. Modeling cognitive flexibility in mice enables the investigation of mechanisms underlying these deficits. The majority of currently available behavioral tests targeting this cognitive domain are reversal learning tasks that require scheduled food…

Traumatic experiences early in life can contribute to the development of mood and anxiety disorders that manifest during adolescence and young adulthood. In young rats exposed to acute fear or stress, alterations in neural development can lead to enduring behavioral abnormalities. Here, we used a modified extinction intervention…

Implementing evidenced-based interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the educational setting is of utmost importance for their long-term success. Unfortunately, interventions often are not implemented with efficacy due to the overwhelming demands on educators attempting to meet the individualized needs of each student.…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have qualitative impairments in social interaction and often prefer food or tangible reinforcement to social reinforcement. Thus, therapists who work with children with ASD often use food or tangible items as reinforcers to increase appropriate behaviors or decrease problem behaviors. The goal of the…

Function-based assessments and interventions are routinely used in school settings as an effective method to address problem behaviors that impede the learning of the student or others. When function-based interventions are not successful, it is often due to problems with treatment integrity (TI). Using an ABCBC single subject design, this study…

Exercise usually refers to the physical activity in which one engages in order to achieve a healthier level of physical fitness. The integration of daily opportunities for physical activity for learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is important for improving their basic physical fitness. In addition to physical fitness, exercise also can be…

Based on the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), discrete trial training (DTT) is used to develop a new response to a stimulus. DTT is based upon the principle of breaking down behavior into discrete steps called a "single teaching unit" or learning trials. Trials are repeated several times with the learner receiving…