This review evaluates research on the treatment of challenging behavior in school settings for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Electronic database searches were carried out to identify studies published between 1995 and 2005. Twenty-six studies were identified. A variety of procedures were implemented in these studies to decrease…

A review of 158 applied behavior analysis studies with children as subjects, published in the "Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis" between 1980 and 1990, found that (1) 16% measured the accuracy of independent variable implementation, and (2) two-thirds did not operationally define components of the independent variable. Specific recommendations…

Antecedent conditions involving instructor's task demands and social comments were evaluated for three students with severe disabilities who exhibited problem behavior. An instructor emitted high rates of social comments and gradually faded in task demands. Social validity assessments indicated that substantial improvements were perceived in…

This study sought to assess the social validity of teacher and parent implemented assessment-based intervention for challenging behaviour in young children. The Behavior Intervention Rating Scale was completed by adults at the end of intervention for each participant. Overall ratings were high for both intervention acceptability and intervention…

This paper discusses the practice of social validity assessment in applied behavior analysis, proposes elements that should be included in state-of-the art assessment procedures, offers a taxonomy of consumers to guide the construction and circulation of assessments, and suggests strategies to improve social validity assessment. (JDD)