This article provides a review of current literature on the comparative validity of different functional assessment and analysis strategies. It describes functional assessment as an outcome-driven process and explains observational assessment strategies and using assessment information to plan interventions. A proposed process for teachers and…

This paper offers guidelines for professionals to follow in cases of sexual abuse accusations made by individuals with disabilities through the medium of facilitated communication. A case study of such accusations made by a child with autism illustrates application of the guidelines. (DB)

This article suggests possible applications of experimental analyses using analogues to empirically verify results of functional assessments in classrooms for students with autism and related disabilities. Analogue assessments involve creating conditions in which antecedents and consequences are held constant and specific variables suspected to…

This book introduces "facilitated communication," a method of assisting people with autism to communicate by means of physical assistance in typewriting. The book is organized as a kind of a story around the author's own experience using the facilitated communication method, with examples of fieldwork using qualitative research to…

This article provides in-depth information regarding the most commonly used instruments for the screening or diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders. Reliability, validity, format, and target population are presented to help clinicians select appropriate diagnostic measures. Future directions in the development of new instruments are discussed.…