Rising Autism diagnosis rates have prompted numerous awareness campaigns, treatment programs, social-emotional learning initiatives, research institutes, etc. Developing analogously, the Neurodiversity movement--an activist-led social justice movement focused on equity and justice for neurodivergent people--has presented compelling critiques of…

Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs) refers to interventions grounded in behavioral learning and developmental sciences. These interventions are commonly implemented in natural settings with children with autism and intellectual developmental disabilities. Although NDBI is a relatively new term in the behavior analytic…

Children can experience unintentional injuries due to safety threats found in their environments (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008). Researchers have shown that children can be taught safety responses using behavioral skills training (BST) and in situ training (IST). Within the safety skills literature, there is evidence that…

Training frontline staff to respond to and manage challenging behaviors of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) poses a pervasive problem in the delivery of treatment services. Traditional synchronous staff training methods are expensive, time-consuming, and often do not result in high treatment integrity. Video Modeling alternative to…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have challenges with communication, changes in routine, and processing social information and communication that can affect their ability to learn and respond successfully to safety threats. When given behavioral skills training (BST), children with and without ASD have demonstrated gains in safety…

This applied dissertation was designed to improve the effectiveness of professional educators in using the methodology of functional behavior assessment (FBA) and function assessment-based intervention (FABI) to reduce challenging behaviors exhibited by students with Down syndrome (DS), or a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism spectrum…

This dissertation was designed to determine which behavior analytic intervention was more effective in the treatment and reduction of mouthing non-nutritive substances in children diagnosed with autism. This study included four participants in an A-B-A reversal design with a component analysis across four intervention phases. The study…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is complex and multifaceted, and individuals diagnosed with ASD benefit from an interprofessional approach to treatment (American Psychiatric Association , 2022; Cox, 2012; LaFrance, 2019). Unfortunately, however, many individuals who provide services to individuals with ASD report feeling ill-equipped to provide…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that impacts areas of social communication and social interaction. The prevalence of ASD has increased in the last ten years. Symptoms and behaviors include restrictive and repetitive movements, highly restricted and fixated interests, insistence on sameness, and hypo or hyper-reactivity.…

Behavior analysts are expected to provide high quality services to autistic individuals/individuals with ASD. Quality behavior intervention requires the interventionist to demonstrate critical thinking skills, in-the-moment analysis, flexibility, and clinical judgment (J.B. Leaf et al., 2016a; J.B. Leaf et al., 2016d, Soluaga et al., 2008). Yet,…

Many children on the autism spectrum struggle significantly in their early language development, entering kindergarten with little or no functional speech (Kasari et al., 2014; Rose et al., 2016). Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) are a promising approach for supporting early language and communication development for…

Parent-teacher collaboration is crucial for optimizing outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorder (SWAs). This qualitative study addressed perceptions among parents of elementary-aged SWAs regarding the lack of transfer of school-based behavioral skills to the home environment. Parental perceptions of the transfer of behavioral…

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the evidence-based treatment for individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) that has the strongest evidence of positive effects on the ASD population. However, historically, ABA has developed a reputation of limited social validity, with Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) often being cited…

This single-case experimental design study examined the effects of virtual training and coaching on behavior technician implementation of a naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention focused on imitation, Reciprocal Imitation Teaching (RIT), with young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Four behavior technicians were trained and…

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often struggle with comorbid disorders like anxiety. However, special education teachers may lack the training to implement specific interventions in the classroom setting for adolescents with ASD and anxiety. This qualitative action research study was conducted to examine how special education…