Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have limited spoken communication skills are commonly taught to mand by exchanging picture symbols. Competent manding via symbol exchange relies on conditional discrimination--that is, selecting the picture symbol that corresponds to the desired reinforcer. Picture Exchange Communication System…

For children with autism or intellectual and developmental disabilities who also have complex communication needs, communication is a necessary skill set to increase independence and quality of life. Understanding the how, where, and communication style being taught is important for identifying deficits in the field as well as which interventions…

Functional communication training (FCT) is a well-established, evidence-based practice used to address challenging behavior among individuals across settings, ages, and disability categories. However, the research is limited on the implementation of FCT in inclusive school settings for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The…

The current meta-analytic review analyzed 43 studies published in English, Chinese, and Japanese to determine the effects of caregiver involvement for promoting communication skills of individuals with ASD and IDD. Tau-U effect sizes, the Kruskal-Wallis H test, and the Dunn post hoc test were employed to calculate for moderator analyses: child…

A four-week global interdisciplinary service-learning project to Botswana, was developed to increase cultural humility and cross-cultural communication skills in 12 current and future educators of children with autism and developmental disabilities. Participants worked alongside peer educators in eight different special education units across…