The research-to-practice gap in special education refers to educators' limited use of practices that are supported by empirical evidence. Procedures specifying criteria for the determination of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in special education have the potential to address challenges associated with identifying EBPs. Although meta-analyses and…

Deficits in executive functions (EF) have been found in school-age children and adolescents with externalizing behavior disorders. Present meta-analysis was carried out to determine whether these EF impairments can also be found in preschool children with externalizing behavior problems. Twenty-two studies were included with a total of 4021…

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a classroom management strategy that uses an interdependent group-oriented contingency to promote prosocial behavior and decrease problem behavior. This meta-analysis synthesized single-case research (SCR) on the GBG across 21 studies, representing 1,580 students in pre-kindergarten through Grade 12. The TauU effect…

Of the myriad practices currently utilized for students with disabilities, particularly students with or at risk for emotional and/or behavioral disorder (EBD), functional behavior assessment (FBA) is a practice with an emerging solid research base. However, the FBA research base relies on single-subject design (SSD) and synthesis has relied on…

A two-part systematic review was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of token economies in increasing rates of appropriate classroom behavior for students demonstrating behavioral difficulties. The first part of the review utilized the recently published What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards for evaluating single-subject research to…

MDT provides an empirically based treatment for adolescents with behavioral problems such as anger, oppositional defiant and sexual and physical aggression (Apsche & DiMeo, 2010). It offers therapists a more efficient and timely intervention that positively effects recidivism rates (Apsche, Bass & Murphy, 2004). Based on Cognitive Behavioral…

Two previous reviews have indicated that self-regulated strategy instruction (SRSD) is an evidence-based practice that can improve the writing skills of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to extend the findings and analytic methods of previous reviews by examining published studies regarding…

The findings of a meta-analysis of the effect of reading instruction on the reading skills of students with or at risk of behavioral disorders (BD) are reported. The goal of the synthesis was to extend the work of Coleman and Vaughn by (a) detailing independent variables and outcome measures for each study, (b)including studies sampling from…

The relationship between social and communicative interventions and transition-related outcomes for secondary-aged youth with disabilities is explored in this systematic review. In all, 30 studies intervening with 316 youth with a broad range of disability labels (both high- and low-incidence disabilities) were reviewed. Subgroup analyses were…

Professionals working with children who have severe emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) need to understand the risk and protective factors (RPFs) that are correlated with the development of these behavior patterns, for at least 3 reasons. First, significant numbers of students experience negative outcomes or fail to achieve positive outcomes.…

Objective: To conduct a meta-analysis on randomized, controlled treatment trials of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Method: Studies were included if they employed randomized, controlled methodology and treated young people (19 years or under) with OCD. A comprehensive literature search identified 13 RCTs containing 10…

The relationship between transition planning/coordinating interventions and transition outcomes for secondary-aged youth with disabilities was explored in this systematic review. A total of 31 studies intervening with 859 youth with a wide variety of disabilities were reviewed. Using the transition intervention framework of Kohler and Field (2003)…

Twenty peer-reviewed journal articles that described outcomes of interventions that took place in school settings and either focused on anger or included anger as a dependent variable were meta-analyzed. No differences in outcomes were found for group comparisons by school setting, special education status, entrance criteria, or treatment agents.…

A meta-analysis of 58 studies was performed in which IQ, academic achievement, and behavior characteristics were examined across students with learning disabilities (LD), mild intellectual disabilities (MID), and emotional/behavioral disabilities (E/BD). The effect sizes between students with LD and MID were the largest in the domains of IQ and…

A meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of Behavioral Parent Training for children and adolescents with externalizing behaviors and disruptive behavior disorders was conducted with 79 outcome studies conducted between 1966 and 2001. Separate analyses were conducted for studies employing between-subjects, within-subjects, and single-subject…