Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention package consisting of systematic instruction and aided AAC modeling with speech-output technology on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of socio-communicative behaviors in four minimally speaking,…

Given the importance of parent involvement and parent-implemented interventions in achieving maximum child outcomes, practitioners need valid measures to assess and monitor family outcomes in developing and delivering effective and sustainable interventions. This study examined the structure of the Family Outcomes Survey, Form A, using a sample of…

Family-school partnerships are crucial for promoting positive outcomes and serving as a protective factor for children at-risk for poor school outcomes (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001). This may be particularly important for autistic children, who are at increased developmental risk (Garbacz et al., 2016). However, little research has examined…

Very little research has explored the impact of interventions combining music and technology on children with a dual diagnosis of autism and intellectual disabilities (ID) incorporating the active involvement of school staff. Video recordings and group interviews were used to collect data in this study. Video recordings of five children with…

Dimensions of family-school partnerships, including parent-teacher relationship quality and family educational involvement, are associated with positive outcomes for youth. Family-school partnerships are important for autistic youth, who may particularly benefit from cross-setting supports. Coordinated family-school partnerships may help maximize…

Young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often experience social and communication skill deficits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using a social story delivered through an iPad application to enhance giving compliments in three elementary-aged students with ASD. The social story was modified with written…

This study investigated whether children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children matched on receptive language share resources fairly and reciprocally. Children completed age-appropriate versions of the Ultimatum and Dictator Games with real stickers and an interactive partner. Both groups offered similar numbers of…

Background: Understanding adaptive behaviour variability in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have important implications for early intervention. The purpose of this study was to explore whether autism symptom severity and caregiver depression affected adaptive behaviour in young children with ASD. Method: Data were collected from…

Purpose: Children with autism display marked deficits in initiating and maintaining social interaction. Intervention using play routines can create a framework for developing and maintaining social interaction between these children and their communication partners. Method: Six nonverbal 5- to 8-year-olds with autism were taught to engage in…

Video Self-Modeling (VSM) provides individuals the opportunity to view themselves performing a task beyond their present functioning level through the careful editing of videos. In this study, a single-case multiple-baseline design was used to determine whether VSM would facilitate social initiations across three young children (M = 3 years 10…

Deferred imitation and early social communication skills were compared among speaking and nonspeaking children with autism and children developing typically. Overall, the children with autism showed a lower frequency on measures of deferred imitation and social communication compared with typically developing children. Deferred imitation was…

One way to support the social engagement of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is by identifying features of natural environments that increase the likelihood of social interaction. This descriptive study was an examination of the (a) social engagement of 68 preschoolers with ASD in classrooms, (b) ecological features of classrooms that…

Acupuncture increases brain levels of arginine-vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT), which are known to be involved in the modulation of mammalian social behavior. Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) is often used clinically to produce a similar stimulation to that of acupuncture on the acupoints. In the present study, TEAS was…

This pilot study was designed to test the efficacy of adding home-based Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based (DIR)/Floortime[TM] intervention to the routine care of preschool children with autistic spectrum disorder. Measures of functional emotional development and symptom severity were taken. It was found that after the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the multimedia social stories on the duration of appropriate social engagement of 3 young children with autism. Using a multiple-baseline-across-participants design, the multimedia social stories were implemented, and observations of 10-min play sessions were conducted three times per…