The field of positive behavior support (PBS) has expanded and evolved significantly since the first issue of "Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions" ("JPBI") was published. To ascertain how evolution of the field was reflected in the research, we examined trends in empirical studies published in "JPBI" since its…

Reading instruction for students with intellectual disability (ID) has traditionally focused on single skill instruction such as sight word reading. Given that multicomponent reading interventions have been linked to improved reading skills across multiple reading components for students in general education, it is logical to examine the impact of…

Increased numbers of young children identified with autism combine with changing paradigms for service delivery models to create a need to ensure that information is available to facilitate implementation of effective practices in children's natural learning environments. A recent synthesis that identifies evidence-based practices (EBPs) for…

In consultation, school psychologists may offer educators direct training to support the implementation of classroom interventions aimed to improve student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review of single-case design research studies during which educators received direct training to implement a classroom…

Although an important part of adult life, individuals with significant disabilities experience low rates of gainful employment. The purpose of this review was to summarize and analyze the literature on teaching vocational skills to individuals with significant disabilities. Sixty-two articles (with 75 experiments) included in this review were…

This article is intended to synthesize the broader literature investigating the effectiveness and salient features of interventions designed to enhance the social competence of youth and adults with autism spectrum disorder. Outcomes for adults with autism spectrum disorder remain poor with only minimal improvement shown for decades. Among 796…

Individual contingency management systems have been used successfully to improve behaviors in school settings--including preschools--but often come with associated challenges in time and personnel management. Group contingencies, in the form of independent, interdependent, and dependent contingencies, have been used in preschools to address these…

The results are presented from a systematic review of the literature that examined findings of published studies about play-based interventions for children and youth with ADHD. Guided by the research question, "What is the current status of evidence for using play-based interventions to improve outcomes for students with ADHD?," this…

Functional living skills are skills needed for being an independent individual in society. As individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) get older, the discrepancy between functional living skills of themselves and their peers increases. However, it is not known which type of intervention is more or less effective specifically for adolescent-…

Treatment fidelity data (descriptive and statistical) are critical to interpreting and generalizing outcomes of intervention research. Despite recommendations for treatment fidelity reporting from funding agencies and researchers, past syntheses have found treatment fidelity is frequently unreported (e.g., Swanson, "The Journal of Special…

The social and ecological validity of a body of research may impact the degree to which interventions will be used outside of research contexts. The purpose of this review was to determine the extent to which social and ecological validity were demonstrated for interventions designed to increase social skills for young children with autism…

Spelling is one of the most challenging areas for students with learning disabilities (LD), and improving spelling outcomes for these students is of high importance. In this synthesis, we examined the effects of spelling and reading interventions on spelling outcomes for students with LD in Grades K through 12. A systematic search of peer-reviewed…

Given the continued changes in demographic diversity of students in the United States, it is important to ensure that participants included in special education research reflect the diversity of the classroom. We examined 16 years of intervention research across 12 special education journals to evaluate the extent to which diverse student…

The current meta-analysis examined the evidence for interventions to improve compliance of students with disabilities in school settings. Experimental investigations that investigated compliance or non-compliance and took place with students in a school setting who were between birth and 23 years old were evaluated using the Council for…

Treatment acceptability (TA) is critical when selecting and implementing an intervention, as TA is associated with treatment outcomes. The significance of TA is reflected in school psychology models for services that state that school psychologists should address TA during development, implementation, and evaluation of interventions. However, the…