Auditory-visual conditional discrimination training (e.g., receptive identification training, listener responses; AVCD) is ubiquitous in early intervention and special education programs. Nevertheless, some learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) do not appear to benefit from this training despite use of empirically validated treatments. To…

The present review sought to examine contemporary applied behavior analytic (ABA)-based assessment and curriculum protocols for teaching language skills to children with autism and evaluate the evidence supporting their reliability, validity, and effectiveness. Results of the literature search revealed the existence of 18 ABA educational…

School playgrounds offer ample opportunity to observe the unstructured free-play of school-aged children; however, obtaining valid observations can be difficult to accomplish. Recent technological advances in commercially available aerial drones have the potential to contribute to behavior observation work conducted on playground settings. This…

The EarlyBird programme is a group-based psychoeducation intervention for parents of young children with autism. Although it is widely used in the United Kingdom, the evidence base for the programme is very limited. Using a mixed method, non-randomised research design, we aimed to test (1) the acceptability of the research procedures (recruitment,…

Including animals in autism intervention is growing in both research and practice. A systematic literature review was conducted to collate and synthesize all empirical research on animal-assisted intervention (AAI) for autism published from 2012 to 2015. Findings from 28 included studies revealed that AAI programs generally include one animal per…

This study aims to understand the difficulties and the problems which are shown up in usage of evaluation in persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We focused on the Pedagogical Evaluation of all sectors of Kindergarten's Curriculum by preschool early intervention programmes. The method used and the data collected are referred to a case…

This pilot study explored the efficacy of a social-cognitive intervention program for adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Seven adolescents with ASD (mean age = 12.57 years) attended a school-based 10-week program. Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales, Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), and Theory of Mind Inventory were…

Setting variables such as location of parent training, programming with common stimuli, generalization of discrete responses to non-trained settings, and subsequent reduction in child problem behavior may influence the effectiveness of interventions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of home-versus clinic-based training…

A large proportion of national education and treatment centers for persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), including those providing applied behavior analysis (ABA)-based services, show a relatively high percentage of agreement among practitioners on the instruments they routinely use for a variety of purposes, including curriculum design…

A defining feature of children with autism includes stereotypy, characterized as restrictive and repetitive vocal and motor behavior. The current literature review seeks to (a) determine the number of empirical studies using behavioral interventions to treat stereotypy exhibited by children with autism or other pervasive development disorder, (b)…

The purpose of the present investigation was to refine and validate an assessment procedure to identify instructional variables influencing acquisition of conditional discriminations in children diagnosed with autism. An assessment was implemented with eleven individuals to identify the specific instructional variables influencing the individual's…

The PEP-R (psychoeducational profile revised) is an instrument that has been used in many countries to assess abilities and formulate treatment programs for children with autism and related developmental disorders. To the end to provide further information on the PEP-R's psychometric properties, a large sample (N = 137) of children presenting…

Benefits of parent education have been demonstrated for decades. However, there exists a lack of formative evaluation of parent education for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), limiting the interpretation of ongoing and future research. To understand the current status, key characteristics, and evaluation methods of parent…

The current study examined the effects of task interspersal on the performance of matching-to-sample tasks by three children with autism. A pre-baseline assessed each child's mastery level of a large body of matching stimuli. These matching tasks included matching identical and non-identical animals, numbers, letters, and shapes. Through this…

The increase in the rate of autism diagnoses has created a growing demand for teachers who are trained to use effective interventions. Research supports behavioral interventions as effective methods for teaching children with autism, however dissemination of these methods has been problematic. Ineffective training and lack of ongoing support after…