Social skills training programs have increasingly enlisted same-age typical peers as instructors in the teaching of social skills to children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The inclusion of peers in the teaching process has been found to be a critical component in these programs. Despite strong support for incorporating…

This study is a replication and extension of Reeve, Reeve, Townsend, and Poulson (2007) evaluating the effects of a treatment package that included multiple-exemplar training, video modeling, prompting, and reinforcement on helping of 3 adolescents with autism. Results demonstrated that all participants acquired the helping responses. Probes…

Discrete-trial functional analysis (DTFA) is an experimental method for determining the variables maintaining problem behavior in the context of natural routines. Functional communication training (FCT) is an effective method for replacing problem behavior, once identified, with a functionally equivalent response. We implemented these procedures…

We evaluated a behavioral skills training program for adults with autism spectrum disorder and mild or no intellectual disabilities who were interested in learning the skills used by behavior therapists to work with young children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Four adults, aged 21 to 30 years, participated. We trained each…

We taught three high school students with high-functioning autism to increase their novel peer-directed questions when using a communication book to converse with general education partners at school. Novel question training was associated with participants asking peer-directed questions not displayed in communication books across a variety of…

A multiple probe design was used to assess the combined effects of video modeling, graduated guidance and community-based instruction for teaching children with autism how to protect themselves from the lures of strangers. Parental opinions were also assessed in the study. Three children with autism (aged 6 to 11 years) participated in the study.…

The rise in the number of students found to have autism has been staggering over the past ten years. Accommodating these students effectively and appropriately in a public school is a challenge many teachers are deemed with, sometimes without adequate training. This study was aimed at affecting the underlying social misunderstandings inherent to…

Children with autism have severe and pervasive impairments in social interactions and communication that impact most areas of daily living and often limit independent engagement in leisure activities. We taught four children with autism to engage in an age-appropriate leisure skill, playing the video game Guitar Hero II[TM], through the use of (a)…

As the number of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is rising, there is increasing demand for evidence-based interventions that are efficient and easy to implement in school settings. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention protocol featuring guided practice, coaching, modeling,…

This study examined the effectiveness of video modeling to teach a preschooler with autism to imitate previously mastered and not mastered actions during song and toy play activities. A general case approach was used to examine the instructional universe of preschool songs and select exemplars that were most likely to facilitate generalization.…

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience extreme difficulty learning and engaging in new social interactions. The behavior analysis research literature contains evidence that several procedures including discrete trial training, incidental teaching, and in-vivo modeling are effective teaching modalities when teaching social skills…

The pilot investigation evaluated a theatrical intervention program, Social Emotional NeuroScience Endocrinology (SENSE) Theatre, designed to improve socioemotional functioning and reduce stress in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eight children with ASD were paired with typically developing peers that served as expert models.…

Children with autism spectrum disorder show deficits in social skills such as initiating conversation, responding in social situations, social problem-solving, and others. These deficits are targeted through the use of social skills interventions, some of which use a technology-based approach as a resource-efficient alternative to common forms of…

Video-modeling (VM) is a widely used instructional technique that has been applied to the education of children with developmental disabilities. One form of VM that lacks in-depth analysis is point-of-view video modeling (POVM). The current study investigated the use of POVM to teach three children diagnosed with autism to initiate and maintain a…

This meta-analysis investigated the efficacy of peer-mediated interventions for promoting social interactions among children from birth to eight years of age diagnosed with ASD. Forty-five single-subject design studies were analyzed and the effect sizes were calculated by the regression model developed by Allison and Gorman (1993). The overall…