Play is a universal activity that is an integral part of childhood experiences and aids in the development of important skills. While most children naturally engage in play, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) do not follow the typical pattern of play development and often exhibit delays in play skills. One of the defining characteristics…

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit challenges with reading development. Evidence-based interventions and specialized approaches to reading instruction are currently being implemented across educational contexts for learners with ASD (Machalicek et al., 2008), yet there is limited understanding of how core ASD features may…

Young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrate behavioral deficits and excesses that can adversely affect their play skills. Teaching children with ASD to use activity schedules with embedded scripts have led to increased appropriate game play with other children with autism and typically developing peers; however, there is sparse…

Research demonstrates young children with autism and other developmental disabilities can benefit from participation in play activities with peers. Play provides opportunities to increase social skills across developmental domains in an integrated manner and provides opportunities to develop a sense of belonging and friendship; these goals…

The acquisition of receptive and expressive language skills by students with autism and developmental disabilities (DD) is often delayed, thus making the process of communicating with others challenging. Some students develop language skills incidentally through conversations with their families and peers, but others require instruction in…

In general terms a mand is a requesting response. Teaching children with autism to mand for information is often a difficult task given their language deficits. The present study examined a procedure consisting of contrived motivating operations, prompt fading, manded consequences, error correction, and a brief preference assessment for teaching…

Although electronic tools such as handheld computers have become increasingly common throughout society, implementation of such tools to improve skills in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities has lagged in the professional literature. However, the use of visual scripts for individuals with disabilities, particularly those…

This study aimed to directly compare the effectiveness of Pivotal Response Training (PRT) and Video Modeling (VM) in the acquisition and generalization of scripted play verbalizations and actions as well as the use of novel statements or actions in both the training and generalization settings. All five participants were exposed to both conditions…

This study examined the effectiveness of the Picture Me Playing intervention for increasing the play dialogue of preschool children with ASD during pretend play opportunities with typical peers. Picture Me Playing is a pictorially enhanced, script based intervention targeting character role play through a narrative vignette. A single-treatment…

Many studies have examined ways to improve social functioning of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Some common strategies include: (1) social stories strategy; (2) social scripts strategy; (3) power card strategy; (4) cognitive behavioral modification; and (5) the "I Will" card strategy. The "I Will" card strategy utilizes components…

As part of a collaborative project between a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and a local private business, we examined the effects of video modeling to teach vocational skills to four adolescents and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Video modeling was used to teach the participants to wear a WalkAround[R]…

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has emerged as one of the most effective empirically based strategies for instructing individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Four ABA-based strategies that have been found effective are video modeling, visual strategies, social script fading, and task analysis. Individuals with ASD often struggle with…