The world often goes too fast for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to process. We tested the therapeutic effectiveness of input slowing in children with ASD. Over 12 months, 12 children with ASD had weekly speech therapy sessions where stimuli were slowly played on a PC, while 11 age- and level-matched children with ASD had speech…

Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS), also called 22q13.3 deletion syndrome, is a rare genetic disorder affecting at least 2,000 people worldwide (Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation, 2019, How rare is Phelan-McDermid?). PMS has many distinguishing characteristics and many medical specialties have been recommended to treat the clinical features. While…

Through a selective review of the literature, this article examines the theoretical origins and early use of microteaching and charts its development over the last nearly six decades in the field of teacher education. From its beginning in the 1960's as a method for pre-service teacher behavioural modification with new portable video technology,…

Evidence-based practices (EBPs) are strategies shown through rigorous experimentation to be effective when implemented as designed by educators in the field. The purpose of this review is to (a) describe the state and quality of evidence-based reviews and meta-analyses of studies on classroom and behavior management interventions for students with…

We examined potential phenotypic differences in eye gaze avoidance exhibited by boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS). In Study 1, the Eye Contact Avoidance Scale (ECAS) was administered to caregivers of boys aged 7-18 years with FXS (n = 148), ASD (n = 168), and mixed developmental disabilities (MDD; n =…

Self-harm and suicidal behaviors are prevalent among autistic adults without intellectual disability (ID). Emotion dysregulation (ED), the difficulty in modulating emotions, has been identified as an important risk factor. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has been proved effective to treat ED in disorders other than autism spectrum disorder. Our…

We used real world data to summarize comorbidities and interventions among patients newly diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Data were derived from two claims-based US healthcare databases; Medicaid and Optum to construct a retrospective cohort of 36,000 patients. Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity-Disorder (ADHD) was the most common…

Hospitals, with many features that can evoke severe behavior in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), often use restraint as a behavior management strategy. Prior research on restraint in patients with ASD has primarily focused on children or specific departments. Twenty-five physicians and medical trainees from an urban teaching hospital…

This study evaluated the effects of a function-based self-advocacy (FBSA) intervention, which provided systematic and explicit instruction to three students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders on how to self-advocate their needs in regard to behavioral support based on the function of their behavior. We used a single-case,…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) generally have behavior support plans that are based on a functional behavioral assessment. This article provides educators practical guidelines for conducting a "multiple stimulus without replacement" (MSWO) preference assessment to rank order preferred activities that will align…

It is common for children with autism spectrum disorder to experience feeding problems that develop at an early age and include picky eating, food refusal, and rapid eating. This can lead to medical complications such as gastrointestinal issues or nutritional deficiencies. Feeding problems in children with autism can result in social-emotional…

This single-case experimental design study examined the effects of virtual training and coaching on behavior technician implementation of a naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention focused on imitation, Reciprocal Imitation Teaching (RIT), with young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Four behavior technicians were trained and…

Methods to efficiently train instructors to implement evidence-based procedures with children diagnosed with developmental disabilities have been a prominent interest in educational and clinical settings. Behavioral skills training (BST) is frequently recommended and includes four components beginning with instruction. In most studies, the…

Increasingly, empathy is a topic of discussion and instruction. Often used as a synonym to describe the socially acceptable and friendly behaviors we want to see more of in our society and specifically among adolescents, empathy is being used as a catchall phrase, confusing efforts to teach people how to choose empathetic behaviors. Adolescents…

Educators feel overwhelmed by managing challenging behaviors which often leads to burnout and turnover (Clotfelter et al., 2006; Kokkinos, 2007; Simon & Johnson, 2015). However, professional development (PD) in evidenced-based behavior management practices (EBMPs) is sparse with current PD models yielding varied outcomes (Darling-Hammond et…