Single-case design has a long history of use for assessing intervention effectiveness for children with disabilities. Although these designs have been widely employed for more than 50 years, recent years have been especially dynamic in terms of growth in the use of single-case design and application of standards designed to improve the validity…

The effectiveness of a weighted blanket intervention and structured work boxes for improving engagement for a child with autism during math circle time in a general education kindergarten classroom were evaluated relative to baseline using an alternating treatments design. The structured work boxes resulted in higher levels of engagement, and the…

Provision of small "sensory" fidget toys during group activities is a low-effort intervention that may be used during group activities to encourage attendance and engagement by children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the noncontingent provision of fidget toys during a group activity.…

Identifying potentially effective practices for improving outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex process. In this article, we respond to recent reviews of evidence-based practices for individuals with ASD. We identify possible problems and make suggestions in relation to identifying well-specified practices,…

Social skills interventions designed to increase pro-social interactions for individuals with autism spectrum disorders are critical, but the relative effectiveness of these interventions is not well understood. More than 250 single-case design studies in 113 articles were reviewed and described in terms of participants, settings, arrangements,…

Coaching has been shown to improve the use of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs), but relatively few studies have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of coaching for adults belonging to minority groups and paraprofessionals in public elementary school settings. In this study, a multiple probe design across participants was used…

Research in early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) is focused on identifying effective practices related to positive outcomes for young children with disabilities and their families. Individual responses to evidence-based practices are often variable, and non-responders are common. Single case research (SCR) might be…

Paraprofessionals need adequate training and supports to assist young children with autism spectrum disorders to engage in appropriate social interactions during small group activities with their peers. In this study, we used in situ coaching and brief post-session feedback to improve the use of environmental arrangement, prompting, and praise by…

Although comparison studies are important in early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE), results of well-designed comparison studies are likely to be unpublished because of undifferentiated or differently differentiated results across participants. The purpose of this article is to highlight the utility of comparison designs in…

Coaching parents to implement evidence-based strategies is one method for increasing the number of hours young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) access intervention services. The purpose of this study was to teach parents of young children with ASD to implement naturalistic strategies during play in a clinic setting. Results indicate a…