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…

This case report concerns a woman with intellectual disability, schizoaffective disorder, and avoidance and refusal of having her blood drawn. She required but refused blood draws to properly monitor the therapeutic dose of a necessary psychotropic medication. During intervention at a community-based habilitation setting and under simulated…

Classroom management is a common concern for educators. Teachers with high self-efficacy are strongly linked with having successful characteristics regarding their classroom management styles and strategies. With this in mind, the current study examined classroom teachers' perceived self-efficacy, specifically regarding their behavior…

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which the School-wide Universal Behavior Sustainability Index: School Teams (SUBSIST; McIntosh, Doolittle, Vincent, Horner, & Ervin, 2009), a measure of school and district contextual factors that promote the sustainability of school practices, demonstrated measurement invariance…

Positive adult language is the professional use of words and tone of voice to enable students to learn in an engaged, active way. This includes learning social skills. To guide children toward choosing and maintaining positive behaviors, adults need to carefully choose the words and tone of voice used when speaking to them. Learning to use…

Food selectivity by texture is relatively common in children. Treatments for food selectivity by texture have included components such as stimulus fading, reinforcement, and escape extinction. The purpose of the current study was to attempt to treat food selectivity by texture utilizing antecedent manipulations and reinforcement in the absence of…

Previous research suggests that rationales, or statements describing why a child should comply with a caregiver-delivered instruction, are ineffective at increasing compliance. In the current study, we compared the effects of rationales to a differential reinforcement procedure and a guided compliance procedure. The results indicated that…

The current study examined the effects of the Class-wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT), a class-wide group contingency, on the on-task behavior of all students in a first grade class and the on-task and disruptive behavior of three target students within that class who were nominated by their teacher through a behavioral screening.…

Children with autism have significant communication delays. Although some children develop vocalizations through shaping and differential reinforcement, others rarely exhibit vocalizations, and alternative methods are targeted in intervention. However, vocal language often remains a goal for caregivers and clinicians. Thus, strategies to increase…

Special education professionals and teachers of students with autism face many behavioral and instructional challenges. In addition to teaching content to a demanding population, teachers are often faced with particular circumscribed and special interests that often take up time and divert attention from the students. It is an educators job to…

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) are school-wide, data-driven frameworks for promoting safe schools and student learning. This article explains PBIS and provides practical examples of PBIS implementation by describing a school counselor-run PBIS framework in one elementary school, as part of a larger, district-wide…

Recent research has emphasized the importance of manipulating antecedent variables to reduce interfering behaviors when teaching persons with autism. Few studies have focused on the effects of the rate of teacher-presented instructional demands as an independent variable. In this study, an alternating treatment design was used to evaluate the…

The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-component consultation package in improving teachers' classroom management skills, particularly among teachers with lower baseline levels of knowledge, skills, and intervention-supportive beliefs. Participants were 58 elementary school teachers (93% female; 50% Non-Hispanic…

We compared differential reinforcement plus escape extinction to noncontingent reinforcement plus escape extinction to treat food selectivity exhibited by a young child with autism. The interventions were equally effective for increasing bite acceptance and decreasing problem behaviors. However, a social validity measure suggested that…

Response redirection and response blocking reduce stereotypy maintained by automatic reinforcement. The current study evaluated the effects of redirection and response blocking on the stereotypic responding of three elementary-age children diagnosed with autism. During the treatment evaluation, redirection and response blocking were evaluated…