We conducted a meta-analysis of single-subject research studies investigating the effectiveness of antecedent strategies grounded in behavioral momentum for improving compliance and on-task performance for students with autism. First, we assessed the research rigor of those studies meeting our inclusionary criteria. Next, in order to apply a…

In contrast to Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI), there are far fewer meta-analyses evaluating Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs) (Schreibman et al., 2015). Indeed, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT)--a prominent NDBI--lacks meta-analytic studies. In the context of developing a line of research on the…

The purpose of this review was to identify naturalistic language interventions for increasing spontaneous expressive language (defined in this review as absence of verbal prompt or other verbalization from adults or peers) in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Also, the methodological rigor and effectiveness of each study were evaluated…

Meta-analysis has become a popular tool to statistically integrate results across studies in order to formulate more general conclusions on treatment effectiveness. Unfortunately, traditional meta-analytic applications fail to answer the question whether enough cumulative knowledge is available to draw convincing statistical conclusions. Leaving…

Social stories play a significant part in the teaching skills and behaviors to children with ASD who lack social skills. The purpose of this study is to analyze studies in which social stories were used for teaching social skills to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The present study includes a descriptive review and meta-analysis…

Rates and onset of regression were meta-analyzed from 85 articles representing 29,035 participants with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Overall prevalence rate for regression was 32.1, 95% CI [29.5, 34.8] occurring at mean of 1.78 years, 95% CI [1.67, 1.89]. Regression prevalence rates differed according to four types of regression: language…

Evaluation of evidence-based treatments is important for adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) given the increasing number of interventions available and the prevalence of ASD. In this study, we sought to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral interventions for this population by conducting a meta-analysis of published…

This meta-analysis used hierarchical linear modeling to examine 115 single-case studies with 343 participants that examined the effectiveness of social skills interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The average effect size of the included studies was 1.40 (SD = 0.43, 95% CL = 1.32-1.48, N = 115). In the further, several…

This paper presents an overview of 5 meta-analyses of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) published in 2009 and 2010. There were many differences between meta-analyses, leading to different estimates of effect and overall conclusions. The weighted mean effect sizes across…

Background: The rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) increases the need for evidence-based behavioral treatments to lessen the impact of symptoms on children's functioning. At present, there are no curative or psychopharmacological therapies to effectively treat all symptoms of the disorder. Early intensive behavioral intervention…

Originally designed to enable young children with autism lacking functional communication to initiate requests and to describe what they observed, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) has been the subject of an ever-expanding body of research and development. Thirty-four peer-reviewed published reports on PECS are analyzed in this…

The meta analysis examined the ecological validity of 241 research studies concerned with changes in targeted behaviors in the moderately or profoundly retarded or autistic. Analysis of setting (least restrictive or not), maintenance, generalization, and social validity of procedures and outcomes indicated only a slight trend toward increased…

Analysis of 117 research articles reporting use of behavioral interventions with single subjects with autism concluded that behavioral treatments are effective in reducing problematic behaviors. Type of target behavior and type of treatment did not moderate average treatment effect. Reliability of observation, number of treatment data points, and…

A meta-analysis was performed on the 133 cognitive and behavioral papers in autism using comparison groups in the 1999-2002 period. High-functioning (average IQ: 84.7), adolescents (average, 14.4 years) are largely dominant. IQ is the most frequent matching variable in use (51.2%). The instruments that are most frequently used to determine IQ or…