One of the most important outcomes in a child's education is the ability to read proficiently, which can improve future academic progress and occupational success. Due to the impairments in social and communication areas of development for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), literacy provides the possibility of improved communication as well as the building of relationships with others and their environment. Unfortunately, children with ASD, particularly those with moderate to severe symptomology (level 3) are often excluded from literacy instruction due to the substantial support needed for independence. Research has demonstrated that word comprehension is a critical component to overall reading comprehension, and that reading comprehension is an area where children with ASD are negatively impacted the most in comparison to their neurotypical peers. The gap in research exists with children who have level 3 ASD, because they often display maladaptive or unsafe behavior within the classroom setting and are dismissed from studies. To address this critical need of this underserved population and research gap, the DIP aimed to develop and explore the effectiveness of a vocabulary intervention program for elementary students with level 3 ASD, entitled "ABA Picture to Text Word Comprehension Intervention." Drawing on methods from Innovation/Intervention Research, the DIP employed a changing criterion design (Klein et al., 2015; Manolov et al., 2020; Tanious, 2022) to develop the intervention program. In addition, and Intervention Rating Profile was used to explore the social validity of the program by gathering perspectives of teachers, behavior analysts, and teacher assistants. The intervention took place at a Local Education Agency (LEA) with three male students diagnosed with ASD, who ranged in age from 6 years 2 months to 10 years 3 months. Findings indicate that participants increased word comprehension, decreased maladaptive behaviors, and increased socially appropriate behavior with socially valid perspectives from the immediate stakeholders. Use of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) teaching strategies, along with building of rapport with the participants were likely key factors in the results. The intervention provided a feasible example for improvement in elements of literacy acquisition as well as that it demonstrated the importance of well-designed academic interventions to the development of appropriate social behavior and reduction in maladaptive behavior in the classroom for children with level 3 ASD. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]