Association for Behavior Analysis International

Youth with disabilities often present with challenging behaviors and variable skill performance during instructional programming. Such challenges can directly affect their ability to achieve desired school outcomes related to their academic, behavioral, and/or social domains – all influenced by their engagement in the instructional task. In this symposium, we will integrate the findings of four single-case design studies rooted in applied behavior analysis principles which exemplify positive improvements in youth engagement through a) a variety of intervention instructional approaches (i.e., literacy strategies, behavioral strategies, self-regulatory skills) to address such challenges, and with such approaches applied b) across disability populations (i.e., ADHD, autism, emotional and behavioral disorder, learning disability, intellectual disability), c) ages (i.e., kindergarten through adolescence), d) settings (i.e., traditional classroom, alternative residential summer program, residential treatment center), and e) interventionist (i.e., peers, teachers, researchers). The collective findings of these studies highlight the utility and flexibility of engagement and outcome focused instructional approaches applied to school-age disability populations. Discussion on the connections across these studies as related to applied research and feasibility aspects of each approach will occur with attention to future research directions, practitioner implementation, and social validity.

Practitioners in schools and alternative settings

Assessing a student's acquisition rates (ARs) is a reliable way to determine how many new words should be taught in one lesson without reducing retention. Exceeding a student's AR can result in frustration and problem behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of AR on the off-task behavior of kindergarten students while participating in a commonly used sight-word instruction video. Participants included 39 kindergarten students whose ARs were assessed before showing the sight-word video. Behavior was measured as on- and off-task using momentary time-sampling with 10-s intervals. Results indicated that students' time off task increased after exceeding their ARs, with a noticeable immediate increase. The implications and limitations of these results are discussed.

Teachers are required to use evidence-based practices to improve outcomes for students with autism, and there is a substantial body of work concerning evidence-based practices for these students (e.g., Hume et al., 2021). Yet there is comparatively less research focusing on feasible approaches to train teachers to implement these strategies with fidelity in the typical classroom setting without the assistance of the researcher (Watkins et al., 2019). The purpose of this study was to train a teacher to train peers to deliver a peer-mediated intervention and to assess the effects of the intervention on the social interaction skills of three elementary school students with autism and intellectual disability. We used a behavioral skills training and task analysis package to teach the teacher to train peers to use support strategies and monitor intervention fidelity. Results of a multiple probe design across three participant peer dyads indicate that the teacher was able to train peers to implement strategies with fidelity, and increases in social initiations, responses, and cooperative play across all dyads were observed. Generalization of skills and high levels of social validity were also noted. Recommendations for practitioners and researchers conducting work in classroom settings will be provided.