EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICES
Embedded Files
EBP's are instructional strategies that have been the subject of research studies AND have produced positive outcomes for individuals with ASD. Evidenced Based Practices have been tested in the classroom, so that the data shows they are more effective than other methods or strategies. The steps of these practices can be duplicated in other classrooms that serve students with ASD and teachers can expect similar successful results.
EBP's are instructional strategies that have been the subject of research studies AND have produced positive outcomes for individuals with ASD. Evidenced Based Practices have been tested in the classroom, so that the data shows they are more effective than other methods or strategies. The steps of these practices can be duplicated in other classrooms that serve students with ASD and teachers can expect similar successful results.
Communication & Language Needs
Students who struggle with basic verbal communication may need an Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) device.
This presentation answers questions parents or teachers may have about AAC devices.
An EBP for a student who needs better access to communication with others is the Picture Exchange Communication System, PECS. PECS is a system for providing individuals with a picture vocabulary so that they can learn to initiate conversations and participate socially with their peers. Training for teachers on PECs includes prompting, reinforcement and systematic error correction. PECs has been shown to be effective intervention according to numerous studies as described in a synthesis by researcher Kai-Chien Tien.
Learn more here with this PECS Module
Visual Supports help learners process information more efficiently through the use of pictures, diagrams, and charts.
Learn more with this Visual Supports Module
Graphic Organizers are a type of visual support that help students to communicate their ideas visually using pictures, shapes, and text. There are many variations of graphic organizers such as the Venn Diagram which consists of 2 intersecting circles that compare two topics. The parts of the topics that are different are written or drawn inside the circles. The shared characteristics are written or drawn inside the center where the circles overlap. Look here for more ideas for graphic organizers
Functional Communication Training (FCI) helps replace less effective communication behaviors with more effective communication.
Behavioral & Social Needs
Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Transactional Support (SCERTS) is a curriculum designed to improve social emotional skills for individuals with ASD. It is a systematic curriculum that prioritizes student initiated conversation. SCERTS provides the entire family with tools and supports to use everyday experiences to help children with ASD make meaningful developmental progress.
Functional Behavioral Assessment-based (FBA) Interventions address student problem behavior. They require a teacher to keep accurate data on a daily basis for baseline data. This information leads to the development of a Functional Behavior Intervention Plan (FBIP). Data is kept throughout the intervention to show the effectiveness of the FBIP. According to the WWC Intervention Report, FBA-based interventions had potentially positive effects evidenced by 15 single case design studies on school engagement and eight single case design studies on problem behavior.
Learn more with this FBA module
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a behavior therapy method in which a child receives immediate positive reinforcement for a desired behavior through discrete trial training. According to the WWC, this intervention continues 35-40 hours per week in a variety of settings for a period of at least three years. In a meta-analysis of ABA- based studies, effectiveness of this EBP was shown in areas of socialization, communication, and expressive language skills.
Naturalistic Intervention (NI) is the application of ABA therapy in a learner's everyday environment. Routines and activities are used as opportunities for increasing a target behavior or decreasing a problem behavior.
Learn more with this NI Module
Pivotal Response Training (PRT) is a form of play-based therapy in which the therapist targets "pivotal" areas such as motivation, response to multiple cues, self-management and initiation of social interactions. The method uses natural reinforcement of the desired behaviors to motivate an individual to repeat those behaviors, similar to ABA therapy.
Learn more with this PRT module
Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports (PBIS) refers to a system of supporting staff behavior, student behavior, decision making through a system of shared school-wide expectations. It is characterized by positive rewards for student's social and academic achievements. Positive outcomes include reduced bullying and discipline referrals, and improved social and emotional competence.
Cognitive Needs
Read Naturally is a program for readers who need support in reading, writing, and reading comprehension. Students practice reading fluency by reading the same content several times. This program has a built in systematic way to monitor students’ progress. Other strategies implemented by this program include rapid reading and teaching modeling of story reading. The Intervention Report for Read Naturally shows that two studies demonstrated potentially positive effects for general reading achievement.
Parent Implemented Interventions are strategies parents can use at home during daily activities. Practitioners can help parents support their child's cognitive needs by being trained in how to help them with homework.
Peer Mediated Instruction and Intervention (PMII) teaches students without disabilities how to engage with their disabled peers in a positive way to help them with social skills.
Learn more here with this PMII module
Video Modeling (VM) is an alternative to lecture or independent reading. Students learn by watching a video demonstration that identifies the important concepts that they need to know.
Learn more here with this VM module
More INTERVENTIONS
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE
Individuals with ASD often struggle with how to respond in various social situations. An effective EBP for teaching social communication skills is the use of social narratives aslo known as social stories. For example, the student is the main character in a story about asking someone to play handball or responding to a peer who asks them if they want to play hand ball. The story serves as a prompt to prepare the student for a real conversation. Social stories can also help solve social skills and behavioral issues in which the student needs words to explain their feelings. This social story was written for a student who needed words to express his feelings about going in from recess: When Recess is Over
BEHAVIORAL
ABI is an Antecedent - Based Intervention. This type of intervention is focused on identifying a specific problem behavior that might be triggered by a child's environment. The goal is to decrease the behavior by modifying their environment or situations that seem to lead to the that behavior.
Self Management is a system that allows students to recognize and reward themselves for meeting expectations or goals.
SOCIAL SKILLS
Modeling is a way to help students work on a skill by showing them what that skill, such as an appropriate social interaction, looks like, and to provide practice in a real-world situation.
Prompting involves a series of specific to general clues that help students become more independent as they acquire a new skill such as initiating and carrying on a conversation.
SENSORY ISSUES
Exercise seems to help children with ASD increase time on task and reduces aggressive behavior.
Here is an article that describes the value of "Heavy work" for helping children with sensory processing issues increase body awareness and feel more centered
REFERENCES
AFIRM. (2021). Selecting an EBP. Retrieved April 09, 2021, from https://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/selecting-ebp
Sam, A., & AFIRM Team. (2016). Antecedent-based intervention. Chapel Hill, NC: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, FPG Child Development Center, University of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/antecedent-based-intervention
Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (2021). Retrieved April 10, 2021, from https://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/evidence-based-practices
Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (2021). WWC: Find what works! Retrieved April 10, 2021, from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/
The IRIS Center. (2014). Autism spectrum disorder: An overview for educators. Retrieved March 22, 2021, from https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/asd1
McAllister, K., & Maguire, B. (2012). Design considerations for the autism spectrum disorder-friendly Key Stage 1 classroom. Support for Learning, 27(3), 103–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9604.2012.01525.x
Pyramid Education Consultants. (2018). Picture exchange communication system (PECS)®. Retrieved April 10, 2021, from https://pecsusa.com/pecs/
Sam, A. M., Cox, A. W., Savage, M. N., Waters, V., & Odom, S. L. (2019). Disseminating information on evidence-based practices for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder: Afirm. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(6), 1931-1940. doi:10.1007/s10803-019-03945-x
Griffin, W., & AFIRM Team. (2015). Exercise. Chapel Hill, NC: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, FPG Child Development Center, University of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/exercise
Griffin, W., & AFIRM Team. (2017). Functional communication training. Chapel Hill, NC: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, FPG Child Development Center, University of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/functional-communication-training
Sam, A., & AFIRM Team. (2016). Self-management. Chapel Hill, NC: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, FPG Child Development Center, University of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/self-management
Sam, A., & AFIRM Team. (2016). Modeling. Chapel Hill, NC: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, FPG Child Development Center, University of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/modeling
Sam, A., & AFIRM Team. (2015). Prompting. Chapel Hill, NC: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, FPG Child Development Center, University of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/prompting
Sam, A., & AFIRM Team. (2015). Social narratives. Chapel Hill, NC: National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, FPG Child Development Center, University of North Carolina. Retrieved
from http://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/social-narratives
Tien, K. (2008). Effectiveness of the Picture Exchange Communication System as a Functional Communication Intervention for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Practice-Based Research Synthesis. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 43(1), 61-76. Retrieved April 9, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23879744
Yu, Q., Li, E., Li, L., & Liang, W. (2020). Efficacy of interventions based on applied behavior analysis for autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis. Psychiatry Investigation, 17(5), 432-443. doi:10.30773/pi.2019.0229
Questions?
Questions?
Contact me for specific resources to help someone you know who is impacted by ASD
Elizabeth Duzan at elduzan@capousd.org
Page updated
Report abuse