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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder resulting in significant impairment in social and communication areas. Individuals with ASD often require a substantial degree and amount of services and expenditures throughout their lifespan. This study examined service delivery experiences of family caregivers and service providers of children with ASD. A basic qualitative research design founded in phenomenology was conducted. Ten participants were enrolled and interviewed. Interview data were collected and coded to produce a qualitative analysis of the experiences of these individuals who either care for or deliver services to children with ASD. Results indicate the top five themes for service providers and family caregivers included areas of (a) collaboration, (b) education, (c) family support/involvement, (d) child-centered care, and (e) accessibility and availability. These findings can contribute to better understanding and improving future service delivery for supporting family caregivers and their children with ASD.

Latency-based functional analysis (FA) may be appropriate when stakeholders are concerned with safety or feasibility. We trained a first-year special education teacher to collect data while she implemented a latency-based FA and validated a function-based intervention. Treatment effects were generalized across paraeducators and were maintained during a 1-month follow-up.

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is the response-independent delivery of a reinforcer (Vollmer, Iwata, Zarcone, Smith, and Mazaleski in Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 26: 9-21 1993). Two staff members (preservice education majors) implemented NCR procedures for two students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who exhibited problem behavior and attended an after-school program. The amount of training on NCR and procedural fidelity was measured for each staff member, and the effects of the treatment on problem behavior were evaluated. Results indicate NCR is a low-effort procedure that reduced problem behavior of two participants with ASD. • NCR can both reduce problem behaviors of clients who engage in difficult behaviors (Carr, Severtson, & Lepper, 2009). • NCR can be used for clients for whom extinction-induced behaviors are dangerous (Tucker, Sigafoos, and Bushell in Behavior Modification, 22: 529-547, 1998). • Nonbehavioral providers can implement NCR with high fidelity, making it a good procedure to use when collaborating with other professionals (teachers, SLP, parents, etc.; Matson, 2009). • NCR can be used when clinicians first begin working with a client until more detailed interventions are created.