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There is a need to provide evidence-based social, emotional, and behavioral interventions for learners at risk for emotional and behavioral problems. Evidence-based interventions for social and emotional success are especially necessary for Black learners with emotional or behavioral problems. In the current study, we used a multiple-baseline design time-lagged across groups (i.e., classrooms) to examine the effects of a culturally adapted version of the Strong Start curriculum plus Check-In/Check-Out on externalizing problem behaviors of 18 first-grade and second-grade Black learners. Results indicate a functional relation between the intervention package and externalizing problem behaviors. Additionally, post-intervention social validity assessment indicates that participating teachers viewed the intervention package as feasible and participating learners reported a positive experience.

Black learners, like all other learners, bring their cultural values into the classroom, how they express themselves, and how they problem-solve. In addition, their life experiences influence their social and emotional behaviors. This study examined the effects of a multicomponent intervention approach--including a culturally adapted social and emotional learning curriculum, check-in/check-out, and self-monitoring--on the externalizing behaviors of Black male learners in an urban elementary school. A multiple-baseline-across-classes, single-case, experimental design evaluated the effects of the intervention package. Results from the study show a consistent decrease in externalizing problem behaviors, increases in social and emotional competencies, and high levels of social validity for the intervention package based on the input of relevant stakeholders. An embedded alternating-treatment, single-case design explored the relative impact of self-monitoring. The authors also include a discussion of the limitations of this work and the implications for future research.

We previously conducted a series of conceptual replications to parse out which--and to what degree--adaptations and individualized supports were needed for children to access and learn early reading skills using Headsprout®. Here we developed a systematic decision-making process for providing levels of support to individuals with autism who require additional instruction in order to access and/or advance through Headsprout®. Using a series of single-case AB, ABC, and multiple-baseline designs we examined strategies from our previous research and additional strategies iteratively developed during the study on six students with autism, all of whom demonstrated progression through Headsprout® and increased reading skills. We provide practical implications for teachers and suggestions to research these supports with other computer-based programs.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between elementary students' reading skills and their online reading (i.e., real-time reading) behaviors during silent sentence processing. Thirty-five students participated in this study and their eye movements were recorded during sentence reading tasks. The effects of students' reading skills measured by traditional standardized measures were investigated for widely-used eye tracking measures such as first fixation duration, gaze duration, regression path duration, total duration, word skipping, fixation count, and regression frequency. The eye tracking measures were chosen to represent early/late cognitive processes and temporal/spatial gaze behaviors. Linear mixed-effects regression analyses revealed that children's performances in reading skills predict most of the eye tracking measures.

The use of technology in intervention and instruction for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing at a striking rate. The purpose of this paper is to examine the research literature underlying the use of technology in interventions and instruction for high school students with ASD. In this paper, authors propose a theoretical and conceptual framework for examining the use of technology by and for adolescents with ASD in school, home, and community settings. This framework is then used to describe the research literature on efficacy of intervention and instruction that utilizes technology. A review of the literature from 1990 to the end of 2013 identified 30 studies that documented efficacy of different forms of technology and their impact on academics,adaptive behavior, challenging behavior, communication, independence, social competence, and vocational skills. [This paper was published in "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders," (EJ1082511).]

In-service and coaching can increase teachers' use of research-based practices. This study examined the effects of in-service training plus coaching that included preconference, side-by-side coaching, and feedback on kindergarten teachers' use of research-based strategies during beginning reading instruction. Teachers were trained to enhance beginning reading instruction using research-based strategies including model-lead-test, unison responding (i.e., choral responding, response cards), and systematic error correction. Results indicated that for some teachers, a half-day in-service improved delivery of the research-based strategies, while others required side-by-side coaching to demonstrate improved use of the strategies. Teachers reported the in-service and coaching support were helpful and provided information on research-based strategies that increased student engagement. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Schools need cost and resource-efficient strategies to improve the academic performance of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). High-quality research demonstrates peer-mediated interventions effects on improved social skills for students with ASD. However, effects of peer-mediated interventions on academic outcomes are less understood concerning quality in ASD populations. This paper provides an updated systematic and quality review of the literature for Peer-Mediated Academic Instruction (PMAI) using peers of students with ASD. Authors identified eight new studies. Evaluation criteria included Council for Exceptional Children's Single Case Design Standards and the What Works Clearinghouse Standards. Results indicate PMAI can be considered and evidence-based practice to improve academic performance in the ASD population. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Research indicates that employers rate personal hygiene as the number one barrier to employment among individuals with developmental disabilities. However, there is limited literature on improving personal hygiene in preparation for employment among individuals with developmental disabilities. Using a multiple-baseline across-participants design, this study examined the effect of self-monitoring on personal hygiene among five individuals with developmental disabilities, ages 19 to 22 years, attending a postsecondary education program. A functional relation was demonstrated between self-monitoring and reduced distracting body odor. Limitations, suggestions for future research, and practical applications are provided.

E-books may be particularly useful for differentiating instruction across a wide range of learners including those with autism spectrum disorder who are minimally verbal (MV-ASD). But the extent to which children with MV-ASD benefit from e-book instruction is unknown. Using eye-tracking equipment and software, we measured the duration of attention to print and pictures when presented with an e-book of 10 elementary-aged prereading children with MV-ASD and five prereading children with typical development. Furthermore, we analyzed eye-gaze duration, left-to-right gaze, and point-to-point correspondence from word to picture across different e-book stimuli (e.g., highlighting text, read-aloud). Results indicated different duration of attending to pictures and print between typically developing children and children with ASD. Although there were some indications that differing stimuli may influence attention to salient e-book components, most notable was that children with MV-ASD attended very little to literacy concepts within the e-book.

The number of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who enter secondary school settings and access the general education curriculum continues to grow. Many educators may find they are not prepared to adapt their instruction to meet both state standards and the diverse needs of the full spectrum individuals with ASD, which has implications for postsecondary success. In this article, we present an overview of current knowledge around academic instruction for this population, specifically (a) how characteristics associated with ASD can impact academic performance, (b) academic profiles of individuals with ASD across content areas, and (c) interventions that have been successful in improving academic outcomes for this population, including special considerations for those individuals who take alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards. We conclude by offering suggestions for future research and considerations for professional development. [This paper was published in "Remedial and Special Education" (EJ1021012).]

Preschoolers' (n = 32) attention to print and pictures was documented during an electronic storybook reading session. Children (M = 51.06 months; SD = 7.34 months) looked at a 12-page book that contained three types of pages, each of which was presented four times over the course of the book: (1) silent presentation of print, (2) print that was read aloud, and (3) print that was both read aloud and highlighted. Our research objectives were to analyze whether the way in which print was presented related to the ways in which children attended to print and pictures during the reading session. Gaze fixation duration to print and pictures was assessed using a Tobii X2-60 portable eye tracking unit, which captured corneal reflection data for each child. Children's total fixation duration to print was greatest when print was read aloud and highlighted as compared to when it was presented silently or read aloud. In addition, children looked at print more when it was displayed silently than when the computer read the story to children, although this difference was much smaller in magnitude. Children attended to pictures more than print across pages, but this difference was most notable when the story was read aloud. Results demonstrate the potential utility of nonverbal print referencing strategies during book reading.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require instructional programs that simultaneously address academic content, interfering behavior, and potential gaps in prerequisite skills for a given curriculum. This study examined the impact of an intervention package consisting of contingent reinforcement and match-to-sample training on the independent progression of 3 children with ASD through Headsprout® Early Reading (HER), a behavior analytic online reading program. A multiple probe across participants design was used to examine the effects of the intervention package on participants' correct interactions per minute and total episodes completed. Transfer of training to oral reading of companion print books was also assessed. All participants demonstrated an increase in correct interactions per minute. Two participants learned to independently complete a HER episode each day and could orally read companion print books. The results suggest individualized behavior analytic programs can support the use of HER as a computer-based reading program for some children with ASD.

This study used a single-subject multiple probe design to investigate the use of Direct Instruction (DI) to teach students with autism to tell time to the five-minute increment. Exercises from "Connecting Math Concepts" were used as the DI component during intervention. All students increased their telling-time skills to the five-minute increment with scores falling within the range of their same-age, typically-developing peers. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The tendency of phenylene ethynylene macrocycles and oligomers with different side-chain linking groups, to undergo solvent induced pi-stacked organization, was investigated.

Research was conducted to examine the synthesis of a series of new macrocycles, lipophilic Gd(III) complexes, for use as paramagnetic contrast agents. The preparation of alkylated cationic intermediates was done in yields of 72% to 94% from glyoxal adduct of cyclen and slight excesses of alkyl iodides. The approach used allows for selective monoalkylation of cyclen employing slight excesses of alkyl halide in excellent yield.

Learners with autism require specialized education and supports to ensure acquisition and mastery of various communication skills. This is particularly true for individuals whose disability significantly impacts their language development. Without functional communication, these individuals often engage in severe behavior, have reduced self-determination, and experience diminished quality of life. Accordingly, researchers in special education and related fields have sought ways to improve the communication skills of learners with autism who need specialized language and communication interventions. Although the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is well-established in the empirical literature and has helped countless individuals learn to communicate, the method known as facilitated communication (FC; which also is being called "supported typing" and "rapid prompting method") has become increasingly popular in recent years. Few methods in special education have been as thoroughly discredited as FC and perhaps none are as dangerous. This chapter contrasts the thoroughly debunked FC and its pseudoscientific characteristics with those underpinning PECS. A brief historical account of each method is provided along with key scientific and pseudoscientific features that distinguish science from pseudoscience. Ultimately, our intent is to further clarify how FC is not an augmentative or alternative communication method and why PECS is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to difficulties associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), many children with ASD will require additional support to actively participate in classroom activities. Therefore, it is important that professionals who work with young children with ASD know what skills to teach and how to teach them. Using the recent evidence-based practice review conducted by the National Professional Development Center on ASD, we have identified studies that targeted school readiness behaviors which can have implications for academic skill development. In this article, we evaluate (a) the types of skills that have been taught to preschool children with ASD, (b) the strategies used to teach specific skills, and (c) other descriptive information, such as who delivered the intervention and the setting in which the intervention took place. We conclude by offering suggestions for future research and considerations for professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]