This research was designed to develop, implement, and evaluate an assessment and intervention protocol to increase problem-solving teams' (PSTs) adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices aimed at students with disruptive behavior problems. Participants included 15 PSTs. Adopting single-case design methodology, we examined whether a customized set of assessment and intervention consultant-led intervention procedures could be used to improve the activities, process, and recommendations of PSTs compared to a web-based intervention. We were interested in evaluating two variations of the problem-solving model based on the team initiated problem-solving (TIPS) approach. TIPS includes steps to successful problem solving and solution implementation for student academic and behavioral concerns. Based on visual analysis and statistical randomization tests, we found that a teleconsultation web-based model of PST intervention was not effective in improving the functioning of the PST. In contrast, a customized, consultation-led intervention model with PST facilitators that followed this approach was found to be effective in improving both the foundation and thoroughness of the PST's problem solving. Implications of future PST improvement models for practice and research are discussed.

Inclusive education is now advocated as best practice in schools. However, the extent to which adolescents with severe disabilities access the abundant social and academic experiences available in general education classes remains uncertain. We conducted multiple observations of 146 high school students with severe disabilities (including intellectual disability, autism, or multiple disabilities), who were enrolled in at least one general education class. Peer interactions with classmates tended to be very infrequent for most students with severe disabilities. Moreover, rates of peer interaction were the lowest during large-group instruction and when students were sitting next to paraprofessionals or special educators rather than with their peers. Academic engagement also varied across students and was highest during small-group instruction, 1-on-1 work with adults, and when students sat near their peers. Observations of a comparison sample of peers attending these same classes revealed striking overall differences in social and academic participation. We offer recommendations for research and practice aimed at bolstering inclusive education in high schools.

We examined the outcomes of elementary school-based problem-solving teams (PSTs) who participated in a multi-component consultation focused on enhancing systematic problem solving. Consultation provided to each PST included training in the use of a problem-solving protocol (i.e., Outcomes: Planning Monitoring, and Evaluating [Outcomes: PME]) and subsequent performance feedback and training regarding team use of the protocol. A train-the-trainer model was used whereby researchers trained school psychologists to deliver the intervention and serve as coaches on the PSTs. At baseline, all three PSTs demonstrated low (i.e., <50%) problem-solving procedural integrity (i.e., the degree to which critical components of the problem-solving process were implemented), often scoring lowest for problem-solving components related to data collection and analysis (e.g., treatment integrity, progress monitoring, and pre-post intervention data). Each PST demonstrated increased problem-solving integrity following implementation of the first intervention component, problem-solving information and Outcomes: PME training. Procedural integrity also increased for the two PSTs that received the second intervention component, performance feedback. An increase in procedural integrity was not found for one PST that received the third intervention component, targeted consulting; however, data collection was incomplete. Results are discussed in terms of future research priorities to examine consultation that promotes the use of quality team problem-solving components.

Individual education programs (IEPs) are the cornerstone of special education programs. The persistence of poor in- and post-school outcomes for students with significant disabilities highlights the importance of developing well-designed IEPs to address their multifaceted needs. We conducted a content analysis of IEPs for 150 high school students receiving special education services under the categories of autism (ASD) and/or intellectual disability (ID) and had significant cognitive impairments. The focus of these educational plans was quite diverse and spanned multiple domains. Moreover, we found that students with intellectual disability with or without autism tended to have similar areas of emphasis, with the exception of the domains of communication and challenging behavior. We offer recommendations for research and practice aimed at strengthening the quality of educational programming for transition-age students with significant disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to examine the immediate and post effects of a parent‐mediated physical activity intervention on the fundamental motor skills of autistic children. We randomly assigned parent‐child dyads (n = 31) of autistic children aged 4–11 years into three groups (workshop, an online, or control group). Each dyad participated in a 12‐week intervention and was given adapted physical activity equipment and over 200 activities via a mobile application. Children were tested at the start and end of the intervention. The effect size (Cohen's d ) of the control group for pre‐post locomotor and ball skill scores were 0.12 and 0.06, respectively, indicating small effect size. The effect size of the online group for pre‐post locomotor and ball skill scores were 49 and 0.26, respectively, indicating medium and small effect sizes. The effect size of the in‐person group for pre‐post locomotor and ball skill scores were 1.18 and 0.82, respectively, indicating large effect sizes. The outcomes of this physical activity intervention suggest that parents may facilitate the acquisition of fundamental motor skills of their autistic children. Although these results are positive, there is a need to further identify effective interventions for fundamental motor skill development in autistic children. Clinical Trials ID: NCT05159102.

Schools need effective, generalizable, and socially valid social skills interventions to better support the social inclusion and peer relationships of their students on the autism spectrum. We evaluated a Pivotal Response Treatment-based, naturalistic social skills intervention implemented daily by school personnel in reverse inclusion school settings with four students on the autism spectrum (K-2nd grade). Using a single-case experimental design, results indicated that the students on the autism spectrum showed increases in the percent of time engaged in cooperative play with peers during the intervention (p = .0026) and moderate changes in social interactions were determined through systematic visual analysis. However, these changes in social behaviors did not generalize to natural inclusive school settings.

This randomized controlled trial examined the efficacy of peer network interventions to improve the social connections of 47 high school students with severe disabilities. School staff invited, trained, and supported 192 peers without disabilities to participate in individualized social groups that met throughout one semester. Compared to adolescents in the "business-as-usual" control group (n = 48), students receiving peer networks gained significantly more new social contacts and friendships. Although many peer relationships maintained one and two semesters later, their spill over beyond the school day was limited. Students and staff affirmed the social validity of the interventions. We offer recommendations for research and practice aimed at improving the implementation and impact of peer network interventions in secondary schools.

Abstract Adolescents with severe disabilities often have few opportunities to learn alongside and connect socially with peers without disabilities at their high school. In this pilot study, nine high school students with severe disabilities were randomly assigned to three conditions: peer support arrangements, peer network intervention, or a comparison condition involving “business-as-usual” paraprofessional support. School staff served as intervention facilitators and researchers coached and monitored fidelity. Increased classroom interactions were observed for students in the peer support condition and enhanced social contacts and friendships were found for students in both peer support and peer network conditions. Students, peers, and educators perceived both peer-mediated interventions as highly acceptable and feasible. Drawing upon these exploratory findings, we offer recommendations for research and practice focused on fostering strong social connections within high schools.

Calls to expand inclusive education for students with severe disabilities are pervasive throughout recent policy and research initiatives. The perspectives of peers without disabilities on such inclusion are an important vantage point to understand, particularly at the high school level. In this pilot study, we examined the attitudes of 44 high school peers who were enrolled in general education classes with students with severe disabilities. Overall, these peers reported fairly high levels of exposure and contact with students with severe disabilities. Moreover, they largely endorsed positive attitudes towards adolescents with severe disabilities and inclusion. However, significant gender differences were found, with females demonstrating more positive attitudes than males. We discuss implications for research and practice focused on enhancing positive attitudes toward and relationships among students with and without severe disabilities at the high school level.

Although enhancing the social competence of students with severe disabilities has long remained a prominent focus of school-based intervention efforts, relatively little attention has focused on identifying the most critical social and behavioral needs of students during high school. We examined the social skills and problem behaviors of 137 adolescents with severe disabilities from the vantage point of both special educators and parents. We sought to identify areas of potential intervention need, explore factors associated with social skill and problem behavior ratings, and examine the extent to which teachers and parents converged in their assessments of these needs. Our findings indicate teachers and parents of high school students with severe disabilities rated social skills as considerably below average and problem behaviors as above average. In addition, lower social skills ratings were evident for students with greater support needs, lower levels of overall adaptive behavior, and a special education label of autism. We found moderate consistency in the degree to which teachers and parents aligned in their assessments of both social skills and problem behavior. We offer recommendations for assessment and intervention focused on strengthening the social competence of adolescents with severe disabilities within secondary school classrooms, as well as promising avenues for future research.

Enhancing the social and learning experiences of students with severe disabilities in inclusive classrooms has been a long-standing focus of research, legislative, and advocacy efforts. The authors used a randomized controlled experimental design to examine the efficacy of peer support arrangements to improve academic and social outcomes for 51 students with severe disabilities in high school general education classrooms. Paraprofessionals or special educators recruited, trained, and supported 106 peers to provide individualized academic and social assistance to students with severe disabilities throughout one semester. Compared to students exclusively receiving adult-delivered support ( n = 48), students participating in peer support arrangements experienced increased interactions with peers, increased academic engagement, more progress on individualized social goals, increased social participation, and a greater number of new friendships. Moreover, an appreciable proportion of relationships lasted one and two semesters later after the intervention had concluded. These findings challenge prevailing practices for supporting inclusive education and establish the efficacy and social validity of peer support arrangements as a promising alternative to individually assigned paraprofessional support.

The authors conducted 324 full-class-length observations of 108 high school students with severe disabilities in general education classes, focusing analyses on how often students were present during class and in proximity to peers without disabilities. Students were not present for a substantial proportion of the classes in which they were enrolled, and they were infrequently in proximity to classmates without disabilities when they were present. Observations of a comparison group of peers without disabilities enrolled in these same classrooms suggest missed social opportunities for students with severe disabilities. We also found that primary disability category (i.e., autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability) and type of class (i.e., academic, other) were associated with different patterns of presence and proximity.

T EA C H IN G E xc ep ti on al C hi ld re n , V ol . 48 , N o. 1 , pp . 9 – 18 . C op yr ig ht 2 01 5 T he A ut ho r( s) . D O I: 1 0. 11 77 /0 04 00 59 91 55 94 78 4 Ensuring students with severe disabilities access the rich relationship and learning opportunities available within general education classrooms is an important—but challenging— endeavor. Although one-to-one paraprofessionals often accompany students in inclusive classrooms and provide extensive assistance, the constant presence of an adult can inadvertently limit the social interactions and engagement of adolescents with severe disabilities within high school classrooms. Peer support arrangements can be a practical and promising alternative to exclusively relying on paraprofessionaldelivered support. We draw on our recent partnership with schools implementing these interventions for more than 50 high school students with severe disabilities and involving more than 100 peers without developmental disabilities. This article outlines practical steps for establishing these interventions in inclusive classrooms.

Attaining reliable estimates of observational measures can be challenging in school and classroom settings, as behavior can be influenced by multiple contextual factors. Generalizability (G) studies can enable researchers to estimate the reliability of observational data, and decision (D) studies can inform how many observation sessions are necessary to achieve a criterion level of reliability. We conducted G and D studies using observational data from a randomized control trial focusing on social and academic participation of students with severe disabilities in inclusive secondary classrooms. Results highlight the importance of anchoring observational decisions to reliability estimates from existing or pilot data sets. We outline steps for conducting G and D studies and address options when reliability estimates are lower than desired.

Deficits in social relatedness with same-age peers are a defining characteristic of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and are likely to manifest themselves during social interactions with typically developing peers in classroom settings. Researchers have documented that children with Autism Spectrum Disorders engage in low rates of appropriate social behaviors with peers. However, there is a paucity of research focusing on the systematic assessment of prosocial behavior of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders during naturally occurring interactions prior to the implementation of an intervention. A critical first step in this process is to examine the context in which prosocial behaviors occur for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The purpose of this study was to descriptively examine the initiations, responses, and hypothesized outcomes of prosocial behaviors via direct observation of young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in natural classroom settings. Results indicated that the participants displayed low rates of prosocial behaviors (i.e., initiations and responses) when interacting with their peers; however, when prosocial behaviors did occur many of the participants' prosocial behaviors were followed by obtaining a tangible item or peer attention. Implications and future directions of this study are addressed.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are characterized by extreme deficits in social relatedness with same-age peers. The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify naturally occurring antecedent variables (i.e., setting events) in the classroom environments of children with ASD that promoted their engagement in peer-related social behaviors. Over a 12-week period, seven preschool-aged children were individually observed an average of 3.4 - 5.9 hours across the following classroom setting events: (a) contexts with varying peer group sizes, (b) contexts in which the adult or child directed the activities, and (c) contexts with varying levels of teacher engagement. Results based on a continuous, sequential behavioral coding system showed that for the majority of participants; small group sizes, child. directed activities, and limited teacher engagement most influenced the occurrence of target children's social behaviors. Implications of this study to practice are addressed.

The number of children in school-based settings diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder has been increasing, according to U.S. Department of Education (2002) statistics. Although many researchers have written extensively on the benefits of inclusion for children with autism spectrum disorder, social behavior idiosyncrasies exhibited by these children can limit its potential benefits. The purpose of this article is to describe a systematic, functional assessment approach for identifying environmental contextual factors related to the occurrence of peer-related social interactions and the outcomes (ie, functions) that maintain those behaviors. In particular, 2 descriptive assessment tools, the Social Skills Interview and the Snapshot Assessment Tool, both developed by the authors will be explained and illustrated. Both the tools were developed to be classroom-friendly instruments to assist with the objective description of environmental contextual factors that may influence the social behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorder. A case example is presented to demonstrate how the use of these 2 instruments led to the development of an assessment-based intervention to improve the social behaviors of a young child on the autism spectrum.