ObjectivesMany autistic children exhibit challenging and disruptive behaviors that can present challenges for both children and their families by interfering with acquisition of adaptive skills and affecting family and peer relationships. Behavioral parent training (BPT) is an evidence-based approach to reducing autistic children's disruptive behavior, but many families face a number of barriers to accessing BPT, such as availability of BPT in their community, and transportation and scheduling challenges. Therefore, we sought to explore the feasibility and promise of effectiveness of adapting an established BPT program to a telehealth format during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA feasibility trial of BPT via telehealth was conducted with fourteen parents of autistic children.ResultsParents and clinicians were able to implement BPT via telehealth with a high degree of fidelity, and parents rated both BPT and the telehealth format favorably. The program also showed promise of effectiveness in reducing autistic children's disruptive behavior, improving their adaptive skills, as well as reducing parents' stress, and improving parents' sense of parenting competence.ConclusionsThe findings replicate and extend findings from previous studies, further demonstrating the promise of telehealth as a viable alternative format for delivering BPT. We also explore implications for future research, including the opportunity for more thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of BPT via telehealth.

Paraeducators, who increasingly serve as implementers for students in special education, can struggle with intervention fidelity. Special educators, often responsible for providing paraeducators with support, receive limited supervision training. From organizational behavior management, the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS) is a checklist to detect reasons for poor workplace performance and identify aligned support. Utilizing a multiple baseline design, this study evaluated the impact of PDC-HS indicated implementation support on the intervention fidelity of five paraeducators implementing six behavior intervention plans for students receiving special education services. The PDC-HS indicated that all paraeducators would benefit from behavior skills training and visuals of the plans, in addition to other specific supports for individual paraeducators (e.g., prompts, feedback). These implementation supports were effective in improving intervention fidelity for four paraeducators, whereas one paraeducator (across two students) did not respond to these supports. Changes in student outcomes (i.e., academic engagement, disruptive behavior) were inconsistent, suggesting that the behavior intervention plans may have needed to be revised. Usability data suggested that the PDC-HS and indicated supports were generally acceptable, but revisions may be warranted. The implications of this study for school-based implementation support research are discussed.

When assessed, treatment fidelity is most often evaluated by checklists of intervention steps after an observation session, though estimates can vary depending on how intervention steps are operationalized and rated. A more straightforward approach may involve the adoption of direct observation methods such as time sampling or event recording, which are regularly used to evaluate student behavior. This study explores the utility of using time sampling and event recording in comparison to the traditional post-observation checklist method. Five paraeducator consultees' treatment fidelity of behavior support plans for students with autism was assessed by post-observation ratings. In addition, 15-sec whole-interval recording of treatment fidelity across intervention steps and event recording of prompts (an intervention step for all plans) were collected throughout the observation session. To compare treatment fidelity data, we present visual analysis, associated quantitative metrics, and correlations. Implications for future treatment fidelity assessment research and consultation practice are described.

Abstract The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to many students receiving remote instruction. As educators support students’ learning and behavior from a distance, school psychologists can utilize their consultation skills to offer educators implementation support to ensure interventions implemented are maximally successful. Although the effectiveness of intervention implementation supports (such as direct training and performance feedback) has been well documented, most existing studies involved providing implementation support in person. The purpose of this study was to synthesize single-case research design studies that examined electronically delivered implementation supports (EDIS) to school personnel (e.g., teachers, paraeducators) to promote implementation fidelity. One hundred and seventy-four articles were screened and 12 studies were coded for characteristics of EDIS upon being determined to meet research design quality standards outlined by the What Works Clearinghouse. Results of the review indicated that, overall, studies identified were conducted with sufficient methodological rigor and effect sizes estimates indicated EDIS promoted high levels of intervention implementation. We translate these research findings to guide practitioners’ actions. Implications include EDIS being considered for interventions provided to students involved in distance learning, including those engaged in schooling at home due to COVID-19. Impact Statement This systematic review examined the effect of electronically delivered implementation support (EDIS) on educators’ implementation fidelity. Following rigorous screening and coding procedures, 12 studies containing 46 individual cases met research design standards outlined by the What Works Clearinghouse and were included in the synthesis. As a result of this review, the authors concluded that EDIS may be useful to school psychologists supporting educators from a distance to implement interventions with youth who may be engaged in schooling remotely.

As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continues to increase, more students with ASD will require support in educational settings. Recent systematic reviews have identified numerous evidence-based interventions for individuals with ASD, but none have focused specifically on intervention in schools. This is important because educators face several unique challenges and resource limitations that contribute to the gap between research and practice. We conducted a descriptive secondary analysis of articles included in the two most comprehensive reviews of the literature to date, with the aim of determining the extent to which evidence-based interventions have been evaluated in schools. Result indicates that evidence-based interventions have been disproportionately validated in non-school settings, and the extent to which they have been examined in schools varies by intervention. Further, the majority of school-based intervention studies feature tightly controlled study conditions that may limit external validity. Implications for future research are discussed.

Abstract Fact fluency is an important prerequisite to mastering more complex and abstract mathematics principles. Delivering math interventions in the home setting may be a feasible way to expose students to necessary supports and improve math outcomes. The present study utilized a multiple baseline design across parent–student dyads to examine the impact of Detect, Practice, and Repair, modified to be implemented by parents in the home environment, on the fluency of basic addition and subtraction facts of 4 second-grade students. Video modeling and performance feedback were used to train and support parents during implementation. Math fact fluency improved across all students, with 2 students reaching mastery levels, and progress was maintained following intervention. Video modeling alone was insufficient for parent training, although performance feedback was effective in improving parents' procedural fidelity. Considerations regarding social validity and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This study evaluated the effects of response interruption and redirection (RIRD) on motor stereotypy (hand and body movements) in a child with neurodevelopmental disorders. We also assessed whether a stimulus paired with RIRD could acquire inhibitory control when tested during nonintervention conditions. Compared with baseline phases in a reversal design, RIRD decreased both hand and motor stereotypies, and there was evidence of stimulus control. Extending RIRD to a second setting was also effective. The care providers responsible for intervention implemented RIRD with fidelity, and they rated the procedure positively. Clinical and research implications from these findings are discussed.

In order for interventions to produce the desired outcome, it is necessary that they be implemented as researched and designed. School-based practitioners, however, should not assume that interventions will always be implemented as intended by teachers and other school personnel. The chapter begins by defining intervention integrity, or the degree to which an intervention is implemented as designed. Next, the chapter provides an overview of methods for the assessment of intervention integrity. Critical steps discussed include operationalization of intervention steps, determining relevant dimensions of integrity, selecting an assessment method, and developing a rating scheme. Methods for collection and evaluation of integrity data are discussed, as well as strategies for promoting intervention integrity.

Many students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) receive behavioral interventions to improve academic and prosocial functioning and remediate current skill deficits. Sufficient treatment integrity is necessary for these interventions to be successful. However, a literature review of studies that evaluated behavioral intervention for students with ASD from 1993 to 2003 found that only 18% of studies included an operational definition of the intervention and measured treatment integrity. The purpose of the present study was to update this review and incorporate recent advances in implementation science (e.g., dimensions, implementation support). Of the 130 studies reviewed, treatment integrity was assessed in 43% of studies. When treatment integrity data were included, it was most often adherence data that were assessed through observation or self-report. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

As educators begin to understand the need for a social-emotional learning curriculum for young students, finding opportunities to implement a curriculum that supports students’ social-emotional development is important. Research supports that using shared reading opportunities that are common in young students’ in-school and out-of-school routines to embed social-emotional learning could have potential impact for young students’ social emotional as well as academic development. This article describes an exploratory mixed-methods case study that examines the use of dialogic book reading strategies in promoting social-emotional skills of young elementary students in an after-school program in the United States. A pre–post case study design was employed to examine preliminary social-emotional outcomes. In addition, parent interviews were conducted to explore the perceived benefits of the intervention in the home environment. The results suggest that dialogic reading may be a helpful strategy to promote young students’ social-emotional learning. The implications for research and practice are discussed.

Collecting treatment integrity data is critical for (a) strengthening internal validity within a research study, (b) determining the impact of an intervention on student outcomes, and (c) assessing the need for implementation supports. Although researchers have noted the increased inclusion of treatment integrity data in published articles, there has been limited attention to how treatment integrity is assessed. The purpose of this study was to review how treatment integrity is typically assessed in single-case design performance feedback articles. Doctoral students in school psychology coded 58 performance feedback studies to determine how treatment integrity data are assessed in this literature, and common intervention characteristics linked to treatment integrity assessment. Findings indicate that, although data were collected most frequently via direct observation by a researcher targeting intervention adherence, intervention characteristics varied widely across studies. Implications of results are discussed.

To prevent academic failure and promote long-term success, response-to-intervention (RtI) is designed to systematically increase the intensity of delivering research-based interventions. Interventions within an RtI framework must not only be effective but also be implemented with treatment fidelity and delivered with the appropriate level of treatment intensity to improve student mathematics achievement. The purpose of this systematic review was to explore the mathematics intervention research for students at risk of mathematics failure by examining intervention characteristics related to treatment fidelity and intensity. Results from 66 math intervention studies conducted from 2004 to 2015 were summarized. The majority of studies monitored treatment fidelity and provided details of some aspects of treatment intensity (i.e., dose, group size). However, interventionists’ characteristics, implementation characteristics, and treatment design were less frequently reviewed. Implications for future research and educational practices are discussed.

Taped problems is an intervention strategy for addressing mathematics fluency that has been evaluated in multiple single-case design studies. Although its efficacy has been supported in individual studies, no comprehensive quantitative synthesis has been conducted on taped problems. The purpose of this study was to synthesize the literature that examined this intervention using parametric and nonparametric effect size computations. We examined (a) the effectiveness of taped problems across effect size comparisons, (b) maintenance over time, (c) the degree to which studies met single-case design research standards, and (d) potential moderating variables. Parametric and nonparametric analyses yielded moderate and large effect sizes and indicated that taped problems appears to be an efficacious intervention.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) and literacy skills are key components of child development. School counselors are charged with supporting children's holistic development to prepare them for adulthood by implementing counseling curricula that focus on both academic and social-emotional growth. School counselors can promote academic and literacy learning by engaging children in counseling techniques that employ shared reading. Through reading and discussing socially and culturally meaningful texts, children make personal connections with characters in stories, thereby strengthening a love for reading. Creating personal connections to stories also helps develop children's SEL. This article describes using dialogic reading as a culturally relevant counseling practice to promote SEL and support literacy development for kindergarten through third grade children. Dialogic reading is a shared reading strategy that positions children as active participants in adult-guided book reading and builds literacy and social-emotional skills. The dialogic reading curriculum described in this article is designed for school counselors given their unique skill set in promoting children's SEL and academic development. There are limited interventions available for school counselors that combine SEL and literacy skill development through culturally responsive practices. Implications of infusing culturally relevant dialogic reading in counseling to promote SEL and literacy learning are described.

This study reveals school counselors’ perspectives on using physical activity and a consultative process with coaches to provide school-based support for youth. Emerging from this exploration are ways that school-based physical activity might be used to help students develop life skills and to remove barriers to systemic integration of socioemotional development through physical activity into the school system. Practical implications focus on system-based change and collaborative opportunities using the ASCA National Model.