This study compared the effects of circumscribed interests (CI) to less preferred (LP) tangible stimuli on the social behaviors of three children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Based on single subject design methodology, the CI experimental sessions resulted in longer durations of target-child initiated social interactions in comparison to LP sessions. In addition, latency of participant's initial social bids to peers was decreased when CI were present. The results suggest that embedding CI into dyadic play situations with typical peers can be used to increase the social behavior children with ASD direct toward typical peers. Future research should examine the specific environmental conditions that must be present in naturalistic settings to facilitate generalization of social behavior.

Despite evidence from previous studies that support using Social Stories™ for problem behaviors, research conducted with more rigorous controls is needed to examine whether or not Social Stories constitute an evidence-based practice.This study employed an ABABCBC single-subject design comparing a Social Story presented in two formats across three elementary-age students with autism. Interpretation of the results documents a decrease in the frequency of problem behavior for each participant. Outcomes were slightly better for the PowerPoint™ format than for the paper format. Results were maintained in the training setting and were generalized to another setting with a single verbal prompt. Teachers reported that the PowerPoint format was easily implemented, and students indicated that they liked the computer-assisted format.

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The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of combining milieu therapy and functional communication training (FCT)] to replace aberrant behavior with functional communicative skills in 3 male preschool or elementary aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Study activities were conducted in the natural environments of the participants and parents acted as change agents. A concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the modified milieu therapy intervention. Results indicate that aberrant behavior decreased concurrent with an increase in total percentage of communication responses (PCR). The children maintained communication and low rates of aberrant behavior, and generalized their communication from the home to the classroom. A discussion of limitations and future research directions is included.

The No Child Left Behind Act (2001) requires that all students, including those with disabilities, to make adequate yearly progress in the general education curriculum. To ensure that this occurs, effective practices are needed that fit the classroom needs of teachers and result in improved academic gains. One practice that shows promise as an effective classroom practice is guided notes. The purpose of this article is to examine research on the effectiveness of guided notes. For this review, 13 studies met inclusion criteria. Results indicate that using guided notes has a positive effective on student outcomes, as this practice has been shown to improve accuracy of note taking and student test scores. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for classroom practice and future research.

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