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The high-probability (high-p) instructional sequence is an intervention commonly used to increase compliance in a variety of skill domains, including compliance with low-probability (low-p) mealtime demands in children with pediatric feeding disorders. However, the effects of the high-p sequence on feeding have varied across studies, a systematic synthesis of the literature to guide practice and further research is lacking, and whether the high-p sequence, as an intervention for feeding problems, meets current evidence-based practice standards in special education is unknown. First, we conducted a systematic multistep search, identified seven studies that met inclusion criteria, and synthesized participant and study characteristics. Then we compared the evidence with the 2014 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC): Standards for Evidence-Based Practices in Special Education. The results suggest that (a) the high-p sequence can improve compliance with low-p mealtime demands in young children with feeding disorders but that more research is needed to clarify relevant contexts and for whom the intervention is likely to be effective, (b) additional research should examine the effects of the high-p sequence on feeding in older children or adults with disabilities as more intrusive procedures based on escape extinction become inappropriate, and (c) the evidence falls short of meeting the CEC standards for an evidence-based practice. We conclude with preliminary practice guidelines.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of delivering a high-probability instructional sequence on generalized consumption of nonpreferred foods with similar properties to treatment foods. The participant was a 5-year-old, typically-developing child with a history of food selectivity. The participant was asked to complete each step of an instructional sequence in which the final step was consumption of a nonpreferred food. Praise was delivered after compliance to complete each step and a preferred food was delivered after compliance with the

The ability to locate events after a change of position of the observer has been studied with the Spatial Orientation Paradigm (SOP). Inconsistent results have been reported about the age and quality of the environment from which such ability is presented. Such inconsistencies could be due to the limited recording of a single discrete response during the test and could be resolved with the analysis of the spatiotemporal continuum of behavior. In the present study, we compared the process of spatial differentiation in prelocomotor infants aged 6 to 8 months under heterogeneous or homogeneous environment using a variation of the SOP. Six infants participated. Half of them were exposed to a homogeneous space and half to a heterogeneous space. In contrast to the standard SOP, the continuous behavior of the infants was analyzed in both training and testing. The results indicate differences in the spatial behavior of infants as a function of the homogeneity or heterogeneity of the environment. Under homogeneous space, infants limited their activity toward the target location during training and responded incorrectly during test trials. Under heterogeneous space, infants engaged in more inspection and comparison between the two potential locations throughout training, while during testing, they presented correct responses or response corrections. These results show spatial differentiation in prelocomotor infants aged between 6 to 8 months under a heterogeneous environment. The empirical and conceptual implications of these findings in the field are discussed, as well as the utility of incorporating continuous behavioral analysis into the SOP.