The purposes of this review were to (a) use meta-analytic procedures to examine the effectiveness of single-case AAC intervention research on challenging behaviors exhibited by individuals with disabilities, (b) identify study characteristics that moderate intervention effects, and (c) evaluate the quality of research. The authors provided inferential and descriptive analyses of 54 studies representing 111 participants and estimated effect sizes using the Nonoverlap of All Pairs (NAP) method. Overall, AAC interventions were found to be equally effective across a broad spectrum of participants and interventions. AAC interventions were more effective with younger children than with adults. Interventions in which functional behavior assessments (FBA) were used had significantly larger effect sizes than those that did not use FBAs. Further, functional communication training interventions resulted in larger effect sizes than Picture Exchange Communication System interventions. Descriptive analysis revealed that (a) interventions often occurred in atypical environments (e.g., therapy room, experimental room) and with atypical interventionists (e.g., therapists, researchers), and (b) numerous studies did not exhibit quality characteristics of single-case research.

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The purpose of this meta-analysis was to summarize single-case intervention research studies in which students with disabilities received function-based intervention (FBI) within inclusive school settings to address challenging behavior. A total of 27 studies were identified and systematically reviewed to determine the overall effect of FBI on challenging and appropriate behavior and whether study characteristics moderated intervention outcomes. In addition, we summarized the following: (a) characteristics of study participants and settings, (b) characteristics of FBI applied within the studies, and (c) quality of the studies. Overall, FBI led to improved behavior in a variety of inclusive school settings. Interventions delivered after a teacher-administered functional behavior assessment and within the context of a whole group instructional arrangement resulted in significant reductions in challenging behavior and improvements in appropriate behavior, respectively. Implications for practice, future directions for research, and limitations are described. Keywords function-based intervention, functional behavior assessment, meta-analysis, literature review, inclusion Research Question 1: What were the overall effects of FBI on challenging and appropriate behavior? Research Question 2: Did any of the study characteristics moderate intervention outcomes? Research Question 3: What were the characteristics of study participants, settings, and FBI applied within the studies? Research Question 4: What was the overall quality of the reviewed studies?

The Support Needs Assessment and Problem-Solving (SNAP) process is intended to assist educational teams in identifying and implementing supports for children with intellectual disability and related developmental disabilities (ID/DD) in K-12 schools. Each phase of the SNAP process is described, including identification of high priority support needs based on information derived from the Supports Intensity Scale–Children's Version (SIS-C). Two case studies of school teams using the SNAP process to identify and implement supports that enhanced opportunities for learning and participation of children in inclusive settings are presented. The importance of understanding children with ID/DD by their support needs and implications for team planning in K-12 schools are discussed.

Progress in including students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in general education environments has been unquestionably slow during the past quarter century. Systematic approaches to identifying and arranging supports are needed to accelerate this outcome. In this article, we propose an approach to understanding students by their support needs in relation to curricular demands, instructional strategies, and participation requirements as a means to enhance the capacities of schools and general education classrooms to educate all students.