No abstract

Functional communication training (FCT) is a well-established, evidence-based practice used to address challenging behavior among individuals across settings, ages, and disability categories. However, the research is limited on the implementation of FCT in inclusive school settings for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The purpose of this review was to summarize FCT intervention studies implemented in inclusive K–12 school settings for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We synthesized studies to summarize study characteristics, quality, and intervention effectiveness. Our findings suggest that FCT was most often implemented as part of a multi-component intervention package and delivered by educational team members. Furthermore, the quality of most studies was either acceptable or strong. The overall effect size estimate for primary dependent measures as measured by Tau-U suggested large to very large changes in student behavior. We present implications for practice specific to educational teams that support the behavioral needs of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in inclusive settings and offer avenues for future research.

Students with extensive support needs (ESN) benefit from inclusion in general education settings with their same-age peers. Many teachers, however, report feeling overwhelmed and underprepared to effectively educate students with ESN within general education settings. To mitigate this, we must ensure that content related to the instruction and inclusion of students with ESN in general education settings is included in the introductory special education courses taken by preservice general education teachers, which we refer to as “SPED 101.” Our research team surveyed 302 instructors of SPED 101 courses in general education baccalaureate teacher preparation programs at institutions of higher education across the United States. Data suggest that most instructors cover content related to the instruction and the inclusion of students with ESN, although the extent to which content is addressed varies among instructors, indicating inconsistencies in course content, delivery, and instruction. Limitations, implications, and future research are discussed.

Young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically benefit from individually-designed interventions to engage in reciprocal conversation. We used a multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effects of a technology-based self-monitoring application (i.e., I-Connect) and visual supports to teach question asking skills to three males with ASD, ages 21–26. Participants selected community locations to participate in structured conversations with peers that were audio recorded. All participants demonstrated an immediate effect to increase their number of questions asked when using I-Connect to self-monitor. However, participant responding varied when visual supports were added. Maintenance also varied across participants. Findings indicated existing evidence-based practices for learners with ASD, such as self-monitoring and visual supports, can be combined in socially valid ways. Implications and suggestions for future research related to teaching conversation skills for young adults with ASD are discussed.