What is Functional Communication Training?

My student Molly is nonvocal. Whenever I assign independent worksheets, Molly will often refuse to work by ripping up the assignment, throwing her pencil, or putting her head down. There are also times when the students are working and I must take a phone call or am helping another student, and she screams. I am…

Preparing Adults with Autism for Employment Success

Written by Autism New Jersey and reprinted with permission. Credit: Artwork by Marina Azimova, EdM, MSW, BCBA In recent years, researchers examining employment outcomes have found that when young adults with autism have opportunities to participate in programs that both adequately prepare and support them as they enter the workforce, they can become successful and…

Promoting Success in the Community

I am a teacher of students with autism at the high school level. How can I promote independence and community integration for those individuals with autism who require one on one support and supervision? Answered by Randy Horowitz, MSEd, SAS Nassau Suffolk Services for Autism (NSSA) Credit: Artwork by Marina Azimova, EdM, MSW, BCBA In…

Catatonia in Autism Spectrum Disorder

My child with ASD has begun to engage in a few behaviors that concern me. For example, he no longer performs skills that he used to be able to do on his own, and he now moves very slowly! I’ve heard about catatonia, and worry that it might be affecting my son. Can you tell…

Implementing a Manualized, Classroom Transition Intervention

  Iadarola, S., Shih, W., Dean, M., Blanch, E., Harwood, R., Hetherington, S.,…& Smith, T. (2018). Implementing a manualized, classroom transition intervention for students with ASD in underresourced schools. Behavior Modification, 42, 126-147 Reviewed by: Frank Cicero, PhD, BCBA Seton Hall University Why research this topic? According to the National Center for Education Statistics, children…

A Randomized Trial of Social Skills Groups at School

  Kasari, C., Dean, M., Kretzmann, M., Shih, W., Orlich, F., Whitney, R., … & King, B. (2016). Children with autism spectrum disorder and social skills groups at school: A randomized trial comparing intervention approach and peer composition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57(2), 171-179. Allison Hawkins Rutgers University, Graduate School of Applied and…