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. 2022 Sep 20;15(4):1390-1395.
doi: 10.1007/s40617-019-00392-z. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Effectiveness of Environmental Manipulation to Enhance Engagement and Ecological Validity at an Agency Serving Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Disabilities

James W Jackson  1 , Sarah M Dunkel-Jackson  1 , Mark R Dixon  2 , Susan Szekely  3
Affiliations

Effectiveness of Environmental Manipulation to Enhance Engagement and Ecological Validity at an Agency Serving Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Disabilities

James W Jackson et al. Behav Anal Pract. .

Abstract

The ecological validity of interventions can be enhanced when we first consider the environment in which our students participate. Antecedent interventions such as environmental manipulations can be easily and effectively implemented to enhance student engagement and decrease challenging behaviors in classrooms. The current study explored the use of a measurement system developed for widespread use within a school for students with autism spectrum disorder that helped to inform a classroom-wide environmental manipulation in the form of classroom arrangements. Baseline data across three classrooms suggested high, variable rates of challenging behavior and low rates of engagement with staff and materials. After the introduction of the antecedent intervention, engagement increased and challenging behavior decreased. Helping practitioners develop environmental and systems changes may help to complement individual behavior intervention plans.

Keywords: antecedent intervention; autism spectrum disorder; engagement; environmental manipulation; seating arrangement.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Seating charts developed using Microsoft® Visio for each classroom, displaying seating arrangements during baseline (left panel) and treatment (right panel)
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Aggregate data for all six students during each observation across three classrooms in baseline and treatment phases
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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