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​Parents and teachers of children and adults with ASD from 0 - 22 years old will find here ready solutions to improve their child's / learner's all areas of functioning. They are called evidence-based practices (EBPs). 

Each evidence-based practice is presented in a form of a step-by-step EBP guide which is  a detailed practical manual ​in pdf files and includes 3 steps of implementing each evidence-based practice - planning, using and monitoring your work with your child or your pupils/clients. The EBP guide includes printable implementation checklist, important data sheets, suggested materials to use with a learner and a parent guide.
​
The EBP practices are used to improve the learner's functioning in all areas:​
​Pre-Academic Skills
Academic Skills
Adaptive Skills
Cognitive Skills
Executive Functioning 
Language & Communication
​Social Communication
Social Emotional Skills 
School Readiness
Play Skills
Motor Skills 
Vocational Skills 
Behaviours 
​Self-Determination 

Check out about 30 step-by-step practice guides on EBPs evidence-based practices.


​Learn at your own pace and return to our attractive practical resources for as long as you need to.
​

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
​
Differential Reinforcement 

DR is an evidence-based practice for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder from 3-22 years old that can be implemented in multiple settings. It can be used by teachers and team members in school, community, and home environments.
✓  Why use it?
  • Differential reinforcement decreases interfering or challenging behaviours
  • Differential reinforcement reinforcers learners for not engaging in the interfering behaviour (DRO), spending less time engaged in the interfering behaviour (DRL), and/or spending time engaged in more appropriate behaviour choices (DRA/DRI)​
✓ Outcomes
DR addresses Social, Communication, Behaviour, Joint Attention, Motor, Play, School Readiness, Academic, Adaptive skills.

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Discrete Trial Training

DTT Is an evidence-based practice for children with autism spectrum disorder from 3 to 11 years old that can be implemented in a therapy, classroom, community, or home setting. DTT consists of an adult breaking behaviour down into separate (discrete) steps that have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
✓  Why use it?
DTT breaks skills into clear steps that can be carefully taught through repeated trials.
The consistent and predictable delivery of DTT creates a structured learning environment.
✓ Outcomes
DTT addresses: Social, Communication, Joint Attention, Behaviour, School Readiness, Adaptive, Academic skills

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Exercise & Movement

Exercise & Movement is the physical activity in which we engage in order to achieve a healthier level of physical fitness.
✓  Why use it?​
It's a potential antecedent intervention for learners with ASD to increase desired behaviours and decrease inappropriate behaviours.
✓ Outcomes
EXM addresses: Cognitive, Behaviour, School-Readiness, Motor, Academic Skills.

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Extinction ​

EXT Is an evidence-based practice for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder from 3-22 years old that can be implemented in multiple settings.It involves the following steps: identify an interfering behaviour or conduct a functional behaviour assessment (FBA) to determine the function of the interfering behaviour and the maintaining consequences consistently withhold the consequence that is maintaining the interfering behaviour
✓ Why Use?
  • EXT is designed to decrease or eliminate interfering behaviours.
  • Team members can use extinction in conjunction with other evidence-based practices to teach learners a replacement behaviour to obtain desired attention, objects, or activities in a more socially acceptable manner.
  • EXT is cost-effective, efficient, easy to implement, and non-intrusive.
✓ Outcomes
EXT addresses:  Communication, Behaviour, School Readiness, Adaptive Skills

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Functional Behaviour Assessment 

FBA Is an evidence-based practice for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder from 0-22 years old that can be implemented in multiple settings.
It assists the IEP team in understanding the function
​or purpose of a specific interfering behaviour. 
✓ Why Use?
A FBA is needed when the intensity, duration, or type of interfering behaviour creates safety concerns or impacts a child’s development and learning.
Team members use a FBA to describe the interfering behaviour, identify antecedents or consequence events, and develop and test a hypothesis.
​FBA can help a team determine appropriate evidence based practices to use to address the interfering behaviour.
​✓ Outcomes
​The evidence-base for FBA supports the use of this practice to address: Communication, Behaviour, School-Readiness, Adaptive, Academic Skills

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Functional Communication Training 

Functional Communication Training (FCT) is an evidence-based practice for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder from 3-22 years old that can be implemented in multiple settings. It's a systematic practice to replace interfering behaviours with more appropriate and effective communicative behaviours.
It's specifically employed after a FBA or functional analysis has been conducted to identify the function of an interfering behaviour.
​✓ Why Use?
FCT is helpful for learners with social communication deficits and challenging behaviours because it provides a more acceptable form of communication that enables the learner to achieve the same desired outcome (such as escaping a non-preferred task, obtaining attention, obtaining access to a preferred item or activity, etc.)
FCT serves to reduce problematic behaviours that might be detrimental to the learner and others as well as to improve the communication skills of the learner
FCT can also be a low-cost intervention that does not take long to create.
Some of the problematic behaviours that can be addressed by FCT include: aggression and self-injurious behaviours, property destruction, tantrums, elopement, and/or disruption.
✓ Outcomes
​The evidence-base for FCT supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Behaviour, School Readiness, Play, Adaptive Skills

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Modeling 

Modeling is an evidence-based practice for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research studies have shown that modeling has been used effectively with learners in early intervention, preschool, elementary school, and high school. It involves someone correctly performing a target behaviour or skill as a visual demonstration for the learner.
✓ Why Use?
Learners with ASD often struggle with acquiring new target skills or behaviours. Modeling increases the ability of learners with ASD to perform the new skill/behaviour and supports the generalisation and maintenance of the skill/behaviour. Modeling is a cost-efficient and convenient teaching tool that requires few additional resources.
 ✓ Outcomes
The evidence-base for FCT supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Joint Attention, School Readiness, Play, Vocational, Academic.

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Naturalistic Interventions 

Naturalistic Intervention (NI) is an evidence-based practice for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder from 0-11 years old that can be implemented in multiple settings.It focuses on integrating into already occurring routines and activities with naturally occurring reinforcers​
✓ Why Use?
NI may increase the hours of intervention received by a learner, as NI are implemented during naturally occurring routines and activities.
NI can be used to improve learner behaviour and social communication skills.​​
✓ Outcomes
​The evidence-base for NI supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Joint Attention, School Readiness, Play, Academic, Behaviour​

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Picture Exchange Communication System

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is an evidence-based practice for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from 3 to 14 years of age. It is a behaviourally based intervention that teaches the learner to use pictures/symbols to communicate with others.
✓ Why Use?
Some learners with ASD might not develop typical verbal and nonverbal communication skills.
PECS can be used to develop a system of communication and promote speech development.
PECS can be used to teach learner’s with limited functional communication skills to initiate communicative exchanges and interactions within a social context. 
✓ Outcomes
The evidence-base for PECS supports the use of this practice to address:  Social, Communication, Joint Attention.

​Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Parent-implemented Interventions 

Parent Implemented Intervention (PII) is an evidence-based practice for learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) 0-11 years old that can be implemented in a variety of settings.
It focuses on including parents in all steps of the process of implementation while applying a cycle of coaching practices to ensure that parents are successfully implementing PII and that PII is leading to improved learner outcomes.
​✓ Why Use?
PII may increase the hours of intervention received by a learner, as PII are implemented by parents during everyday routines and activities in which the family already engages.
PII can be used to improve learner behaviour and skills and parent/child interactions.
​✓ Outcomes
  • The evidence-base for PII supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Joint Attention, School Readiness, Play, Academic, Behaviour, Cognitive, Adaptive skills​​

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Peer-mediated Instruction
​& Intervention

Peer-Mediated Instruction and Intervention (PMII) is a method to systematically teach peers without disabilities ways to engage learners with ASD in positive and meaningful social interactions. It's a group of specific interventions that address social skills of learners with ASD by using trained peers. These specific interventions include Peer Modeling, Peer Initiation Training, Direct Training for Target Student and Peer, Peer Networks, and Peer Supports​
✓ Why Use?
Learners with ASD struggle with social impairments and might have limited opportunities to engage in meaningful social interactions with other children and youth without disabilities.
PMII increases the frequency that learners with ASD will interact with peers without disabilities.
Peers might also benefit from PMII by expanding social networks, increased school activities, and improvement in social skills. 
✓ Outcomes
The evidence-base for PII supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Joint Attention, School Readiness, Play, Academic, Behaviour, Cognitive, Adaptive skills.

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Prompting ​

Prompting (PP) is a foundational evidence-based practice for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from birth to 22 years old that is implemented in a variety of ways across multiple settings.It is a set of procedures designed to reduce incorrect responses as learners acquire new skills and minimise negative effects learners might experience when target skills are not used successfully.
✓ Why Use?
Prompting maximises the success of the learner.
Prompting increases a learner’s ability to generalize use of skills. Prompting includes any help given to a learner that assists the learner in using a specific skill or behaviour. Sometimes referred to as an errorless learning method, prompting reduces incorrect responding as learners acquire new skills.
✓ Outcomes
The evidence-base for PP supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Joint Attention, Behaviour, School-Readiness, School-Readiness, Motor, Adaptive, Vocational, Academic skills.

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​​Pivotal Response Training 

Pivotal Response Training is an evidence-based practice for learners in early intervention (0-2 years) to middle school learners (12-14 years) that can be implemented in multiple settings. It is conducted in natural settings in which social, communication, and play skills are targeted for improvement​
✓ Why Use?
PRT has been found to be effective in increasing social initiations, functional play skills, and symbolic play skills of learners with ASD.
PRT incorporates variety of motivational strategies, such as learner preferred materials, choices, and reinforcement.
✓ Outcomes
The evidence-base for PRT supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play skills.

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Reinforcement 

Reinforcement (R+) is is an evidence-based practice for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from birth to 22 years old that is implemented in a variety of ways across multiple settings.
It describes the relationship between learner behaviour and a consequence that follows the behaviour. This relationship is only reinforcing if the consequence increases the likelihood the learner performs the skill or behaviour. This practice includes positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and token economy programmes.​
✓ Why Use?
Reinforcement increases appropriate behaviour and on task behaviours
Reinforcement can be used to teach replacement behaviours for an interfering behaviour. 
✓ Outcomes
The evidence-base for R+ supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Joint Attention, Behaviour, School-Readiness, Cognitive, Vocational, School-Readiness, Motor, Adaptive, Academic skills.

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Response Interruption & Redirection 

Response Interruption/Redirection (RIR) ) is an evidence-based practice for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from 3 to 22 years old.
​It is a practice used to decrease behaviours that interfere with learning and daily functioning. ​
✓ Why Use?
Response interruption/redirection is used to address significant interfering behaviours that are often difficult to address.
Response interruption/redirection redirects learners to increase their use of more appropriate behaviours.
​✓ Outcomes
The evidence-base for RIR supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Joint Attention, Behaviour, School-Readiness, School-Readiness, Motor, Adaptive, Academic skills.

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​​Scripting

The use of scripts as an intervention capitalizes upon the strengths of learners with ASD by providing specific, appropriate models for language and/or social behaviour in a structured way that will support the learner in engaging in a communicative interaction with a partner.

✓  Why Use?
Scripts provide a specific model for language or social behaviour that will enable the learner to interact effectively with another person.
Scripting can be used to address a variety of skills or behaviours.
✓ Outcomes
  • The evidence-base for R+ supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Joint Attention, Behaviour, School-Readiness, Cognitive, Vocational, School-Readiness, Adaptive, Academic skills​.

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​​Self-management

​Self-management systematizes self-regulation strategies for learners with ASD to learn the rules and norms needed to act appropriately in a given situation.
Self-regulation strategies can include self-monitoring, self-reflection, and adapting to a given context.

✓ Why Use?
Learners with ASD often struggle with understanding the unspoken rules and social norms. Self-management is easily adaptable to many settings.Once learned, self-management can be used to address a variety of skills or behaviours. ​
✓ Outcomes
  • The evidence-base for SM supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Behaviour, School-Readiness, School-Readiness, Adaptive, Academic, Vocational skills.​

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver

​​Social Narratives 

Social narratives describe social situations for learners with ASD by providing relevant cues, explanation of the feelings and thoughts of others in the social situation, and descriptions of appropriate behaviour expectations. Typically, social narratives are individualized based upon the needs of the learner, short, and written from the perspective of the learner.

✓  Why Use?
Social narratives increase learners’ understanding of a social situation.
Social narratives prepare learners to use a target skill or behaviour in a social situation.
✓ Outcomes
  • The evidence-base for SM supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Behaviour, School-Readiness, School-Readiness, Adaptive, Academic, Cognitive, Vocational skills.​

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​​​Structured Play Groups

Structured play groups (SPG) are interventions facilitated by adults used to teach a broad range of skills and behaviours during playtime with a small group of children who meet consistently in a defined space. 

✓ Why Use?
SPG has been found to be effective in improving the social skills, language diversity, and object play of learners with ASD.
SPG incorporates variety of instructional strategies.​
​✓ Outcomes
  • The evidence-base for SPG supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Behaviour, School-Readiness, Academic skills.​​

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​​Social Skills Training 

Social skills training (SST) refers to any adult-directed instruction in which social skills are targeted for improvement. SST typically occurs in either a group 4 or individual format, 12 and may also include facilitated practice in classroom settings.

✓  Why Use?
SST has been found effective in improving the social competence of learners with ASD.
SST can incorporate a variety of instructional strategies.
SST can promote generalisation of skills .​
✓ Outcomes
  • The evidence-base for SST supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Behaviour, School-Readiness, Adaptive, Academic, Cognitive skills.​ ​

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Task Analysis

Task analysis (TA) can be used to help break down and teach these chained behaviours. Chained behaviours are behaviours or skills which consist of multiple steps such as tying shoes, grocery shopping, writing a paper, or cooking. Once chained behaviours are broken into smaller steps, team members work with the learner to systematically teach the individual steps.

✓ Why Use?
Complex target skills and behaviours can be difficult for learners with ASD to process. Task analysis helps learners acquire smaller steps of a complex target skill
​or behaviour. Task analysis is a cost-effect method which requires minimal resources and can be used in multiple settings. ​​
​✓ Outcomes
  • The evidence-base for TA supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Behaviour, Adaptive, Joint Attention, Academic skills.

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
​
Technology-aided Instruction
​& Intervention 

TAII refers to instruction or intervention in which technology is the central feature supporting the acquisition of a goal for the learner. Technology is defined as “any electronic item, equipment, application, or virtual network that is used intentionally to increase/maintain, and/or improve daily living, work/productivity, and recreation/leisure capabilities
of children with autism spectrum disorders.

✓  Why Use?
TAII can help decrease adult support and increase learner independence. TAII can make learning predictable for learners with ASD.TAII can be used to foster communication through the use of specially designed devices.​
✓ Outcomes
  • The evidence-base for TAII supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Behaviour, Adaptive, Joint Attention, School Readiness, Vocational, Cognitive, Academic skills.​​

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​​Time Delay

Prompt dependence limits a learner’s ability to generalize skills to new situations, activities, and individuals. Adults and team members can prevent prompt dependence by using time delay. Time delay is a response prompting procedure that systematically fades prompts during instructional activities. 

✓ Why Use?
Time delay reduces prompt dependence.Time is user-friendly and cost efficient, because it does not require any additional materials other than those that are needed for the selected instructional activities.
​✓ Outcomes
  • The evidence-base for TD supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Behaviour, Adaptive, Joint Attention, School Readiness, Vocational, Cognitive, Motor, Academic skills.​​

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Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​Video Modeling 

Video modeling (VM) is an intervention that uses technology (video recording and display equipment) to provide a visual model of a targeted behaviour or skill. Thus, it is often referred to as an assistive technology method.

✓  Why Use?
Learners with ASD often struggle with acquiring new target skills or behaviours. Video modeling increases the ability of learners with ASD to perform the target behaviour.
✓ Outcomes
  • The evidence-base for VM supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Behaviour, Adaptive, Joint Attention, School Readiness, Vocational, Cognitive, Motor, Vocational, Academic skills.​​

Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver
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​​Visual Supports 

Visual supports are concrete cues that are paired with, or used in place of, a verbal cue to provide the learner with information about a routine, activity, behavioural expectation, or skill demonstration.
​Visual supports might include: pictures, written words, objects, arrangement of the environment, visual boundaries, schedules, maps, labels, organization systems, timelines, and scripts.

✓  Why Use?
Learners with ASD struggle with verbal instructions of what to do or what will happen next. Visual supports present information in a way that helps learners with ASD focus on key elements. Visual supports can increase on-task behaviour and foster the independence of learners with ASD. 
​✓ Outcomes
  • The evidence-base for VS supports the use of this practice to address: Social, Communication, Play, Behaviour, Adaptive, Joint Attention, School Readiness, Vocational, Cognitive, Motor, Vocational, Academic skills.​
Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver

​Behaviour Momentum Intervention

​Behavioural Momentum Intervention builds skills and increases compliance by changing the sequence in which skills are taught. Learners respond to a few less challenging, known instructional requests followed immediately by a more challenging, instructional request to complete the target skill. By accessing reinforcement and engaging in a pattern of correct responding with the known instructional requests, the likelihood of a learner correctly performing the target skill increases.  BMI capitalizes on an easy-to-hard task teaching sequence to build a pattern of correct responding.​The quick pace of teaching requests and positive reinforcement of BMI support the learner’s skill acquisition, compliance, and on-task behaviours.
​
✓ Why use it?
 It's used with positive reinforcement which has been shown to support new skill acquisition
 It's an antecedent-based intervention which has been shown to decrease noncompliance and challenging behaviours. It may be a good strategy to use when other teaching strategies have not been successful or when compliance with particular target skills is low.​
​✓ Outcomes
 Academic, Adaptive, Challenging, Communication, Play, School Readiness, Social Skills
Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver

Augmentative & Alternative Communication

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) are interventions that use a system of communication that is not verbal/vocal including aided and unaided communication systems.The following evidence-based practices may be needed to teach a learner to use their AAC system. Modeling (MD), Peer-based instruction & intervention (PBII), Prompting (PP), Reinforcement (R+), Time delay (TD), Visual supports (VS).

✓ Why use it?
​AAC provides an alternate means of expressive communication when a learner has limited words or verbal communication. AAC uses visual supports to make abstract social and communication concepts more concrete for learners with autism.The technology used in AAC devices may be motivating to learners with autism.​
​​✓ Outcomes
The evidence-base for this practice supports its use to address the following outcomes: Academic, Challenging Behaviours, Communication, Joint Attention, Motor, Play, Social Skills.
Step-by-step practice guide how to deliver

Direct Instruction

Direct Instruction (DI) is a teaching model and accompanying curricula for supporting learners in mastering language, reading, math, and other academic subjects. Instructors follow carefully developed scripted lessons to present instructional content in a clear and consistent manner on each learner’s current skill level. The pace of the instruction is quick, and the specificity
​of the lessons decreases students’ confusion or misinterpretations.

✓ Why use it?
DI streamlines the rules and concepts in academic subjects to present content in manageable chunks.
DI supports learners in gaining important foundational knowledge prior to the introduction of new concepts.
​ DI can improve academic outcomes and build the self-confidence of learners.
✓ Outcomes
The evidence-base for this practice supports its use to address the following outcomes: Academic, Cognitive, School Readiness, Communication.


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