Reinforcement

The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders (NPDC) initially reviewed the research literature on evidence-based, focused intervention practices in 2008. A second, more comprehensive review was completed by NPDC in 2013.

• A total of 27 EBPs are identified in the current review.
• Of the 27 practices, 10 practices that met criteria had participants in the infant and toddler age group, thus showing effectiveness of the practice with infants and toddlers with ASD.

The practices were identified as evidence-based when at least two high quality group design studies, five single case design, or a combination of one group design and three single case designed studies showed that the practice was effective. The full report is available on the NPDC on ASD website.

Reinforcement meets the evidence-based practice criteria in all age groups (birth to 21) with 43 single case design studies. For the infant and toddler age group (0 - 2), 2 single-subject design studies included toddlers with autism and demonstrated positive outcomes. In addition, 14 studies included preschool children (3 - 5). Reinforcement can be used effectively to address social, communication, behavior, joint attention, play, school readiness, motor, adaptive, and, for older learners, academic and vocational skills. A complete list of the evidence base for children aged birth to five is included in the References.

Refer to the Reinforcement Fact Sheet from the updated EBP report for further information on the literature for prompting procedures.