The National Autism Center has developed an impressive guide for educators: Evidence-Based Practice and Autism in the Schools [258-page pdf here]. They do a really nice job of translating solid evidence into hands-on, practical advice, and provide numerous forms and checklists to help teachers collect and analyze their own data. However, I believe they should have included a pullout called "Putting the Evidence into Action" (about 10-12 pages long, and heavy on charts, graphics, and step-by-step) summarizing key concepts and directing people to additional information within the 258-page document. As it is, although this guide is very approachable, it's so long that it's not immediately obvious where to turn for specific details (for example, their table summarizing 'Established Treatments with Favorable Outcomes Reported' appears in the appendix, on page 222).
Setting the stage. NAC explains that they "developed this manual as a means of promoting evidence-based practice for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in the schools. Why? Because we know that evidence-based practice is in the best interest of the student and that it is most likely to produce positive outcomes with this population. The information presented herein is meant for all “front-line” interventionists who work in school settings. Although research findings are essential, they are not the only component of evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice requires the integration of research findings with other critical factors.
"These factors include: Professional judgment and data-based decision making; Values and preferences of families, including the student on the autism spectrum whenever feasible; Capacity to accurately implement interventions. This definition of evidence-based practice is applied to school settings throughout this document. Evidence-based practice is complex and requires both ongoing communication and respectful interactions among all stakeholders. Even when a list of effective treatments is identified, collaboration is the key to achieving the best outcomes. To that end, we have provided examples involving a broad range of professionals and support staff throughout the manual to illustrate the points we make." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Three types of evidence. Chapter 2 presents 'Research Findings of the National Standards Project'. Treatment practices are grouped into three categories, based on the supporting evidence: established, emerging, and unestablished. The 'established' treatments are clearly identified, and have names such as: antecedent package, behavioral package, joint attention intervention, naturalistic teaching strategies, modeling, self-management, and story-based intervention package. They've done a standup job translating the research into practical advice, accompanied by examples.
Teaching by example. Discussing the modeling treatment approach, they explain by example: "Consider the case of Steve, a 16-year-old student for whom you have used video modeling in the past. While video modeling works well with many students, Steve seems to have a hard time performing the modeled task unless everything in the classroom setting appears exactly the way it does in the video. Therefore, you decide that the variability that may naturally occur with live modeling may be better for Steve. You train two peers to model the target behavior (in this case, how to make plans to meet a friend at lunch). Although you used the exact same teaching procedure with both peers, you notice there is some natural variation in the way they demonstrate the target behavior."
Roll your own. Perhaps most important is Chapter 3, 'Professional Judgment and Data-based Decision Making'. The guide provides forms and recommendations for collecting and analyzing empirical data.
Gold star. The folks at NAC should be very proud of this guide. As I said earlier, my one criticism is that they've produced a 250+ page document that - even though it contains lots of white space and nice presentation - might seem unapproachable to a busy educator. A step-by-step quick reference, 10 or so pages long, would be the ideal supplement for this.
Comments