Social Stories and Visual Supports Interventions for Students at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Antecedent interventions are often used preventatively to address engagement, but few studies have evaluated their effectiveness with students at risk for disability. This study evaluated the effectiveness of two commonly recommended antecedent interventions that have limited empirical support for use with students at risk: social stories and visual supports. Both interventions were evaluated separately in the context of two single-case alternating treatments designs across five elementary students at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. Social stories were not effective for improving students’ levels of engagement during targeted activities; visual supports resulted in increases in students’ engagement relative to baseline conditions. Future use of visual supports for students at risk should include evaluations of the feasibility of implementation by teaching staff.

Antecedent Interventions

Antecedent interventions are a class of intervention strategies in which environmental stimuli are manipulated prior to a behavior occurring, with the intention of stopping a behavior before it occurs. Antecedent interventions may also be used to modify settings such that students may no longer recognize triggers for problem behaviors. The chapter describes various advantages to antecedent interventions in relation to other classes of intervention strategies. Next, considerations for implementing antecedent interventions are discussed, including developing a comprehensive plan and ongoing data collection. The chapter then presents a range of antecedent interventions. Developing clear expectations, use of classroom seating arrangements, praise, increasing structure, delivery of effective instructions, and modifying task difficulty are among the procedures highlighted in the chapter.

The Effects of Deep Pressure Therapies and Antecedent Exercise on Stereotypical Behaviors of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders

In the past decade, the number of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has steadily increased. A common characteristic of ASD is the presence of stereotypical behaviors (e.g., hand flapping, echolalia), which some have suggested may be associated with heightened arousal and/or anxiety. The purpose of this study is to compare antecedent interventions that have been used to decrease stereotypical behaviors in three elementary students with ASD by modulating arousal. Using a single-case alternating treatments design across participants, we compared the relative efficacy of antecedent exercise with two forms of deep-pressure therapy (DPT; compression vest and weighted blanket). Results of the current study found mixed effects for the interventions, with DPT providing little reduction of stereotypical behaviors and antecedent exercise (riding a stationary bike) providing improvement in two of three cases. Implications for practitioners and future research are provided.