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Background
In the first year of the study, we discovered a need to improve behavior and transitions among students with ASD in special education classrooms. To address these challenges, we created STAT (Schedules, Tools, and Activities for Transitions in the Daily Routine).
Study:
The STAT (Schedules, Tools, and Activities for Transitions in the Daily Routine) intervention is designed to improve behavior and transitions among students with ASD in special education classrooms. This intervention uses behavioral strategies found in functional routines to address classroom management and environmental structures in special education classrooms. Children with ASD in grades K-5th are randomized to immediate treatment or waitlisted to beginning training the following school year.
In STAT, coaches work with classroom staff during ongoing school activities for 30-45 minutes at a time, with 12-16 visits over a 6-10 week period. The coaches and staff collaboratively identify which transitions (and which steps within a transition) are most challenging for the students with ASD in the classroom, and they select strategies to overcome these challenges. For example, they might determine that students have particular difficulty going from their primary classroom to specials (music, art, and physical education) and that the beginning of the transition (putting away materials and lining up) is especially time-consuming and stressful. Potential solutions might include providing a clear and consistent warning that the transition is about to occur, choosing a signal that reliably gains the students’ attention, and presenting a visual schedule that shows what the students are expected to do during the transition.
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