The National Professional Development Center (NPDC) on Autism Spectrum Disorder has identified 27 evidence-based practices for improving outcomes for students with ASD.
| Antecedent-based intervention | Pivotal response training |
| Cognitive behavioral intervention | Prompting |
| Differential reinforcement | Reinforcement |
| Discrete trial teaching | Response interruption/ redirection |
| Exercise | Scripting |
| Extinction | Self-management |
| Functional behavior assessment | Social narratives |
| Functional communication training | Social skills training |
| Modeling | Structured play group |
| Naturalistic intervention | Task analysis |
| Parent-implemented intervention | Technology-aided instruction and intervention |
| Peer-mediated instruction and intervention | Time delay |
| Picture Exchange Communication System | Video modeling |
| Visual support |
Five of these interventions—(1) reinforcement; (2) prompting; (3) time delay; (4) modeling; and (5) task analysis reflect the building blocks of ABA and, therefore, are sometimes referred to as foundational strategies.
Reinforcement – Positive reinforcement involves providing a desired consequence (e.g., a tangible item, access to an activity, or social reward/praise) after a student engages in a desired behavior.
Prompting – Using a prompt to assist a student when he is learning a new skill or behavior to help improve his chances of success.
- Gesture—Includes pointing at or touching an object
- Verbal cue—Includes verbal hints and directions
- Visual cue—Includes illustrations, photos, and objects
- Modeling—Includes demonstrating or showing a child how to perform a skill
- Physical—Includes physically directing or touching a child to help him perform a behavior or skill (Note that this is especially useful for teaching motor skills)
Time Delay – A means of systematically providing and then fading prompts. When teaching a new behavior or skill, the teacher prompts the child and then immediately provides the correct response (e.g., “What is this? A dog.”). Then the teacher increases the time between the prompt and the student’s response using a constant time delay or progressive time delay.
Modeling – Demonstrating how to perform a skill or behavior correctly prior to asking the student to perform the behavior. A visual demonstration can also be used to prompt a student after he or she has been asked to perform a skill or behavior.
Task Analysis – A method of breaking multi-step skills or behaviors into smaller components that can be taught one at a time.