A Review of School-Based Interventions to Reduce Challenging Behavior for Adolescents with ASD

A systematic review was conducted to assess the types of school-based interventions commonly used for adolescents (10 to 21 years) to reduce challenging behavior. A total of 40 articles were identified through the database search and ancillary searches. Participant, implementer, and intervention characteristics were recorded during descriptive coding. This review found that antecedent-based interventions were most commonly used within the school setting. School personnel reported antecedent-based interventions to be acceptable and feasible within the school setting. Results of the descriptive coding found that around 70% of participants were ages 10 to 13 years old, with limited research being conducted with students older than 13; therefore, additional research is needed with this age group. Based on What Works Clearinghouse standards, 25 articles Met Standards or Met Standards with Reservations and 22 articles provided moderate to strong evidence for the efficacy of these interventions within the school setting.