Improving Outcomes for Students with Autism and Their Families: Investigating the Use of Direct Behavior Rating to Collect and Communicate Student Data Across Settings

The quality of cross-systems collaboration has been associated with improvements in parental satisfaction, student outcomes, and family-school partnerships. This is particularly relevant for students with a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (e.g., Autism), a population that has an increased need for such efforts. However, there is a lack of cost-effective and efficient tools to facilitate communication across these settings (among home, school, and services provided outside of the school). There is also a need for quick and easy-to-use student progress monitoring methods to inform decision making. This study utilized Direct Behavior Rating (DBR), a method of behavioral assessment that has been described as offering an efficient, flexible, and defensible option (e.g., Chafouleas, Riley-Tillman, & Christ, 2009), to collect data through a home-school log. This log was used to facilitate cross-systems communication and data-based decision making among parents and professionals within and outside of school, to ultimately improve student outcomes for children on the Autism spectrum, who are often at an increased need for consistent and coordinated care and frequent progress evaluation. A single-subject multiple baseline design across four child participants was used to evaluate improvements in student outcomes. Results indicated small to moderate improvements in participants?≤?╟?╓ self-reported perceptions of their cross-systems communication and data-based decision making practices from pre- to post-implementation of the home-school log. When comparing students?≤?╟?╓ behavioral data during the baseline and intervention phases of the home-school log intervention, weak to moderate improvements in students?≤?╟?╓ academically engaged and non-disruptive behaviors were noted. These results provide guidance for ways to improve upon the procedures utilized in this study to potentially garner stronger effects. Implications for practice and research are discussed.