Russell Lang

Russell Lang
Texas State University | TxSt · Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Ph.D. BCBA-D

About

232
Publications
223,038
Reads
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9,651
Citations
Additional affiliations
September 2010 - September 2013
University of Texas at Austin
Position
  • Fellow
May 2009 - May 2010
University of California, Santa Barbara
Position
  • Post Doctoral Scholar
September 2010 - present
Texas State University
Position
  • Professor (Associate)

Publications

Publications (232)
Article
This paper systematically reviews research on the effects of gluten-free and/or casein-free (GFCF) diets in the treatment of ASD. Database, hand, and ancestry searches identified 15 articles for review. Each study was analyzed and summarized in terms of (a) participants, (b) specifics of the intervention, (c) dependent variables, (d) results, and (...
Article
Studies involving physical exercise and individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were reviewed. Systematic search procedures identified 18 studies meeting predetermined inclusion criteria. These studies were evaluated in terms of: (a) participant characteristics, (b) type of exercise, (c) procedures used to increase exercise, (d) outcomes,...
Article
A multiple baseline design across participants was used to demonstrate the effects of a script-training procedure on the peer-to-peer communication of 3 children with autism spectrum disorder during group play with peers. Both scripted and unscripted initiations as well as responses to peers increased for all 3 participants. Stimulus generalization...
Chapter
This chapter highlights the unique challenges and needs of families with autistic children, emphasizing the critical role of parental involvement and sibling engagement in early interventions. It reviews evidence-based practices for parent- and sibling-mediated interventions, family support mechanisms, and strategies to improve parental mental heal...
Chapter
Following an overview of the topographies, risks, and prevalence of pica, this chapter focuses on the assessment of pica in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Considerations for assessment include (a) screening for pica during intake and/or at regular intervals for individuals in residential facilities; (b) assessment for specific medical...
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This brief letter to the editor was written in response to a Nature editorial that misrepresented applied behavior analysis and indirectly promoted spelling to communicate (i.e., rapid prompting method, facilitated communication).
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Objective This paper explores the potential of advanced language models (ALMs) in enhancing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) options for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs). Method Possibilities and limitations of utilizing ALMs, such as ChatGPT, to address the communication challenges faced by indiv...
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Objectives As technological innovations continue to emerge, the range of potential applications for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is widening. In this article, we introduce a special issue on technological innovations in the education and treatment of persons with IDD. Method For this special issue, we sought empiri...
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Objectives Young children with Angelman syndrome have significant delays in expressive communication. Parents of children with Angelman syndrome require training to support their child’s communication development. Unfortunately, parent training focused on the needs of families of children with rare genetic syndromes is unavailable to many families....
Chapter
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Self-management interventions are evidence-based behavioral strategies in which various components (e.g., goal setting, self-evaluation, self-monitoring, self-reinforcement, self-instruction) are self-administered alone, or in tandem, to occasion behavior change. Research from the past 50 years has demonstrated that self-management strategies can b...
Article
Evidence-based Communication Assessment and Intervention (EBCAI) is a peer-reviewed journal that promotes evidence-based practice in serving individuals with communication disorders by publishing commentaries on recent communication assessment and intervention research. These commentaries summarize recent research in terms of procedures, outcomes,...
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This study follows McLay et al., Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, (2020) to investigate whether the function-based behavioral sleep interventions received by 41 children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) produced collateral improvements in ASD severity, internalizing and externalizing symptoms and parent relationship...
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Employment enhances community integration and overall quality of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Rapidly evolving and widely used handheld technologies (e.g., tablets and smart phones) may empower improved outcomes of vocational training for individuals with IDD. This systematic review summarizes and eva...
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Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have communication support needs and many rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to communicate. Previous research suggests that AAC use does not preclude the acquisition of spoken language and, in some cases, may facilitate improvements in spoken communication in child...
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Objectives The effects of a multiple schedule of reinforcement for two children with autism spectrum disorder who engaged in problem behavior were evaluated in a school setting. Methods Following functional behavior assessments, functional communication training was provided to teach a replacement behavior for requesting preferred items. Next, we...
Chapter
This chapter frames functional assessment as a broad class of methods for understanding challenging behavior and mental health disorders. We outline how various researchers define this group of methods in the literature and review theoretical and applied rationale for these methods. The specific type of functional assessment protocol used and its a...
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This case analysis involved 41 clinical cases wherein children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) received a behavioral intervention for sleep problems. This study intended to (a) evaluate the efficacy of function-based behavioral sleep treatments; (b) elucidate variables impacting response to such interventions; (c) inform practit...
Book
This book examines strategies for teaching adaptive behavior across the lifespan to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who regularly experience difficulty learning the skills necessary for daily living. It details evidence-based practices for functional life skills, ranging from teaching such basic hygiene as bathing, brus...
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Objectives Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to display stereotypic behaviors in contexts where play and social interactions are typically expected. We sought to replicate and extend previous research involving the use of prompting and lag schedules of reinforcement to improve variability in play behavior and decrease stereotypy for...
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This study used a multiple probe design to evaluate the effects of a teacher-implemented video-schedule intervention on the mathematical skills and untargeted challenging behaviors of five elementary-school students with autism. Results indicated that the intervention was effective in improving participants’ academic performance, and a decrease in...
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This systematic review is aimed at examining the effectiveness of the rapid prompting method (RPM) for enhancing motor, speech, language, and communication and for decreasing problem behaviors in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A multi-faceted search strategy was carried out. A range of participant and study variables and risk and...
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Objectives Sleep disturbances are a significant problem for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across the lifespan; however, there is a paucity of research examining effective sleep interventions for adolescents with ASD. Although research has demonstrated individuals with ASD can be meaningfully engaged in their own intervention proce...
Chapter
Disguised mands are “responses that are under the control of an establishing operation (e.g., deprivation from cookies) and a discriminative stimulus (e.g., the presence of a listener) but the response does not specify the reinforcing consequence (e.g., access to cookies)” (Najdowski et al. 2017).
Chapter
Aggression and tantrumming behaviors are among the more common topographies of challenging behavior observed in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). First, this chapter defines and describes these challenging behaviors. Next, risk factors and adverse outcomes associated with aggression and tantrumming are reviewed. Finally, evidence-bas...
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Objectives This study evaluated the effects of a video-enhanced activity schedule on the dangerous food stuffing (rapid eating) of a child with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). Methods An iPad Mini and the software application My Pictures Talk were used to deliver the video-enhanced activity schedule intervention...
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The current review provides an original examination of the literature involving mood as a dependent variable in behavioral interventions designed for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty-nine single-subject experimental design studies were identified through systematic searches and evaluated in relation to the following variables...
Article
We replicated previous research using behavioral skills training (BST) to teach four children with autism to engage in a safety response following lures from civilian strangers. This study extends previous research by (a) employing abduction lures incorporating highly preferred tangible items; (b) assessing for maintenance and generalization across...
Article
Sleep is an essential activity for human development. Often, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are affected by a lack of sleep due to various types of sleep problems. We identified and analyzed studies that were aimed at utilizing sleep interventions for children with ASD. A systematic search of databases, reference lists, and ancestral...
Article
s u m m a r y Sleep problems are prevalent in people with rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders (RGND) and, in some cases, RGNDs are associated with specific forms of sleep disturbance that appear relatively unique. Although a notable amount of research has focused on behavioral intervention for sleep problems in people with higher incidence de...
Article
Jaswal & Akhtar provide several quotes ostensibly from people with autism but obtained via the discredited techniques of Facilitated Communication and the Rapid Prompting Method, and they do not acknowledge the use of these techniques. As a result, their argument is substantially less convincing than they assert, and the article lacks transparency.
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Background and aims Facilitated Communication (FC) is a technique that involves a person with a disability pointing to letters, pictures, or objects on a keyboard or on a communication board, typically with physical support from a “facilitator”. Proponents claim that FC reveals previously undetected literacy and communication skills in people with...
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Portable touch-screen devices have been the focus of a notable amount of intervention research involving individuals with autism. Additionally, popular media has widely circulated claims that such devices and academic software applications offer tremendous educational benefits. A systematic search identified 19 studies that targeted academic skills...
Chapter
The concluding chapter brings home the importance of teaching play and social behavior not only in terms that they are behaviors that should be firmly planted in any child’s repertoire but for other reasons as well. Play and social skills have implications for much more far reaching consequences of positive gain. In this chapter, it is proposed tha...
Chapter
Parent-implemented intervention refers to teaching parents to implement specific programs or strategies with their child. Parent-implemented intervention has been shown to improve child outcomes related to communication, play, and social interaction. This chapter provides an introduction to parent-implanted intervention and step-by-step procedures...
Chapter
Research has suggested that children with ASD often do well when treatment strategies are present in a visual domain. Additionally, the children tend to prefer many visual-based strategies. In this chapter, two visual strategies with a strong evidence base, visual activity schedules and scripts, will be discussed. The literature for each will brief...
Chapter
Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often experience deficits and abnormalities in the development of social and play skills. Given the importance of these domains, it is not surprising that a great deal of intervention research aimed at teaching children with ASD target play and social behaviors has been conducted. The interventions with...
Chapter
Peer-mediated interventions (PMI) are strategies to promote positive social interactions between children with ASD and their peers. In PMI peers are taught to initiate interactions with children with ASD, to respond to children with ASD, or to model age-appropriate social, communicative, and play skills. This chapter provides an introduction to pee...
Chapter
Video modeling is an evidence-based treatment procedure that has been used to teach a wide variety of skills to children with autism spectrum disorder. In this chapter, after the background literature of video modeling is presented, and why it works so well is discussed, a thorough description of procedures to do your own video modeling and apply i...
Chapter
Naturalistic teaching strategies are treatment procedures that employ loosely structured settings, typically in the natural environment, as a means of promoting motivation, functional relationships, and generalization and maintenance for children with autism spectrum disorder. This chapter provides a detailed analysis of what these strategies are,...
Chapter
This chapter focuses on the importance of evidence-based practice and discusses issues in the context of interventions designed to teach play and social skills to children with ASD. The chapter aims to (a) provide a brief historical overview of the evidence-based practice movement beginning in the field of medicine and moving to psychology and educ...
Chapter
This chapter discusses many types of play and the importance of teaching play to children with autism spectrum disorder. The chapter specifically defines and presents how to teach exploratory, functional, assistive, cooperative, pretend, sociodramatic, and group play. The difference between play and toy stereotypy is discussed, and the importance o...
Book
This book discusses the deficits in the development and presentation of play behavior and social skills that are considered central characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The book explains why play provides an important context for social interactions and how its absence can further exacerbate social deficits over time. It highlights th...
Article
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The purpose of this meta-analysis was to identify and evaluate the effectiveness of school-based social interaction interventions for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). All 27 studies meeting predetermined inclusion criteria utilized single-case designs. Peer-mediated interventions, peer networks, behavioral skills training, and the t...
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We identified and analyzed studies that were aimed at teaching children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) manding skills using behavior chain interruption strategies. A systematic search of databases, reference lists, and journals identified 15 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Included studies were then summarized in terms of (a) particip...
Article
Debodinance, E., Maljaars, J., Noens, I., Van den Noorgate, W. (2017). Interventions for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis of single-subject experimental studies. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorder, 36, 79–92. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2017.01.010 Source of funding and declaration of interests: No source of funding reported and no...
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A collateral intervention effect refers to changes in behaviors which were not directly targeted during intervention. Using predetermined search and inclusion procedures, this systematic review identified 46 studies involving children with autism spectrum disorder and 14 desirable collateral effects across multiple domains of functioning. Collatera...
Article
Objectives: The effects of iPod-based visual activity schedules with embedded video models (video-enhanced activity schedules) on the academic skills and challenging behavior of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were evaluated. Methods: A multiple baseline design across three target skills was used with two participants, ages 9 and 11, t...
Chapter
Individuals who do not acquired toileting skills during early childhood are at an increased risk for medical complications, social exclusion, and an overall diminished quality of life. Persistent toileting skill deficits may be caused by physiological abnormalities that complicate or prevent successful voiding of the bowel and bladder. Additionally...
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Background: Poor anger regulation is considered a risk factor of aggression in individuals with mild or borderline intellectual disabilities. Psychomotor therapy (PMT) targets anger regulation through body- and movement-oriented interventions. This study aims to inform practitioners on efficacy and research-base of PMT in this population. Method: T...
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This systematic review provides a synthesis of behavioral interventions for food selectivity (FS) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A multistep search strategy was employed to identify experimental studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 1984 and 2015. Thirty-one studies met inclusion criteria. Participant characteristics...
Article
Effects of a restricted interest play activity on stereotypy, social engagement, and functional play of a preschooler with autism were evaluated in an ABAB design. Baseline free play with peers involved high levels of stereotypy and little play and social engagement. Incorporating restricted interests decreased stereotypy and increased play and soc...
Chapter
Perhaps the most common and most debilitating comorbid disorder with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is intellectual disability (ID). The overlap of these conditions has been studied extensively. This chapter provides an overview of the research that has been published on the topic. Subjects such as how symptoms are displayed, the current notions ab...
Chapter
A number of interventions designed to ameliorate the cognitive, social, language, and behavioral deficits and excesses present in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been developed over the previous 50 years. These interventions tend to be most effective when they are early, intensive and behavioral. In this chapter, we review evidenc...
Chapter
This chapter provides a detailed description of Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) beginning with a discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of the intervention. Ten EMT studies investigating the effects of EMT with children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental or language delays are then summarized and discussed. Next, each of the...
Chapter
Communication disorders are common among people with intellectual disabilities. Consequently, enhancing the communication skills of such individuals is a major intervention priority. This chapter reviews the nature and prevalence of the speech, language, and communication problems associated with intellectual disability, including consideration of...
Chapter
Social skills may be challenging for individuals with intellectual and developmental disability as a result of the social deficits and difficulties with social interaction that are central to the diagnostic definition of the disorder. These deficits may require continual treatment across the lifespan using interventions that target the social skill...
Chapter
Aggressive behavior is common in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), and it is most often targeted for intervention. Psychological, contextual, and biological risk factors may contribute to the risk of aggressive behavior. Risk factors are gender (males), level of IDD (lower levels of IDD), autism spectrum disorder...
Article
A concurrent multiple baseline across participants design evaluated the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) on abduction-prevention skills of four children with autism. Across phases, confederates presented four types of abduction lures: (a) simple requests, (b) appeals to authority, (c) assistance requests, and (d) incentives. During basel...
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Echolalia can lead to communication breakdowns that increase the likelihood of social failure and stigmatization in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In an effort to facilitate evidenced-based intervention and inform future research, this systematic review analyzes peer-reviewed studies involving the treatment of echolalia in individual...
Book
This book examines early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) programs for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It analyzes current research on early intervention (EI) and explains the importance of accurate, timely detection of ASD in facilitating the use of EI. Chapters address five widely researched EIBI approaches: Discrete T...
Chapter
In this chapter, we describe the application of interventions, based on the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), to individuals with a variety of intellectual and physical disabilities. ABA has an extensive and successful record in terms of developing evidence-based effective interventions for individuals with a variety of disabilities. I...
Article
This study aimed to teach individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and limited vocal speech to emit target vocalizations while using a speech-generating device (SGD). Of the 4 participants, 3 began emitting vocal word approximations with SGD responses after vocal instructional methods (delays, differential reinforcement, prompting) were intr...
Article
Previous research has shown tangibly maintained challenging behavior can be temporarily decreased by providing presession access to the relevant tangible. However, the duration of this beneficial effect is unknown. We measured the subsequent duration of behavior reduction effects following presession access during extended classroom observation ses...
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Purpose: This editorial provides a brief history of the journal Developmental Neurorehabilitation and describes changes occurring as the journal transitions from Informa Health Care to Taylor & Francis publishing company. The changes described include (a) revised and expanded description of the journal's aims and scope; (b) addition of 10 new posi...
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Facilitated Communication (FC) has been rebranded as "supported typing" and repackaged as rapid prompting method, but remains a disproven intervention for people with disabilities. Despite the absence of supportive evidence and abundant evidence that facilitators always author the messages, FC has experienced resurgence in popularity among families...
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The current study evaluated the effects of an intervention package designed to teach independent toileting skills to two boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A non-concurrent multiple baseline across participants design was employed to investigate the effects of video modeling that utilized animation to depict in-toilet voiding combined with p...
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Instructional applications (apps) are educational software programs that can be accessed via mobile technologies (e.g., iPad, smartphone) and used to help students acquire various academic skills, including mathematics. Although research suggests that app-based instruction (AI) can be effective, there is a paucity of research comparing AI, to teach...
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This review summarizes selected studies involving education and training programs designed to improve parents’ ability to provide research-based support and intervention for their children with intellectual disabilities. First, we highlight stressors and obstacles associated with parenting a child with intellectual disability and note the relative...
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This review provides a summary and appraisal commentary on the treatment review by Bauer, S. M., & Jones, E. A. (2014). Requesting and verbal imitation intervention for infants with Down syndrome: Generalization, intelligibility, and problem solving. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 27, 37-66. doi:10.1007/s10882-014-9400-6
Article
This study investigated whether simple technology-aided programs could be used to promote leisure and communication engagement in three persons with advanced Parkinson's disease. The programs included music and video options, which were combined with (a) text messaging and telephone calls for the first participant, (b) verbal statements/requests, t...
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Technology-aided programs have been reported to help persons with disabilities develop adaptive responding and control problem behavior/posture. This study assessed one such program in which choice of stimulus events was used as adaptive responding for three adults with multiple disabilities. A computer system presented the participants stimulus sa...
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This study assessed a new Speech Generating Device (SGD) with three adult participants whose multiple disabilities included blindness or minimal residual vision. The side of the device facing the participants measured 35 cm × 20 cm and was divided into 15 sections each containing an optic sensor. Above each optic sensor, there was a small object or...
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The purpose of Behavior Modification’s special issue on academics is to feature a collection of studies involving behavioral interventions designed to improve academic outcomes. Studies published in this special issue address a variety of academic subjects (e.g., reading, science, social studies) for students with learning, emotional, behavioral, a...
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iPads® have been successfully used as speech-generating devices (SGD) for children with ASD and limited speech, but little research has investigated the use of iPads to enhance academic skills, such as picture/word matching. In the present study, a student with ASD received intervention to teach picture and word matching using an iPad-based SGD as...
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This study assessed whether a computer-aided program presenting static pictorial instructions or video prompts according to prearranged time intervals would be suitable for teaching six persons with multiple (i.e., intellectual, sensory, and social) disabilities to perform simple daily activities. The program was applied with each participant accor...