High prevalence of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the legislation movement impacted the placement of students with ASD in general education settings. Hence, the increase raised the need to conduct research for ASD populations, and to examine the effectiveness of these interventions. With the increase of single case-design (SCD) studies, there is a demand to include SCD in the evaluation of evidence- based practices (EBPs), to analyze and interpret SCD results in meaningful ways beside visual analysis, and to generate effect size estimates. This dissertation contains four systematic literature reviews which examine single-case intervention research targeting academic, social communication, play, and functional life skills for children with ASD in school settings. 132 studies with 924 AB phase contrasts were analyzed using visual analysis and three non-overlap measures. Sensitivity and specificity of Tau-U, IRD, and Baseline Corrected Tau were tested on detecting intervention effects. Also, the three methods were examined in their agreement with interpretations based on the visual analysis and the effect of confounding factor on their scores. The analysis demonstrated that the three methods performed fairly well in distinguishing effective from non-effective interventions. The three non-overlap methods had a moderate to substantial level of agreement with visual analysis. The author recommended further research on the impact of confounding factors especially baseline trend and autocorrelation as well as the use of effect size methods with high sensitivity and visual aids to improve the reliability and accuracy of visual analysis.

Students with autism spectrum disorders present deficits in social interaction skills that may prevent their successful inclusion in general education placements. Considering the increasing number of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) being educated in inclusive settings and recent requirements on the use of research-based interventions in schools, the purposes of this study were (1) to evaluate the quality of single-case research and determine whether behaviorally-based interventions to improve social interaction skills of children with ASD in inclusive settings can be considered evidence-based practices and (2) to conduct a meta-analysis investigating whether specific factors such as participants' age, behavioral components used in the intervention, target social interaction skills, intervention implementer, and peer training moderate effectiveness of the interventions. Specific criteria for quality of single-case research were used to classify studies according to their certainty of evidence. Tau-U, a non-parametric index of effect size in single-case research, was used to measure the intervention's magnitude of change on target outcomes. Differences between levels of the moderators were analyzed using statistical significance test (p = .05) through the use of 83.4% confidence intervals. Results indicate that the use of behaviorally-based interventions to improve social interaction skills of students with ASD in inclusive settings can be considered evidence based practices. In addition, the interventions produced overall high effect size, indicating their effectiveness based on studies meeting minimum standards of methodological quality. More specifically, the interventions are demonstrated to be effective for preschool and elementary school children between the ages of 2 and 10 years. Studies targeting social interaction initiations or responses in isolation were more effective than studies focusing on both skills. While interventions using planned reinforcement were shown to be more effective, no differential effects were found regarding the use of planned modeling. No differences were found regarding intervention implementer. Finally, the use of peer training did not appear to increase effectiveness of the behaviorally-based social skill interventions. The results and their implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Contexte : Plusieurs approches thérapeutiques sont utilisées afin d’améliorer la mobilité en contexte de réadaptation. La danse-thérapie fait partie des approches innovantes auprès de populations ayant des troubles neurologiques. Une étude quasi expérimentale avec un groupe témoin n'a pas apporté d’évidence de l'efficacité d'un programme de danse-thérapie de 12 semaines, dispensé une fois par semaine à des personnes souffrant d'un handicap physique (DTDP) et visant à améliorer leur mobilité. Étant donné les avantages perçus de l'intervention, il était important de poursuivre les recherches. Méthode : Nous avons mené une étude expérimentale à cas unique avec la statistique Tau-U sur 28 semaines avec des mesures répétées (quatre outils pour évaluer la mobilité) dans la phase pré-danse (A1), la phase du programme de danse (B) et la phase post-danse (A2). L'échelle de l’état de flow (Flow State Scale, FSS) et l'échelle de confiance de l’équilibre spécifique à l'activité (ABC Scale) ont fourni des scores avant et après l'intervention. Résultats : Cinq participants ont amélioré de manière significative (p <0,05) leurs scores pour le Mini BESTest (MBT), 2/5 pour le 4 Square Step Test (4Sq) et 4/5 pour le Multi Directional Reach Test - Behind (MDRT-behind) avec de très grandes tailles d'effet (TE). Les TE agrégés pour A1 et A2 sont passés de modérés à très grandes. Les changements sur les échelles FSS et ABC n'étaient pas significatifs. Les objectifs personnels ont été perçus et mesurés comme atteints. Conclusions : Ces résultats suggèrent l'efficacité du programme DTDP pour les adultes souffrant de troubles neurologiques et l'utilisation du devis expérimental à cas unique avec la statistique Tau- U pour explorer l'efficacité des interventions en danse pour des cohortes hétérogènes. Les outils utilisés pour mesurer la mobilité semblent prometteurs pour détecter les changements dus à la danse. / Background: Several therapeutic approaches are used to improve mobility in rehabilitation settings. Dance therapy is one of the innovative approaches for populations with neurological disorders. A quasi-experimental study with a control group did not provide evidence to support the effectiveness of a 12-week weekly outpatient dance therapy program for persons with physical disability (DTPD) aimed at improving their mobility. Given the perceived benefits of the intervention, further investigation was important. Method: We conducted a single case experimental design (SCED) with the Tau-U statistic over 28 weeks with repeated measures (4 tools to assess mobility) in the pre-dance phase (A1), dance program phase (B) and post-dance phase (A2). The Flow State Scale and the Activity-specific balance confidence scale (ABC) provided scores pre-and post intervention. Results: Five participants significantly (p <0.05) improved scores for the Mini BESTest (MBT), 2/5 for the 4 Square Step Test (4Sq) and 4/5 for the Multi-Directional Reach Test – Behind (MDRT- behind) with very large effect sizes (ES). Aggregated ES for A1 and A2 went from moderate to very large. Changes on the FSS and ABC scales were not significant. Personal objectives were perceived and measured as attained. Conclusions: These results support the effectiveness of the DTPD program for adults with neurological conditions, and for the use of SCED with the Tau-U statistic to explore effectiveness of dance interventions for heterogeneous cohorts. The tools used to measure mobility appear promising to detect changes due to dance.