Consultation Practices: School-Based Instructional Support

Large numbers of children nationwide are at risk for academic failure. To address this problem, federal legislation encouraged school-based consulting teams to adopt a response-to-intervention model that relies on science-based instructional and intervention strategies for preventing, identifying, and responding to children’s academic problems. Among the most effective science-based practices for academic instruction and intervention are those based on applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA combines behavior analytic principles (e.g., reinforcement, extinction, stimulus control) and procedures (e.g., frequent opportunities to respond with modeling, prompting, and feedback) with the ongoing measurement of student progress. This chapter contrasts ABA with diagnostic-prescriptive models of instructional intervention, describes the behavioral principles underlying effective instruction, and presents best practice recommendations to help school-based consulting teams select and implement evidence-based instructional interventions and monitor student progress.