Lack of social eye contact is a common characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can limit opportunities for social interaction and social learning. The current study examined a parent-implemented shaping procedure delivered through telehealth to promote eye contact during naturalistic social play for two preschool-aged children with ASD in India. The intervention was implemented without prompting or nonsocial reinforcers, instead relying on preferred social activities. Both children learned to make eye contact, of various durations, across different activities. Self-reports from the participating parents, along with individualized indices of happiness observed in the children, indicate a high degree of social validity. The findings support and extend prior research on shaping without prompting, suggesting that socially maintained eye contact in children with ASD can develop through flexible, naturalistic methods implemented by parents with remote supervision. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

Shaping is an effective and well-established gradual change procedure for teaching new skills that is sometimes combined with other strategies, such as prompting. However, to the best of our knowledge, no review has been published that provides an overview of applications of response shaping in interventions for persons with developmental disabilities. While it is possible to combine response shaping with various prompts, it can also be used without prompts. Results of the current scoping review include a description of the reviewed studies, and a synthesis of the findings. This includes a study of participant samples, experimental designs, teaching settings, assessments used, social validity, and shaping outcomes. This includes a study of participant samples, experimental designs, teaching settings, assessments used, social validity, and shaping outcomes. A majority of the studies targeted persons with autism spectrum disorder, even though other diagnoses were also represented. Most studies employed single-case experimental designs and reported positive outcomes of response shaping, for a variety of target behaviors. This presentation will highlight and discuss the presence or absence of prompting in the reviewed studies. 

Over the past three decades, various efforts have been made to develop special education policies and services in Syria. However, to guarantee the improvement of special education services and to develop sustainable national enhancements during both the emergency and reconstruction phases of the Syrian Civil War, it is necessary to continue to address the intersectional ways by which people with disabilities have been disproportionately impacted. This paper provides an update on disability and special education in Syria, including a brief account of the historical development of, impact of the civil war on, and major current challenges for the field of special education. These challenges include, but are not limited to, inadequate financial resources, a scarcity of integration programs, negative social attitudes because of a lack of knowledge, limited accessibility to services, and barriers to appropriate disability programmes. Recommendations for action are also offered. Further, we provide suggestions to improve special-education services for people with disabilities in Syria, as well as to develop sustainable national improvements for them.

Lack of eye contact and imitation deficits are frequently targeted in behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we examined the effects of prompting and modeling on the imitation skills and eye contact of three Arabic-speaking young children with ASD in Syria. A multiple baseline design with a withdrawal component was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention in a clinical setting, at a center for children with special needs, and in follow-up sessions conducted in the participants’ homes. All participants’ imitative responses and eye contact increased when prompting and modeling were used. Our findings support the effectiveness of prompting and modeling on imitation skills.