Quantitative Analysis of Behavioral Trends in Educational Settings for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

This practicum, conducted at HANDS in Autism®, focused on evaluating the impact of the HANDS model on student behavior and instructional team performance across collaborative school sites. The project aimed to assess how evidence-based practices (EBPs) were implemented and how they influenced on-task behavior and targeted skill development in students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Data were collected from multiple schools using structured 10-minute interval observations and entered into REDCap and Microsoft Excel. Analyses focused on comparing behavior trends across three educational settings (Warsaw, Lakeview, and Gateway) over the course of a full school year. Findings revealed that Warsaw demonstrated the highest proportion of student on-task behavior and target skill development, suggesting stronger EBP implementation fidelity. The practicum enhanced the intern’s skills in data entry, behavioral coding, visualization, and cross-site analysis while reinforcing the value of using objective behavioral sampling to inform individualized educational support.