Increasing Treatment Fidelity by Matching Interventions to Contextual Variables within the Educational Setting

One of the primary determinants of successful intervention programs for children with autism is the degree to which the programs are implemented with precision and consistency; that is, fidelity. One strategy for increasing the fidelity of program implementation is to match the intervention procedures to contextual variables in the classroom. One of the critical contextual variables in a classroom is the teaching staff. By considering how the staff currently interacts with students and provides instruction, it is possible to design services that closely match current practices in the classroom and, consequently, possibly increase the probability that the intervention plan will be implemented with fidelity. This article suggests contextual variables to be considered, methods for assessing them, and strategies for intervening based upon the result of the assessment.