A systematic review of the impact of precision teaching and fluency-building on teaching children diagnosed with autism

Precision teaching (PT) is a holistic system that allows the monitoring of behaviour change on a specially designed Standard Celeration Chart (SCC). In instructional settings, precision teachers aim for fluent responding (i.e., accuracy and speed) from their learners. Thus PT, in these settings, includes fluency-building (FB) strategies. FB strategies can be used without graphing the learner's performance on the SCC. Behavioural fluency is linked to high skills retention, endurance, stability, and generalisation to other skills and environments. A systematic literature review was carried out of PT methodology for skill acquisition of children diagnosed with autism. A systematic literature review of fluency-building procedures used in the process of skill acquisition of children diagnosed with autism was also performed. Reichow, Volkmar, and Cicchetti's (2008) assessment tool was used to establish the empirical validity of the 13 studies identified in this review. Results suggest that while there is emerging evidence for the positive outcomes, the evidence base is rather small. The implications for the use of PT and fluency-building procedures to support individuals diagnosed with autism are discussed.