Challenging Behavior of Individuals with Autism and/or Other Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychiatric, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 27 October 2025 | Viewed by 2525
Special Issue Editors
Interests: challenging behavior; generalization; treatment; caregiver training
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Researchers and professionals working with individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are cordially invited to contribute to a Special Issue of Behavioral Sciences dedicated to the assessment and treatment of [severe] challenging or destructive behavior. Challenging behaviors (e.g., aggression or self-injury) can severely impact the health, safety, development, and quality of life of the individuals who exhibit it, as well as their families. As such, the accurate assessment of such behaviors is vital for effective intervention.
This Special Issue will highlight innovative research on assessment and interventions, and evidence-based practices that contribute to and promote our knowledge and practice in the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. We welcome original applied or translational research articles, replication studies, case studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and theoretical or conceptual papers that address challenging behavior across the life span, varying clinical settings (broadly defined, e.g., laboratory, clinic, home, or community), and the continuum of support systems (e.g., caregivers or trained therapists). Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) evidence-based assessment methods or function-based interventions, demonstrations of generalization or generalization-promoting strategies and long-term intervention outcomes beyond controlled settings, technological advancements, caregiver and staff training, multi-disciplinary approaches, and basic or laboratory demonstrations of phenomena related to our understanding of the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior. We also encourage submissions that discuss ethical considerations and best practices (e.g., procedural integrity) in the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior in individuals with ASD.
Dr. Lesley A. Shawler
Dr. Michael Kranak
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- challenging behavior
- severe behavior
- treatment
- neurodevelopmental disorders
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