Behavioural Interventions for Activity, Task, and Location Transitions

Successfully transitioning from one activity, task, or location to another is an important adaptive skill. For children and youth with developmental disabilities, these transitions can be especially problematic and may result in challenging behaviours. To address these difficulties, various behavioural interventions have been evaluated; however, a synthesis of the existing transition literature is warranted. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to systematically examine behavioural studies aimed at improving activity, task, and location transitions for children and youth with developmental disabilities. Four electronic databases (Education Source, Eric, PubMed, and PsycINFO) were searched resulting in 1,410 studies for initial data analyses. Of these studies, 19 met full inclusion criteria and were subjected to additional analyses. Existing behavioural treatments for transition difficulties for children and youth with developmental disabilities incorporated intervention strategies such as visuals, prompting using assisted technology, and video modelling across various settings. Overall, it appears that behavioural interventions may be effective in treating transition difficulties among children and youth with developmental disabilities; however, additional research with more robust studies is required.