A systematic review of the effects of choice on academic outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorder

•We synthesized single-case design studies investigating choice-making as an intervention strategy across teaching content for students with autism spectrum disorder.•A multistep evaluation process was applied to provide an overview of the quality of evidence across studies reviewand to inform the interpretation of results from each study.•Findings indicate that providing choice results in improvements in student (a) work completion, (b) behavior, and (c) affect and interest.•Authors note that outcomes vary by design.

The present review synthesized single-case design studies whose interventions included a choice-making component to investigate their effects on academic behaviors in academic settings for students with autism spectrum disorder. Studies included were conducted between 1990 and 2013 with kindergarten to grade 12 students with autism spectrum disorder. Eight studies met the criteria for inclusion. We applied a multistep evaluation process to provide an overview of the quality of evidence across studies reviewed and to inform the interpretation of results from each study. Findings indicate that providing a choice component results in improvements in student (a) work completion, (b) behaviors (e.g., increase in on-task behavior, reduction in challenging behavior), and (c) affect and interest. Further, we noted that outcomes varied by design, with conditions that included a choice component outperforming the no choice component condition in both multiple-baseline and withdrawal designs, although results were mixed for studies employing an alternating-treatment design.