Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling in Italy: The Pilot Project

We studied the effects of implementing a Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling (CABAS®) to a classroom for preschoolers with multiple disabilities that simulated a regular Italian kindergarten setting. Participants were selected based on their level of verbal behavior. They were four children, 4 to 6 years old, diagnosed with autism and mental retardation, all functioning as pre-listener and pre-speaker. CABAS was implemented across five months, from 12 to 25 hours per week, as a replication of the U.S. application package. Despite students’ improvement, the experimental replication was stopped, due to the mandatory enrollment of the Participants in public schools with full inclusion model of education. Data replicated Selinske, Greer & Lodhi (1991) and Lamm & Greer (1991) outcomes, even during the 12-hour per week package, supporting the high efficiency property of this model.