Functional Behavior Assessments in Evaluating Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurological and complex developmental disabilities that affect a large number of individuals to varying degrees. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), incident rate of ASD has risen to 1 in every 88 American children (CDC 2012). This statistic suggests that ASD currently affects over two million Americans and indicates that ASD is growing at an alarming rate of 10–17 % per year, implying that four million Americans could be affected within the current decade (ASA 2012). In regard to recent international statistics, individuals identified as having an ASD in Asia, Europe, and North America averaged around a 1 % prevalence rate, while a 2.6 % occurrence rate exists in South Korea (Kim et al. Am J Psychiatry. 168:904–9012; 2011).