Academic Skills Research
Research categorised under the heading ‘Academic Skills’ covers areas such as supporting individuals to read, write, do maths and complete other academic curricular programmes, eg. IT skills and science targets. This area also includes strategies for accelerating academic learning.
Teaching Mathematics to Autistic Students in Special Education by Integrating Learn Units Within Precision Teaching – Natalie Leow-Dyke et al 2026
This study explored a new way of teaching maths to autistic students with additional learning needs. Teachers combined learn units (step-by-step teaching with immediate feedback) and Precision Teaching (short timed practice and progress tracking) to help students learn how to identify money values. Four students aged 14–17 participated in the study.
The students improved both their accuracy and speed when working with money questions. Most of these improvements continued after teaching ended, and students showed some ability to use their skills in new situations. The programme was delivered successfully by trained teachers, suggesting it could be used effectively in a range of educational settings.
Although the results were positive, the study was small and more research is needed. Some teachers also reported that the approach could be time-consuming. Overall, the findings suggest that combining learn units with Precision Teaching may help improve maths skills for autistic students with complex learning needs.
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Mathematics can be particularly challenging for autistic students with additional learning needs, yet there is limited research on effective teaching approaches for this group. This study investigated whether combining learn units (structured teaching with feedback) and Precision Teaching (timed fluency practice and data-based decision making) could improve money skills.
Four autistic students took part in lessons focused on identifying equivalent amounts of money. Over time, all students showed improvements in performance, with gains generally maintained after instruction ended. Students also demonstrated emerging skills in applying what they had learned to new situations. The intervention was successfully delivered by trained teachers rather than Precision Teaching specialists, suggesting it may be a practical approach for everyday educational settings.
The authors conclude that this combined approach shows promise for supporting maths learning in autistic students with co-occurring conditions. However, they recommend larger studies to confirm the findings and explore ways to make the approach more efficient and sustainable for staff.
The Jigsaw CABAS School: Protocols for Increasing Appropriate Behaviour and Evoking Verbal Capabilities – Emma Hawkins, Jackie Charnock and Grant Gautreaux (2007)
This paper describes how four behaviour-analytic teaching approaches were used to support autistic pupils’ learning and communication. The authors explain key features of the CABAS® educational model and share examples of pupils who took part in different teaching programmes.
The four approaches focused on: increasing interest in activities, developing spontaneous communication, building the ability to learn new words more easily, and helping pupils learn by observing others. Across the examples, pupils showed improvements in areas such as independent play, asking questions, conversation skills, language development and observational learning.
The findings suggest that carefully designed teaching procedures can help autistic pupils develop important learning and communication skills. The authors conclude that these approaches can expand pupils’ access to learning opportunities and increase their ability to engage with others.
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This paper outlines several teaching protocols used within the CABAS® framework and demonstrates how they can be used to develop communication, learning and social skills in autistic pupils. The authors present case examples showing the impact of four evidence-based approaches: stimulus-stimulus pairing, intensive tact instruction, multiple exemplar instruction and peer yoked contingencies.
The results showed that pupils became more engaged in appropriate activities, increased their spontaneous communication, developed stronger language skills and, in some cases, acquired new learning capabilities such as naming and observational learning. These skills are important because they allow pupils to learn more efficiently from both direct teaching and everyday experiences.
The authors argue that educational programmes should focus not only on teaching individual skills but also on developing broader learning capabilities that help pupils access new learning opportunities. They conclude that these protocols can support meaningful improvements in communication, independence and participation across a range of settings.