An Examination of the Effects of a Classroom Activity Schedule on Levels of Self-Injury and Engagement for a Child with Severe Autism Mark O’Reilly, 1,4 Jeff Sigafoos, 1 Giulio Lancioni, 2 Chaturi Edrisinha, 1 and Alonzo Andrews 3 We examined the effects of an individualized schedule on levels of engagement and self-injury for a student with severe autism. We first conducted a series of functional analyses to identify contexts in which self-injury occurred in his classroom. Results of the functional analyses suggested that self-injury was associated with academic demands. Self-injury rarely occurred during the play and no interaction conditions (i.e., when the teacher was present but did not attend to him) of the functional analysis. Furthermore, when the functional analysis conditions were organized according to a specific schedule (no interaction–play–demand) self- injury did not occur. This schedule of activities was then evaluated within the context of his regular curriculum and produced substantial reductions in self-injury and increases in engagement. Positive results maintained for up to five months following the assessment. These findings seem to indicate that functional analysis methodologies might provide helpful information when developing individualized schedules for students who may not have the skills to comprehend and follow a schedule. KEY WORDS: Autism; challenging behavior; self-injury; functional analysis; individualized schedules; curriculum. Challenging behaviors such as self-injury are common among children with autism and other severe disabilities (Horner, Carr, Strain, Todd, & Reed, 2002). Such behaviors can place the child at physical risk and can limit participation in educa- tional and community activities (Sigafoos, Arthur, & O’Reilly, 2003). These students typically require intensive assessment and rigorous behavioral support plans to ameliorate such behaviors. One strategy that has proven successful in reducing challenging behavior with this population has been the use of individualized and predictable routines (Mesibov, Browder, & Kirkland, 2002). Indeed, a core component of the TEACCH model of curriculum and instruction with children with autism involves the use of structured individualized schedules (Heflin & Simpson, 1998). Individualized schedules may act as a form of antecedent interven- tion to reduce challenging behavior as they may limit the impact of various setting events (e.g., stressful activities, unpredictable transitions) on such beha- viors. Indeed, the use of schedules has been asso- ciated with increases in engagement, maintenance 1 The University of Texas at Austin. 2 Department of Psychology, University of Bari, Via Quintino Sella 268, 70100 Bari, Italy. 3 Autistic Treatment Center, 1611 Nacogdoches Road, San Antonio, Texas 78247. 4 Correspondence should be addressed to: Department of Special Education, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Sta- tion D5300, Austin, TX, 78712 , USA; Tel: +1-512-471-7140; Fax: +1-512-471-2471; E-mail: markoreilly@mail.utexas.edu 305 0162-3257/05/0600-0305/0 Ó 2005 Springer ScienceþBusiness Media, Inc. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol. 35, No. 3, June 2005 (Ó 2005) DOI: 10.1007/s10803-005-3294-1