The Impact of Positive, Supportive Classroom Environments for Young Autistic Children: Positive Reinforcement and Student-Teacher Relationships

Young students on the autism spectrum are at risk for poor social-emotional and behavioral functioning at school. Better quality student-teacher relationships (STRs) have been associated with improved student outcomes across social-emotional, behavioral, and academic domains. Teachers who use more positive reinforcement strategies may promote better student-teacher interactions and closer STRs that could mitigate some of this risk. The present study investigates a path by which teachers’ use of positive reinforcement strategies promotes closer STRs, which in turn lead to improved social-emotional and behavioral functioning in a sample of 145 young (age 4-7 years) autistic students. The model was a close fit (χ2 (18, N = 145) = 18.4, p = .43, TLI = 1.0, CFI = 1.0, RMSEA = .01), with teachers who reported using more positive reinforcement strategies having significantly closer STRs, and closer STRs significantly predicting student academic engagement, social skills, and social integration. Student outcomes in academic engagement and social integration persisted into the following school year. Strategies that teachers reported using most frequently were praising good behavior, commenting on good behavior, and rewarding good behavior with incentives. Factors contributing to teachers’ reported frequency of using positive reinforcement strategies were also explored. Of all teacher variables examined (e.g., years of experience, general education v. special education, perceived preparedness to teach autistic students), teachers’ perceived usefulness of positive reinforcement strategies and regular trainings in autism were the only significant contributors to frequency of positive reinforcement strategy use. Findings underscore the protective role that teachers’ use of positive reinforcement and close STRs plays for young autistic students, and highlight teachers’ perceived usefulness and regular trainings in autism as critical factors for implementation of positive reinforcement strategies