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This paper offers an overview of the current status of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and developmental disorders (DD) in Oman. A review of demographic and background information about Oman is first presented, followed by an overview of the current status of individuals with autism and developmental disorders, in terms of disability-related legislation, prevalence and diagnosis, as well as treatment and education. In the last section of the paper, major challenges faced in the field are addressed, including lack of autism awareness, lack of healthcare and educational programs or related services, lack of highly qualified professionals to implement evidence-based practices, issues regarding early identification and early intervention, as well as issues pertaining secondary transition, independent living and employment. Corresponding recommendation is proposed at the end of each challenge.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a high risk of developing self-injurious behavior (SIB), which is often a result of deficits in communication skills. The use of functional communication training (FCT) to address SIB maintained by negative reinforcement among children with ASD is supported by an emerging trend of behavioral research. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of FCT on the SIB of children with ASD and to find out if the results would be maintained during periods of nonreinforcement. The results indicated significant reduction in SIB for all three participants and maintained for over two weeks following the withdrawal of the intervention. However, resurgence of SIB occurred when extinction was implemented for all participants.

Communication deficits are one of the main characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Selfinjurious behavior (SIB) in individuals with ASDs often occurs due to the individuals' lack of social-communicative abilities to express what they want (e.g., attention; access to tangible items; help). Many researchers have successfully used functional communication training (FCT) to replace SIB with positive communicative responses for children with ASD. While these studies have reported positive outcomes, there is limited research examining the extent to which the individuals will maintain the gains of the treatment after treatment is discontinued. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the impacts of FCT on socially appropriate behavior of children with ASD and the extent to which the gains would be maintained after withdrawal of treatment. FCT procedures were implemented to increase functional communication responses by asking for a break while limiting SIBs expressed by the participants when confronted with non-preferred activities (e.g., academic tasks). This study revealed that combining FCT with concurrent schedules instead of extinction effectively maintained low rates of SIBs while simultaneously increasing the opportunity for participants to emit alternative communicative responses over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]