Translating research on naturalistic instruction into practice

Naturalistic instruction procedures have broad philosophical and practical appeal and have been embraced with enthusiasm by many who teach about or practice early intervention. While there is general agreement that a number of intervention procedures may be characterized as naturalistic and there is empirical evidence to substantiate that many have been effectively applied, a number of research issues must be addressed if practitioners are to apply the results. Issues associated with definition of procedures (independent variables) and outcomes (dependent variables) confound the translation of research into practice. This article raises these issues and suggests guidelines for describing independent and dependent variables that might better enable practitioners to apply research in their work with young children with disabilities and with families.