Comparison of extra- and within-stimulus prompting to teach prepositional discriminations to preschool children with developmental disabilities

Journal of Behavioral Education -     

Discrimination of picture requests for missing items among young children with developmental disabilities

Two experiments were conducted to assess discrimination of picture requests for missing items among young children with developmental disabilities. In Experiment 1, three children were first taught to request one object when it was missing from a set of two related leisure items. In Experiment 2, two children were taught to request one object belonging to a set of three leisure items. In both studies the requesting response consisted of pointing to a photograph of the missing item. After acquisition of the initial request, discrimination of picture requests was assessed when the second item (Experiment 1) and second or third item (Experiment 2) was missing. Requests for the untrained items emerged in the presence of natural maintaining contingencies and in the absence of instructional prompts for all but the third child in Experiment 1. This child required continued intervention on the initial request. The results suggest that for some children a sequence of intervention and the programming of natural maintaining contingencies may prove effective in promoting the discrimination of picture requests for missing items among young children with developmental disabilities.     

Comparison of simultaneous prompting and constant time delay procedures in teaching sight words to elementary students with moderate mental retardation

Simultaneous prompting (a type of antecedent prompt and test procedure) and constant time delay were compared with four students with moderate mental retardation learning expressive sight words. A parallel treatments design across word sets and replicated across students was used. For acquisition, the simultaneous prompting procedures required fewer trials, sessions, and training time to criterion and resulted in fewer student errors during daily probe and training sessions. However, maintenance data indicated mixed results across the two procedures. Reliability data (both dependent and independent variables) revealed no differences between the two procedures in terms of the teacher's accuracy in recording student responses and implementing each procedure. Future research issues are discussed.     

Auditory processing in developmental dyslexia: An exploratory study of an auditory and visual matching training program with Swedish children with developmental dyslexia

This study examined whether training using a nonverbal auditory-visual matching task had a remedial effect on reading skills in developmental dyslexia. The pretest/post-test design was used with Swedish children ( N = 41), between the ages of 7 and 12. Training comprised twice-weekly sessions of 15 minutes, over eight weeks. There was an improvement in auditory-visual matching during the training period. There were also improvements in some reading test scores, especially in reading nonsense words and in reading speed. These improvements in tasks which are thought to rely on phonological processing suggest that such reading difficulties in dyslexia may stem in part from more basic perceptual difficulties, including those required to manage the visual and auditory components of the decoding task. The utility of the concept of auditory structuring is discussed in relation to auditory and phonological processing skills when a child learns to read.     

Psychodynamic counselling with parents of children with developmental disabilities

A joint treatment of parents and child can be the treatment of choice when dealing with developmental disabilities. In our clinical experience, we have observed that psychoanalytically oriented support (developmental guidance), which involves the child and the parents together, answers the needs and addresses the difficult dynamics that are characteristic of developmental disabilities.     

Comparison of simultaneous prompting with and without error correction in teaching science vocabulary words to high school students with mild disabilities

This study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of simultaneous prompting with and without error correction during daily probe sessions in teaching science vocabulary words. The teacher presented the vocabulary word definitions as instructive feedback during training sessions. Five 16–17 year old students with disabilities participated in an adapted alternating treatments design that evaluated the simultaneous prompting strategy, error correction and instructive feedback. Instruction occurred in a group format using choral responding. The results indicate that (a) all students learned to read the vocabulary words, (b) simultaneous prompting with error correction was slightly more efficient for three of the five subjects in learning the targeted words, and four of the five students made fewer errors in this condition, (c) all students preferred simultaneous prompting with error correction over simultaneous prompting without error correction, (d) words mastered in both conditions generalized equally, (e) there were minimal differences between the two conditions in the collected maintenance data, and (e) students experienced only minimal improvement in their ability to define vocabulary words (instructive feedback). Discussion focuses on issues for further research and implications for instructional practice with simultaneous prompting, error correction and instructive feedback.     

The effect of prompting and reinforcement of activity in elderly demented inpatients

On a ward for 24 psychogeriatric patients, 18 were randomly assigned to three groups with different experimental conditions. The first group was prompted and reinforced for different activities; the second was only prompted; and the third served as a control group. Activities, both the trained ones and others, were continuously monitored throughout the five week study. The results showed a clear increase in the trained activities after training. The prompting condition was effective, and the addition of reinforcement did not add any to the effects. There was no generalization to untrained activities, and the effects did not last at the 1 hr or 21 hr assessments, but was clearly visible at 5 min after training. Time seemed to be more important than place, i.e. the effect ceased with elapsed time, not because of changes in the situation.     

Nondirective prompting and noncontingent reinforcement in the treatment of destructive behavior during hygiene routines.

The escape-maintained destructive behavior of a girl with mental retardation persisted during hygiene routines with directive prompting, differential reinforcement for compliance, and extinction as treatment. Using nondirective prompting and noncontingent reinforcement, destructive behavior was reduced to near-zero levels during the hygiene routine.     

Functional analysis and treatment of social-communicative behavior of adolescents with developmental disabilities.

This investigation used functional analyses to identify the social variables that maintained the inappropriate social-communicative behaviors of 2 adolescent students with mental retardation. Analyses were performed in the students' classrooms with the assistance of peers and teachers. The results of these assessments were used to identify appropriate, functionally equivalent behaviors that the students were taught to self-monitor. Findings showed substantial decreases in inappropriate social responding and increases in the use of appropriate social skills.     

Predicting the relative efficacy of three presentation methods for assessing preferences of persons with developmental disabilities

Choices were presented to 9 individuals with developmental disabilities using a two-choice format. Each pair of items, selected based on prior preference assessment, was presented to each participant in three conditions (actual items, pictures of the items, and spoken-name presentation) using a reversal design. The evaluation was conducted using food items, and was then repeated using nonfood items. The participants were also given a test to measure their skills on discrimination tasks ranging in difficulty from simple to conditional discriminations. The participants' abilities to make consistent choices with food and nonfood items were predicted, with 94% accuracy, by their discrimination skills. The findings suggest that presentation methods can affect the accuracy of a choice assessment, and that the systematic assessment of basic discrimination skills can be used to predict the effectiveness of different presentation methods in this population.     

Quality care in residential placement for children and youth with developmental disabilities

There is a growing concern for quality care in residential placements outside of the natural family for children and youth with developmental disabilities. Ideally, children with developmental disabilities should remain with their natural parent or parents of parents with appropriate supports until the age when children typically leave home. In reality, parents of children and youth with development disabilities are not always able or willing to care for their children at home, and alternate residential placements must be found. This paper will discuss some of the issues surrounding the provision of quality care in out-of-home residential placements for children and youth with developmental disabilities.     

The developmental course of processing speed in children with and without learning disabilities

This study contrasted the development of processing speed in children with and without learning disabilities. We examined whether the same global mechanism presumed to be responsible for the normal developmental improvement in processing speed might also be associated with the processing speed deficiencies observed in children with learning impairments. One hundred and twenty-two children with learning disabilities in reading and/or math and 206 non-disabled community controls participated. There were no differences in relation of age to the development of processing speed for children with and without learning disabilities. We interpreted these results as suggesting that the underlying etiologies for the normal developmental change in processing speed and for the relative deficiencies in processing speed seen among children with learning disabilities were different.     

Regulatory and ethical principles in research involving children and individuals with developmental disabilities

Children and individuals with developmental disabilities (DD) compared to typical participants are disadvantaged not only by virtue of being vulnerable to risks inherent in research participation but also by the higher likelihood of exclusion from research altogether. Current regulatory and ethical guidelines although necessary for their protection do not sufficiently ensure fair distributive justice. Yet, in view of disproportionately higher burdens of co-occurring physical and mental disorders in individuals with DD, they are better positioned to benefit from research by equitable participation. Greater elucidation of this ethical dilemma is called for by researchers, institutional review boards, and funding agencies to urgently redress the imbalance. This article discusses many of the regulatory principles to ensure better research participation of children and individuals with DD: human rights, validity, distributive justice, beneficence/nonmaleficence, and autonomy.     

Developmental transition of EEG spectra to alpha band in a sample of children with developmental disabilities

Developmental transition of EEG spectra to alpha band of 14 children with developmental disabilities (from 7 yr. and 3 mo. to 16 yr. and 1 mo. of age at the first EEG recording: M= 13.2, SD=2.6; 6 girls and 8 boys) was studied by auto-power spectrum analysis longitudinally. The results showed the mean age (14.1 yr. to 14.8 yr. in the four regions of the frontal, central, parietal, and occipital regions) for subjects and their mean frequency (4.2 Hz to 4.7 Hz in the 4 regions) at which EEG shift started from theta band, and those means (15.1 yr. to 15.7 yr. and 9.5 Hz to 9.6 Hz in the 4 regions) at which EEG shift reached the alpha band. Prior EEG research on healthy children has shown that approximately 10 years of age is critical for developmental transition of EEG spectra to alpha frequencies. It is suggested that the present data showed a delay of this critical age for this sample of children with developmental disabilities relative to 10 years for healthy children reported by Katada, et al. and Benninger, et al.     

A review of behavioral procedures to teach motor skills to individuals with severe disabilities

Behavioral procedures are one approach to teaching or improving the fluency of motor skills of individuals with severe disabilities. This article provides a review of behavioral procedures by highlighting antecedents, consequences, and multifaceted techniques. Investigations are reviewed in each area according to (a) replicability of the intervention, (b) experimental control, (c) maintenance, (d) generalization, and (e) social validation. Practitioner implications address selection of reinforcers, reinforcement schedules, and teaching within meaningful routines. Future research recommendations highlight the need for documenting that stimuli are actually reinforcers. Additional research needs emphasize targeting maintenance, generalization, and social validation.     

Verbal rehearsal and selective attention in children with learning disabilities: A developmental lag

To investigate the development of verbal rehearsal strategies and selective attention in learning disabled children, Hagen's Central-Incidental task was administered to younger learning disabled (M CA = 8.68 years) and normal (M CA = 8.62 years) boys in Experiment 1 and to intermediate (M CA = 10.18 years) and older (M CA = 13.48 years) learning disabled boys in Experiment 2. Also, in Experiment 2, an experimentally induced verbal rehearsal condition was included to determine its effects on serial recall and selective attention performance. In Experiment 1, the serial postion curve of the normals revealed both a primacy and a recency effect, whereas that of the learning disabled revealed a recency effect only. In Experiment 2, both the intermediate and the older learning disabled exhibited both primacy and recency effects under both standard and rehearsal conditions. A developmental analysis of central recall for the three learning disabled groups revealed constant age-related increases in overall central recall and in primacy recall. That the normals recalled more central, but not more incidental, information than the learning disabled in Experiment 1 suggests that the learning disabled are deficient in selective attention. Correlational findings suggest that the selective attention of the learning disabled improves with age. The results were interpreted as support for the hypothesis of a developmental lag in the learning disabled population.     

Muscular fitness,motor competence,and processing speed in preschool children

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between muscular fitness and motor competence and processing speed in preschool children. Eighty-four preschool-aged children were recruited and underwent assessments for muscular fitness (muscular endurance and power), motor competence, and then participated in an auditory oddball task. The findings showed that muscular fitness and motor competence were associated with shorter reaction times after controlling for confounding factors. These findings provide tentative support for a positive association between muscular fitness and motor competence and processing speed in preschool children.

abbreviations:

Reaction time (RT); Institutional Review Board (IRB); Basic Motor Ability Test-Revised (BMAT); Body mass index (BMI); Preschool Children Fitness Programme (PCFP); Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC); Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement test (TCAM); Inter-stimulus interval (ISI); Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1); Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)     

Technological aids to promote basic developmental achievements by children with multiple disabilities: evaluation of two cases

Technological aids such as microswitches may be critical to foster learning and development in children with multiple disabilities. In study I, a child with minimal motor behavior was provided with a microswitch for chin movements to assess whether he could learn to use these movements to activate environmental stimuli. In study II, a child with dystonic (difficult-to-control) behavior was provided with microswitches for two motor responses and two vocal utterances. We wanted to assess whether he could use both types of responses effectively (varying within each pair, consistent with choice performance). The results were highly encouraging with both children. In study I, there was a significant increase in the childs responding, suggesting learning and contingency awareness. In study II, there was a significant increase in responding as well as response variation that suggested choice behavior. The importance of microswitch devices in promoting new learning/developmental objectives and improving quality of life is discussed.     

Conjoint control of performance in conditional discriminations by successive and simultaneous stimuli.

In a conditional discrimination, reinforcement of pigeons' responses to pairs of simultaneously presented wavelength stimuli depended on the orientation of white lines superimposed on the wavelengths. Over different conditions in Experiment 1, three wavelength differences were combined with two differences between successively presented line orientations. Measures of stimulus discriminability increased with increases in the difference between both orientation and wavelength stimuli. Conditional-discrimination performance was thus conjointly determined by stimulus disparity in the successive and simultaneous discriminations. In Experiment 2, ratios of rates of reinforcement contingent upon the two categories of correct responses were varied over several conditions for difficult and easy discriminations. Ratios of responses to wavelength pairs were sensitive to variations in the reinforcement ratio to a greater extent for the more difficult orientation discrimination than for the easier orientation discrimination. Performance in the conditional discrimination was therefore determined by the interacting effects of stimulus disparity and the relative rates of reinforcement contingent upon the two correct choices. It was concluded that the effect of temporally distant reinforcement on behavior in a prevailing schedule component is attenuated to an extent that depends on similarity of stimuli that delineate the successive components.     

Behavioral intervention to reduce physical restraint of adolescents with developmental disabilities

Physical restraint procedures sometimes are approved for implementation in human service settings for children and adults who have developmental disabilities and seriously challenging behaviors. Although use of restraint may be clinically justified to manage behavior disorders and prevent injury to self and others, procedures should be evaluated to decrease, and possibly eliminate, such methods. This study addressed the effects of restraint‐reduction procedures with two adolescents who had developmental disabilities and displayed severe aggression. Clinically significant reductions in the frequency of physical restraint were achieved through a treatment package that included the behavior‐specific criterion for the application of restraint and antecedent control approaches. The implementation of strategic interventions to decrease physical restraint utilization is discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.