Intervention effects and relative variation as dimensions in experts' use of visual inference

Recent research indicates that when analyzing graphically presented single-subject data, subjects trained in visual inference appear to attend to large changes between phases regardless of relative variation and do not differentiate among common intervention effect patterns. In this follow-up study, experts in applied behavior analysis completed a free-sort task designed to assess the effects of these dimensions on their use of visual inference. The results indicate that they tended to differentiate among common intervention effect patterns but did not attend to relative variation in the data.     

The Effect of an Occupational Therapy Role-Playing Intervention on the Social Skills of Adolescents With Asperger's Syndrome: A Pilot Study

The purpose of the authors in this pilot study was to assess the effects of an occupational therapy role-playing intervention for adolescents with Asperger's syndrome. An ABA multiple baseline single-subject design across participants was used with three adolescents to determine if a six-week intervention could increase targeted social behaviors. Data were collected over baseline, intervention, and probe phases. Three methods of analysis were used: visual inspection of graphed data, paired t tests, and a three standard deviation-band approach. Findings demonstrated that all three participants were able to increase the frequency of targeted social skill use from baseline to intervention and maintain this level at a one month probe. Differences between baseline and intervention phases for each participant reached statistical significance. Through this study the authors offer preliminary evidence that an occupational therapy role-playing intervention that is both client centered and graded can increase targeted social skill use in three adolescents with Asperger's syndrome.     

Doing Social Identity Leadership: Exploring the Efficacy of an Identity Leadership Intervention on Perceived Leadership and Mobilization in Elite Disability Soccer

Based on social identity principles we explore the efficacy of a leadership intervention in elite disability sport. A 2-year longitudinal design involved an elite male disability soccer team that prepared for a World Championship in Year 1 and then reformed for Paralympic competition in Year 2. Athlete data indicated marginal to significant increases from baseline to intervention phases in social identification, identity leadership displayed by staff, and hours practice completed away from training camps, but no significant change in mobilization of effort (in Year 1 and 2). We discuss the applied implications, study limitations, and opportunities for future researchers.     

Methods Used to Document Procedural Fidelity in School-Based Intervention Research

There has been a paucity of guidance on the methodological details needed for measuring and sampling the independent variable or actual intervention occurrences in research and practice. Furthermore, the planning and support necessary to document the independent variable in both circumstances may be considerable. The current study extends prior research by reviewing the methods used to document procedural fidelity in school-based intervention research with student participants published between 2005 and 2012 in journals known for publishing school-related intervention studies. Two hundred sixty-six articles met the inclusion criteria and the majority (70 %) used fidelity data in the analysis of intervention effectiveness. By systematically examining contributions of school-based intervention researchers across targeted variables as well as qualities of interventions and settings, suggestions can be made for (a) planning measurement of fidelity across phases of the intervention, (b) sampling fidelity occurrences, (c) preventing intervention failure by providing needed supports, and (d) responding to patterns of fidelity required for intervention and outcome measurement in both research and practice.     

Promoting foot–leg movements in children with multiple disabilities through the use of support devices and technology for regulating contingent stimulation

The present study assessed the possibility of promoting pre-ambulatory foot–leg movements in children with multiple disabilities by motivating their action through contingent stimulation combined with a support device. Two children aged 10 and 8 years participated. Microswitch technology (i.e., pressure sensors under the shoes or optic sensors at the front–inner side of the shoes) served for detecting the foot–leg movements and providing contingent stimulation on their occurrence. Sensor activation produced 5 s of stimulation during intervention. Data showed that both children had significant increases in foot–leg movements during the intervention phases. Implications of the data in terms of skill acquisition and further intervention prospects are discussed.     

Evaluating public posting,goal setting,and rewards to increase physical activity in children

In this study, we evaluated several components of a pedometer-based intervention with children in an elementary-school-aged classroom, across 24-h sessions. The intervention included combinations of self-monitoring, goal setting, feedback, and reinforcement, and data were analyzed at both the classroom level (i.e., average daily step totals) and the individual level (i.e., daily step totals), across phases. The highest levels of physical activity were observed when components of self-monitoring, public posting, goal setting, and feedback with reward were applied concurrently.     

Effects of Tootling on Classwide and Individual Disruptive and Academically Engaged Behavior of Lower‐Elementary Students

The current study was designed to replicate and extend the literature on the effectiveness of a classroom intervention known as Tootling, a strategy that encourages and prompts students to report instances of their peers' positive behaviors. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of the Tootling intervention on decreasing classwide and individual target students' disruptive behavior as well as increasing classwide and individual target students' academic engagement in lower elementary, general education classrooms using a criterion number of tootles that could reasonably be attained daily, thus potentially allowing more immediate and frequent access to reinforcement. Participants included second and third graders and their teachers in three classrooms in two Southeastern elementary schools. An ABAB withdrawal design was used in the three classrooms, along with a multiple baseline element across two of the classrooms, to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. Results demonstrated decreases in disruptive behaviors and increases in academically engaged behaviors during intervention phases as compared to baseline and withdrawal phases in all classrooms. Effect sizes were moderate to large for all comparisons. Limitations of the present study, directions for future research, and implications for practice are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Behavioral Health and Firefighters: An Intervention and Interviews with Canadian Firefighters

The present study described participatory action research regarding behavioral health of firefighters. At the request of the participant fire department, the Veterans’ Affairs Wellness kit was used to provide wellness information to members. During the intervention, qualitative data from the researcher perspective was collected and subsequently coded to reveal themes about lessons learned during provision of the materials. Following the intervention at the department level, individual interviews were completed with a subsample of members and their spouses. The combined outcomes from these two research phases suggest that wellness interventions for firefighters should be informal, firefighter-specific, focused on programs endorsed by firefighter-related organizations, and supported by management and frontline supervisors. From our data, we suggest that the Veterans’ Affairs Wellness kit should be studied further as a potentially meaningful fire service intervention. Further, we propose that this and other interventions should take into account job aspects identified as important by both members and their spouses.     

A microswitch‐based program for promoting initial ambulation responses: An evaluation with two girls with multiple disabilities

We assessed the use of a microswitch‐based program for promoting ambulation responses by two children with multiple disabilities. The goals of the study were to: (a) evaluate the importance of the contingency between the target behavior (forward step) and the programmed consequence (preferred stimuli), (b) measure effects of the intervention on indices of happiness, and (c) assess the social validation of the procedure using 20 physiotherapists as external raters. The intervention involved the automatic delivery of preferred stimuli contingent on forward steps. Results showed that both participants improved their performance (forward steps and indices of happiness) during contingent reinforcement phases compared to baseline and noncontingent reinforcement phases. Moreover, physiotherapists rated the intervention as socially valid.     

Microswitch technology and contingent stimulation to promote adaptive engagement in persons with minimally conscious state: a case evaluation

This study assessed whether a post-coma woman functioning at the lower end of the minimally conscious state would (a) develop adaptive responding through the use of microswitch technology and contingent stimulation, (b) consolidate and maintain her responding over time, and (c) show evidence of response-consequences awareness (learning and discrimination). The study involved an ABABB¹CB¹ sequence in which the A represented baseline phases, the B and B¹ intervention phases, and the C a control phase with continuous stimulation. Results indicated that the woman developed adaptive responding and consolidated it over the intervention phases of the study. The woman also showed evidence of being aware of response-consequences links. Potential implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.     

Family crisis intervention in war contexts: a case study of a traumatised Palestinian family

The aim of this study was to analyse the phases of an innovative in vivo exposure intervention in which all family members were present at the scene of a traumatic incident. Clinical practice has borne out the efficacy of family intervention and its benefits for traumatised individuals and family groups. The intervention discussed here was conducted with a Palestinian family that had suffered trauma in a missile attack during the Israeli–Lebanese war of summer 2006. Narrative and meaning-reconstruction methods were combined with cognitive-behavioural techniques. The study highlights the limitations of the intervention as well as suggesting future directions for integrated models of crisis intervention; development of an evidence-based model is recommended.     

The effects of fixed-time reinforcement schedules on problem behavior of children with emotional and behavioral disorders in a day-treatment classroom setting

The current study assessed the effects of fixed-time reinforcement schedules on problem behavior of students with emotional-behavioral disorders in a clinical day-treatment classroom setting. Three elementary-aged students with a variety of emotional and behavioral problems participated in the study. Initial functional assessments indicated that social attention was the maintaining reinforcer for their verbally disruptive behavior. Baseline phases were alternated with phases in which attention was provided on fixed-time schedules in the context of an ABAB design. The results indicated that the provision of attention on fixed-time schedules substantially reduced the participants' rate of verbal disruptions. These decreases were maintained during initial thinning of the schedules. The results provide one of the first examples that such an intervention can be successfully implemented in a classroom setting.     

Repercussions of Transition Out of Elite Sport on Subjective Well-Being: A One-Year Study

This study examined the dynamics of subjective well-being during transition out of elite sport. French athletes (n = 16) retiring from sport following the Sydney Olympic Games were compared to active athletes (n =16) four times during the first year post-career termination using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg &Williams, 1988). Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews provided a complement to the quantitative data. Four phases were quantitatively identified in the evolution of subjective well-being, from an initial decrease, followed by an increase, a stabilization, and a final increase. Qualitative data demonstrated that the transitional athletes' feelings and attitudes during the transition ranged from initial difficulties facing the substantial changes in all life areas to reconstruction of and adjustment to a new life style and a new socio-professional situation. The importance for athletes to develop transferable skills during the sport career is underlined, as well as the potential for optimizing the timing and type of intervention/assistance offered during the specific phases of the transition and adjustment process following retirement from sport.     

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Oral Lichen Planus: A Case Study

In this single-case study, the clinical effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioural programme for the treatment of a subject affected with oral lichen planus and showing an obsessive-compulsive disorder is appraised. The condition was distinguished by irrational thoughts related to the disease and self-checking rituals concerning the state of the patient's mouth. These rituals provoked bucal mucosa membrane irritation, resulting in the deterioration of lichen lesions and an increase in their severity, impeding the action of pharmacological treatment. The intervention process was developed over the course of a month and a half, and in two clearly differentiated phases. First, an initial assessment was made over 15 days, with the purpose of obtaining data about type and frequency of the ritualistic behaviour as well as about the irrational thoughts and subjective anxiety level. Second, the treatment phase was carried out intensively for a month. Therapeutic procedures included exposure techniques, self-instructional training and response prevention. The results show significant differences between baseline and treatment phases in self-checking behaviour frequency, mean time spent on the rituals and subjective anxiety level. In addition, 1 and 9 months follow-up data are presented, showing that therapeutic gains were maintained.     

A new microswitch to enable a boy with minimal motor behavior to control environmental stimulation with eye blinks

This study assessed whether a boy with profound multiple disabilities and minimal motor behavior would be able to control environmental stimulation using repeated eye blinks with a newly developed microswitch (i.e. an electronically regulated optic sensor mounted on an eyeglasses frame). The study was carried out according to an ABAB design and included a 3 month post‐intervention check. Data showed that the boy had a large increase in the target response (repeated eye blinks) to activate the microswitch and produce environmental stimulation during the B (intervention) phases. This performance was maintained at the post‐intervention check. Practical and developmental implications of the findings were discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

儿童心理咨询与治疗的生态模型

儿童心理咨询与治疗的生态模型强调将个体置身于家庭、学校和社会等环境中,这种治疗方法改变了传统的以个体为主的治疗模式。该模型围绕心理咨询与治疗中各阶段的评估、干预和激励三个方面来具体实施,本文总结了它的实施过程和特点,以及其典型应用家庭调查模型,最后,本文阐述了该模型的发展方向及启示。     

Combining nonoverlap and trend for single-case research: Tau-U

A new index for analysis of single-case research data was proposed, Tau-U, which combines nonoverlap between phases with trend from within the intervention phase. In addition, it provides the option of controlling undesirable Phase A trend. The derivation of Tau-U from Kendall's Rank Correlation and the Mann-Whitney U test between groups is demonstrated. The equivalence of trend and nonoverlap is also shown, with supportive citations from field leaders. Tau-U calculations are demonstrated for simple AB and ABA designs. Tau-U is then field tested on a sample of 382 published data series. Controlling undesirable Phase A trend caused only a modest change from nonoverlap. The inclusion of Phase B trend yielded more modest results than simple nonoverlap. The Tau-U score distribution did not show the artificial ceiling shown by all other nonoverlap techniques. It performed reasonably well with autocorrelated data. Tau-U shows promise for single-case applications, but further study is desirable.