Search

The article presents a study that investigates the effects of using the Reading Mastery curriculum in small groups for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). It mentions that minority of children were in the Reading Mastery intervention group and all participants met criteria as beginning readers. It mentions that school-based implementers were able to use the curriculum.

Families in rural or remote areas have limited access to evidence-based intervention for their children with autism. Using web-based training and telemedicine technology, the current study investigated the feasibility of training seven parents to implement Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) strategies with their children with autism. In this exploratory formative evaluation, parents increased their knowledge of ABA strategies and concepts by an average of 39 percentage points, and improved their implementation of ABA strategies with their children by an average of 41 percentage points. A total of 9,052 driving miles were saved across the four families. Implications for families living in remote areas, improvements in the training program, and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Even with a rich history demonstrating how complex behaviors are acquired, traditional psychological domains are still not well represented in behavior analytic literature (Dougher & Hackbert, 2000). This paper will briefly present some of the reasons why behavior analysts might be reluctant to foray into traditional "counseling" areas. Next, the traditional counseling process will be defined, followed by ways in which the characteristics and processes of traditional counseling can be explained based on the principles of behavior and by using behavior analytic terms. Finally, this paper will present some traditional counseling programs that adhere to, or are based in, behavioral psychology and will offer some suggestions for areas of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on training behavioral aides in special education in the U.S. with a combination of online and face-to-face procedures. Concept of the training program; Elements of online tutorials. INSETS: What Does the Literature Say About the Incidence and ...;What Does the Literature Say About Effective Interventions ...;Is Online Instruction Better Than Classroom Instruction?.

The present paper takes a translational approach in applying the themes of the current special section to prevention and intervention science in Latino families. The paper reviews the current literature on cultural processes in prevention and intervention research with Latino families. Overall, many prevention and intervention programs have either been developed specifically for Latino families or have been modified for Latino families with great attention paid to the socio-cultural needs of these families. Nevertheless, few studies have tested the role of cultural values or acculturation processes on outcomes. We make recommendations based on findings within basic science and in particular this special section on the incorporation of these values and processes into prevention and intervention science with Latino families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this randomized control group study was to examine the effects of a peer network intervention that included peer mediation and direct instruction for Kindergarten and First-grade children with autism spectrum disorders. Trained school staff members provided direct instruction for 56 children in the intervention group, and 39 children participated in a comparison group. Results showed children in the intervention group displayed significantly more initiations to peers than did the comparison group during non-treatment social probes and generalization probes. Treatment session data showed significant growth for total communications over baseline levels. Children in treatment also showed more growth in language and adaptive communication. Finally, teachers' ratings of prosocial skills revealed significantly greater improvements for the intervention group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of the Class-Wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) program, a group contingency intervention for whole classes, and for students with disruptive behaviors who are at risk for emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD). The CW-FIT program includes four elements designed from empirical studies on the assessment and treatment of problem behavior: (a) teaching socially appropriate communicative skills to access attention or brief escape; (b) extinction of or eliminating potential reinforcement (attention, escape) for problem behavior; (c) strengthening alternative or replacement behaviors, that is, differential reinforcement at individual levels within the context of peer groups with shared group contingencies; and (d) self-management for program maintenance. Procedures were designed to fit within a School-wide Positive Behavior Support framework as Tier II interventions. The CW-FIT implementation was completed in six classes drawn from three schools with 107 students and 8 target students with EBD risks. Results showed clinically important improvements. Group on-task data improved during CW-FIT over baseline levels. For target EBD risk students, results included decreased disruptive behaviors and increased on-task behavior during CW-FIT. Implications for teachers and practitioners are discussed; improved student behavior translates to important levels of increased instruction time in urban classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of the Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) program for improving students’ on-task behavior, and increasing teacher recognition of appropriate behavior. The intervention is a group contingency classroom management program consisting of teaching and reinforcing appropriate behaviors (i.e., getting the teacher’s attention, following directions, and ignoring inappropriate behaviors of peers). Seventeen elementary schools, the majority in urban and culturally diverse communities, participated in a randomized trial with 86 teachers (classrooms) assigned to CW-FIT, and 73 teachers (classrooms) assigned to the comparison group. Class-wide student on-task behavior improved over baseline levels in the intervention classes. Teachers were able to implement the intervention with high fidelity overall, as observed in adherence to 96% of the fidelity criteria on average. Teacher praise and attention to appropriate behaviors increased, and reprimands decreased. These effects were replicated in new classrooms each of the 4 years of the study, and for all years combined. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study matched 15 kindergarten and 1st-grade retained students in 7 schools with their promoted peers on grade-level literacy performance. Researchers collected literacy assessments, demographic information, and instruction dosage data. Retained kindergarten students received less intervention and did not benefit academically from retention. Promoted 1st-grade students who received additional small-group interventions showed a nearly significant interaction effect. Results suggest that approximately 2.5 hr per school day of general education and small-group intervention literacy instruction is needed to bring students within average range. The article discusses instructional and policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review examined eight studies showing that video modeling (VM) can have a positive and significant effect for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Building upon meta-analyses that sought evidence of video-based interventions decreasing problem behaviors of students with EBD in K-12 education, the review examined the standards of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) for evidence-based practice as well as additional quality indicators, neglected quality indicators, strategies combined with VM, the impact of the independent variables on the dependent variables, and common recommendations offered for future research. Findings revealed that the eight studies met the CEC standards for evidence-based practices as well as other quality indicators. For instance, all studies reported content and setting, participants, intervention agents, description of practice, as well as interobserver agreement and experimental control. According to the findings, fidelity index and effect size were the two most neglected quality indicators. Furthermore, instructions, reinforcement system, and feedback or discussion were the most common strategies used. Finally, generalizability—across settings, populations, treatment agents, target behaviors in the real world, and subject matter—was the most common recommendation for future research. While further investigation is warranted, these findings suggest that VM is an effective evidence-based practice for students with EBD when the CEC standards are met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]