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UCSB Koegel Autism Center

Journal of

Positive Behavior Interventions

Volume 13, Number 3, January 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS AND ABSTRACTS

Articles:

The Effectiveness of Two Universal Behavioral Supports for Children With Externalizing Behavior in Head Start Classrooms
Sandra Covington Smith, Timothy J. Lewis, and Melissa Stormont

To add to the emerging early intervention research on universal supports for children, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention designed to increase teachers’ use of two universal behavioral supports on target children’s behavior. The children targeted for this study were at elevated risk for problem behavior according to teachers’ nominations and ratings. Three teachers in Head Start settings were selected to participate in this study. The Multi Option Observation System for Experimental Studies coding system was used to collect data on teacher and student behavior. The intervention included providing teachers with specific instruction in implementing precorrective statements and behavior-specific praise statements and then, after the intervention sessions, providing feedback on implementation. A multiple-baseline design was used, and baseline, intervention, and maintenance data were collected. Results indicate that teachers increased their use of the targeted universal supports and a functional relationship was observed between this increase and improvement in children’s behavior. Maintenance data were also promising. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.

Teaching Daily Living Skills to Seven Individuals with Severe Intellectual Disabilities: A Comparison of Video Prompting to Video Modeling
Helen I. Cannella-Malone, Courtney Fleming, Yi-Cheih Chung, Geoffrey M. Wheeler, Abby R. Basbagill, and Angella H. Singh

We conducted a systematic replication of Cannella-Malone et al. by comparing the effects of video prompting to video modeling for teaching seven students with severe disabilities to do laundry and wash dishes. The video prompting and video modeling procedures were counterbalanced across tasks and participants and compared in an alternating treatments design within a multiple probe across participants design. For six participants, video prompting was more effective than video modeling, which was generally ineffective. For one participant, neither video modeling nor video prompting was effective, but in vivo instruction led to skill acquisition. One participant who was deaf was also able to learn both skills using video prompting, even though he could not hear the voice-over instructions. These data suggest that the duration of the video may influence its effectiveness as a teaching tool and that the voice-over instructions may not be necessary.

Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams: Effects of Group Contingency Programs in Urban Classrooms
Debra Kamps, Howard P. Wills, Linda Heitzman-Powell, Jeff Laylin, Carolyn Szoke, Tai Petrillo, and Amy Culey

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.

The Effects of the First Step to Success Program on Academic Engagement Behaviors of Turkish Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Selda Ozdemir

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of the First Step to Success (FSS) early intervention program with Turkish children identified with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Intervention effectiveness on target children’s academic engagement behaviors was studied. Participants were four 7-year-old first-grade students in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. The design was a single-subject, multiple-baseline, across-groups design. Findings from the study revealed that all target children displayed increased levels of academic engagement behaviors with the introduction of the FSS program and at 3 months’ follow-up. However, follow-up data at 2 years indicated that although three students continued to display high levels of academic engagement behavior, one student did not catch up to these levels of performance. Limitations are discussed and implications for future research are presented.

A Strength-Based Approach to Parent Education for Children with Autism
Amanda Mossman Steiner

Despite the ubiquitous nature of parent education in autism treatment, relatively few studies directly address how parent education should be conducted. Given that the literature on parental well-being suggests that treatments that facilitate positive parental adaptation to their child’s disability may be beneficial, this study examined the impact of a strength-based approach to parent education. An alternating treatments design was used to compare the effects of therapist statements that highlighted the child’s deficits versus those that emphasized strengths. These two approaches were evaluated on the following measures: parent affect, parent statements regarding child behavior, and the quality of parent—child interactions. Results indicate that parents displayed improved affect, made more positive statements about their child, and also exhibited more physical affection toward their child during the strength-based approach. Findings have implications for autism programming, parental coping, and parent—child relationships.