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| Applied Behavior Analysis and Service Delivery |
| Saturday, May 29, 2010 |
| 4:00 PM–4:20 PM |
| 217B (CC) |
| Area: DDA |
| Chair: Darren Bowring (States of Jersey, UK, Special Needs Service) |
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| The Use of Staff Greetings to Increase On-Task Behaviour in a Supported Work Scheme |
| Domain: Service Delivery |
| DARREN BOWRING (States of Jersey, UK, Special Needs Service), Sandy Toogood (Wales Centre for Behaviour Analysis, University of Wales) |
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| Abstract: Background: Adults with intellectual disabilities must show acceptable levels of on-task behaviour in the workplace. A previous study found student on-task behaviour increased during the first 10-minutes of class when teachers delivered a pre-session greeting. We investigated the effect of a pre-session greeting from staff on levels of on-task behaviour shown by three people with intellectual disabilities in the workplace. Method:
Nicolas, Emma and Ian participated in the study. We conducted a brief functional assessment of participant off-task behaviour and trained staff to deliver or withhold a simple pre-session greeting. We used an A-B-A-B design and measured participant on-task behaviour, pre-session staff greetings and within-session staff verbal attention for 20-minutes. Results:
Participants spent more time on-task when they were greeted than when they were not, irrespective of functional assessment results. Participants received more staff contact in sessions that started with a greeting. The effect was most apparent during the first 10-minutes of session. Discussion: Staff greetings are a potentially low-cost and technically undemanding way for staff to increase on-task behaviour. The implications for services and future research are discussed. |
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