Association for Behavior Analysis International

Single-case research methodology was used to evaluate short term outcomes from parent- implemented literacy instruction for children with intellectual disabilities. The present study investigated the impacts of a parent-implemented direct instruction curriculum on phonological awareness and phonics of children between the ages of 4 and 12 who were diagnosed Down syndrome. Additional behavioral measures of were used to identify potential collateral effects of the intervention on home behaviors. The study included 12 parent-child dyads and was implemented over 18 weeks. 33% of participants showed significant increases on decoding (nonsense word reading and oral reading fluency). Those who showed significant progress on decoding also improved on phoneme segmentation and rapid picture naming. All children improved on at least one literacy skill during the intervention. Overall, the intervention study presented here demonstrates that the same components of reading in children with typical development, also apply to individuals with Down syndrome. This study contributes to the literature in several ways. First, it demonstrated that parents can implement reading interventions with fidelity that are effective for this population. Second, it demonstrated that improvements on minimal verbal repertoires (i.e., phonemic awareness) contribute to decoding. These results will be discussed in further detail during the poster presentation.

Brief experimental analysis (BEA) utilizes single case design methodology to test drive interventions in order to select an effective intervention for an individual student (Burns & Wagner, 2008). Used in this way, BEA can guide intervention selection for learners who have failed to respond to standard instruction (Coolong-Chaffin & Wagner, 2015). This project examined how BEA procedures could be used to identify potentially effective skill and/or performance-based interventions targeting reading fluency for 12 students (grades 2-7) who demonstrated inadequate reading performance during the school year. In addition, an extended analysis was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the indicated intervention over time when used within the context of a comprehensive reading instructional package delivered during a summer reading program. Results indicated that a promising intervention was identified for each participant. In addition, the intervention led to large gains in words read correctly per minute during the reading program on intervention passages. Variable results were seen on generalization passages. These results extend the literature on BEA by demonstrating its use with interventions utilizing skill and/or performance-based interventions. The results also demonstrate how BEA-indicted interventions can be used within the context of a comprehensive instructional package for struggling readers during the summer.

The use of self-questioning strategies with prompt fading is examined as a way to support at-risk third graders in comprehending expository text. Self-questioning strategies are designed to aid children to monitor their understanding of text, to recognize elements of text, and to make inferences about text (Crabtree, Alber-Morgan, & Konrad, 2010). Explicit instruction of comprehension strategies, such as self-questioning, has been linked to learners' development of comprehension skills and improvement in assessment-taking skills (Chall, 1983; Goldman & Rakestraw, 2000; Kintsch, 2005; Pearson & Johnson, 1978). Prompt-fading techniques are used with self-questioning strategies to promote independence and prevent prompt-dependence. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a structured self-questioning strategy on the reading comprehension of third graders at-risk for academic failure due to reading comprehension difficulties.

Despite the fact that Iceland spends more on the educational system than most of the neighboring countries the need for special education is rising. Most students that receive special education need reading instruction. It is important to use methods that are effective and accelerate learning. Direct Instruction (DI) and Precision Teaching (PT) have been shown to be very effective with English-speaking students. In this study multiple baseline across participants and changing criterion design was used to assess the effects of using DI and PT in reading instruction with Icelandic students who had reading difficulties. The participants, 5 students aged 8 to 13, had reading skills below the average of their age. Most of them had been in special education in reading for some time without showing much progress. Every participant showed progress when DI and PT were used. These results indicate that these methods are effective in reading instruction with Icelandic speaking students.

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a general education initiative, however, general education teachers may not have extensive training or knowledge about the systematic interventions characteristic of Tier 2 or the systems approach to assessment and intervention within RtI (Spear-Swerling & Cheesman, 2012). We will share an intervention study of one private elementary school that began implementing an RtI model, with a focus on the delivery of a standard protocol Tier 2 reading intervention (e.g., student intervention data, teachers social validity data). Participants included first- through sixth-grade students with learning disabilities or who were at risk for reading failure. Data revealed greater effectiveness for students who were at risk. Social validity data from the teachers revealed benefits regarding student independence, interest and choice, and concerns with individualization and time for the general curriculum. These results point out the need for general education teachers to receive sustained support in their efforts to implement interventions and monitor student progress (Richards, Pavri, Golez, Canges, & Murphy, 2007). The intervention data also suggest that certain methods may be more effective with at-risk students as opposed to students with learning disabilities. Teachers must provide these learners with effective, evidence-based interventions to improve student outcomes.

Language and behavioral disorders tend to be highly comorbid in students with mild/moderate disabilities (Hollo, Wehby, & Oliver, 2014). One intervention shown to be successful at remediating communication-based problem behavior is functional communication training (FCT). FCT is typically utilized for individuals with moderate to severe developmental or intellectual disabilities; however the core components of FCT (i.e., functional assessment of problem behavior and differential reinforcement of a functionally equivalent communicative replacement behavior) are often utilized in intervention packages for students with EBD. This poster will present the results of a literature review of functional assessment based interventions for students with and at risk for high incidence disabilities to determine the extent to which these interventions address language based behavioral concerns using techniques aligned with FCT.

The purpose of this poster is to present a review of published research along with a current study that explores the effects of implementing a systematic process of de-intensifying interventions using most to least prompt procedures as students achieve performing tasks independently. For instance, a current study will be presented on exploring the effects of a most to least verbal plus visual prompt procedure using sound box to teach preschoolers to segment phonemes. Most to least prompt procedures consisted of modeling, guided practice, and corrective feedback while using sound boxes and then systematically removing modeling and guided practice and then subsequently the sound boxes as students approximated mastery. A multiple probe design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the most to least prompts using sound boxes on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of the preschoolers� phoneme segmentation performance. Findings are displayed on a graph, and they revealed that all children improved their performance on phoneme segmentation tasks during the implementation of sound box intervention over and above their performance during baseline conditions. Results also showed that all children were able to maintain their high phoneme segmentation performance levels after prompts were systematically removed.

This study examined the effects of positive peer reporting on social interactions of two socially withdrawn children as part of a larger study. The study was conducted in two 4th grade general education classes using a multiple baseline design across participants. All children in the classes (65 children) participated in the intervention, and in this study we analyzed social interactions of two girls who rarely interacted with peers. We used an event recording procedure to record the girls social interactions during 10-min recess. After the baseline, the positive peer reporting was introduced as the intervention. At the beginning of the intervention phase, teachers conducted a review session about what are good behaviors. Children were told to find each others good behaviors in the school and report it by writing a card. The teachers collected the cards and read them in front of the classes at the end of a day. The teachers praised children who wrote cards as well as children who practiced good behaviors. During the intervention, both girls wrote and received cards, and their social interactions increased. We continue to observe if the girls social interactions are maintained after the formal withdrawal of the intervention.

This study implemented and evaluated a training program for students acquiring field supervision hours toward their BCBA certification, specifically in conducting effective supervisions (effective use of didactic, modeling, feedback, and performance management systems). The study identified the behavior of the supervisor as well as the para-professional charged with implementing behavioral procedures (including both currently credentialed Registered Behavior Technicians and who had not completed the RBT training). The students, each paired with a technician/trainee and a preschool-aged child (2 1/2 7 yr old), were each trained to criteria on a set of supervision objectives for implementation following a Supervision Skills Checklist (including both in-vivo observation of implementation and direct competency assessment). Each item of the implementation skills checklist identified were evaluated in baseline for the technicians, and both pre and post-training implementation treatment fidelity was measured. A multiple-baseline design across subject pairs (BCBA Student/Technician) demonstrated that after direct training of supervision skills with BCBA students both completion of supervision tasks and treatment fidelity increased, and maintenance of target skills occurred with ongoing supervision.