An alternating treatment design was used to systematically evaluate the communication response forms, picture exchange communication system (PECS) or sign language, selection for a child with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified, profound hearing loss, and cochlear implants. The child had a limited pool of high preference items and very few functional skills. Key factors for this child included a structured environment that created a verbal community and contingent access to high preference items. No preference in communication response form was observed. The child successfully used four response forms to communicate: gestures, PECS, sign language, and vocalization. The results are discussed in terms of decision making factors in the selection of response forms.

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) has been used with children with autism and other developmental disabilities as an alternative to vocal communication. Some researchers have reported rapid acquisition of picture-exchange requesting as well as increased vocal speech and increased spontaneous social interactions following PECS training. Earlier research has found that although 3 children with autism learned to exchange pictures for preferred items during PECS training, requesting topographies did not change and vocal speech did not increase after PECS training. The present study evaluated the effects of PECS training on requesting topographies, especially vocal speech, with 3 participants with autism and mental retardation. Only one participant maintained picture-exchange requesting, and none of the participants showed an increase in vocal speech during probe sessions conducted after each PECS training phase.

The purpose of this study is to research behavior problems of children in foster care and to identify teaching strategies and techniques for teachers who have foster children in their classrooms and experience difficulties working with them. The project examines the types of behavior problems displayed by abused children.

Discrete trial instruction (DTI) and naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) are often incorporated into early intensive behavioral interventions for young children with autism. Recent advances in staff training methods have demonstrated that self-instructional manuals, video models, and computer-based training are effective and efficient ways to improve staff implementation of these teaching strategies however research in this area is limited. The current evaluation assessed the effects of a computer-based training package including self-instructional manuals with embedded video models on direct-care staff’s implementation of DTI and an NDBI. All participants’ DTI teaching fidelity increased during role-plays with an adult and with a child with autism and all participants increased teaching fidelity across untrained instructional programs. In addition, moderate improvement was demonstrated following NDBI training on the use of correct prompts, environmental arrangements, and response interaction. Together, these results indicate that therapists are able to acquire a large number of skills using two teaching techniques, DTI and NDBI, following brief computer-based training.

Reinforcer assessments have largely relied on the use of progressive ratio (PR) schedules to identify stimuli that function as reinforcers. PR schedules evaluate the reinforcing efficacy of a stimulus by measuring the number of responses produced in order to access a stimulus as the number of required responses increases. The current evaluation extends the literature on reinforcer assessments by measuring responding under a progressive force (PF) schedule, in addition to progressive ratio requirements. We compared responding under PR and PF schedules with two children with autism using a multielement design embedded within a reversal experimental design. Results were mixed and implications for further development of reinforcer assessment methods (particularly PF schedules) are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to add to the limited amount of information on the effectiveness of play therapy interventions in a school-based counseling program. The study focused on examining the reasons why clients were referred to counseling, the frequency and duration of their behavior, the clients' academic performance at the beginning and end of treatment, the total number of sessions received, and the type of play therapy that was used to determine how effective play therapy interventions were during treatment.

Educational Studies / (M.Tech. (Inclusive Education))

This study was undertaken in order to investigate negative classroom behaviour in schools in Botswana. Recommendations based on the findings of the study were made to the participating schools and interested stakeholders. A qualitative approach was adopted to investigate the research questions in four schools selected for the study. The data collection methods used were observation, document analysis, participant interviews and focus group interviews. Participant and research site confidentiality was ensured and all interviews were transcribed and organised in such a way that the key points pertinent to the study were highlighted. This study provided valuable information for future studies investigating disruptive classroom behaviour and intervention methods. / Educational Foundations / M. Ed. (Socio-Education)

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-07-18T11:46:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Renata Cristina Michel.pdf: 1614274 bytes, checksum: e95f711d2385e57a6d1783ef14a0dfa6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-18T11:46:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Renata Cristina Michel.pdf: 1614274 bytes, checksum: e95f711d2385e57a6d1783ef14a0dfa6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-05-10 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Results from previous studies indicated that there was a reduction in the percentage of intervals with occurrence of disruptive behaviors after children with ASD were taught a verbal response relevant to the situation that evoked such behaviors; and there was an increase in the percentage of intervals with occurrence of relevant verbal responses (control). In the present study, we sought to verify the effect, on disruptive behaviors, on the emission of verbal responses and non-verbal responses, from a Functional Communication Training (FCT), plus a procedure to avoid escape of important activities by participants; it was also sought to verify if there was a generalization of the verbal response before a naive experimenter. Participants were three children between three and six years old, diagnosed with autism, who attended to school for at least one year, had verbal behavior below that expected for the age, and disruptive behaviors maintained by negative reinforcement (task escape). A functional analysis was performed composed of three experimental conditions: Demand; Attention; and Control. The results of the functional analysis showed that there was a considerably greater number of disruptive responses emitted by the three participants in the demand condition. In the Functional Communication Training (FCT) phase, each participant was taught to request a pause to perform tasks through verbal command responses. Initially, the participant was instructed to issue the verbal response, immediately after the presentation of the task, and gradually increased the time between the issuance of the experimenter's instruction ("Do ...") and the tip for verbal response by participant, until the verbal response was issued without any prompt. The results showed that the three participants presented a decrease in the emission of disruptive responses after the acquisition of the verbal response to request a pause to perform tasks. Then, in the Fading out phase for the task execution response and a gradual decrease of the prompt was implemented, from highest to lowest: DF - total physical hint, DL - light physical tip, DG - gestural tip and I - independent response. The results indicated that the three participants acquired the response for the task execution, reducing the emission of verbal pause requests for execution and maintaining a low number of disruptive responses. In the generalization test of the verbal response (mand) and the non-verbal response (do the task) to a naive experimenter, it was verified that for all the participants there was generalization of the verbal response and generalization of the nonverbal response / Resultados de estudos anteriores apontaram que houve redução da porcentagem dos intervalos com ocorrência de comportamentos disruptivos após crianças com TEA serem ensinadas a emitir resposta verbal relevante à situação que evocava tais comportamentos; e houve aumento da porcentagem dos intervalos com ocorrência de respostas verbais relevantes (mando). No presente estudo, buscou-se verificar o efeito, sobre comportamentos disruptivos, sobre a emissão de respostas verbais e de respostas não verbais, de um Treino de Comunicação Funcional (FCT), acrescido de um procedimento para evitar a esquiva de atividades importantes pelos participantes; buscou-se, também, verificar se ocorria generalização da emissão da resposta verbal diante de experimentadora ingênua. Foram participantes três crianças, entre três e seis anos de idade, diagnosticadas com autismo, que frequentavam escola há pelo menos um ano, apresentavam comportamento verbal abaixo do esperado para a idade e comportamentos disruptivos mantidos por reforçamento negativo (fuga da tarefa). Foi conduzida análise funcional composta de três condições experimentais: Condição de demanda; Condição de atenção; e Condição controle. Os resultados da análise funcional mostraram que houve um número consideravelmente maior de respostas disruptivas emitidos pelos três participantes na condição de demanda. Na fase do Treino de Comunicação Funcional (FCT), cada participante foi ensinado a solicitar pausa da execução de tarefas através de respostas verbais de mando. Inicialmente, era dada dica ao participante para emissão da resposta verbal, imediatamente após a apresentação da tarefa, e aumentava-se gradativamente o tempo entre a emissão da instrução da experimentadora (“Faça...”) e a dica para a resposta verbal pelo participante, até que a resposta verbal fosse emitida sem nenhuma dica. Os resultados mostraram que os três participantes apresentaram diminuição na emissão de respostas disruptivas após a aquisição da resposta verbal para solicitação de pausa para a execução de tarefas. Em seguida, na fase de Dica para a resposta de execução da tarefa e diminuição gradativa da dica (Fading-out), foi implementado um procedimento de alteração do nível de dica, da maior para a menor: DF - dica física total, DL – dica física leve, DG – dica gestual e I – resposta independente. Os resultados apontaram que os três participantes adquiriram a resposta de execução das tarefas, reduzindo a emissão de respostas verbais de solicitação de pausa para a sua execução e mantendo baixo número de emissão de respostas disruptivas. No teste de generalização da emissão de resposta verbal (mando) e do tempo de permanência na tarefa diante de uma experimentadora ingênua, verificou-se que, para todos os participantes, houve generalização da resposta verbal e generalização da resposta não verbal

Educational Studies / (M.Tech. (Inclusive Education))