In recent twenty years dogs have become model subjects of comparing studies. These experiments show us that specific cognitive skills have developed during their domestication as an adaptation to anthropomorphic environment. For example dogs can follow human gaze and understand gestures. An important topic of today researches are linguistic skills of dogs. Knowledge from this area would help to discover more from evolution processes which formed human language. Last studies have proven dogs can distinguish a new object by a fast mapping. But when distinguishing two new objects, dogs had problems. That is why I decided to verify if dogs are able to remember two new words and match them with correct objects during one session. For this experiment I worked on a new methodical procedure and used three border collies dogs. The results showed that after some training dogs were able to correctly distinguish two new words in case the experimentalist stood in front of them and they used multisenzorial perception. In case they had only one communication source (visual or acoustic), they made more mistakes. The results show that functional reactions of dogs to human vocalization are getting better if they can use visual and acoustic source in one time during an interspecies communication. Key words: dog,...

This study examined the effects of Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) on affection, communication, and relationship between elderly parents and their assisting adult children. Twenty-eight pairs of parents and children were randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Subjects took Quinn's Family Life Questionnaire as pre-, post-, and follow-up tests. Parents and children in the treatment groups attended a four-session STEP workshop. No significant differences were found on the 2 x 2 analysis of variance for repeated measures for the parents or adult children. Quinn's affection and relationship variables approached significance for the parents over time. His variable affection approached significance for the children over time, irrespective of group. Agreement approached significance for children in the treatment group. The results for the parents regarding affection suggest that the study may have emphasized their feelings of trust. Although the data for relationship approached significance, it was negative, indicating that parents in the treatment group may have reduced their interaction with their assisting children perhaps because they were learning new communication skills. The data for the children regarding affection approached significance, but it was negative, suggesting they felt free to question their feelings about themselves and their parents. The results for children in the treatment group regarding agreement may suggest that the study increased their awareness of areas of agreement with their parents. When the data for parents and children were compared, communication approached significance for the parents; that is, they felt more comfortable with their communication with their children than did their children. The variables affection and perception showed significance. The elderly parents perceived their relationship with their children more positively than did their children. Absence of statistically significant data may be explained because Quinn's Family Life Questionnaire was not sensitive enough. Analysis of covariance might have identified significant findings. Increasing the number of participants and informing them of the purpose of the study might also affect a repeated study.

This study evaluated the effects of the type of language used by the therapist during a functional analysis on rates of challenging behavior with individuals who came from families where Spanish was the primary language. Three individuals with autism spectrum disorder who live in a residential treatment facility participated in a multi-element (i.e., demand, attention, play- verbal, and play-nonverbal) functional analysis (FA). The FA was conducted in an ABAB experimental design with the A conditions conducted in Spanish and the B conditions conducted in English. Language did not have an effect on rates of challenging behavior during the FA. One participant displayed no responding across conditions and the other two participants responded similarly during the demand conditions regardless of the language in which the conditions were conducted. Functional communication training (FCT) was conducted for one of these two participants in both languages. The results for this individual that there was no difference according to language in rates of challenging behavior as well as acquisition and maintenance of a functionally communicative response. Keywords: functional analysis, language, functional communication training, Autism Spectrum Disorder, problem behavior / Applied Behavioral Analysis

Three interventions using public posting and review of client data in order to increase the effectiveness of staff implementation of functional communication training (FCT) within a school setting were compared. These interventions included: public review and posting of client data, public review and posting of client data paired with a coded shape for each staff member, and public review and posting of client data paired with a coded shape for each staff member with added reinforcement incentives. There were three student participants and three staff participants. For two student participants, FCT increased from baseline through intervention phases and staff were more likely to implement functional communication training during the final phase where reinforcement was added for the staff. Added reinforcement increased staff implementation of FCT paired with public review and posting of client data. For the third participant, results varied, but staff implemented the most during the public review and posting phases compared to baseline and reached a mean of 10 responses per session. There was also a negative correlation between functional communication responses (FCR) and challenging behaviors for two participants. This supports previous research and demonstrates the value of functional communication training as a behavior intervention tactic. / Applied Behavioral Analysis

Indirect assessments are widely used to identify environmental factors that may be manipulated or integrated in the development of direct assessments and behavior interventions for individuals with developmental disabilities. To date, there are no indirect assessments that can be used to evaluate the extent to which children who engage in problem behavior wait to receive reinforcement. However, there are effective behavior interventions to increase waiting. A treatment package consisting of functional communication training (FCT) and schedule thinning (i.e., multiple schedules) has been identified as an effective intervention to increase waiting in children who engage in problem behavior maintained by social contingencies. Nonetheless, in studies in which a schedule thinning procedure has been used, the terminal waiting durations are typically selected arbitrarily. Therefore, we conducted three studies to evaluate the use of an indirect assessment to increase waiting within an FCT and schedule treatment package in children with developmental disabilities. The purpose of Study I was to develop the Waiting Assessment Interview Tool (WAIT) to obtain current waiting durations for subjects who engaged in problem behavior maintained by social contingencies. The purpose of Study II was to complete the WAIT with caregivers and behavior service providers and to compare their results to a latency functional analysis (FA) conducted with all children. Finally, the purpose of Study III was to use the WAIT completed by informants to systematically individualize the initial component durations used during the schedule thinning procedure. A second purpose was to use the informants’ preferred waiting times as final waiting targets for all subjects.

This applied dissertation study was designed to inform and advance knowledge regarding research in the area of the effectiveness of functional communication training (FCT) in reducing challenging behaviors among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who were nonverbal, by using a quantitative single subject approach. The researcher specifically focused on determining which modality, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) or manual sign language, would be the most effective as a replacement behavior to bring about a reduction in challenging behaviors. Previous researchers in the field of FCT did not address this area, thus leaving a gap in the research. The participants for the study were three children with ASD between the ages of 4 and 6. Prior to the start of the study, multiple assessments were administered to assess the function of challenging behaviors, level of functioning, imitation skills, and preferences. The intervention phases consisted of randomly alternating between a session of PECS and manual sign daily with each session consisting of 10 trials. Baseline data was collected to assess preexisting skill level to mand for items. The intervention trials continued until the participants reached mastery level in either modality. Results demonstrated that only PECS was effective for both the participants who completed the study, and for the participant who mastered both manual signing and PECS, PECS had a quicker acquisition rate. Implications from the findings suggest that FCT is an effective intervention in reducing challenging behaviors, and that PECS might be more effective for quick reductions of challenging behaviors. The study is a valuable addition to the current FCT research as it aligns with and extends findings from previous research.

Adults working as teachers and doctors can find it difficult to communicate well with young people about the issues that affect their wellbeing and learning and thus miss opportunities to contribute when their clients experience adversity. Drama is often used as a pedagogical tool to assist people to develop their communication skills. Dramatic portrayals however, can reinforce rather than challenge limiting stereotypes, and there is the potential for learning through drama to contribute to a patronising world-view and lead to the assumption that a set of formulaic approaches can bridge the communication divide. There is thus a need for research that engages both theoretically and technically with the use of drama as a tool for applied learning. In this thesis, a reflective practitioner methodology is used to explore the use of drama as a method in participatory enquiry and as a tool in the professional education of teachers and doctors. Use of the practitioner perspective permits analysis of the alignment between theory and practice. The Learning Partnerships project provides the context within which to conduct this enquiry. In this project the researcher leads drama workshops that bring together classes of school students and tertiary students completing their studies in medicine or education. The adolescents work as co-investigators with the teachers and doctors, exploring how to communicate effectively in the institutional contexts of schools and clinics.

Diploma thesis deals with the improvement of personal management in the company XY, s.r.o. It focuses on the areas of motivation, assessment and training, work organization, working conditions, internal communication and information. Outcome of this diploma thesis are proposals of measures that will lead to improvement of employee performance and to their satisfaction.

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

KITTNAROVÁ, Denisa. Communication training and social integration of people over cerebral apoplexy. Prague 2021. Diploma thesis. Charles University in Prague. Hussite Theological Faculty. Department of Psychosocial Sciences and Ethics. Thesis supervisor PhDr. Beáta Krahulcová, CSc. The main goal of my diploma thesis was to find out, how successful it is to integrate people over cerebral apoplexy into normal social and working life. The theoretical part introduces the reader to the cerebral apoplexy as such. It also deals with phatic disorders caused by cerebral apoplexy and brain trauma, rehabilitation and its possibilities, communication, and communication training and, last but not least, social services. In this thesis, I chose a qualitative method to obtain data using a semi-structured interview. At the end of this diploma thesis, the results of the research survey are processed and interpreted.