Preference evaluations have been used to determine children’s preferences, for reinforcers, consequences and even preferred instructional strategies. English Language Learners (ELLs) with developmental disabilities (DD) are a quickly growing population and the application of these assessments may be useful in determining preference for language of instruction. This dissertation includes two studies with the purpose of determining whether preference assessments could be used to establish a preference for language of instruction in children with DD who come from Spanish speaking homes. In the first study, a concurrent chains method was used to evaluate a child’s preference for English vs. Spanish instruction. Three colored (blue, green, and yellow) micro switches were used to represent English instruction, Spanish instruction and control (no language) followed by a preferred reinforcer after instruction. Exposure trials were used to teach the chains for each micro switch. Choice sessions were then implemented. All three switches were placed in front of the child and the child was allowed to choose a switch which then initiated the chain associated with that particular switch. After the 10th session switches were reprogrammed to prevent a bias for a specific color and preference procedures were then rerun to see if the preference for language remained. Results from the assessment showed that the child chose Spanish instruction most often. He continued to choose Spanish instruction after switches were reprogrammed. In study two, an ABAB design was utilized to assess the effects of task difficulty on preference for language of instruction. Five children with DD participated in home or school settings. The concurrent chains assessment from the first study was utilized as the preference assessment. Tasks included mastered task (easy) and non-mastered tasks (difficult) from the children’s IEPs. Results for study two indicated that task difficulty had an effect on the preference for language of instruction. Four out of five of the children showed no clear preference for language of instruction when tasks were easy, however they showed a distinct preference for language of instruction when tasks were difficult. Discussion on results of the studies, implications for practice in working with ELLs with DD, and directions for future research are presented. / text

This study investigated the relationship between compound caregiving (i.e. multiple caregiving roles), and reciprocity to the wellbeing of older caregivers of adult children with intellectual disabilities. The study sample was composed of 91 caregivers with a mean age of 60 years. Participants were a convenience sample of caregivers predominantly residing in Florida. Care recipients' mean age was 29 years. Thirty-four were currently compound caregivers. Quality of life indicators used as outcome measures in this dissertation were life satisfaction, depressive symptomatology, physical health, mental health, and desire for alternative residential placement of the care recipient. Compared with the non-compound caregivers, the compound caregivers had increased desire to place their care recipient into residential care. They also spent an average of 12 additional hours per week undertaking the compound caregiving role. Between group differences were not detected in life satisfaction, depressive symptomatology, global physical health, or mental health. The role of reciprocity was investigated using tangible reciprocity (i.e. help with home chores), and emotional reciprocity (i.e. positive emotions). Overall findings indicated that caregivers reported giving more tangible and emotional support than they received, but considerable variability was evident. Relative disadvantage in tangible reciprocity was associated with increased depressive symptomatology, poorer mental health, and reduced desire for residential placement of the care recipient, but not with physical health or life satisfaction. Emotional reciprocity was not associated with any of the outcome measures. Tangible reciprocity and compound caregiving were assessed using hierarchical regression analyses, to investigate their predictive value, after controlling for caregiver demographic variables, care recipient characteristics, and caregiving stressor variables, for mental health, depressive symptomatology, and desire for residential placement. Compound caregiving status was found to predict greater desire for placement over and above the control variables. Tangible reciprocity did not explain any significant variance in any of the regressions. Overall, compound caregivers are more likely to desire residential placement for their care recipient, though no discernable difference existed between compound versus non-compound caregivers in the other outcome measures. Tangible reciprocity had little predictive utility in the present study. Compound caregiving research needs further refinement of more homogeneous groupings of compound caregivers.

Older adults with developmental disabilities often experience similar age-related health changes as their typically developing peers. However, they also face challenges associated with aging with a life-long disability. Because of the changes in life expectancy for people with developmental disabilities, there is a growing need for long-term residential care. The current study examines a sample of 90 counties in the state of Georgia. In addition to descriptive analysis, regression analysis was used to examine bed availability with county type (urban, rural, and metropolitan), age, race, income, education, and disability status as potential predictors. Preliminary analyses revealed that rural counties, on the whole, had more beds available than urban or metropolitan counties. However, these results were partially mediated by the following within county variables: adult disability status, income, older age, and racial makeup of the county.

No description available.

Level 6 of the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) assesses the ease or difficulty with which persons with developmental disabilities (DD) are able to learn a two-choice auditory-visual discrimination. Individuals with DD who have passed ABLA Level 6 are likely to have at least some language skills, and their language is likely to be more complex than those individuals who have not passed Level 6 (Marion et al., 2003). Thus, an individual’s performance on Level 6 of the ABLA may be predictive of the types of language skills he/she will readily learn. Previous research (Verbeke, Martin, Yu & Martin, 2007) demonstrated that an individual’s pass/fail performance on ABLA Level 6 predicted his or her ability to point to pictures of common objects when the tester said the names of the objects. The present research examined whether performance on ABLA Level 6 might predict the ability of a person with a severe DD to learn to say the names of common objects (called tacting). Specifically, this study investigated whether participants who passed ABLA Level 6 (the Auditory-Visual Group – Group 1) would more readily learn object naming behavior (vocal tacts) than those clients who failed ABLA Level 6 (the Visual Group – Group 2). The groups were matched on the Communication Subscale of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS). Results indicated that: (a) Group 1 met mastery criterion for a significantly larger number of naming responses than Group 2; and (b) the mean number of trials to mastery criterion was significantly lower in Group 1 than in Group 2. The implications for language training are discussed.

The purposes of this study were to determine which perinatal risk variables arecorrelated with phonological disorders and to determine how preschoolers' developmental functioning is related to phonological impairment. Subjects were 101 low SES boys (n=46) and girls (n=55) randomly selected from a county Head Start program in north-central Indiana. The mean age of the preschoolers was 65 months. Information about perinatal risks and developmental abilities was obtained from mothers or primary caregivers. Using the Maternal Perinatal Scale (Dean, 1985) and the Bankson Bernthal Test of Phonology (Bankson & Bernthal, 1990), it was found that three moderate inverse correlations existed between perinatal risk items and phonological scores (mothers' weight before pregnancy, the number of pregnancies prior to the birth of the child that resulted in death, and the number of medical conditions experienced by mothers before or during pregnancy). Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that developmental scales of the Minnesota Preschool Inventory (Ireton & Thwing, 1979) significantly accounted for phonological ability in these children, with the scales of Letter Recognition, Self-Help, Expressive Language, and Fine Motor contributing the most unique variance. Implications of these findings are discussed relative to the developmental apraxia of speech debate. / Department of Educational Psychology

Level 6 of the Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities (ABLA) assesses the ease or difficulty with which persons with developmental disabilities (DD) are able to learn a two-choice auditory-visual discrimination. Individuals with DD who have passed ABLA Level 6 are likely to have at least some language skills, and their language is likely to be more complex than those individuals who have not passed Level 6 (Marion et al., 2003). Thus, an individual’s performance on Level 6 of the ABLA may be predictive of the types of language skills he/she will readily learn. Previous research (Verbeke, Martin, Yu & Martin, 2007) demonstrated that an individual’s pass/fail performance on ABLA Level 6 predicted his or her ability to point to pictures of common objects when the tester said the names of the objects. The present research examined whether performance on ABLA Level 6 might predict the ability of a person with a severe DD to learn to say the names of common objects (called tacting). Specifically, this study investigated whether participants who passed ABLA Level 6 (the Auditory-Visual Group – Group 1) would more readily learn object naming behavior (vocal tacts) than those clients who failed ABLA Level 6 (the Visual Group – Group 2). The groups were matched on the Communication Subscale of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS). Results indicated that: (a) Group 1 met mastery criterion for a significantly larger number of naming responses than Group 2; and (b) the mean number of trials to mastery criterion was significantly lower in Group 1 than in Group 2. The implications for language training are discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-143). / Microfiche. / xi, 143 leaves (1 folded), bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (M. Nurs)(Hons.)--University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 1996. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-106).