Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains [iii], 53 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-38).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.

This study was designed to examine the most common characteristics, best practices, and gaps in service delivery at Early Intervention (EI) centres across Canada. A 29-item survey designed to investigate services, funding, waitlists, satisfaction, and perceptions of success was completed by 184 service providers. Provinces and territories were grouped according to time zone and five resulting samples were compared. Samples were comparable in terms of waitlists, perception of success and government contributions. Significant differences were found in terms of the number of professionals working at the centre, with the Mountain and Eastern samples having the most multidisciplinary centres. In addition to making cross-province comparisons, Canadian findings were also explored. As the proportion of government funding decreased and private funding increased, ratings of satisfaction significantly increased. Findings were discussed in relation to the relevance to Canadian EI centres and directions for future research were explored.

The effects of exercise frequency on the stereotypic behaviours of four children with developmental disabilities were examined. Two exercise treatments were implemented, differentiated by frequency. The single frequency exercise treatment consisted of one daily 10 minute walk/jog session, while the multiple frequency treatment involved three 10 minute walk/jog sessions per day. Stereotypic behaviours were observed prior to the exercise sessions, as well as immediately following exercise. / The results indicated similar reductions in stereotypic behaviours with the use of both treatments. In the single frequency condition, subjects demonstrated a mean reduction of 51.6%. These data confirm the results of past research, in which a decrease in stereotypic behaviours was observed following a single bout of exercise. However, the positive results are usually short-lived. The mean reduction of 58.9% following the multiple frequency condition can be viewed as more effective than the single frequency condition because the reduction was maintained throughout different periods of the day. Inter-rater reliability of stereotypic behaviours was 86%. / The use of a multiple frequency exercise treatment informally revealed the interaction between exercise, environment, and stereotypic behaviours. Observation in the classroom suggested that as the structure of the classroom increased, stereotypic behaviours decreased. Thus, exercise combined with a structured classroom is likely to yield an optimal decrease in stereotypic behaviours.

Peer relationships of students with developmental disabilities in self-contained classrooms were investigated. Eighteen boys enrolled in three separate classrooms participated in the study. The mean chronological age of the boys in each class were 6.7, 8, and 7.7 years, and their mean mental ages were 4.6, 5.8. and 6.7 years. Peer relationship measures included sociometric measures such as peer ratings and sociograms and observational measures such as coordinated group activity and dyadic interaction. Spearman rank correlation coefficients were obtained. Peer ratings shared high correlations with cognitive variables such as I.Q., for the middle mental age class. Behavioral variables were correlated to peer ratings for the middle and the highest mental age classes. Dyadic interaction variables were correlated to peer ratings for the lowest and the middle mental age classes. The importance of including observational variables in addition to sociometric variables and the possible effects of group characteristics such as cohesiveness on the variables that determine peer ratings are discussed.

Two studies were conducted to examine the hypothesis that compliance may be a "keystone" behaviour for intervention for children with developmental delays. The relations among children's behaviours were examined during teaching sessions conducted either by children's mother or an unfamiliar examiner. Specifically, the relations between children's compliance with instructional requests and their attention, affect (positive and negative), and inappropriate behaviours (inappropriate object use, inappropriate vocalizations, inappropriate sitting, wandering, and self-directed behaviour) were examined. In both studies, highly compliant children showed less negative affect and were more attentive to the tasks than were less compliant children. Highly attentive children, in turn, showed less out-of-seat behaviour/wandering, less inappropriate object use, and less negative affect, than did less attentive children. / In the second study, the hypothesis that delayed children may have greater difficulties with self-regulation than nondelayed children was investigated by examining-the effects of task difficulty on children's behaviour and affect during instruction. The responses of preschoolers with developmental delays Were compared to those of their nondelayed peers during two types of tasks (verbal and visual-perceptual) presented at three levels of difficulty (easy, moderate, and difficult). The tasks were presented in a standardized manner by an unfamiliar adult to minimize extraneous sources of variation in children's responding. To ensure that children in all groups received comparably difficult tasks, task difficulty was defined using an individualized procedure. Thus, group differences in children's responses to task requests could not be attributed to differences in their level of developmental functioning. Finally the associations between children's behaviours and task performance were examined to identify the behaviours that contributed to task success. / The results indicated that even when given comparably difficult tasks, children with delays showed less tolerance for task demands than did their nondelayed peers. The delayed children were less compliant than the nondelayed children during moderately difficult and difficult tasks and were also less attentive than the controls during difficult tasks. Also, whereas the delayed children showed reductions in compliance and on-task attention with increases in task difficulty, the nondelayed children were equally compliant and attentive at all levels of task difficulty. / All children were more compliant and attentive and showed less inappropriate behaviour during the visual-perceptual than the verbal tasks. Furthermore, compliance was strongly associated with children's performance on both types of tasks. The findings are interpreted as evidence that children with delays may have greater difficulties with emotion and self-regulation than their nondelayed peers.

Thesis--Auburn University, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [38]-41).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-155).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2005. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-125).