Youth traumatized by natural disasters report high levels of posttraumatic stress as well as other types of impairing emotional distress symptoms (e.g., anxiety and depression) for many years post-trauma. Implementing school based screening and treatment programs for these youth eliminates barriers to traditional treatment settings and may provide symptom relief. The current study examines the feasibility of conducting school-based trauma-focused treatment program in the wake of disaster. Idiographic evaluation of the treatment process is incorporated into the treatment evaluation through use of multiple baseline design. Youth reporting at least severe levels of posttraumatic stress on the PTSD-RI were recruited for an expanded assessment and treatment (youth ages 8-13; N=6). Treatment (i.e., the StArT program) consisted of 10-weekly individual sessions during which different cognitive behavioral components were introduced. Youth were assessed at pre-treatment, weekly during treatment, and at post-treatment. Quantitative and qualitative findings relative to youth responses to intervention are presented and discussed in terms of the feasibility of conducting treatment in school settings and in terms of individual difference factors contributing to treatment responses. Findings from this study suggest the feasibility of school based interventions through the aid of school counselors and integration of treatment sessions into the school schedule. Youth responses to the intervention were very positive, point toward the efficacy of a disaster trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (the StArT program), and help to highlight particularly useful modules in youth.

This study examined the efficacy of the Sound Foundations program, implemented by parents, for increasing phonological awareness (PA). Three kindergarten students identified with PA deficits and their mothers served as participants. Parents implemented Sound Foundations twice per week for five and a half weeks. The effects of the intervention were evaluated using a multiple baseline across participants design. PA was measured using the Phoneme Segmentation Fluency measure of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. Results showed that two students showed increases over time in phonemes per minute after the parent intervention. A third student did not show substantial mprovement. None of the students reached established levels of PA. Treatment integrity and social validity data also were collected. These data indicated that parent participants carried out the intervention appropriately and that both parents and student liked the intervention program.

Spinal fusion is a surgical procedure used to correct structural spinal damage or abnormalities. Recovery is painful and consists of a minimum 3-day hospital stay. Specific body positioning is necessary for healing but is difficult to maintain due to physical discomfort. The purpose of this study was to use a single-subject multiple baseline design to compare the current practice of using standard hospital pillows to a body-sized pillow for increasing comfort and decreasing pain in pediatric patients recovering from spinal fusion surgery. Four adolescents who had recently undergone spinal fusion surgery served as participants. Outcome measures included self- and nurse-report, heart rate, and requested medication. Three patients found that the BodyPillow® increased their comfort as they recovered from surgery; the fourth reported that he was less comfortable. No changes in pain were reported with the BodyPillow®. Results should help guide medical care and future research regarding pediatric spinal fusion recovery.

No description available.

Social skills training was investigated in an after-school program setting with four seven- and eight-year-old males. Two were Hispanic and two were African-American. Social skills training consisted of a direct instruction, behavioral learning model of skillstreaming as described by McGinnis and Goldstein (1997). There were four major components to each social skills training session: (1) an explanation of the skill being taught; (2) modeling by the researcher of the skill being taught; (3) role play by each of the participants; and (4) performance feedback regarding the role plays. Sessions lasted approximately 30 minutes and were held weekly throughout the intervention phases of the study. The behaviors taught were raising ones hand before leaving the seat, sitting properly in ones seat, and attending to homework or staff instructions. Participants also received reinforcement for performance of the social skills in homework sessions at the after school program, as is consistent with the literature regarding social skills training. However, the reinforcement and behavior learning (direct instruction) components were introduced both in combination and at separate times to experimentally control for the influence of each intervention component. This research design allows for the investigation into the relative effectiveness of direct instruction versus reinforcement in social skills training. Experimental control was demonstrated through the use of a multiple baseline across behaviors design. Direct instruction and reinforcement for behaviors were systematically introduced at separate times, keeping some behaviors under baseline condition while moving others into intervention conditions. Visual analysis of the results indicates that social skills training was effective in improving the three target behaviors of all four students. Direct instruction, reinforcement, and the combination of the two presented together all were effective in improving the target behaviors. Possible intervention effects not related to social skills training may have influenced the behavior of attending.

Thesis (Ed. S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Psychology, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 15-18).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the use of social stories that integrate a child’s particular restricted and repetitive behaviors results in differential social outcomes compared to the use of social stories that do not integrate restricted and repetitive behaviors. A non-concurrent multiple baseline experimental design across participants was used to examine the effects of two Social Story interventions on the frequency of appropriate social behaviors made by participants in a school setting. Field notes were also completed during each day of data collection in order to document the social context, events, activities, moods and behaviors of participants associated with each data collection session. Field notes also included the researcher’s thoughts, observations, and reflections on these variables. Overall, the intervention that included participants’ restricted interests within the Social Story had the effect of increasing participants’ appropriate social behaviors in contrast to the intervention that did not employ restricted interests. This research substantiates the principle that the restricted interests of children with ASD should not be viewed as a form of deficiency that needs to be eliminated. Rather, restricted interests should be viewed as reinforcing agents that increase children’s motivation to pursue activities that involve social initiations and interactions with their peers.

A number of randomization statistical procedures have been developed to analyze the results from single-case multiple-baseline intervention investigations. In a previous simulation study, comparisons of the various procedures revealed distinct differences among them in their ability to detect immediate abrupt intervention effects of moderate size, with some procedures (typically those with randomized intervention start points) exhibiting power that was both respectable and superior to other procedures (typically those with single fixed intervention start points). In Investigation 1 of the present follow-up simulation study, we found that when the same randomization-test procedures were applied to either delayed abrupt or immediate gradual intervention effects: (1) the powers of all of the procedures were severely diminished; and (2) in contrast to the previous study's results, the single fixed intervention start-point procedures generally outperformed those with randomized intervention start points. In Investigation 2 we additionally demonstrated that if researchers are able to successfully anticipate the specific alternative effect types, it is possible for them to formulate adjusted versions of the original randomization-test procedures that can recapture substantial proportions of the lost powers.

Children with intellectual disabilities are often denied exposure to mathematical word-problem solving since it is believed to beyond their intellectual abilities. This study aimed to determine whether children with intellectual disabilities could be taught to solve subtraction word-problems. The underlying premise of this study was that the receptive mathematical language skills of children with intellectual disabilities needed to be enhanced so as to optimize their word-problem solving abilities. This was undertaken through the implementation of a mathematical aided language stimulation programme (MAiLgS). This programme aimed to maximise exposure to and understanding of the mathematical language of word-problems for children with intellectual disabilities through simultaneous exposure to spoken input and visual supports. Two strategies were combined to form the MAiLgS programme. The first strategy referred to Goossens’ (1989) principles of aided language stimulation whereby graphic symbols in the form of Picture Communication Symbols (PCS symbols) (Johnson, 1981) and spoken input were utilized to expound upon and clarify the vocabulary comprising word-problems. Riley, Greeno and Heller’s model of word-problem solving (1983) was used to structure the three types of subtraction word-problems and to provide visual support in calculating the word-problem solutions. Seven children with intellectual disabilities aged between 8;0 and 12;0 were taught to solve the subtraction word-problems in a small group format. A multiple baseline design across behaviours (three types of subtraction word-problems) replicated across seven participants was used. The MAiLgS programme entailed teaching each of the three types of subtraction word-problems over a period of three weeks, with one word-problem type being taught each week. Participants’ subtraction-word problem solving was monitored daily using probe tests. Three maintenance probes were conducted four weeks after intervention stopped. Four of the seven participants demonstrated improved subtraction word-problems solving for the three types of subtraction word-problems. The remaining three participants demonstrated minimal change in their ability to solve the word-problems. The results of this study suggest that a MAiLgS programme may be used in a small group format to teach word-problem solving to children with intellectual disabilities. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / tm2015 / Centre for Augmentative & Alternative Communication (CAAC) / PhD / Unrestricted

No description available.