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Children on the autism spectrum often demonstrate little variability in their use of language and interaction in social situations. Some of these difficulties have historically been attributed to weak or absent perspective-taking abilities. Relational Frame Theory has recently emerged as a framework for understanding complex social behavior and cognition, including perspective-taking, from an ecological viewpoint. Previous studies have illustrated the applicability of such a framework with children from ranging from pre-school to school-age, with and without an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Despite early support for these approaches, researchers have strived to deliver these intervention protocols in more naturalistic and naturally-occurring contexts. The purpose of this study was to further extend a relational training protocol into naturalistic contexts (e.g., social situations free of adult prompting). This study utilized a novel protocol in which a same-aged peer delivered an intervention to improve the relational responding thought to underpin perspective-taking abilities. Through developing software specific to relational responding and child-use, school-age children appropriately delivered a multiple exemplar teaching protocol across multiple levels of difficulty. Results indicate that a relational training protocol delivered using technology was effective in improving relational repertoires (e.g., perspective-taking), could be implemented by a school-age student and was preferred over traditional teaching methods. / School Psychology

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a functional relation between a peer-delivered modified system of least prompts procedure (SLP) and an increase in level and trend of performance on finding the area of polygons or finding the volume of cylinders, spheres, and cones, and could the peer tutor reliably implement the modified SLP procedure with middle school students with mild to severe disabilities. A multiple probe days across participants design was used. Results from this study show that there was a functional relation across students in which students were able to make progress on academic math skills when taught by a peer tutor using the modified SLP procedure. The peer tutor was able to reliably implement the procedure to multiple students. Limitations and implications for practice are discussed.

Three preschoolers with limited or no verbal language were taught to request preferred objects using an adapted Picture Exchange Communication System (Bondy & Frost, 1998) and elements of peer mediated instruction and intervention (Neitzel, 2008) (PECS/PMII). These two interventions have been established as evidence based practices, but have not previously been taught and implemented by one adult and a preschool child in a preschool classroom. Same-aged peers were the communicative partners for the picture exchange. A teacher served as the facilitator of the exchanges. A multiple probe (days) across participants design was utilized to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. The percentage of successful exchanges/requests made by the target child using the adapted PECS/PMII method was evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the intervention when implemented by a same-aged peer. The target children not only made requests to the criterion level, two of the three increased their appropriate verbal responses. The same-aged peers were able to effectively implement the steps for PECS phase 1.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether a self-evaluation procedure paired with a token economy would be effective in reducing the off-task and talk-out behavior of behaviorally disordered and learning disabled high school students in a resource classroom. The study also examined the effects of the seIf-evaluation procedures when monitored by regular education peers on target students' behavior in their regular education English class. In addition to improving classroom behavior, another purpose of the study was to examine the effective ness of the self-evaluation procedures when paired with an academic goal-setting component on academic variables in both the resource and regular education classrooms. The results revealed that student behavior generally improved after self-evaluation procedures were taught in the resource room and that improved behavior generalized to the regular class once peers implemented the matching component of the self-management procedures. As a group, students' average rate of off-task behavior decreased 17% in the resource room and 35% in the regular class. Averages rates of talk-outs for the group were reduced by 6% in the resource room and 24% in the regular class. Gains in academic performance were observed in both the special and regular classrooms. An increase in the number of assignments completed was observed following the implementation of the self-management procedures across all subjects in the special education class, as was an increase in the overall percentage of those assignments that were correct. Similarly, the percent complete on assignments in the regular class increased on the average 20% while the percent correct increased 24% following the implementation of the matching procedures.

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No description available.