The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of training educators in the pre - behavioral intervention process of functional behavioral assessment. An original evaluation instrument was developed entitled, The Survey for Students Exhibiting Challenging Behavior. The instrument included measures of participating educators, knowledge of function of problem behavior and their ability to generate recommendations for a behavior intervention plan. The instrument was distributed to schools in a large urban district and completed by special educators. Educators trained and untrained in the functional behavioral assessment process were compared in the study. The study incorporated a post - test only design. All instruments were analyzed using a factorial ANOVA. Those educators who were trained in the district functional behavioral assessment program answered general questions related to function of problem behavior significantly better than those who did not receive training. There is no significant difference between educators on their ability to generate recommendations for behavior intervention plans. It is important that educators receive training in functional behavioral assessment to gain an understanding of the basic notions being function of problem behavior. Current training does not translate into educators' ability to make strong recommendations for behavior intervention plans.

This study investigated the effects of sound reduction on physiological variables in premature infants in neonatal intensive care. Ten premature infants born between 27 and 36 weeks gestation wore a specially designed earmuff cap for a 45-minute rest period. Heart rate, respiration rate, oxygen saturation level and behavioral state were measured and compared to a similar 45-minute control period without the earmuff cap. Subjects showed a significant decrease (p = .050) in mean respiration rate, and a significant increase (p < .02) in mean oxygen saturation level with the earmuff cap on. No significant differences were found in heart rate between the experimental condition and the control condition. Behavioral state was documented only as a potentially confounding variable, however a significant decrease (p < .05) in the time spent awake and a significant increase (p < .05) in the time spent in quiet sleep rather than active sleep occurred with the earmuff cap on. Findings suggest that noise reduction may be a viable means of increasing respiratory efficiency and the amount and quality of sleep in premature infants in neonatal intensive care.

The rewards and sanctions associated with high-stakes testing may induce educators to participate in practices that will ensure the elimination of the scores of low-achieving students from the testing pool. Two ways in which scores may be eliminated is through retention or referral to special education. This study examined the use of these practices at 179 elementary schools in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the 4th largest school district in the country. Between- and within-subjects designs were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance to compare retention and referral to special education practices over a five-year period of time, two years prior to and two years after the implementation of Florida's high-stakes test, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, FCAT. Significant main effects for referral and retention over time were demonstrated. The use of retention steadily increased over the first three years, with its usage maintained during the fourth year. While the use of referral actually decreased from the first to second years, a significant change occurred after the implementation of the FCAT. Examination of the use of these practices according to student and school characteristics revealed significant differences. Increases in the use of referral across time was significant for Black, non-Hispanic and Hispanic students, all limited English proficiency population categories, medium and low socioeconomic status category schools, all grade levels, and for schools with accountability grades of A, C, D and F with the most striking absolute increase occurring for F schools. Increases in the use of retention across time were significant for all ethnic groups, limited English proficiency categories, and socioeconomic status categories, for grades kindergarten through four and by gender. Significant increases occurred for schools with accountability performance grades of C, D and F; however the most dramatic increase occurred for the F schools. A direct relationship between performance category grade of school and their use of retention was demonstrated. The results suggest that schools changed their use of referral and retention in response to the implementation of the FCAT.

This study developed and validated a preschool screening instrument designed to identify children, enrolled in the Dade County Head Start program, who would be found eligible for placement in a language impaired or educable mentally handicapped program in the Dade County Public Schools (DCPS) system. Previously used commercial screening instruments were demonstrated to have unsatisfactory predictive validity. The new screening instrument was developed by utilizing already existing test items from a developmental skills assessment instrument, the Learning Accomplishment Profile-Diagnostic. These items were selected on the basis of their sensitivity and specificity hit rate scores. The reliability of the new screening instrument was established by using the test-retest and interrater methods. Predictive validity was established by using a double sample technique of 600 Head Start children for each sample and the classification or hit rate method following a comprehensive evaluation process. The new screening instrument was found to be a more accurate predictor of the need for exceptional student education services than the commercial screening instruments. The results showed that predictions could be made with confidence when a preschool screening instrument is developed which clearly defines; a) the population to be screened; b) the population to be identified; c) the criteria to determine who will be referred for comprehensive assessment; and, d) the criteria for determining who is eligible for intervention services.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an intervention combining holistic and graphophonic methods on the decoding performance of children with reading disabilities. The impact of this synthesis of teaching methods was evaluated by examining five students' abilities to decode a set of training words using three common vowel patterns. Words containing these magic e, double vowel, and closed vowel patterns were presented in isolation and in context. Additional sets of novel words and nonsense words using the same vowel patterns were used to evaluate generalization. The study incorporated single-subject experimental research methods, using a multiple baseline design across vowel patterns. Data were collected and analyzed daily. The results of this study indicated that all five second-graders, three boys and two girls, demonstrated substantial gains in decoding ability on all three vowel patterns. The students increased their accuracy on training words in isolation, as well as in context. In addition, students increased their decoding accuracy on generalization words, in both novel and nonsense words. These increases in decoding accuracy were maintained during post-intervention probes and during the 7-week follow-up phase of the study.

No description available.

No description available.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has played a critical role in providing educational opportunity to students with disabilities. As the principles of the IDEA are foundational to teaching students with disabilities, it is necessary that both general education and special education teachers have an understanding of special education policy. This study examines teacher candidates’ knowledge of special education policy and their attitudes and perceptions of special education. The survey was distributed to teacher candidates in their final year of their teacher preparation program at a public university in the Southeast. Results indicated that teacher candidates in all teaching areas lacked knowledge of special education law. A difference was seen in the knowledge of special education and general education teacher candidates, as special education candidates had significantly higher knowledge. Teacher candidates who had higher perceived levels of knowledge also had higher actual knowledge, and candidates with lower perception also had lower knowledge. Implications of these results for educator preparation programs and current teachers are discussed.

This research examined two hypotheses involving mentally retarded students. The first hypothesis posited that an Experimental Group of subjects receiving intensive, individua~. short-term supportive counseling will display a higher rating score improvement on the five personality dimensions of confidence, maturity, self-discipline, assertiveness and independence following this counseling than will a Control Group of subjects receiving no such counseling. The second hypothesis posited that this same Experimental Group of subjects, aft~r receiving this counseling, will be distinguished by significantly higher job stability, defined as continuous and successful employment for six months following the end of counseling, than will the Control Group of subjects receiving no such counseling. To test these hypotheses, forty mentally retarded students were drawn at random from the Bobby Dodd Workshop for the Mentally Retarded; twenty were assigned to the Experimental Group, twenty to the Control Group, with members of both groups being matched as similarly as . . ~ Patricia A. Griffin possible regarding sex, age, I.Q. and race. At the beginning of this study, members of both the Experimental and Control Groups were rated by a qualified, independent rater on the five personality dimensions of confidence, maturity, self-discipline, assertiveness and independence. The ratinqs were made on a five point scale: a rating of 1 denoted poor; 2 denoted fair; 3 denoted average; 4 denoted good; and 5 denoted excellent. Following these pre-counseling ratings, subjects of the Control Group continued the normal training regimen of the Bobby Dodd Workshop. Subjects of the Experimental Group also con~inued this training,but in addition, underwent individual counseling twice a week for a six month period with a counseling psychologist who's counseling approach dealt with the conscious affective concerns of the subjects in an understanding, specific and exploratory manner. Following the six month counseling period, members of both the Experimental and Control Groups were rated a second time on the five personality dimensions. Comparison of postcounseling group r~ting score increases over pre-counseling group rating scores on each of the five personality dimensio~s were then made between the two groups. This comparison disclosed that th~ Experimental Group displayed a much higher rating score improvement than the Control Group on each of the five personality dimensions, thereby supporting the first hypothesis tested. Following the second perso1~ality dimension rating, y ' P~tricia A. Griffin efforts were made to place the subjects of both groups in employment. Six months later, a follow-up study was made to discover which subjects were still employed. Each subject was rated a score of 2 if he was employed, 1 if he was not. The rating scores obtained by the subjects in each group were statistically compared using "t"-tests. There was a significant difference in the rating scores of the two groups of subjects in favor of the Experimental Group, thereby supporting the second hypothesis

The purpose of these studies was to examine the effects of reprimands, a mild disciplinary procedure, and work observation and pay loss, a severe disciplinary procedure on the maintenance of high-quality work among mild developmentally disabled individuals employed as housekeepers. In general, participants were more responsive to reprimands after work observation and pay loss was applied. In addition, the increased sensitivity to reprimands appeared to generalize to other work settings for one participant. While participants' work quality varied across conditions, their work rate was relatively stable. These results are discussed in terms of other research that examined the use of reprimands in work settings.