During the past decade, the prevalence of any developmental disability has increased from 12.84% to 15.04% (Boyle et al., 2011). In particular, the current rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is estimated to effect 1 in every 68 children, 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls (Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee & US Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). Given that the prevalence of autism and other related disorders continues to increase, the number of children diagnosed with ASD who will become adolescents and adults over the next few years is considerable. More intensive evaluations and services are needed to address this aging population. A multiple probe design was used in the current study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the PEAK Relational Training System (PEAK; Dixon, 2014) in development of language and cognition in adults with autism. Additionally, this study evaluated if generalized behavior change occurred for participants following the implementation of the PEAK Direct Training assessment. This study will measure the effectiveness of the PEAK Relational Training System by comparing assessment scores from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale-II (Sparrow, Cicchetti, & Balla, 2005) and the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP; Sundberg, 2008). Results revealed that verbal repertoires and adaptive functioning levels for participants increased following the implementation of programs from the PEAK Direct Training Assessment. Generalizes behavior change was achieved for all three participants through the acquisition of new untrained skills. Overall, this study provides empirical support for the PEAK Relational Training System in the development of language and cognition for adults with autism.

M.A. (Psychology) / The present study investigated the diagnostic usefulness of a content analysis of the verbal behaviour of schizophrenic patients. The schizophrenic condition was approached via a cognitive social developmental model of personality. The high-risk schizophrenic constitutionally does not seem to be equipped to cope with potential threats from his environment, such as unstable conditions or ambigious interpersonal relationships and communication. He could subsequently adjust poorly to his environment and he learns to perceive, process and produce information in a disturbed manner. The disturbance seems particularly evident in the schizophrenic person's incompetent communication with and participation in his world. He could progress further towards a condition characterized by withdrawal, fear and other forms of mental suffering, and a lack of identity. These three abovementioned features of the schizophrenic condition - as viewed relative to "normal" states - were introduced into three experimental situations, represented respectively by the words "daydreaming", "pain" and a topic "self". Each of the 25 diagnozed male schizophrenics were asked to talk about these concepts (presented to them in the form of words written on cards) in any way they liked. Their responses to these situations were analyzed by means of a specifically designed content analysis model of verbal behaviour. For the purpose of this study, verbal behaviour denotes the person's relative degree of communicative competence, which appears to reflect the nature and progress of his schizophrenic condition. Verbal behaviour was interdependently analyzed on three levels. The first of these, language structure, assessed the schizophrenic person in terms of the more latent aspects of disturbed thinking, such as thought blocking and failure to integrate ideas. An assessment was also made of these language deviations as they were reflected in syntactical structures. On a second level, semantic content, subjects' verbal productions were analysed in terms of themes which represented their major preoccupations. The effect of the three experimental situations on the semantic content of the subjects' responses was also investigated. The third level of content analysis, language behaviour, dealt with the schizophrenic individual's verbal and nonverbal reactions to his perceived environment. It appears that the schizophrenic person projects his condition through his communicative competence, into symbolic representations of his condition. The projections seem to coincide with stages of progression of the schizophrenic condition, or degree of disturbance. This tendency, as well as certain others investigated in the present study, ted to the formation of hypotheses which can be investigated in further research. It would appear that the quantification of communicated material in the clinical or other interview, has diagnostic value.

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The problem of this study is to assess the relationship between counselor self-incongruence (operationally defined in terms of cardiac arousal), the therapeutic quality of his verbal behavior, and level of client self-exploration in a counseling setting.

The main objective was to determine the effect of film-mediated models on the frequency of a specific quality of verbal responses which have been found to be indicative of high- levels of therapeutic movement in group counseling. Secondly, this study examined the effect of models on selected attitudes of group counseling participants toward interpersonal interactions reflective of the intense interaction involved in therapeutic movement in group counseling.

The relationship of certain personality attributes to the verbal behavior of selected student teachers in the secondary school classroom.

"The present investigation was designed to study the effect of two instructional treatments on the achievement of students of different abilities--Verbal and Spatial. This was achieved by studying the interaction between the two treatments and each of the verbal and the spatial abilities. The instructional treatments were Figural and Verbal programmed units designed to teach concepts related to modulus seven arithmetic. Subjects for the study were 90 students enrolled in the first year mathematics course at Elmansoura College of Education in Egypt for the academic year 1978-1979"--Abstract. / Typescript. / "December, 1979." / "Submitted to the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy." / Advisor: Eugene D. Nichols, Professor Directing Dissertation. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-117).

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