The purpose of the current study was to examine levels of treatment acceptability associated with three frequently implemented interventions (medication, token economy with response cost, and time-out) for children with characteristics of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). An additional purpose was to investigate the influence that the professional affiliation or label (i.e., special education teacher, school psychologist, and pediatrician) of the consultant making a treatment recommendation may have on the acceptability of a proposed treatment for a child displaying characteristics of ADHD. The participants consisted of 63 members of school assistance teams recruited from southwestern school districts. Participants read a case description of a child displaying characteristics of ADHD and a treatment vignette which manipulated the type of treatment recommended and the occupational title of the consultant making the treatment recommendation. Participants then rated the acceptability of the treatments using the Abbreviated Acceptability Rating Profile. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant differences in treatment acceptability ratings, with medication receiving less acceptable ratings than the other treatments and that the medication treatment was considered less acceptable when recommend by a special education teacher than when recommended by either a school psychologist or a pediatrician. A statistically significant interaction was identified between the consultant recommending the treatment and the type of treatment. This study investigated whether the consultant making a treatment recommendation impacted the level to which the treatment was accepted. This is unique in that the influence of the consultant making a treatment recommendation has not previously been studied in the literature on treatment acceptability. This finding may be useful when considering the frequency in which consultants from different occupations make recommendations. Recommendations for future research in treatment acceptability are discussed.

Social Validity is a concept used in behavioral intervention research. It focuses on whether the goals of treatment, the intervention techniques used, and the outcomes achieved are acceptable, relevant, and useful to the individual in treatment. The Social Validity Manual, 2e, provides background on the development of social validity, an overview of current research in social validity, and guidelines for expanding the practice of social validation. The book offers detailed information on scales and methods for measuring social validity across the goals, procedures, and effects of treatments utilized in various fields. The second edition incorporates advances in research findings and offers two new chapters on the use of social validity in the health sciences and how social validity plays an important role in increasing cultural awareness. / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1218/thumbnail.jpg

The purpose of this retrospective case study is twofold: 1) to analyze the current literature regarding speech and language development and intervention in Down syndrome (DS) and 2) to investigate the experiences of a young child with DS in early intervention from birth to age three. More specifically, we are interested in understanding what a diagnosis of DS means for the developing child (clinical description), how the abilities of these children are measured prior to treatment (assessment), which strategies are commonly utilized in therapy for this population (intervention), and expected treatment outcomes for children who receive intervention (progress). By integrating data from all major areas of development, we can provide a holistic description of DS in early childhood and see how DS is manifested in a young child with this diagnosis. Furthermore, this review and case study can guide speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who are interested in evidence-based practice for clients with developmental disabilities. We interviewed the participant’s mother to gain additional perspective on the early intervention process and outcomes. After analyzing early therapeutic and educational records provided by the participant’s mother, we discovered that our participant experienced a similar pattern of speech and language development as her peers with DS; however, at age three, she appeared to be functioning at an above average level relative to expectations for children with DS. We discuss the positive indicators and environmental factors that may have contributed to her success. Our findings support the importance of providing early intervention for children with developmental disabilities. / text

This study presents the results of an analysis of pragmatic aspects of language samples obtained from five agrammatic aphasic individuals prior to and following Linguistic Specific Treatment (LST). Clinically and statistically significant positive changes in informativeness and efficiency were documented in posttreatment samples. Analysis of communicative competence (i.e., naïve listeners' ratings of pre- and posttreatment audiotaped samples), was undertaken to examine the social validity of quantified changes. Mean ratings across listeners were computed to evaluate their subjective perceptions of general communicative constructs. Results indicated that objectively measured changes in pragmatic aspects were perceptible to naïve listeners, however, to varying degrees across participants and constructs.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:18:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Regina Celia Alves Barreira.pdf: 450404 bytes, checksum: 28f0c95ad04784fc8494d5f2435dff57 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-05-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Review of literature pertaining to an applied area of Behavior Analysis and the interest in evaluating the ethical and social implications of works resulting of such a review led into contact with the concept of Social Validity. Controversies found in theoretical and conceptual works on social validity and the relevance attributed to the issue carried the present study away from its original objective. Thus, the questions that guided this study were: What conceptions of social validity can be gathered from the literature regarding this subject? What social validity procedures are available and what are its methodological features? How does the concept of social validity relate to Radical Behaviorism and Behavior Analysis? Literature regarding social validity was selected through search on PsyINFO database The retrieved records were registered in a database and organized into categories according to their relation to "social validity". Descriptors were taken from the abstracts in order to guide the selection of texts for further analysis.. The criteria for the selection of texts were: a) texts that described the historical context in which the concept was formulated and b) those that best approached the questions of interest in this study, according to the two categories considered the most relevant to the questions. Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) differentiated basic research from applied research and defined behavior analysis domain as approaching questions of social relevance. Winnett and Winkler (1972) as well as Holland (1983/1978) criticized the behavior analysts praxis, questioning the values behind the goals established in the interventions and suggesting that behavior analysts should be responsible for changing the social environment. In this context, Wolf (1978/1976) proposed the concept of social validity, that aims to ask the society whether or not interventions are meaningful. Procedures of social validity were, then, reviewed and organized (e. g. Kazdin, 1977) and their methodological extensions (e.g. Van Houten, 1979) began to be pictured from the literature. Facing the current stage of theoretical and conceptual production on social validity, it is possible to consider the adhesion to social validity by behavior analysts in research and applied areas as inevitable for the thoughts over the issues approached in the concept and application of procedures show values that support the interventions. Methodological issues should be faced as a startingpoint to the development of better systems for evaluating the social relevance of interventions instead of being ignored or put aside for the lack of proper methodology of investigation / A revisão de literatura em determinada área de aplicação da Análise do Comportamento e o interesse na avaliação das implicações ético-sociais dos trabalhos resultantes de tal revisão levaram ao contato com o conceito de validade social. Dificuldades encontradas na produção teórico-conceitual sobre validade social e a relevância das questões abordadas sob tal rótulo afastaram o presente trabalho de seu interesse original, levando a pesquisadora a procurar respostas às seguintes questões: Que conceito de validade social pode ser extraído da literatura que aborda o tema? Quais são os procedimentos de validação social e quais são seus aspectos metodológicos? Como o constructo validade social se relaciona com o Behaviorismo Radical e com a Ciência do Comportamento? Partiu-se da seleção de material sobre validade social através da busca por palavraschave na base de dados PsycINFO. Os registros resgatados da base de dados foram inseridos em um banco de dados e organizados em categorias de acordo com sua relação com o tema validade social . Dos resumos contidos no banco de dados, foram derivados descritores que guiassem a escolha de textos a serem analisados. Foram selecionados textos que descrevessem o contexto histórico da proposta do conceito de validade social e, dentre os trabalhos do banco de dados incluídos nas duas categorias consideradas mais relevantes para os objetivos da pesquisa, selecionaram-se os textos que melhor abrangiam as questões mencionadas. Baer, Wolf e Risley (1968) diferenciam pesquisa básica de pesquisa aplicada e definem o domínio da análise do comportamento abordando questões relacionadas à importância social. Winnett e Winkler (1972), assim como Holland (1983/1978), tecem críticas à prática do analista do comportamento questionam os valores por trás dos objetivos adotados nas intervenções e atribuem ao analista do comportamento o papel de mudar o ambiente social. Dentro deste contexto, Wolf (1978/1976) propõe o conceito de validade social, que tem por objetivo perguntar à sociedade se as aplicações estão fazendo algo de importante. Em seguida, sistematizações de procedimentos de validação social (e.g. Kazdin, 1977) e extensões metodológicas destes (e.g. Van Houten, 1979) começaram a surgir na literatura. Levando em conta o atual estado da produção teórica, conceitual e metodológica sobre validade social, é possível considerar inevitável a adesão à validade social pelo analista do comportamento como pesquisador e prático no que diz respeito à reflexão das questões embutidas no conceito e aplicação de procedimentos que evidenciem valores que embasam sua prática. Entraves metodológicos devem ser encarados como propulsionadores do desenvolvimento de melhores sistemas de avaliação da importância social das intervenções ao invés de impeditivos do uso de procedimentos de validade social

Teachers’ Perceptions of Using Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports as Behavioral Interventions in a Pre-K-5 Elementary School: A Phenomenological Study by Meghann E. Roberts-Clawson This qualitative study addresses teacher perceptions of using positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) as positive behavioral interventions. This phenomenological study was conducted within a Pre-K-5 elementary school in northwestern North Carolina. In order to collect qualitative data, personal individualized interviews were conducted from a purposeful sample of teachers in the school who have experience implementing more intensive positive behavioral interventions. By analyzing data derived from the interviews and classroom and individualized documentation, the researcher was able to identify themes such as teachers’ perceptions in regards to using PBIS as a behavioral intervention. Themes elaborating on the ways that teachers implement PBIS in their classroom as well as the most consistently used elements of the PBIS framework also emerged from this study. Findings from this study will be useful in helping to implement the PBIS framework to fidelity as well as helping to sustain these practices. This information will be vital in training new teachers that join the staff as well as veteran teachers who are struggling with individual students’ behavior.

This study represents a quasi-replication of Lane et al. (2009) investigation into the psychometric properties of the Primary Intervention Rating Scale (PIRS). This rating scale was designed to assess the social validity of primary to high school level Positive Behavior Support intervention plans completed by academic staff. Lane's results indicated the PIRS was a one- factor measure with strong reliability and structural validity. To substantiate these findings an adapted version of the PIRS was distributed to teachers from one Utah school district.Quantitative data and additional comments were collected from elementary and middle school teachers. The results were computed using a series of statistical analyses including Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Cronbach's Alpha. Teacher comments were used to provide additional feedback and to examine trends. Results confirmed the Lane et al. findings that the PIRS is a one factor measure with strong internal consistency. Results also indicated that the school district's PBS prevention plan was socially valid from the teachers' perspective.

Involving parents in school-based learning can be difficult for both schools and parents, and more innovative approaches to involving parents are needed. Internet-based programs have the potential to address barriers to parent participation, but more research is needed to determine the effectiveness and social validity of such programs. This study explored the social validity of WhyTry for Parents, an internet-based program for parents of students enrolled in WhyTry, a school-based social and emotional learning program for students in grades K through 12. Eleven elementary, middle, and high schools across the United States participated in the study by inviting parents of WhyTry students to use the WhyTry for Parents curriculum. Whether or not parents utilized the curriculum, they were invited to take a survey about the importance they placed on the program's goals, procedures, and effects, and to give reasons for their level of participation in the program. A total of 836 parents were invited to take part in the study, and 14 parents made up the final sample. Coordinators (n = 10) of the WhyTry program at each school were invited to participate in interviews focused on their perspectives of parent participation rates and the WhyTry for Parents program. Regardless of whether parents utilized the curriculum, they found a high degree of social validity in WhyTry for Parents; however, they suggested that the curriculum be simplified and made more accessible. WhyTry coordinators suggested that low participation rates were due to parent resistance, and that helping parents to understand WhyTry might help overcome this resistance. Parents and coordinators suggested that the curriculum be available by app to improve accessibility. Future research should explore the social validity of WhyTry for Parents from the perspective of educators, who implement the program at the school level. Studying the costs associated with internet-based parent programs for both schools and parents may also be prudent.

This capstone project was conducted to evaluate trainer trainee satisfaction and acceptability from social validation questionnaires for SafeCare provider training s conducted by the National SafeCare Training and Research Center. Data were collected from 82 training participants from 2007 to 2009. SafeCare is an evidence-based parenting skills program created for at-risk and maltreating parents. The National SafeCare Training and Research Center utilizes a trainer-training model to teach professionals at the community-level. Trainees are instructed in four SafeCare modules: health, home safety, parent-child and parent-infant interactions. Social validation questionnaires are administered to evaluate process and procedures, outcome measures, staff performance, and training methods. Overall, SafeCare provider training was reported as valuable across all three social validation questionnaires. Trainees also reported a strong agreement for utilizing the skills learned during training in their future field work. Training staff performance received high satisfaction ratings as well.

Social Validity is a concept used in behavioral intervention research. It focuses on whether the goals of treatment, the intervention techniques used, and the outcomes achieved are acceptable, relevant, and useful to the individual in treatment. The Social Validity Manual, 2e, provides background on the development of social validity, an overview of current research in social validity, and guidelines for expanding the practice of social validation. The book offers detailed information on scales and methods for measuring social validity across the goals, procedures, and effects of treatments utilized in various fields. The second edition incorporates advances in research findings and offers two new chapters on the use of social validity in the health sciences and how social validity plays an important role in increasing cultural awareness.