The effects of training teachers to implement an intervention designed to promote pretense behaviors in children with disabilities were examined using a multiple probe design. Teachers were trained to use a system of least prompts procedure, contingent imitation and praise to promote pretense behaviors through the use of a written manual, video, role-playing, and performance feedback. With instruction, children with disabilities increased their use of pretense behaviors, increased the diversity of their pretend play, and increased their use of vocalizations related to their pretend play.
Three of the four participants showed changes across three toy sets; and one showed them across two toy sets before being withdrawn from school. Two of the four participants increased pretense behaviors immediately with no modifications in the prompt levels (i.e., presentation of all toys, model prompt, and hand over hand controlling prompt). With one participant an additional level (i.e., choice of two toys) was included to the system of least prompts procedure. With the other participant two additional levels (i.e., a visual prompts and presentation of one toy) and an edible reinforcement were included in the system of least prompts procedure.
Pretense behaviors maintained for all four participants during probe conditions without prompts after instructional conditions. Generalization measures included daily generalization probes with a non-teacher adult and the same toy sets, and, for three of the four children, post-test probes with a non-teacher adult and different toy sets. All four children had increases in the pretense behaviors in the daily generalization probes with a non-teacher adult and the same toy sets. Two of the three children had increases in post-test probes with a non-teacher adult and different toy sets. Pre and post-test measures were assessed with three of the four children using the Structured Play Assessment (e.g., Ungerer & Sigman, 1981). All three of the children had increases in pretense behaviors in the post-test.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-07242007-170258 |
| Date | 31 July 2007 |
| Creators | Barton, Erin Elizabeth |
| Contributors | Mark Wolery, Ann Kaiser, Mary Louise Hemmeter, Pat Snyder |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-07242007-170258/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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