Volume 40 Number 3 September 2005

Increasing Functional Communication in Non-speaking Preschool Children: Comparison of PECS and VOCA

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

By: Stacey Jones Bock, Julia B. Stoner, Ann R. Beck, Laurie Hanley and Jessica Prochnow

Abstract: For individuals who have complex communication needs and for the interventionists who work with them, the collection of empirically derived data that support the use of an intervention approach is critical. The purposes of this study were to continue building an empirically derived base of support for, and to compare the relative effectiveness of two communication intervention strategies (i.e., PECS and the use of VOCA) with preschool children who have complex communication needs. Specific research questions were (a) Which communication strategy, PECS or VOCA, results in a more rapid rate of acquisition of requesting skills for preschool children?, and (b) To what extent do communication behaviors utilizing PECS and VOCA generalize from a pull-out setting to the classroom setting? Results are discussed and clinical implications given.

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“Self-determination is what it’s all about”: What Post-secondary Students with Disabilities Tell us are Important Considerations for Success

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

By: Colleen A. Thoma and Elizabeth Evans Getzel

Abstract: This article describes results of a series of focus group interviews conducted with post-secondary students with disabilities about the importance of self-determination in their success in those settings. Participants attended community college and/or state universities in Virginia and were between the ages of 18 and 48. They indicated that self-determination skills were important to their success in taking courses, finding the supports they needed, and advocating for their rights. Implications for supports for students with disabilities in post-secondary settings, as well as those K-12 students who are planning to transition to post-secondary educational settings are discussed.

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Characterization of Developmental Disability in Children’s Fiction

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

By: Tina Taylor Dyches and Mary Anne Prater

Abstract: Based on the Dyches and Prater (2000) guidelines, characterizations and plots in 34 eligible children’s books published during 1999-2003 were evaluated; 36 characterizations are discussed in detail in terms of each guideline. Results showed that, compared to a previous study (Dyches, Prater, & Cramer, 2001), characters with developmental disabilities made more deliberate choices, were educated in more inclusive settings, were more accepted in their communities, and served in more helping roles; and more commonly the disability was only one of many character traits. Also a wide age spectrum was portrayed, and several characterizations represented people from minority races or cultures. Over half of the characters with DD had autism spectrum disorders, and almost half of those characters had Asperger syndrome.

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Family Perceptions of Student Centered Planning and IEP Meetings

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

By: Amy Childre and Cynthia R. Chambers

Abstract: Given the documented benefits of family involvement in educational planning, engaging families throughout the school years is strongly advocated. However, barriers continue to impede families from collaborative partnering in educational planning. In this qualitative study the perceptions of six families were examined prior to and after the implementation of a student centered individualized education program (IEP) planning tool. Findings revealed barriers within traditional planning that relegate families to passive roles and a family preference for the student centered approach to IEP planning. The student centered approach resulted in increased family satisfaction, more collaborative participation by all IEP team members, and broader consideration of family and student input with respect to future desired outcomes as a basis for goal development.

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Teacher Interaction Styles and Task Engagement of Elementary Students with Cognitive Disabilities

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

By: Ockjean Kim and Susan C. Hupp

Abstract: By: Ockjean Kim and Susan C. Hupp

Abstract: Interaction styles of special education teachers were investigated using semi-structured observation of 13 student-teacher pairs during one-on-one language arts instruction of elementary students with cognitive disabilities. Teacher use of directions and responses of differing communication modes and types were analyzed. Student task-engagement behaviors (i.e., engage, intrusive/disruptive, on-task, and off-task) provided a context for understanding differences in teacher styles. The results indicate that, similar to previous studies of mother-child interaction in developmental disabilities, special educator style is more directive than responsive; they used directions over twice that of responses. Gestural prompts and questions were the most frequently used directions. Teacher directions – individual as well as aggregate measures – were related to the rate dimension, but not the duration dimension, of student active task engagement, suggesting short-lived effects of teacher directions. Thus, while teachers may observe a desired change in student performance, the change may not be durable and, hence, may not be as desirable as they had believed. Implications and cautions of the current findings are discussed.

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Let’s Play: Teaching Play Skills To Young Children With Autism

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

By: E. Amanda Boutot, Tracee Guenther, and Shannon Crozier

Abstract: Watch any young child and you will likely see him or her engaged in some form of play. Play is an integral part of early childhood development in which typically developing children learn social and language skills, as well as appropriate behaviors, problem solving, and a variety of other cognitive skills. By its very definition, autism is a disorder in which play is impaired or lacking, thus, many children with autism do not experience the natural benefits of play, as do their typical peers. Children with autism must be specifically taught to engage in social and play activities, and often require direct instruction to learn to play with others. Instruction in play skills is noted in the literature as important for young children with autism, yet little evidence suggests which of several teaching methods is most effective. This article describes several aspects of play, discusses various means of teaching play skills to children with autism, and makes suggestions for future research. Further, a case study comparing the efficacy of two methods for play skills instruction is presented.

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Extension of Research on Social Skills Training Using Comic Strip Conversations to Students Without Autism

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

By: Melinda R. Pierson and Barbara C. Glaeser

Abstract: Comic Strip Conversations is a positive behavioral support strategy that has been used effectively to improve the social skills of students with autism. Research on the effectiveness of this strategy was extended to four students with other mild/moderate learning, cognitive and behavioral disabilities. Two elementary teachers used Comic Strip Conversations for a period of six weeks with four 6-10 year olds who exhibited difficult social behaviors. All participants improved their perceptions of social situations, exhibited appropriate social growth, began to generate their own solutions to difficult social situations, and demonstrated a decrease in target behaviors.

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Teaching Social Communication Skills to Young Urban Children with Autism

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

By: Jennifer A. Loncola and Lesley Craig-Unkefer

Abstract: This study examined effects of an intervention designed to improve the social-communication skills of children with autism. Five boys and one girl, with an age range of six to eight years and a diagnosis of autism, participated in the study. Children were paired in dyads and a multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan-play-report intervention. Unique because two children with autism received intervention at the same time, results indicated that the intervention was successful in increasing peer-directed commenting, language diversity, and complexity. Results of this study indicate that a plan-play-report intervention provided simultaneously to two children with autism is a viable method for improving the social communication skills of both children.

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Impact of Factors on Curriculum and Instructional Environments for Secondary Students with Mild Mental Retardation

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

By: Emily C. Bouck

Abstract: This study examined factors associated with the curriculum and instructional environments for secondary students with mild mental retardation, based on teacher report. A survey was mailed to 378 secondary special education teachers in Michigan. Teachers provided demographic information and answered questions regarding curriculum and instructional environments for secondary students with mild mental retardation. Teacher variables were found to have no association with the curriculum or instructional environments primarily used for secondary students with mild mental retardation; yet the school variable of size was found to have a relationship with instructional environments. Overall this study examined and extended the question what factors are related to the curriculum and instructional environments for secondary students with mild mental retardation.

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Best Practices for Practitioners

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

By: Stanley H. Zucker, Cindy Perras, Barbara Gartin, and Dagny Fidler

Abstract: On October 10-12, 2004, the Council for Exceptional Children Division on Developmental Disabilities (DDD) sponsored its Ninth International Conference: Best Practices for Practitioners. The conference was held at the Alexis Park Hotel in Las Vegas. The DDD Board of Directors decided to devote this issue of Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities to conference papers. The conference brought together educators from school and college classrooms from all over the world. The conference included strands on assistive technology, autism/autism spectrum disorder, cognitive disability-best practices, differentiated instruction, multiple disabilities, and wellness. The conference provided many parents, teacher educators, researchers, teachers, and other practitioners an opportunity to gather to learn the most current information related to providing services for individuals with mental retardation, autism, and other developmental disabilities.

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Assistive Technology for Students with Mild Disabilities: What’s Cool and What’s Not

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT

By: Howard P. Prette, Brian W. Wojcik, George Peterson-Karlan, and Jack J. Hourcade

Abstract: Professionals on IEP teams increasingly are considering the potential contributions of assistive technology as they develop programs for students with disabilities. However, a significant technological “generational gap” may exist between the members of these teams and the young people they seek to serve, as the quality and quantity of student interactions with technology may differ dramatically from those of IEP team members. This gap may manifest itself in the selections of technology that may impair social acceptance of students with disabilities by their peers, or that students will not use. In this paper we suggest a variety of both low-tech and high-tech tools that hold unique dual promise to (a) facilitate successful access to the general education curriculum, and (b) enhance social acceptance by nondisabled peers.

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