scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

Showing papers in "The Journal of The Association for Persons With Severe Handicaps in 1989"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The McGill Action Planning System (MAPS) as mentioned in this paper is a planning process that places primary emphasis on the integral involvement of learners with disabilities in the school community (i.e., regular classes and other typical school environments and activities).
Abstract: The McGill Action Planning System (MAPS) is a planning process that places primary emphasis on the integral involvement of learners with disabilities in the school community (i.e., regular classes and other typical school environments and activities). The seven key questions that comprise the MAPS process provide a structure that assists teams of adults and children to creatively dream, scheme, plan, and produce results that will further the inclusion of individual children with labels into the activities, routines, and environments of their same-age peers in their school community. This article provides a detailed description of the MAPS process, including the structure used, content covered, and the underlying assumptions of the process. An example of MAPS planning for an elementary age child with severe disabilities is provided, along with suggested modifications that have been used for secondary age students. The final discussion addresses practical considerations for using MAPS, including how it comp...

206 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There are several methods available for conducting a functional assessment in applied settings as mentioned in this paper, including informant assessment (e.g., behavioral interviews, rating scales, and questionnaires), direct observation assessment, and experimental analysis.
Abstract: Researchers have recently called for a greater emphasis on the use of functional assessment procedures in the selection of treatment strategies for problem behavior in persons with mental retardation. In applied settings there are several methods available for conducting a functional assessment. This article identifies and describes three methods that have been used in applied behavior analysis research: informant assessment (e.g., behavioral interviews, rating scales, and questionnaires), direct observation assessment, and experimental analysis. Although experimental analysis provides the most conclusive information regarding controlling variables for a behavior problem, less rigorous methods of assessment also yield important information with which to select and evaluate treatment strategies. This article reviews the strengths and weaknesses of each functional assessment method and provides a case example to illustrate the use of the various assessment procedures.

142 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors examined experimental/contrast group and longitudinal studies of the changes in adaptive behavior associated with moving from state institutions to small (15 or fewer people) community living arrangements for persons with mental retardation.
Abstract: This article examines experimental/contrast group and longitudinal studies of the changes in adaptive behavior associated with moving from state institutions to small (15 or fewer people) community living arrangements for persons with mental retardation. It reviews 15 research reports, including 18 separate studies with 1358 subjects that met specific criterion for design and recency. It summarizes outcomes in the areas of overall adaptive behavior, seven specific domains of adaptive behavior, and overall problem behavior. All eight of the experimental/contrast group studies, and 5 of the 10 longitudinal studies reported statistically significant improvement in either overall adaptive behavior or in the basic self-help/domestic domain associated with movement to the community. All 18 studies reported at least some improvement for groups moving from institutions to community living arrangements.

100 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A home school is a regular school attended by an unnaturally large proportion of students with intellectual disabilities, but it is not the one any or most would attend if they were not labeled disabled as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A home school is the one a student with severe intellectual disabilities would attend if he or she were not disabled. A clustered school is a regular school attended by an unnaturally large proportion of students with intellectual disabilities, but it is not the one any or most would attend if they were not labeled disabled. Students who have severe intellectual disabilities should attend home schools so that (a) all children can be prepared to function in a pluralistic society; (b) the most meaningful and individually appropriate instructional environments and activities can be used; (c) parents, guardians, brothers, and sisters can have reasonable access to schools and services; and (d) a wide range of social relationships with students and others who are not disabled can be developed, maintained, and enhanced over long periods of time. The individualized educational program (IEP) of each student should include individually determined kinds and amounts of instruction in chronological age-appropriate reg...

99 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of play initiation training on subsequent social interactions between students with severe disabilities and their non-handicapped peers within play contexts were investigated, and the results indicated that although the awareness activity plus reward condition increased the frequency of peer initiations, peer responsivity to the initiations by the student with severe disability remained low.
Abstract: Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of play initiation training on subsequent social interactions between students with severe disabilities and their nonhandicapped peers within play contexts. In both studies, five nonhandicapped peers were used as training confederates, and generalization probes were conducted within unstructured free-play situations with a larger number of peers who did not participate in training. In Experiment 1, a preschool student with autistic behaviors was integrated into a regular preschool The effects of two treatment conditions were compared: (a) providing an awareness activity plus rewards for the nonhandicapped peers who initiated interactions and (b) teaching initiations and play behaviors to the student with severe disabilities. The results indicated that although the awareness activity plus reward condition increased the frequency of peer initiations, peer responsivity to the initiations by the student with severe disabilities remained low. When the s...

88 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined empirically the functionality of signs and iconic communication book symbols in community settings with two students with autism and found that successful communication with books but not with signs was demonstrated.
Abstract: Functional communication skills are essential for effective participation in society by persons with autism and other developmental disabilities. Because most of the general public does not understand sign language, use of this method in typical community settings has been questioned. This study examined empirically the functionality of signs and iconic communication book symbols in community settings with two students with autism. The results demonstrated successful communication in community settings by the students with communication books but not with signs. These results are discussed as they relate to functionality and training issues associated with the two communication systems.

79 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors tested the hypothesis that knowledge of the variables controlling problem behavior could be used to select reinforcers for students with severe developmental disabilities who exhibited frequent agglomerative behavior, and the hypothesis was tested on a set of students with mild to moderate disabilities.
Abstract: We tested the hypothesis that knowledge of the variables controlling problem behavior could be used to select reinforcers. Students with severe developmental disabilities who exhibited frequent agg...

61 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the focus is on whether students with severe intellectual disabilities should be based in special education classrooms or in chronological age-appropriate regular education classrooms in home schools, where the resources necessary to develop, maintain, and enhance an array of social relationships with nondisabled peers and others over long periods of time are also considered critical components of each IEP.
Abstract: All students with severe intellectual disabilities should attend the schools they would attend if they were not disabled; that is, their home schools. In a home school, each student must have an individualized educational program (IEP) that requires individualized instruction in chronological age-appropriate regular education classrooms; individual instruction on school grounds, but not in regular education classrooms; and individualized instruction in a wide variety of integrated nonschool environments that will actually be used during nonschool days and hours. The resources necessary to develop, maintain, and enhance an array of social relationships with nondisabled peers and others over long periods of time and individually appropriate therapy services are also considered critical components of each IEP.The focus here is whether students with severe intellectual disabilities should be based in special education classrooms or in chronological age-appropriate regular education classrooms in home schools....

59 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present information on the social interaction patterns of 23 adults with severe disabilities across a 2 1/2-year time period and find that on the average they had contact with 63.5 different companions across the 30 months of observation.
Abstract: Social integration and social support are critical elements in determining a person's quality of life. To date, however, very little descriptive information is available on patterns of social contact between persons with severe disabilities and typical members of local communities. This report presents information on the social interaction patterns of 23 adults with severe disabilities across a 2 1/2-year time period. The staff in small, community-based residential programs collected continuous counts of the activities performed by residents and the people (companions) with whom activities were performed. Only those contacts that occurred with people other than people paid to provide support or other residents in the program were counted. The results indicate great variability in the social contact patterns across the 23 people observed, but that on the average they had contact with 63.5 different companions across the 30 months of observation. Social contacts occurred on the average of once every 2 days,...

49 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss literature related to the use of communication intervention for reducing excess behavior in persons with severe disabilities and speculates upon unresolved issues in research, and discuss the potential benefits of such interventions.
Abstract: This article discusses literature related to the use of communication intervention for reducing excess behavior in persons with severe disabilities and speculates upon unresolved issues in research...

48 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors assessed whether the type of stimulus materials (preferred versus non-preferred) would affect the frequency of spontaneous verbal requests in children with autism and found that the frequency was higher in the preferred materials condition than in the nonpreferred materials condition.
Abstract: Children with autism are characterized by the absence of functional spontaneous speech. This study assessed whether the type of stimulus materials (preferred versus nonpreferred) would affect the frequency of spontaneous verbal requests in these children. The results of the repeated reversals analysis revealed that the frequency of spontaneous verbal requests was higher in the preferred materials condition than in the nonpreferred materials condition. The results are discussed in relation to issues involving motivation and the development of naturalistic, context-appropriate speech training procedures.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, three students with severe disabilities were taught to request items or events within interrupted behavior chain contexts, where a typical instructional trial was inserted into the midst of an ongoing predictable sequence of behaviors such as getting a jacket and going outside or obtaining and operating a simple toy.
Abstract: Three students with severe disabilities were taught to request items or events within interrupted behavior chain contexts The interrupted behavior chain strategy involved inserting a typical instructional trial into the midst of an ongoing predictable sequence of behaviors such as getting a jacket and going outside or obtaining and operating a simple toy Additionally, generalization probes were conducted in a variety of nontraining settings to determine whether responses taught within interrupted routines would generalize to “out-of-routine” contexts in which the child requested items to begin, rather than to resume, an activity The results demonstrated that for each of the three students the responses acquired within interrupted chains of behavior generalized to a variety of naturally occurring, out-of-routine contexts and are discussed in relation to teaching self-initiated communicative behaviors

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is strong philosophical, legal, and empirical support for integrated educational programs for students with severe disabilities as mentioned in this paper. But despite this support, significant numbers of students with disabilities are excluded from these programs.
Abstract: There is strong philosophical, legal, and empirical support for integrated educational programs for students with severe disabilities. In spite of this support, significant numbers of students with...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is growing interest in the potential contributions of qualitative research to scholarly inquiry as discussed by the authors, and what was a quiet and perhaps peripheral aspect of educational research has been moving rap rap, and there is a growing interest
Abstract: There is growing interest in the potential contributions of qualitative research to scholarly inquiry, and what was a quiet and perhaps peripheral aspect of educational research has been moving rap...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Recommendations are offered to enhance the opportunities of individuals with severe or profound disabilities to benefit from the national supported employment initiative, including the need for further research and demonstration activities and the necessity of immediate modification of federal and state supported employment policies.
Abstract: The extent of supported employment participation by individuals with severe or profound disabilities was investigated through an analysis of the employment histories and functional characteristics of 1,411 individuals involved in supported employment programs in eight states. Results indicated that individuals currently participating in supported employment possessed very limited previous employment experience, yet did not possess functional characteristics indicative of individuals with severe or profound disabilities. Persons with severe or profound disabilities were found to be minimally represented in current supported employment efforts, representing less than 8% of all individuals investigated. Based upon the results of the study, recommendations are offered to enhance the opportunities of individuals with severe or profound disabilities to benefit from the national supported employment initiative, including the need for further research and demonstration activities and the necessity of immediate mo...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a multi-element parent and family support intervention for parents of school-aged persons with severe disabilities was evaluated using an experimental design, and two randomly assigned groups of parents were compared: one group received a modest level of support consisting of respite care and case management, and the second group received an intensive intervention that consisted of stress management and parenting skills training, support groups, and additional community-based respit care.
Abstract: This article presents an evaluation of a multi-element parent and family support intervention for parents of school-aged persons with severe disabilities. Using an experimental design, we compared two randomly assigned groups of parents: one group received a modest level of support consisting of respite care and case management, and the second group received an intensive intervention that consisted of stress management and parenting skills training, support groups, and additional community-based respite care. Separate MANCOVA analyses were conducted for mothers and fathers. Mothers showed significant improvement on measures of depression and anxiety. Further analysis of the data revealed that a significantly greater number of intensive support group members also achieved clinically significant improvement on measures of anxiety and depression. Fathers participated in smaller numbers than mothers. A power analysis revealed large treatment effects for fathers as well as mothers although, due to the small sa...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss several issues that underlie the development of measurement systems to evaluate the social effects of supported education and present an assessment model for outcome and process variables, including social interaction skills, organizational support characteristics, and contextual features.
Abstract: In spite of increased advocacy efforts, demonstrations, and consumer demand for supported education, there is a paucity of empirical research that investigates the predicted outcomes of this model. The rationale for supported education is based largely on increasing social participation, acceptance, and friendships between students with severe disabilities and nondisabled students. This article discusses several issues that underlie the development of measurement systems to evaluate the social effects of supported education. We believe that it is essential to measure the outcomes of supported education (i.e., increased acceptance, social participation, and levels of friendships) as well as the process variables (e.g., specific social interaction skills) that are pivotal in creating the outcomes. An assessment model for outcome and process variables is described. Within this model, social interaction skills, organizational support characteristics, and contextual features are viewed as pivotal events in att...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Teachers of students with severe disabilities were taught to implement a naturalistic time delay procedure within their normal classroom routines for the purpose of improving the language skills of their students.
Abstract: Teachers of students with severe disabilities were taught to implement a naturalistic time delay procedure within their normal classroom routines for the purpose of improving the language skills of...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a survey was administered to 212 co-workers of supported employees with mental retardation and the purpose of the survey was to assess the perceptions and experiences of nondisabled employees with co-...
Abstract: A survey was administered to 212 co-workers of supported employees with mental retardation. The purpose of the survey was to assess the perceptions and experiences of nondisabled employees with co-...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, visual analysis of graphically displayed data typically is used by teachers of persons with severe disabilities to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions, but the use of this analysis is limited.
Abstract: Visual analysis of graphically displayed data typically is used by teachers of persons with severe disabilities to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions. Although the use of this ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe principles and practices of data collection to evaluate the attainment of meaningful outcomes in educational services for students with severe disabilities and serious behavior problems in integrated schools.
Abstract: This article describes principles and practices of data collection to evaluate the attainment of meaningful outcomes in educational services for students with severe disabilities and serious behavior problems. In contrast to a limited outcome such as a temporary change in one target behavior in a controlled clinical setting, an expanded definition of effectiveness would require evidence of a range of more meaningful outcomes for child, school, family, and community. Several user-friendly measures to document such outcomes are described, which were field-tested in an educational consultation project serving students with severe disabilities and challenging behaviors in integrated schools. The article concludes with a discussion of the advantages of an emphasis upon both meaningful outcomes and the use of measurement strategies that blend well and have high utility for typical schools while simultaneously increasing programmatic rigor and general school responsibility for what happens to students.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of a multicomponent self-management program on the instruction-following behaviors of five students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities were investigated in a vocational sk...
Abstract: The effects of a multicomponent self-management program on the instruction-following behaviors of five students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities are investigated in a vocational sk...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors examined the actual decision-making practices of skilled teachers who regularly collected observational data on their students with severe disabilities and found that teachers who have training in data collection and analysis often do not apply these skills.
Abstract: Best practices in programs for students with moderate to profound disabilities include the regular collection and use of direct observational data on student performance. Unfortunately, research indicates that teachers who have training in data collection and analysis often do not apply these skills. This study sought to examine the actual decision-making practices of skilled teachers who regularly collected observational data on their students with severe disabilities. A questionnaire was completed by 57 teachers who averaged 6 years' teaching experience. The respondents had been recommended by teacher trainers, program administrators, and researchers in special education as having training and experience in data collection and education of students with severe disabilities. The results of participants' responses to this questionnaire yielded a favorable portrait of experienced teachers trained to use data for program monitoring with students with severe disabilities. The respondents did collect and exam...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the efficiency of an intervention procedure designed to establish correspondence between requesting and subsequent reinforcer selection in an adolescent woman diagnosed as blind and severely mentally retarded.
Abstract: Findings in the existing literature on the lack of correspondence between verbal behavior and subsequent learner actions refer primarily to learners' descriptions of their behavior. No data exist on another type of correspondence—the match between verbal requests and items selected by learners with severe disabilities. Often, such learners are taught to request objects without being required to then select the object requested. This study examines the efficiency of an intervention procedure designed to establish correspondence between requesting and subsequent reinforcer selection in an adolescent woman diagnosed as blind and severely mentally retarded. The results indicated that valid requesting could be established by reinforcement procedures which required a correspondence between verbal requests and subsequent object selections. The learner also was taught to use generalized and explicit requesting repertoires as a function of object availability. The results highlight a need to incorporate correspond...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a school-based aerobic conditioning program for children with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities was developed and evaluated experimentally, and the results revealed that the level of fitness of both groups improved only at the point in time when the program was introduced.
Abstract: Concerns about the physical fitness of children with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities have received relatively little attention in the literature. A school-based aerobic conditioning program for such children was developed and evaluated experimentally. Unique aspects of the program are its emphases on children who have moderate and severe disabilities, on the experimental rigor of the evaluation, and on integration within the context of an exercise program. Two groups of children, each group from a different school, participated. Their entry into the program was staggered in a multiple baseline fashion. The results revealed that the level of fitness of both groups improved only at the point in time when the program was introduced. Individual results displayed greater variation; some children benefited and others did not. Consumer satisfaction measures suggest that both the students with disabilities and their nonhandicapped peers enjoyed participating in the program. Specific suggestions for ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Teachers in two university-affiliated programs who had been using a standard method of data summary and evaluation with school-aged children and with adults for 1 to 2 years prior to this study found some support was found for the benefit of rule following on student progress.
Abstract: A program evaluation of the benefits of utilizing systematic procedures for data review to make instructional decisions was conducted with teachers in two university-affiliated programs who had bee

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, three toothbrushing tasks (brushing teeth, rinsing, and wiping mouth) were analyzed into steps, some which the teacher performed and others that were taught to the student.
Abstract: Although partial participation is used widely within educational programs for persons having severe mental or motor disabilities, there are few studies that target partial participation of a task rather than independent performance. One variation of partial participation requires that caregivers perform the task components that are not motorically feasible for a person, while teaching the student to perform the remaining components. In this study, three toothbrushing tasks (brushing teeth, rinsing, and wiping mouth) were analyzed into steps, some which the teacher performed and others that were taught to the student. The participants were 3 elementary-aged students with quadriplegic cerebral palsy and severe to profound mental retardation. Intervention procedures included time delay to fade physical prompts, reinforcement, and error correction. Instruction occurred daily in a self-contained public school classroom over a single school year, with follow-up probes conducted during the subsequent 2 years. A ...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Advocacy for people with disabilities and their families has evolved from the provision of public protective services to private and independent advocacy service groups, and finally to self-advocac....
Abstract: Advocacy for people with disabilities and their families has evolved from the provision of public protective services to private and independent advocacy service groups, and finally to self-advocac...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This study was a descriptive analysis of the role that staff-resident interaction, content of activity, and presence of teaching staff played on the stereotypy of three children with severe mental retardation and dual sensory impairments.
Abstract: This study was a descriptive analysis of the role that staff-resident interaction, content of activity, and presence of teaching staff played on the stereotypy of three children with severe mental retardation and dual sensory impairments. The study also examined several characteristics of the instructional setting, including time allocation to various activities and percentage of staff interaction relative to the type of activity. Results indicated that staff-resident interaction was associated with dramatic reductions in the stereotypy of each child, that the type of activity was associated with differential responses across children, and that the presence of certified teaching staff was associated with reductions in stereotypy. Results also indicated an extremely low level of staff-resident interaction despite adequate staff-resident ratio.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Although mechanisms have been developed to establish a large number of supported employment programs, states are taking a very cautious approach toward converting existing segregated employment settings, funding for ongoing support services is often unavailable, and specific procedures for including individuals with the most severe disabilities are poorly defined.
Abstract: Supported employment for persons with developmental and other severe disabilities has moved rapidly from university-based demonstration projects to the development of comprehensive statewide services delivery systems. This article reports the results of a survey of 27 states that received major systems change grants from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to convert traditional day activity programs to supported employment. The results indicate that although mechanisms have been developed to establish a large number of supported employment programs, states are taking a very cautious approach toward converting existing segregated employment settings, funding for ongoing support services is often unavailable, and specific procedures for including individuals with the most severe disabilities are poorly defined. Expenditures for supported employment have risen dramatically. During Fiscal Years 86–88, RSA expenditures approached $75 million, obligations from mental health and mental retardation agencies have increased 460%, and collectively over $214 million has been obligated by federal and state agencies for supported employment.