Showing papers in "The Journal of The Association for Persons With Severe Handicaps in 2002"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared outcomes on measures of child development and social competence with the Scales of Independent Behavior (SIB) and the Assessment of Social Competence (ASC).
Abstract: Inclusive programs increasingly have become available for students with severe disabilities, enabling them to receive special education services and supports in general education classes alongside their non-disabled peers. Forty students in two groups were assessed across two years of inclusive versus self-contained educational programming, comparing outcomes on measures of child development and social competence with the Scales of Independent Behavior (SIB) and the Assessment of Social Competence (ASC). Participants were assessed on the SIB and ASC, matched into pairs on chronological age and SIB total scores at first testing, and reassessed after two additional years of either inclusive or self-contained schooling. The inclusive student group made statistically significant gains on the developmental measure and realized higher social competence scores in comparison to the self-contained group at follow-up. Examination of gains on these measures irrespective of group affiliation indicated that participan...
220 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared two conditions (teacher selection of toys and child choice of toys) on the amount of time children were engaged appropriately with toys, and found that the child-choice condition resulted in more engaged time for each participant and fewer problematic behaviors for two of the three boys.
Abstract: This article compared two conditions (teacher selection of toys and child choice of toys) on the amount of time children were engaged appropriately with toys. An alternating treatment design was used, and three 2-year-old boys with autism participated. In the teacher-selected condition, the teacher gave the child a toy; and in the child-choice condition, the teacher gave the child a choice between two toys. The toys were selected from a pool of toys based on each child's frequency of contact with the toys from measures taken before the study started. A 5-second momentary time sampling procedure was used during daily 10-min sessions to measure the child's engagement with toys, nonengagement, and problematic behaviors. The teacher's behaviors (physical prompt, modeling, talking, silent observation, and other) also were measured. The data suggest the child-choice condition resulted in more engaged time for each participant and fewer problematic behaviors for two of the three boys. The results are discussed i...
61 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a framework for assessing young children with severe multiple disabilities was developed by Dr. Jan van Dijk and colleagues in the Netherlands, where the assessment is guided by a set of guidelines.
Abstract: This article describes a framework for assessing young children with severe multiple disabilities that was developed by Dr. Jan van Dijk and colleagues in the Netherlands. The assessment is guided ...
55 citations
TL;DR: The importance of sexuality education for students with moderate and severe disabilities has received increasing attention as these people have moved into community settings and as the idea of the notion of the "safe sex" was introduced as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The importance of sexuality education for students with moderate and severe disabilities has received increasing attention as these people have moved into community settings and as the idea of thei...
54 citations
TL;DR: In discussions pertaining to the sexuality of people with developmental disabilities, the voices of individuals with individuals with disabilities often go unheard as mentioned in this paper, which is a concern for many individuals with these disabilities.
Abstract: In discussions pertaining to the sexuality of people with developmental disabilities, the voices of individuals with developmental disabilities often go unheard. In this article, we explored the wa...
51 citations
TL;DR: This article argues that the popular, but at times, misapplied approaches of person-centered planning can be remedied through scientific practices.
Abstract: This article argues that the popular, but at times, misapplied approaches of person-centered planning can be remedied through scientific practices. Person-centered planning is described in the context of an evolving disabilities culture that is selecting practices that achieve the values of the new paradigm. Operationalizing outcomes that constitute aspects of quality of life (QOL) can be challenging, but the main obstacle to an empirical analysis of person-centered planning appears to be reliable implementation of its complex process. Resolution of these problems is seen as a cutting edge for expanding our applied research technology in assisting people with disabilities achieve the values to which they aspire.
48 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored the perceptions of individuals with cognitive disabilities and/or autism regarding barriers and solutions they have experienced related to probabilistic assessment and treatment. But, they did not explore the impact of these barriers on their daily lives.
Abstract: The purpose of the study was 2-fold: (a) to explore the perceptions of individuals with cognitive disabilities and/ or autism regarding barriers and solutions they have experienced related to probl...
47 citations
TL;DR: It is taken that by developing positive attitudes in staff, parents, and people with disabilities regarding both sexuality and disability, a new era of acceptance and healthy sexual development can begin.
Abstract: People with developmental disabilities can develop healthy sexual relationships if they live in healthy systems. In this article we discuss the attributes of healthy human service systems and the i...
44 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the acquisition of cell phone use by middle school students with moderate cognitive disabilities, while in school and community settings, students were taught to identify when t...
Abstract: This study examined the acquisition of cell phone use by middle school students with moderate cognitive disabilities. While in school and community settings, students were taught to identify when t...
43 citations
TL;DR: The rapid increase of culturally and linguistically diverse populations in the United States has important implications for service delivery as discussed by the authors, and addressing the needs of individuals transitioning from marginalized groups is important.
Abstract: The rapid increase of culturally and linguistically diverse populations in the United States has important implications for service delivery. Addressing the needs of individuals transitioning from ...
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe an exploratory study that examined the perspectives of practitioners who spend much of their working day listening to and in some ways interpreting for people with severe intellectual disabilities.
Abstract: This article describes an exploratory study that examined the perspectives of practitioners who spend much of their working day listening to and in some ways interpreting for people with severe intellectual disabilities. On the basis of focus group interviews with 23 professional disability-sector workers, including speech therapists, psychologists, and human service workers, the article reports on the importance of a practitioner's values and experience in successful interactions with individuals who rely on self-developed nonsymbolic communication repertoires. The article includes a discussion of the likelihood of including individuals with severe intellectual disabilities in narrative research.
TL;DR: This article identifies and examines issues with attention to the relevant literature and provides recommendations for surmounting these barriers to enjoying sexual fulfillment in women with developmental disabilities.
Abstract: Sexuality cannot be overlooked as an important component of one's quality of life. Yet, the complexities of human sexuality and the unique needs of subgroups of individuals often hinder appropriate...
TL;DR: In this paper, a pedagogical practice based on Gardner's (1983) theory of multiple intelligences (MI) is proposed as potentially facilitative of inclusion of students with developmental disabilities.
Abstract: Pedagogical practices based on Gardner's (1983) theory of multiple intelligences (MI) are often cited as potentially facilitative of inclusion of students with developmental disabilities (Armstrong...
TL;DR: Different behavior state profiles at age 4 years were indicated by several developmental skills in the first year of life, suggesting the need for specific, early interventions with infants whose state patterns are inconsistent with optimal learning and development.
Abstract: Behavior states and related developmental and medical variables were observed during all or part of the first 4 years of life for 34 infants identified with severe cognitive and multiple disabiliti...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assessed whether a program involving simple hand-movement responses combined with optic microswitches and followed by preferred stimuli would be successful in increasing responding and stimulation with two persons with multiple disabilities.
Abstract: In this study, we assessed whether a program involving simple hand-movement responses combined with optic microswitches and followed by preferred stimuli would be successful (i.e., increasing responding and stimulation) with two persons with multiple disabilities. Data showed that both persons reached fairly high levels of responding during intervention and retained their achievement through subsequent maintenance periods of 3 or 6 months. Procedural issues, practical implications of the findings, and measures for promoting long-term response maintenance–extensions were discussed.
TL;DR: The post-World War II history of sexuality education programs for people with cognitive disabilities in Austria reveals limited success as mentioned in this paper, and the state of current knowledge and attitudes on sexual education has not yet been determined.
Abstract: The post-World War II history of sexuality education programs for people with cognitive disabilities in Austria reveals limited success. To determine the state of current knowledge and attitudes on...
TL;DR: In this paper, community-based services to address inappropriate and offensive sexual behaviors are perhaps the least developed of all interventions for individuals with developmental disabilities, and this article is an extension of our previous work.
Abstract: Community-based services to address inappropriate and offensive sexual behaviors are perhaps the least developed of all interventions for individuals with developmental disabilities. This article d...
TL;DR: In this article, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) re-authorization of the ESYS (Extended School Year Services) for students with disabilities was discussed.
Abstract: Students with disabilities may require extended school year services (ESYS) to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Although the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) re...
TL;DR: Reaching Out, Joining In as mentioned in this paper is a book for parents and beginning professionals whose focus is young children with autism disorders, focusing on play skills, the language of social skills, understanding different perspectives, and using social skills in classes with typical children.
Abstract: This is a valuable book for parents and beginning professionals whose focus is young children with autistic disorders. It will be particularly useful to those parents and professionals whose children or students are receiving intervention services within an Applied Behavior Analysis framework in which discrete trial instruction is the starting point for teaching new skills. Other parents whose children have not demonstrated substantial growth in social interaction skills over time, whatever the intervention approach used, may also find some of the information and techniques in this book useful. Reaching Out, Joining In is likely to be of lesser value to parents of children with autism spectrum disorders for whom more naturalistic intervention strategies are being used to good effect. Although the book, according to the introduction, targets the full autism spectrum, it seems to focus primarily on the needs of children with autistic disorder. However, even parents of children with Asperger syndrome, and parents whose children are responding well in general to naturalistic teaching strategies, may find this book of some value because it clarifies in a concrete way the struggles that children with autism spectrum disorders face in dealing with what appear to be the simple tasks of early childhood. The authors acknowledge that “even mastery of every skill covered in this book will still leave many children in need of continuing help in the development of social relationships” and that “learning how to teach social and emotional skills to people with autism remains one of the major challenges in our field” (p. x). This challenge has given rise to differing teaching approaches and strategies. The authors present some of these strategies and how they can be used, e.g., social stories and video modeling, but some naturalistic instructional strategies such as incidental teaching are given very limited attention, and pivotal teaching strategies (Koegel, Koegel, Harrower, & Carter, 1999) are not referred to at all. What this book does extremely well is present systematic teaching procedures that combine discrete trial instruction and other selected strategies such as scripted interaction scenarios to help children master the elements basic to social interaction. The clarity and simplicity of presentation in this book may be especially helpful to parents. The chapters of Reaching Out, Joining In focus on play skills, the “language of social skills,” understanding different perspectives, and using social skills in classes with typical children. Each of these topics is addressed by identifying typical behavior, describing how the behavior of children with autism differs, and presenting a paradigm for teaching the discrete steps involved in achieving the targeted skills. As the authors write: “Our goal in this book is to introduce readers to social skills programs for preschool and elementary school aged children with autism. By ‘programs’ we mean detailed descriptions of how to teach specific activities . . . ” (p. x). Prerequisites for various activities and strategies are listed and illustrations of how strategies can be implemented with individual children are offered. Some readers of this journal may be disquieted by the frequent delineation of “prerequisites” for particular activities. It might have been more productive to refer to behavioral characteristics that would make particular learning activities easier to master, more pleasurable, and/or more meaningful for the child. Children with autism often develop skills not based on the typical developmental foundation, i.e., they skip the expected prerequisites. When the authors turn to the subject of inclusion they are more cautious about the idea of prerequisites. Weiss and Harris give recognition to the different perspectives on that subject and then present their own view. The point at which they would advocate for inclusion is when a child is able to learn in a group, shows an awareness of other children, and rarely if ever engages in behavior that might upset classmates. It is interesting to contrast the dominant strategies presented in Reaching Out, Joining In with the naturalistic cognitive strategies often used by Echo Fling, the mother of a young boy with Asperger syndrome, as described in her book Eating an Artichoke (2000). Trying to figure out a way to teach her son to express empathy for a child who was hurt (his younger sister), this mother hit on the idea of using one of his central interests or obsessions—Thomas the Tank Engine—for this purpose. Her son was able to make the connection between Thomas having an accident, crying, and feeling sad, and then being helped, and how his sister felt when she had an accident, and was crying, and should have been helped. Echo Fling didn’t have to break the task down to its minute elements for her son in this situaResearch & Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities copyright 2002 by 2002, Vol. 27, No. 1, 93–95 TASH
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a rich narrative description of one inclusive high school's experiences, including the creation and management of a community in an Inclusive High School (Cincinnati, OH).
Abstract: For the RPSD reader who is perhaps unfamiliar with inclusion issues at the secondary level, or who is interested in sharing inclusive education with peers in general education, this book may be a critical resource. Within this book, Bauer and Brown provide readers with a unique opportunity to experience inclusion and gain a sensory understanding of what secondary inclusive education may look like, sound like, taste like, and feel like. This is accomplished through the careful weaving together of the professional literature on best practices in inclusive education, community building, and school change with a rich narrative description of one inclusive high school’s experiences—Purcell Marian High School (Cincinnati, OH). The successful interweaving of these elements will help novice readers conceptually frame inclusion (as described by the authors) as an ongoing, evolutionary process that can begin today grounded in school change rather than a state of perfection or homeostasis to be obtained in some distant future. The authors fully immersed themselves in the life of Purcell Marian High School as part of a 2-year action research project. Although action researchers often give lip service to the active collaboration of stakeholders in the research process, this certainly does not appear to be the case here. Upon first inspection of the list of invited contributors, the reader will be struck by the stakeholder collaboration reflected in this publication, including chapters written either primarily by, or in collaboration with, general education teachers, administrators, athletic coaches, vocational specialists, guidance counselors, and adult service agency representatives associated with Purcell Marian High School. In addition, the first author, Anne Bauer, does a commendable job reflecting the voice and perspective of a parent as well as that of teacher educator and researcher. In fact, her work with Purcell Marian started as she describes, when “my husband and I began looking for a high school for our son . . . we knew what we wanted—a place where he would be welcomed, a place where he belonged, a place where he would be challenged to learn and achieve, and a place where he would have friends. We found such a place in Purcell Marian High School” (p. xi). I found Chapter 3, Managing the Changes of Becoming Inclusive, and Chapter 5, Community in an Inclusive High School, to be extremely valuable contributions to the body of inclusion literature addressing the multiple roles and responsibilities of school administrators in creating and managing the changes that are associated with nurturing and building the community capacity necessary to truly embrace the diversity, gifts, and academic and social needs of all students. I would hope that all who purchase this book begin to leverage change within their local communities by sharing these two chapters with at least one principal or school administrator. In Chapter 3, the four leadership approaches or strategies of Sergiovanni (1996) [(a) bartering, trading wants and needs for cooperation and compliance; (b) building, providing the conditions that enable teachers to experience psychological fulfillment; (c) bonding, becoming a community of learners and leaders; and (4) binding, establishing the moral authority that enables people to become self-managing] are applied to the role of the principal in the context of creating inclusive school communities. This description of Sergiovanni’s approaches is followed with real examples of how each leadership strategy was applied by the principal in Purcell Marian. This artful weaving of the literature and actual school-based practices as applied to the roles of school administrators is again presented in Chapter 5’s description of the ways that communities function. Again, building on literature within school leadership, an academic description of Sergiovanni’s (1994) work on the forms of community in schools (community by kinship, relationships among people that create a shared sense of unity; community of place, sharing a common habitat or locale; community of mind, embracing shared values, common goals, values, and concepts of being and doing; and community of memory, shared history, common memories, and common learnings) is followed by meaningful, concrete examples from Purcell Marian. Following the description of community by kinship, for example, the authors quote the school’s director of student support services:
TL;DR: A review of the literature that advocates or opposes a universal ban on the application of the death penalty to people labeled with mental retardation can be found in this article, with the author's perspective on the matter.
Abstract: Controversy surrounding the execution of individuals identified with mental retardation has catapulted to the forefront of American society. This article examines this issue, reviewing the prominent literature that advocates or opposes a universal ban on the application of the death penalty to people labeled with mental retardation and offering the author's perspective on the matter. The author's discussion delineates the argument into two major concerns: The increased probability that a person with cognitive deficits may be unjustly convicted and sentenced because of certain characteristics of his or her disability, and the degree of blameworthiness of an offender who might have a lessened sense of personal responsibility. It is argued that because of the realities of the American legal and penal systems, the application of the death penalty to people with mental retardation must be banned, at least until each case can be examined thoroughly by individuals well informed about the manifestations of such c...