Alan C. Repp

An eco-behavioral analysis of small community-based houses and traditional large hospitals for severely and profoundly mentally handicapped adults

Recently, much interest has centered on the transfer of mentally handicapped people from institutions to other settings. Most studies in this area have focused indirectly on the behavior of the mentally retarded client, usually measured intermittently by global assessments such as the American Association On Mental Deficiencys Adaptive Behavior Scale. In contrast, the present study combined these indirect measures with direct continuous observation of each subject. In doing so, it examined the effects of such a transfer to small community-based homes on the behavioral functioning of severely and profoundly mentally handicapped adults. In addition, staff activity, in terms both of providing opportunities for engagement in activity and of consequating client behavior, was also measured. Two comparisons were made, those being between a group of clients in a small home and a comparable group in institutions and between the latter group when in the institutions and after having moved to a small home. Results show increased client functioning in the small homes, particularly in domestic activity and interaction with staff, and a markedly higher level of staff provision of opportunity to engage in activities. The results are discussed in terms of size, design, staff-client ratio, and staff training in small community-based residential services. The need for more research on the determination of staff performances is highlighted.

The Relationship between Instructional Variables and Problem Behavior: A Review

In recent years, there has been considerable discussion of positive procedures to reduce problem behaviors of persons with severe disabilities. One variable found in many of the situations in which these behaviors occur is instruction. The purpose of this paper is to review studies that have used instructional variables as nonaversive interventions for problem behaviors. Instructional variables that may decrease problem behavior include (a) student choice of task, (b) task variation, (c) pace of instruction, (d) interspersal of high-probability tasks, (e) partial- versus whole-task training, (f) decreasing task difficulty, and (g) a multielement package. Further research is needed in nonintrusive, naturally occurring, and positive methods for reducing problem behaviors in instructional settings.

A COMPARISON OF FREQUENCY, INTERVAL, AND TIME‐SAMPLING METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

Data representing high, medium, and low response rates in constant and nonconstant patterns were generated by electromechanical equipment to determine whether the same data collected by time-sampling, interval recording, and frequency recording would be represented similarly by each method. Results indicated: (1) that time-sampling provided an extremely inaccurate estimate of responding, and (2) that interval recording accurately represented responding of low and medium rates, but grossly underestimated high-rate responding.

The relationship of staff:client ratios, interactions, and residential placement

The behavior of staff and persons with severe handicaps was surveyed in nine settings, including four traditional institutions, three large community-based units, and two groups of small homes. Data were collected that established the relationship among staff:client interactions, client responding, and the size of staff:client groups. The latter showed that the institutions were characterized by larger client and staff groups than the large community units. Large client and staff groups were virtually absent in the small homes. Two general conclusions could be drawn about the relationship between staff:client ratios and client behavior: (a) when one or two staff were together, improvements in the level of the staff interactions and client adaptive functioning occurred as the client group decreased in size and the staff size remained constant; (b) improvement in staff performance and client behavior arising from the addition of staff to a client group of a given size was marginal or nonexistent. The results were discussed in terms of their implications for the design of residential environments.

The Effects of Team-Based Functional Assessment on the Behavior of Students in Classroom Settings

We examined the impact of functional assessment interventions on both the appropriate and challenging behaviors of groups of students within preschool classrooms for children with special needs and for children at risk. We also examined the effectiveness of a training model to teach school-based teams to conduct functional assessment. The results indicated that school-based teams were able to conduct functional assessment during intervention and maintained functional assessment skills during follow-up observations. In addition, the functional assessment procedures resulted in a decrease in challenging behavior and nonengagement and an increase in active engagement and peer interaction for groups of students within classroom settings. The levels of appropriate and challenging behavior observed during intervention and maintenance within at-risk and special education classrooms were similar to those observed in early childhood control classrooms.

Observational studies of staff working with mentally retarded persons: A review

Experimental or quasi-experimental studies of the behavior of staff working with retarded persons were reviewed and provided the following generalizations: (a) staff often have very low rates of interactions with clients, (b) a disproportionate number of interactions occur with a relatively small number of clients, (c) structured settings promote more interactions, (d) small teaching groups promote interactions, (e) staff involvement in relevant decisions promotes interactions, (f) larger, more global, and ecological assessments of both staff and clients provide important information on the effects of staff management and training, (g) lowering the reading difficulty of training materials increases staff comprehension, (h) lectures tend to improve academic skills while practicum training improves teaching skills, (i) some trained skills generalize while others do not, apparently unsystematically, (j) a system in which supervisors rather than researchers external to the facility do the training is feasible, (k) various low cost systems of public or private feedback can increase staff participation in their duties, (l) implementation of strict administrative policies can reduce tardiness and absenteeism, and (m) staff may be very reactive to announced observation by inspection agencies.

Reinforcement-Based Reductive Procedures: A Review of 20 Years of Their Use with Persons with Severe or Profound Retardation.

Although differential reinforcement is a procedure generally used to increase responding, it can also be used to decrease responding that is inappropriate. This article contains a review of 49 articles on studies describing reduced maladaptive responding of persons with severe or profound mental retardation. Four differential reinforcement procedures were reviewed, including the differential reinforcement of (a) alternative behavior (DRA), (b) low rates of responding (DRL), (c) other behavior (DRO), and (d) incompatible behavior (DRI). However, because there were only three articles concerning the first two categories, data were presented only for DRO and DRI. The review categorized the findings in three areas: (a) demographics, (b) methodology, and (c) results. Demographic data showed that the procedures were implemented most often by teachers, in schools or institutions, to treat stereotypy or self-injury. Procedural data showed that (a) information on reinforcer selection was seldom indicated, (b) although social reinforcement was quite common, it appeared to be the least effective consequence, (c) AB or reversal designs were the most common, and (d) only a quarter of the studies provided maintenance data. The results on the individual procedures showed that (a) DRI studies seldom measured the incompatible behavior being increased, (b) DRO studies seldom indicated the basis on which the interval was chosen, and (c) neither group tended to provide information on reinforcement schedules. Results were discussed in terms of areas for further study and proposed methodological changes.

An ecological comparison of small community-based houses and traditional institutions--II. Physical setting and the use of opportunities.

Abstract The effects of transferring severely and profoundly mentally-handicapped adults from institutional to community care and the use made of the physical setting were examined. The material enrichment of two small homes in the community and six institutional settings was assessed and the use made of each type of item in the environment was observationally measured. Two comparisons were made: (a) between an experimental group of six people in a small home and a comparable control group, of which one member lived in each of the six institutions; and (b) between the latter group both when in institutions and following transfer to a small home. The inventories of the physical environment showed an increased level of opportunity in the small homes due to the considerably greater presence of and access to equipment and materials. Residents of the small homes demonstrated a greater range and extent of usage of the physical setting than the institutional group. The type of materials significant in the difference and the implications for the value of institutional adaption are discussed.

Direct Observation: Factors Affecting the Accuracy of Observers

The use of direct observation methods to collect data relevant to research and practice in special education is widespread. Although the reliability of such data has often been addressed, far less attention has focused on the accuracy of these data. The purposes of this article are (a) to review research on factors that adversely affect the accuracy of observers, and (b) to provide recommendations for reducing their possible influence. The areas discussed include reactivity, observer drift; the recording procedure; location of the observation; reliability; expectancy and feedback; and the characteristics of subjects, observers, and settings.

In vivo functional assessment and multi-element interventions for problem behaviors of students with disabilities in classroom settings

Persons with developmental disabilities often do not follow instructions or complete tasks in educational settings, thus further disadvantaging themselves as they try to lead more normalized lives. The purpose of this paper was to address the problems of three persons referred for not following instructions and for engaging in associated behavior problems (e.g., crying, hitting, throwing materials) when given instructions. A functional assessment was conducted in the natural school setting without any prescribed conditions as in analogue functional assessments. Results of the assessments showed that problem behaviors for two subjects occurred much more in demand conditions requiring active responses than in demand conditions requiring passive responses. The results for a third subject showed problem behaviors were associated with toileting demands, less so with other demand conditions, but not with conditions in which there were an absence of demands. Individualized multi-element interventions were based on the negative reinforcement hypothesis and were intended to make tasks less aversive and to make instructions easier to understand. Results of the interventions showed increases in task engagement and decreases in problem behaviors during the active tasks and toileting tasks for which interventions were programmed, as well as for the passive tasks and other demand conditions for which no interventions were programmed. Results were discussed in terms of the value of functional assessments in directing therapists to base interventions on hypotheses of the function of the presenting problem.