Clifford J. Drew

Autism and potential family stressors

Abstract The diagnosis of a serious disability brings many changes to the family of the newly diagnosed member. Each family copes in their own way to these many changes. This paper examines some of the effects that a diagnosis of autism may bring to the family and some of the potential family stressors that the presence of such a youngster may present. Problem areas discussed include communication, bonding, early sleep patterns, unpredictable behavior, difficulties created by changes in routine, splinter effects, respite, and financial matters. Each of these represent topics that are extremely important for professional awareness when working with families who have a young child with autism.

Comparison of Verbal Performance of Normal and Learning Disabled Children as a Function of Input Organization

The purpose of this study was to extend the work of Freston and Drew (1974) which compared the free recall performance of learning disabled children as a function of organization of material and level of difficulty. A quasi-experimental design used 30 subjects classified as learning disabled and 30 normal subjects. For the normal group both material organization and level of difficulty influenced the amount of recall; for the learning disabled group, only level of material difficulty influenced recall. These results substantiate those of Freston and Drew (1974) and lend support to the hypothesis that the learning disabled population is unable to take mnemonic advantage of externally organized material, whether learning disability is defined according to an etiological, medical model or according to an educational, behavioral model as in this study.

Criterion-referenced and norm-referenced assessment of minority group children

Abstract A variety of problems have been experienced with psychological assessment of minority children. Traditional norm-referenced measurement has repeatedly received criticism concerning cultural unfairness or bias. Responses to such accusations primarily have been in the form of new instrumentation aimed at attaining a culture fair assessment. Little response has been evident from a conceptual standpoint addressing the issues of purpose and use of test results Although many have turned to criterion-referenced measurement as an answer to the problems of norm-referenced evaluation, cultural bias is not necessarily avoided in this framework either. Issues of who determines criteria and what those criteria include must be addressed if criterion-referenced measurement is to meet adequately the challenge of multicultural evaluation.

Research on Teacher Education

It should be noted at the outset that there is both little general acceptance of the need for educational research and little appreciation of the relevance of such research for the improvement of education. A tradition of research does not exist in education as it does, for example, in medicine or in engineering, where both professionals and consumers commonly agree that research and progress are almost synonymous. (p. 6)

Educational Methodology: An Examination of Approach

Maximally effective educational procedures have often been lacking due to the absence of a serviceable model for research and information dissemination. Recent developments in major project networks proviae a vehicle for implementing programatic efforts toward improvement. A model is discussed which promises additional short and long term advancements in instructional methodology.

Mathematics, Quantitative and Attitudinal Measures for Elementary School Boys and Girls

This study examined sex differences in quantitative ability, attitude toward arithmetic, and locus of control as variables that may affect mathematical learning. Subjects were 48 fifth and sixth grade students in one school. Intellectual ability and mathematical achievement levels were controlled. Independent group comparisons with sex and mathematical achievement grade level were examined to determine if significant differences existed between groups. Significant differences were evident on only a single comparison. Subjects below grade level in mathematics scored significantly lower than those at grade level on the operations portion of the Stanford Diagnostic Arithmetic Test.

Verbal Learning Errors by Mentally Retarded Adolescents as a Function of Learning Stage

Analysis of patterns of errors in learning word-pairs under verbal presentation by 60 14- to 18-yr.-old mildly mentally retarded adolescents indicated a significant interaction between trials and type of errors and main effects of trials and types of errors. Both omissions and misplaced responses decreased significantly from Trial 1 to 2. Omissions also decreased significantly from Trials 2 to 3. Both stimulus intrusions and extralist intrusions contributed very little to total errors. Results are similar to earlier findings and suggest that psychologists attempting to improve performance of mentally retarded adolescents by decreasing errors in learning word-pairs should focus on early learning stages and primarily on omissions and misplaced responses.

Group Research in Special Education.

Special education research is an interdisciplinary field requiring a broad range of methodologies. This paper focuses on group research, which can be distinguished from single-subject design in several important ways: (1) group research involves the extensive and limited observations of many subjects rather than the intensive observations of a small number of subjects; (2) group research emphasizes the average performance of groups of subjects rather than the process of change itself; (3) results are evaluated through statistical analyses rather than visual interpretation of individual subject data; and (4) results are more broadly generalizable across subjects, settings, and occasions. The distinction between experimental and nonexperimental strategies is addressed within the context of group strategies. Four classes (Cook & Campbell, 1979) of threats to valid inference which may be controlled by experimental designs are identified: internal validity, statistical conclusion validity, external validity, and construct validity of causes and effects.

ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING BY MENTALLY RETARDED SS AS A FUNCTION OF GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE OF PAIRS

The facilitative effects of grammatical structure on learning in normal Ss has been demonstrated. The associative learning rate of 48 mentally retarded males was investigated as a function of grammatical structure of the pairs. Data analysis showed that Ss acquisition rate did not vary as a function of the grammatical structure of pairs. Also, syntagmatic versus non-syntagmatic pairs, within each grammatical group, did not affect performance.