Flaviu A. Hodis

Three children with autism spectrum disorder learn to perform a three-step communication sequence using an iPad®-based speech-generating device.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have limited or absent speech and might therefore benefit from learning to use a speech‐generating device (SGD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate a procedure aimed at teaching three children with ASD to use an iPad®‐based SGD to make a general request for access to toys, then make a specific request for one of two toys, and then communicate a thank‐you response after receiving the requested toy.

Undergraduates' perceptions of three augmentative and alternative communication modes

Abstract Objective: To assess undergraduates’ perceptions of three augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) modes. Method: We showed 104 undergraduates a video clip of a person using each of the three AAC modes and asked them to rate each option in terms of perceived (a) intelligibility, (b) ease of acquisition, (c) effectiveness/acceptability, and (d) preference. The three AAC modes shown were (a) manual signing, (b) picture exchange, and (c) speech-generating device. Results: Mean ratings for perceived intelligibility and effectiveness/acceptability were significantly higher for the speech-generating device. The speech-generating device and manual signing options were rated as being more preferred over picture exchange. Picture exchange was rated significantly higher on perceived ease of acquisition. Conclusion: Speech-generating devices were perceived to have greater social validity than manual signing and picture exchange.

An evaluation of speech production in two boys with neurodevelopmental disorders who received communication intervention with a speech-generating device

Children with neurodevelopmental disorders often present with little or no speech. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) aims to promote functional communication using non‐speech modes, but it might also influence natural speech production.

Rehabilitation priorities for individuals with Prader-Willi Syndrome

Purpose. To identify rehabilitation priorities that parents have for their children, including their adult-aged children, with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) and to determine the relation between these priorities and the childs levels of adaptive behaviour functioning. Methods. Parents involved in organisations related to PWS were invited to complete an online survey. The survey listed 54 skills/behaviours (e.g. toileting, expresses wants and needs and tantrums) representing 10 adaptive functioning domains (e.g. self-care, communication and problem behaviour). Parents rated their childs current level of ability/performance with respect to each skill/behaviour and indicated the extent to which training/treatment was a priority. Results. Fifty-eight surveys were completed during the 4-month data collection period. Parents identified nine high-priority skills/behaviours from five different adaptive functioning domains. For most domains, parent priorities showed a significant linear relation to the childrens adaptive behaviour deficits, in that priorities reflected areas where the child had the greatest deficits and the most problematic behaviours. Conclusion. Rehabilitation professionals should focus on the eating issues that arise in PWS and identify the adaptive functioning deficits of these individuals because such deficits are high-priority areas for parents.

Mixture Modeling: Applications in Educational Psychology.

Model-based clustering methods, commonly referred to as finite mixture modeling, have been applied to a wide variety of cross-sectional and longitudinal data to account for heterogeneity in population characteristics. In this article, we elucidate 2 such approaches: growth mixture modeling and latent profile analysis. Both techniques are illustrated using motivation data from 2 studies. General strategies for fitting these classes of mixture models are discussed, as are extensions to other applications.

Expectancy, Value, Promotion, and Prevention: An Integrative Account of Regulatory Fit vs. Non-fit with Student Satisfaction in Communicating with Teachers

In this study, we report on findings regarding the role that key communication constructs have in mediating the relationships among domain-specific expectancy and value beliefs and general motivation orientations. The results show that when student motivation has a promotion focus, feeling satisfied in communicating with the teacher in a course is a catalyst for heightened levels of expectancy of success and utility value beliefs regarding the course. In contrast, when student motivation has a prevention focus, this orientation is unrelated to expectancy and value beliefs. These findings have pivotal implications for advancing theory development and pedagogical practice.

Assessing Motivation of Secondary School Students: An Analysis of Promotion and Prevention Orientations as Measured by the Regulatory Focus Questionnaire

Measuring human motivation requires understanding the outcomes individuals value and the strategies they prefer to employ to attain them. Knowledge of promotion and prevention, two pivotal motivation orientations, provide key information regarding these aspects. The Regulatory Focus Questionnaire, which measures these two independent constructs, was validated using data provided by university students and alumni of an elite U.S. university. Thus, little is known whether this instrument provides reliable and valid measures of promotion and prevention in a population of younger respondents from a different culture. To bridge this gap, the study employed data collected from three independent large samples of New Zealand secondary school students and used the jigsaw piecewise technique in combination with confirmatory factor analyses. Findings show that, in this population, items in the Regulatory Focus Questionnaire measure promotion and prevention as theoretically distinct constructs.

Measuring Promotion and Prevention Orientations of Secondary School Students It Is More Than Meets the Eye

The General Regulatory Focus Measure has been used extensively in psychological research to gauge promotion and prevention orientations. Findings of this research show that for New Zealand secondary school students, the General Regulatory Focus Measure does not measure promotion and prevention as theoretically independent constructs.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Advances in Quantitative Methods to Further Research in Education and Educational Psychology

This article introduces the special issue titled “Advances in Quantitative Research Methods to Further Research in Education and Educational Psychology.” It starts by framing the context for the contributions to the special issue by highlighting some important signposts that marked the development of analytic methods facilitating inferences on change and change processes. Next it underlines how the analytic methods that are the focus of the articles could help expand further the array of questions that researchers in education and educational psychology are able to tackle. The article concludes by providing brief overviews of the main aspects discussed in each of the 8 contributions included in this special issue.

A Multi-Sample Investigation of the Assessment and Locomotion Scales in a Population of Secondary School Students

Understanding human motivation requires gauging individuals’ strivings to be effective in controlling goal pursuits and establishing the truth about themselves and their experiences. Two constructs, assessment and locomotion, capture well truth and control strivings, respectively. The validation process of the instruments measuring assessment and locomotion involved university students and army personnel. As a result, it is currently unknown whether these instruments offer reliable and valid measurements of the constructs for younger respondents. To bridge this important gap, this study used data from two independent large samples of secondary school students. Findings show that slight modifications of the original locomotion scale made it appropriate for use with this population. Although the assessment instrument required more alterations, the changes needed are simple, straightforward to implement, and unlikely to affect significantly the conceptual breadth of the measured construct.