Gary M. Sasso

Slowing Down the Bandwagon: The Misapplication of Functional Assessment for Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders.

Despite the tremendous attention being given to functional assessment and legal mandates regarding its use, little is known empirically about this process for students with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD). This article discusses the promise and practice of functional assessment, provides a critical review of the existing experimental literature in the area of E/BD, and presents a research agenda that will lead to more informed decisions regarding the use of functional assessment in the schools.

Toward Ending Cultural and Cognitive Relativism in Special Education

Postmodernism, by whatever label, is intellectually bankrupt. It cannot be reconciled with a scientific view. If taken seriously, it leads to catastrophic consequences for any field of study, including special education. It also leads to malpractice in special education. Whole language instruction, radical multicultural education, and facilitated communication are areas in which it has led to serious compromise of clear thinking and best practice. We urge special educators to resoundingly reject postmodern ideas, as they are poisonous and can lead only to regression.

Generalization, Maintenance, and Behavioral Covariation Associated with Social Skills Training through Structured Learning.

This investigation assessed the effects of social skill training using a structured learning model on the behavior of three children with behavioral disorders. Specifically, the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of target skills were measured across an entire school year using a multiple probe design across behaviors. In addition, negative responses were measured to determine if they would covary with the social skills. Results show an increase in frequency for most skill areas, an inverse relationship across negative behaviors, maintenance over time, and moderate levels of generalization to nontreatment settings. These results are discussed in relation to effective social skills training and the integration of children with behavioral disorders.

The Use of Structural Analysis to Identify Setting Events in Applied Settings for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders.

This study investigated the use of practitioner-implemented structural analyses to determine setting events affecting the disruptive behavior of two male students with EBD in a self-contained classroom. Descriptive measures (PBQ, SEII, and direct observation) and analogue probes were employed and contrasted. An ABA reversal design was used to compare intervention packages; maintenance and social validity data were also obtained. Findings indicate that structural analyses can be implemented by a practitioner and can lead to the development of successful interventions within educational settings. Implications for broad implementation and future research are also discussed.

Assessing Sufficient Social Exemplars for Students with Autism.

Three children with autism from a self-contained elementary special education class participated in daily W-min free-play sessions with 15 nondisabled 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade peers from the same school in three social interaction groups. After a baseline period, one of the peers was trained to appropriately interact with the student with autism. During the first phase of the intervention, this trained peer and the student with autism joined four other nontrained peers for play activities. Subsequently, each peer in the group received training sequentially so that the treatment phases reflected one trained, two trained, three trained, four trained, and five trained peers interacting with the student with autism in that same group of six. For each of the three groups, generalized interactions with nontrained peers were observed after the introduction of the third trained peer. Qualitative as well as quantitative changes in social interaction were documented.

Structural Analysis and Intervention in a School Setting: Effects on Problem Behavior for a Student with an Emotional/Behavioral Disorder.

The current investigation was designed to identify—through the use of a structural analysis procedure—the most salient antecedent variables related to problem behavior. More specifically, the authors investigated the use of structural analysis procedures to identify antecedent variables within a general education setting that supported the systematic inclusion of a student with an emotional or behavioral disorder. Analog probes were done in both special education and general education settings to identify and confirm a package of antecedent variables that directly contributed to the students behavior. A peer without disabilities acted as the assessment and intervention agent across both educational settings to further ensure that naturally occurring activities and interactions were being assessed. Results supported the use of the assessment and intervention process for identifying environmental and curricular variables that support the successful integration of the student into the general education setting. Potential implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed.

A Comparison of the Effects of Organismic and Setting Variables on the Social Interaction Behavior of Children with Developmental Disabilities and Autism

In this investigation, the effects of four setting events and two organismic variables on the social behavior of children with developmental disabilities and autism were compared. In Study 1, social interactions within dyads composed of one student with disabilities and one nondisabled peer were compared to triads composed of two nondisabled peers and one child with disabilities. In addition, differential effects of peer tutoring and peer initiation interventions were determined. In Study 2, the effects of high- and low-status peers within triadic social interaction groupings were examined to determine effects on both the students with disabilities and their nondisabled peers. The results suggest that peer dyads, the cooperative peer intervention, and triads composed of two high-status nondisabled peers were most effective in promoting positive social interactions for the participants with disabilities. Furthermore, there seemed to be no real benefit to low-status peers related to participation in this second investigation. Results are discussed in relation to the effective and efficient use of programs designed to effect social competence and inclusion.

Social Interaction Setting Events: Experimental Analysis of Contextual Variables.

Severe behavioral problems and social interaction deficits are the two areas of functioning most responsible for the failure of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) to adjust adequately and achieve success in inclusive settings. Over the past 10 years, the development and refinement of a technology of functional analysis has allowed educators and researchers to address problem behavior more effectively by matching the function of the response to an intervention. Recently investigators have begun to turn their attention to the assessment and manipulation of setting events that can elicit appropriate responses. This article describes an experimental hypothesis-testing model of structural analysis designed to identify critical contextual variables associated with successful social interaction. Suggestions for use in general education settings are provided, with an emphasis on matching inclusive social environments to individual student antecedent variables. Strengths and weaknesses of various forms of functional analysis are discussed in conjunction with the need to develop reliable, valid, and acceptable assessments that can be used in natural environments.

The Modification of Rumination in a Severely Emotionally Disturbed Child through an Overcorrection Procedure.

The present study demonstrates the efficacy of an overcorrection procedure in eliminating chronic rumination in a 10-year-old severely emotionally disturbed male. The procedure was successfully applied by a teacher and classroom aide in a public school environment, suggesting the applicability of overcorrection technqiues in decelerating self-stimulatory and deviant patterns of behavior in nonclinical and noninstitutional environments.

Peer Tutoring Versus Structured Interaction Activities: Effects on the Frequency and Topography of Peer Initiations.

The present study focuses on two methods used to facilitate the social integration of autistic and autistic-like children in a school setting. Specifically, the interactive values of peer tutoring and structured interaction activities on the social initiations of nonhandicapped peers toward students with autism were measured. The nature of the initiations were coded either instructional or cooperative. Results revealed that nonhandicapped students assigned initially to a tutoring phase interacted at far lower rates than did students exposed to structured interactions. Conversely, the structured interaction activities produced the highest rates of cooperative initiations regardless of presentation sequence. The data are discussed in reference to implications for programs which will enhance the normalization process for children and youth with severe handicaps.