Jane Y. Murdock

Social Perception Problems in Learning Disabled Youth Developmental Lag Versus Perceptual Deficit

This investigation attempted to determine whether or not the gap in social perceptual ability between learning disabled and non-learning-disabled groups would decrease with age. The Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity and The Four Factor Tests of Social Intelligence were administered to 30 students with learning disabilities and 30 students without learning disabilities. The ages of the students were 11, 14, and 17 years. Although social perceptual ability was found to improve with age for both groups, the proportionate differences between the groups remained constant through age 17.

Self-monitoring and at-risk middle school students. Academic performance improves, maintains, and generalizes.

Using a multiple baseline design across six academic settings, we found that teaching 4 at-risk middle school students to self-monitor markedly improved their academic performance as measured by their grades and related academic behaviors. Furthermore, these improvements generalized to settings where self-monitoring was never introduced, and they maintained the following school year. In this charter middle school setting, self-monitoring proved to be an extremely effective intervention. These findings suggest that it would be equally effective in a variety of settings.

Effects of Self-Monitoring on On-Task Behaviors of At-Risk Middle School Students

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the effects of self-monitoring on increasing the on-task behaviors of four at-risk middle school students, and to examine its indirect effects on academic performance. Additionally, we attempted to develop and validate cost- and time-efficient procedures that typical classroom teachers could use. The data from a multiple baseline design across three academic settings, replicated with four students, revealed immediate increases in on-task behavior as each student began to self-monitor in each sequential setting. The data also revealed slightly higher levels of academic performance and, in most instances, gradually accelerating trends. These findings suggest that self-monitoring is a cost- and time-efficient procedure that classroom teachers can use to teach at-risk students to manage their own behaviors.

Peer Prompting Reduces Disruptive Vocalizations of a Student with Developmental Disabilities in a General Eighth-Grade Classroom.

Using an ABAB withdrawal design, we investigated the effects of a simple peerprompting procedure on reducing or eliminating annoying/disruptive sounds made by a boy with developmental disabilities included in a general eighth-grade classroom. The data reveal that peer prompting notably reduced his inappropriate noises. Follow-up data 3 1/2 weeks and 5 weeks later revealed that the improvement persisted. In addition, anecdotal reports from the students mother and new teacher when he advanced to a high school setting suggested that he responded well to a new peer and had not made any inappropriate/disruptive vocalizations in that second inclusive setting.

Correlates of Parental-Professional Congruency Scores in the Assessment of Young Handicapped Children

While the exact roles of parents during assessment procedures with young handicapped children have been debated in the literature, few attempts have been made to examine the influence of specific descriptors on parental-professional congruency scores. This article examines the relationships between two clusters of variables and parental-professional congruency scores for the Learning Accomplishment Profile—Diagnostic Edition: parent-related variables (age, educational level, income, and number of other children) and handicapped child-related variables (chronological age, length of time enrolled in an early intervention program, IQ, sex, and type of program model). For mother-professional congruency scores, family income had the most significant relationship. Type of program model in which the handicapped child was enrolled (home-based or center-based) had the most significant relationship to father-professional congruency scores, Implications for using parents as data sources during assessment procedures are discussed,

Who's Doing the Pointing? Investigating Facilitated Communication in a Classroom Setting with Students with Autism

The first author, a certified speech-language pathologist (SLP), served as the facilitator for two students with autism to assess pointing control during facilitated communication. The teacher instructed the students during typical classroom activities, and two classroom assistants collected data. We used a counterbalanced alternating treatments design with the SLP/facilitator being either blind or sighted. She wore sunglasses throughout the investigation with a cardboard cutout inserted for the blind condition. The alternating treatments data reveal that the students responded more accurately when the SLP/facilitator could see in spite of the fact that she did not think she was influencing their responding and did not intentionally do so.

Technology and Students with Handicaps.

Technological advances have opened the door for numerous educational interventions with handicapped children. These range from simple hand-held calculators for use in arithmetical problem solving to interactive videodisk systems that provide multimodal representations of complex knowledge and skills. As has been the case historically, curricular materials, in this case software, and implementation lag far behind. In a sense this is an enviable position because it provides developers with an opportunity to concentrate on the development of quality software. One component needed for an overall successful technological endeavor is to extend the useful life of the materials so that they can be integrated into long-term programing.

A Non-Oral Expressive Communication Program Designed For A Nonverbal Retardate

This study attempted to demonstrate the effectiveness of a non-oral expressive communication program for a nonverbal retarded subject. The subject had been engaged in speech therapy programs for over 11 years, but she was only able to use one word, mama, to communicate expressively. Her language disability may have been further compounded by an auditory language deficit. As soon as the relatively simple training procedures were begun, the subject was able to respond correctly by identifying printed words and phrases. This program was an adaptation of the language boards that are frequently provided for subjects with cerebral palsy. It is generally agreed that such forms of expressive communication should only be resorted to after many attempts to train vocal verbalization have failed.