Justin D. Lane

Using Response-prompting Procedures During Small-group Direct Instruction: Outcomes and Procedural Variations

Research was reviewed on small-group instruction for learners with disabilities. The review was conducted for articles published between 1990 and 2010 on the application of small-group direct instruction to teach discrete skills using prompting procedures. A total of 47 articles with 197 participants and 687 replications of effects was located. Small-group instruction was effective for 195 of 197 participants and across variations in implementation and contexts. Implementers were primarily special education personnel, and instruction typically occurred in special education settings. Rigorous designs were used in all studies, and fidelity was assessed in 46 of 47 studies and was uniformly high. Students consistently reached criterion on their own target behaviors, generalized those behaviors, maintained them, and learned the behaviors taught to their peers (when this was measured, which occurred in a majority of the studies). Future research should examine comparisons of procedural variables and promoting social behaviors between group mates.

Identifying Issues and Concerns With the Use of Interval-Based Systems in Single Case Research Using a Pilot Simulation Study:

Momentary time sampling (MTS), whole interval recording (WIR), and partial interval recording (PIR) are commonly used in applied research. We discuss potential difficulties with analyzing data when these systems are used and present results from a pilot simulation study designed to determine the extent to which these issues are likely to be problematic in the context of single case design studies. Results indicate that WIR and PIR may result in invalid effect size estimations. Although MTS more closely paralleled actual duration, it may induce variability in relatively short sessions, increasing the likelihood of Type II errors. Suggestions for practitioners, consumers, and researchers include careful use and reporting of data collected using interval-based systems and continued investigation of properties of these systems, particularly on the effects on effect size estimations.

The Iterative Use of Single Case Research Designs to Advance the Science of EI/ECSE.

Research in early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) is focused on identifying effective practices related to positive outcomes for young children with disabilities and their families. Individual responses to evidence-based practices are often variable, and non-responders are common. Single case research (SCR) might be particularly well suited to examining differences across participants given the dynamic nature of the methodology. The repeated measurement of behaviors and visual analysis of subsequent data allow researchers to continually monitor behavior and make necessary adaptations to ensure positive child outcomes. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the dynamic nature of single case research design (SCRD) and the utility of SCRD in the iterative development of adaptive evidence-based practices using three examples of SCR studies. Implications for research and practice in EI/ECSE are discussed.

Including Social Opportunities during Small Group Instruction of Preschool Children with Social-Communication Delays

Young children with disabilities are less likely to display prosocial behaviors than their typically developing peers. One method for increasing social skills is embedding opportunities for social interactions during academic instruction. The purpose of this study was to teach functional sight words to young children in a small group arrangement, while embedding opportunities to engage in social behaviors. A multiple probe design across behaviors replicated across participants was used to evaluate the effects of using constant time delay to teach sight words. Children learned to read targeted sight words and some of their peers’ words. Secondary social measures suggest children acquired some social information about a peer when the information was presented via instructive feedback and learned to share materials during instructional sessions. Implications for practitioners and teachers are provided regarding (a) academic instruction and observational learning, (b) prerequisites for success in a small group arrangement, (c) embedding sharing during instruction, and (d) instructive feedback related to peer preferences.

An Analysis of Naturalistic Interventions for Increasing Spontaneous Expressive Language in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The purpose of this review was to identify naturalistic language interventions for increasing spontaneous expressive language (defined in this review as absence of verbal prompt or other verbalization from adults or peers) in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Also, the methodological rigor and effectiveness of each study were evaluated to determine which interventions confidently led to increases in the target behavior. A total of 24 studies that included 45 participants, 2 to 9 years of age, used a naturalistic language intervention. When using What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) guidelines to evaluate design standards, 50% of studies had adequate rigor and 33% of those studies demonstrated positive effects in the target behavior. In addition, the components of each intervention were coded and grouped by function. Implications for teachers, practitioners, and researchers are provided.

Research for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Evidence of Social and Ecological Validity.

The social and ecological validity of a body of research may impact the degree to which interventions will be used outside of research contexts. The purpose of this review was to determine the extent to which social and ecological validity were demonstrated for interventions designed to increase social skills for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Results indicated that although the percentage of studies including social validity assessment has remained stable over the 20-year review period, subjective assessments of social validity have increased and objective assessments have decreased. Acceptability was measured more often than feasibility or importance. Approximately half of the studies included indigenous implementers, typical social partners, or typical settings. Suggestions include additional research on the validity of measures, explicit reporting by researchers, and the use of multiple, objective, and psychometrically sound social validity assessments.

Promoting Communication Development in Young Children with or at Risk for Disabilities

Communication skills provide young children a means for sharing wants and interests with social partners. Young children with disabilities are likely to display difficulties effectively communicating with others, often requiring intervention to improve meaningful communication in typical environments. The communication intervention literature includes a wide-range of studies, each designed to improve some form of communication (e.g., gestures, oral language) in young children. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight interventions for promoting expressive communication in young children with or at risk for a disability. Implications for parents/caregivers and early childhood professionals are provided, as well as recommendations for future research.

Mobile Technology as a Prosthesis: Using Mobile Technology to Support Community Engagement and Independence

This chapter begins with an overview of ways mobile technologies have been used in the literature to teach and support individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The attention then narrows to synthesize the literature related to the use of mobile technology as a self-support tool for independence rather than as a teacher-directed instructional tool. The discussion focuses on the use of mobile technology, essentially as a prosthesis to aide an individual in daily living. Evidence from the literature on instructional methods for teaching individuals to use mobile technologies to support and teach themselves is provided. The chapter concludes with some remarks on evolving technologies that may further enhance the ability of mobile devices to serve as supports for individuals with ASD in the natural environment.

A Brief Coaching Intervention for Teaching Naturalistic Strategies to Parents.

Coaching parents to implement evidence-based strategies is one method for increasing the number of hours young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) access intervention services. The purpose of this study was to teach parents of young children with ASD to implement naturalistic strategies during play in a clinic setting. Results indicate a brief coaching procedure was effective for training parents to implement behavioral strategies, with concomitant changes in child behavior. Additional research is needed to determine how to facilitate maintenance over time and whether effects generalize to typical settings.

Teaching Young Children With Social-Communication Delays to Label Actions Using Videos and Language Expansion Models A Pilot Study

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related social-communication delays may display difficulties commenting on actions that occur in their natural environment. One method for increasing early conversation skills is direct instruction. Using video examples of actions may increase the salient features of instructional targets and, as such, may be an effective stimulus for presenting actions during instruction. The present study used a multiple-probe design across participants replicated across behaviors to evaluate the effectiveness of a 0- to 4-s progressive time-delay (PTD) procedure using video presentation of actions to teach three preschool-aged children with ASD and related social-communication delays to label actions. In addition, the teacher provided language expansion on all instructional targets, as well as assessed generalization to novel stimuli (videos and pictures or photographs). Results indicate that all participants acquired action labels. Two of the three participants generalized responses to novel videos and pictures while expanding their responses without direct instruction. Implications for teachers targeting action labels in early childhood settings are provided.