Mari Beth Coleman

The Use of Video Modeling With the Picture Exchange Communication System to Increase Independent Communicative Initiations in Preschoolers With Autism and Developmental Delays

The use of video modeling (VM) procedures in conjunction with the picture exchange communication system (PECS) to increase independent communicative initiations in preschool-age students was evaluated in this study. The four participants were 3-year-old children with limited communication skills prior to the intervention. Two of the students had been diagnosed with autism and two students exhibited developmental delays. An alternating treatments design was used to examine the effects of using VM as a priming technique to enhance the efficacy of students acquiring PECS and increasing the number of independent communicative initiations. Based on the data, the authors concluded that all students learned to use PECS and increased the number of independent communicative initiations; however, the students’ rate of learning was quicker when using VM. Conclusions are discussed in the context of using empirically based interventions to teach communication skills to students with disabilities and limited verbal skills.

Creating Meaningful Art Experiences with Assistive Technology for Students with Physical, Visual, Severe, and Multiple Disabilities.

As the need for more information on how to accommodate and address all learners in the art classroom increases, strides have been made to provide literature to assist art teachers in improving outcomes for learners with disabilities. Loesl (2012) advocates for an adaptive art specialist in schools. The adaptive art specialist has additional certification to the K-12 art license and works with all teachers in a school on supporting the art needs of students with diverse learning needs. Loesl argues that art in schools provides an excellent opportunity for students to increase fine motor skills, practice multiple ways of mastery, and strengthen the ability to problem solve (p. 48). With few school systems employing art therapists, art teachers often must assume responsibilities for engaging students with a variety of learning and emotional challenges in the art classroom (Loesl, 2010). In addition to work by Loesl, several other resources may serve to guide art educators in this area. Gerber and Guay’s (2006) Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs through Art clarifies the role of the art educator in relation to laws and provides a thorough view of working with and reaching students who are served in special education. Understanding Students with Autism through Art (Gerber & Kellman, 2010) assists art educators with ways and concepts for better understanding of adapting curriculum and instructional approaches when working with students with autism. Both of these books contain practical suggestions for adapting or modifying tools or utilizing assistive technology. In What to Do When Students Can’t Hold a Pencil (Zederayko & Ward, 1999), suggestions such as how to create a wristband that holds drawing implements and how to build a drawing tool are included. In the article, Zederayko argues that “inclusive art programs must be adapted so that active participation is possible for all students” (p. 18). Active participation in the art classroom provides students with disabilities a voice in expressing their ideas. Nyman and Jenkins (1999) advise in the introduction of their anthology that developing “creative and expressive capabilities of all of our students is of paramount importance” (p. 5). The call for learning how to provide optimal opportunity for all learners is gaining in strength and art educators are asking about best practice solutions.

Teaching Sight Words to Elementary Students With Intellectual Disability and Autism: A Comparison of Teacher-Directed Versus Computer-Assisted Simultaneous Prompting

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of teacher-directed simultaneous prompting to computer-assisted simultaneous prompting for teaching sight words to 3 elementary school students with intellectual disability. Activities in the computer-assisted condition were designed with Intellitools Classroom Suite software whereas traditional materials (i.e., flashcards) were used in the teacher-directed condition. Treatment conditions were compared using an adapted alternating treatments design. Acquisition of sight words occurred in both conditions for all 3 participants; however, each participant either clearly responded better in the teacher-directed condition or reported a preference for the teacher-directed condition when performance was similar with computer-assisted instruction being more efficient. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

The Use of Repeated Reading with Computer Modeling to Promote Reading Fluency with Students Who Have Physical Disabilities.

The ability to read fluently is a critical skill that allows the reader to concentrate on the meaning of the text. It also can contribute to a successful reading experience. However, students with physical disabilities may have difficulty reading fluently due to any number of functional, psychosocial, or environmental factors that can accompany a physical disability. Although instructional methods to increase reading fluency do exist, the research investigating these methods is typically done with other populations of students. This study employed a changing criterion design to examine the use of a treatment package consisting of repeated reading with computer modeling, error correction, and performance feedback on improving reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension with students with cerebral palsy. An analysis of the data demonstrated that all students were able to increase reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension from first to final readings within a session (positive nontransfer effects). Analysis of the percentage of nonoverlapping data revealed that three of the four students also showed slight increases in reading fluency on novel passages (positive transfer effects).

Cumulative Instructional Time and Relative Effectiveness Conclusions: Extending Research on Response Intervals, Learning, and Measurement Scale.

Adapted alternating treatments designs were used to evaluate three computer-based flashcard reading interventions (1-s, 3-s, or 5-s response intervals) across two students with disabilities. When learning was plotted with cumulative instructional sessions on the horizontal axis, the session-series graphs suggest that the interventions were similarly effective. When the same data were plotted as a function of cumulative instructional seconds, time-series graphs suggest that the 1-s intervention caused the most rapid learning for one student. Discussion focuses on applied implications of comparative effectiveness studies and why measures of cumulative instructional time are needed to identify the most effective intervention(s).Comparative effectiveness studies may not identify the intervention which causes the most rapid learning.Session-series repeated measures are not the same as time-series repeated measures.Measuring the time students spend in each intervention (i.e., cumulative instructional seconds) allows practitioners to identify interventions that enhance learning most rapidly.Student time spent working under interventions is critical for drawing applied conclusions.

Noncontingent Reinforcement to Improve Classroom Behavior of a Student With Developmental Disability

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a noncontingent reinforcement intervention package implemented by an interning teacher in a special education classroom to address disruptive behavior and task engagement for a third-grade, 8-year-old boy with developmental disability. Using a within-subject reversal design (A-B-A-B), a teacher interning in Max’s classroom delivered 3-min breaks (i.e., escape) from classroom tasks on a fixed-time 2-min interval schedule for five daily sessions during the first intervention phase and for five daily sessions during the reimplementation phase; breaks were not contingent on his behavior. The intervention package also included a reinforcement menu for the student to select daily from escape activities (i.e., preferred activities including swinging and taking a walk) and a picture prompt to provide a continuous, visual reminder of the upcoming reinforcer. Results indicated increases in task engagement and decreases in disruptive behavior during phases when the intervention was applied. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The quality of evidence in tablet-assisted interventions for students with disabilities

The purpose of this review is to weigh the evidence of the effectiveness of tablet-assisted instructions (TAIs) at improving academic outcomes of students with disabilities. An extensive search process with inclusion and exclusion criteria yielded a total of 17 studies to be included in the present study: three group design studies and 14 single-subject design studies. The quality indicators proposed by Gersten et al. (2005) and Horner et al. (2005) were applied to evaluate the methodological rigour of TAI studies and their feasibility to be considered evidence-based. Results revealed that (a) most group design studies provided little information about the intervention agent and equivalence of groups across conditions, (b) the social validity of using tablets for students with disabilities was strongly established across all single-subject design studies and (c) procedural fidelity in assessment and intervention implementation was inadequately addressed in group design studies. Although this review suggests that TAI used in single-subject design studies can be a potentially evidence-based practice for students with disabilities, there still remains to be established whether the group design studies can be considered evidence-based, because of the lack of methodological rigour in group design studies. Finally, implications for future directions and practical ideas are discussed.

Brief Prompting to Improve Classroom Behavior: A First-Pass Intervention Option

Two studies were conducted to examine the effects of a brief prompting intervention (verbal and visual reminder of classroom rules) to improve classroom behavior for an elementary student during small-group reading instruction in a special education classroom (Study 1) and for three high school students with mild disabilities in an inclusive general education classroom (Study 2). Using within-participant reversal designs, the teachers provided brief reminders of behavioral expectations just before class. Teachers were instructed to respond to the students’ appropriate and inappropriate behaviors in a typical manner to ensure no programmed changes in the contingencies for student behavior. Results indicated improvements in classroom behavior for all four students, and teachers and students indicated positive perceptions about the intervention and its effects. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Comparing Teacher-Provided and Computer-Assisted Simultaneous Prompting for Vocabulary Development With Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

In this study, the effects of teacher-provided simultaneous prompting and computer-assisted simultaneous prompting for teaching content-area vocabulary words to students who are deaf or hard of hearing were compared using a multiple probe across behaviors with an embedded alternating treatments design. Participants included three second-grade students at a residential school for the deaf in the southeastern United States. Results were mixed, with teacher- and computer-based instruction being equally effective for two students while only teacher-provided instruction was effective for one student who had concomitant disabilities. Social validity surveys for students indicated all three preferred learning vocabulary with the computer. The study extends the literature showing that simultaneous prompting may be an effective instructional strategy for students who are deaf or hard of hearing and that computer-assisted simultaneous prompting may be a useful tool to provide independent learning opportunities for some students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Implications for classroom instruction and directions for further research are discussed.