Pat Mirenda

Analyzing the Communicative Functions of Aberrant Behavior.

This paper presents some issues related to the assessment of possible communicative functions of aberrant behavior. These issues are addressed in terms of both the behavioral and the pragmatics literature, with the suggestion that the latter can be drawn upon to support and enhance the information derived from traditional functional analyses of behavior. Included are an assessment strategy and tool that can be used to formulate and test hypotheses about functions of behavior.

Effects of Video Modeling and Video Feedback on Peer-Directed Social Language Skills of a Child with Autism.

Identifying practical strategies for teaching children with autism to use social language with their peers is a challenge for professionals designing treatment programs. The purpose of this multiple baseline study was to assess the effectiveness of video modeling and video feedback for teaching a child with autism to use social language with typical peers during play. Video modeling was effective in increasing social language in two of the three activities. Video feedback and prompting were required in the third activity to effect a stable rate of increased social language. Unscripted verbalizations predominated across all three activities, as did initiations. The results are discussed with reference to previous research, future directions, and implications for practice.

Social Story Interventions for Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study examined the effectiveness of social story interventions for 3 young children diagnosed With autism spectrum disorders. For 2 participants, an ABA design Was used, With a social story presented in the B phase. For the 3rd participant, an ACABA design Was used, With the C phase serving as a book + reminder condition that Was used to examine the impact of adult attention and the B phase consisting of a social story. Results confirmed previous research With regard to the effectiveness of this intervention for reducing the frequency of target behaviors. For the 3rd participant, the B phase Was more effective than the C phase (book + reminder). In addition, target behaviors for all 3 participants remained at a loW level, even after the social story interventions Were discontinued. This suggests that irreversible learning of appropriate behaviors may have occurred during the course of the interventions.

Autism, Augmentative Communication, and Assistive Technology: What Do We Really Know?.

This article provides a review of the empirical literature on a number of topics related to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and assistive technology as they have been used to support communication and learning in individuals with autism/PDD-NOS. The review is presented in six main topic areas: Assessment, Staff/ Family Training, Supports for Augmented Input, Supports for Augmented Input + Output, Supports for Augmented Output, and Assistive Technology for Communication and Learning. Finally, recommendations for future research are provided.

Gaze behavior: A new look at an old problem

This article reviews the research and clinical literature that has investigated the topography and functions of eye-to-face gaze in normal children and adults. These data and data from a recent pilot study are then compared to the criteria typically used in eye-contact training programs with autistic children. This comparison reveals some educationally relevant discrepancies between the normative data and the training criteria. The need to base educational interventions for autistic individuals on normative standards is discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.

A Comparison of Speech Synthesis Intelligibility with Listeners from Three Age Groups

The use of computers in augmentative and alternative communication and in educational applications allows for the utilization of speech synthesis to instruct learners and to communicate messages. Of primary concern in these applications is the intelligibility of the synthesized voice for the individuals who will be potential listeners. To address this concern, the present investigation was designed to compare both single word and sentence intelligibility for four different types of voices (three speech synthesizers [Echo II+, Votrax Personal Speech System, and DECtalk] and a natural speaker) by listeners from three ages groups (children 6-8 years of age, children 10-12 years of age, and adults). The results indicated that single word intelligibility scores were lower than sentence intelligibility scores for all of the speech synthesizers but not the natural speaker. For the single word intelligibility task, there were no significant differences in intelligibility scores across the age groups, but signific...

Communication Options for Persons with Severe and Profound Disabilities: State of the Art and Future Directions

This article reviews the literature related to issues of communication augmentation for individuals with severe and profound intellectual disabilities within the framework of the “Participation Model” (Rosenberg & Beukelman, 1987). This model consists of a communication opportunity strand and a communication access strand. The opportunity strand is discussed briefly in terms of the knowledge and attitudinal barriers that may limit communication, with suggestions for remediation of these problems. The access strand is discussed in detail, beginning with a review of current methods of assessing capability in relevant domains. The relevant literature related to the learning characteristics of both unaided and aided communication techniques is reviewed next, followed by a discussion of potential external constraints that may affect the range of options for consideration. This information facilitates the next step of selecting communication options with a view to the current and future needs and capabilities of the individual. Following this, a review is presented of vocabulary selection and effective instructional techniques in augmentative communication interventions. Finally, evaluation issues are discussed in relation to level of disability.

Home Literacy Experiences of Preschoolers Enrolled in Head Start and Special Education Programs

A survey was constructed to gather information concerning the home literacy experiences of preschool children enrolled in Head Start and early childhood special education classrooms. A total of 291 surveys were analyzed, representing 95 children considered at risk, 168 children with special education needs, and 28 peer models who had no developmental delays or disabilities. The results indicated a number of differences across the three groups regarding the priority placed on literacy at home, the ways in which children were involved in reading and writing activities, the amount of progress they were thought to have made in the past year, and the future expectations of the respondents in this area. Overall, the respondents for children with special education needs appeared to place the lowest priority on literacy development and have the lowest expectations in this regard. These respondents also reported providing fewer types of early literacy experiences to the children at home. Possible explanations are provided for the results. Implications for early childhood special education (ECSE) personnel are discussed.

Supporting Individuals with Challenging Behavior through Functional Communication Training and AAC: Research Review

The term “functional communication training” (FCT) has been used over the past decade to refer to a set of procedures designed to reduce challenging behavior by teaching functionally equivalent communication skills. Functional communication training requires a thorough assessment to identify the function (or “message”) of the behavior of concern and systematic instruction related to the new communicative behaviors. The growing body of empirical literature demonstrating the efficacy and mechanisms of this procedure has included a number of examples in which augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) techniques were used during intervention. The purpose of this review is to summarize the extant FCT/AAC research in an accessible format and to identify areas for future research in this area.

Validating the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study examined the factor structure of the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R) in a sample of 287 preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine six competing structural models. Spearman’s rank order correlations were calculated to examine the associations between factor scores and variables of interest. The 3- and 5-factor models were selected as preferable on the basis of fit statistics and parsimony. For both models, the strongest correlations were with problem behavior scores on the Child Behavior Checklist and repetitive behavior scores on the ADI-R. Developmental index standard scores were not correlated with factors in either model. The results confirm the utility of the RBS-R as a measure of repetitive behaviors in young children with ASD.