Ron P. Edwards

Decreasing disruptive behaviors of children with autism using social stories.

Few studies have been conducted in the area of social stories, and the limitations of these studies (i.e., improper story construction and methodological confounds) raise questions about effectiveness of social story interventions. This study examined the effectiveness of properly constructed social stories that have been introduced into the natural environment to target the disruptive behavior of three children with autism. A multiple baseline design across participants was employed, and a decrease in disruptive behavior was evidenced when the intervention was implemented for all participants. Based on the results of the present research, future areas of investigation outlining the limitations and potential benefits of social stories were discussed.

Enhancing Classroom Management through Proactive Rules and Procedures.

This article presents an overview of classroom rule establishment and implementation within a proactive management strategy. Characteristics of classroom rules such as wording and means of presentation are included, and the intended nature and function of rules is discussed. It was concluded that rules do not work in isolation and therefore should be used in conjunction with an overall classroom management plan. Suggesitions for future research and practice are provided.

Effective Instruction Delivery and Time-In: Positive Procedures for Achieving Child Compliance.

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to assess whether increases in compliance could be obtained in a clinic setting by using only positive procedures such as effective instruction delivery (EID) and time-in (TI). Participants were from a university-based school psychology clinic who had percentages of compliance to first-time-presented instructions of 40% or less. Each parent, trained to implement EID and TI, was assessed using a multiple baseline crossover design. Both EID and TI alone achieved increases in compliance over baseline levels and additional increases were observed when the two procedures were combined. Implications of the present use of positive behavior management procedures in the treatment of noncompliance are discussed.

An empirical investigation of time-out with and without escape extinction to treat escape-maintained noncompliance.

The present study evaluates the effectiveness of two time-out (TO) procedures in reducing escape-maintained noncompliance of 4 children. Noncompliant behavioral function was established via a functional assessment (FA), including indirect and direct descriptive procedures and brief confirmatory experimental analyses. Following FA, parents were taught to consequate noncompliance with two different TO procedures, one without and one with escape extinction following TO release. Although results indicate TO without escape extinction is effective in increasing compliance above baseline levels, more optimal levels of compliance were obtained for all 4 children when escape extinction was added to the TO procedures already in place. Results indicate efficacy of TO with escape extinction when applied to escape-maintained noncompliance and are discussed as an initial example of the successful application of TO to behaviors maintained by negative reinforcement.

Accuracy of Long Momentary Time-Sampling Intervals: Implications for Classroom Data Collection

The accuracy of various momentary time-sampling (MTS) interval lengths in estimating continuous measures of behavior and the implications for classroom data collection procedures were examined. Continuous interval recording records were simulated to provide standards against which to assess MTS interval lengths of 30 seconds and 5, 10, and 20 minutes. Standards were constructed to simulate behavior that occurred during 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% of the total intervals observed. Each MTS percent occurrence estimate was compared to the percent occurrence represented by the standard. The data revealed that short MTS interval lengths were more accurate and that level of percent occurrence did not differentially affect MTS estimates. The ability of MTS to reflect increasing and decreasing behavior trends and the interaction of MTS interval lengths with various percent occurrence levels also were examined.

The Test of Choice for Assessment of Gifted Children: A Comparison of the K-ABC, WISC-R, and Stanford-Binet

Correlational and mean-difference analyses from 41 gifted children were conducted to determine the comparability of mental ability scores from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC-R), Stanford-Binet, and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC). Correlation coefficients ranged from .03 to .74. The three mean K-ABC processing scores were (statistically) significantly lower than the IQs from the WISC-R and the Stanford-Binet for all possible comparisons. The implications of using the three tests for placement in gifted programs are discussed.

A comparison of verbal, sign, and simultaneous systems for the acquisition of receptive language by an autistic boy

The effectiveness of verbal, sign, and simultaneous systems for the acquisition of receptive language by an autistic boy was investigated. The subject received training in all three methods by three teachers on each of 18 days. The order of methods and teachers was counterbalanced daily. The study incorporated a 27-word vocabulary composed of nouns, adjectives (colors), and verbs. The dependent variable was the number of correct responses during three daily sets of 20 assessment trials. Results suggest nonsignificant differences among the three methods. A secondary purpose was to investigate systematically the concomitant increases in subject-initiated interactions and eye contact accompanying the language training. The subject was observed during 10-min rest periods following each of the three daily language sessions; the occurrence of behaviors during timed intervals served as the dependent variables. Significant increases for subject-initiated interactions involving physical contact were observed.

Generalization of a Positive Treatment Package for Child Noncompliance

ABSTRACT Using a multiple baseline across 3 mother/child dyads, a treatment package containing only the positive components of effective instruction delivery (EID) and time-in (TI) is shown to be effective in achieving acceptable levels of child compliance in clinic and home settings. Mothers were able to master the components of both EID and TI in the clinic. Skill mastery in the home increased for EID, but varied for TI. The potential benefit of additional programming to facilitate generalization of parent skills to the home is discussed.

Using Antecedent Manipulations to Distinguish Between Task and Social Variables Associated With Problem Behaviors Exhibited by Children of Typical Development

In the antecedent functional assessment literature, researchers have introduced task demands and social attention simultaneously while varying the level of task difficulty. Though research has demonstrated situations in which a combination of social and task antecedents occasion socially avoidant responses from children with disabilities, no current studies have been offered to assess the impact of high levels of adult attention devoid of task demands on problem behaviors exhibited by children of typical development. A multiple element design was used to assess the specific effects of task and social antecedents on the problem behaviors of four children of typical development. Results identified two children whose behaviorwas associated with a combination of difficult task demands and attention in the form of commands and redirections and two children whose behavior was associated only with high levels of adult attention that did not include commands or redirections. These results suggest that antecedent functional assessment procedures can assess the impact of high levels of attention without the presence of task demands.

Normative achievement assessment of gifted children: Comparing the K‐ABC, WRAT, and CAT

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) purports to assess fluid and crystallized intelligence via processing and achievement subtests, respectively. Eight K-ABC Mental Processing and five K-ABC Achievement subtests were administered to 41 gifted students. Scores were subsequently compared to concurrent achievement measures from the California Achievement Test (CAT), as well as previously obtained mental ability measures (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised [WISC-R], Stanford-Binet [SB], and Wide Range Achievement Test [WRAT] achievement scores). In general, K-ABC mental ability scores were lower than WISC-R and SB IQs. K-ABC achievement scores were consistent with K-ABC mental ability scores, but more highly related to SB and WISC-R VIQ (r = .42 and .40, respectively) than to WISC-R FSIQ (r = .16) and PIQ (r = .09), or to the K-ABC Mental Processing (Composite r = .17), Simultaneous Processing (r = .08), and Sequential Processing scores (r = .20). With the exception of WRAT Word Recognition, WRAT, K-ABC, and CAT achievement scores were similar. The patterns of intercorrelations suggest that the K-ABC achievement scores are more verbally loaded than are the CAT and WRAT achievement measures.