Functional assessment and functional analysis are processes that have been applied successfully i... more Functional assessment and functional analysis are processes that have been applied successfully in work with people who have developmental disabilities, but they have been used rarely with students who experience emotional or behavioral disorders. In the present study, five students in elementary school programs for severe emotional disturbance participated in a comprehensive functional assessment process designed to yield a useful understanding of their desirable and undesirable behaviors. Interviews, record reviews, and direct classroom observations led to the development of individualized hypotheses regarding relationships between classroom events and the occurrence of target behaviors. Subsequently, direct manipulations (i.e., functional analyses) were conducted to test each of the hypotheses in the context of regularly-occurring classroom activities. These analyses demonstrate important influences that certain classroom variables can exert over individual student’s behavior. Th...
The authors provide three case examples of the evaluation of assessment-based intervention strate... more The authors provide three case examples of the evaluation of assessment-based intervention strategies within the natural classroom context for students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid disorders. For each of the participants, several hypotheses were generated concerning potential environmental correlates of undesirable behavior based on information obtained during student and teacher interviews as well as descriptive observations. The utility of these assessment-based, nonintrusive intervention strategies was evaluated within the natural context and ongoing routine of the classroom using an alternating-treatments design. For each participant, results demonstrated that assessment-based environmental modifications can decrease problematic classroom behaviors. In addition, results of the hypothesis testing suggested feasible and effective classroom intervention strategies.
The field of positive behavior support (PBS) has expanded and evolved significantly since the fir... more The field of positive behavior support (PBS) has expanded and evolved significantly since the first issue of Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions ( JPBI) was published. To ascertain how evolution of the field was reflected in the research, we examined trends in empirical studies published in JPBI since its inception. We coded 217 articles published between 1999 and 2016 that included data-based assessment or data-based intervention practices for key variables pertinent to potential trends in PBS. Analyses revealed increases across the publication period in studies that (a) included participants at risk for behavioral difficulties, (b) implemented interventions in general education settings, (c) utilized clinicians/experimenters as intervention agents, and (d) focused on adult skills as the intervention target. Findings are discussed in the context of the expansion of school-wide positive behavior interventions and support.
The relationship between direct and indirect measurements of social skills and social problem beh... more The relationship between direct and indirect measurements of social skills and social problem behaviors for preschool children at risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was examined. Participants included 137 preschool children, aged 3 to 5 years, at risk for ADHD, who were participating in a larger study examining the effects of early intervention for young children. Teachers rated the social skills and social problems of the participants. Direct observation data of participants were also collected at preschool during free play. Results support previous research on social skills assessment and suggest that indirect and direct measures may not be measuring the same aspect of social skills. Thus, a variety of evaluation tools are necessary to comprehensively assess the social skills of preschool children with social challenges.
Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 2008
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether preschool children with attention-deficit/hyper... more The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether preschool children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type (ADHD-HI) and ADHD combined type (ADHD-C) have different levels of functional impairment in four domains: externalizing (oppositional and disruptive) behaviors, internalizing (anxious) behaviors, social skills, and preacademic functioning. The subjects were 102 children 3 to 5 years of age, meeting DSM-IV criteria for ADHD. Children with ADHD-C versus ADHD-HI were compared across at least two measures for each of the four functional domains. Oppositional and anxious behaviors were assessed on the Conners Parent and Teacher Rating Scales. In addition, off-task and disruptive behaviors were assessed by direct observation in the preschool setting. Social skills were assessed on the parent and teacher versions of the Social Skills Rating System and preacademic skills were assessed on the letter word identification, passage comprehension, and applied problems subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement and the initial sound fluency subtest of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills 5th Edition. There were no significant differences between the groups on rating scale T scores for parent-reported oppositional symptoms (ADHD-C vs ADHD-HI; 66.7 +/- 13.5 vs 65.7 +/- 11.7; p = .73); parent-reported anxious symptoms (53.5 +/- 11.1 vs 53.2 +/- 9.7; p = .90); teacher-reported oppositional symptoms (70.9 +/- 15.6 vs 75.5 +/- 14.7; p = .17); or teacher reported anxious symptoms (59.2 +/- 11.6 vs 58.5 +/- 12.2; p = .77). No statistically significant differences were found between the groups when examining off-task and/or disruptive behavior during structured and free play observations at school. No significant differences between the subtypes were found for social skills or preacademic functioning. Across the four areas of functioning assessed in this study, preschool children with ADHD-HI and those with ADHD-C demonstrated similar levels of functioning. This study, in combination with data from longitudinal studies demonstrating that most children with ADHD-HI are later diagnosed with ADHD-C, suggests that ADHD-HI may represent an earlier form of ADHD-C as opposed to a distinct subtype.
ABSTRACT Previous research demonstrates that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disord... more ABSTRACT Previous research demonstrates that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can experience social difficulties. Therefore, the current study examined the effects of cross-age peer coaching on social behaviors of first graders with significant symptoms of ADHD using a multiple baseline design. Four students who met criteria for ADHD participated, along with four third- or fourth-grade coaches without ADHD. Coaching pairs met each morning to establish a goal for the younger child to meet during free time. Although results were variable, findings suggested that the cross-age coaching program led to decreases in negative social behavior, and was highly acceptable to participants.
Functional assessment and functional analysis are processes that have been applied successfully i... more Functional assessment and functional analysis are processes that have been applied successfully in work with people who have developmental disabilities, but they have been used rarely with students who experience emotional or behavioral disorders. In the present study, five students in elementary school programs for severe emotional disturbance participated in a comprehensive functional assessment process designed to yield a useful understanding of their desirable and undesirable behaviors. Interviews, record reviews, and direct classroom observations led to the development of individualized hypotheses regarding relationships between classroom events and the occurrence of target behaviors. Subsequently, direct manipulations (i.e., functional analyses) were conducted to test each of the hypotheses in the context of regularly-occurring classroom activities. These analyses demonstrate important influences that certain classroom variables can exert over individual student’s behavior. Th...
The authors provide three case examples of the evaluation of assessment-based intervention strate... more The authors provide three case examples of the evaluation of assessment-based intervention strategies within the natural classroom context for students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid disorders. For each of the participants, several hypotheses were generated concerning potential environmental correlates of undesirable behavior based on information obtained during student and teacher interviews as well as descriptive observations. The utility of these assessment-based, nonintrusive intervention strategies was evaluated within the natural context and ongoing routine of the classroom using an alternating-treatments design. For each participant, results demonstrated that assessment-based environmental modifications can decrease problematic classroom behaviors. In addition, results of the hypothesis testing suggested feasible and effective classroom intervention strategies.
The field of positive behavior support (PBS) has expanded and evolved significantly since the fir... more The field of positive behavior support (PBS) has expanded and evolved significantly since the first issue of Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions ( JPBI) was published. To ascertain how evolution of the field was reflected in the research, we examined trends in empirical studies published in JPBI since its inception. We coded 217 articles published between 1999 and 2016 that included data-based assessment or data-based intervention practices for key variables pertinent to potential trends in PBS. Analyses revealed increases across the publication period in studies that (a) included participants at risk for behavioral difficulties, (b) implemented interventions in general education settings, (c) utilized clinicians/experimenters as intervention agents, and (d) focused on adult skills as the intervention target. Findings are discussed in the context of the expansion of school-wide positive behavior interventions and support.
The relationship between direct and indirect measurements of social skills and social problem beh... more The relationship between direct and indirect measurements of social skills and social problem behaviors for preschool children at risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was examined. Participants included 137 preschool children, aged 3 to 5 years, at risk for ADHD, who were participating in a larger study examining the effects of early intervention for young children. Teachers rated the social skills and social problems of the participants. Direct observation data of participants were also collected at preschool during free play. Results support previous research on social skills assessment and suggest that indirect and direct measures may not be measuring the same aspect of social skills. Thus, a variety of evaluation tools are necessary to comprehensively assess the social skills of preschool children with social challenges.
Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 2008
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether preschool children with attention-deficit/hyper... more The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether preschool children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type (ADHD-HI) and ADHD combined type (ADHD-C) have different levels of functional impairment in four domains: externalizing (oppositional and disruptive) behaviors, internalizing (anxious) behaviors, social skills, and preacademic functioning. The subjects were 102 children 3 to 5 years of age, meeting DSM-IV criteria for ADHD. Children with ADHD-C versus ADHD-HI were compared across at least two measures for each of the four functional domains. Oppositional and anxious behaviors were assessed on the Conners Parent and Teacher Rating Scales. In addition, off-task and disruptive behaviors were assessed by direct observation in the preschool setting. Social skills were assessed on the parent and teacher versions of the Social Skills Rating System and preacademic skills were assessed on the letter word identification, passage comprehension, and applied problems subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement and the initial sound fluency subtest of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills 5th Edition. There were no significant differences between the groups on rating scale T scores for parent-reported oppositional symptoms (ADHD-C vs ADHD-HI; 66.7 +/- 13.5 vs 65.7 +/- 11.7; p = .73); parent-reported anxious symptoms (53.5 +/- 11.1 vs 53.2 +/- 9.7; p = .90); teacher-reported oppositional symptoms (70.9 +/- 15.6 vs 75.5 +/- 14.7; p = .17); or teacher reported anxious symptoms (59.2 +/- 11.6 vs 58.5 +/- 12.2; p = .77). No statistically significant differences were found between the groups when examining off-task and/or disruptive behavior during structured and free play observations at school. No significant differences between the subtypes were found for social skills or preacademic functioning. Across the four areas of functioning assessed in this study, preschool children with ADHD-HI and those with ADHD-C demonstrated similar levels of functioning. This study, in combination with data from longitudinal studies demonstrating that most children with ADHD-HI are later diagnosed with ADHD-C, suggests that ADHD-HI may represent an earlier form of ADHD-C as opposed to a distinct subtype.
ABSTRACT Previous research demonstrates that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disord... more ABSTRACT Previous research demonstrates that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can experience social difficulties. Therefore, the current study examined the effects of cross-age peer coaching on social behaviors of first graders with significant symptoms of ADHD using a multiple baseline design. Four students who met criteria for ADHD participated, along with four third- or fourth-grade coaches without ADHD. Coaching pairs met each morning to establish a goal for the younger child to meet during free time. Although results were variable, findings suggested that the cross-age coaching program led to decreases in negative social behavior, and was highly acceptable to participants.
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