ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Longitudinal research is needed to strengthen evidence for risk factors for challenging behaviour in children with intellectual disabilities and to understand patterns of change over time. METHODS: Data on challenging behaviour were collected for 225 students in one school over four annual time points and a range of potential risk correlates. Data were analysed using Generalised Estimating Equations. RESULTS: Prevalence of challenging behaviour, aggression and self-injury did not vary significantly over time. Stereotyped behaviours increased over the 4-year period. Challenging behaviour was associated with lower levels of adaptive skills and autism. Stereotyped behaviour increased with age. Self-injurious behaviour was less likely to be shown in children with profound intellectual disabilities over time. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent with previous research in terms of potential risk factors identified. Implications for schools include proactive interventions for children with intellectual disabilities at high risk; especially those with autism and poorer adaptive skills.
Subject(s)
Intellectual Disability , Self-Injurious Behavior , Humans , Child , Adolescent , Intellectual Disability/epidemiology , Intellectual Disability/complications , Longitudinal Studies , Aggression , Risk Factors , Stereotyped Behavior , Self-Injurious Behavior/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Although Discrete-trial Teaching (DTT) is effective in teaching a many skills to children with autism, its proper implementation requires rigorous staff training. This study used an interactive computer simulation program ("DTkid") to teach staff relevant DTT skills. Participants (N = 12) completed two sets of pre-tests either once (n = 7) or twice (n = 5) before brief DTkid training. These evaluated (a) simulated interactive teaching using DTkid and (b) in vivo teaching of three basic skills (receptive and expressive labeling; verbal imitation) to children with autism. Post-tests showed that DTkid training, rather than repeated testing, was significantly associated with improvements in staff's ability to implement DTT both within the simulation and in vivo, and that the skills acquired showed both stimulus and response generalization.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/rehabilitation , Behavior Therapy/methods , Computer Simulation , Therapy, Computer-Assisted/methods , Adult , Child , Female , Humans , Male , SoftwareABSTRACT
The authors report 1-year outcomes for 11 children (3-7 years) with autism who attended an "Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) classroom" educational intervention in a mainstream school setting. The children learned new skills by the end of 1 year and learned additional skills during a 2nd year. Group analysis of standardized test outcomes (IQ and adaptive behavior) showed moderate to large effect size changes over 1 year, with further changes during a 2nd year. Standardized test outcomes for nine children after 2 years were also analyzed against a comparison group (n = 18) of children with autism receiving "education as usual." These controlled comparisons were associated with statistically significant large effects in favor of the ABA group for adaptive skills. Exploratory analysis also showed that increases in language and learning skills in the ABA class group were generally associated with positive changes in standardized test scores. A comprehensive behavioral intervention model can be successfully implemented in a mainstream school setting.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/therapy , Behavior Therapy/methods , Disabled Children/education , Mainstreaming, Education/methods , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Learning Disabilities/therapy , Male , Models, Educational , Schools , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Although much research has documented the benefits to children with autism of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI), little has focused on the impact of EIBI on families. Using a semi-structured format, we interviewed 53 parents whose children had received 2 years of EIBI to obtain detailed first person accounts of the perceived benefits and pitfalls of running a home program, and the impact of EIBI on family life and support systems. In general, parents were positive about EIBI, its benefits for them, their child, and the broader family. Interviews also, however, revealed some of the more challenging aspects of managing home-based EIBI. The implications of these findings for more supportive interventions for families on home programs are discussed.
Subject(s)
Ambulatory Care , Autistic Disorder/therapy , Behavior Therapy/methods , Early Intervention, Educational , Education , Autistic Disorder/psychology , Behavior Therapy/education , Child , Child, Preschool , Consumer Behavior , Cost of Illness , Family Relations , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Language Development Disorders/psychology , Language Development Disorders/therapy , Male , Parenting/psychology , SocializationABSTRACT
Three children with autism were taught to identify pictures of emotions in response to their spoken names. Their speed of acquisition was compared using a within-child alternating treatments design across three teaching conditions, each involving a 5 second delay to reinforcement. In the marked-before condition, an instruction encouraged the children to visually orient to the cards before they made their choice response; in the marked-after condition, an attention-eliciting verbal cue (e.g., "Look!") was delivered after both correct and incorrect responses; in the delay condition, these marking cues were omitted. Performance in the no-cue control was inferior to both the marked-before and marked-after conditions, but the difference between the latter two conditions was not significant.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/therapy , Reward , Teaching/methods , Association Learning , Attention , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Reinforcement, PsychologyABSTRACT
Five children with autism were taught to match printed words to corresponding pictures. Participants' speed of learning was compared across three training conditions, each involving a 5-s delay of reinforcement, using a within-participants alternating treatments design. In the cue-value condition, a verbal phrase of approval (e.g., "good!") was delivered only after correct responses and again after a 5-s delay when a primary reinforcer was delivered; in the response-marking condition, an attention-eliciting verbal cue (e.g., "look!") was delivered after both correct and incorrect responses, but not prior to the primary reinforcer; in the delay only condition, there were no cues during a 5-s delay. Performance in the no-cue control was inferior to both the cue-value and response-marking conditions, but there was little difference between the latter two conditions. The implications of these results for facilitating learning in applied settings are discussed.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/rehabilitation , Learning , Reinforcement Schedule , Child , Child, Preschool , Conditioning, Classical , Humans , Male , Reading , Task Performance and AnalysisABSTRACT
Three children with autism were taught to identify pictures of objects. Their speed of acquisition of receptive speech skills was compared across two conditions. In the cue-value condition, a compound audiovisual stimulus was presented after correct responses and again when a primary reinforcer was delivered after a 5-s delay; in the response-marking condition, a second stimulus was presented after both correct and incorrect responses, but not prior to the primary reinforcer. In both conditions primary reinforcement was delayed for 5 s. Although the children learned receptive speech skills in both conditions, acquisition was faster in the cue-value condition.
