ABSTRACT
Applied behavior analysis is based on an investigation of variability due to interrelationships among antecedents, behavior, and consequences. This permits testable hypotheses about the causes of behavior as well as for the course of treatment to be evaluated empirically. Such information provides corrective feedback for making data-based clinical decisions. This paper considers how a different approach to the analysis of variability based on the writings of Walter Shewart and W. Edwards Deming in the area of industrial quality control helps to achieve similar objectives. Statistical process control (SPC) was developed to implement a process of continual product improvement while achieving compliance with production standards and other requirements for promoting customer satisfaction. SPC involves the use of simple statistical tools, such as histograms and control charts, as well as problem-solving techniques, such as flow charts, cause-and-effect diagrams, and Pareto charts, to implement Deming's management philosophy. These data-analytic procedures can be incorporated into a human service organization to help to achieve its stated objectives in a manner that leads to continuous improvement in the functioning of the clients who are its customers. Examples are provided to illustrate how SPC procedures can be used to analyze behavioral data. Issues related to the application of these tools for making data-based clinical decisions and for creating an organizational climate that promotes their routine use in applied settings are also considered.
Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy/methods , Consumer Behavior , Data Interpretation, Statistical , Quality Assurance, Health Care , Adult , Female , Humans , Intellectual Disability/psychology , Intellectual Disability/therapy , Pica/psychology , Pica/therapy , Restraint, Physical/psychology , Self-Injurious Behavior/psychology , Self-Injurious Behavior/therapy , Treatment OutcomeSubject(s)
Behavior , Data Interpretation, Statistical , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Humans , Intellectual Disability , MaleSubject(s)
Agonistic Behavior/drug effects , Fragile X Syndrome/drug therapy , Intellectual Disability/drug therapy , Propranolol/administration & dosage , Stereotyped Behavior/drug effects , Adult , Delayed-Action Preparations , Double-Blind Method , Fragile X Syndrome/psychology , Humans , Intellectual Disability/psychology , MaleABSTRACT
Investigations of the association between autism and the fragile-X syndrome have yielded conflicting results with some studies indicating a strong correlation and others indicating no relation between the disorders. In this paper, we review the relevant research on this controversy and discuss the conceptual and methodological problems involved in such an inquiry. We conclude that autism and fragile X are associated and that this relation will prove fruitful in understanding the role of the X chromosome in a variety of behavior disorders and in unraveling various theoretical accounts on the etiology of autism.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/genetics , Fragile X Syndrome/genetics , Autistic Disorder/complications , Fragile X Syndrome/complications , Humans , Intellectual Disability/complications , Intellectual Disability/genetics , Male , X ChromosomeABSTRACT
Although the mental health needs of mentally retarded persons are becoming increasingly acknowledged by service providers, psychotherapy is still neglected as a treatment modality. This paper provides a framework for considering issues related to the design, implementation, and evaluation of group psychotherapeutic endeavors to benefit dually diagnosed clients. A social systems approach to psychopathology is described to illustrate how a variety of potentially treatable aspects of dysfunctioning can be identified and selected as treatment goals for group psychotherapy with mentally retarded individuals. Treatment models are presented to assist in the pragmatic blending of behavioral and psychodynamic interventions that are relevant for conducting group psychotherapy with this population. Administrators and clinicians are provided with a prototype of how to establish and maintain cost-effective linkages between mental health and mental retardation agencies, so that dually diagnosed clients are not excluded from receiving services they need. Finally, process and outcome evaluation strategies are considered which might provide an empirical basis for documenting the effectiveness of group psychotherapy as a viable, nondrug approach to treating psychopathology in mentally retarded individuals.
Subject(s)
Intellectual Disability/psychology , Intellectual Disability/therapy , Psychotherapy, Group/methods , Humans , Social Adjustment , Social EnvironmentSubject(s)
Fragile X Syndrome/psychology , Language , Sex Chromosome Aberrations/psychology , Speech , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Down Syndrome/psychology , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
The application of instrumentation in the social sciences to measure human behavior lags far behind medical practice and the physical sciences. According to Rugh and Schwitzgebel (1977), this primitive state of development and lack of technological sophistication is related to the prevailing belief that many variables of interest to psychologists are not subject to direct measurement. We identified five varieties of maladaptive behaviors commonly displayed by mentally retarded persons which can be measured directly by means of mechanical transducers: hyperactivity, hypoactivity, inadequate postural control, disorders of the sleep/wake cycle, and stereotyped movements. The operating characteristics of several types of motion sensors were described and issues related to the selection and use of these mechanical transducers in clinical settings were considered. Finally, various meanings of the terms reliability and validity were discussed as they pertain to the clinical application of these mechanical measurements of motor activity.
