ABSTRACT
Improving quality of life (QoL) is the goal of behavior analytic services, but there can be barriers to assessing the QoL of autistic children due to characteristics inherent in the condition. Given that happiness is a fundamental element of QoL, previous research has relied on behavioral indicators of mood (e.g., smiling, crying) to evaluate the overall QoL of disabled individuals. However, the use of these traditional indices may not accurately reflect the emotional well-being of autistic individuals, who are known to engage in idiosyncratic mood indicators. The current study replicated selected procedures from Parsons et al. (2012) to identify and validate the unique mood indicators of young autistic children. The study showed that individualized indices of happiness and unhappiness could be operationally defined and reliably measured among these children. Key findings and limitations of this study are discussed, and the implications of these findings are presented. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40617-022-00710-y.
ABSTRACT
Positive Behaviour Support is an applied behaviour analytic system of support that is utilised in schools and in residential care settings for children and adults with disabilities who engage in challenging behaviour. Implementation fidelity depends on appropriate staff training and organisational behaviour management. A systematic literature review is reported that evaluated the evidence in relation to change in staff and service user behaviour and the impact of organisational behaviour management systems on effectiveness, generalization, and maintenance of these outcomes. Nine relevant articles were identified and analysed according to (1) the demographics of staff and residents and methods of staff training; (2) organisational behaviour management systems; (3) staff and service-user behavioural outcome measures; and (4) the methodological quality of the study. A combination of antecedent and consequence-based training strategies was used in the studies. Eight studies reported on the organisational behaviour management systems that were used, with five reporting on the responsibility of trainees to transfer their training to their untrained teams (pyramidal training). Although the studies reported on staff behaviour change following the training, only one of the studies reported significant increases of service user quality of life as a result of staff training and only two studies provided adequate methodological strength.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Deficits in vocal speech are common among those with developmental disabilities. This review examines interventions for teaching speech to individuals who presented as nonspeaking, or with low levels of vocalizations at baseline, and assesses evidence-based practice in this area. METHODS: Systematic searches identified 78 studies suitable for inclusion. These studies were evaluated in terms of (a) participants, (b) intervention, (c) intervention setting, (d) intervention agent, (e) treatment efficacy, (f) generalization and maintenance of treatment effects, and (g) research rigor. RESULTS: A variety of interventions, primarily behavioral, intended to induce vocal speech were delivered to participants with developmental disabilities aged between six months and 57 years. Treatment efficacy was variable (PND M = 52.9%; range 0%-100%); however, results indicated that behavioral interventions constituted evidence-based practice. Non-behavioral strategies were shown to have received insufficient research evaluation to date. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that a number of procedures can induce speech among individuals with developmental disabilities.
