Education
and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
VOLUME 37
NUMBER 1 MARCH 2002
Issues and Challenges Facing Educators Who Advocate for Students with
Disabilities
Family Coping
in Families with a Child with a Disability
Psychosocial Concerns of Adults with Developmental Disabilities:
Perspectives of the Self, Family Member, and Provider
Teen Attitudes
Toward Individuals with Mental Retardation from 1987 to 1998: Impact of
Respondent Gender and School Variables
Effects of Goal
Setting on Task Performance of Persons with Mental Retardation
Teaching
Elementary Students with Cognitive Disabilities Food Preparation Skills While
Embedding Instructive Feedback in the Prompt and Consequence Event
Preference
Variability and the Instruction of Choice Making with Students with Severe
Intellectual Disabilities
Effectiveness
of Simultaneous Prompting on the Acquisition of Observational and Instructive
Feedback Stimuli When Teaching a Heterogeneous Group of High School Students
Applications of
Motion Study in Developmental Disabilities: A Review
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Abstracts
Issues and Challenges Facing Educators Who Advocate for Students with
Disabilities
BARBARA C. GARTIN
NIKKI L. MURDICK
JAMES R. THOMPSON
TINA T. DYCHAS
Abstract: Results of three focus groups
identifying issues facing educators who advocate for special education
students are presented. Findings indicate that special educators regularly
advocate for students with special needs but believe that there are risks,
both personal and professional, associated with advocacy. Additionally,
participants suggested that training was needed in the areas of special
education law, communication skills, collaboration and conflict resolution,
and teacher advocacy. Participants felt a need for support in their advocacy
efforts from
school administrators and professional organizations
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Family Coping
in Families with a Child with a Disability
DANIEL C. LUSTIG
Abstract: This study investigates the
relationship between a family’s problem solving and coping strategies, and
family adjustment in a sample of families with a child with a disability.
Participants were 89 parents of children with disabilities, not including
children with learning disabilities, in Special Education classes, in rural
and urban school districts.Family
adjustment was measured by the Family Assessment Device-General Functioning
scale and the family’s problem solving and coping strategies were measured
by the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales (F- COPES). The
results indicate that less frequent use of passive appraisal and more frequent
use of reframing are associated with family adjustment. Interventions for
modifying a family’s coping strategies are discussed.
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Psychosocial Concerns of Adults with Developmental Disabilities:
Perspectives of the Self, Family Member, and Provider
LAURA GAUDET
STEVE PULOS
HUGH CRETHAR
SUSAN BURGER
Abstract: Obtaining the perspective of
individuals with developmental delays (DD) is one of the major emergent trends
in contemporary DD research (Lunsky & Benson, 1997).In this study, self-reports of individuals with DD were compared with
proxy ratings from family and providers. Participants consisted of 34 individuals with DD, 34 healthcare
providers, and 15 family members. All
raters completed the "Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury (CTBI;
Gaudet, 1995)" instrument which consisted of scales assessing: 1)
cognition, 2) interpersonal relationships, 3) adaptation to daily living, 4)
emotions, and 5) sexuality. All
scales, except “adaptation to daily living,” demonstrated acceptable
reliability for the individuals with DD. Correlations between the ratings of individuals with DD and the proxy
raters were low, as were the correlations between family members and
providers. In all scales except “cognition,” the individual with DD
showed less concerns than the proxy raters, but the difference was only
statistically significant for the sexuality scale. Individuals with developmental disabilities can give reliable responses
to self-report questionnaires that differ from the responses of proxy raters
(providers and family).
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Teen Attitudes
Toward Individuals with Mental Retardation from 1987 to 1998: Impact of
Respondent Gender and School Variables
JUNEAN J. KRAJEWSKI
MARK S. HYDE
MARY K. O'KEEFFE
Abstract: The 1987 attitudes of male and female
high school students toward individuals with mental retardation were compared
with attitudes from 1998. Results
obtained from a multidimensional inventory indicate that positive shifts in
attitude were small, occurred slowly and were related to specific dimensions
of attitudes. In both years,
female respondents indicated more positive attitudes toward being in close
physical and social proximity to individuals with mental retardation and
indicated less agreement with derogatory beliefs/statements about those
individuals. Male responses over
the 11 years indicated an increase in positive attitudes toward integration
issues and slightly less agreement with the civil rights issues. Ramifications for curriculum reform are addressed within the context of
these gender differences.
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Effects of Goal
Setting on Task Performance of Persons with Mental Retardation
SUSAN R. COPELAND
CAROLYN HUGHES
Abstract: We reviewed empirical investigations of
the effects of goal setting on task performance of persons with mental
retardation. Use of goal setting strategies, in conjunction with other
instructional strategies, in the reviewed studies was associated with
increased rate or accuracy of performance of both children and adults with
mild to severe mental retardation. Analysis of the studies resulted in
identification of factors associated with effective goal setting, which could
be incorporated into practice. Findings also yielded directions for future
research.
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Teaching
Elementary Students with Cognitive Disabilities Food Preparation Skills While
Embedding Instructive Feedback in the Prompt and Consequence Event
RENEE SCHMITZ FISCUS
JOHN W. SCHUSTER
TIMOTHY E. MORSE
BELVA C. COLLINS
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Abstract: This study investigated whether
students with moderate to severe cognitive disabilities would acquire related
instructive feedback stimuli embedded in the prompt and consequent event, as
well as unrelated instructive feedback stimuli that was delivered in the
consequent event. The trainer used constant time delay to teach three food
preparation skills (i.e., making cheese and crackers, waffles with syrup, and
chocolate milk) to 4 elementary students, and instructive feedback stimuli
were embedded within this procedure. Results indicate that constant time delay
was effective in teaching 3 of the 4 students all three food preparation
skills, and that 3 of the 4 students acquired some of the related instructive
feedback stimuli. Three of the four students acquired 100% of the unrelated
instructive feedback stimuli while the fourth student acquired 80% of this
material.
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Preference
Variability and the Instruction of Choice Making with Students with Severe
Intellectual Disabilities
ALISON M. STAFFORD
PAUL A. ALBERTO
LAURA D. FREDRICK
L. JUANE HEFLIN
KATHRYN W. HELLER
Abstract: Current literature provides rationale
for including choice opportunities in daily activities of individuals with
severe intellectual disabilities. This literature, however, contains limited
studies that validate suggested strategies for teaching choice-making skills
to this population. Furthermore, published studies include participants who
demonstrate initiation and approach behaviors that are not exhibited by all
individuals with severe intellectual disabilities. This study sought to
implement a strategy of choice instruction with individuals with severe
intellectual disabilities who do not demonstrate such behaviors, or who
consistently demonstrate impulsive behaviors that result in the pursuit and
subsequent rejection of many stimuli. A sequence of choice levels was
implemented using constant time delay to teach choice making to individuals
with severe intellectual disabilities who had not previously demonstrated this
ability. The purpose was to determine if the specific sequence of choice
levels and constant time delay were effective for teaching choice making to
students with severe intellectual disabilities. A multiple probe design across
participants with embedded changing conditions was used, with results
indicating that both the specific sequence of choice levels and constant time
delay were effective in teaching students with severe intellectual
disabilities to make choices. It was also documented that preferences of
participants varied on a weekly basis, indicating the need for ongoing
preference assessments in applied settings.
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Effectiveness
of Simultaneous Prompting on the Acquisition of Observational and Instructive
Feedback Stimuli When Teaching a Heterogeneous Group of High School Students
MARY ANN PARKER
JOHN W. SCHUSTER
Abstract:This study used a
multiple probe design to examine the effectiveness of a simultaneous prompting
teaching procedure when teaching a small group of high school students.
Acquisition of observational and non-target stimuli also was assessed.
Participants included students 15 to 19 years old whose functioning level
ranged from typically developing to moderate disabilities. Data indicate that
using a simultaneous prompting procedure to teach a heterogeneous group of
high school students was effective. All students met criterion on each set,
only after the simultaneous prompting procedure was introduced. The
acquisition data for the observational and instructive feedback stimuli, as
well as maintenance and generalization data for the targeted stimuli also are
reported.
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Applications of
Motion Study in Developmental Disabilities: A Review
LEVAN LIM
CHIEN-HUE LIN
DIANE M. BROWDER
Abstract: Motion study is an engineering
technology that analyzes human body motions. During the past decade
(1990-1999) a series of studies investigated the role of motion study in
developmental disabilities. This article reviews the literature on the
applications of motion study in the field. A historical and conceptual review
of motion study leading to the current status of studies is presented followed
by a review of the research literature. Two main eras of research focus were
identified. The first era (1990-1995) of studies established the superior
effectiveness and efficiency of tasks designed with motion study or motion
study-related principles over traditional site-based task designs. The second
era (1995-1999) of studies examined the interaction between motion study-based
task designs and other variables such as choice, preference, and functionally
equivalent and competing task designs and communicative alternatives. Our
review found that applying motion study principles as an antecedent guide and
practice to eliminating or reducing ineffective motions and simplifying
effective motions resulted in positive task outcomes with most of the
participants.
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