Digital Commons Network^™

A Translational Investigation Of Positive And Negative Behavioral Contrast, Megan A. Boyle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Applied behavior analysts implement research-based techniques to improve behavior. However, research with nonhumans suggests that intervening to improve behavior in one context may result in a worsening of that same behavior in another context (behavioral contrast). Although there are clinical implications of behavioral contrast, the vast majority of research on contrast has been conducted with nonhuman animals. Results from basic research suggest that contrast is influenced differentially depending on whether a change in conditions follows versus precedes a given context. For example, a child might encounter three contexts each day: home, school, and daycare. An intervention to reduce the child’s …

The Effectiveness Of An Intervention Designed To Increase The Positive To Negative Ratio Of Instructor Interactions During After-School Programming, Rikki K. Wheatley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to assess the effectiveness of two interventions used to train instructors to increase PN ratios. The first intervention (workshop training) followed a didactic workshop-training model. The second intervention (coaching) included the components of the didactic workshop model with the addition of modeling, role-play, and performance feedback. In this study four instructors in an after-school program were randomly assigned to one of two groups to participate in training programs. These programs were designed to help them increase PN ratios when interacting with students during homework time in the after-school program. Group 1 received only the …

Indicator 13 Training For Transition Teachers: Comparison Of Pre-And Post Test Scores On Writing Of Goals, Christina B. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Special education teachers sometimes experience problems with knowing how to construct and write transition goals that meet Indicator 13 requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This project examined the effects of teacher training in Indicator 13 requirements on the quality of transition goals. Participants included 17 special education teachers from one school district located in a western state. Target behaviors where increasing each participants’ post-test goal quality scores from individualized transition plans (ITP) written after they demonstrated knowledge about requirements through a post-instruction goal quality writing probe. Procedures involved (a) a pre examination of participants’ transition goals that …

The Effects Of Video Modeling On Social Maintenance Skills With Preschool Children, Rachel Schilling

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

We are living in an era of growing technology. Therefore, technology is making its way into classrooms around the nation. A type of technology that is growing in popularity is video modeling. However, there is limited research in the area of effective use of video modeling used in classrooms, especially inclusive early childhood classrooms. Additionally, when the use of technology is investigated it is primarily researched with a certain population of students, specifically students with autism. This study examined the effectiveness of using video modeling to teach social maintenance skills to three preschool children with developmental delays within a preschool …

The Effects Of Peer Mediated Instruction To Teach Math Skills To Middle School Students, Ellen S. Bloyd

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a functional relation between a peer-delivered modified system of least prompts procedure (SLP) and an increase in level and trend of performance on finding the area of polygons or finding the volume of cylinders, spheres, and cones, and could the peer tutor reliably implement the modified SLP procedure with middle school students with mild to severe disabilities. A multiple probe days across participants design was used. Results from this study show that there was a functional relation across students in which students were able to make progress on academic …

Using A Treatment Package To Teach Request Behavior To Young Children With Complex Communication Needs, Kimberly Yates Clayton

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Three preschoolers with limited or no verbal language were taught to request preferred objects using an adapted Picture Exchange Communication System (Bondy & Frost, 1998) and elements of peer mediated instruction and intervention (Neitzel, 2008) (PECS/PMII). These two interventions have been established as evidence based practices, but have not previously been taught and implemented by one adult and a preschool child in a preschool classroom. Same-aged peers were the communicative partners for the picture exchange. A teacher served as the facilitator of the exchanges. A multiple probe (days) across participants design was utilized to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. …

A Study Of Assistive Technology Competencies Of Specialists In Public Schools, Betsy B. Burgos

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Despite the rapid proliferation of assistive technology implementation, studies have revealed that a number of professionals that provide assistive technology services do not have adequate competencies to recommend and deliver assistive technologies in school settings. The purpose of the study was to examine the competencies of assistive technology specialists in Florida K-12 public schools, and identify training opportunities that may have helped them achieve professional competence in the evaluation and provision of assistive technology devices and services across AT service providers from different preparations.

The study applied quantitative and qualitative methods to determine answers to the following six research questions: …

The Impact Of Preferred Characters In Teaching Community Sign Reading To Students With Moderate Intellectual Disabilities, Mallory Evans

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of using preferred characters with a constant time delay instructional procedure to teach community sign reading to three students with moderate intellectual disability with the definitions of the signs as non-targeted information. An adapted alternating treatments design was used to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the preferred characters on acquisition of the community signs. Pre- and post- assessments were conducted on acquisition of the non-targeted definitions, as well as generalization of the signs and their meanings. The results indicated that all students learned the target signs and they learned …

Using Commercially Available Picture Activity Schedules And System Of Least Prompts To Teach Lego Assembly, Lauren A. Sherrow

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

This study investigated effects of commercially available picture activity schedules (PAS) and system of least prompts (SLP) to teach recreation skills to four high school students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and intellectual disabilities using Lego sets. Results were evaluated through a multiple probe across participants design and indicate that a combination of PAS and SLP was effective for teaching the students to build Lego sets. All students improved their ability to build and were able to generalize the skill to novel sets after the completion of intervention. Limitations and implications for future practioners are discussed.

A Systematic Review Of Using Weighted Vests With Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Christopher J. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the current literature on the use of weighted vests with individuals with autism spectrum disorder. A literature review using the What Works Clearinghouse Standards was conducted. The results of the review show that the use of weighed vests with individuals with autism spectrum disorder is not an evidence-based practice.

Constructing An "Appropriate" Education In Florida Special Education Due Process Final Orders, Michelle Henry

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how Florida administrative law judges (ALJs) constructed an appropriate education for students with disabilities in their final orders. This study utilized the Johnstone Method as a heuristic in analyzing the data. It examined the construction of an appropriate education from the implementation of PL 94-142 up to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Board of Education v. Rowley (1975-1978), after the Rowley decision (1983-1986), and after the reauthorization of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act in 2004 (2004-2007). Each time period was examined individually and then the results were compared. The data sources included six purposively sampled …

Transmedial Documentation For Non-Visual Image Access, Melody J. Mccotter

Proceedings from the Document Academy

In my doctoral studies on information accessibility for the individual who is blind or visually impaired, I’ve been exploring the ways we can make image documents more accessible. This requires using an alternative sensory modality, and translating the document into a different format. The questions that arise when we consider this process are many, but among them are:

• Is it the same document once we’ve converted it to an audio narrative about the work, or a 3D topographic map of an artwork, or a musical interpretation?
• If it is not the same document, how truthful can the “trans-medial” translation be …

Incorporation Of Equine Assisted Therapy In University Curriculum, Shelby Y. Sabati

Animal Science

Equine-assisted activity and therapy incorporates physical, mental and language treatments through equine movement to remediate medical conditions or impairments in clients. For all the opportunities that equine-assisted therapy provides there is little education on the practice. The focus of this project is to present the process, benefits and limitations of adopting an equine-assisted therapy course at California Polytechnic State University so it may be used as a reference for future course proposal.

Objective: The aim of this proposal is to offer insight into Equine-assisted therapy, understanding how to integrate the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International curriculum into the …

Supporting Students With Psychiatric Disabilities In Postsecondary Education: Important Knowledge, Skills, And Attitudes, Scott I. Kupferman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Students with psychiatric disabilities are the largest subgroup of students with disabilities enrolled in postsecondary education. However, their high enrollment rate does not equate to a high retention rate. Approximately 86 percent of students with psychiatric disabilities withdraw prior to degree completion. As a result, calls for improved disability services in postsecondary education have been plentiful. In an effort to take a step toward answering these calls, the current study began the exploratory process of identifying knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are important for disability service professionals to possess in order to provide beneficial services to students with psychiatric disabilities …

Development And Validation Of An Instrument To Measure Participant Engagement In State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Programs, Joshua D. Southwick

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, calls for participants to become “active and full partners in the vocational rehabilitation process.” This study represents the first research to specifically address the actual meaning and importance of participant engagement in the state-federal Vocational Rehabilitation program. Defining the construct of participant engagement is an important first step in creating more effective services for persons with disabilities. It was proposed that engagement in vocational rehabilitation would include three factors: (a) attendance at meetings with the counselor, (b) fulfillment of an expected contribution during meetings, and (c) completion of homework tasks between meetings. Through …

Self-Evaluation With And Without External Feedback To Increase Room Cleaning Skills In Students With Mild Intellectual Disabilities Or Behavior Disorders, Allison Smith Varisco

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

As students with disabilities age out of school-age resources, the need for self-evaluative skills in work tasks becomes more important. This study compared self-evaluation with reinforcement and self-evaluation with reinforcement plus external evaluation when completing room cleaning skills. The younger students did not demonstrate the ability to self-evaluate without external evaluation. Both conditions were effective when evaluating the older group of students. The author proposes additional research in looking at self-evaluative skills for specific age groups and conditions.

Virtual Coaching In Guatemala: Can It Be Effective For Changing Targeted Teacher Behaviors?, Ruby Owiny

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The education system in Guatemala struggles to meet the needs of students with disabilities. There are often not enough trained special educators to meet the demand. In addition, general educators are often not trained to adequately meet diverse needs in their classrooms. Thus, schools are often unable to fully meet the needs of students with disabilities. This study sought to identify a method by which teachers could be virtually trained on a teacher behavior (i.e., specific praise) that could help meet diverse student needs. A multiple probe design across participants was used to determine if virtual training could be effective …

Teaching Core Content Vocabulary With And Without Pictures To Students With Moderate And Severe Disabilities, Barbara A. Roland

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

This study provided an examination of a comparison of the acquisition of skills between two different instructional conditions in teaching reading of vocabulary to high school students with moderate and severe disabilities. A comparison of the acquisition between the use of words with pictures and words alone was completed. An adapted alternating treatment design replicated across 4 participants was used to evaluate the differences in efficiency and effectiveness between the two instructional strategies (words with pictures and words alone). Results indicate both strategies were effective.

The Effects Of A Training Package On The Use Of Inclusive Teacher Behaviors In A Sunday School Class, Melanie A. Baggerman

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of the study was to provide training and follow-up sessions for Sunday school teachers to increase the use of inclusive teacher behaviors (opportunities to respond, behavior specific praise, and opportunities to participate) for educating a child with moderate to severe disability. A multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of training and follow-up sessions for a Sunday school teacher that had a child with moderate to severe disability in her class. The results showed training and follow-up were effective in teaching inclusive teacher behaviors within a church setting.

Teacher Training In Opportunities To Respond And Positive Feedback: Effects On Student Engagement, Yevheniy Sukovskyy

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

This study investigated the impact of a brief teacher training combined with use of a MotivAider that sought to simultaneously manipulate rate of opportunity to respond and positive feedback on students’ on-task behavior during a classroom activity. The goal of the training was to increase the percentage of time the learner stayed on task during the class activity. Three elementary teacher-student dyads took part in this study. An A-B-A-B withdrawal design was employed to evaluate the function of relation between independent and dependent variables. Results showed low effectiveness of brief training and MotivAider as a strategy of increasing teachers providing …

The Effects Of A Simultaneous Prompting Procedure To Teach Math Skills During Play Time To Young Children With Developmental Disabilities, Abby Evans Mccormick

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

This study was done to evaluate the simultaneous prompting procedure when teaching math skills during play time to young children with disabilities. The research included 5 students who participated in a special education resource classroom and general education classroom. The researcher used a design similar to a multiple probe design. The study found all participants who began intervention met criterion. The research also found students who participated in maintenance and generalization met criterion during those stages.

Including Nontargeted Information When Teaching Multiple Exemplars Of Shapes With The Constant Time Delay Procedure, Samantha D. Matthews

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Five elementary age students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities were taught shape identification. A multiple probe design across behaviors, replicated across participants, was used to determine the effectiveness of constant time delay to determine the effectiveness of Constant Time Delay to teach shapes. Nontarget information was included in praise statements. All students met criterion on target information of shape identification. All students increased their ability to identify shape words, spell shape words, tell the number of sides of the shapes when presented and tell the number of angles of shapes presented. Generalization occurred during daily walks through the school …

The Effects Of Embedding Formative Assessment Measures In A Problem--Based Learning Mathematics Curriculum For Middle School Students, Mark D. Butler

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Student performance in the area of mathematics is a topic of national concern in the United States, with several reports documenting the need for effective instruction to boost student achievement. However, what type of math instruction will most effectively raise student achievement for students with disabilities (SWD) remains a matter of debate. Problem-based learning (PBL) is a promising methodology for engaging and motivating students’ learning while increasing their math skills. Enhanced Anchored Instruction (EAI) is a form of problem-based learning, rooted in a constructivist framework, which guides students through complex problems through video anchors and context rich environments that has …

Perspectives Of First Generation Asian American Parents Towards Children With Disabilities And Their Educational Programs, Quynh Nguyen, Margaret Hughes

The Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship

The aim of this descriptive study was to examine the perspectives of first generation Asian American parents of children with disabilities regarding causes, meaning of disabilities, level of educational involvement and self-advocacy in their children’s special education school programs. Using convenience sampling, 18 Asian American parents from the San Francisco Bay area participated in this study. The major findings in this study were interesting ones in that some were similar and others different from those previously reported in the past for Asian American families. First, the majority of the parents did not believe their past wrong doings caused their child’s …

Multicultural Counseling Issues: Ethnic Groups’ Attitudes Towards Mental Illness, Rose Hirt, Dr. Timothy B. Smith

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the world of counseling, there are many issues that arise due to differences between cultures. These differences are particularly apparent in how different cultural groups view mental illness. There have been studies done on this topic, but the literature must be compiled and compared in order for any overall effect to be measured. My research set out to begin compiling this literature.

Acceptance Of Disability In College Students, Brian Charles Carl

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents the findings of a study examining the following questions: How do students in a particular disability group differ from students in other disability groups in the degree to which they accept their disability? How are level of functional impairment and acceptance related? How are an individual's view of disability as a defining characteristic and acceptance related? How are functional impairment and the degree to which disability is seen as a defining characteristic related? Analysis using ANOVA indicated that there was not a significant difference in the level of acceptance between disability groups. Three Pearson's r correlation analyses …

A Comparison Of Social Media Job Search Versus Traditional Job Search Methods On Employment Of Students With Moderate To Severe Disabilities, Janalyn Duersch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the effects of social media on employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Participants included 37 transition students with moderate to severe disabilities in a Western state school system. The student researcher divided 37 participants into two groups: (a) social media job search, or (b) traditional job search. Social media and traditional groups consisted of 18 and 19 participants, respectively. The control group implemented traditional job search methods. The social media group learned to use social media to further employment. Variables examined included (a) job placements, (b) job interviews, and (c) job referrals. The students in all groups …

Academic Support Experiences And Perceptions Of Postsecondary Students With Disabilities: A Public And Private University Comparision, Heather T. Wizikowski

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Legislation, social awareness, and advancements in medicine and assistive technology have created meaningful postsecondary opportunities for students with disabilities over the past 30 years. Mainstreaming, inclusion, and transition planning in elementary and secondary schools also greatly contributed to the increased achievement of students with disabilities. Today, 15% of students with disabilities attend four-year colleges. Current federal data show 88% of private and 99% of public universities report students with disabilities enrolled at their institutions. Much of the current research focuses on institutional practice and need. There is a gap in the research when looking at student needs and experiences.

This …

On Death And Disability: Reframing Educators' Perceptions Of Parental Response To Disability, Keith Allred, Christine Hancock

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This expository article critically reviews the literature from 1950-2010 regarding educators' perceptions of parental response to disability. Pre-service, practitioner, and professional literature are examined to explore the views presented to teacher candidates during the process of professional induction. As this literature relies upon the stage model of grief associated with Kübler-Ross' (1969) description of the acceptance of death, the effects on parent-professional relations and cultural understandings of disability are critiqued. The paper presents an alternative framing of parental response to disability emerging through positive psychology. Recommendations, based upon a disability studies in education perspective, are made regarding changes in the …

Latency As A Dependent Variable In Trial-Based Functional Analysis, Elizabeth Dayton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The following research project consisted of two parts. The first was a data analysis of previously collected data. The second was conducted in local public schools at no cost to the teachers, students, or schools. Many individuals with disabilities engage in aberrant behaviors that negatively affect their lives and the lives of those around them. The following research paper examined a tool currently being used in schools (trial-based functional analysis; FA) to determine its effectiveness at identifying the function of an individual’s behavior.

The trial-based FA is an assessment tool that is accessible to classroom teachers to help them identify …