Increasing Peer Interactions for Students with Severe Disabilities via Paraprofessional Training

2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie N. Causton-Theoharis ◽  
Kimber W. Malmgren
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Multiple Baseline ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Single Subject Design ◽  
Paraprofessional Training ◽  
The Social ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

As students with severe disabilities are included in general education settings, the use of paraprofessionals has expanded to meet these students' needs. Unfortunately, paraprofessionals can have the inadvertent effect of intensifying the social isolation of students with disabilities. This study investigated the effectiveness of a training program aimed at teaching four paraprofessionals to facilitate interactions between students with severe disabilities and their peers. A multiple baseline, single-subject design across four paraprofessional/student pairs was utilized. Observational data were collected over the baseline and postintervention phases. Rates of paraprofessional facilitative behavior increased following the intervention. Additionally, rates of student interaction increased immediately and dramatically and were maintained through the maintenance probe.

Increasing Peer Interactions for Students with Behavioral Disorders via Paraprofessional Training

2005 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimber W. Malmgren ◽  
Julie N. Causton-Theoharis ◽  
Beverly J. Trezek
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Behavioral Disorders ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Multiple Baseline ◽  
Training Intervention ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Paraprofessional Training ◽  
General Education Classroom ◽  
General Education Classrooms

As more and more students with behavioral disorders (BD) are included in general education classrooms, the use of paraprofessionals in one-on-one support roles has expanded. Unfortunately, the use of paraprofessionals to provide one-on-one assistance can result in social isolation for students with disabilities. This multiple-baseline single-subject study examined the effectiveness of a paraprofessional training program designed to teach paraprofessionals to facilitate interactions between elementary-age students with BD and their peers in the general education classroom. Baseline and postintervention observational data reflecting: (1) the proximity of the paraprofessionals in relation to the students with BD; (2) the amount and type of facilitative behaviors displayed by the paraprofessionals; and (3) the rate of peer interactions experienced by the participating students with BD were collected for three paraprofessional/student pairs over a 7-week period. Rates of student interaction increased following the intervention. Rates of paraprofessional facilitative behavior also increased, though less markedly. Additionally, after the training intervention, all participating paraprofessionals faded their assistance more frequently and spent less time in the immediate vicinity of the students they served. Recommendations for use of paraprofessionals in the classroom and for paraprofessional training are discussed.

Peer Interactions and Social Acceptance of Elementary-Age Children with Severe Disabilities in an Inclusive School

1992 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 205-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian M. Evans ◽  
Christine L. Salisbury ◽  
Mary M. Palombaro ◽  
Jennifer Berryman ◽  
Tia M. Hollowood
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
School Year ◽  
The Social ◽  
Physical Affection ◽  
Inclusive School ◽  
Developmental Opportunities ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

Although there has been much attention paid to the social relationships of students with severe disabilities in integrated environments, few studies depict the kinds of interactions that can be expected in mainstreamed classrooms. Such information is important for designing classroom ecologies and interventions that will maximize developmental opportunities for all students. Eight children with severe disabilities and eight nonhandicapped peers were observed in their regular elementary school classrooms. Students with severe disabilities received more social approaches than they made. These interactions tended to be receiving assistance, although talk, play, and physical affection were also prevalent. Over the school year the number of interactions declined; however, the pattern (proportions of different types of interaction) became more typical (like those of nonhandicapped peers). Acceptance was measured by sociometric nomination, revealing that some of the students with severe disabilities were very popular, and some were not. Acceptance seemed unrelated to social competence, which did correlate with frequency of interactions initiated by the students with disabilities; acceptance was not related to number of social approaches made or received. The results indicate that children's social acceptance and opportunity for interaction are not uniquely associated with their status as individuals with severe disabilities, and suggest that the implicit standards and values of the students may play a significant role.

Peer Interactions and Sociometric Status of High School Students with Moderate or Severe Disabilities in General Education Classrooms

2000 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keli Mu ◽  
Ellin B. Siegel ◽  
Rose M. Allinder
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
General Education ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Peer Acceptance ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Social

We examined the social status of six high school students with moderate or severe disabilities in general education cooking classes and compared their social interaction behaviors with those of peers without disabilities. The peers without disabilities who participated were selected from an “average” group based on peer nomination sociometric assessments. Results showed that the social status of the students with disabilities varied. Although no participating students with disabilities were classified as “popular” among their peers, the majority of the participating students with disabilities obtained “average” social status ratings. Results also indicated that students with disabilities were involved in fewer social interactions, interacted with peers without disabilities slightly more often than with adults, and were more often passive participants in interactions. Future studies should examine peer interactions and peer acceptance of students with moderate or severe disabilities in more academic classes, as well as factors that impact their social status and social relationships in inclusive environments.

Using Badges to Increase Initiations of Children with Severe Disabilities in a Play Setting

1993 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann C. Jolly ◽  
St. Marks Center ◽  
David W. Test ◽  
Fred Spooner
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Free Play ◽  
Multiple Baseline ◽  
Play Skills ◽  
Training Strategy ◽  
Age Appropriate ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities ◽  
Teacher Assistant

A study was conducted to investigate a training strategy that allowed children with severe disabilities to choose and initiate activities when playing with chronologically age-appropriate peers without disabilities. Prior to intervention, each student with severe disabilities was taught to use badges with photographs to indicate play activities. Pretraining involved role-playing with the teacher, teacher assistant, and a fourth grader without disabilities and not otherwise involved in the study. The intervention involved having students with disabilities take their badges into a free-play situation. A multiple-baseline, across-subjects design indicated a functional relationship between intervention and student use of play organizers, initiations, and shares. Results are discussed in terms of including students with severe disabilities in the training process when teaching social and play skills.

Assessing the Social Skills and Problem Behaviors of Adolescents With Severe Disabilities Enrolled in General Education Classes

2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory L. Lyons ◽  
Heartley B. Huber ◽  
Erik W. Carter ◽  
Rui Chen ◽  
Jennifer M. Asmus
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Social Competence ◽  
General Education ◽  
Problem Behavior ◽  
Problem Behaviors ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Teachers And Parents ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

Abstract Although enhancing the social competence of students with severe disabilities has long remained a prominent focus of school-based intervention efforts, relatively little attention has focused on identifying the most critical social and behavioral needs of students during high school. We examined the social skills and problem behaviors of 137 adolescents with severe disabilities from the vantage point of both special educators and parents. We sought to identify areas of potential intervention need, explore factors associated with social skill and problem behavior ratings, and examine the extent to which teachers and parents converged in their assessments of these needs. Our findings indicate teachers and parents of high school students with severe disabilities rated social skills as considerably below average and problem behaviors as above average. In addition, lower social skills ratings were evident for students with greater support needs, lower levels of overall adaptive behavior, and a special education label of autism. We found moderate consistency in the degree to which teachers and parents aligned in their assessments of both social skills and problem behavior. We offer recommendations for assessment and intervention focused on strengthening the social competence of adolescents with severe disabilities within secondary school classrooms, as well as promising avenues for future research.

scholarly journals Self-Talk and Female Youth Soccer Performance

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janelle J.M. Johnson ◽  
Dennis W. Hrycaiko ◽  
Gary V. Johnson ◽  
Joannie M. Halas
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Baseline ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Single Subject Design ◽  
Youth Soccer ◽  
Validity Assessment ◽  
Subject Design ◽  
The Social ◽  
Self Talk ◽  
Soccer Team ◽  
Social Validity Assessment

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of teaching skilled athletes to use self-talk (ST) and gain insight on the athlete’s perceptions of the ST intervention and how it influenced their performance. The participants were four female players from an “elite” under fourteen female regional soccer team. A single-subject design, the multiple baseline across individuals, was used to examine the effects of the ST strategy on performance. The results of the study demonstrated that the ST strategy improved soccer shooting performance for two of the three experimental participants. The social validity assessment found that both the coach and the participants were very satisfied with the results and believed the ST strategy to be an important component in improving their performance.

Moving to Educational Validity: A Reply to Test, Spooner, and Cooke

1987 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian M. Evans ◽  
Luanna H. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Internal Validity ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Single Subject Design ◽  
Single Subject Research ◽  
Subject Design ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

Our article on educational validity summarized the major questions to be addressed for the evaluation of educational outcomes in programs for students with severe disabilities (Voeltz & Evans, 1983). In particular, we argued that the predominant emphasis upon single-subject research designs and the demonstration of the internal validity of intervention experiments were not sufficient for educational validity—a concept that requires systematic attention to larger issues of meaning-fulness in relationship to criterion environments. In this paper we respond to the arguments of Test, Spooner, and Cooke (1987) that single-subject design methodologies are capable of expansion to address educational validity. Based upon both theory and empirical data, we maintain that the serious limitations of the existing traditional methodologies continue to be problematic, so that we encourage movement toward a more comprehensive evaluative framework. Such a framework is critical to ensure that services and practices for persons with severe disabilities will be guided by research findings as well as social values.

How Teachers Use Peer Interactions to Include Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities in Elementary General Education Classes

1996 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel E. Janney ◽  
Martha E. Snell
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Elementary Classrooms ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Mutual Assistance ◽  
Peer Helping ◽  
Social Reciprocity ◽  
The Social ◽  
Student Age ◽  
The Way

This study investigated the way teachers in five elementary classrooms used peer interactions to facilitate the inclusion of a student with moderate or severe disabilities. Four themes describing the strategies used to encourage and shape interactions between students with and without disabilities were identified: new rules about helping, “just another student,” age appropriateness, and “backing off.” The discussion focuses on the complexity of facilitating peer helping roles without encroaching on the social reciprocity found in friendships. The development of inclusion practices based on cooperation and mutual assistance for all students, rather than only for students with identified disabilities, is recommended.

IEP-Specified Peer Interaction Needs: Accurate but Ignored

1998 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn M. Gelzheiser ◽  
Margaret Mclane Rose ◽  
Joel Meyers ◽  
Robert M. Pruzek
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Individualized Education Program ◽  
Limited Extent ◽  
Level Of Functioning ◽  
The Social ◽  
Special Area

This research addressed two questions about instruction to enhance the social competence of students with disabilities: (a) How adequate were individualized education program (IEP) statements of present level of functioning and goals related to peer interactions? and (b) How appropriate to pupil peer interaction needs and how extensive was instruction? Data sources included IEPs; observations of pupils and teachers in content area, special area, and special education settings; and interviews. Analysis indicated that the IEP accurately characterized peer interactions, but that instructional practices to foster peer interaction were not appropriate, and were provided only to a limited extent. General education settings were somewhat more likely than special education settings to foster peer interaction, providing support for claims that inclusion fosters social integration.

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