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.

Using Structural Analysis to Inform Peer Support Arrangements for High School Students With Severe Disabilities

2018 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heartley B. Huber ◽  
Erik W. Carter ◽  
Sarah E. Lopano ◽  
Kristen C. Stankiewicz
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Structural Analysis ◽  
General Education ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Academic Engagement ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
School Students ◽  
Social Responses ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

Abstract We examined the effects of peer support arrangements as an alternative to exclusive direct support from paraprofessionals for three high school students with severe disabilities in general education classrooms. We also explored the use of structural analysis as a data-based approach for further refining the interventions to enhance their impact in particular classrooms. Peer support arrangements were associated with substantial increases in social outcomes; academic engagement maintained or improved modestly for all participants. Moreover, structural analyses yielded findings used to adapt peer support arrangements to address students' individual needs. Although the effects of structural analysis-based adaptations resulted in increases in social responses for only one participant, levels of social interactions maintained, and improvements in academic engagement occurred for two participants.

Maximizing Social Contact for Secondary Students with Severe Handicaps

1986 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregg Chin-Perez ◽  
Dan Hartman ◽  
Hyun Sook Park ◽  
Sharon Sacks ◽  
Alice Wershing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Training Project ◽  
The Social ◽  
Severe Handicaps ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities ◽  
Research Assistants

This article describes a secondary program for students with severe handicaps which attempts to maximize the social contact between handicapped and nonhandicapped persons. The program selectively integrates students into academic and other regular education courses. Nonhandicapped peers are used for tutoring purposes as well as research assistants in a social skills training project. A survey completed by a variety of important others indicated substantial improvements in the behavioral repertoires of the students with severe disabilities, particularly in the area of social skills.

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.

Efficacy and Social Validity of Peer Network Interventions for High School Students With Severe Disabilities

2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Asmus ◽  
Erik W. Carter ◽  
Colleen K. Moss ◽  
Elizabeth E. Biggs ◽  
Daniel M. Bolt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Peer Relationships ◽  
Social Validity ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Social ◽  
Peer Network ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

Abstract This randomized controlled trial examined the efficacy of peer network interventions to improve the social connections of 47 high school students with severe disabilities. School staff invited, trained, and supported 192 peers without disabilities to participate in individualized social groups that met throughout one semester. Compared to adolescents in the “business-as-usual” control group (n = 48), students receiving peer networks gained significantly more new social contacts and friendships. Although many peer relationships maintained one and two semesters later, their spill over beyond the school day was limited. Students and staff affirmed the social validity of the interventions. We offer recommendations for research and practice aimed at improving the implementation and impact of peer network interventions in secondary schools.

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.

Development and Social Competence after Two Years for Students Enrolled in Inclusive and Self-Contained Educational Programs

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Fisher ◽  
Luanna H. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Social Competence ◽  
General Education ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
Inclusive Settings ◽  
Services And Supports ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities ◽  
Independent Behavior ◽  
Inclusive Schooling

Inclusive programs increasingly have become available for students with severe disabilities, enabling them to receive special education services and supports in general education classes alongside their non-disabled peers. Forty students in two groups were assessed across two years of inclusive versus self-contained educational programming, comparing outcomes on measures of child development and social competence with the Scales of Independent Behavior (SIB) and the Assessment of Social Competence (ASC). Participants were assessed on the SIB and ASC, matched into pairs on chronological age and SIB total scores at first testing, and reassessed after two additional years of either inclusive or self-contained schooling. The inclusive student group made statistically significant gains on the developmental measure and realized higher social competence scores in comparison to the self-contained group at follow-up. Examination of gains on these measures irrespective of group affiliation indicated that participants made small, but significant, gains in two of four skill clusters assessed by the SIB and three of eleven dimensions of the ASC. These results challenge a common assumption that selfcontained settings in comparison to inclusive settings will result in superior gains on students' IEP-related skill domains. They also support previous research showing social competence gains as a function of inclusion. Results are discussed in terms of expected change over time for students with severe disabilities, the implications of variations from the group results that occurred for individual students, and future research needed on the outcomes of quality inclusive schooling for students with severe disabilities.

Middle and High School Students' Perceptions on Being Friends with Peers with Severe Disabilities

1996 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo M. Hendrickson ◽  
Mohsen Shokoohi-Yekta ◽  
Susan Hamre-Nietupski ◽  
Robert A. Gable
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Youth Organizations ◽  
School Students ◽  
Social Events ◽  
School Day ◽  
Teachers And Parents

A survey on friendships with peers with severe disabilities of 1,137 middle and high school students was conducted across three states. Students indicated that they should try to make friends with peers with severe disabilities and that friendships are most likely to develop when students with disabilities are educated in general education classes, for all or part of the school day. Students perceived themselves, special education teachers, and youth organizations as primarily responsible for facilitating these friendships, and that effective strategies involve learning situations in which students work together, teachers present information on disabilities, and teachers and parents arrange social events for all students.

The Effects of Social Interaction Training on High School Peer Tutors of Schoolmates with Severe Disabilities

1993 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Staub ◽  
Pam Hunt
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Peer Tutors ◽  
School Students ◽  
Peer Tutor ◽  
The Social ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

This study evaluated the effects of social interaction training on the social interactions directed by high school students without disabilities toward peers with severe disabilities. Eight high school students who were peer tutors in a classroom for students with severe disabilities were matched in pairs and then randomly assigned to interact with and serve as partners for four classmates with severe disabilities. Only one participant in each peer tutor pair received the social interaction training. A statistical analysis indicated that the training increased the frequency of initiations of interactions directed from the students without disabilities toward their partners with severe disabilities. There was also an increase in the proportion of interactions that were social in nature, with a resulting decrease in the frequency of task-related interactions, as well as a significant increase in targeted social behaviors of the participants with severe disabilities.

Efficacy of Peer-Network Interventions for High School Students with Severe Disabilities and Complex Communication Needs

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-114
Author(s):  
Morgan E. Herbert ◽  
Matthew E. Brock ◽  
Mary A. Barczak ◽  
Eric J. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
School Students ◽  
Complex Communication Needs ◽  
Peer Network ◽  
Network Intervention ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
Students With Severe Disabilities

Peer networks are a promising intervention for increasing social interactions between students with severe disabilities and their peers. However, this approach has not been well studied with high school students who have complex communication needs and use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). In this study, we used a multiple probe across participants design to evaluate the effectiveness of a lunchtime peer-network intervention for three high school students with autism and/or multiple disabilities who had complex communication needs. The intervention involved recruiting peers, sharing practical background information and modeling how to communicate with the student, and then providing support as needed. A functional relation was established between the introduction of the peer-network intervention and both social interactions and social engagement. Interactions increased substantially across communication modalities. This study builds on the peer-network literature by demonstrating how this approach can be tailored for high school students with complex communication needs.

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