School Outcomes of Students with and At Risk for Disabilities in Poverty: An Evaluation of School-Based Interventions in the U.S.

Author(s):  
Sunyoung Kim ◽  
Min-Chi Yan ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
Jenna Lequia

Abstract Poverty as a cultural factor affects students' school success and outcomes. In the current literature review, we aimed at providing a comprehensive analysis of intervention research designed to support school outcomes of students aged 3 to 21 years with disabilities or at risk for developing disabilities in high-poverty contexts. Eighteen studies were included in this review (16 group designs, 1 single case design, and 1 group design with embedded single case), with a total of 1782 student participants. Results indicated that most of the research studies designed for students in poverty focused on their language skills (e.g., reading, vocabulary, literacy) with various interventions. Most of the group design studies met the quality indicators (Gersten et al., 2009) with a low standard, although all single case studies met the quality indicators by higher than 80% (Kratochwill et al., 2013). As for the analysis of cultural responsiveness, we found that most studies provided limited information reflecting culturally responsive research (Trainor & Bal, 2014). Discussion and implication for practice and research are provided.

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Solis ◽  
Colleen K. Reutebuch ◽  
Terry Falcomata ◽  
Paul K. Steinle ◽  
Veronica L. Miller ◽  
...  

This simultaneous replication single-case design study investigated a vocabulary and main idea intervention with an aspect of text choice provided to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Five middle school students with ASD participated in two instructional groups taught by school-based personnel. Results were initially mixed. These results were followed by upward and stable trends, indicating a functional relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Social validity measures indicated that students appreciated the opportunity to make choices on text selection.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 1959-1978
Author(s):  
Kaitlyn P. Wilson ◽  
Jessica R. Steinbrenner ◽  
Tamar Kalandadze ◽  
Lara Handler

PurposeThe aims of this systematic review are to (a) synthesize the literature on interventions targeting expressive communication in adults with autism spectrum disorder and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions.MethodThe literature search resulted in 7,196 articles. The research team used 2 reviewers and consensus for title/abstract review, full-text review, and quality review. To be included, studies had to (a) include at least 1 adult (18 years of age and above) with an autism spectrum disorder; (b) examine an intervention, treatment, or model of care; (c) provide outcome data related to expressive communication modalities/domains; (d) be experimental or quasi-experimental; and (e) be published in English. Twenty-two studies (14 single-case design and 8 group design), with a total of 256 participants and varied interventions and outcome variables, met criteria for inclusion. Effect sizes are presented for group design studies, and visual analysis results are outlined for single-case design studies.ResultsExamination of treatment effects in the included studies showed positive effects, overall; however, there was great variability between studies. Single-case design studies showed evidence of functional relations in all but 1 study, with most showing medium to large effects, as well as maintenance and generalization of gains. Group design studies showed a wide range of effects from near-zero to large effects. Differences in intervention strategies and durations, as well as in participant characteristics and outcome measures, presented barriers to aggregation.ConclusionsThis review highlights the need for increased high-quality research examining interventions targeting expressive communication in adults with autism spectrum disorder and also pinpoints interventions with potential for future study and use in this population.


2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 300-307
Author(s):  
M. Brady Webb ◽  
Evelyn S. Johnson ◽  
Julie Meek ◽  
Brooke Herzog ◽  
Anne B. Clohessy

Self-regulation is the control mechanism that enables a student to manage attention, emotion, behavior, and cognition to engage in goal-directed actions, such as learning. Too often, students at risk for poor school outcomes do not enter school with strongly developed self-regulation skills and have difficulty developing them on their own. Self-regulation skills can be taught and are especially effective when introduced within the school setting. This article describes a school-based model for fostering self-regulation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew E. Brock ◽  
Erik W. Carter

Teachers and paraprofessionals need effective training to improve their implementation of interventions for students with disabilities. Reviews of the single-case design literature have identified some features associated with effective training for these educators, but the group-design literature has received little attention. This meta-analysis systematically reviews group-design studies testing the efficacy of training to improve implementation of interventions for students with disabilities. The mean effect size of educator training on implementation fidelity was g = 1.08, and results from meta-regression analysis suggest training that involves a combination of two specific training strategies (i.e., modeling and performance feedback) was associated with improved implementation fidelity. Increased duration of training was not associated with larger effects. Considered alongside findings from the single-case design literature, these results suggest that how educators are trained is a more important consideration than the number of hours they spend in training.


Author(s):  
Keith C. Radley ◽  
Evan H. Dart

As previously described, single-case design has several advantages in the evaluation of evidence-based practices and for the evaluation of the effects of interventions in applied settings. Following collection of data, data are typically graphed in order to determine the effects of an intervention on student behavior. However, recent research has determined that the manner in which graphs are constructed is likely to impact the decisions that visual analysts make regarding the effect of an intervention. As such, it is important that graphs be constructed in a manner that minimizes potential for error. This chapter describes quality indicators for graphs, and discusses analysis- and aesthetic-altering elements of graphs. In particular, the chapter describes two analysis-altering elements that must be considered when constructing graphs: scaling of the y-axis and the data points per x- to y-ratio (DPPXYR). Finally, the chapter describes how to conduct visual analysis. Six elements are discussed: changes in level, trend, and variability, consistency across similar conditions, overlap across adjacent phases, and immediacy of intervention effects.


2020 ◽  
pp. 019874292091273
Author(s):  
Mickey Losinski ◽  
Robin Parks Ennis ◽  
Ashley Shaw

This article provides results from a study examining the impact of a self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) intervention on the fraction calculations of three Grade 5 male students with or at-risk for emotional or behavioral disorders using a multiple-baseline across students, single-case design. The teacher-led SRSD Fractions intervention addressed adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators using the FILMS (Find the denominator, Identify the multiples, Locate the least common multiple, Multiply to make new fractions, Solve the problem) strategy. Results of fraction probes are reported along with a discussion of the study with respect to the research question posed, limitations, and future directions for research.


2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-100
Author(s):  
Anne C. Sinclair ◽  
Samantha A. Gesel ◽  
Lauren M. LeJeune ◽  
Christopher J. Lemons

In this comprehensive review, 32 studies were identified in which researchers investigated the effect of real-time performance feedback delivered via technology on interventionist implementation of instructional practices. Studies were evaluated for methodological rigor with quality indicators from the Council for Exceptional Children. Twenty-two single case designs and one group design met all quality indicators. The single case designs were analyzed using visual analysis and given success estimates calculated as a ratio of the number of demonstrated effects to potential demonstrations of effect. Methodologically sound evidence indicates that real-time performance feedback is an evidence-based practice for changing interventionist behavior during intervention sessions. Implications for research and practice are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey A. Peters-Sanders ◽  
Elizabeth S. Kelley ◽  
Christa Haring Biel ◽  
Keri Madsen ◽  
Xigrid Soto ◽  
...  

Purpose This study evaluated the effects of an automated, small-group intervention designed to teach preschoolers challenging vocabulary words. Previous studies have provided evidence of efficacy. In this study, we evaluated the effects of the program after doubling the number of words taught from 2 to 4 words per book. Method Seventeen preschool children listened to 1 prerecorded book per week for 9 weeks. Each storybook had embedded, interactive lessons for 4 target vocabulary words. Each lesson provided repeated exposures to words and their definitions, child-friendly contexts, and multiple opportunities for children to respond verbally to instructional prompts. Participants were asked to define the weekly targeted vocabulary before and after intervention. A repeated acquisition single-case design was used to examine the effects of the books and embedded lessons on learning of target vocabulary words. Results Treatment effects were observed for all children across many of the books. Learning of at least 2 points (i.e., 1 word) was replicated for 74.5% of 149 books tested across the 17 participants. On average, children learned to define 47% of the target vocabulary words (17 out of 36). Conclusions Results support including 4 challenging words per book, as children learned substantially more words when 4 words were taught, in comparison to previous studies. Within an iterative development process, results of the current study take us 1 step closer to creating an optimal vocabulary intervention that supports the language development of at-risk children.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 3714-3726
Author(s):  
Sherine R. Tambyraja ◽  
Kelly Farquharson ◽  
Laura Justice

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which school-age children with speech sound disorder (SSD) exhibit concomitant reading difficulties and examine the extent to which phonological processing and speech production abilities are associated with increased likelihood of reading risks. Method Data were obtained from 120 kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade children who were in receipt of school-based speech therapy services. Children were categorized as being “at risk” for reading difficulties if standardized scores on a word decoding measure were 1 SD or more from the mean. The selected predictors of reading risk included children's rapid automatized naming ability, phonological awareness (PA), and accuracy of speech sound production. Results Descriptive results indicated that just over 25% of children receiving school-based speech therapy for an SSD exhibited concomitant deficits in word decoding and that those exhibiting risk at the beginning of the school year were likely to continue to be at risk at the end of the school year. Results from a hierarchical logistic regression suggested that, after accounting for children's age, general language abilities, and socioeconomic status, both PA and speech sound production abilities were significantly associated with the likelihood of being classified as at risk. Conclusions School-age children with SSD are at increased risk for reading difficulties that are likely to persist throughout an academic year. The severity of phonological deficits, reflected by PA and speech output, may be important indicators of subsequent reading problems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4148-4161
Author(s):  
Christine S.-Y. Ng ◽  
Stephanie F. Stokes ◽  
Mary Alt

Purpose We report on a replicated single-case design study that measured the feasibility of an expressive vocabulary intervention for three Cantonese-speaking toddlers with small expressive lexicons relative to their age. The aim was to assess the cross-cultural and cross-linguistic feasibility of an intervention method developed for English-speaking children. Method A nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design was used with four baseline data points and 16 intervention sessions per participant. The intervention design incorporated implicit learning principles, high treatment dosage, and control of the phonological neighborhood density of the stimuli. The children (24–39 months) attended 7–9 weeks of twice weekly input-based treatment in which no explicit verbal production was required from the child. Each target word was provided as input a minimum of 64 times in at least two intervention sessions. Treatment feasibility was measured by comparison of how many of the target and control words the child produced across the intervention period, and parent-reported expressive vocabulary checklists were completed for comparison of pre- and postintervention child spoken vocabulary size. An omnibus effect size for the treatment effect of the number of target and control words produced across time was calculated using Kendall's Tau. Results There was a significant treatment effect for target words learned in intervention relative to baselines, and all children produced significantly more target than control words across the intervention period. The effect of phonological neighborhood density on expressive word production could not be evaluated because two of the three children learned all target words. Conclusion The results provide cross-cultural evidence of the feasibility of a model of intervention that incorporated a high-dosage, cross-situational statistical learning paradigm to teach spoken word production to children with small expressive lexicons.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document