Daily Life and Challenges Faced By Households With Permanent Childhood Developmental Disability in Rural Tanzania – A Qualitative Study

Severe developmental disability in children affects the life of the child and entire household. We conducted a qualitative study to understand how caregivers manage severe developmental disabilities in children in rural Africa. Families and six children (out of 15 children) who had serious permanent sequelae from a cerebral infection in Handeni, Tanzania, were contacted and invited to a workshop to recount their experience living with severe developmental disabilities. After consent, individual interviews were conducted first through recording of individual digital stories and then through individual semi-structured interviews. Pre-determined key categories were used to analyse the data. Our results showed that developmental disabilities required constant care and reduced the autonomy of the children. Schooling had not been attempted or was halted because of learning problems or inability to meet specialized school costs. Parents were under constant physical, emotional and financial stress. Their occupational earnings decreased. Some families sold their assets to survive. Others began to rely on relatives. Understanding the consequences of developmental disability helps to identify where social support should be focused and improved.

Functional Communication Training and Most-To-Least Prompting as Treatments for Problem Behavior

Functional communication training (FCT) is a treatment for problem behavior in which the learner is taught a communicative behavior that fulfills the same function as the problem behavior. Although effective, when FCT is used to request breaks from work, limitations include increased time spent in breaks and reduced task-related responding. An alternative treatment is most-to-least prompting (MTL) of a task in which a therapist provides the most helpful prompts for task-related responding (e.g., physical guidance) and gradually reduces the amount of help (e.g., visual prompt and then verbal) until the learner responds independently. We evaluated FCT and MTL in a multiple treatments design with an 11-year-old girl with severe developmental disabilities. Both treatments reduced problem behavior from baseline levels, and academic responding was greater during MTL than during FCT. MTL is an errorless teaching approach conceptualized as an abolishing operation that reduces the aversiveness of a task and makes escape less valuable.

An Assessment of the Feasibility and Effectiveness of Distance Learning for Students With Severe Developmental Disabilities and High Behavioral Needs

Schools across the country closed their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures impacted all students, as schools, educators, and families grappled with the realities of transitioning to distance-learning platforms. The research on distance learning is still in its early phases. However, almost no research exists on educating students with severe disabilities and high behavioral needs using this technology. Study 1 collected survey data from students’ families and their educators on the feasibility and effectiveness of distance-learning programs when working with students with severe developmental disabilities and high behavioral needs. Results indicated that parents and educators had generally neutral attitudes toward distance learning, although educators agreed that their students were obtaining educational benefits during distance learning. Study 2 further examined the effects of a transition to distance learning on students’ Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goal progress. Analyses revealed that students maintained about half of the skills addressed in their IEPs and made progress on an additional quarter of their IEP goals. Findings contribute to a much-needed literature base on distance learning and provide additional information as to the feasibility and effectiveness of distance learning with students with severe developmental disabilities and high behavioral needs. Future work is needed to determine best practices for distance learning with this population.

An Assessment of the Feasibility and Effectiveness of Distance Learning for Students with Severe Developmental Disabilities and High Behavioral Needs

School across the country closed their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures impacted all students, as schools, educators, and families grappled with the realities of transitioning to distance learning platforms. The research on distance learning is still in its early phases. However, almost no research exists on educating students with severe disabilities and high behavioral needs using this technology. Study 1 collected survey data from students’ families and their teachers on the feasibility and effectiveness of distance learning programs when working with students with severe developmental disabilities and high behavioral needs. Results indicated that parents and educators alike reported that distance learning was beneficial for most students but that in person education is more effective with this population. Study 2 further examined the effects of a transition to distance learning on students’ IEP goal progress. Analyses revealed that, overall, students maintained skills addressed in their IEP (i.e., no significant regression or progress). Findings contribute to a much needed literature base suggesting that while distance learning is better than no education, in person instruction is more effective and preferred for most students with severe developmental disabilities and high behavioral needs.