CAN COGNITIVE TRAINING USING A TABLET COMPUTER ENHANCE COGNITIVE FUNCTION OF HEALTHY OLDER ADULTS? AN ALTERNATING-TREATMENT DESIGN

Even though a variety of cognitive interventions have been conducted to ameliorate age-related cognitive declines, the effects of cognitive intervention using activities in everyday life are still unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects between tablet computer-based productive and receptive cognitive engagement using an alternating-treatment design. Three healthy older adults performed a total of 19 sessions consisting of three baseline periods and 16 alternating training sessions. The training sessions were divided into four blocks and each block involved four treatment sessions. Productive and receptive engagements were randomly allocated to four treatment sessions. All participants alternatively received productive engagement that requires learning new practical applications and receptive engagement requiring little new learning such as listening to music. Prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy and executive function through the Trail Making Test were assessed at the baseline and the end of each session. All data were visually analyzed. Visual analysis results showed that the productive engagement was associated with higher PFC activity and faster performance in the Trail Making Test, compared to those utilizing receptive engagement. These results suggest that productive engagement might be effective in facilitating PFC activity and improving the executive function of healthy older adults, indicating cognitively challenging activities are more beneficial relative to nonchallenging activities.

Technology-Aided Instruction and Intervention in Teaching Students With Autism to Make Inferences

Inferential readings skills are necessary in ensuring that students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are successful in the general education curriculum. These skills provide a foundation for reading comprehension across content areas. Technology-aided instruction and intervention (TAII) has the potential to address these reading deficits, by presenting content in an interactive format. Using an adapted alternating treatment design (ATD), the present study compared the impact of the TinyTap app, videos, and traditional graphic organizers to improve the inferential reading skills of two middle school students with ASD. Replication of the most effective intervention occurred, and maintenance data were collected. The results suggested that the TinyTap treatment condition was the most functionally effective in increasing inferential reading skills. From the research, there are a number of implications moving forward for both practitioners and future researchers examining the impact of TAII on academic skills.

Acute Comparative Effect of Foam Rolling and Static Stretching on Range of Motion in Rowers

Rowers’ anthropometric characteristics and flexibility are fundamental to increase stroke amplitude and optimize power transfer. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of foam rolling and static stretching on the range of motion over time. Eight university rowers (24.8 ± 3.4 yrs., height 182.3 ± 6.5 cm, body mass 79.3 ± 4.6 kg) participated in an alternating treatment design study with two-way repeated measures ANOVA. The sit and reach test was used to measure the range of motion. Both in the foam rolling and in the static stretching method, a pre-test (T0), a post-test (T1), and a post-15-min test (T2) were performed. A significant effect was observed on the range of motion over time (p < 0.001), but not for time x method interaction (p = 0.680). Significant differences were found between T0 and T1 with foam rolling and static stretching (p < 0.001, d = 0.4); p < 0.001, d = 0.6). The differences between T0 and T2 were also significant with both methods (p = 0.001, d = 0.4; p < 0.001, d = 0.4). However, no significant difference was observed between T1 and T2 (p = 1.000, d = 0.1; p = 0.089, d = 0.2). Foam roller and static stretching seem to be effective methods to improve the range of motion but there seems to be no differences between them.

Virtual Versus Concrete: A Comparison of Mathematics Manipulatives for Three Elementary Students With Autism

Basic mathematic skills at the early age are foundational for later learning. Many students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle in academic learning without sufficient support. Research in the area of concrete manipulatives—tangible representations of abstract concepts—has been found effective. In addition, promising research has emerged in the area of virtual manipulatives—virtual representations of abstract concepts—as tools to support mathematics skill acquisition. Using a multiple baseline across participants with an embedded alternating treatment design, this study presents a replication of previous research comparing the effects of concrete and virtual manipulatives in the acquisition of double-digit addition and word problem-solving abilities of three elementary students with ASD. Findings indicate that while both interventions produce better outcomes than baseline, the virtual manipulative condition appear to be more supportive than concrete manipulatives.

Valuing relationships: The impact of a sensory program on the interactions of adolescents with severe-to-profound intellectual disabilities

Background: People with severe-to-profound intellectual disabilities often lack meaningful interactions with others. Communication partners need to be skilled in identifying and responding to often-subtle behaviours. One method of facilitating interaction is the use of sensory-based stimuli. Method: This study measured the impact of sensory-based stimuli paired with behaviour chain interruptions for three participants in an alternating treatment design using a novel intervention, SensEngage. Measurements included behaviours previously identified as indicating person engagement, self-engagement, happiness as well as participants’ use of potential communicative acts (PCAs). Results: The results showed increased person engagement and happiness in the SensEngage condition compared to the non-sensory condition for all three participants. An increased use of PCAs and decrease in self-engagement were observed for two participants. Conclusions: SensEngage appears to positively impact person engagement, happiness, PCAs and self-engagement for people with severe-to-profound intellectual disabilities.

A Comparison of Video-Based Interventions to Teach Data Entry to Adults With Intellectual Disabilities: A Replication and Extension

Researchers have demonstrated that video-based interventions are effective at teaching a variety of skills to individuals with intellectual disabilities. To replicate and extend this line of research, we initially planned to compare the effects of video modeling and video prompting on the acquisition of a novel work skill (i.e., data entry) in two adults with moderate intellectual disabilities using an alternating treatment design. When both interventions failed to improve performance, the instructors sequentially introduced a least-to-most instructor-delivered prompting procedure. The results indicated that the introduction of instructor prompts considerably increased correct responding in one participant during video modeling and in both participants during video prompting. Overall, the study suggests that practitioners should consider incorporating instructor-delivered prompts from the onset, or at least when no improvements in performance are observed, when using video-based interventions to teach new work skills to individuals with intellectual disabilities.

A Comparison of App-Based Video-Modeling Interventions to Teach Physical Activity Skills to People With Autism in a Community Setting

App-based technologies that utilize video-modeling components are an area that can increase the independence of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in community settings; however, less is known about their impact in facilitating acquisition of physical activity (PA) skills in inclusive community fitness sites. It is important to consider how to increase PA skills in community settings for people with ASD given the known benefits of community inclusion and exercise. This study used an adaptive alternating treatment design to explore differences in three participants’ ability to perform exercises independently in a community site when using commercial video-models (i.e., video-models available in the app) compared to custom-made video-models (i.e., developed by the researchers). Two participants performed the PA skills more independently when watching the custom-made videos while the third performed the PA skill more independently when watching the commercial video-models. All participants indicated they enjoyed using the app and videos to learn new PA skills. Limitations of the study as well as implications for future research are discussed.

Comparing embedded and non-embedded visual scene displays for one adult diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder: A clinical application of single case design

This study provides an example of using single case experimental design to guide data-driven, low-inference interventions for an individual using customized displays on a speech-generating device and can serve as an example for interventionists who need to compare intervention strategies to identify approaches that are most appropriate for a specific learner. This study compared the performance of locating vocabulary in embedded and non-embedded visual scene displays (VSDs) on a speech-generating device by one 19-year-old male diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A single case experimental alternating treatment design was applied and the participant was taught to locate 48 vocabulary items that were equally divided among eight VSDs (i.e. four embedded and four non-embedded VSDs, each containing six vocabulary items). Accuracy and latency data for locating target VSDs and vocabulary items were measured over 12 intervention sessions and one maintenance session. Results show that the participant was initially more accurate and faster in locating vocabulary among embedded VSDs, when compared to non-embedded VSDs. However, over the course of 12 intervention sessions and the maintenance session, his performance became similar among both embedded and non-embedded VSDs. Implications regarding the clinical utility of the single case alternating treatment design and limitations are discussed.

Comparing the Effects of Two Reading Interventions Using a Randomized Alternating Treatment Design

An emerging body of research suggests that incorporating randomization schemes in single-case research designs strengthens study internal validity and data evaluation. The purpose of this study was to test the utility and feasibility of a randomized alternating-treatment design in an investigation that compared the combined effects of vocabulary instruction and the paraphrasing strategies on expository comprehension of six students with reading difficulties. We analyzed the data using three types of randomization tests as well as visual analysis. The visual analysis and randomization tests confirmed the additional benefit of vocabulary instruction on expository comprehension for one student. However, the effects were not replicated across the other five students. We found that proper randomization schemes can improve both internal validity and data analysis strategies of the alternating-treatment design.