Special Education Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing Special Education Theses and Dissertations by Author "Anderson, Cynthia"

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    Evaluating the Effectiveness and Feasibility of Integrating Self-Monitoring into an Existing Tier II Intervention for Elementary School Students
    (University of Oregon, 2014-09-29) Parry, Michael; Anderson, Cynthia
    Multi-tiered systems of behavioral support are a promising approach for schools looking to maximize their resources while at the same time ensuring that every student's social and behavioral needs are being met. A commonly used Tier II intervention is Check-in/Check-out (CICO), wherein students check in with an adult before and after school and then receive feedback from their teachers throughout the day using a point card. Although CICO has been well supported through previous research, the intervention does require a fair amount of teacher time after each class period, and it also leaves students entirely reliant on the teacher for feedback regarding their behavioral performance throughout the day. The current study therefore examined the effectiveness and feasibility of integrating self-monitoring into CICO, called Student-Guided CICO (SG-CICO). Three elementary students were taught how to self-monitor their behavior after each class and then compare their ratings to those provided by the teacher. Teacher accuracy checks were faded back once students became consistently accurate with their self-ratings. An ABABC single subject design was used to evaluate the effect SG-CICO had on each participant's on-task and disruptive behavior. Each participant displayed (to varying degrees) increased on-task responding and reductions in disruptive behavior following implementation of SG-CICO. Students reported enjoying their participation in SG-CICO, however the acceptability of SG-CICO was met with mixed reactions from staff. Conceptual implications of these results along with a description of study limitations and directions for future research are provided.
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    An Evaluation of the Effects of the Academics and Behavior Check-in/Check-out Intervention
    (University of Oregon, 2013-10-03) Harrison, Chad; Anderson, Cynthia
    School professionals are faced with addressing social behavioral concerns across multiple school settings with growing frequency. There is a need for efficient and effective methods to support students exhibiting challenging behavior. Tier -II interventions, such as Check-in/Check-out, can be implemented efficiently in schools with sufficient systems in place. However, these interventions are generally more effective for students whose problem behavior is more sensitive to adult attention. This study evaluated the effects of the Academic and Behavior Check-in/Check-out (ABC) intervention, a Tier-II intervention designed to provide additional support for students emitting behavior that is more sensitive to escape from academic tasks, relative to CICO using an ABAB reversal design. Functional assessment procedures corroborated that the behavior of three middle school students was in part motivated by escape from tasks. Implementation of ABC with all subjects resulted in improvements in academic engagement and reductions in problem behavior relative to CICO. Additionally, the ABC intervention was implemented with high fidelity and was rated favorably by stakeholders.
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    Exploratory Responder Analysis of First Step to Success: Student Characteristics Contributing to Response
    (University of Oregon, 2013-10-03) Jones, Jeremy; Anderson, Cynthia
    This study examined the ability to identify subgroups of students with unique characteristics that are related to a meaningful and reliable response to the First Step to Success intervention. Identifying particular subgroups that are likely to respond or are not likely to respond to First Step to Success will help practitioners decide when the intervention should be used with an individual student based on his or her characteristics. Data on intervention recipients of a large-scale efficacy trial of First Step to Success was analyzed to identify student characteristics that best predict an initial response to First Step to Success, as well as the student characteristics that best predict maintenance over time. Data analysis consisted of a multistep process of examination, including: determining intervention response, validating the identified responder group, identification of predictors of initial responders, and identification of predictors of maintained responders. Results indicate that the only predictor of initial intervention response was the operant function of a student's problem behavior being attention (OR = 6.67, χ2 =10.83, df = 5, p < .05. Nagelkerke R2 = .22). No statistically significant predictor was identified for students who maintained response to the First Step to Success intervention. Clinical and pedagogical implications of the findings are discussed and suggested directions for future research are provided.
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    Parent Training during Child Welfare Visitation: Effects of a Strength-Based Video Coaching Program on Developmentally Supportive Parenting Behaviors
    (University of Oregon, 2013-10-03) Nese, Rhonda; Anderson, Cynthia
    During the Federal fiscal year of 2009, an estimated 3.3 million referrals involving the alleged maltreatment of children were received by child protective service agencies across the United States. Of those cases that received further investigation, approximately 686,400 children were placed in out-of-home care including foster and group facilities, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available research suggests that child welfare agencies provide parent training to assist parents in keeping their children at home or in achieving reunification in approximately 28% of cases. However, the use of parent training programs for families in the child welfare system has received little examination, and no study has examined the use of such practices during supervised visitation time for parents who have lost custody of their child. The present study evaluated the effects of a behavioral parent training program, titled Microsocial Video Parenting (MVP), on the parenting behaviors of mothers who lost legal custody of their children and were receiving supervised visitation at the Department of Human Services. Participants in this study were 4 mother-child dyads, with the child participants ranging in age from 1 to 3 years old. The investigator employed a within-subjects multiple baseline design across behaviors to examine effectiveness of the MVP intervention on increasing developmentally supportive parenting behaviors and decreasing negative parent behaviors. Results obtained across participants documented a clear functional relation between implementation of the MVP intervention and increases in developmentally supportive parenting behaviors. Social validity and contextual fit results also support the utility of this intervention within the child welfare context. Practical and conceptual implications, as well as future research, will be discussed.