Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

, Volume 24, Issue 5, pp 631–645 | Cite as

Increasing opportunities for requesting in classrooms serving children with developmental disabilities

  • Jeff Sigafoos
  • Michelle Kerr
  • Donna Roberts
  • Donna Couzens
Article

Abstract

Evaluated an intervention package for increasing requesting opportunities in special education classrooms. Five teachers, serving 26 children with moderate to severe disabilities, received in-service training, consultation, and feedback on the use of three strategies designed to create opportunities for requesting (i.e., missing item, interrupted chain, delayed assistance). Observations were conducted in a multiple-baseline across classrooms design to record the number and types of opportunities provided by each teacher. During baseline, few opportunities for requesting were observed. The number of opportunities for requesting and the number of correct student responses increased during intervention. Opportunities continued to be provided during generalization and follow-up sessions. The study demonstrated an effective strategy for helping teachers incorporate opportunities for functional communication into the natural environment.

Keywords

Natural Environment School Psychology Special Education Effective Strategy Developmental Disability 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. American Psychiatric Association. (1987).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed. rev.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
  2. Carr, E. G. (1982). Sign language. In R. Koegel, A. Rincover, & A. Egel (Eds.),Educating and understanding autistic children (pp. 142–157). San Diego: College Hill.Google Scholar
  3. Cipani, E. (1988). The missing item format.Teaching Exceptional Children, 21, 25–27.Google Scholar
  4. Cipani, E. (1989). Providing language consultation in the natural context: A model for delivery of services.Mental Retardation, 27, 317–324.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Duker, P. C., & Moonen, X. M. (1986). The effect of two procedures on spontaneous signing with Down's syndrome children.Journal of Mental Deficiency Research, 30, 355–364.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Goetz, L., Gee, K., & Sailor, W. (1985). Using a behavior chain interruption strategy to teach communication skills to students with severe disabilities.Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 10, 21–30.Google Scholar
  7. Grossman, H. J. (1983).Classification in mental retardation. Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Deficiency.Google Scholar
  8. Guess, D., Sailor, W., & Baer, D. M. (1974). To teach language to retarded children. In R. L. Schiefelbusch & L. Lloyd (Eds.),Language perspectives: Acquisition, retardation, and intervention (pp. 529–563). Baltimore: University Park Press.Google Scholar
  9. Hall, G., & Sundberg, M. L. (1987). Teaching mands by manipulating conditioned establishing operations.Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 5, 41–53.Google Scholar
  10. Halle, J. W. (1987). Teaching language in the natural environment: An analysis of spontancity.Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 12, 28–37.Google Scholar
  11. Halle, J. W. (1988). Adopting the natural environment as the context of training. In S. N. Calculator & J. L. Bedrosian (Eds.),Communication assessment and intervention for adults with mental retardation (pp. 155–185). Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
  12. Haring, T. G., Neetz, J. A., Lovinger, L., Peck, C., & Semmel, M. I. (1987). Effects of four modified incidental teaching procedures to create opportunities for communication.Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 12, 218–226.Google Scholar
  13. Harris, S. L. (1975). Teaching language to nonverbal children with emphasis on problems of generalization.Psychological Bulletin, 82, 565–580.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. Hart, B., & Risley, T. F. (1975). Incidental teaching of language in the preschool.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 8, 411–420.Google Scholar
  15. Horner, R. D., & Baer, D. M. (1978). Multiple-probe technique: A variation of the multiple-baseline.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 189–196.Google Scholar
  16. Hunt, P., Goetz, L., Alwell, M., & Sailor, W. (1986). Using an interrupted behavior chain strategy to teach generalized communication responses.Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 11, 196–204.Google Scholar
  17. Lovaas, O. I., Koegel, R., Simmons, J. Q., & Long, J. S. (1973). Some generalization and follow-up measures on autistic children in behavior therapy.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6, 131–166.Google Scholar
  18. Peck, C. A., Killen, C. C., & Baumgart, D. (1989). Increasing implementation of special education instruction in mainstream preschools: Direct and generalized effects of nondirective consultation.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 22, 197–210.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  19. Reichle, J., Anderson, H., & Schermer, G. (1986).Establishing the discrimination between requesting objects, requesting assistance and “helping yourself.” Unpublished manuscript, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.Google Scholar
  20. Sailor, W., & Mix, B. (1975).The Topeka Association for Retarded Citizen's Assessment System. Austin, TX: Pro-ed.Google Scholar
  21. Sigafoos, J., Doss, S., & Reichle, J. (1989). Developing mand and tact repertoires in persons with severe developmental disabilities using graphic symbols.Research in Developmental Disabilities, 10, 183–200.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  22. Sigafoos, J., Roberts, D., Kerr, M., Couzens, D., & Baglioni, T. (1994). Opportunities for communication in classrooms serving children with developmental disabilities.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 259–279.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  23. Sosne, J. B., Handleman, J. S., & Harris, S. L. (1979). Teaching spontaneous-functional speech to autistic type children.Mental Retardation, 17, 241–245.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  24. Spradlin, J. E., & Siegel, G. M. (1982). Language training in natural and clinical environments.Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 47, 2–6.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  25. Stokes, T. F., & Baer, D. M. (1977). An implicit technology of generalization.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 349–367.Google Scholar
  26. Tirapelle, L., & Cipani, E. (1992). Developing functional requesting: Acquisition, durability, and generalization of effects.Exceptional Children, 58, 260–269.Google Scholar
  27. Warren, S. F., Rogers-Warren, A. K., Baer, D. M., & Guess, D. (1980). Assessment and facilitation of language generalization. In W. Sailor, B. Wilcox, & L. Brown (Eds.),Methods of instruction for severely handicapped students (pp. 227–258). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Plenum Publishing Corporation 1994

Authors and Affiliations

  • Jeff Sigafoos
    • 1
  • Michelle Kerr
    • 1
  • Donna Roberts
    • 1
  • Donna Couzens
    • 1
  1. 1.Fred and Eleanor Schonell Special Education Research CentreThe University of QueenslandQueenslandAustralia

Personalised recommendations