Theses/Dissertations - Educational Psychology
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Browsing Theses/Dissertations - Educational Psychology by Author "Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-"
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Item A comparison of tact interventions on emergent intraverbal responses in children with developmental disabilities.(2016-07-28) Cloud, Madison, 1993-; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-Many individuals with developmental disorders experience communication deficits, including those with autism spectrum disorders. For some, this includes the underdevelopment of an intraverbal repertoire. A review of the existing literature on tact to intraverbal training showed a majority of the existing body of research has focused on transfer of stimulus procedures. A minority used tact training procedures. This study sought to compare tact training, transfer of tact stimulus, and transfer of echoic stimulus procedures to evaluate for efficiency. Two male children with autism spectrum disorder were taught to name items by category with the three procedures in an adapted alternating treatments design. Results showed that the most efficient prompting technique varied across learners. This confirms previous suggestions that prompting efficiency may vary because of learner idiosyncrasies or learner history. However, tact transfer of stimulus prompting was the most effective across participants.Item Analysis of behavioral indicators as a measure of satiation.(2015-07-16) Scalzo, Rachel.; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the scientific study of behavior that utilizes procedures aimed at improving socially significant behavior, relying heavily on the use of reinforcement, which increases the future frequency of a behavior. Practitioners employ procedures that include extensive use of reinforcement in a variety of ways. Motivating operations is an area of research within ABA that focuses on the momentary effectiveness of a reinforcer, altering both its value and associated behaviors. One way in which to manipulate motivating operation effects is through the use of the behavioral indicators of satiation procedure. A discrepancy was noted in the literature regarding the parameter needed to determine when there is an abative effect, which led to the development of this study. After conducting a paired stimulus preference assessment, a functional behavior assessment was completed with four males diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder indicating challenging behavior was maintained by access to a tangible. To verify the identified behavioral indicators, an item rejection analysis was then completed. Three distinct presession conditions were then manipulated including restricted access to the tangible stimulus for 30 min, access to the tangible stimulus until the display of one behavioral indicator, and access to the tangible stimulus until the display of three behavioral indicators. Each condition was followed by a tangible condition of the functional analysis to measure challenging behavior. Results indicated that presession access to a tangible stimulus until the display of three behavioral indicators is a better measure of an abative effect than one behavioral indicator. Furthermore, a social validity survey was administered to the participants' ABA therapists to gain valuable input regarding the behavioral indicators procedure. This is the first attempt to ascertain the perceived effectiveness or appropriateness of the intervention from stakeholders and it appeared the behavioral indicators procedure was valued to some extent.Item Assessment and treatment of elopement among children with developmental disabilities.(2018-11-28) O'Guinn, Kristin Nicole, 1992-; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-Elopement is a problem behavior that is prevalent among individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities. It often puts them in dangerous situations and makes caretaking difficult. This literature review identified a variety functional behavior assessment methodologies and function-based interventions for elopement among children with developmental disabilities. A replication study based on the procedures of Lehardy et al. (2013) was conducted. The procedures accurately evaluated the function of elopement for one of the two participants. A social validity questionnaire was filled out by all research assistants.Item Choice-making interventions to reduce challenging behavior for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.(2018-11-27) Gee, Providence Alyssa, 1989-; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-A systematic literature review was conducted to summarize the current literature on interventions incorporating choice to reduce challenging behavior. Current literature supports the effectiveness of choice-making interventions on reducing challenging behavior. However, choice-making interventions can vary by the type of choices offered, such choice of activity and choice of materials. Few studies have compared these various approaches to choice-making interventions. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of choice of activity and choice of materials on both challenging behavior and task completion with two children with developmental disabilities. The two choice-making interventions were compared within an alternating treatment design embedded within an ABAB design. Both choice-making interventions resulted in a decrease in challenging behavior and increase in task completion, relative to baseline. However, choice of activity resulted in less challenging behavior relative to choice of materials for one of the two participants. Implications of the results will be discussed.Item Evaluation of resurgence after functional communication training of two communication responses.(2014-09-05) Zoch, Tamara L.; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-; Educational Psychology.; Baylor University. Dept. of Educational Psychology.The current study examined the effects of multiple evaluations of resurgence of challenging behavior. A functional analysis identified the function of participants' challenging behavior. Participants were taught two alternative communication behaviors that served the same function as the challenging behavior. After the participants were taught the first communication behavior, a test for resurgence was implemented, in which reinforcement was withdrawn for using the alternative communication device. Then, a second alternative communication was taught to the participants and reinforced. Next, reinforcement was available for both alternative communication devices. In the final test for resurgence, neither alternative communication behavior was reinforced. This study used an A-B-C-D-B'-C design to evaluate participant responses.Item Implementing multiple schedules after functional communication training in natural settings with natural change agents and natural stimuli.(2021-05-04) Exline, Emily P., 1997-; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-Individuals with autism spectrum disorder are much more likely to engage in challenging behavior than their typically developing peers. Challenging behavior is not only problematic for the individual, but also the key people in their life, such as their caregivers. Functional communication training is an effective intervention to decrease challenging behavior and increase communication skills. However, the intervention is difficult to implement in natural settings where reinforcers may not always be available. There is a significant amount of research on techniques to thin the schedule of reinforcement, but the majority of those study are done in clinical environments with therapist-arranged stimuli. The current study investigates implementing multiple schedules in the home setting via telehealth. In this study, we plan to fade the therapist-arranged stimuli to naturally occurring stimuli. FCT has been effective in reducing our participant’s challenging behavior. We are currently preparing to fade the therapist-arranged stimuli. Data collection is still ongoing.Item Increasing turn-taking skill in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.(2016-07-13) Min, Nandar.; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have a deficit in social communication and be less likely to engage in social-based activities (APA, 2015). Turn-taking is a specific social skill and by improving turn-taking skill, children with ASD may increase in social interaction. The current study examines the improvement of object turn-taking skill of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Most-to-least physical prompting procedure was utilized to increase the participants’ turn-taking skill. Participants were taught how to wait for their turns to play with the object (i.e., trampoline). Therapists recorded the data using frequency count on the participants’ independent performance on turn-taking skill. This study applied the multiple baseline design across participants designed to evaluate the functional relationship between the intervention and turn-taking.Item Preference and efficacy of concurrent schedules of reinforcement in children with autism spectrum disorder.(2015-07-29) Weston, Regan Michelle, 1987-; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-A review of the literature highlighted a lack of research that measured the effects and preference of two or more reinforcement schedules that possess a constant magnitude and varied distribution. The current study replicates and extends the procedures of DeLeon, et al (2014) by comparing two different schedules of reinforcement in children with autism spectrum disorder who possess limited functional communication skills. Participants were exposed to long interval and short interval schedules of reinforcement in an alternating fashion to measure the rate of responding during both schedules. Additionally, a concurrent choice analysis was conducted to determine whether a preference for one schedule of reinforcement emerged for each participant after continued exposure.Item Promoting generalization of communication training by use of the iPad™.(2011-09-14) Strickland, Erica L.; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-; Educational Psychology.; Baylor University. Dept. of Educational Psychology.The current study examined the effects of communication training with an iPad™ used as a speech generating device (SGD) to promote generalization to community settings. The participants were taught to use the iPad™ with the TapToTalk™ application in the training setting to request preferred items that would be accessible in a community setting. Multiple baseline data across participants indicated that the participants not only effectively used the iPad™ as an SGD in the trained setting but also generalized use of the iPad™ to the community setting with untrained community members. Results suggest that the iPad™ with the TapToTalk™ application is an effective SGD for promoting generalization through the use of natural maintaining contingencies. These results also replicate other study’s effectiveness of communication training for individuals with limited communication skills.Item Review of assessment and training strategies for preservice behavior analysts.(2019-07-10) Weston, Regan Michelle, 1987-; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-The need for behavior analytic services is rapidly growing, resulting in a demand for a greater number of practitioners to provide services to consumers. To ensure training is sufficient to produce competent practitioners, strategies should be evaluated through research to determine both the effectiveness and efficiency of the strategy. This manuscript includes an overview of the history of the field of behavior analysis, highlighting the growth of the field and how an evaluation of the way current standards are met and maintained would be beneficial, a review of the relevant literature, an experimental study evaluating a strategy to teach preservice behavior analysts to graph, and a discussion focused on how an analysis of the education and training of these students is warranted in order to fit within the conceptual systems of the discipline. The review of the literature was conducted to identify existing studies that examined training strategies for preservice behavior analysts. Specifically, research conducted within the context of a graduate level behavior analysis classroom, teaching skills that aligned with the Behavior Analysis Certification Board® 4th Edition Task List were included. The results of this study are reported and discussed. Finally, general implications and next steps are suggested in the final chapter. An analysis of the training and education of preservice behavior analysts, adhering to the seven dimensions of applied behavior analysis is recommended to promote continued excellence within the field of behavior analysis as it grows and expands.Item The reduction of self-injurious behavior in the presence of functional communication training and preference of communication modality for children with autism spectrum disorders.(2016-08-01) Uptegrove, Lauren.; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-The use of functional communication training to reduce challenging behaviors such as self-injury has been demonstrated to be effective for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in a variety of settings. However, the preference of communication modality when offered a choice has been evaluated solely by Danov and colleagues (2010) to identify if some modes are broadly more preferred and therefore may be more effective in reducing challenging behavior. The current study will address children diagnosed with ASD that lack verbal communication skills and exhibit self-injury maintained by access to tangibles. Each a participant will be taught two modes of communication, a picture card and an electronic device, in alternating teaching trials. Following the mastery of manding with both modes, the child will be evaluated on preference of communication mode when both are presented for the same tangible reinforcer. The presence of self-injury will be recorded throughout each session.Item Using high-p intervention to reduce difficulties in task transition for children with autism.(2017-07-31) Prawira, Christy, 1991-; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-Difficulties with task transition is a problem that cannot be neglected as it interferes with instruction times. This study extended the use of high probability request sequence (high-p) intervention to reduce challenging behavior and latency to transition for children with autism. Using ABAB design, the efficacy of high-p intervention was evaluated. The intervention had some impact on the reduction of challenging behavior and latency to transition from a preferred to a non-preferred activity. However, the high degree of variability and overlap of the data indicated that high-p was ineffective in reducing difficulties in task transition overall.Item Video activity schedules to support academic learning for children with autism spectrum disorder.(2021-07-23) Kirkpatrick, Marie, 1989-; Akers, Jessica.; Davis, Tonya Nichole, 1979-Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have deficits in communication and engage in restrictive and repetitive behaviors that may impede their ability to learn, particularly in school environments. Evidence-based practices such as visual supports and video modeling have been used to support individuals with ASD. Activity schedules, a type of visual support and video modeling have both demonstrated effectiveness across a variety of skills and settings. However, less is known about what skills or contexts are appropriate for combining the two interventions, known as a video activity schedule. A systematic review was conducted to understand the current research regarding video activity schedules to support skill acquisition (i.e., learning) for individuals with ASD. The results of the review and areas for future research can be found in Chapter Two. Based on the results, a limited number of studies evaluated use of video activity schedules to support academic tasks in general education classrooms. Furthermore, no studies evaluated its use with peers. Therefore, research in this area seems warranted. Chapter Three describes an experimental study that evaluates use of video activity schedules to complete math center activities with young children with ASD and typically developing peers, including one participant in a general education classroom. Chapter Four contains the results of the experimental study, and Chapter Five provides a discussion of the results noting areas for future research. Overall, video activity schedules improved activity completion and on-task behavior for children with ASD and their peers during academic learning activities, but some concerns may need to be considered before using them. Additional research in this area is warranted.