Using structured dyadic movement activities to elicit presymbolic communication behaviors with severely handicapped children
Abstract
This exploratory study was an attempt to describe the social-communicative behaviors of five students with severe physical and cognitive disabilities and to examine the effects of a structured dyadic social communication routine on these behaviors. The routine contained movement as an activity used to increase the behaviors and was presented to the students on a daily basis for a total of 40 sessions for each student. Of these 40 sessions, 15 probe sessions were videotaped for each student and coded into modes and behaviors and the combinations of these behaviors was assigned to one of four states: Engaged, Socially Oriented, Nonsocially Oriented and Negative. The study not only answered specific questions concerning the effects of a structured dyadic social communication routine on the communicative behaviors of these students, but also developed a methodology that would permit adequate coding and analysis of these behaviors. The first question asked was whether the use of movement routines increased the proportion of time spent in a positive, or appropriate social-communicative state over time for these students. A computer program was written for the coded state data converting it into time units showing the proportion of time spent in each state over all of the sessions. The second question addressed whether the proportion of time spent in each state, particularly positive states, changed over time as a function of treatment condition. This question was answered by looking at proportions of time spent in the socially oriented state during each of the seven portions of the treatment routine for each subject over all 15 sessions. The reasons social communicative behaviors did not increase during the movement or any other portion of the movement routine were discussed as well as recommendations for future work in this area.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Karlan, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Special education
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