Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities

Using naturalistic research methodology, thirteen mildly retarded secondary students were interviewed in order to discover the extent of their knowledge about sexual topics and to study their attitudes towards various aspects of sexuality. Results indicate that while there was a large amount of variation between the most informed and the least informed respondents, none could really be classified as “well-informed”. Students held a number of attitudes about sexuality, marriage and parenting that, unless modified, could eventually result in problems in adult adjustment in the community. All thirteen students communicated that they needed more information about sexuality and eleven were eager to have sexuality education in school.

Two peer trainers, one moderately mentally retarded and one severely mentally retarded, each taught three peers who were severely handicapped to perform separate steps of a complex assembly line task (packaging or assembly task). Peer trainers were taught to demonstrate correct performance and to praise or correct trainees’ performance contingently. Following training, each trainer monitored the performance of three trainees, who worked simultaneously but independently at separate work stations on one of the assembly line tasks. Results of the investigation, evaluated within a multiple baseline (across peer trainers) design, indicated that trainers were successful in training and monitoring the performance of their peers. During baseline, no objects were packaged or assembled correctly by either group of trainees. Following instruction by a trainer, each group completed an average of 80 or 86 percent of the objects correctly when the trainer was available to monitor performance.

Educators must be sure that mentally retarded adults living in the community are truly integrated and not merely living institutional lives in a new place. Mentally retarded adult men and women living in group home and intermediate group residences (IGR) were interviewed and observed to determine both the quantity and quality of their actual participation in a variety of community environments. All participants spent a majority of their time in their homes. Group home men played a more active role in their integration, occasionally going to community environments of their own choosing without supervision. IGR men and women went less often into the community and rarely (IGR men) or never (IGR women) went out without a supervisor. Implications and suggestions for further research are also discussed.

Sources of resources were considered as part of a larger survey on the availability and use of community resources by group homes for the developmentally disabled in New York City. Included for consideration were the need and availability of resources, sources of resources and variations in resource provision by auspice (State/voluntary). The Utilization of Community Resources Schedule was given to the residence administrator of the 155 participating community facilities during on-site interviews. Results indicated that the community was the major source of most of the resources examined. The exceptions, however, comprised critical areas of day-to-day existence: socializing, work, and education. Additionally, for State operated community facilities, a major source of many ordinary resources was the developmental center.

Human Rights Committees play a central role in monitoring the use of behavior modification in residential facilities serving persons who are mentally retarded. Similar human rights issues are evident with the use of behavior modification (operant conditioning) with severely and profoundly retarded students in public schools. Unlike institutional settings, public schools have not been required to formalize their behavior modification practices for peer review. This paper delineates some of these issues and shows how they are addressed by a Human Rights Committee in a special education public school for multiply handicapped, severely and profoundly retarded students.

Competitive job training for individuals with severe handicapping conditions has recently emerged as a programmatic focus. This study examined competitive on the job training with a 20-year-old institutionalized severely handicapped nonverbal male with Down's Syndrome. The job selected was that of a busperson at a full service community restaurant. Training consisted of systematic instructional procedures focusing primarily on behavioral chain training for acquisition and combined verbal prompts and self-selected reinforcement during break time for rate building. A multiple probe design was employed across four skill clusters to evaluate the effects of instruction. Results demonstrated acquisition of the 152 step task analysis in 45 one hour sessions. The need to give serious consideration to competitive employment instruction with students who are severely handicapped is discussed.

An instructional program is reported in which a young adult with severe handicaps was taught to initiate, sustain, and terminate an age-appropriate leisure skill: an Atari video game. A multiple probe design across these three skill clusters was used to validate the instructional package. Instruction consisted of total task presentation with teacher praise for correct task step performance and a gradually increased intervention hierarchy for task step errors. The results indicated acquisition of the initiation, sustaining, and termination skills. Partial skill maintenance was noted on probes administered 4 weeks following program completion.

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of training on the skills mothers displayed in interacting with their handicapped infants or toddlers. Mothers who were enrolled in an infant education program were videotaped, and their skills were evaluated at three points prior to the initiation of training. Mothers’ skills were also assessed using the Teaching Skills Inventory after the onset of training and after the conclusion of training. Training focused on teaching mothers strategies to enhance the quality of interactions with their infants. Results indicated that mothers made substantial gains during the course of intervention. Significant increases in child interest and involvement in the interactions subsequent to changes in mothers’ skills were also observed. These results are interpreted to indicate that training which focuses on interaction strategies can enhance mothers’ abilities to interact with their young handicapped children. Implications of these findings regarding the use of the assessment tool, the Teaching Skills Inventory (TSI), and the described teaching strategy in intervention programs are discussed.