The Journal of Special Education

The two most frequently used methods for assessing performance on chained tasks are single opportunity probes (SOPs) and multiple opportunity probes (MOPs). Of the two, SOPs may be easier and less time-consuming but can suppress actual performance. In comparison, MOPs can provide more information but present the risk of participants acquiring steps from probing alone. The authors reviewed and summarized 20 years of single-case design literature that evaluated methods of teaching chained tasks to individuals with disabilities. The authors identified a total of 33 studies. Individual tiers of multiple baseline and probe design graphs were analyzed to evaluate possible differences in participant responding within and between baseline and intervention conditions. Differences were evident, but none considered statistical when comparing data from SOPs and MOPs. The authors discuss possible publication bias as a reason for these findings and offer future research ideas to extend the literature on probe procedures.

Reporting standards and critical appraisal tools serve as beacons for researchers, reviewers, and research consumers. Parallel to existing guidelines for researchers to report and evaluate group-comparison studies, single-case experimental (SCE) researchers are in need of guidelines for reporting and evaluating SCE studies. A systematic search was conducted for quality standards (QSs) for reporting and/or evaluating SCE studies. In total, 11 unique QSs were retrieved. In this article, we discuss the extent to which there is agreement with regard to randomization and data analysis of SCE studies among the 11 proposed sets of QSs. We provide recommendations regarding the inclusion of a randomization and data-analysis standard.

The purpose of this study was to identify, categorize, and describe practitioners’ perspectives regarding factors that help and hinder sustainability of Tier I (universal) systems within School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). Seventeen participants involved in sustaining Tier I SWPBIS over several years within a school district were interviewed and asked what events affected its long-term implementation through a qualitative approach called the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). A total of 227 critical incidents were recorded and sorted into emergent unitary clusters based on content analysis. These categories then underwent rigorous reliability and validity checks, including expert analysis, inter-rater agreement, and participant feedback. This process yielded 13 categories that represent the participants’ experience of sustainability: Continuous Teaching, Positive Reinforcement, SWPBIS Team Effectiveness, Staff Ownership, School Administrator Involvement, Adaptation, Community of Practice, Use of Data, Involving New Personnel, Access to External Expertise, Maintaining Priority, Staff Turnover, and Conflict of Personal Beliefs/Mistaken Beliefs.

This study examined the causes and consequences of secondary teachers’ adaptations when implementing a research-based reading intervention program. Interview, observation, and artifact data were collected on five middle school intervention teachers, leading to a grounded theory composed of the core component, reconciliation through adaptation, and four component concepts: program features, teacher qualities, contextual characteristics, and individual student needs. Findings indicated the most skilled implementers’ adaptations capitalized on their professional strengths and the strengths of the intervention to provide students with more engaging and responsive instruction. Implications for future research and practice in the implementation of reading intervention programs for secondary students with disabilities are discussed.

Despite the growing introduction of inclusive education, children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) are barely included. Because an underlying factor here may be the attitudes of those directly involved, the present study focuses on the attitude of parents and relating variables concerning experience with individuals with disabilities. A self-report questionnaire was completed by 190 parents of children attending general primary schools in the north of the Netherlands. Although parents showed an overall positive attitude, they were most negative about the inclusion of children with PIMD. In addition, no “experience with individuals with disabilities” was slightly negatively associated with the parents’ attitudes. To overcome barriers of the inclusion of children with PIMD, such as negative parental attitudes, the outcomes of the present study are discussed in the light of possible interventions.

The humor styles and family functioning of parents of children with disabilities are understudied subjects. This study seeks to shed quantitative light on these areas. Seventy-two parents of children with disabilities completed the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES IV) and the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ). The FACES IV measured several dimensions of family functioning: cohesion, flexibility, communication, and satisfaction. Cohesion and flexibility were variously scored to indicate whether a balanced or unbalanced propensity for these existed within the family. The HSQ was used to examine whether two adaptive styles of humor (affiliative and self-enhancing) and two maladaptive styles of humor (aggressive and self-defeating), were associated with balanced and unbalanced cohesion and flexibility, as well as with the presence of communication and satisfaction. The most significant results indicated a persistent correlation between prosocial humor styles and family communication and satisfaction. Further exploratory research is urged.