I chose to read this particular article because it reflects the research study that I will be doing in the Spring. The study focused on comparing sign language and the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) effectiveness of children with autism acquiring verbal manding, or requesting, behavior. Researchers took two school-aged children with autism (one boy and one girl) and used an alternating treatment design with two phases (baseline and "best-treatment").
The procedure involved assessing the two participants for preferred items, imitation skills, and baseline in verbal language ability. Next, each participant was trained in Sign Language and PECS alternating for 15 sessions then switched to the other treatment for the next 10 sessions and finally used the "best treatment" design for 5 sessions.
The results of the study were very interesting and differed for both participants. Participant A (Carl) responded better to Sign Language, increasing verbal mands by 38%. Participant B (Jennifer) responded better to PECS, increasing verbal mands by 95%. The parents were interviewed at the conclusion of the study and stated that they thought their children's communication skills improved, however they did not like the alternate treatment design of the intervention.
I gained a few ideas by reading this study. First off, my initial idea of not implementing an alternative treatment design was a good choice as this study stated, it would have been more effective to only teach one method. Secondly, I learned that I need to do an interest inventory of the 5 words that I will teach my participants in order to ensure they are motivated (e.g. for "ball" find out if there is a particular ball that each participant enjoys. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this study and found it very helpful for my personal research purposes.
Permalink:
https://ezproxy.western.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=14239117&site=eds-live
References:
Tincani, M. (2004). Comparing the picture exchange communication system and sign
language training for children with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental
Disabilities, 19(3), 152-163.
What an interesting study to look at different methods that reach students. I find it interesting that they only had one male and one female. I would be curious to see if the different genders responded differently to the types of methods used. For instance, do males respond better to the PECS, while females respond better to sign language, or vice versa. The percentages shown between the male and female student were quite large. Perhaps the females respond better to an alternating method, while males would do better keeping the same. I would also assume that sticking with one method would have a greater advantage to acquiring the desired skills, because it provides consistency and parents can be consistent with the method at home as well. I'm glad this document supports your planning for your own research.
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