Article Review

1
Article Review
Losardo, A. Bricker, D. (1994).  Activity-based
intervention and direct instruction A comparison
study.  American Journal on Mental Retardation,
98, 744-765.

• EDEX 745, Spring 2005
• Lisa Harris

2
Research Question

• Which teaching method, direct instruction or
  activity based instruction, works best when
  teaching the acquisition and generalization of
  object names?
• Variables
• Dependent object name acquisition and
  generalization
• Independent teaching methodology

3
Participants/ Setting

• Six preschool-age children with developmental
  delays or who were at risk for these delays
• 4 boys, 2 girls
• 47 66 months (3.9-5.5 years old)
• Average productive speech delay of 19.5 months
  (range 11-26 months)
• Average receptive language age was 19 months
  below average (about 1.5 yrs).
• None of the children had significant sensory or
  physical impairments.
• Setting preschool program that at-risk and
  non-at-risk children attend

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Methods

• 2 groups of 3
• Each group participated in direct instruction and
  activity-based instruction each day.
• Instruction took place in the regular classroom
  setting.
• 6 new words (determined from a pretest) were
  presented in each setting.

5
Methods

• Direct Instruction words
• Stencil, trivet, ewe, heifer, plam, compact
• Activity-based instruction words
• Kiwi, billfold, buck, cygnet, heel, conditioner
• Activity-based scenarios trip-to-the-store,
  construction with Play-Doh, washing babies

6
Procedures

• Phase 1 Baseline
• Exposure to objects depicted by words (1 week)
• Phase 2 Treatment
• Activity-based intervention, direct instruction
  intervention
• 15 minutes for each treatment, 3 days a week for
  6 weeks
• Phase 3 Return to Baseline
• Exposure to objects depicted by words
• Phase 4 Maintenance
• 4 weeks after phase 3, administered structured
  generalization receptive and expressive probes

7
Definitions

• receptive probes
• Participants can point to the object when the
  name is given by the interventionist
• expressive probes
• Participants can recall the word when the
  interventionist shows the object

8
Data Collection

• Acquisition
• Interval recording of responses system, records
  taken by 2 trained data collectors
• Free-Play generalization
• Interval recording of responses system, records
  taken by 2 trained data collectors
• Structured Generalization
• Interventions tested subjects individually at the
  end of each week.
• Anecdotal Report
• Parents and teachers recorded any spontaneous use
  of the targeted vocabulary words.

9
Data for Participant 4
DI
ABI
10
Data for Participant 4
DI
ABI
11
Validity Measures

• Inter-rater reliability
• Mean inter-observer agreement for all treatment
  sessions 93
• Structured generalization receptive and
  expressive tests 100
• Procedural validity
• Interventionists video-taped once a week to
  determine accurate use of intervention procedures
  
• 98 for both interventionists

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Conclusions

• Number of spontaneous occurrences of targeted
  words was greater for activity-based intervention
  words.
• Structured generalization
• Mean activity-based words 16.75
• Mean direct instruction words 9
• A mild to strong effect was recorded for direct
  instruction with no supporting maintenance data.

13
Discussion/ Classroom Application

• Interventionists may want to consider the use of
  more structured training procedures during
  initial acquisition phases complemented by using
  more naturalistic approaches to assure
  generalization and functional use of acquired
  lexicons (p. 764).

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Implications for Human Factors

• Our goal is to have students communicate and
  interact with others in natural settings.
• To avoid AT frustration, students must first be
  taught how to use their AT.
• After a certain level of comfort is achieved
  through training with an AT device, students
  should be able to better interact in natural
  settings.
• It would seem to follow that an experience
  repertoire developed through skilled incremental
  teaching with and exposure to selected simpler
  technologies can lead to greater motivation,
  skill and success with more complex technologies
  later in the clients lives (King, p. 102).
• Success breeds success. We should create an
  environment that lends itself to this by
  considering essential human factors.
• AT devices should be flexible so that people who
  use them can participate more fully and
  comfortably in natural settings.