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PROVIDING A MORE APPROPRIATE EDUCATION FOR SEVERELY HANDICAPPED PERSONS: INCREASING AND VALIDATING FUNCTIONAL CLASSROOM TASKS
Author(s) -
Reid Dennis H.,
Parsons Marsha B.,
McCarn Joyce E.,
Green Carolyn W.,
Phillips James F.,
Schepis Maureen M.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1901/jaba.1985.18-289
Subject(s) - psychology , functional analysis , activities of daily living , developmental psychology , psychiatry , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
We evaluated a teacher training and supervision program for increasing the involvement of severely handicapped adolescents and adults in functional educational tasks. The program, consisting of a brief in‐service followed by supervisory prompts and feedback, was accompanied by large increases in functional tasks in three classrooms. In addition, generalized increases occurred during nontargeted times in the classroom and the changes during both the targeted and nontargeted times were maintained over a 44–45 week period. In two subsequent experiments, surveys provided social validation for the criteria for functional versus nonfunctional tasks in that: (a) relevant individuals reliably categorized functional tasks as representing typical living, work, social, and leisure situations and (b) experienced clinicians consistently rated tasks previously categorized as functional as being more useful for severely handicapped persons than tasks categorized as nonfunctional. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship of functional classroom tasks in the overall provision of appropriate educational services for severely handicapped students.