Now showing 1 - 10 of 21
  • Publication
    Open Access
    Reducing perseverative requesting and other problem behavior in a young girl with autism: A sequentially implemented intervention package
    (Emerald, 2023) ;
    Kreibich, Shelley

    Purpose This study aims to use a sequentially implemented intervention package to reduce the occurrence of perseverative requesting and other problem behavior in a young girl with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

    Design/methodology/approach
    In this single-case study, subsequent to a functional analysis and a preference assessment, an intervention package consisting of three components (i.e. a tolerance for delay to reinforcement, choice-making and visual schedule) was implemented sequentially to address perseverative requesting and other problem behavior maintained by access to preferred items/activities in a young girl with ASD.

    Findings
    Via the intervention package, the girl demonstrated higher self-control skills (i.e. delaying access to preferred items/activities, choosing more preferred items/activities with delayed access over less preferred ones with immediate access, completing tasks before having access to preferred items/activities) with a reduction of perseverative requesting or other problem behavior.

    Originality/value
    The current case study presents concrete steps that could be applied to address tangible-maintained perseverative requesting using more natural and educationally relevant signals while improving the child’s appropriate skills (e.g. delay to reinforcement, self-control and task engagement).

      188  570
  • Publication
    Open Access
      146  173
  • Publication
    Open Access
    Development and psychometric properties of a culturally adapted video version of strange stories as a measure of advanced theory of mind in youths
    This study described the development of a culturally adapted video version of Strange Stories test as a measure of advanced theory of mind for youths in an Asian country (i.e. Singapore), the Y-ToM, and to provide preliminary psychometric properties. Participants were 170 youths (82 male, 88 female) aged from 13 to 16 years old (M = 14.77, SD = 1.16) in Singapore. The youths completed the Y-ToM, an abbreviated IQ test and the Happé’s Strange Stories in a counterbalanced order while their parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). A two-factor structure consisting of social and physical subscales was suggested. Concurrent, convergent, divergent and diagnostic validity of the Y-ToM was examined. Internal consistency of the Y-ToM social subscale was acceptable though it was not satisfactory for the Y-ToM physical subscale. Inter-rater reliability was good while test-retest reliability was lower.
      98  219
  • Publication
    Open Access
    Teaching a child with autism to request help only when needed
    (Emerald, 2022) ;
    Kreibich, Shelley
    ;
    Hyppa-Martin, Jolene

    Purpose Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or other developmental disabilities are often reported to have challenges in well generalizing the newly learned communicative skills such as requesting help. Not requesting help when it is needed can hinder engagement and learning, whereas requesting help could also be socially inappropriate. This paper aims to offer a demonstration of applying general case instruction to teach a young child diagnosed with ASD to request help only when needed while concurrently increasing the child’s independence in task completion.

    Design/methodology/approach
    The demonstration adopted within-participant AB designs for one 5-year-old boy with ASD, with data collected across three tasks targeted for intervention and the other three tasks targeted for generalization probes throughout both the baseline and intervention phases. Dependent measures consisted of independent help request and independent task completion. Visual analysis was used to describe the results.

    Findings
    Results showed that the child with ASD learned to ask for help on difficult educational activities, while concurrently increasing his independence on these tasks; generalized the skill of requesting help by asking for help when he encountered other challenging novel tasks; and independently completed easy educational activities without requesting help.

    Originality/value
    The findings from this study may add to the limited literature that explored the generalization performance across tasks/activities in young learners with ASD, while demonstrating the feasibility of designing and applying general case instruction framework to enhance generalization performance for one individual learner.

    WOS© Citations 1Scopus© Citations 2  307  142
  • Publication
    Open Access
    Developing and piloting a computerized adaptive test for a culturally appropriate measure of adaptive behavior
    Culturally bounded in nature, adaptive behavior is the degree to which a person meets the requirements of personal independence and social responsibilities. This study aimed to develop a computerized adaptive test (CAT) of a culturally appropriate adaptive behavior measure (i.e., the Activities and Participation Rating Scale [APRS]) in the Singapore context for children aged 7 to 12 years, that is, the CAT-APRS-Primary. In Study 1, an item bank consisting of 310 adaptive skills was developed and piloted among 56 caregivers. In Study 2, the refined 310 items were calibrated using Rasch analysis among 352 caregivers. After the removal of five poor items based on the Rasch analysis, the finalized 305 items were used for the CAT development, with these items showing good Rasch person and item fit statistics. Preliminary utility of the CAT-APRS-Primary was established, with participants completing 24 items on average. Limitations and implications for future research were discussed.
    WOS© Citations 2Scopus© Citations 2  340  298
  • Publication
    Open Access
    Investigating the public’s experiences and knowledge of communicating with people with dementia
    (Springer, 2022) ;
    Ng, Clarissa Ming Yi
    ;
    Yu, Jing Rong
    In a rapidly ageing society, a significant number of the elderly are susceptible to dementia, a condition that results in varying degrees of communication impairments. Yet, current research shows that many Singaporeans lack effective communication skills with patients with dementia, contributing to the increased loneliness felt by patients with dementia. In order to understand the severity of the issue mentioned, this project designed an online survey via Qualtrics which was distributed through snowball sampling to potential parties on various platforms such as social media and emails. With a total of 259 participants, our results show that Singaporeans generally lack technical communication skills when conversing with patients with dementia. Yet, many have had experiences communicating with patients with dementia. Results of this study add to previous research done on society’s treatment towards patients with dementia and also offer possible ways Singapore can be more inclusive towards the dementia community.
      182  189
  • Publication
    Open Access
    Evaluating acquisition, preference and discrimination in requesting skills between picture exchange and iPad®-based speech generating device across preschoolers
    (Sage, 2021)
    Yong, Yvonne Hui Lin
    ;
    ; ;
    Yeong, Adeline Mun Yan
    This study compared a picture exchange (PE) system and an iPad®-based speech generating device (SGD) when teaching requesting skills to preschoolers with developmental disabilities and limited functional speech. A multiple baseline design with counterbalancing the order of two instruction conditions across participants was applied to compare the acquisition rate, followed by a concurrent operant arrangement to examine participants’ preference for these two augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. Discrimination of two picture symbols presented via the priority AAC system was also probed using a concurrent operant arrangement. Results indicated that two of three participants required less sessions to reach mastery for the iPad®-based instruction condition. All participants showed a clear preference for the iPad®-based SGD and were able to discriminate between two picture symbols presented simultaneously on the iPad®-based SGD when making requests. This study highlights practice implications in terms of describing a systematic approach that could be employed when identifying a priority AAC system for learners with developmental disabilities and limited functional speech.
    WOS© Citations 3Scopus© Citations 1  332  439
  • Publication
    Open Access
    Parents’ rating and teachers’ rating on young children’s development: Agreements and discrepancies
    (National Institute of Education (Singapore), 2022)
    Xie, Huichao
    ;
    ; ; ;
    Chui, Mae Wong
    ;
    Koh, Hwan Cui
    ;
    Daniel, Lourdes Mary
    ;
    Pratibha Keshav Agarwal
      97  167
  • Publication
    Open Access
    Voice banking to support individuals who use speech-generating devices: Development and evaluation of Singaporean-accented English synthetic voices and a Singapore Colloquial English recording inventory
    (Taylor & Francis, 2023) ;
    Hyppa-Martin, Jolene
    ;
    Bunnell, H. Timothy
    ;
    Lilley, Jason
    ;
    Foo, Celestine
    ;
    Tan, Han Wei
    ;
    Lim, Wei Shun
    Voice banking involves recording an inventory of sentences produced via natural speech. The recordings are used to create a synthetic text-to-speech voice that can be installed on speech-generating devices. This study highlights a minimally researched, clinically relevant issue surrounding the development and evaluation of Singaporean-accented English synthetic voices that were created using readily available voice banking software and hardware. Processes used to create seven unique synthetic voices that produce Singaporean-accented English, and the development of a custom Singaporean Colloquial English (SCE) recording inventory, are reviewed. The perspectives of adults who spoke SCE and banked their voices for this project are summarized and were generally positive. Finally, 100 adults familiar with SCE participated in an experiment that evaluated the intelligibility and naturalness of the Singaporean-accented synthetic voices, as well as the effect of the SCE custom inventory on listener preferences. The addition of the custom SCE inventory did not affect intelligibility or naturalness of the synthetic speech, and listeners tended to prefer the voice created with the SCE inventory when the stimulus was an SCE passage. The procedures used in this project may be helpful for interventionists who wish to create synthetic voices with accents that are not commercially available.
    WOS© Citations 1Scopus© Citations 2  56  11
  • Publication
    Embargo
    Training in-service teachers in functional behavior assessment and function-based interventions: A scoping review
    (Springer, 2024) ; ;
    Nair, Rahul
    Functional behavior assessment (FBA) and function-based interventions are empirically validated interventions employed in schools. Teachers play a necessary role in the development and implementation of these individualized behavior plans to prevent and manage student challenging behavior. The current study sought to conduct a scoping review on the content and instructional delivery of FBA and function-based interventions’ training for in-service teachers. We employed methods consistent with standards for systematic review and meta-analysis (e.g., Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses [PRISMA]). The methodological rigor of included studies was also evaluated using Cochrane’s tool for assessing the risk of bias and what works clearinghouse guidelines for group and single case experimental design studies, respectively. Five databases were searched, and our initial search yielded 20,827 articles. After deleting duplicates on Endnote 9, titles and abstracts were screened by two independent reviewers resulting in 177 articles for full text article screening. Full text article screening across two independent reviewers resulted in nine studies for further thematic analyses of results based on this scoping review’s inclusion criteria. Implications of findings for future research and practice directions in in-service teacher professional development are further discussed.
      52  83