The relation between adult age and temperament was investigated using the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey. Between the years 1958 and 1974, the GZTS was administered to 915 men from 17 to 98 years of age in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study. Repeated measures were obtained for 336 men approximately 7 years after initial testing. Each GZTS scale was analyzed cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Sequential analyses of independent samples were also carried out in an attempt to separate the effects of maturation from those of generational and cultural change. Results showed that Masculinity declined at all ages, but General Activity declined only after age 50. Thoughtfulness and Personal Relations showed cultural declines during the time period studied, whereas Friendliness showed a long-term cultural decline. Later-born cohorts were lower in Restraint and higher in Ascendance than early-born cohorts.
We investigated instruction of independent creation of picture activity schedules (PASs) and how four middle school students with intellectual disability used them to complete tasks independently. A withdrawal design (A-BC-B-A-B) was used to evaluate whether the intervention had an effect on the dependent variable and to test for generalization to a community setting in a pre/post format. After instruction on the PAS, participants learned to self-manage a strategy that served as a reminder for the tasks they needed to complete. All participants exhibited increased abilities to complete a sequence of three or five tasks following verbal directions when using the PAS as compared with the conditions where no PAS was utilized. In addition, these results generalized to the community setting of a mall food court. Our findings have implications for enhancing the independent functioning of individuals with intellectual disability and reducing reliance on others, with the potential for greater levels of self-determination.
Five secondary students with intellectual disability (ID) participated in a withdrawal design (A-B-A-B) study evaluating the effectiveness of a self-created electronic photographic activity schedule (ePAS). After learning to take photos of various activities using an iPod touch® or iPad®, students learned to use the First Then Visual Schedule application to self-manage task directives. The dependent variables included the percentage of tasks independently and correctly completed and the percentage of steps correctly completed when programming the device. Generalization data were collected in a different setting with different tasks and then using a second device. This study replicated Duttlinger, Ayres, Bevill-Davis, and Douglas (2013), which examined using a paper-based PAS. All five students learned to create and use their own ePAS within 7–12 instructional sessions and generalized their skills to a different setting and device. This research supports teaching students self-management skills that not only increase their independence in completing tasks but also decrease their reliance on others to provide self-management supports.
Everyday technologies (e.g., iPods, iPads, and Smart Phones) offer applications (apps) that can serve as supports to students with intellectual and related developmental disabilities. The extent to which apps that are currently on the market are aligned with the support needs of children was evaluated using the subscale framework of the Children's Supports Intensity Scale (Child-SIS). Recommendations for future research and app development are provided, and implications for how apps influence assistive technology (AT) consideration and the concept of technological abandonment are discussed.
A series of single-subject experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of presentational, translational, illustrative, instructional, and summarizing supports on the reading and listening comprehension of students with moderate intellectual disabilities. The specific eText supports under investigation included digitized voice and text-to-speech, text highlighting, video summaries, text-linked photographs, and graphic organizers. Two eText supports were found to be effective in supporting text comprehension for this population: reading the text out loud (using either recorded voice or text-to-speech), and graphic organizers. The findings also revealed the importance of providing explicit instruction in how to use eText supports. The article summarizes six studies and discusses the implications of the results for students with moderate intellectual disabilities, their teachers, and their parents.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.