Teaching Responses to Questions to Young Children With Down Syndrome

Abstract

Despite extensive evidence of significant and pervasive impairments in communication in individuals with Down syndrome, there is relatively little empirical and behavior analytic research demonstrating effective intervention procedures. In this study, we examined a behavior analytic intervention to teach answers to questions in two children with Down syndrome. Children acquired the target responses and generalized across settings and people. This contributes to the growing body of demonstrations of behavior analytic interventions to address the needs of children with Down syndrome.

Studying Treatment Intensity: Lessons from Two Preliminary Studies

“…In Study 1, we compared two levels of intensity chosen based on our studies involving teaching skills to young children with Down syndrome (Bauer and Jones accepted;Bauer et al 2013;Feeley and Jones 2008c;Feeley et al 2011). In those studies, sessions consisted of 5-10 opportunities.…”

“…In a growing body of work, we are examining the application of behavior analytic interventions with learners with Down syndrome (Bauer et al 2013;Bauer and Jones 2014;Jones 2006, 2008a, b, c;Feeley et al 2011;Jones et al 2010Jones et al , 2013. The focus of this research has been on developing interventions to address critical areas of need, such as communication (Fidler 2005), that are significantly impaired in this population.…”

Communication intervention for individuals with Down syndrome: Systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Our inclusion criteria yielded a description of the state of the research as it currently exists, allowing commentary on weaknesses in research on interventions for communication for individuals with Down syndrome. Six studies [26][27][28][29][30] included all four quality indicators (maintenance, generalization, integrity, and reliability) and all had high PND values (ranging from 76% to 100%). Other studies contained an array of methodological inadequacies.…”

Effects of intervention intensity on skill acquisition and task persistence in children with Down syndrome

“…To optimally address the needs of individuals with Down syndrome, interventions addressing impairments should be both effective and efficient. Growing evidence indicates applied behaviour analytic teaching can effectively address critical areas of weakness for children with Down syndrome (e.g., Bauer, & Jones, ; Bauer, Jones, & Feeley, ; Bauer & Jones,; Feeley, Jones, Blackburn, & Bauer, ; Jones, Neil, & Feeley, ). The behaviour analytic interventions that have been examined are high intensity, involving a number of repeated teacher‐directed learning opportunities, presented in close proximity, with specific prompting procedures, high rates of reinforcement and error correction procedures.…”