Early childhood intervention practitioners’ competence and confidence appraisals using recommended practices and relationship with parent involvement / Competencia y confianza profesional en atención temprana en el uso de prácticas recomendadas y su relación con la involucración parental

La involucración parental es un componente importante de las prácticas recomendadas en atención temprana (AT). Sin embargo, la forma en que los padres son involucradosen la intervención temprana de sus hi-jos difiere considerablemente entre los profesionales. En este sentido, la investigación actual muestra que el juicio de los profesionales en relación a su competencia y confianza influye el uso de prácticas de AT. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron (1) adaptar y validar la Early Childhood Intervention Practitioner Competence and Confidence Scale para su uso en España, (2) examinar las propiedades psicométricas de esta escala, (3) comparar las creencias de los profesionales en relación a su competencia y confianza en el uso de prácticas recomendadas, y (4) analizar la relación entre estas creencias y el juicio de los profesionales sobre la involucración parental en AT. A este fin, se contó con una muestra española de 130 profesionales de AT. Los resultados indicaron que la escala es un instrumento válido y fiable para medir la competencia y confianza profesional en el uso de seis prácti-cas recomendadas de AT en el contexto español. El juicio de los profesio-nales respecto a su competencia y confianza difirió entre las diversas prác-ticas recomendadas. Se encontraron correlaciones positivas y significativas entre las valoraciones de competencia y confianza de los profesionales y sus juicios sobre la involucración parental. Estos resultados muestran que una elevada competencia y confianza en el uso de diferentes tipos de prác-ticas recomendadas en AT está relacionada con una mayor involucración parental en la participación activa del niño en su aprendizaje y desarrollo en actividades cotidianas. Se discuten las implicaciones prácticas y de investigación.(AU)

Parent involvement in early childhood intervention (ECI) is considered an important component of recommended ECI practices. However, how parents are involved in their child’s early intervention dif-fers considerably between ECI practitioners. Current research indicates that practitioners’ competence and confidence appraisals influence the use of ECI practices. The purposes of this study were to (1) adapt and validate the Early Childhood Intervention Practitioner Competence and Confi-dence Scale for use in Spain, (2) examine the psychometric properties of the scale, (3) compare practitioners’ beliefs about their competence and confidence in using recommended ECI practices, and (4) evaluate the rela-tionship between belief appraisals and practitioners’ judgmentsof parent involvement in ECI. The sample included 130 Spanish ECI practitioners. The results indicated that the scale is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring practitioners’ competence and confidence in using six ECI-recommended practices in Spain. Practitioners’ appraisals of competence and confidence, however, differed across the recommended practices. Sig-nificant positive correlations were found between the practitioners’ ap-praisals of competence and confidence and their judgments of parent in-volvement. These results show that a strong sense of competence and con-fidence in using different kinds of ECI-recommended practices is related to increased parent involvement in active child participation in learning and development in everyday activities. Research and practical implications are discussed.(AU)

Parent Coaching in Early Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Brief Report.

Coaching caregivers of young children on the autism spectrum is a critical component of parent-mediated interventions. Little information is available about how providers implement parent coaching for children on the autism spectrum in publicly funded early intervention systems. This study evaluated providers' use of parent coaching in an early intervention system. Twenty-five early intervention sessions were coded for fidelity to established caregiver coaching techniques. We found low use of coaching techniques overall, with significant variability in use of coaching across providers. When providers did coach caregivers, they used only a few coaching strategies (e.g., collaboration and in-vivo feedback). Results indicate that targeted training and implementation strategies focused on individual coaching components, instead of coaching more broadly, may be needed to improve the use of individual coaching strategies. A focus on strengthening the use of collaboration and in-vivo feedback may be key to improving coaching fidelity overall.

Meta-Analyses of the Relationships between Family Systems Practices, Parents' Psychological Health, and Parenting Quality.

(1) Background: Family systems theories include assertations that both personal and environmental factors are determinants of parents' psychological health, well-being, and parenting quality. Applied family systems theories focus on determinants that can be operationalized as intervention practices. The analyses described in this paper focused on the direct and indirect effects of four family systems practices (family needs, resources, supports, and strengths), parents' psychological health (depression, well-being, etc.), and parenting quality (parenting beliefs, involvement, and practices) in families of children with identified disabilities, medical conditions, or at-risk conditions for poor outcomes; (2) Methods: Data from previously completed meta-analyses of the relationships between family systems practices and parents' psychological health outcomes and parenting quality outcomes were reanalyzed. Next, a meta-analysis of the relationships between parents' psychological health and parenting quality was completed to identify which predictors were related to which parenting quality outcomes. Both main effects and mediated effects were examined; (3) Results: The four family systems practices were each related to six different psychological health measures and three parenting quality measures. The six different parental psychological health measures were also related to the three parenting quality measures. The relationships between family systems practices and parenting quality were partially mediated by parents' psychological health; (4) Conclusions: The effects of family systems practices and parents' psychological health on parenting quality were primarily direct and independent. The relationships between family systems practices and parenting quality were partially mediated by parents' psychological health. Future research should focus on the identification of other mediator variables found to be important for explaining the indirect effects of family systems practices measures on parenting beliefs, behavior, and practices.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Governmental Policies on Rehabilitation Services and Physical Medicine in Jordan: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Although the COVID-19 pandemic led to a series of governmental policies and regulations around the world, the effect of these policies on access to and provision of rehabilitation services has not been examined, especially in low and middle- income countries. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of governmental policies and procedures on the number of patients who accessed rehabilitation services in the public sector in Jordan during the pandemic and to examine the combined effect of sociodemographic factors (age and gender) and the governmental procedures on this number of patients. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted based on records of 32,503 patients who visited the rehabilitation center between January 2020 and February 2021. Interrupted time-series analysis was conducted with three periods and by age and gender. Results: The number of patients who visited the rehabilitation clinics decreased significantly between January 2020 and May 2020 due to government-imposed policies, then increased significantly until peaking in September 2020 (p = 0.0002). Thereafter, the number of patients decreased between October 2020 and February 2021 as a result of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (p = 0.02). The numbers of male and female patients did not differ (p > 0.05). There were more patients aged 20 years and older attending rehabilitation clinics than younger patients during the first strict lock down and the following reduction of restriction procedures periods (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The COVID-19 public measures in Jordan reduced access to rehabilitation services. New approaches to building resilience and access to rehabilitation during public health emergencies are needed. A further examination of strategies and new approaches to building resilience and increasing access to rehabilitation during public health emergencies is warranted.

Development and Psychometric Properties of the Arabic Parent Nutritional Assessment Scale (A-PNAS) for Children with Developmental Disabilities.

Aims: To describe the development of the Arabic-Parent Nutritional Assessment Scale (A-PNAS), and to examine construct and known-group discriminant validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the A-PNAS.Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. Participants were 130-children with CP (mean age = 4.26 ± 3.29 years) who were registered in the national CP registry of Jordan with a matching group of 130-children with typical development (mean age = 4.65 ± 3.54 years). Parents completed the developed A-PNAS through a structured phone interview. Parents of children with CP confirmed their child's level of gross motor function classification system.Results: Exploratory factor analysis identified three subscales in the A-PNAS: Food Intake Problems, Health Problems, and Behavioral Problems which explained 31.6% of the variance in nutritional problems of children with CP. Cronbach's alpha indicated acceptable internal consistency for Food Intake (α = 0.61) and Health Problems (α = 0.67)subscales. Parents of children with CP reported that their children had more food intake, health, and behavioral problems compared to children with typical development (p<.001). Test-retest reliability was excellent for the subscales of the A-PNAS (ICCs = 0.96, 0.98, 0.96).Conclusions: The findings provide support for the face validity, construct validity, internal consistency, Known-Groups discriminant validity, and test-retest reliability of the A-PNAS.

Family Hardiness and Parent and Family Functioning in Households with Children Experiencing Adverse Life Conditions: a Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of the meta-analysis were to evaluate the relationship between family hardiness and different dimensions of parent and family functioning in households experiencing adverse child or family life events and circumstances and determine if family hardiness had either or both stress-buffering and healthenhancing effects on parent and family functioning. METHOD: Studies were included if the correlations between family hardiness and different dimensions of parental or family functioning were reported. The synthesis included 53 studies (N = 4418 participants) conducted in nine countries between 1992 and 2017. RESULTS: showed that family hardiness was related to less parental stress, anxiety/depression, and parenting burden/demands and positively related to parental global health, well-being, and parenting practices. Results also showed that family hardiness was negatively related to family stress and positively related to family life satisfaction, adaptation, and cohesion. The effects sizes between family hardiness and positive parent and family functioning indicators were larger than those for stress-buffering indicators. Child and family life events and child age moderated the relationship between family hardiness and family but not parental functioning. CONCLUSION: The results are consistent with the hypothesis that family hardiness is an internal resource that simultaneously has stress-buffering and health-enhancing effects on parent and family functioning.

OBJETIVO: el presente metaanálisis buscó evaluar la relación entre resistencia y diferentes dimensiones del funcionamiento parental y familiar en hogares que experimentan acontecimientos vitales adversos tanto familiares como del niño/a. El segundo objetivo fue determinar si la resistencia familiar tenía un efecto amortiguador del estrés y/o el aumento de la salud en el funcionamiento parental y familiar. MÉTODO: Se incluyeron aquellos estudios que aportaban la correlación entre la resistencia familiar y una o más dimensiones de funcionamiento parental y familiar. La síntesis incluyo 53 estudios (N = 4418 participantes) llevados a cabo en nueve países entre 1992 y 2017. RESULTADOS: No se encontró sesgo en la publicación de los tamaños de los efectos de los informes de investigación en el metaanálisis. Los resultados mostraron que la resistencia familiar estaba relacionada con menos estrés parental, ansiedad/depresión y demandas/cargas parentales y se relacionaba positivamente con la salud parental global, el bienestar emocional y las prácticas parentales. Los resultados también mostraron cómo la resistencia familiar se relacionaba de manera negativa con el estrés familiar y de manera positiva con la satisfacción con la vida, adaptación y cohesión. Los tamaños del efecto entre resistencia familiar e indicadores positivos de funcionamiento familiar y parental fueron mayores que los de la amortiguación del estrés. CONCLUSIONES: Los acontecimientos de la vida del niño/a y de la familia, junto con la edad del niño/a, moderaban la relación entre la resistencia y el funcionamiento familiares, pero no el funcionamiento parental. Los resultados son consistentes con la hipótesis de que la resistencia familiar es un recurso interno que de manera simultánea tiene un efecto amortiguador del estrés y el aumento de la salud para el funcionamiento parental y familiar.

Parent empowerment and coaching in early intervention: study protocol for a feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Parent-mediated early interventions (EI) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can result in significant improvements in children's cognitive ability, social functioning, behavior, and adaptive skills, as well as improvements in parental self-efficacy and treatment engagement. The common component to efficacious parent-mediated early interventions for ASD is clinician use of parent coaching and occurs when a clinician actively teaches the parent techniques to improve their child's functioning. Available evidence suggests that community-based EI clinicians rarely coach parents when working with families of these children, although specific barriers to coaching are unknown. This consistent finding points to the need to develop strategies to improve the use of parent coaching in community EI programs. The purpose of this community-partnered study is to iteratively develop and pilot test a toolkit of implementation strategies designed to increase EI clinicians' use of parent coaching. METHODS: This study has four related phases. Phase 1: examine how EI clinicians trained in Project ImPACT, an evidence-based parent-mediated intervention, coach parents of children with ASD. Phase 2: identify barriers and facilitators to clinician implementation of parent coaching by administering validated questionnaires to, and conducting semi-structured interviews with, clinicians, parents, and agency leaders. Phase 3: partner with a community advisory board to iteratively develop a toolkit of implementation strategies that addresses identified barriers and capitalizes on facilitators to improve clinician implementation of evidence-based parent coaching. Phase 4: pilot test the feasibility and effectiveness of the implementation strategy toolkit in improving EI clinicians' use of parent coaching with nine EI clinicians and parent-child dyads using a multiple-baseline-across-participants single-case design. DISCUSSION: Completion of these activities will lead to an in-depth understanding of EI clinicians' implementation of parent coaching in usual practice following training in an evidence-based parent-mediated intervention, barriers to their implementation of parent coaching, a toolkit of implementation strategies developed through an iterative community-partnered process, and preliminary evidence regarding the potential for this toolkit to improve EI clinicians' implementation of parent coaching. These pilot data will offer important direction for a larger evaluation of strategies to improve the use of parent coaching for young children with ASD.

Family-centered practices and the parental well-being of young children with disabilities and developmental delay.

BACKGROUND: Research evidence from studies in North America on the relationships between family-centered practices, parents' self-efficacy beliefs, parenting confidence and competence beliefs, and parents' psychological well-being was used to confirm or disconfirm the same relationships in two studies in Spain. AIMS: The aim of Study 1 was to determine if results from studies in North America could be replicated in Spain and the aim of Study 2 was to determine if results from Study 1 could be replicated with a second sample of families in Spain. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A survey including the study measures was used to obtain data needed to evaluate the relationships among the variables of interest. The participants were 105 family members in Study 1 and 310 family members in Study 2 recruited from nine early childhood intervention programs. Structural equation modeling was used to test the direct and indirect effects of the study variables on parents' well-being. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Results showed that family-centered practices were directly related to both self-efficacy beliefs and parenting beliefs, and indirectly related to parents' psychological well-being mediated by belief appraisals. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The pattern of results was similar to those reported in other studies of family-centered practices. Results indicated that the use of family-centered practices can have positive effects on parent well-being beyond that associated with different types of belief appraisals.

Effects of a Collaborative Intervention Process on Parent Empowerment and Child Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

AIMS: To examine the effects of a four-step collaborative intervention process on parent and child outcomes and describe parents' and therapists' experiences. METHODS: Eighteen children with physical disabilities, their mothers, and 16 physical therapists participated. Therapists randomized to the experimental group were instructed in the collaborative intervention process. All family-therapist dyads participated in six weekly sessions. Outcomes included the adapted Family Empowerment Scale (FES) and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). A questionnaire was completed by parents and therapists to rate and describe their experiences. RESULTS: Mean scores on the FES (p <.05) and COPM (p <.001) increased after intervention but there were no group differences (p >.05). Effect size for change in child performance (.73) and parent satisfaction (1.08) on the COPM favored the experimental group. Parents in the experimental group were more confident in carrying out activities during daily routines (p =.01) and worked together with therapists to a greater extent (p =.01) than parents in the comparison group. Therapists in the experimental group perceived that they provided information/instruction (p <.01) and worked together with parents (p =.02) to a greater extent than therapists in the comparison group. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the importance of shared goal setting for children's activities. Further research is recommended.

Effects of a Collaborative Intervention Process on Parent-Therapist Interaction: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Aim: To determine whether a collaborative intervention process facilitates parent-therapist interactions. Methods: Participants were 18 children with physical disabilities, their mothers, and 16 physical therapists. Therapists randomized to the experimental group were instructed in strategies for collaboration (working together) with parents in goal setting, planning, and implementing interventions. Family-therapist dyads participated in 6 weekly sessions. Four sessions were videotaped and combined (1st and 2nd for goal-setting/planning, 3rd and 5th for implementation) to code behaviors using Response Class Matrix. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to compare therapist and parent behaviors between groups. Results: Therapists in the experimental group demonstrated a higher frequency of "seeking information" (p < 0.01), "giving information" (p < 0.05), "positive behavior" (p < 0.01) and lower frequency of "child-related behavior" (p < 0.001) than therapists in the comparison group during goal-setting/planning and implementation. Parents in the experimental group demonstrated a higher frequency of "giving information" than parents in the comparison group (p < 0.01) during goal-setting/planning and implementation. Conclusion: Parents and therapists in the experimental group interacted more with each other, whereas those in the comparison group focused more on the child. The collaborative strategies appear to have increased parent participation in the intervention process, which has been a challenge for physical and occupational therapists.

Multilevel linear modelling of the response-contingent learning of young children with significant developmental delays.

AIM: The purpose of the study was to isolate the sources of variations in the rates of response-contingent learning among young children with multiple disabilities and significant developmental delays randomly assigned to contrasting types of early childhood intervention. METHOD: Multilevel, hierarchical linear growth curve modelling was used to analyze four different measures of child response-contingent learning where repeated child learning measures were nested within individual children (Level-1), children were nested within practitioners (Level-2), and practitioners were nested within the contrasting types of intervention (Level-3). RESULTS: Findings showed that sources of variations in rates of child response-contingent learning were associated almost entirely with type of intervention after the variance associated with differences in practitioners nested within groups were accounted for. Rates of child learning were greater among children whose existing behaviour were used as the building blocks for promoting child competence (asset-based practices) compared to children for whom the focus of intervention was promoting child acquisition of missing skills (needs-based practices). IMPLICATIONS: The methods of analysis illustrate a practical approach to clustered data analysis and the presentation of results in ways that highlight sources of variations in the rates of response-contingent learning among young children with multiple developmental disabilities and significant developmental delays.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the family-centred practices scale for use with families of young children receiving early childhood intervention.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood intervention (ECI) centres in Spain recently initiated a process of change towards the adoption of family-centred practices (FCPs). Knowledge about the extent to which practitioners' use FCPs is needed. The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the FCPs scale were examined. METHOD: A convenience sample of 105 families of children with developmental delays attending three different ECI centres in Spain completed the FCPs scale and provided information about the ECI centre characteristics and practices, caregiver self-efficacy beliefs, and family and child demographic information. RESULTS: The Spanish version of the FCP scale was found to be both reliable and valid. FCPs were correlated with self-efficacy beliefs, parents' involvement in their child's ECI program and family decision making. CONCLUSION: The FCP scale provides practitioners with useful information about their practices, but also has capacity-building consequences for families. The study is a first step for examining the use of FCPs in Spain.

Contrasting approaches to the response-contingent learning of young children with significant delays and their social-emotional consequences.

AIMS: The purpose of the analyses described in this paper was to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of two different approaches to child response-contingent learning on rates of child learning and both concomitant and collateral child social-emotional behaviour. METHOD: The participants were 71 children with significant developmental delays or multiple disabilities randomly assigned to either of the two contrasting approaches to interventions. RESULTS: Findings showed that an intervention which employed practices that built on existing child behaviour (asset-based practices) was more effective than an intervention focusing on teaching children missing skills (needs-based practices) for influencing changes in the rates of child learning as well as rates of child social-emotional behaviour mediated by differences in rates of child learning. IMPLICATIONS: Both the theoretical and practical importance of the results are described in terms of the extended social-emotional benefits of asset-based response-contingent learning games.

Interest-based everyday child language learning / Aprendizaje diario del lenguaje en niños basado en intereses

Introduction. This paper includes a description of an intervention model and research on the effectiveness of the model and associated practices that used child interest-based participation in everyday activities as sources of communication and language learning opportunities. Methodology. The intervention included four components: (a) interest-based child learning opportunities, (b) everyday family and community activities as sources of child learning opportunities, (c) methods for increasing child participation in interest-based everyday activities, and (d) parents’ use of responsive teaching for promoting child communication and language competence. The participants were 21 practitioners and 58 families of infants and toddlers with developmental delays. The intervention was implemented in the children's home by their parents an average of 12 months. Structural equation modeling was used to trace the effects of practitioner and parent fidelity of the intervention practices to rates of child language learning. Results. The more children participated in interest-based everyday activities, the greater the growth in the children's language acquisition. The results also showed that practitioner and parent fidelity of use of the practices were indirectly related to changes in children's language development mediated by parents’ judgments of the usefulness of the practices and the frequency of child participation in interest-based everyday activities. Discussion and conclusion. Results indicated that incorporating children's interests into everyday child language learning activities was an effective intervention strategy. The difference between practitioner- and parent-implemented everyday child language learning practices are described as are the implications for practice (AU)

Introducción. Este artículo presenta un modelo de intervención y una investigación centrados en la efectividad del modelo y en las prácticas asociadas que usan los intereses del niño para promover su participación en las actividades diarias para el aprendizaje de la comunicación y el lenguaje. Metodología. La intervención constó de 4 componentes: a)oportunidades de aprendizaje basadas en el interés del niño; b)actividades diarias de la familia y la comunidad entendidas como fuentes de oportunidades para el aprendizaje del niño; c)métodos para aumentar la participación del niño en actividades diarias basadas en sus intereses, y d)el uso por parte de los padres de una enseñanza responsiva para promover competencias de comunicación y lenguaje en el niño. Participaron 21 profesionales y 48 familias con niños con problemas en el desarrollo. La intervención se llevó a cabo en el hogar de los niños. Fueron los padres quienes la implementaron y duró una media de 12meses. Se usó un modelo de ecuación estructural para trazar los efectos de la fidelización de los profesionales y los padres a las prácticas del programa en el índice de aprendizaje del lenguaje en el niño. Resultados. Cuanto más participaban los niños en actividades diarias basadas en sus intereses, mayor era el crecimiento en su adquisición del lenguaje. Los resultados también mostraron que la fidelidad de los padres y los profesionales al uso de las prácticas estuvo indirectamente relacionada con los cambios en el desarrollo del lenguaje del niño, mediado a través de la valoración que los padres hacían sobre la utilidad de las prácticas y la frecuencia de la participación del niño en las actividades diarias basadas en su interés. Discusión y conclusiones. Los resultados indicaron que incorporar los intereses del niño en las actividades diarias de aprendizaje del lenguaje fue una estrategia de intervención efectiva. Se describen las diferencias entre la implementación por parte de los profesionales y el hecho de que sean los padres quienes utilicen las prácticas en las actividades diarias para el aprendizaje del lenguaje en términos de implicaciones para la práctica (AU)

Strategies to promote family-professional collaboration: two case reports.

PURPOSE: Although research supports family-professional collaboration, challenges to implementation have been reported. The case reports describe the implementation of a 4-step practice model that incorporates specific strategies to facilitate family-professional collaboration. METHOD: The participants were two mothers of children with physical disabilities and two physical therapists. Therapists received instruction in the strategies for collaboration including client-centred interview, visualising a preferred future, scaling questions, and family routine and activity matrix. The intervention was implemented during 6-weekly sessions. The 2nd and 5th sessions were videotaped to analyse the interactions between the parent and therapist using Response Class Matrix. Telephone interviews were conducted to explore participants' experiences. RESULTS: Therapists were able to implement all strategies following 6 h of instruction. Analysis of the videotapes indicated that mother-therapist interactions were characterised by sharing information and open communication in a mutually supportive manner. Interviews with the mothers and therapists indicated that the therapists engaged the mothers in the intervention process and tailored interventions to child and family needs. The scaling questions were difficult to implement (therapists) and answer (parents). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the strategies can be used by therapists to promote collaboration and involve parents in setting goals and the intervention process. Implications for Rehabilitation Strategies to promote parent-therapist collaboration include client-centred interview, visualising a preferred future, scaling questions, and family routine and activity matrix. Therapists with no previous instruction or training on family-centred services successfully implemented the strategies following 6 h of instruction. Interactions between two parent-physical therapist dyads were characterised by sharing information and open communication in a mutually supportive manner following therapist instruction in strategies for parent-therapist collaboration.

Meta-analysis of studies incorporating the interests of young children with autism spectrum disorders into early intervention practices.

Incorporating the interests and preferences of young children with autism spectrum disorders into interventions to promote prosocial behavior and decrease behavior excesses has emerged as a promising practice for addressing the core features of autism. The efficacy of interest-based early intervention practices was examined in a meta-analysis of 24 studies including 78 children 2 to 6 years of age diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Effect size analyses of intervention versus nonintervention conditions and high-interest versus low-interest contrasts indicated that interest-based intervention practices were effective in terms of increasing prosocial and decreasing aberrant child behavior. Additionally, interest-based interventions that focused on two of the three core features of autism spectrum disorders (poor communication, poor interpersonal relationships) were found most effective in influencing child outcomes. Implications for very early intervention are discussed in terms addressing the behavior markers of autism spectrum disorders before they become firmly established.

Guide for calculating and interpreting effect sizes and confidence intervals in intellectual and developmental disability research studies.

This paper includes a nontechnical description of methods for calculating effect sizes in intellectual and developmental disability studies. Different hypothetical studies are used to illustrate how null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) and effect size findings can result in quite different outcomes and therefore conflicting results. Whereas NHST uses probability levels (e.g., p < .05) to evaluate the results of studies, effect size analyses focus on the magnitude of differences between groups or contrasting conditions and the strength of the relationship among variables of interest to report and interpret study results. Two families of effect sizes are described (mean difference, correlation coefficients) that are likely to be applicable to most intellectual and developmental disability studies. Sources of information on effect size calculators are included to provide researchers ready-available data analysis procedures for computing effect sizes and confidence intervals for different types of research designs and studies.

Exploratory investigation of the effects of interest-based learning on the development of young children with autism.

The influences of child participation in interest-based learning activities on the development of 17 preschoolers with autism was the focus of this brief report. The children's mothers identified their children's interests and the everyday family and community activities that provided opportunities for interest-based learning. Parents then implemented intervention procedures for 14 to 16 weeks to increase child participation in the selected activities. Based on an investigator-administered interestingness scale, the children were divided into high and low interest-based learning groups. The children's language, cognitive, social, and motor development quotients obtained at the beginning, the middle, and the end of the intervention were the dependent measures. Results showed that the high interest-based group made considerably more developmental progress compared to the low interest-based group. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Influence of the interests of children with autism on everyday learning opportunities.

Findings from a pilot study investigating the influence of the interests of young children with autism on parents' provision of everyday informal child learning opportunities are described. 17 children (13 boys, 4 girls) were divided into two groups that received everyday learning opportunities of Low interest and High interest, based on parents' bi-weekly ratings of the interestingness of the opportunities to the children, using an investigator-developed measure. A brief intervention of 12 to 14 weeks showed that the children in the High interest-based group were provided more learning opportunities than were the Low interest-based group, and that the parents indicated that their children benefited more from the learning opportunities. Implications for future research are described.

Extended child and caregiver benefits of behavior-based child contingency learning games.

Findings from 2 studies of the relationship between response-contingent child behavior and child, caregiver-child, and caregiver behavior not directly associated with child contingency learning are described. The participants were 19 children with significant developmental delays and their mothers in 1 study and 22 children with significant developmental delays and their teachers in the second study. Caregivers engaged the children in learning games characterized by behavior-based contingencies for 15 weeks. Research staff observed the children and their caregivers in everyday routines and activities and rated child and caregiver behavior while the children and caregivers were not playing the games. Results from both studies showed that the degree of response-contingent responding during the games was related to child and caregiver behavior, not the focus of the contingency learning opportunities afforded the children. Implications for practice are described.