Blog 1- Problem Statement

I am a doctorate level student enrolled in a special education program.  A major component of my program is to write a disseration.  To be honest, I am rather nervous about this endevour.  I am 32 years old, I have a three year old daughter, I am pregnant with my second child, and my husband is a full time law school student.  So as you can see I have my hands full, and that was just a look into my personal life.  My work life is even more chaotic...but I love it!
As a part of the class I am in this semester, we are being asked to create a blog.  This is my first time ever blogging, so hope I am doing it right!  For blog 1, we are to discuss our problem statement.  I have never written a disseration before, let alone a problem statement, but here mine goes!

Statement of the Problem

The Topic

Applied Behavior Analysis is a proven methodology for helping children and adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders be able to learn and function within society.  There is also research showing that the earlier a person gets intervention, the more of a chance that person has at acquiring the skills necessary to function within society.  There are many children that receive early intervention and go on to show limited signs of having Autism. This does not only hold true for children on the Autism Spectrum.  Many children that have developmental delays receive Early Intervention; the only difference is that the children with Autism use a methodology that is based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis.  The question is if research shows that Applied Behavior Analysis is effective in helping children and adults with Autism learn, then why shouldn’t we be using Applied Behavior Analysis with more populations within Early Intervention?  This research study is going to look at the effects that an Applied Behavior Analysis curriculum can have on Early Intervention children that do not have an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The Research Problem

Applied Behavior Analysis is a somewhat controversial topic.  For those that study it and know it well, know the positive effects it has with the Autism population.  We also know that it is based on positive aspects such as prompting, reinforcement, shaping behaviors, putting behaviors on extinction, and generalization; just to name a few.  However, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has had some bad press over the past several years.  The old school mentality of ABA is to place a child and a teacher at a desk.  The teacher would ask the child to perform a certain skills (such as clapping hands), and the child would have to perform this skill 10 times in a row.  This old school mentality has caused many to think of ABA as robotic, repetitious, and not practical.  However, when looking at research studies of the effects of an ABA program on people with Autism, all the research shows that ABA works and is effective at teaching this population.  The most known research study was conducted by Ivan Lovaas in 1987.  Lovaas showed that close to half of his students that were receiving an ABA program were able to attain normal IQ and tested within the normal range on adaptive and social skills (Lovaas, 1987). 

Since ABA does have some bad press, not too many other populations are willing to give ABA a try.  However, the positive effects that this methodology has on the Autism population, is just a small aspect of what ABA could do for other populations.  Look at a child with developmental delays in an Early Intervention program.  By utilizing the same basic ABA principles, the child that does not have an Autism diagnosis can be taught by being provided with reinforcement, prompting, shaping etc.  These are all principles that can have a positive effect and does have a positive effect on any person learning a new skill. 

Background and Justification

The research shows that ABA is effective at teaching people on the Autism Spectrum, so why should there not be research showing that ABA is equally effective at teaching children with developmental delays?  A research study by Remington, B, et al. (2007) showed that the more intensive the intervention, the faster the rates of acquisition.  Mclean took a group of 44 children, and at baseline, they were all comparable.  At one year later, and again at two years later, the first group which comprised of 23 children showed a significant improvement when being compared to the second group of 21 children.  The first group was the children that were receiving the intensive therapy whereas the other 21 children were not.  Another research study by Howard, Sparkman, Cohen, Green, and Stanislaw (2005), set out to compare an intensive behavior analytic program and an eclectic treatment approach for young children with autism.  The reason this research study is pertinent is that the end result showed that the children that were receiving the intensive ABA program was considerably more effective than the eclectic treatment approach.  When we look at a typical early intervention program for children with developmental delays, there typically is not just one curriculum or methodology that is used.  The teacher or therapist will use an eclectic approach and really do a lot based on incidental learning. As the results of the study showed, the intensive ABA group had “higher mean standard scores in all areas except motor skills, which showed no significant difference” (Howard, et. al, 2005).

Deficiencies in the Evidence

            Although there is a ton of research showing the success rate of using Applied Behavior Analysis with children on the Autism Spectrum, there is nothing that shows whether using this type of approach could benefit other disabilities such as developmental disabilities.  There is also a lot of research showing how the earlier a child gets early intervention the better, but it does not discuss the types of teaching methods that help make early intervention successful. 

Audience

            The population that will be targeted is children from birth-up to age three that have a diagnosis of developmental delays.  These children will be found eligible for Early Intervention services under Part C of IDEA (Individualizes with Disabilities Educational Act). 

Reference

Howard, J., Sparkman, C., Cohen, H., Green, G., Stanislaw, H., (2005). ‘A comparison of

     intensive behavior analytic and eclectic treatments for young children with autism’. Research

     in Developmental Disabilities, 26, 359-383

Lovaas, O.I. ( 1987) ‘Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning  

     in young autistic children.’ Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 55, 3-9.

Remington, B, Hastings, R, Kovshoff, H etc. (2007). ‘Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention:

     Outcomes for Children With Autism and Their Parents After Two Years. American

     Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.