Action research on transition program addressed to young adults with Intellectual Disabilities carried out in Ireland

Individuals with intellectual disabilities are faced with significant barriers relating to the transition to adult life and jobs. The research’ purposes were: to determine what evidence-based transition programs have been realized since the introduction of UNCRPD; to design and evaluate the effectiveness of the transition program E-IDEAS (carried out in Ireland), aimed to support workplace inclusion. A systematic literature review was carried out, and the elements emerged were used to develop the program, attended by 5 participants, and provided with five work-placements. Pre-and post-intervention standardized assessments were taken for measuring the improvement in quality of life and adaptive behaviour

April 17, 1981

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia

September 10, 1998

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia

Systematic Review of Job Transition Programs Addressed to Youths With Intellectual Disability

This systematic review aimed to determine what existing job transition programs are evidence-based and methodologically founded. The PRISMA method was used for the review, and the inclusion criteria were to include studies where there were a description of transition programs and functional curriculum for acquiring employment competences; internship experiences in employment context; single-case or group-design studies with youths as participants; and diagnosis of intellectual disability. Forty-six studies were initially selected, and three final articles met all the criteria set for assessing the methodology quality. Although the review results show that more research is needed to provide empirical programs for enhancing the acquisition of employment capabilities, some evidence emerged from the analysis of studies. These concern mainly four aspects: curriculum contents facilitating the development of self-determination and the acquirement of job-related skills, chance to have individualized internships, support of job coaches, and technological solutions and programs anchored in community-based settings

Establishing Fraction-Decimal Equivalence Using A Respondent-Type Training Procedure

The purpose of this study was to teach children fraction-decimal equivalence using the respondent-type training procedure and test for any emergent generalization. In the first experiment, subjects were respondently trained on the conditional discriminations; A1→B1, A2→B2, and tested B1-A1, B2-A2. Subjects were then trained on the conditional discriminations C1→B1, C2→B2 and tested B1-C1, B2-C2. Subjects were subsequently tested for the emergence of the untrained relations A-C and C-A. When subjects were presented with the Stimulus A1 they observed 1/4 and when subjects were presented with A2 they observed 2/4. When subjects were presented with B1 they observed a circle with the upper left quarter shaded and when subjects were presented with B2 they observed a circle divided into four quarters with the upper half shaded. When subjects were presented with C1 they observed 0.25 and when subjects were presented with C2 they observed 0.50. Experiment 2 was identical to Experiment 1 except that subjects were administered three generalization tests. In Generalization Test Number 1, the Stimuli A1, A2, C1, and C2 served as samples and shapes not seen in training but with the same shaded areas served as comparison stimuli. Generalization Test No. 2 was identical to the previous test, except that the comparison stimuli consisted of a shape not seen in training and the shaded area was altered. Generalization Test No. 3 was identical to the previous two tests except that the comparison stimuli were altered in that the number of shaded and unshaded areas was increased. Experiment 3 was identical to Experiment 2 except that an extra generalization test was added to the experiment. This test was identical to Generalization Test No. 3 of Experiment 2, except that the shaded areas were contiguous with each other. In Experiment 1, subjects were successful on all equivalence

Matching-to-sample and respondent-type training as methods for producing equivalence relations: Isolating the critical variable

The purpose of this study was to compare systematically the effectiveness of the respondent-type training procedure and the matching-to-sample training procedure. In Experiment 1, a within-subject design was used, to compare the effectiveness of the two procedures. In Condition 1, students were trained using the respondent-type training procedure (60 training trials) and tested for the emergence of symmetry and equivalence responding using a matching-to-sample test. Students were subsequently trained using the matching-to-sample training procedure (60 training trials) and tested using a matching-to-sample test. In Condition 2, the order of the training and testing was reversed (i.e., i, MTS training; ii, MTS test, iii, respondent training; iv, MTS test). Experiment 2 was identical to Experiment 1, except that during matching-to-sample training subjects were required to produce 12 consecutively correct responses before an equivalence test. During respondent-type training students were presented with 12 training trials. Experiment 3 was identical to Experiment 2 except that the two negative comparisons were removed from matching-to-sample training. Experiment 4 was identical to Experiment 3 except that the correct comparison appeared to the right, center, or left of the screen and three response keys were used. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3 respondent-type training was more effective than matching-to-sample training. In Experiment 4 when the negative comparisons were removed from matching-to-sample training and when the spatial position of the correct comparison varied both procedures were equally effective

Factors producing over-selectivity in older individuals

Stimulus over-selectivity describes a phenomenon where only a subset of the relevant stimuli present in the environment, control an individual's behavior. The current experiment explored the degree to which over-selectivity increases in old age. The level of over-selectivity in a visual discrimination task in 60 individuals aged 60-89 years was assessed, as well as the degree to which this reflected attentional control. In addition, the intellectual functioning and cognitive flexibility of the participants were assessed. Results showed that, as age increased, three effects were revealed: levels of stimulus over-selectivity increased, IQ scores decreased, and cognitive flexibility decreased. However, over-selectivity was not related to IQ or cognitive flexibility, and appeared related most to attentional impairments. Thus, ageing is related to significant declines in effective stimulus control. These effects can have a serious impact on the physical and psychological health of old adults, as well as their quality of life, and, therefore, this area of research warrants further exploration. The results are discussed in relation to the attention-deficit and comparator theory of over-selectivity

Familial sleep and autism spectrum disorder: a pilot actigraphy study of sleep quality, quality of life and psychological distress

Sleep problems are common among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can have a negative impact on the child's behaviour and daytime functioning. The current pilot study examined objective measurements of child and parent sleep as factors associated with the stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, social support and quality of life of parents of children with ASD. Participants were nine children with ASD and their parents (nine mothers and three fathers). Participants wore an actigraph for 7 consecutive days and nights. Measures of sleep habits and quality were used to ascertain child and parent sleep. Measures of parenting stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, quality of life and social support were collated. Results indicated the emergence of high parental stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Significant correlations were observed between parent depressive symptoms, and both subjective sleep quality and child sleep disruptions. The present study found that parental well-being is affected by child sleep problems.peer-reviewe

I programmi a sostegno della transizione al lavoro di giovani con disabilità intellettiva: una integrative review.

L’obiettivo della presente integrative review consiste nel fornire una mappatura dei programmi di transizione scuola-lavoro rivolti a giovani adulti con disabilità intellettiva realizzati nell’ultimo decennio. I programmi discussi in letteratura potrebbero, infatti, informare potenziali percorsi nel contesto italiano. Tramite il processo di revisione sistematica abbiamo inizialmente identificato il divario nella ricerca, maggiormente focalizzata sull’età infantile e adolescenziale che sull’età adulta delle persone con disabilità intellettiva, e in particolare rispetto ai programmi di transizione al lavoro e alla vita adulta. Per far fronte alla necessità di un approfondimento dei programmi basati su studi empirici, è stato impiegato il metodo della integrative review, perchè in grado di contribuire all’individuazione di pratiche educative basate sull’evidenza. L’analisi e la sintesi dei risultati degli studi selezionati hanno consentito di individuare sei ricerche, che sono state inseguito valutate dal punto di vista della qualità. I risultati sono stati discussi e le implicazioni per future ricerche in questo ambito messe in luce, al fine di arricchire il dibattito sui programmi di transizione rivolti a giovani adulti con disabilità intellettiva