Research based preschool interventions Three areas of focus

Research based preschool interventions • Three areas of focus – Social and emotional/Social skills – Language and communication – School readiness/Early literacy • Can be provided at – Tier I (classroom wide) – Tier II (small group) – Tier III (individual)

Social-emotional/Social Skills Tier II • Goal is to provide training in basic academic supporting behaviors and problem solving • Should begin as Social skills training in the classroom (Tier I) and then move to small group (Tier II) as needed • Stop and Think Social Skills Program • Skill-streaming in early childhood • http: //www. pbis. org/news/Newsletters/News letter 3. aspx • http: //challengingbehavior. fmhi. usf. edu/ • http: //www. vanderbilt. edu/csefel/preschool. html

Naturally occurring strategies for behavior • These four are considered the starting place for interventions. They can be used easily effectively, but also can be easily misapplied. Should be the focus of interview and observations. – Differential or systematic attention – Planned ignoring – Modeling – Reprimands

Other intervention strategies • • • Reinforcement Prompts Shaping and chaining Pre-attending skills Opportunities to respond • • Differential reinforcement Time out Response cost Overcorrection

Language and Communication Tier II • Goal is to improve listening comprehension and oral language vocabulary (linked to later reading outcomes) • Increase future school success for children at risk by focusing on language skills and preliteracy skills. • Should begin as classroom-based training (Tier I) and move to small group (Tier II) as needed • Example: Building language throughout the year: The preschool early literacy curriculum

Natural language training • Mand-model – present material, ask open ended question, model for child, praise • Brief time delay – wait of 5 -15 seconds/time delay to increase language use • Incidental teaching – encourages elaboration

School readiness/Early literacy Tier II • Early literacy: Policy and practice in preschool years (see handout) – http: //www. readingrockets. org/ • Review of preschool early learning standards (ODE website) – http: //www. ode. state. oh. us/GD/Templates/Pa ges/ODEPrimary. aspx? page=2&Topic. R elation. ID=1391

Preschool Tier III Interventions • Individual interventions based on child’s individual needs • Individual social skills training, behavior plan, language training, school readiness training • Must consider if intervention is developmentally appropriate • Make sure include elements of good intervention – Model, role play, performance feedback, transfer and generalization of skills

Best Practices with Parents of children with disabilities • Having a child with a disability will affect a family’s functioning, but will not necessarily result in a dysfunctional family. • Adaption of the families varies greatly and is influenced by a number of factors. • Families are considered “n of one” and therefore, why we again have to think ecologically when addressing child needs and family needs.

Factors affecting the family • • • Economics Daily care Socialization and recreation Future planning Parent response

Variables affecting family response • • • Nature of disability Cultural background Family system Life cycle position Adaptive coping Background and training of school persons

Best practice procedures • • Education/information sharing Advocacy Support Facilitation of healthy family functioning Individualization of services Group approaches Other procedures

Barkley’s parent training • Why children misbehave • Pay attention • Increasing compliance to commands and requests • Decreasing disruptiveness- increasing independent play • When praise is not enough • Time out and extending time out • Managing non-compliance in public places • Handling future behavior problems

Parent training activity • Using the materials you received, create a one page handout and be prepared to give a 5 -10 minute presentation for your classmates. In your handout, provide the brief outline provided at the beginning of your session chapter (i. e. , goals, materials, outline, homework) and add a final section, “trainer points/reminders. ” In this section, you are to list important reminders for the trainer based on what you read in the chapter. Your handout cannot exceed one page.

References Barkley, R. A. , (1987). Defiant children: A clinician’s manual for parent training. New York: The Guilford Press. Barnett, D. W. , & Carey, K. T. (1992). Designing interventions for preschool learning and behavior problems. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Fish, M. C. (2002). Best practices in collaborating with parents of children with disabilties. In A. Thomas, & J. Grimes (Eds. ). Best Practices in School Psychology IV. Bethesda, MD: The National Association of School Psychologists. Lybolt, J. , Armstrong, J. , Techmanski, K. E. , & Gottfred, C. (2007). Building language throughout the year: The preschool early literacy curriculum. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Company. Websites (noted in presentation)