This paper aims to discuss the importance of offering high-quality support focussed on developing the skills of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss the importance of offering high-quality support focussed on developing the skills of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis will be based on the study published by Cohen and McGill (2020), who demonstrated that video modelling led to improvements in support workers’ performance when training adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to brush their teeth.
Findings
Developing the skills of staff members and services users should be one of our primary aims. Evidence-based practices grounded in behaviour analysis can help produce optimal outcomes that will improve the quality of service provision and, subsequently, the service users’ quality of life.
Originality/value
This paper is aimed at parents and professionals working in the field of disabilities who are keen to further improve the service provision of people with disabilities.
Details
Keywords
Konstantinos Rizos, Sarah Fattal, Marlizanne Gouws, Sophie Meyer and Athanasios Vostanis
The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of two error correction methods – Model Prompt Switch Repeat (MPSR) and Error Statement, Modelling and Active student…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of two error correction methods – Model Prompt Switch Repeat (MPSR) and Error Statement, Modelling and Active student Response (ESMASR) – for teaching new skills to autistic students. This study evaluates which method results in faster and more effective skill mastery, measured by the number of trials needed to reach the mastery criterion, and assesses long-term retention of learned skills.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a multiple-treatment reversal design within an Applied Behaviour Analysis framework, this study involved four participants aged 13–15 years. The participants were taught using both MPSR and ESMASR methods, with data collected on how quickly they mastered new skills. Maintenance data were gathered at one and four weeks after teaching to assess skills retention.
Findings
This study found that the MPSR method led to faster and more sustained skill acquisition than ESMASR for most participants. MPSR demonstrated better long-term retention in several cases. These results emphasise the effectiveness of structured error correction procedures in improving learning outcomes for autistic students.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the small sample size and focus on a specific educational setting, the findings of this study may not apply broadly. Future research should test these methods across a wider variety of learners and settings to ensure broader applicability and validation of the results.
Practical implications
This study’s findings offer practical strategies for educators working with autistic students, showing that structured error correction procedures like MPSR can be integrated into daily teaching to improve skill acquisition and retention. These strategies can also inform educator training and instructional planning.
Social implications
This study contributes to a more inclusive education system by offering evidence-based methods that help autistic students succeed. By identifying effective teaching techniques, this research supports efforts to ensure equal educational opportunities for neurodivergent learners.
Originality/value
This study fills a gap in research by comparing two specific error correction methods in an ABA setting, providing fresh insights into which strategies most effectively promote skill acquisition and long-term learning in autistic students. This study also offers practical guidance for educators seeking evidence-based methods to improve student outcomes.
Details
Keywords
Giulia Signorini, Nikolina Davidovic, Gwen Dieleman, Tomislav Franic, Jason Madan, Athanasios Maras, Fiona Mc Nicholas, Lesley O'Hara, Moli Paul, Diane Purper-Ouakil, Paramala Santosh, Ulrike Schulze, Swaran Preet Singh, Cathy Street, Sabine Tremmery, Helena Tuomainen, Frank Verhulst, Jane Warwick, Dieter Wolke and Giovanni de Girolamo
Young people transitioning from child to adult mental health services are frequently also known to social services, but the role of such services in this study and their interplay…
Abstract
Purpose
Young people transitioning from child to adult mental health services are frequently also known to social services, but the role of such services in this study and their interplay with mental healthcare system lacks evidence in the European panorama. This study aims to gather information on the characteristics and the involvement of social services supporting young people approaching transition.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of 16 European Union countries was conducted. Country respondents, representing social services’ point of view, completed an ad hoc questionnaire. Information sought included details on social service availability and the characteristics of their interplay with mental health services.
Findings
Service availability ranges from a low of 3/100,000 social workers working with young people of transition age in Spain to a high 500/100,000 social workers in Poland, with heterogeneous involvement in youth health care. Community-based residential facilities and services for youth under custodial measures were the most commonly type of social service involved. In 80% of the surveyed countries, youth protection from abuse/neglect is overall regulated by national protocols or written agreements between mental health and social services, with the exception of Czech Republic and Greece, where poor or no protocols apply. Lack of connection between child and adult mental health services has been identified as the major obstacles to transition (93.8%), together with insufficient involvement of stakeholders throughout the process.
Research limitations/implications
Marked heterogeneity across countries may suggest weaknesses in youth mental health policy-making at the European level. Greater inclusion of relevant stakeholders is needed to inform the development and implementation of person-centered health-care models. Disconnection between child and adult mental health services is widely recognized in the social services arena as the major barrier faced by young service users in transition; this “outside” perspective provides further support for an urgent re-configuration of services and the need to address unaligned working practices and service cultures.
Originality/value
This is the first survey gathering information on social service provision at the time of mental health services transition at a European level; its findings may help to inform services to offer a better coordinated social health care for young people with mental health disorders.