Positive Behavior Support for Deaf Children with Developmental Disabilities and Severe Problem Behavior
University of British Columbia, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education
The purpose of this research was to address the needs of deaf children and youth with developmental disabilities (such as autism) who engage in problem behavior and of staff who provide services to these individuals and their families. The first study in this project utilized a one group pretest-posttest design to investigate the association between a train-the-trainer program that was delivered in American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf staff’s knowledge and skills regarding functional assessment and positive behavior support (PBS). Results showed that the training program produced a statistically significant difference between pre- and post-test scores, suggesting that it was associated with improved knowledge regarding behavior assessment and intervention. The second study utilized a single-subject multiple baseline across settings design to investigate the effectiveness of a PBS approach to problem behavior with a deaf child diagnosed with autism and cerebral palsy. Results demonstrated a functional relation between a family centered PBS process and improvements in child behavior and participation in three valued routines in the home. Social validity evaluations, completed by participating staff and parents, demonstrated that the goals, strategies, and outcomes of the interventions were acceptable, relevant, and useful. Results also demonstrated that a Deaf interventionist could effectively provide implementation support to hearing parents, under the supervision of an expert in PBS.