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Rationale
Overview
Rule Out Step 1
Rule Out Step 2
Rule Out Step 3
Rule Out Step 4
References
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Childhood
Disabilities: Early
Identification and Intervention
Rule Out Model for the Early Identification and Treatment of Children with
Developmental Disabilities
Rule out Step 4: Rule in what remains as True
Content:
Step
4: What Remains is Ruled In
If
we have been successful in exhaustively ruling out the physiological conditions
and the sensory, cognitive and motor traits as reasons for the observed
dysfuctional behaviors then we have ruled out quite a bit. Once we rule out all
the extenuating factors which impact the functional capacity of children we have
rule out more. What we have left then are the behaviors, factors, and traits
which consitute the real problem.
Need
for Inclusive Educational and Social Programming to Address
Dysfunctional Behaviors
There
have been a number of effective programs of early intervention with children
with these dysfunctional behaviors. There are the behavioral (Lovaas, 1981, 1987),
highly structured (Campbell, Schopler & Hallin, 1996; Miller & Miller,
1989, 1991 & 1992; Rogers & Lewis, 1989; Schopler, Mesibov &
Hearsey, 1995; and Strain & Hoyson, 1988), multidisciplinary (Robinson,
1997), and relational (Weider, 1992, 1996). Research has demonstrated programs
for children with these dysfunctional traits which have been effective in facilitating
communication (Bondy & Peterson, 1990; Greenspan, 1992a; Greenspan and
Wieder, 1997, Greenspan and Wieder, 1998), decreasing inattention and
irritability (DeGangi & Greenspan, 1997), improving cognitive and social
skills (Olley, Robbins, Morelli-Robbins, 1993), and creating generalization and
maintenance (Stokes & Osnes, 1988) but these all have been self-contained
programs which did not include socialization with typical children.
Research
seems to indicate that there is a way to prevent dysfunctional behaviors from
developing and that is by placing children with these disorders in
"inclusion environments" in which they can gain the positive social
and communications role modeling of typical peers. Mesibov (1984) suggests that
many children with these disorders may exhibit social deficits because they have
few friends and limited opportunities to socialize with peers. Evidence from
previous studies demonstrates that children with these disorders are responsive
to social stimuli. Strain et al. (1979) and McHale (1983) both found increases
in social behavior when peers actively engaged children with these disorders in
social interaction. Research also demonstrates that children with severe
disabilities as well as their typical peers make gains, in language, cognitive,
social and motor and other developmentally appropriate skills, when fully
included with typical children, as compared to self-contained preschool
classrooms. (Bricker and Cripe 1992; Carlberg & Kavale, 1980; Fewell and
Oelwein, 1990; Giangreco et al. 1993; Harris, Handleman, Kristoff, Bass, &
Gordon, 1990; Hoyson, Jamieson, & Strain, 1984; Mahoney, G., C. Robinson and
A. Powell 1988; Mahoney and Powell, 1992; Odom and McEvoy, 1988; Peck, et al,
1993; Roeyers, 1996; Strain & Kerr, 1981; Wang and Baker, 1986; & Yoder,
Kaiser and Alpert, 1991). Effective and creative curriculum, which insures
inclusion of students with learning differences, has been documented (CISP,
1997; Sizer, 1992; & Onosoko and Jorgensen, 1997)
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