Project Activities
The researchers are investigating the efficacy of the DRC as an enhancement to children with ADHD's IEPs in an experimental study. Children will be randomly assigned to a condition in which a behavioral consultant works with the child's teacher(s) to construct a DRC, implement it, and monitor it for the duration of the school year, or to an IEP as usual condition, in which teachers will attempt to meet the IEP goals and objectives as they typically would. Measures of key outcomes will include academic achievement testing, blinded observations of behavior in the classroom, and parent and teacher ratings of functioning. Secondary outcome measures will include process variables, such as discipline referrals, parent contacts due to problems in academic or behavioral functioning, and teacher adherence to the DRC intervention. Primary and secondary measures of outcome will be analyzed using MANCOVA procedures.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The elementary schools are located in Western New York.
Sample
Approximately 60 elementary school children in grades 1-6 will participate in this research. Students will be identified as having ADHD and a Specific Learning Disability, Emotional Disturbance, or Other Health Impairment.
Intervention
A consultant will work with the child's primary special education teacher to develop a DRC that will be linked to the child's IEP goals and objectives, provide a bridge between the IEP and the child's daily functioning in the classroom, and include direct accounting for IEP goals as well as other behavior problems common to a child with ADHD. The DRC is an operationalized list of target behaviors evaluated each day by the child's teacher. It is used as a means of providing the child and parent feedback on the child's progress on a daily basis. The DRC doubles as a mechanism that teachers can use to track and monitor the child's behavior and progress on key functional domains and to modify instructional practices. The DRC will be evaluated and completed by the teacher daily, and feedback will be provided to the child throughout the day on progress made toward DRC goals. Other procedures outlined in the IEP, such as academic interventions, will be implemented as planned. At the end of each day, the teacher will send the DRC home with the child in order to provide feedback on a daily basis regarding the child's behavior at school to parents. In addition, parents will receive instruction on how to reward their child at home for successful attainment of DRC goals.
Research design and methods
Approximately 60 children will be enrolled over the two-year experimental research study. Each year, 30 children will be randomly assigned to the DRC experimental condition or to a control condition to determine the potential efficacy of the DRC intervention as compared to the control condition.
Control condition
Children in the IEP alone control group will be assigned to an IEP as usual condition in which teachers will attempt to meet each child's IEP goals and objectives as they typically would. Additionally, consultants and teachers will use the IEP and other related information to construct an Individualized Target Behavior Checklist (ITCB) for each child to be completed by the teacher everyday and used as a measure of weekly functioning. Information on the ITCB rating scale will not be sent home to the child's parents nor will it be used to make data-driven decisions related to monitoring or intervening with the child throughout the school year.
Key measures
Key outcomes will include academic achievement in reading, spelling, mathematics, and writing. Secondary outcome measures will include process variables, such as discipline referrals and parent contacts due to problems in academic or behavioral functioning. In addition, researchers will conduct blinded observations of child behavior in the classroom. Finally, data related to parent and teacher satisfaction and teacher adherence to the DRC intervention will be obtained.
Data analytic strategy
A combination of quantitative and qualitative data analysis strategies, including MANCOVA and Chi-Square analysis, will be used to show evidence of the potential efficacy of the DRC intervention.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: The expected outcomes from this study include:
Journal article, monograph, or newsletter
Fabiano, G A., Vujnovic, R., Naylor, J., Pariseau, M., and Robins, M.L. (2009). An Investigation of the Technical Adequacy of a Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC) for Monitoring Progress of Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Special Education Placements. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 34(4): 231-241. doi:10.1177/1534508409333344
Fabiano, G.A., Vujnovic, R., Pelham, W.E., Waschbusch, D.A., Massetti, G.M., Pariseau, M., Naylor, J., Yu, J., Robins, M., Carnefix, T., Greiner, A.R., and Volker, M. (2010). Enhancing the Effectiveness of Special Education Programming for Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Using a Daily Report Card. School Psychology Review, 39(2): 219-239.
Page, T.F., Pelham, W.E., III., Fabiano, G.A., Greiner, A.R., Gnagy, E.M., Hart, K., Coxe, S., Waxmonsky, J.G., Foster, E.M., Pelham, W.E., Jr. (2016). Comparative Cost Analysis of Sequential, Adaptive, Behavioral, Pharmacological, and Combined Treatments for Childhood ADHD. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 45(4): 416-427. doi:10.1080/15374416.2015
Pelham, W.E., Jr., Fabiano, G.A., Waxmonsky, J.G., Greiner, A.R., Gnagy, E.M., Pelham, W.E., III., Coxe, S., Verley, J., Bhatia, I., Hart, K., Karch, K., Konijnendijk, E., Tresco, K., Nahum-Shani, I., and Murphy, S.A. (2016). Treatment Sequencing for Childhood ADHD: A Multiple-Randomization Study of Adaptive Medication and Behavioral Interventions. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 45(4): 396-415. doi:10.1080/15374416.2015
Vujnovic, R.K., Fabiano, G.A., Pariseau, M.E., and Naylor, J. (2013). Parameters of Adherence to a Yearlong Daily Report Card Intervention for Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 23(2): 140-163. doi:10.1080/10474412.2013.785182
Supplemental information
Funded under the Individualized Education Programs topic prior to the establishment of the Systemic Interventions and Policies for Special Education topic.
- An intervention to improve the practices of teachers of children with ADHD who have IEPs, and
- Presentations on the feasibility of the DRC intervention as applied to ADHD students with IEPs in grades 1–6.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
