Let me be understood: A behavioural investigation of effective functional communication skills within a New Zealand special education high school.

Bourke, Tina

Let me be understood: A behavioural investigation of effective functional communication skills within a New Zealand special education high school.

dc.contributor.advisor	Anderson, Angelika
dc.contributor.author	Bourke, Tina
dc.date.accessioned	2020-11-17T05:02:40Z
dc.date.available	2020-11-17T05:02:40Z
dc.date.issued	2020
dc.date.updated	2020-11-12T20:00:35Z
dc.description.abstract	Effective functional communication skills are socially significant behaviours that afford individuals the ability to self-advocate and realise their full range of human rights. The aim of this study was to describe communication skills observed within a New Zealand special education high school routine with three female students (who had previous experience with Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems), and the responses provided by staff, within a verbal behaviour framework. In-person naturalistic observations using event-recording procedures were conducted over 18 total hours and 432 total communicative episodes were documented. Communicative episodes were described congruous with Skinner’s (1957) account of verbal operants and rates were calculated. Data related to antecedent conditions that occasioned episodes and students’ use of communication skills including the function and mode of communication were included. Staff responses to student initiations were assessed as being functionally appropriate matches. Overall, students were involved in approximately 25 communicative episodes per hour that were primarily opportunities to respond, with the exception of one student, and one opportunity to initiate was observed during the entire study. Communicative episodes predominantly occurred with adults, and students used vocals or gestures but rarely AAC systems, during episodes that were most often coded with tact or intraverbal functions. Staff presented additional prompts, mostly using aided AAC systems, during the majority of opportunities to respond they presented. Just over half of staff responses to student initiations were assessed as potentially matching the communicative function. A verbal behaviour discussion of key findings and theoretical and educational implications for practice is provided. Strengths and limitations of this study are identified, and future research is suggested.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.citation	Bourke, T. (2020). Let me be understood: A behavioural investigation of effective functional communication skills within a New Zealand special education high school. (Thesis, Master of Applied Psychology (MAppPsy)). The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10289/13961	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10289/13961
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher	The University of Waikato
dc.rights	All items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
dc.subject	verbal behaviour
dc.subject	aided communication
dc.subject	augmentative and alternative communication
dc.subject	functional communication skills
dc.subject	communication skills
dc.title	Let me be understood: A behavioural investigation of effective functional communication skills within a New Zealand special education high school.
dc.type	Thesis
pubs.place-of-publication	Hamilton, New Zealand	en_NZ
thesis.degree.grantor	The University of Waikato
thesis.degree.level	Masters
thesis.degree.name	Master of Applied Psychology (MAppPsy)