Paraeducators frequently support children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) but often lack access to effective training opportunities. Similarly, special education teachers are responsible for supervising paraeducators but often lack effective training on AAC and paraeducator supervision. The POWR+ (Prepare the activity and…

Background: Children and youth with autism spectrum disorder have significant, multi-system needs that require supports, such as the autism waiver (AW) service delivery model. This study aimed to identify and describe characteristics of the AW, define obstacles and strengths in the provision of adequate services and provide recommendations for…

Background: Support from staff plays an important role in quality of life for people with intellectual disability. This study focuses on service users' views of Active Support as good support and whether Active Support increases the quality of everyday support in group homes. Method: Nine service users were interviewed at baseline and at follow-up…

This research explored how seven primary school teaching assistants (TAs) experienced their role in supporting children's mental health. Interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The participants believed that they supported children's mental health and particularly referenced the close relationships that they…

World Café, sometimes termed Knowledge Café, is now an established method of facilitating productive dialogue between a group or groups of people around an issue that matters to the group as a whole. Now a world movement, the methodology is straightforward and uses conversation as a key process to connect people, who may be from different…

Given that students with autism spend the majority of their days in school settings, largely supported by paraprofessionals, it is important that these paraprofessionals receive adequate training. The author investigated a training package consisting of modeling and video-based feedback as a means of enabling paraprofessionals to implement Pivotal…

Background: Often communication training has been directed at the communication practices of staff members working with people with multiple learning disabilities. To date, the thinking habits of staff members, which also influence interactions, have not been addressed. We identified the issues staff members perceived as important for their…

The objectives of this study were (1) to explore the consequences of parental deployment for adolescents and their families and (2) to identify potential strategies that may help adolescents cope with a parent's deployment. Eleven focus groups were conducted among adolescents in military families, military parents, and school personnel in…

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to develop measures of end-of-life (EOL) care processes in nursing homes and to validate the instrument for measuring them. Design and Methods: A survey of directors of nursing was conducted in 608 eligible nursing homes in New York State. Responses were obtained from 313 (51.5% response rate) facilities.…

Purpose: This article reports the results of a randomized, controlled evaluation of Partners in Caregiving in a Special Care Environment, an intervention designed to improve communication and cooperation between staff and families of residents in nursing home dementia programs. Design and Methods: Participants included 388 family members and 384…

Staff development carried out within a conference format is multidimensional, ambiguous, potentially face-threatening, and complex. It is dependent upon the interactional work that takes place during face-to-face negotiations. The skills and knowledge of the staff developer cannot be shared with a teacher in a vacuum, but are dependent upon the…

This study evaluated the sign language skills of 17 adults with mental retardation living in community settings and their habilitation instructors. Results showed staff's sign language competence was only slightly better than that of the residents and was used minimally in interactions with the residents. (Author/DB)

This report presents 23 research abstracts that investigate the effects of feedback on job performance. A narrative that precedes the abstracts lists generalizations and conclusions that are representative of the studies presented in the report. It concludes that the studies reviewed confirm that feedback improves the performance of subordinates.…

Examines a series of managerial briefings of staff in nine stores of a major electronics retail chain. Shows that managers were neither trained nor appraised on their briefings skills, prepared themselves indifferently, and made little use of techniques known to affect attentiveness and recall. Finds that the daily communication session appeared…

The collaborative five-phase process of an action research team's two-year project in a New Hampshire junior high school is described. This qualitative study sheds light on team experiences, developmental phases, interpersonal tasks/issues, group processes, outcomes, and staff-development experiences. Team meetings/projects create an outlet for…