title: Training parents to implement the Picture Exchange Communication System via telehealth and behavioural skills training

authors: Scott, Georgina

abstract: Research indicates that deficits in functional communication skills correlate with problem behaviour. Results from previous studies suggests that by teaching functional communication skills to an individual, it may be possible to replace problem behaviour with more socially appropriate means of communicating their needs and wishes. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate whether parents could be trained to implement the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) effectively with their adolescent son, Jack (pseudonym), who has an intellectual disability. The effectiveness of telehealth to administer PECS training was evaluated in conjunction with the use of behavioural skills training. Additionally, errors made by the parents in their use of PECS during training sessions where the researcher provided them with prompts were also examined. The secondary aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the aforementioned PECS training on the functional communication skills of Jack in the home environment. The most significant findings of the current study were that telehealth was a viable method of teaching PECS to parents, that parents made fewer errors for subsequent sessions within each phase, and that a greater number of errors were made in the role of communicative partner compared to physical prompter during Phase One. Results of the study also suggest that the intervention resulted in increased functional communication skills for Jack; namely the emergence of mands for particular toys and for making requests for the continuation of activities he enjoyed.

text: Training parents to implement the Picture Exchange Communication System via telehealth and behavioural skills training Research indicates that deficits in functional communication skills correlate with problem behaviour. Results from previous studies suggests that by teaching functional communication skills to an individual, it may be possible to replace problem behaviour with more socially appropriate means of communicating their needs and wishes. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate whether parents could be trained to implement the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) effectively with their adolescent son, Jack (pseudonym), who has an intellectual disability. The effectiveness of telehealth to administer PECS training was evaluated in conjunction with the use of behavioural skills training. Additionally, errors made by the parents in their use of PECS during training sessions where the researcher provided them with prompts were also examined. The secondary aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the aforementioned PECS training on the functional communication skills of Jack in the home environment. The most significant findings of the current study were that telehealth was a viable method of teaching PECS to parents, that parents made fewer errors for subsequent sessions within each phase, and that a greater number of errors were made in the role of communicative partner compared to physical prompter during Phase One. Results of the study also suggest that the intervention resulted in increased functional communication skills for Jack; namely the emergence of mands for particular toys and for making requests for the continuation of activities he enjoyed.

year: 2023

title: Introduction to the landscapes and soils of the Hamilton Basin

authors: Lowe, David J.

subjects: Hamilton Basin

abstract: The Hamilton Basin area is characterised by four main landscape units or landforms as depicted in the block diagrams below (McCraw, 1967, 2002; Bruce, 1979; Selby and Lowe, 1992), and these provide a soil-landscape model to predict the soil pattern.

text: Introduction to the landscapes and soils of the Hamilton Basin The Hamilton Basin area is characterised by four main landscape units or landforms as depicted in the block diagrams below (McCraw, 1967, 2002; Bruce, 1979; Selby and Lowe, 1992), and these provide a soil-landscape model to predict the soil pattern.

year: 2010

title: Just take a second to breathe: Empowering youth through mindfulness at Atawhai 2019

authors: McAllister, Suzanne Maree

subjects: Mindfulness

abstract: This research was an evaluation of The Kindness Institute’s 2019 Atawhai programme. It examined the effects that exposure to mindfulness-based skills, Māori cultural practices, mentoring, and the creative arts had on a cohort of marginalised youth. Specifically, the research aimed to determine (1) if learning mindfulness-based skills helped the youth to positively deal with challenges, (2) what effect learning mindfulness-based skills has on their positive and negative emotions and (3) were youth empowered to share the skills they learned within their homes, families and communities to enable a wider benefit from the mindfulness-based skills. Participants included 12 youth who attended the Atawhai programme during 2019. They all completed shortened versions of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory (ASRI), The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ), Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) and Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) at seven stages over a nine-month period from March 2019 to December 2019. Self-report debrief questionnaires and researcher observations were recorded during the October 2019 residential intensive of 5 days. Inferential statistics (repeated measures ANOVA and post-hoc paired t-tests) indicated a statistically significant increase in positive emotions (p<0.01) with a large effect 1.07 over the duration of the evaluation period from March 2019 to December 2019; the October 2019 intensive, p<0.01, d=1.37; and the April 2019 intensive, p<0.01, d=1.89. Statistically significant decreases in anxiety (p<0.01) with a large effect d=1.99 were indicated over the duration of the evaluation period from March 2019 to December 2019; the October 2019 intensive, p=0.07, d=0.57; and the April 2019 intensive, p≤0.01, d=1.19. Self-report measures indicated the youth; found the mindfulness-based skills beneficial, preferred a particular skill over others, and found their mentors supportive in helping them incorporate the skills into their daily lives. Youth reported they had continued their mindfulness-based practice outside Atawhai and were regularly sharing the skills within their homes, families and communities including their schools. These findings suggest the Atawhai programme has a profound and significant positive effect on the wellbeing of the young people it serves.

text: Just take a second to breathe: Empowering youth through mindfulness at Atawhai 2019 This research was an evaluation of The Kindness Institute’s 2019 Atawhai programme. It examined the effects that exposure to mindfulness-based skills, Māori cultural practices, mentoring, and the creative arts had on a cohort of marginalised youth. Specifically, the research aimed to determine (1) if learning mindfulness-based skills helped the youth to positively deal with challenges, (2) what effect learning mindfulness-based skills has on their positive and negative emotions and (3) were youth empowered to share the skills they learned within their homes, families and communities to enable a wider benefit from the mindfulness-based skills. Participants included 12 youth who attended the Atawhai programme during 2019. They all completed shortened versions of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory (ASRI), The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ), Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) and Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) at seven stages over a nine-month period from March 2019 to December 2019. Self-report debrief questionnaires and researcher observations were recorded during the October 2019 residential intensive of 5 days. Inferential statistics (repeated measures ANOVA and post-hoc paired t-tests) indicated a statistically significant increase in positive emotions (p<0.01) with a large effect 1.07 over the duration of the evaluation period from March 2019 to December 2019; the October 2019 intensive, p<0.01, d=1.37; and the April 2019 intensive, p<0.01, d=1.89. Statistically significant decreases in anxiety (p<0.01) with a large effect d=1.99 were indicated over the duration of the evaluation period from March 2019 to December 2019; the October 2019 intensive, p=0.07, d=0.57; and the April 2019 intensive, p≤0.01, d=1.19. Self-report measures indicated the youth; found the mindfulness-based skills beneficial, preferred a particular skill over others, and found their mentors supportive in helping them incorporate the skills into their daily lives. Youth reported they had continued their mindfulness-based practice outside Atawhai and were regularly sharing the skills within their homes, families and communities including their schools. These findings suggest the Atawhai programme has a profound and significant positive effect on the wellbeing of the young people it serves.

year: 2020