IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUTH WITH DUAL SENSORY IMPAIRMENT - ANALYSES AND SOCIAL VALIDATION OF PROCEDURES TO REDUCE MALADAPTIVE RESPONDING IN VOCATIONAL AND LEISURE SETTINGS

One group that presents special problems for vocational and leisure sk ills interventions comprises persons who are severely handicapped and deaf-blind. To date, the focus of many treatment programs for this pop ulation has been on reduction of nonfunctional, interfering, or harmfu l behaviors, such as stereotypy, self-injury, and aggression. Although deceleration procedures have been shown to reduce maladaptive respond ing, there are few data available to determine whether decreasing inap propriate responses impacts on adaptive functioning in natural environ ments. Such data are especially important, given the emergence of grou ps proscribing the use of many behavior reduction strategies. Thus, th e current investigation attempted to assess both direct and concurrent effects as well as the social validity of a combined differential rei nforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) plus overcorrection program t o eliminate behavior problems exhibited by two youths with profound me ntal retardation and deaf-blindness. Results indicated: (a) Maladaptiv e behaviors were controlled with behavioral interventions, and effects were maintained for at least 6 months; (b) concurrent effects of trea tment included increased time on-task and increased productivity, neit her of which was targeted directly; and (c) subjects' performance in v ocational settings was rated by independent judges as significantly im proved following treatment.