After reading chapter one of Principles of Psychology by Keller and Schoenfeld (1995), I was able to gain a better understanding of psychology and the necessary approach that psychologist take in the field to better understand those that they work with. In the book, they spoke about stimulus and response, and how each play their own role in modern psychology. According to Keller and Schoenfeld (1995), “A stimulus may be provisionally defined as “a part, or change in a part, of the environment, “and a response may be defined as “a part, or change in a part, of behavior” (p.3). Basically, a stimulus cannot be define on its own without having a detectable change in its internal or external environment.

Peters-Scheffer, N., Didden, R., Mulders, M., & Korzilius, H. (2010). Low intensity behavioral treatment supplementing preschool services for young children with autism spectrum disorders and severe to mild intellectual disability. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 31(6), 1678-1684. Doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.04.008

Scheffer, Didden, Mulders and Korzilius (2010), conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of low intensity behavioral treatment on 22, 3-6 year old children with autism spectrum disorder, and mild to severe intellectual disabilities in the preschool setting. It was also stated that they children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectual Disorder (ID) show restricted, repetitive behaviors, deficits in social reciprocity and communication. In addition to that, “They showed internalizing and externalizing behavior problems” (Scheffer et al, 2010, p. 1678) as cited by (Harley, Sikora and McCoy, 2008). “The aim of the study was to assess the effects of low intensity one to one behavioral treatment with an environment that formally uses behavioral principles, on development age and adaptive skills in 12 children with ASD and ID” (Scheffer et al., 2010). Additionally, symptom severity, emotional and behavioral problems were assessed because it was believed that they could interfere with treatment and change as a result of that. The intervention used consisted of elements of TEACCH to structure and visualize the environment (visual timetables, routines and workstations), incidental teaching, structured play and activities in a group setting. In addition to that, individual physiotherapy, speech, play and music therapy were offered to each child for an hour each week. Overall, a one on one behavioral treatment per week for a period of 8 months were used to access these students through a pretest posttest control group design. It recorded at first that no significant changes were made during the first couple of months, but, after 8 months into the treatment, children in the treatment group made significant changes in their adaptive skills versus those of the control group.<br> If I were to implement this into a classroom setting, I would prefer to have the study be assessed a little longer, and during the full school term. The correlation between the K&S text and this article is that, the children needed a “stimulus” in order to response to the change being offered to them. In this case, the TEACCH strategies used in the preschools over a period of time acted as that agent. In addition to that, parents as well as teachers were instructed to stimulate to the general skills that their child has learned as a part of the new environment that they were being placed in. Discussion Question: What are some ways that educators and parents alike can collaborate to improve the cognitive, language, academic and adaptive skills of students with ASD and ID in the preschool setting?

Hi everyone, My name is Shanekia Hall and I am currently a Learning Specialist working with students who have diagnose learning disabilities. This is my first year working with this student population, and I decided to get myself fully aware and educated on how best to work with my student group. I look forward to learning new things and being fully engaged.