title: Activity-based intervention and direct instruction: a comparison study.
abstract: An alternating treatments design was used to compare the effectiveness of two intervention procedures--direct instruction and activity-based instruction--on the acquisition and generalization of object names by preschool-age children with developmental delays or who were at-risk for such delays. Subjects were given a pretest to determine unknown object names. A systematic alternation of treatments was subsequently provided by trained interventionists. After a baseline period of 1 week, two 15-minute treatment sessions employing activity-based intervention and direct instruction were followed by a 15-minute free-play generalization session, 3 days a week, for 6 weeks. A return to baseline phase was then conducted for 1 week. Structured generalization probes were also administered throughout treatment and 4 weeks after the study ended. Results indicated differential effects for both treatments.
authors.affiliation: Center on Human Development, University of Oregon, Eugene 97403-1211.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Losardo
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bricker
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005793:Generalization, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D010988:Play and Playthings; D014706:Verbal Learning; D014825:Vocabulary