VIDBE-Q Volume 65 Issue 2
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modalities. By creating groups based on teachers matching, we made comparisons
based on specialized training (i.e., teacher preparation in DB or training from a
state DB project) and the presence of interveners in classrooms.
Initial Results
Quantitative data derived from behavioral coding was analyzed through a
series of non-parametric statistical tests, such as Kruskal-Wallis H (KWH) tests
and Spearman's rank tests. In our sample, the group of teachers in Massachusetts,
which has a specialized certification in severe/ profound disabilities, had a higher
level of American Sign Language (ASL) knowledge, used significantly higher
rates of visual communication and were the most likely to match their students'
expected receptive modalities. Their students had higher levels of language than
the other state groups, despite a wide range of levels of dual sensory loss.
Classroom staff in Utah, where interveners are formally recognized by the state,
used significantly more tactile communication with learners. Overall, teachers
were more likely to match their students' expected receptive modalities when the
students had higher levels of communication. Observed communication modalities
varied broadly between dyads and included the use of low and high-tech assistive
technology, such as tangible symbols and dynamic display voice output devices,
and both visual and tactile sign language. Similar to other studies with learners
with DB or multiple disabilities (Cascella, Bruce, & Trief, 2015; Trief, Cascella, &
