Prompting self-monitoring with assistive technology to increase academic engagement in students with Attention -Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder symptoms

In this study the effectiveness of an assistive technology device (i.e., Watchminder-2) as a means for prompting the self-monitoring of an individual student to increase academic engagement (i.e., on-task behavior) was evaluated. A review of the literature has suggested that students diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder experience difficulty sustaining attention, following directions, managing their emotions, and controlling their impulses. These symptoms have the capacity to impede a child's ability to achieve academic success, develop self-confidence, maintain motivation, and create positive peer relationships.;Research has indicated that a positive relationship exists between self-monitoring and improved classroom behavior. This study extended the limited research on the efficacy of using a tactile prompt as a means for delivering reminders to students, and explored the benefits of this methodology for enhancing students' awareness of, and improvement in, their self-regulatory abilities. Moreover, this research advances previous findings by exploring the use of an unobtrusive technological self-monitoring device in a secondary education setting, while providing students with the opportunity to monitor and record their performance without drawing attention to themselves and with minimal disruption to their routine or the classroom environment. Lastly, this study incorporated the use of both a fixed interval and a random interval schedule of reminders which contributed to the minimal research comparing these two reinforcement schedules.;Participants were 3 middle school/high school students ages 12 to 14 who were referred by their teachers for attentional and/or behavioral difficulties, and who were rated in the clinically significant range on the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Index within the Conners' Rating Scale by both their teacher and parent. A multiple baseline across academic content areas design was employed to assess the success of self- monitoring with an assistive technology device to improve task-related attention. Additionally, a BCBC reversal design was used to evaluate the relative efficacy of 2 schedules of reminders: fixed and random.;Results of this study suggest some support for the use of the Watchminder-2 to prompt self-monitoring, as a means for improving the task-related attention of participants. Additionally, it was hypothesized that the use of a random interval schedule of reminders would have a greater influence on the academic engagement of participants than seen when a fixed interval reminder schedule was instituted; however, this prediction was only partially supported by the data. Results of intervention acceptability rating scales indicated that both students and teachers reported satisfaction with their experiences in this program. Clinical and educational implications were also discussed, insofar as the strengths and contributions of this intervention technique for assisting students to function despite the presence of symptoms related to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.