Effects of Functional Mobility Skills Training for Young Students with Physical Disabilities - Research Proposal Example

Running Head: Research Reaction Paper Effects of Functional Mobility Skills training for Young with Physical Disabilities: A Research Reaction Paper Your Name goes here Professional Specialization Name of your professor Date 1. Research Problem Following are the two basic questions which this research is required to answer; a) Do functional mobility skills in students with physical disabilities improve as a result of direct training using the Mobility Opportunities via Education (MOVE) Curriculum? b) Will the skills learnt through MOVE Curriculum be maintained by the students over time The research will test the hypothesis that the MOVE curriculum which follows a functional modal is superior to traditional Developmental Model used with young students with severe physical disabilities. 2. Literature Review In order to introduce the research problem to the readers several references were cited by the investigator. Three key points which researcher has discussed in literature review are enlisted below; a) The researcher has presented the strengths and weakness of Traditional Developmental Modal through literature review. Most of the researchers have reached the consensus that the traditional approaches are limited for learning motor and functional skills. (Črt Marinček, 2001, p.251). b) Secondly, the supremacy of functional modal over the developmental modal is discussed at length. Functional modal use of therapy integrated with education is more natural and beneficent. (Piercy, 1986, p.6). c) Another important point of discussion is the validity and acceptability of MOVE model. “MOVE is designed to embed mobility skill practice into functional every day routines.” (Miller, 2005, p.831). 3. Research Format Following facts about the research were identified, a) Description of the Research Format(s) The “Effects of Functional Mobility Skills training for Young students with Physical Disabilities” is a qualitative as well as a quantitative research. The research deals with the statistical details and comparisons as well as talks about the conceptual and qualitative issues with of MOVE curriculum. Moreover, hypothesis of the research cannot be precisely described rather is will result in some general conclusion which will require further studies and observations to strengthen the hypothesis. The research design is quasi-experimental in nature because its offer less randomization of participants being only five. Quasi-experimental designs are particularly useful in natural and a classroom setting which is the case in this research. Moreover, the research is more practical and less academic which is also an attribute of quasi-experimental research designs. The “Effects of Functional Mobility Skills training for Young students with Physical Disabilities” is a single group research design. These designs are used were immediate and more practical resulted required to be established in order to ascertain the effects of a treatment conducted in the research. b) Description of the Method(s) of Data Collection Direct observation and standardized measure are used as the most prominent data collection methodologies. Direct observation method requires a clear definition of target behaviors and observer may be a teacher, parent or some other external observer. Standardized data may be collected using a specific instrument like Gait Trainer or through some other means like interviews and/or questionnaires etc. to record results and reaction in an experiment. All participants in the experiment are subjected to the same tests which increase the validity of the data collection. c) Description of the Method(s) of Data Analysis The data is mainly collected through direct observation and standardized measures. However, it is not an extensively diverse dataset and the analysis and comparisons are conducted through simple graphical representation of data in line graphs. These graphs are elaborated through variation of means and percentages and other statistical tools. Moreover, the overlap across phases, variations of intervention and maintenance are used for further in-depth and diversified analysis of the collected data. 4. Findings The overall impact of MOVE curriculum on the mobility skills of severely disabled five participants can be categorized as positive and encouraging. All participants showed an improvement in their skills from the baseline measurements and their participation in the routine and planned activities by the end of intervention was remarkably increased. Despite varied level of interest in the intervention phase the trans-disciplinary team has successfully employed intervention, motivation and practice methodologies to improve the participants’ interest in the whole process. The MOVE curriculum has supported these efforts and the total impact of the curriculum has enabled participant to take reciprocal steps with or without support. 5. Limitations a) What are the Limitations of this Research The research has three main limitations enlisted below; i. Short sampling ii. Data Variability iii. Difficulty in establishing cause and effect relationship The researcher has taken several step to minimize the effects of these limitations e.g the short sampling is covered through repeated observations on five research participants. Multiple baseline reading were taken to further overcome the effect of fewer participants. This helped in the generalization of research results for individuals; however, these results can vary in larger groups. The research is conducted in real world settings and the natural changes are always expected in such research environments which prompts the variability of results. Mover the inconsistencies in participants’ presence, medical conditions and willingness to participate in the research activities have further intensified the variability of outcomes. Therefore, the variability in data and results is natural which can be used to draw inferences towards the behavioral aspects and circumstantial factors in real world educational activities of students with severe physical disabilities. The research does not offer a strong relationship between the cause which is intervention in our case and effect which is the improvement in stepping. Gauging the precise effect of every intervention was very complex because the improvements were not immediate rather participants showed development after repeated interventions and even the number of repetitions were variable among five participants. b) Can the Outcome(s) be Generalized or Transferred to the Groups Outside of this Study The generalization of results in single-subject research designs is not very good moreover the limited number of participants have further reduce the scope of generalization of results. The researcher has used multiple baseline readings and repeated interventions to increase the validity of results and the final results can be generalized for individuals with marginal behavioral variations but this generalization cannot be applied to larger groups outside of this study. c) What other Populations (Groups) might the Result Apply or Not Apply The results of the research can be applied to carefully selected individuals that have a certain degree of behavioral similarity without drastic changes in the environmental settings of the participants. Therefore, we can deduce that the result are applicable to a limited number of individuals and does not apply to any external group. 6. Implications for Practice Although results cannot be generalized for educators teaching skills to students with severe physical disabilities, the research has provided sufficient insights into instructional techniques and practices that can be employed and incorporated in professional settings. The broad baseline used in the research has helped in diversification of results and careful implications can be made to use in professional practices. The research has reiterated the significance of repeated interventions with variable time and environmental settings. Moreover, the research has introduced interesting and valuable insights into behavioral science of students with severe physical disabilities. This can help and encourage the study of behaviors in such students and can be used for further research activities. The research limitations have pointed out the areas where improvements are required to generalize research results for larger groups of students with severe physical disabilities. References Črt Marinček. (Ed.). (2001). Assistive technology: added value to the quality of life, AAATE01 (Vol. 10). Netherland: IOS Press. Miller, F. (2005). Cerebral palsy. USA, DE: Springer Piercy, F. P. (Ed.). (1986). Family therapy education and supervision. England: Routledge. 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