UC Riverside

Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) tend to have difficulty regulating their emotions and behaviors, which can have adverse academic and social effects (e.g., academic underachievement, failing grades, grade retention, suspensions, expulsions, school dropout, and peer rejection). Possible interventions that have demonstrated effectiveness with students with ADHD and are feasible to implement in the school setting are self-monitoring interventions. Direct Behavior Rating-Single Item Scales (DBR-SIS), a common behavioral assessment tool, has recently been adapted into a format that facilitates a self-monitoring intervention approach that can be easily adopted by educators supporting student behavioral challenges. This study evaluates the effects of this approach. Using a multiple baseline design across participants, five middle school students with ADHD participated in a DBR self-monitoring intervention focusing on their academic engagement, respect, and disruptive behavior during a targeted class period. Each day, the student and the teacher rated the student’s engagement in the three target behaviors using the DBR-SIS form, discussed the student’s behavior, and performance feedback was provided to the student. Four out of five students experienced increases in academic engagement and respectful behavior, and three out of five students experienced decreases in disruptive behavior. Further, results indicated that the intervention was feasible and acceptable to teachers and students. This study has implications for practitioners and intervention planning for middle schoolers with ADHD. Results also provide further support for the use of the DBR-SIS measure for assessment and intervention purposes.