The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of self-management strategies together with positive reinforcement to reduce the off-task behavior of children with ADHD. Three first and second grade students with ADHD and classified with a disability attending an elementary school participated in the study. Students were taught to self-monitor their behaviors in their special education classroom. They were trained to record their behaviors by completing a self-management form that consisted of 7 items at the end of each school day. Three off-task behaviors: out-of-seat, calling out and interrupting instruction were observed. The decrease of the student target behaviors was positively reinforced. An A-B-A-B withdrawal design was used in the study. Behavior occurrences were recorded using a checklist during baseline and intervention phases. The repeated application and withdrawal of the intervention made it possible to determine the change of the behaviors being measured. The results indicate a positive decrease of all children's behaviors of out-of-seat and interrupting instruction, however, the calling out behavior was not reduced. The findings provide support to previous research to suggest a cognitive-behavioral approach to meet the needs of students with ADHD and add data and implication for future research to further enhance the effectiveness of self-management for students with ADHD.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of self-management strategies together with positive reinforcement to reduce the off-task behavior of children with ADHD. Three first and second grade students with ADHD and classified with a disability attending an elementary school participated in the study. Students were taught to self-monitor their behaviors in their special education classroom. They were trained to record their behaviors by completing a self-management form that consisted of 7 items at the end of each school day. Three off-task behaviors: out-of-seat, calling out and interrupting instruction were observed. The decrease of the student target behaviors was positively reinforced. An A-B-A-B withdrawal design was used in the study. Behavior occurrences were recorded using a checklist during baseline and intervention phases. The repeated application and withdrawal of the intervention made it possible to determine the change of the behaviors being measured. The results indicate a positive decrease of all children's behaviors of out-of-seat and interrupting instruction, however, the calling out behavior was not reduced. The findings provide support to previous research to suggest a cognitive-behavioral approach to meet the needs of students with ADHD and add data and implication for future research to further enhance the effectiveness of self-management for students with ADHD.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bonner, Cari McGaffney"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Special Education","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Xin, Joy"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2003,"date_issued":"2003-05-08T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2003-05-08T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:14:13Z","subjects":["Attention-deficit-disordered children--Behavior modification","Special Education and Teaching"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1260","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Xin, Joy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bonner, Cari McGaffney"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-05-02T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in Special Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Attention-deficit-disordered children--Behavior modification","Special Education and Teaching"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1260"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of self-management strategies together with positive reinforcement to reduce the off-task behavior of children with ADHD. Three first and second grade students with ADHD and classified with a disability attending an elementary school participated in the study. Students were taught to self-monitor their behaviors in their special education classroom. They were trained to record their behaviors by completing a self-management form that consisted of 7 items at the end of each school day. Three off-task behaviors: out-of-seat, calling out and interrupting instruction were observed. The decrease of the student target behaviors was positively reinforced. An A-B-A-B withdrawal design was used in the study. Behavior occurrences were recorded using a checklist during baseline and intervention phases. The repeated application and withdrawal of the intervention made it possible to determine the change of the behaviors being measured. The results indicate a positive decrease of all children's behaviors of out-of-seat and interrupting instruction, however, the calling out behavior was not reduced. The findings provide support to previous research to suggest a cognitive-behavioral approach to meet the needs of students with ADHD and add data and implication for future research to further enhance the effectiveness of self-management for students with ADHD.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The effects of self-management and positive reinforcement on the off-task behavior of students with ADHD"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Xin, Joy"],"dc:creator":["Bonner, Cari McGaffney"],"dc:date.available":["2016-05-02T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of self-management strategies together with positive reinforcement to reduce the off-task behavior of children with ADHD. Three first and second grade students with ADHD and classified with a disability attending an elementary school participated in the study. Students were taught to self-monitor their behaviors in their special education classroom. They were trained to record their behaviors by completing a self-management form that consisted of 7 items at the end of each school day. Three off-task behaviors: out-of-seat, calling out and interrupting instruction were observed. The decrease of the student target behaviors was positively reinforced. An A-B-A-B withdrawal design was used in the study. Behavior occurrences were recorded using a checklist during baseline and intervention phases. The repeated application and withdrawal of the intervention made it possible to determine the change of the behaviors being measured. The results indicate a positive decrease of all children's behaviors of out-of-seat and interrupting instruction, however, the calling out behavior was not reduced. The findings provide support to previous research to suggest a cognitive-behavioral approach to meet the needs of students with ADHD and add data and implication for future research to further enhance the effectiveness of self-management for students with ADHD.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1260"],"dc:subject":["Attention-deficit-disordered children--Behavior modification","Special Education and Teaching"],"dc:title":["The effects of self-management and positive reinforcement on the off-task behavior of students with ADHD"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in Special Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:14:13Z"}