Post on 27-Jul-2020
REVIEW PAPER
Goal Setting Interventions: Implications for Participantson the Autism Spectrum
Monica E. Carr & Dennis W. Moore & Angelika Anderson
Received: 13 January 2014 /Accepted: 23 May 2014 /Published online: 3 June 2014# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
Abstract Single-case research design studies that includ-ed a goal setting component in interventions for a broadarray of participants engaged in a learner role werereviewed. A systematic search of the empirical literatureidentified 38 studies that met the inclusion criteria.These studies were evaluated in terms of participantcharacteristics, who set the goals (self or other), howgoals were incorporated into interventions, type of be-havior change goal setting was applied to and whethermaintenance and generalization of intervention effectswas assessed. Results highlight the potential benefitsof including a self-set goal component in interventionsaimed at assisting participants across the autism spec-trum to achieve independent functioning. An agenda isproposed for future research exploring goal setting forthis population.
Keywords Autism spectrum disorder . Goal setting .
Self-management . Systematic review
Introduction
Goals have been defined as the object or aim of an action thatan individual is trying to accomplish, and it is generallyunderstood that goal attainment involves meeting a specificstandard of task proficiency within an acceptable time frame(Locke et al. 1981). Several published reviews have reportedthat goal setting and goal attainment are important compo-nents of self-determination for students with various develop-mental or learning disabilities (Algozzine et al. 2001; Fowleret al. 2007; Konrad et al. 2007; Palmer and Wehmeyer 2003).Self-determination has been identified by the US Departmentof Education as an important educational outcome for studentswith disabilities (Algozzine et al. 2001). The Division ofCareer Development and Transition (DCDT) has suggestedthat by the age of 14 years, students should be encouraged tothe full extent of their capabilities to assume a maximumamount of responsibility in planning their futures (Halpern1994).
The skills required to develop self-determination are de-rived from the classic career development literature (Super1983) and include developing an understanding of the rela-tionship of time to goal attainment (Field et al. 1998).Research by Palmer and Wehmeyer (2003) conductedamongst children with learning disabilities, speech impair-ments, giftedness and mental retardation has shown thatproblem solving and goal setting skills develop over time.Their findings demonstrated that children with disabilitiescan, with the support of teachers, set goals and work througha self-determined skill development model at as young as5 years of age.
Copeland and Hughes (2002) conducted a review on theeffects of goal setting upon task performance for individualswith a diagnosis of mental retardation (MR). The authorsreported an improvement in awareness and task performanceupon the introduction of goal setting, with stronger effects
This study was completed in partial fulfilment of the requirements for aPhD for the first author.
M. E. Carr (*)Faculty of Education, Monash University, Building 6, ClaytonCampus, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australiae-mail: mebar4@student.monash.edu
D. W. Moore :A. AndersonKrongold Centre, Faculty of Education, Monash University,Building 6, Clayton Campus, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
D. W. Mooree-mail: Dennis.Moore@monash.edu
A. Andersone-mail: Angelika.Anderson@monash.edu
Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241DOI 10.1007/s40489-014-0022-9
noted with more training. Self-management strategies weretaught in addition to goal setting in 7 of the 17 studiesreviewed and achieved positive outcomes. Similarly, Konradet al. (2007) published a review of the effects of self-determination interventions on the academic skills of studentswith learning disabilities (LDs) and/or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Again, stronger increases instudents’ productivity were achieved when goal setting wasadded to self-management.
The literature has indicated that goal setting skills can directattention and effort towards relevant activities and positivelyaffect task performance (Copeland and Hughes 2002; Konradet al. 2007; Locke and Latham 2002). While it is evident thatthese skills can be learned over time, it is possible that indi-viduals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not alwaysgiven adequate opportunity to acquire the necessary skills toset and attain goals or opportunity to practice them. The abilityto independently set challenging, attainable and appropriategoals is an important skill for students with ASD to developand may contribute to improved awareness, task performance,fulfilment and independent functioning.
Recently, attention has been drawn to the significant num-ber of individuals with high-functioning autism or Asperger’ssyndrome who were diagnosed during the early 1990s and, asa result of early intervention and supports throughout school,are both capable and motivated to enter higher education(Pinder-Amaker 2014; VanBergeijk et al. 2008). Elsewhere,it has been reported that children with ASD may face anelevated risk for developing obesity (Curtin et al. 2014).Curtin and colleagues (2014) postulated that contributingfactors may include disordered sleep, atypical eating patternsand challenges associated with engaging in physical activity.It is plausible that goal setting skills may prove an importantcomponent in treatment programs aimed to overcome thesebarriers and develop a healthy and independent lifestyle.
However, a recent review of self-management interven-tions for students with ASD (Carr et al. 2014) identified apaucity of goal setting research for students on the autismspectrum. Yet, evidence of the success of goal setting tech-niques has been reported for individuals with mental retarda-tion or cognitive disabilities. Therefore, to address this knowl-edge gap, we conducted a broader systematic literature searchof goal setting researchwhich included an array of participantsnot restricted by diagnostic category. The aim of this reviewwas to map the current knowledge base regarding goal settingas an intervention, or part thereof, for students with variedadditional learning needs and challenges. Given our focus onthe use of goal setting as part of individualised self-management training for individuals with ASD, the searchwas restricted to research employing single-case researchdesigns (SCDs). The ideographic nature of SCD researchmakes this methodology particularly appropriate when exam-ining the effects of individualised interventions (Southall and
Gast 2011), such as often seen in special education research(Horner et al. 2005). These findings are then discussed withreference to their implications for students with ASD with aview to proposing an agenda for future research in this area.The following research questions were investigated:
1. What are the profiles of participants in goal settingresearch?
2. How have goal setting interventions been structured?3. What target behavior was goal setting applied to?4. Who is involved in setting participant goals (self or
other)?5. Are goal setting skills maintained over time and was
generalization assessed?6. What does the current literature suggest for applying goal
setting to participants with ASD?
Method
Studies were located for this review by conducting a system-atic search of peer-reviewed literature published prior toNovember, 2013. Keywords typically associated with goalsetting were identified from existing literature reviews, and aPsycINFO database search was subsequently conducted. Thefollowing search terms were queried: “goal setting”, “goalattainment” and “goal orientation”. A hand search of thereference lists of existing goal setting reviews, published inpeer-reviewed journals, was also conducted to identify anyadditional relevant articles that may have been omitted fromthe database search results.
The following inclusion criteria were adopted for thisreview:
1. The study utilised a SCD such as a multiple baseline,reversal or alternating treatment design.
2. The study presented data from each phase in graphicalformat for each participant.
3. The intervention included a goal setting component.4. Participants were students engaged in a learning process.5. Articles were published in English in peer-reviewed
journals.
An independent review of both the title and the abstractswas conducted to ensure the reliability of the article selectionprocess. A graduate student familiar with the broader self-management literature was provided a randomly selectedsample of 30 % of all search results and examined both thetitles and the abstracts to determine whether these articles metthe inclusion criteria for further review. Inter-assessor agree-ment (IOA) for the article selection procedure was determinedby dividing the number of agreements by the total number of
226 Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241
agreements plus disagreements and multiplying by 100. AnIOA of 97 % was achieved for this process.
Results and Discussion
This search and selection process yielded 38 studies describ-ing research conducted with 186 participants, who ranged inage from 6 to 54 years. Participants were attending school,higher education, elite athlete or sheltered workshop job skillstraining programs. The 38 studies were conducted by 29separate research teams in various locations. A total of 30studies were fromwithin the USA, conducted in the followingstates: Alabama (2), California (1), Florida (3), Georgia (1),Hawaii (1), Illinois (2), Kansas (2), Louisiana (2), Missouri(1), Montana (1), Nebraska (2), New York (3), Ohio (3),Oklahoma (2), Oregon (1), Tennessee (2) and Washington(1). The remaining eight studies were conducted in the fol-lowing locations: Canada (3), New Zealand (2) and the UK(3). Further, for one study by researchers from Oregon, datacollection was conducted in South Korea.
Table 1 provides a descriptive overview of each studyincluded in the review.
The descriptive statistics obtained from these data arefurther summarised in Table 2.
What Are the Profiles of Participants in Goal SettingResearch?
Of the 186 participants, 128 were males (69 %) and 58 werefemales (31 %). For studies that reported an age range only,we have classified the participants using the uppermost age.Where studies reported an average age, we have classified theparticipants using the average age provided. The remainingstudies provided an age for each participant. Accordingly,there were 82 elementary students aged 6 through 12 years(44 %), 73 high school students aged 13 through 17 years(39 %) and 31 adults aged 18 years or older (17 %).
Participant descriptions were classified using the primarydiagnosis provided in the original study. Accordingly, therewere 5 participants with autism (3 %), 4 with Asperger’ssyndrome (AS) (2 %), 14 with ADHD (8 %), 14 with emo-tional behavioral disorder or difficulties (8 %), 45 with learn-ing disability or difficulties (24 %), 21 with mental retardation(11 %), 12 with non-compliance/conduct disorder (6 %), 1participant who was manic/depressive (1 %), 2 gifted students(1 %), 15 participants described as typically developing (8 %),49 athletes (26 %) and 4 participants with physical disabilities(2 %).
Mixed results were reported with young students. Figarolaet al. (2008) used goal setting and self-graphing to improve themath fact fluency of three young participants that included a7 year old with a LD and 7 and 8 year olds with ADHD. A
goal was established for the end of the year, and participantsgraphed their daily performance scores. Participants weregiven verbal praise for correctly entering their data, as wellas for meeting or exceeding their aim line. Results showed thatperformance met or exceeded goals 83% of the time for the 8-year-old participant and 90 % of the time for the 7 year oldwith LD. Modifications in the form of shorter problem sets,verbal prompts and reinforcement were required for the other7 year-old participant before achieving consistentimprovement.
By contrast, Grossi and Heward (1998) reported moreconsistent results in a study with older participants.Four adults aged 20–37 years old diagnosed with mildmental retardation were included in an intervention thatwas conducted in a community based restaurant trainingprogram. During training, each participant established agoal to increase production, goal setting being guidedby the experimenter if the goal appeared unattainable.Participants were taught to self-monitor and record theirperformance. The authors reported that all participantsincreased their work productivity without compromisingthe quality of their work and without achieving com-plete accuracy in self-recording.
Similarly, Balcazar et al. (1991) reported consistent resultsand generalization effects among older physically disabledstudents. Three university students aged in their 20s and oneaged 40 years were included in an intervention that used role-play to teach the skills necessary for individuals to recruit thehelp they may need to attain their own self-set personal goals.A goal attainment scale was used to identify either no change,realistic attainment or best anticipated attainment outcomes,and the authors reported that for the 20 goals that were set bythe four participants, realistic attainment was reported eighttimes and best anticipated attainment was achieved for sevengoals. No change was reported in only five instances. Ageneralization probe also reported that intervention effectswere observed in natural situations in which participants askedfor help.
To date, intervention research has been conducted across abroad age range of participants. While less consistency hasbeen demonstrated with younger children, the literature wereviewed has indicated preliminary support for goal settingemployed across all ages. Importantly, these findings indicatethat adults have been able to learn and apply goal settingskills. While our search revealed little research conductedamong participants diagnosed with ASD, goal setting hasbeen employed in successful interventions with participantswho experience learning difficulties or cognitive challenges.These preliminary findings may present significant implica-tions for future research with this population as the behavioralissues often exhibited by individuals with ASD that may serveto mask a self-determination skill deficit amenable to goalsetting intervention.
Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241 227
Tab
le1
Descriptio
nof
studies
Author(year)
Diagnosis
Age
M/F
Setting
Targetbehavior
Researchdesign
Interventionelem
ents
Findings
generalization/
maintenance
data
Goalssetb
yothers
Barry
andMesser
(2003)
ADHD
125M
Classroom
ofelem
entary
school
On-task
behavior,disruptive
behavior,academic
performance
Multiplebaselineacross
five
studentswith
embedded
withdraw
al
Goalsbasedon
classroom
behavior
ofotherstudents,
self-recording,teacher
verbal/writtenprom
pting,
reinforcem
ent,fading
Self-m
anagem
entinterventionwas
effective,gradualfadingrequired;
also
influenced
academ
icperformance
aswellasclassroom
behavior
Yes
Brobstand
Ward(2002)
Soccerplayers
15–17
3F
General
education
high
school
(i)Movem
entw
iththeball.(ii)
Movem
entd
uringrestarts.
(iii)
Movem
entsafterball
passed
Multiplebaselineacross
behaviorsforeach
participant
Publicpostingof
daily
practice
results
placed
nearplaying
field;
Coach
established
goalsetting;O
ralfeedback:
praise
formeetinggoalsor
encouragem
entifnotm
et
Interventio
nwas
effectivein
improvingpracticeperformance
forallthree
behaviors;
generalizationto
games
evident
formovem
entw
iththeballforall
threeparticipantsbutu
nclearfor
otherbehaviors
Yes
Codding,
Lew
andowski
andEckert
(2005)
*
ADHD
9–12
1M, 1F
Elementary
school
Increase
mathematicsfluency
Alternatingtreatm
ents
Com
parison:
performance
feedback
andexperimenter
goalsetting
and
Performance
feedback
and
studentselectedgoalsetting
Bothparticipantsperformed
better
during
theself-setgoals
condition;b
othparticipants
indicatedthatPF
SGwas
their
favourite
interventio
n
No
Duhon
etal.(2004)
Failinggrades
inwrittenlanguage,
spellin
gmath
8–10
4M
General
education
Math:
workcompleted
correctly
perminute;
reading/writing:
words
correctp
erminute
Alternatingtreatm
ents
Practice,guided
organisation,
orinstruction;
performance
feedback;experim
enterset
goals(percentile
shaping)
studentselectedprizefor
exceedinggoal
Twostudentrew
ards
wereeffective
inthebriefassessmentsuggesting
aperformance
deficith
ypothesis,
fortwoaskill
deficith
ypothesis;
extended
analysisconductedto
compare
skills-basedtreatm
ent
with
performance-based
treatm
ent
No
Farrelland
McD
ougall
(2008)
SED/ADHD/BiPolar
(1)
SLD—Math(4)
ADHD/Tourettes
(1)
14–15
4M, 2F
Special
education
mathathigh
school
Correctdigits,incorrectdigits,
accuracy
Com
binedmultip
lebaselineacross
participant,changing
criterion
Self-m
onitoring
pace
using:
MotivAider
tactile
cuing,
visualcuingon
worksheets,
daily
self-graphing,teacher-
setg
oals
One
participanto
mitted
given
unstablebaselin
e;five
participantsmetor
exceeded
lower
performance
limitin
nearly
everysession;increaseinpace
not
associated
with
adecrease
inaccuracy,m
ostp
articipantsalso
increasedoverallp
ercentageof
digitscompleted
accurately
Yes
Figarolaetal.(2008)
Learningdisability
(1)ADHD(2)
7–8
3F
Special
education
resource
room
inpublic
elem
entary
Performance
of40
one-digitby
one-digitsum
sfrom
0to18
ABABwithdraw
al(2)A
Bwith
reductionin
sets
(1)
Goalsettingbasedupon
baseline,self-graphingof
daily
results,verbalp
raise
Goalsettingmetor
exceeded
aimline
on83
and90
%of
occasions;
multiplemodifications
toreduce
sets,w
ithverbalprom
ptingfor
thirdparticipant,describedas
less
successful
No
Gross
andDuhon
(2013)
Mathskill
deficits
8–9
3F
Elementary
school
Mathproblem
accuracy
Non-concurrentm
ultip
lebaselineacross
subjects
Com
puter-aidedinstruction
with
prizes;accuracygoal
setat9
0%;teachertraining
ininstruction,modellin
gandrehearsalw
ithperformance;feedback
Findings
demonstratedan
increase
inmathfactaccuracy.A
llthree
studentsmetaccuracy
goalat
somepointu
sing
CAI
No
HanelandMartin
(1980)
Mentalretardation
19–54
8M
Residential
sheltered
workshop
Coffeepack
assemblyrateper
hour;p
ercentagecorrect
Com
binedmultip
lebaseline,reversal;
delayedtreatm
ent
controlg
roup
Self-m
onito
ring,self-
administrationof
token
reinforcem
ent,goalsetting
determ
ined
byother
Increasedproductivity
ofallclients,
someconsiderably,som
eminim
ally
No
Lam
bertetal.
(1999)
Gym
nasts
12–13
4F
Gym
Withinsubjectsalternating
treatm
ent
Self-setgoals,coach-setg
oals
Gym
nastswith
aninternallocusof
controlspent
moretim
eon-task
No
228 Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241
Tab
le1
(contin
ued)
Author(year)
Diagnosis
Age
M/F
Setting
Targetbehavior
Researchdesign
Interventionelem
ents
Findings
generalization/
maintenance
data
On-task
behavior
when
working
onbeam
during
competitiontraining
during
self-setgoalcondition;
gymnastswith
anexternallocus
ofcontrolspentmoretim
eon-task
during
coach-setg
oalcondition
Wardetal.
(1998)
PE: vo
lleyball
Grade
414
M 10F
General
education—
PEvolleyball
skills
Opportunity
torespond:
numberof
trialsperformed,
numbercorrectp
erminute
Multi-treatm
ent
A-B-A
-Creversal
Group
instruction,
peerdyads,
peer
mediated
accountability,teacher
determ
ined
goalsetting,
peer
recordingandpublic
posting,reinforcem
ent
Littledifference
betweengroup
instructionandpeer
dyad
condition;highestnumberof
otr’s
andcorrecttrialsduring
peer-
mediatedaccountability
phase;usingpeersas
data
collectorscreatedan
instructional
environm
entw
hereteachercould
hold
studentsaccountablefor
performance,recording
createda
producto
fperformance
No
Winnetal.(2004)
N/A;referredfor
behavioral
consultation
7–9
2M, 1F
General
educationin
threeinner-
city
schools
Num
berof
words
writtenin
daily
journal
Non-concurrentm
ultip
lebaselineusingthree
ABdesigns
Goalsettin
g;self-recording:
countingwords
and
recordingon
goalcharts,
reinforcers
Allstudentsincreasedjournalw
riting
quantity;goalssettobe
attainable
butchallenging;
allteachers
reported
interventioneasy
toim
plem
entand
required
few
resources,studentlikethe
intervention,onestudent
appeared
toim
proveperformance
inotheracadem
icareas
Anecdotal,nodata
Guidedgoalsetting
Asaro-Saddler
and
Saddler(2010)
Asperger’s
syndrome(1)
Autism
(2)
6–9
3M
Public elem
entary,
various
empty
classrooms
Improvestorywritinglength,
numberof
storyelem
ents,
quality
Multipleprobes
across
multip
lebaseline
design
Goalsetting(participantand
instructor),self-m
onito
ring,
self-recording,self-
reinforcem
ent
Increasednumberof
storyelem
ents
used
whenwritingfictional
stories,quality
ofthestoryandthe
averagenumberof
words.
Generalised
across
task,from
fictionaltonarrativewritin
g,and
maintainedatfour
weekfollow-
up
Yes
Grossiand
Hew
ard
(1998)
Mild
mental
retardation
20–37
4M
Com
munity
-based
restaurant
training
program
(a)W
orkproductivity.(b)Work
quality/accuracy.(c)
Accuracyof
self-
monitoring
work
performance
Multiplebaselineacross
tasks
Self-evaluationtraining,self-set
goalswith
guidance,self-
monitoring,verbaldirection,
modelling,rehearsal,
correctivefeedback,social
praise,self-adjustmento
fgoal
Increase
inworkproductivity
forall
four
trainees,traineesincreased
theirratesof
workwithout
sacrificingworkquality,results
suggestcom
pleteaccuracy
isnot
necessaryforim
proved
work
performance
No
Lee
andTindal
(1994)
Typically
developing
students
10–12
3M, 2F
Regular
education
classroom
inKorea
(i)Percentageof
timeon-task.
(ii)Mathematics
productivity
ratecompleted
accurately
perminute
Alternatingtreatm
ents
Self-recording;self-setg
oals
with
guidance;com
bined
goalsetting
andrewardfor
achievingdaily
goal
(teacher
provided
snack);
feedback
Allstudentsincreasedon-tasklevels
upon
implem
entationof
SRand
GS;
allstudentslevelsin
SRand
GShigher
than
baselineformath
productivity;b
ecause
ofceiling
effectsandresults
suggesteffects
ofSR
andGSnotconsistently
different
Yes
McC
arthyetal.
(2010)
Junior
multievent
athletes
12(2),13
(1)
3F
Athleticsclub
track
(i)Po
sitiv
eaffect.(ii)
Negative
affect
Multiplebaselineacross
participants
Coach
assisted
goalsetting;
diaryto
detailprocessgoals
andgoalsetting;feedback
andreinforcem
ent
Dem
onstratedstatistically
significant
increase
inpositiv
eaffectforall
participants;n
ostatistically
significantd
ecreasein
negativ
e
No
Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241 229
Tab
le1
(contin
ued)
Author(year)
Diagnosis
Age
M/F
Setting
Targetbehavior
Researchdesign
Interventionelem
ents
Findings
generalization/
maintenance
data
affect;p
articipantssetappropriate
processandperformance
goals
with
guidance
andmasteredgoals
Merriman
and
Codding
(2008)
ADHD
HS
2M, 1F
Generalhigh
school,
specialed
teacher
support
(i)Hom
eworkcompletion.(ii)
Hom
eworkaccuracy
Multiplebaselin
eacross
participants
Coachingwith
guided
goal
setting,self-monito
ring
ofhomew
orkcompletion,
accuracy
andprogress,
graphing
ofcompletionand
accuracy,fading
Allstudentsincreasedpercentagesfor
homew
orkcompletionand
accuracy,m
aintainedduring
fading
andfollow-upfortwo
participants(not
implem
entedfor
thirdparticipantasdidnotm
eet
long-term
goal,how
ever
increase
considered
adequate)
Yes
Miller
andKelley
(1994)
Conductandlearning
problems,
hyperactivity,
inattention/
passivity
9–11
2M, 2F
General
education
(i)Accuracyof
completed
homew
ork.
(ii)On-task
behavior
ReversalA
BABmultiple
baseline
Child,parentg
oalsuggestions
then
determ
ined
acomprom
ised
goal,parent
monitoring,contingency
contracting,daily
and
weeklyrewards
orsanctio
ns
Increasedworkaccuracy
forall
participantsandincreased
stability
ofresponding
across
phases
forthreeof
four
participants,twoparticipants
demonstratedincreasesin
percentage
ofon-taskbehavior
No
Moore
etal.(2001)
Typically
developing
students
83M
General
education
On-task
behavior
Multip
lebaselin
eacross
subjects
Self-monitoring
with
self-
recordingusingintervalsof
on-taskatthetim
e,tallied
atendandgraphed;
goal
setting
with
assistance
and
on-going
performance
feedback;fading
Substantialincreasein
on-task
behavior
forallthree
students
during
self-m
onitoring/self-
recording;
performance
levels
maintainedduring
goalsetting;
maintainedduring
fading
fortwo
participants
Yes
Srikam
eswaran
and
Martin
(1984)*
Mentally
handicapped
25–36
2M, 2F
Sheltered
workshop
training
centre
(i)P
roductionofbags
ofceiling
tileclips.(ii)Percentage
ofcorrectp
roduction
Modifiedmultip
lebaselin
ewith
reversal-
replication
Self-monitoring
plus
goal
setting
(guidedduring
training);tokenexchange
quarters;edibles/activities;
general/specificprom
pts
verbalinteractions;
feedback;p
aysystem
SRP(SM
GS+reinforcer)was
effectiveatincreasing
production
rateabovebaseline,two
participantsdidnotrespond
toquartersbutd
emonstratedsm
all
increasesforedible/activity
reinforcers;SR
Pmoreeffective
than
SMor
SMGSforthreeof
four
participants
No
Tollefson
etal.
(1986)
Learning
disabled
Grade
7(6)
Grade
8(2)
7M, 1F
Middleschool
resource
room
Classroom
assignment
completion,homew
ork
assignmentcom
pletion
Multiplebaselin
eacross
eightstudents
classroom
assignment
comparisongroupfor
homew
orkassignment
Contract:goal
statem
ent,plan
tomeetg
oal,and
evaluationof
appropriatenessof
goalandplan.
Student
selected
achievem
entg
oal;
studentd
eveloped
aspecificgoal
statem
ent/plan,
studentchart,
feedback
Studentscanlearnto
setrealistic
achievem
entg
oal,developplans
toreachthesegoalsand
monitorprogress
towards
goals.
Studentsincreasedratesof
assignmentcom
pletionand
weremoreconfidento
ftheir
ability
toplan
No
Goalssetb
yparticipants*also
included
Codding
etal.(2005);Srikameswaran
andMartin
(1984);L
ambertetal.(1999)
Albertson
and
Billingsley
(2001)
Giftedstudents
131M 1
FEnrolledin
school
honours
program,
Creativewritingplanning,text
production,ratesof
writing,
review
ingandwriting
quality
Multiplebaselin
eacross
participant
Student-setgoalsetting;
planning
andtim
erecording;
storywritingand
timerecording;
review
ing,
Strategy
instructionplus
self-
regulation(goalsettin
gand
graphing)enhanced
storylength,
fluency(w
ords/m
inute)
andstory
Yes
230 Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241
Tab
le1
(contin
ued)
Author(year)
Diagnosis
Age
M/F
Setting
Targetbehavior
Researchdesign
Interventionelem
ents
Findings
generalization/
maintenance
data
conductedin
homeoffice
ofresearcher
changesandtim
erecording;
self-recording
andgraphing;
feedback
with
verbalpraise
elem
entscoresforboth
participants;p
articipantsmetor
exceed
goals88
%of
time;
writtenquality
ofstorieswritten
quicklyduring
interventionwas
judged
asequaltoor
betterthan
priorsessions
Balcazaretal.
(1991)
Physicald
isabilities
20–40
2M, 2F
Large
mid-
western
university
Independently
recruith
elpto
attain
personalgoals
Interruptedtim
eseries
multip
lereplication
across
participants
Role-play
assessment;written
training
manualo
fhelp-
recruitin
gskillswith
listo
f25
verbalresponses;
feedback
andpraise
Com
parisonof
scores
before
and
aftertraining
indicatedsignificant
improvem
entinparticipantshelp-
recruitingskills;participantsset
20goalswith
totaloffivereported
asno
change,eight
metrealistic
attainmentand
sevenbest
anticipated
attainmento
utcomes
Yes
Balcazaretal.
(1995)
behavioraldisorder
(4),mental
retardation(1),
manic-depressive
(1)
17–19
6M
Residential
treatm
ent
school
(i)Transition
goals.(ii)Action
towards
reaching
goals.(iii)
Help-recruitin
gskills
Multiplebaselinedesign
across
behaviors(asa
group)
Self-goalsetting,self-recording
instudentd
iary,role-play
ofhelp-recruiting
skills
Consistentimprovem
entsin
help-
recruitingskillsof
group;
all
studentsdemonstratedsubstantial
effortsandreported
ingoal
attainment(11/17goalsforgroup
attained,2/2
goalsdroppedand
4/17
goalsin
progress)
Yes
Benitezetal.(2005)
Emotionalbehavioral
disorder
15–17
5M
Special
education
Conflictresolution(1),
assertiveness(2),career
exploration(2)
Five
ABdesigns,identical
goalsandoutcom
emeasures
Goalsettingwith
goaltraining,
goalattainmentm
easures,
self-m
onitoring
Increasedcorrectresponses
bycondition
forallp
articipants,all
participantsachieved
theirtarget
goals
Yes
Caldw
elland
Joseph
(2012)
Conductdisorderand
substanceabuse
(2);em
otional
disturbance(1)
14,17,18
3F
Maxim
um-
security
juvenile
facility
Tim
eon-task,academ
icproductiv
ity,academic
accuracy
during
independentm
athpractice
Single-casereversal
design
across
participants
Setandrecord
productivity
and
accuracy
goals,self-
monitoring,fading
Studentsweretaught
tograph
performance
dataandset
performance
andaccuracy
goals
answ
eringquestio
ntomaintainor
increase
previous
result.
Correctivefeedback
was
provided.A
ccuracydidnot
increase
during
intervention,
directioninstructionon
math
problemswas
notp
rovided.
Samplesize
small,incentive
rewards
notimmediate.B
aselines
long,possiblethatintervention
should
have
occurred
sooner
No
Delano(2007)
Asperger’ssyndrome
13–17
3M
General
education
classes,
instructionin
conference
room
Words
written,functionalessay
elem
ents
Multiplebaselinedesign
across
responsesand
participants
Self-m
onitoring,self-recording,
self-goalsetting,verbal/
writtenstorystarter/video
prom
pts
Usedvideoself-m
odellin
gto
teach
SRSD
andself-m
onito
ring.
Increasednumberof
words,
functionalessay
elem
entsin
persuasive
essaywritin
g.Tw
oparticipantsmaintainedincrease
innumberof
words
at3-month
follow-up,functionalessay
elem
entswerenotm
aintained
Yes
Grahametal.(1992)
Learningdisability
11(2),12
(1),13
(1)
3M, 1F
Resourceroom
inelem
entary
school
Improvewritingcomposition
Multipleprobedesign
across
subjects
Studentsdirected
tolistw
aysto
meetg
oals;self-prom
ptevaluation,reflection;
Improved
performance
inessay
writingin
each
goalarea:
components,length
and
Yes
Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241 231
Tab
le1
(contin
ued)
Author(year)
Diagnosis
Age
M/F
Setting
Targetbehavior
Researchdesign
Interventionelem
ents
Findings
generalization/
maintenance
data
strategy
chart,goalchartand
student-generatedself-
instructionlists;feedback
convincing.P
ost-treatm
enttwo
times
asmanyelem
entsandfour
times
morebasicparts.Essays
weretwoto
threetim
eslonger,
moreconvincing.M
aintained
gainsover
time,studentand
teacherreported
strategy
improved
writingperformance
Holtetal.(2012)
Professionalsoccer
club
academ
yplayers
10–12
5M
Indoor
coaching
Technicald
rill“passing
square”:aw
areness,passing
andfirsttouch
Single-subject,m
ultiple
baselinewith
reversal
Peer-assessedfeedback
with
carting,goalsetting
and
groupcontingency;
players
self-setpersonalgoalsand
follo
wingagreem
entw
ithcoachchartedgoallin
e
Awarenessscores
improved
noticeablyduring
interventio
n,passingandfirsttouch
dataalso
improved
andweremore
consistent
during
intervention;
findings
supportresearchthat
accountabilitydrives
the
instructiontask
system
Yes
KelleyandStokes
(1984)
Highschooldropouts
with
academ
icandsocialdeficits
16–21
7M 1
FVocational
training
program
Num
berandpercentage
ofacadem
icitemsansw
ered
correct
Contracting:
reversal;
multip
lebaseline
Baselinepaym
entb
ased
onattendance;contingency
contractingpaym
entfor
numberofcorrectworkbook
itemsplus
$13.50
for
completingweeklygoal(or
%thereof);student-setgoal
setting
daily/weekly
paym
ent
Student-teachercontractingwith
pay
waseffectiveinincreasing
student
productivity;student
goalsetting
effectiveformaintaining
student
productivity
substantially
higher
than
baseline,although
generally
lower
than
during
contracting
conditions
No
Lenzetal.(1991)
Learningdisability
135M 1
F6-weeksummer
program
Improvecompletionof
project-
type
assignments
Multiplebaselineacross
subjects
Goalsetting:
task
evaluation,
options,specification;
Actualisation:
plan
identification,plan
expansion,self-m
onito
ring,
feedback
Effectiv
einincreasing
thenumberof
projectssuccessfully
completed
andthequality
ofgoalsetting
and
goalactualisationresponses;all
studentsdemonstratedan
increase
ofatleast20%overtheirbaseline
averages
inboth
goalsetting
and
goalactualisation
No
Lym
an(1984)
Conductdisorder
126M
Residential
treatm
ent
facility
On-task
behavior
Multiplebaselineacross
sixsubjects
Privatestudent-setg
oal;public
student-setg
oal,goalcard
onbulletin
boardatfronto
fclass
Percentage
oftim
eon-taskslightly
higher
inprivategoalsetting
than
baseline;percentage
oftim
eon-
task
substantially
higher
inpublic
goalsetting
than
eitherbaselineor
privategoalsetting;p
ublic
goal
setting
may
bemoreeffectivethan
privategoalsetting
No
Moore
etal.(1989)
Severemental
retardation
19–21
2M, 2F
Sheltered
workshop
Rateforsortingwashers;self-
instructions
Multiplebaselineacross
subjects
Self-talktraining,self-goal
setting,self-reinforcem
ent,
verbalpraise,corrective
feedback,m
odellin
g
Allworkersincreasedproductionto
criterion
levels,increases
maintainedup
to3months,
productivity
consistent
throughout
workperiods,work
productionincrease
underself-
reinforcem
entw
asmodestand
perhapsmoney
was
not
reinforcing
No
O’Brien
etal.(2009)
Elite(3)and
non-elite
(3)boxers
15–17
6M
Amateurboxing
association
Multiplebaselineacross
individuals
Participantg
oald
etermination,
participantgoalsetting,goal
Allelite
participantsim
mediately
improved
performance,sustained
No
232 Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241
Tab
le1
(contin
ued)
Author(year)
Diagnosis
Age
M/F
Setting
Targetbehavior
Researchdesign
Interventionelem
ents
Findings
generalization/
maintenance
data
(i)Perform
ance
(num
berof
punches).(ii)
Com
petition
outcom
es
review
ing,reinforcem
ent
forgoalattainment,
feedback
during
retentionphase;alln
on-
elite
participantsim
mediately
improved
performance,not
sustainedduring
retentionphase.
Non-elitemeanpercentage
ofwinsincreasedduring
interventio
nandretentionfortwo
participantsandshow
edno
increase
during
interventionanda
decrease
atretentionforone
participant
Todd
etal.(2010)
Autism
15–17
2M 1
FCyclingcourse
atspecial
education
school
Sustained
cycling
Multiplebaseline
changing
criterion
Self-m
onitoring,goalsetting:
intensity
phaseanddistance
phase
Developed
attitudeandskillsto
effectivelyengage
inself-
regulation;twostudentsincreased
distance
cycled,allparticipants
developedaccuracy
atdifferent
intensity
levels,allparticipants
developedaccuracy
indistance
goalsetting,directinstructionin
self-efficacyappeared
beneficial
forteaching
goalsetting
Yes
Trammeletal.
(1994)
Learningdisability
13–16
6M 2
FGeneral
education
resource
room
support
Hom
eworkassignment
completion
Multiplebaselineacross
subjects
Self-m
onito
ring,self-
evaluatio
n,goalsetting,self-
graphing
Immediateincrease
ofhomew
ork
assignmentcom
pletionunder
both
self-m
onito
ring
andself-
graphing
conditions;results
maintainedathigh
levelsduring
maintenance
phaseandat20-and
40-day
follow-upprobes
Yes
Wanlin
etal.(1997)
Speed
skating
performance
12–17
4F
Provincialteam
preparingfor
National
Winter
Gam
es
(i)Lap
frequency.(ii)Num
ber
ofdrillscompleted.(iii)
500-m
race
times.(iv)Off-
task
behavior
Multiplebaselineacross
individuals(1
control)
Mission
developm
ent,long-
term
self-setting,sub-goal
andpracticegoalsetting,
self-talk,goalvisualisation;
self-m
onitoring
and
recording:
prom
pt,self-
evaluatio
nandsetn
ewpracticegoals;publicgoal
sharing
Immediateincrease
inlaps
forall
threeparticipants,control
initially
increasedthen
droppedbelow
meanlevelsof
both
baselineand
interventio
n;allp
articipants
improved
numberof
drills,
controlp
articipantm
aintained
stablelevelo
fcompletion;
all
participantsim
proved
mean
racing
times,control
participant
chosenottorace;o
ff-task
behaviorsim
mediately
dropped
fortwoparticipants,one
participantreportedan
almost
completeabsenceof
off-task
behavior,control
participanth
adhigh
frequencyof
off-task
behavior
throughout
study;
goal
achievem
entat7
2,76
and71
%
No
Goalsintroduced
inlatterphase
Maagetal.(1992)
Learningdisability
7–11
4M 2
FRegular
classroom
(i)On-task
behavior.(ii)
Academicproductivity
Multipletreatm
entd
esign
across
participant
(i)Self-observation.(ii)Self-
observationandself-
recording.(iii)
Self-
observation,self-recording
Substantialchanges
inon-task
behavior
andacadem
icproductivity
foreach
studentin
each
experimentalcondition
Yes
Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241 233
How Have Goal-Setting Interventions Been Structured?
Interventions that included goal setting as part of treatmentpackages and alongside other intervention components werefrequently described. These included contracting (3), self-monitoring (25), reinforcement (15) and feedback (17). Theuse of technology was also described and included computerinstruction (1) and video modelling (1). An approach to teachgoal setting was described in six studies (16 %), and the use ofself-regulated strategy development (SRSD) techniques wasreported in two studies (5 %). Public goal sharing was includ-ed as an intervention element in four studies (11 %).
Lyman (1984) explored the effects of private student-setgoals and public sharing of student-set goals with six studentsschooled in a residential treatment facility as a result of con-duct disorder. During the public condition, a goal card wasplaced on the bulletin board at the front of the class.Participants reportedly spent a slightly higher percentage oftime attending to task during the private goal setting conditionand substantially more time on task upon introduction ofpublic goal sharing.
Goal setting was introduced during the latter stage ofintervention in two studies (5 %). One study examined theeffects of self-monitoring with contingent reinforcement un-der two conditions: comparison to prior performance andcontingent to meeting a goal (Maag et al. 1992). Anotherstudy introduced goals in the latter phase in order for oneparticipant to achieve mastery of math division (Skinner et al.1993).
Maag et al. (1992) introduced goal setting in the finalphase of an intervention that included the followingphases: a self-observation condition; self-observationand self-recording; self-observation (reversal), self-recording and contingent verbal reinforcement for per-formance improvement; and self-observation, self-recording and contingent reinforcement using teacher-and student-set goals for successive increases in mathe-matics problem task performance. The largest gain inacademic productivity occurred during the phase of con-tingent reinforcement plus goal setting, during which theteacher not only provided verbal reinforcement for anincrease over prior performance but also provided verbalencouragement in the event a goal was not met. Theauthors concluded that treatment effects can be in-creased by the simultaneous use of goal setting.However, the effect of goal setting alone was notexplored.
While the original authors of these 38 studies have consis-tently reported positive treatment effects, the majority of thestudies have confounded goal setting with other dependantvariables. Three studies were identified which enable theeffectiveness of goal setting alone to be examined. Lambertet al. (1999) compared self-set goals with coach-set goals, andT
able1
(contin
ued)
Author(year)
Diagnosis
Age
M/F
Setting
Targetbehavior
Researchdesign
Interventionelem
ents
Findings
generalization/
maintenance
data
andcontingent
reinforcem
entp
hase
1.(iv)
Self-observation,self-
recording,
contingent
reinforcem
entp
hase
2Guidedgoalsetting
except
self-observatio
nalonein
which
effectswerenegligible.
Increasedperformance
ofon-task
behavior
andacadem
icproductivity
mostsubstantial
during
contingent-reinforcement
phases
Skinneretal.(1993)
behavioraldisorders
91M
Privatespecial
education
(i)Percentageof
division
problemscorrect.(ii)
Num
berof
digitsand/or
problemscorrectperminute
Multiplebaselineacross-
problemswithin
subjects
Cognitivecover,copy,and
compare
(CCC;o
neparticipantrequired
assessmentfeedbackand
teacher-setg
oalsettingto
reachmastery
level
CCCeffectiveatincreasing
students’
rateof
accurateresponding
todivision
problems;assessment
feedback
andgoalsetting
suggest
thattheseprocedures
alonemay
resultin
increasesin
ratesof
accurateresponding
Yes
234 Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241
both Maag et al. (1992) and Skinner et al. (1993) introduced agoal condition additively to achieve an effective treatmentthereby enabling intervention effects to be measured beforeand after the introduction of goal setting. In each case, goalsetting was associated with clear behavioral gains.
What Types of Target Behavior Was Goal Setting AppliedTo?
These interventions addressed a variety of target behaviorsincluding transition planning (2), decreasing problem
Table 2 Summary of descriptivestatistics Descriptor Participant numbers
Sex Male 128
Female 58
Age School aged (6–12 years) 82
Adolescence (13–17 years) 73
Adulthood (18 years and older) 31
Diagnosis Autism 5
Asperger’s syndrome 4
ADHD 14
Emotional behavioral disorder 14
Learning disability 45
Mental retardation 21
Non-compliance/conduct 12
Manic depressive 1
Giftedness 2
Typically developing 15
Athletics 49
Physical disability 4
Method Taught prerequisite skills 1
Taught goal setting 6
Taught self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) 2
Goals set by other 11
Guided goal setting 9
Guided goal setting, set by participant 20
Public goal sharing 4
Goals introduced in latter phase 2
Other components Contracting 3
Self-monitoring 25
Reinforcement 15
Feedback 17
Used computer instruction 1
Used video modelling 1
Target behavior Transition planning 2
Problem behavior 8
Mathematics 9
Writing 6
Reading 1
Academics—all subjects 3
Homework 4
Projects 1
Social skills 1
Athletics 7
Development of physical activity skills 1
Vocational tasks 4
Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241 235
behavior (8), mathematics (9), writing (6), reading (1), allacademic subjects (3), homework (4), projects (1), social skills(1), athletic performance (7), development of physical activityskills (1) and vocational tasks (4). Target behavior was plottedby number of participants, as illustrated in (Fig. 1).
Barry and Messer (2003) incorporated goal setting withself-management to increase on-task behavior and academicperformance and decrease disruptive behavior in an interven-tion conducted with five boys with ADHD. The teacher setparticipant goals using the approximate average for the classin an intervention that included self-recording, teacherprompting and reinforcement. Goals for academic achieve-ment and on-task behaviors were gradually increased duringfading. While results again showed this to be an effectiveintervention procedure, researchers noted that gradual fadingof supports was necessary to ensure maintenance.
Tollefson et al. (1986) targeted an increase in completion ofclassroom assignments and an increase in homework assign-ment completion for eight middle school students described aslearning disabled. During training with the research assistant,each student selected an achievement goal: daily or weekly in-class assignments, or homework assignments for the week,and developed a goal statement of what was required and bywhen. A study plan was specified, and each student self-monitored work completion. Subsequently, students met withthe research assistant to evaluate the goal and the plan, ad-dressing reasons for success or failure in goal attainment. Ahomework contract phase was introduced for four students,intended to promote generalization of goal implementationskills. Three students demonstrated a marked increase inhomework assignment completion. The authors reported that
time spent teaching goal setting and goal implementationstrategies not only increased the rate of assignment comple-tion but also made students more confident in their ability toplan.
A goal setting model that included goal determination, goalsetting and goal reviewing was used to examine the cumula-tive effects on skill performance among six high school boxers(O’Brien et al. 2009). During goal determination, participantsmet with the researcher to determine a self-generated perfor-mance behavior. All participants rated the number of puncheslanded as most important, thus determining this as the targetbehavior. During goal setting, a numeric system to measurechanges in the participants’ target expectations over time aswell as a means to measure progress during intervention wasdeveloped. Three elite level participants immediately im-proved performance, and improvement was sustained duringa follow-up phase. However, while the three non-elite partic-ipants also immediately improved performance, their increasewas not sustained during follow-up.
Individuals with ASD are often described as having anuneven profile of executive functioning skills, an area ofimportance for achieving academic or vocational success(Geller and Greenberg 2010). While high-functioning stu-dents on the spectrummay be academically capable, problemswith organisation and planningmay negatively impact successin higher education or vocational settings and present a chal-lenge for independent functioning. The application of goalsetting to behavior management, attention to task and timemanagement described in the existing literature raises thepossibility that effective goal setting instruction may be ben-eficial to students with ASD in learning skills necessary to
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Academics - all subjects
Athle�cs
Development of physical ac�vity skills
Homework
Mathema�cs
Problem behavior
Projects
Reading
Social skills
Transi�on planning
Voca�onal tasks
Wri�ng
Mul�ple behaviors
Number of Participants
Targ
et B
ehav
ior
Target behavior by participants
Fig. 1 Target behavior by participants
236 Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241
overcome these challenges and to perform tasksindependently.
Who Is Involved in Setting Participant Goals?
The studies in this data set described a variety of stakeholdersinvolved in the goal setting process. Twenty studies (53 %)described goal setting by the participants, 9 studies (24 %)described the participant setting goals under guidance, and in11 studies (29 %), goals were set by someone other than theparticipant.
Two studies employed an alternating treatment design tocompare the effects of goal setting by either the experimenter/coach with goals that were set by the participant (Coddinget al. 2005; Lambert et al. 1999). While Codding andcolleagues (2005) reported that participants not only per-formed better during the student selected goals condition butalso favoured this condition over the experimenter-selectedgoal condition, Lambert and colleagues (1999) reported thatself-set and coach-set goals functioned differently dependingon the participants’ locus of control. In particular, an internallocus of control was associated with greater gains under a self-set goal condition, and an external locus of control wasassociated with greater gains under a coach-set goal condition.
Participant descriptions were plotted against the differencesin the identity and role of the goal setter (self vs other vsguidance provided) for the studies reviewed, as illustrated inFig. 2. The graph illustrates a potpourri of self, other andguided approaches to goal setting. The exclusive use of inde-pendently set goals was noted amongst participants described
either as gifted or physically disabled, while goals were eitherset independently by the participants or under guidance forparticipants with ASD, AS, conduct disorder and studentswith manic depression. Typically developing students in thisdata set did not set goals independently and received guidancewith setting goals only marginally more frequently than hav-ing goals set by an adult. A few athletes received guidancewith goal setting, and athletes set goals independently in justover one third of the data. The majority of participants withlearning disabilities self-set goals, although both guidance andgoals set by another adult were observed. Few students withADHD set goals independently, and occasional provision ofguidance was observed in these studies though the majority ofthese participants had goals set by an adult. This diversity inapproaches may reflect different purposes on the part of theresearchers when adopting goal setting in interventions. Forstudies targeting increased performance, such as in the case ofathletes, it may arguably be less relevant for the participants toindependently set their own performance goals. By contrast,where the aim of the intervention is to enhance independentfunctioning, developing social skills, transition planning orreducing problem behavior for example, teaching participantsto set their own goals either independently or with guidancemay be of greater relevance.
By way of example, three non-verbal high school studentsdiagnosed with ASD were included in an intervention thataimed to increase participation in sustained physical activity(Todd et al. 2010). The students possessed the physical skillsrequired to cycle and were able to discriminate correctlybetween more or less necessary to set distance goals. Prior to
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Athletes
ADHD
ASD
AS
Conduct Disorder
EBD
Gi�ed
LD
Manic Depressive
MR
Typically Developing
Physically Disabled
Number of Participants
Part
icip
ant D
escr
iptio
n
Goal setting method used by participants
Self-Set
Set by other
Guidance
Fig. 2 Goal setting method used by participants
Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241 237
independently setting cycling distance goals, participants weregiven guidance to understand their cycling capabilities andwere taught to self-monitor. All three students developedaccuracy in setting both distance and intensity goals, andtwo of the students increased the distance they cycled.
However, for interventions in which successful completionof task is less related to attaining independence, the identity ofthe goal setter may be less significant. For example, guidedgoal setting, combined with self-monitoring and performancefeedback, formed the basis of a coaching intervention in anintervention conducted with three high school students withADHD (Merriman and Codding 2008). An initial goal settingmeeting was conducted between each student and the coach.Students used their baseline data to set goals for mathematicshomework completion and accuracy, and the coach gaveguidance in the event of unrealistic goal suggestions.Coaching was conducted daily with feedback and goal refor-mulation, and praise for progress was provided until thestudents achieved their long-term goals. During systematicfading, coaching sessions went to alternate days then weeklyuntil eventual termination. Results showed that coaching im-proved the completion and accuracy of homework for all threeparticipants, with improvements maintained during fading andfollow-up for the two participants that met their long-termgoals.
In contrast, interventions that do not impact the partici-pants’ ability to achieve independent functioning may notrequire the participants themselves to set goals in order toachieve positive outcomes. For example, Brobst and Ward(2002) reported a study with three teenaged female soccerplayers to increase performance of existing ball skills in bothpractice sessions and games. The head coach and the research-er established a performance level for the targeted skills, andan intervention package that included public posting, goalsetting and oral feedback was implemented. Both the goaland the rationale behind it were explained to the participants,and practice results were reported on a performance chartdisplayed near the playing field. Players were praised formeeting goals and given encouragement if they did not.Results demonstrated improvement during practice.Generalization results were less consistent, and improvementduring games was apparent for only one of the three ball skills.
Are Goal Setting Effects Maintained Over Timeand Was generalization Assessed?
While frequent informal reports of generalization and mainte-nance over time were included by the original authors ofstudies in this set, data confirming such effects was reportedin 18 of the 38 studies (47 %). Three of the 38 studies includedparticipants with ASD (Asaro-Saddler and Saddler 2010;Delano 2007; Todd et al. 2010), and notably, all three of these
articles included data for either generalization or maintenanceof treatment effects over time.
Inspection of generalization and maintenance data for theparticipants with ASD revealed variable findings. Asaro-Saddler and Saddler (2010) included a generalization task inan intervention conducted with two elementary students withAS, and one with autism, in which the writing requirementaltered from fiction to personal recount. While two partici-pants appeared to successfully generalize writing skills to thenew task, one participant included a fictional name rather than“I”. The authors reported that participants may not haveclearly distinguished the required difference. Similarly, datagathered to explore maintenance of treatment effects over timealso resulted in variable findings. Todd et al. (2010) examinedcycling distance goals in the maintenance phase of an inter-vention with three non-verbal teens. Gains in excess of base-line were maintained for two of the three participants duringthe phase. Delano (2007) collected follow-up data at both 1-week and 3-month time frames for three teens with AS.Although a gain in the number of words written was main-tained by all three participants at 3 months, the number offunctional essay elements was not maintained. Delano (2007)suggested that a longer intervention period may be required.Asaro-Saddler and Saddler (2010) also collected maintenanceprobes after 4 weeks and acknowledged the limitation of theirdata as continued gains beyond this time frame remainunknown.
Stokes and Baer (1977) described generalization acrosssubjects, settings, people, behaviors and/or time as the occur-rence of relevant behavior under different untrained condi-tions in the absence of conditions that had been scheduledduring training. At that time, attention was drawn to theimportance of actively programming to achieve generaliza-tion, rather than to passively expect it as an outcome oftraining procedures. In addition, the use of stimuli found inthe generalization settings, which included the role of peers astutors, was highlighted as significant to future research whenstructuring training sessions.
Authors of the original studies from our broader data setgenerally concur that graduated fading is necessary in order tomaintain intervention effects over time or to observe general-ization of effects to new settings or behaviors. Several studiesreported successful maintenance of treatment effects over timeamong all participants in research that included systematicstimulus fading (Moore et al. 2001; Merriman and Codding2008).
Conclusions
Our aim in this study was to map the existing single-subjectresearch evidence for interventions that have included a goal
238 Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2014) 1:225–241
setting component with a view to informing a research agendafor participants with ASD. This data set as a whole providespreliminary support for the effectiveness of goal setting tech-niques in a wide variety of interventions. However, to date,little research on goal setting has been performed with indi-viduals who have a diagnosis of ASD.
Second, in the research identified, goal setting effects havealmost always been confounded with interventions typicallyinvolving a combination of components additional to goalsetting. The most common of these, self-monitoring, wasincluded in two thirds of the interventions. Several of thesestudies noted that participants value both establishing theirgoal independently and self-monitoring their behavior.Feedback was also included in almost half of theinterventions, and again, original author reports suggest thatinformation derived from feedback played a significant role inpositive intervention outcomes.
Southall and Gast (2011), in their qualitative review of self-management interventions for students with ASD,emphasised the need for researchers to examine the effectsof specific components of current self-management interven-tion packages to identify the relative contribution of each. Ourfindings support this conclusion, highlighting in particular theneed to explore the contribution goal setting has, either inisolation or in combination with other intervention compo-nents, on intervention outcomes and on the development ofself-determination more generally.
Another important observation arising from this data setconcerns the generalization and maintenance of observedchanges. Goal setting skill training may be an importantcomponent of treatment packages that aim to develop inde-pendent functioning for participants with ASD, and effectivegoal setting may be a vital skill for high-functioning studentswho pursue higher education. Given that goal setting skills aredeveloped over time, it appears particularly important to gath-er generalization and maintenance data. While limited involume, the preliminary maintenance data for participantswith ASD is variable, including accounts of maintenancefailure post-intervention. Accordingly, we reiterate the impor-tance that future research includes longer intervention phases,in addition to programming for generalization and mainte-nance over longer time frames and/or including peers.
With respect to how participants have been involved in thegoal setting process within an intervention, no clear pattern isevident in our data set. The basis on which researchers havedecided either to set goals themselves or how and to whatextent to involve the participants in this process is unclear, andimportantly, the implications of these decisions are largelyunexplored. This review has identified goal setting researchthat has been conducted successfully with a wide variety ofindividuals engaged in the process of learning. Although theauthors of this work have consistently reported successfuloutcomes in interventions that have included goal setting
and these accounts suggest that goal setting skills are teach-able, further research that explores the relative merit of engag-ing participants in the goal setting process and that identifieseffective strategies for teaching goal setting appearswarranted.
Finally, although the literature has included successfulaccounts of individuals improving sports performancethrough the use of goal setting skills, there is a paucity ofresearch with participants with ASD regarding the develop-ment and/or improvement of skills required to promote aphysically active lifestyle. This finding is of significance tothis population given the recent reports of elevated chance ofdeveloping obesity, in addition to the loss of opportunity toengage in social interactions with typically developing peers.Research that explores treatments aimed to overcome chal-lenges that may result from a sedentary lifestyle, food selec-tivity or disrupted sleep appears justified.
Proposed Research Agenda for Participants with ASD
While limited in quantity, the SCD research with participantson the autism spectrum included in this review suggests thatgoal setting instruction may be successful with this popula-tion. We propose the following foci as elements of futureresearch to aid in developing treatment packages that fosterindependent living:
1. Research that explores the role of goal setting in isolationor in combination with other intervention components
2. Research that explores the generalization and mainte-nance effects of goal setting interventions, particularlyincluding peers as tutors to assist in programminggeneralization
3. Research that explores how to best teach goal settingskills to participants with a view to attaining the abilityto perform this skill independently
4. Research that explores the relative effects of goal settingby the participants themselves compared to goals set byother stakeholders
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