The First Step to Success program: Implementation effectiveness with Turkish children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

摘要

This study evaluated the efficacy of the First Step to Success Early Intervention program on alleviating social-emotional and behavioral problems in Turkish children identified with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) and the collateral effects of this intervention on the behaviors of the teachers, parents, and the overall classroom environment. Participants were four, 7 year old first grade students in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. The design was a single subject multiple baseline across groups design. Dependent measures included: behavioral observations of academic engagement behavior, teacher ratings on the Teacher Report Form (TRF), parent ratings on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), teacher ratings on the ADHD Rating Scale-IV, teacher ratings on the Teacher Ratings of Behavior, and semi-structured interviews with participant teachers and parents. Findings from the study revealed that all participant children displayed increased levels of academic engagement behavior with the introduction of the program and at three months follow-up. Study results also showed that all participant parents and three teachers reported substantial decreases on participant children's social emotional problems, and problem behaviors. Limitations of the study and implications for future research and practice are presented.