The strengths and limitations of the body of Intensive Interaction Research

I am currently updating our Intensive Interaction Research Summaries document for inclusion in an updated 'II Schools Curriculum Documents Pack' and this got me thinking about the strengths and the limitations of the current body of research that supports our claims for the outcomes of Intensive Interaction. Below I set out my general thoughts on these issues:

The strengths of the current body of Intensive Interaction research:

• The Intensive Interaction research is multi-disciplinary in nature i.e. it comes from a variety of professionals, with different participants and from different settings.

• Intensive Interaction studies have been based on the work of a range of experienced researchers supported by experienced professionals/practitioners.

• The Intensive Interaction research has been published across a wide range of well-established and academically well regarded journals (the majority peer reviewed), both in the fields of special education and in the more generic learning disability journals (and now one or two in Dementia journals as well).

• There has been a mixture of research methods used across the Intensive Interaction research i.e. both quantitative and qualitative methods (some within the same 'mixed methods' studies), which give a more contextualised representation of the approach and its outcomes.

• The Intensive Interaction research body consists of a mixture of experimental or quasi-experimental methodologies (e.g. ‘time-series multiple-baseline’ studies), comparative studies and individual case studies, using a range of well-structured assessment scales to help standardised measures e.g. PVCS.

• Different variables have been researched, including the beneficial outcomes of Intensive Interaction, reductions in negative/challenging or socially isolating behaviours, as well as some of the factors that influence the use of the approach across a number of different settings.

• Numerous case studies give rich data with good reliability using a range of data gathering methods and analysis (e.g. via non-participant/independent video momentary time sampling techniques), and the use of inter-rater assessment measures to help control or limit the potential for researcher bias.

• Generally positive findings of increased social or communicative progression emerge across the body of Intensive Interaction research.

• Intensive Interaction is based on well-founded and well-evidenced developmental theory, this giving the approach a clear theoretical coherency that enhances the plausibility of any positive findings.

The limitations of the current body of Intensive Interaction research:

• There are some issues associated with the standardisation or the ‘fidelity’ of the Intensive Interaction practices used within the research studies i.e. it is unclear if all the practitioners were doing the same kinds of Intensive Interaction.

• There could be some difficulties in replicating some studies (due to some methodological and/or procedural reporting issues) e.g. some studies do not make it clear of how the participants were sampled, and some had inadequate descriptions of the baseline phase.

• Some studies have potentially unidentified or unacknowledged variables which may impact on the validity of some of the findings.

• It is difficult to generalise from the findings of small cohort or individual studies due to the idiosyncratic nature of the participant group.

• Finally, there still isn't by any means enough research making its way into the published academic and research literature. If we want as many people as possible to benefit from Intensive Interaction, then we still need more published research into the processes and outcomes of the approach across all the groups of people with whom it might be used.

(For further reading on this issues see: Hutchinson, N. & Bodicoat, A. (2015) 'The Effectiveness of Intensive Interaction: A Systematic Literature Review', Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 28 (6), 437-454.)