Muriel Drew Saunders, Ph.D.

Assistant Research Professor, Research and Training Center on Independent Living
The University of Kansas, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue
Room 4089 Dole, Lawrence, KS 66045-7555
Phone: (785) 785-864-1618, FAX 785-864-5063, TTY (785) 864-0706
e-mail: msaundrs@ku.edu 

Professional Biography

Muriel Saunders, PhD, conducts research with her husband Richard Saunders in intellectual, physical and developmental disabilities, including adaptive switch technology, supported routines, health promotion, weight loss interventions

She has recently received the following grants.

Weight Loss by Individuals with Physical Disabilities is a three-year grant funded by the Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Principal investigator is Muriel D. Saunders; Amanda Reichard and Richard Saunders are co-investigators on the project, which will compare the NHLBI Step 1 (recommended care) diet with a meal replacement diet in adults with mobility impairments.

Reducing the Incidence of Obesity in Adults with Developmental Disabilities in Kansas is a three year project funded by the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities/Administration Developmental Disabilities that concludes in Sept. 2009. Richard Saunders is PI, and Muriel Saunders is co-investigator. The objective of this investigation is to assist at least 100 adults with developmental disabilities to lose weight on a type of diet becoming widely accepted among typically developed adults. The diet, often referred to as “meal replacement,” relies on the concept of volumetrics to yield a diet that curbs hunger while facilitating weight loss. Methods, results, and lessons learned with these participants are updated at www.diet.ku.edu.

Communication of People with Mental Retardation is funded by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development; Richard Saunders is principal investigator, Muriel Saunders is co-investigator. The objective of this five-year study is the discovery of ways to prevent or remediate incomplete language development often associated with mental retardation. The components of the project range from teaching triadic eye gaze to infants at risk for severe developmental delay to tracking the effects of voice output communication aides on preschool children.

Muriel Saunders has also worked in other areas of health promotion including workplace ergonomics and dental care.

She began her career in 1967 as a 4th grade teacher. In her first year of teaching, she teamed up with Montrose Wolf and Harriet Barrish to find a way to reduce the disruptive behaviors of her students. They developed a landmark procedure called the Good Behavior Game that quickly made students manageable. This experience was a turning point in her career. For the last 49 years, she has maintained a foot in both the education and research realms.

Selected Publications

Barrish, H. H., Saunders, M., & Wolf, M. M. (1969). The good behavior game: Effects of individual contingencies for group consequences on disruptive behavior in the classroom. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2, 119-124. 

Saunders, M. D. (2001). Who’s getting the message? Helping your students understand in a verbal world. Teaching Exceptional Children, 33, 70-74.

Saunders, M. D., Timler, G. R., Cullinan, T. B., Pilkey, S., Questad, K. A., & Saunders, R. R. (2003). Evidence of contingency awareness in people with profound multiple impairments: Response duration versus response rate indicators. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 24, 231-245. 

Saunders, M. D., Smagner, J. P., & Saunders, R. R. (2003). Improving methodological and technological analysis of adaptive switch use of individuals with profound multiple impairments. Behavioral Interventions, 18, 227-243. 

Saunders, R. R., & Saunders, M. D. (2004, May). Improving the quality of life for people with profound multiple impairments. Workshop presented at the 30th Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis, Boston, MA.

Saunders, M. D., & Saunders, R. R. (2004, August). Balancing the right to personal liberties: When should we limit the doughnuts? Paper presented at the 13th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Association for Psychotherapy and Behavior Medicine and the 2nd International Conference of the Association for Behavior Analysis, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Saunders, R. R., McEntee, J. E., & Saunders, M. D. (2005). Interaction of reinforcement schedules, a behavioral prosthesis, and work-related behavior in adults with mental retardation. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 38, 163-176.

Saunders, M. D., Saunders, R. R., Mulugeta, A., Henderson, K., Kedziorski, T., Hekker, B., & Wilson, S. (2005). A novel method for testing learning and preferences in people with minimal motor movement. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 26, 255-266.

Saunders, R. R., Saunders, M. D., Struve, B., Munce, A. L., Olswang, L. B., Dowden, P. A., & Klasner, E. R. (2007). Discovering indices of contingency awareness in adults with multiple profound disabilities. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 112, 246-260.  

Saunders, R. R., & Saunders, M. D. (May, 2007). Data as Communication: Translating Messages from Persons with Profound Multiple Impairments without a Rosetta Stone. Invited Address, 2nd International Come to Your Senses Conference, Toronto, Ontario, CA.

Elias, B, C., Goyos, C., Saunders, M., & Saunders, R. (2008). Teaching manual signs to adults with mental retardation using matching-to-sample procedures and stimulus equivalence. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 24, 1–13.

Saunders, R., Saunders, M., Donnelly, J., Smith, B., Sullivan, D., & Erickson, B. (October, 2008). Reducing the incidence of obesity in adults with developmental disabilities in Kansas. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, San Diego, CA.

Saunders, M. D., & Saunders, R. R. Pilot evaluation of the impacts of Special Olympics Healthy Athletes screening events on referral, follow-up and health behavior of Special Olympics athletes. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, San Diego, CA.

Saunders, R., Saunders, M., Donnelly, J., Smith, B., Sullivan, D., Guilford, B., Erickson, B., & Rondon,, M. (2009, May). Clinic-based evaluation of the 5-3-2 diet for overweight adults with developmental disabilities. Paper presented at the 35th annual meeting of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Phoenix, AZ.

Saunders, M., Saunders, R., Donnelly, J., Smith, B., Sullivan, D., Guilford, B., Erickson, B., & Rondon,, M. (2009, May). Home-based evaluation of the 5-3-2 diet for overweight adults with developmental disabilities. Paper presented at the 35th annual meeting of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Phoenix, AZ.

Current Professional Service

Board of Editors, Research in Developmental Disabilities

Awards

Joan Wald Baken Award, 2008, Division of Physical and Health Disabilities, Federation of the Council for Exceptional Children
Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year Award, Federation of the Council for Exceptional Children, 1991
Kansas Special Educator of the Year Award, Kansas Federation of the Council for Exceptional Children, 1990

Education

Dr. Saunders received her B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Kansas.