Education Commons^™

Reading Emotions: Designing Digital Tools To Strengthen The “Social Brain” Of Young Children With Autism, Kirsten M. Benjamin

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Autism (ASD) is characterized by impaired development in social interaction and communication. This can affect the ability to develop relationships with peers and family. Being limited in this area leads those with Autism unable to translate their own emotions and the emotions of others. As technology develops, so do methods of teaching facial emotion recognition. Building these skills can increase the social communication abilities of those struggling with Autism. This paper will explore the effectiveness of various educational applications (apps).

Taking the lessons gained from previous iPhone application designs I will attempt to create a new application that incorporates the …

All Means All: Implementation Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication As A Gateway To Achievement, Angelina K. Bassett

Theses and Dissertations from 2019

The importance of individuals’ ability to communicate cannot be overstated. Educational teams are charged with making educational placement decisions for students, like the ones in this study, with assessment tools that are not normed for nonverbal students with autism. This study focused on identical male twins with autism who are nonverbal and have acquired augmentative communication devices equipped with the Language Acquisition through Motor Planning learning system in order to facilitate their communication and learning. Interviews were conducted with parents, sibling, teacher, principal, and the speech-language pathologist that work directly with the twins daily. The twins received their individual devices …

Dysgraphia, Madeline Brown

Classical Conversations

Envision a kindergarten student sitting in school with an assignment to copy. As she sits down, she already knows the challenge writing presents for her but does not speak up or say anything because this time probably will not be any different than when she requested help before. She has been labeled as a lazy writer and has never had the most readable handwriting. All of the other children around her finish the assignment and she inevitably she remains unable to complete the first sentence. This scene does not have to play out this way. Students in schools across the …

Flipping The Script: Prioritizing The Autistic Voice In The Understanding Of Scriping As “Key To Autistic Identity”, Colleen D. Arnold

Doctoral Dissertations

Traditional research regarding communication differences for autistic individuals, including scripting (“delayed echolalia”) is grounded in the pathology paradigm and thus emphasizes the elimination of scripting, without looking at the features and benefits it serves the individual utilizing it. This study, by prioritizing the autistic voices as the resounding experts on the topic of scripting, attempts to identify the communicative features and benefits of scripting, as well as how the dynamics of the conversation partner impact the exchange, both positively and negatively. Further, the research looks at the features of scripting as described by autistic adults. It also addresses the pressures …

In-Between Epistemic Paradigms Of Disablement: A Reflective Journey, Daniel James Mcnair

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The author explores feelings of in-betweenness, hybridity, and dislocation (Aoki, 2005; Bhabha, 2007/1994; Saïd, 1994) as he contemplates the meaningfulness of a liminal placement between two epistemic worlds—that of his more recent experiences as a curriculum studies scholar and his previous training as a postpositivist practitioner of school psychology. This self-study engages pedagogical possibilities of in-between spaces (Aoki, 2005; He & Ross, 2012; Baszile, 2006) to construct a lived curriculum that challenges traditional stereotypes of autism and postsecondary disability services. To guide this critical self-reflective inquiry, the author applies the concepts of Joseph Schwab’s (1973) curriculum commonplaces along with William …

Using Photographic Activity Schedules To Facilitate Independent Completion Of Academic Tasks For Young Children With Autism, Nicole Taylor

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle to perform a series of academic tasks, like academic worksheets, independently. Photographic activity schedules are one technique that has been demonstrated to promote independent behavior in individuals with ASD. This study examined how activity schedules impacted the accurate and independent completion of a series of academic worksheets for three young children with ASD ages 6 and 7. Participants needed to performed a series of math and reading worksheets in the presence of an adult, but struggle to display those concepts accurately in the absence of an adult. Procedures involved training participants to …

Supporting Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Post-Secondary Education Settings: Common Barriers And Needed Accommodations And Supports, Ryan T. Paskins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are enrolling in colleges and universities at an increasing rate. Although there is greater attendance in PSE settings, the graduation rate of this population is below the standard average. Improved services to help these students achieve their college and university goals are needed. Disability service professionals provide services to these students, yet oftentimes are not prepared to do so. In an effort to take a step toward addressing this concern, the current study began the exploratory process of identifying whether services provided by campus disability resources centers (DRC) align with the best practices that …

Negotiating Strategies: An Effective Way For Parents Of Children With Disabilities To Communicate For Services, Dorothea Cartwright

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to examine and explore negotiating strategies for parents with children with disabilities. The research showed there were insufficient materials for teaching negotiating strategies to parents to assist them in obtaining critical or basic services for their special needs children. Many families lack financial resources, have English-language barriers, and have educational challenges when facing school administrators that possess these vital resources. These circumstances mean that parents may feel intimidated and disempowered when meeting with school officials. By providing a simple and easy-to-use guide of Negotiating Strategies, parents can be empowered and encouraged to use their …

Survey On Services Provided To Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder In U.S. Public Schools, Kendra Mcpherson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It is of utmost importance that students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the public school setting across the United States are receiving the best, most researched services and treatments. This study aimed to find out what services and treatments are most commonly being used for students with ASD in the public schools, to see whether or not those practices are supported by research, and to discover how involved parents and families are in the services being provided to their students. This study found that of the top 25 most commonly used practices, 17 of those were supported by …

Promoting Sociodramatic Play Between Children With Autism And Their Typically Developing Peers Using Activity Schedules, Azure J. Pellegrino

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrate behavioral deficits and excesses that can adversely affect their play skills. Teaching children with ASD to use activity schedules with embedded scripts have led to increased appropriate game play with other children with autism and typically developing peers; however, there is sparse research on promoting more dynamic social play in children with ASD. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of teaching the use of activity schedules with embedded scripts on the sociodramatic play of preschoolers with ASD with their typically developing peers. We also examined the extent to …

The Effects Of Tact Training For Students Diagnosed With Autism: Will Stimulus Equivalence Be Demonstrated Through The Acquisition Of Intraverbal Responses?, Elizabeth A. Hassler

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

While there have been numerous studies on the effects of tact training, there is a limited amount of research on the effects of tact training on the emergence of intraverbal responses. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of tact training on the acquisitions of intraverbals demonstrated through stimulus equivalence for students who have a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The research attempted to answer the following questions: Was tact training an effective procedure to increase a student’s verbal repertoire; did tact training of both nouns and verbs increase emergence of noun-verb intraverbal combinations; did tacting …

Natural Learning Environments And The Social-Emotional Development Of Students With Sensory Processing Challenges, Denise Elizabeth West

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

This study examined the impact of a natural learning environment on the social-emotional development of students with Autism and/or Sensory Processing Disorder. For this research, social-emotional development consisted of social behavior, communication, and participation. The elements of a traditional classroom are characterized by confinement, harsh lighting/acoustics, and other habitual triggers for sensory discomfort. A natural learning environment can provide students with natural stimuli, fresh air, natural acoustics, natural lighting, etc. Additionally, the natural learning environment fosters a connection with nature, which research shows is important for the self-discovery, self-advocacy, and self-efficacy of all humans. Considering the artificial nature of the …

What Makes A House A Home? Supported Living Environments For Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Rose Meadows

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

My research aims to address how supported living environments for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) can best support their stakeholders. This is an inherently human and personal problem, but existing research tackling this problem utilizing a person-centric and/or resiliency theory lens or framework is lacking. My research will use the perspective of parents/guardians and staff/caregivers in combination with existing knowledge and research to create ideas for how to maximize support in supported living environments for adults with ASD and their families. This is a qualitative study that uses a humanized approach and in-person interviews with stake-holders to highlight their …

Preparing Multiple-Subject Pre-Service Teachers To Work Effectively With Students Who Have Autism, Makalah Vosmera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing of the State of California mandates that teacher preparation programs prepare effective and knowledgeable pre-service teachers to teach all students. Through the use of literature review, interviews and surveys with graduating Liberal Studies students, this senior capstone examines whether Liberal Studies graduating students are being prepared to work effectively with autistic students or not. The findings indicate that they take introductory education courses on autism spectrum disorder along with other forms of disabilities, but they do not receive sufficient breadth and depth coverage on how to work effectively with autistic students in regular classrooms.

Towards Better Outcomes For Families With Transition-Age Youth Or Young Adults With Asd: A Mixed Methods Study From A Parent’S Perspective, Wing Hang Wong

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

The after-high-school outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families are less than desirable. The current study employed an exploratory sequential mixed methods design in order to enhance understanding of the family adaptation process during transition. First, a qualitative study was conducted in order to understand the stressors, external and internal support, coping strategies, and family adaptation outcomes during transition, from a parent’s perspective, using the ABCX model. Thirteen parents of adolescents and young adults with ASD were interviewed. These parents reported a continually high level of stress due to normative strains and ASD-related demands. They clearly …

Hobby Preferences And Physical Activity Participation Among Children With And Without Autism Spectrum Disorder, Scott M. Russell

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

BACKGROUND: Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit low physical activity levels and are at an increased risk for health problems related to sedentary behaviors. Hobby preferences have been shown to influence physical activity participation. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to examine the hobby preferences of children with ASD and determine if there are differences depending on the children’s physical activity level and the nature of their preferred activities. A secondary purpose is to describe the hobby preferences of children with ASD. METHODS: Participants include 98 nine-year-old children (with and without ASD) from the National Growing up …

Privileging Autistics Of Color: A Human Rights Approach To Applied Behavior Analysis (Aba) Therapy, Rebecca Rubey

Master's Projects and Capstones

This field project examines the social construction of autistic people of color through the pathology paradigm and the associated human rights violations. The purpose of the project is to disrupt the pathology paradigm by privileging voices of autistic people of color in professional development workshops for ABA therapy providers. The workshops aim to help ABA therapy providers understand the historical context of ABA, how it fits into the wider systems of white supremacy and ableism, and how these dynamics are re-enacted in every day practice with autistic people of color.

What Makes That Autistic Student Tick? Strategies For Classroom Behaviors, Amanda Puleo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Inclusion of autistic students in mainstream classrooms may make it difficult for teachers to identify and proactively address disruptive behaviors. That is, mainstream teachers may not know how to respond to these specific behaviors and their standard classroom management techniques may not work with autistic students. It will take commitment and hard work to identify strategies to regulate the disruptive behaviors of students with autism. To address this issue, the perspectives of directors and teachers who specialize in autism, as well as mainstream public or private school teachers were obtained through interviews. Three options for action emerged from an analysis …

Moments, Tiffany Bouchard

Theses and Dissertations from 2017

Moments is a series of creative nonfiction essays depicting life with a child who is severely autistic. I compare events from my life prior to having children with life events after I became a mother. My goal is to present a side of autism that is not always seen – the meltdowns, the aggression, the injurious behavior. My desire is to show that, despite the obstacles this life has presented us with, I have been able to experience life with a beautiful, misunderstood human who has changed my life for the better.

Social Work Students Ability To Identify Signs Of Autism In Children, Heather Nicole Hopkins

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of students in the Master of Social Work (MSW) program to correctly identify signs of autism in children by completing a survey. This research project was conducted in collaboration with California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) and the MSW program by using MSW students as participants. The study used a survey designed with items that measured the knowledge of participants. The results of this study may be beneficial to the Director of Social Work, future MSW students, and professors to examine how well the current MSW program is preparing students …

Understanding The Expressive Cartoon Drawings Of A Student With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Michael S. Collins

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the highly expressive comic drawings of Amy, a child with autism. This study connects larger fields of research: the study of how people with autism spectrum disorder [ASD] process faces and emotions; and, research about artists with ASD. Amy's understanding of emotion was analyzed by asking her to view and identify humans and cartoon characters expressing different emotions. Her ability to illustrate emotion is tested by asking her to respond to various drawing prompts. The study concluded that Amy has difficulty identifying the emotions of humans and cartoons, but she does have the ability to illustrate …

Teaching Strategies For Students With Exceptionalities In The Secondary Art Classroom With A Focus On Students With Autism, Down Syndrome, And Visual Impairment, Cheyanne Maree Fannan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to discover teaching strategies for students who have exceptionalities with a focus on students who have Autism, Down syndrome, or Visual Impairment and how these teaching strategies can be used to teach students in a mainstreamed secondary art classroom. Since the mainstreaming of the public school system has increased, students with exceptionalities have caused uncertainty among teachers about which teaching strategies to use in the classroom to meet all of their students needs. New teaching strategies need to be brought into the classroom to change the way students are learning. This thesis will include: …

Puzzled Representations: Popular Media And How Educators Come To Know Autism, Vanessa N. Keener

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

People learn about the world through popular culture. Popular culture media representations of autism can be found in TV, film, literature, Internet media, advertisements, and more. This study employed a quantitative correlational design to survey 273 Georgia educators regarding their perceptions of autism, including knowledge about autism, best practices for teaching students labeled as having autism, perceived positivity and accuracy of popular media representations of autism, as well as participant identification with popular media representations of autism and personal characteristics (i.e., age, sex, level of education, type of degree, years of teaching experience, professional and personal experiences). Six major findings …

Teaching Children Who Have Difficulty Mastering Auditory Discriminations, Sarah Lichtenberger

Dissertations

Simple and conditional visual and auditory discrimination repertoires are critical components of many skills necessary for daily functioning, including communication, academic, and daily-living skills (Green, 2001). When auditory discrimination is not under instructional stimulus control, it can result in delayed acquisition of new skills and limit academic progress. The purpose of this study was to teach auditory discrimination to children with autism who had little to no progress on classroom procedures that required auditory discrimination, such as selecting an object from an array when given the name of the object as the direction. Auditory discrimination was taught starting with teaching …

Understanding The Push-In/Pull-Out Method: Why Support Matters For Socialization, Christina L. Raiti

Senior Theses and Projects

My research combines qualitative and quantitative methods in order to answer: How do the social dynamics of children with autism change as they transition throughout the day from general ed to special ed settings in a Hartford public school? Findings are based upon coded observations of three third-grade students with autism for more than twenty hours in various classroom settings, and also thematic analysis of interviews with three of their classroom educators at the site in Hartford, Connecticut. The findings shows that students with autism are more likely to have positive physical and verbal interactions in structured environments rather than …

Effectiveness Of Proloquo2goTm In Enhancing Communication In Children With Autism During Aba Therapy, Taylor Eastin Krcek

Doctoral Dissertations

Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disorder presenting in early childhood that has a profound effect on an individual's ability to communicate. The iPad® with the Proloquo2Go^TM app is a multilingual Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) solution designed to assist people who have difficulty speaking or cannot speak at all. This study examines the effectiveness of the Proloquo2Go^TM app delivered via iPad® to enhance the tacting, manding, and verbal completion repertoires of children with autism. Participants included five children between the ages of three and four years old diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and with low to …

The Effects Of Brief, Localized, Intensive, Social Skills (Bliss) Training On Social Outcomes For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder In Inclusive School Settings: Form And Function, Christian V. Sabey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the impact of a framework for implementing social skills training, entitled BLISS, on the social vocalizations of students with autism spectrum disorder.

The number of students with autism spectrum disorder is on the rise and many of these students are being served predominantly in general education settings. However, there is a serious lack of social skills training interventions that have been effectively integrated into the typical school setting, including the use of typically available school personnel as interventionists. The developers of the BLISS approach take a step closer to the ideal by integrating brief social skills instruction …

Intellectual Disability Discrimination, Kirsti D. Mutz

Selected Honors Theses

A lack of understanding concerning individuals with intellectual disabilities has led to exaggerated fears and diminished expectations. Consequently, these individuals have faced social exclusion. Research reveals, however, that societal discrimination can be stunted when people are given both information about and contact with these individuals. This research provides the foundation for a film documentary that provides society with the information and contact required to cultivate positive, inclusive attitudes towards individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Development Of An Integrative-Comprehension Imagery Scale For Children With And Without Autism, Marcy Willard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Autism is a debilitating disorder (Yurov et al., 2007) that is diagnosed in 1 in 88 children in America (CDC, 2012). The autism population overwhelmingly performs weakest in reading comprehension as compared to other academic areas (Chiang & Lin, 2007; Minshew, 1994). This identified weaknesses is concerning because comprehension is understood in the literature as the most critical curricular area (Chiang & Lin, 2007). One potential reason for these comprehension problems could be impaired imagery.

Neuropsychology research has found that children with autism cognitively process imagery differently than typical children, due to their unique brain structures (Just, Cherkassky, Keller, & …

A Pilot Study Exploring The Educational And Social/Emotional Benefits Of Web-Based Groups For Parents Of Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Eric Todd Zimmerman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has indicated that parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) experience more feelings of isolation, depression and stress than those of children with other disorders including ADHD and Down Syndrome. While these feelings are especially elevated in parents living in rural communities who may have limited access to services, they are also present in those living in urban areas but are restricted due to challenges with childcare, transportation, finances and time. Furthermore, research posits that services for parents of the newly diagnosed or of younger children are abundant while services and education for parents of adolescents are hard …