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Current Trends In Psychological And Educational Approaches For Training And Teaching Students With Autism In California, Trisha Sugita

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Within the United States, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has seen a dramatic increase over the past twenty years. As the prevalence rate of ASD increases, an increased need for expertise in the field of education has become apparent. Psychological and educational practices for training and teaching students with ASD continue to evolve in California however, a significant gap between theory and practice remains. This article provides a historical perspective of ASD and its prevalence rates. In addition, this article examines the current shifts in teacher training and provides an overview of evidence-based strategies to support students with ASD.

Transitioning Children With Autism From One-On-One Discrete-Trial Settings To Special Education Classrooms, Jennifer L. Freeman

Dissertations

The goal of an early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) program is to teach each child the skills necessary to make meaningful progress in less-restrictive environments (Fox, Dunlap & Crushing, 2002). However, few studies have detailed the steps necessary for a “successful” transition into these educational settings. We transitioned two children, who received 20 hours a week of one-on-one discrete-trial therapy and attended a half-day special education pre-school classroom, to a full-time educational setting. With the goal of aiding each during his/her transition, this study used the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) (Sundberg, 2008), particularly the barriers and …

An Evaluation Of Fading Procedures On The Effects Of Children Using Activity Schedules To Play On The Playground Appropriately, Kylee Lewis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Children with autism often have difficulty playing appropriately and independently. Activity schedules have been shown to be effective at teaching children with autism to play. Some individuals with autism engage in repetitive behaviors, especially on the playground. A previous study showed that activity schedules were effective at reducing repetitive or patterned behavior on the playground by teaching three students with autism to play appropriately and independently. This study investigated the effects of fading procedures on teaching independent and varied play skills to young children with autism during free play on the playground.

Acquisition Of Picture Exchange-Based Vs. Signed Mands And Implications To Teach Functional Communication Skills To Children With Autism, Sang S. Nam Ph.D, Young S. Hwang Ph.D

The Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship

A literature review was conducted to describes important concepts involved in functional analysis of verbal behavior as well as to evaluates empirical research findings on acquisition of picture exchange-based vs. signed mands to suggest instructional implications for teachers and therapists to teach functional communication skills to children with autism. Research findings indicate that children with autism acquire picture exchange responses to mand for reinforcing items more easily and rapidly than signed responses. There is also a strong relation between motor imitation, matching skills and sign language acquisition. It is suggested that both motor imitation and matching skills be examined to …

An Exploration Of Student Anxiety And The Degree Of Aba Services, Alexis Stavros

Theses and Dissertations

Children diagnosed with Autism may present numerous internalizing and externalizing behaviors. In order to help decrease problematic behaviors and promote positive behaviors, early intervention programs are often put into place. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a method of intervention based in operant conditioning, and is used to alter socially useful behavior (Kearney, A. 2008). Although ABA can be effective in decreasing problematic behavior, it could be argued that children diagnosed with Autism exhibit a range of symptoms that may be more internalizing in nature, and not particularly responsive to ABA (Herbert, Brandsma, 2002: Fryling, 2011). Research states that 84% of …

Two Models For Evaluating Evidence-Based Practices In Autism, Jennifer Lee Suppo Ed.D.

Journal of Research Initiatives

The search for evidence-based practices within the realm of autism has continued to be at the forefront of autism discussions in education. The author describes two models, CEC Practice Study Manual (2008) and the National Standards Report (National Autism Center, 2009), for evaluating interventions as evidence-based practices (EBP) in autism, and compares and contrasts their features. The author applies the National Standards Report model, as it is the most frequently used model when evaluating EBP’s, in an analysis of two interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that are known to be EBPs, and applies the same model in …

Frustration And Task Avoidance In Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Lauren A. Vivar

South Florida Education Research Conference

Frustration and task avoidance is seen often in classrooms that have students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of explicitly taught strategies for properly coping with frustration.

A Case Study Of An Office Of Disability Support Services In Higher Education For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Bunnie Loree Claxton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to identify the factors that impact learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at a university in central Virginia. The theory guiding this study is disability theory as it seeks to explain the limitations placed on persons with disabilities. The central research question is: What factors of the disability support services impact learning in university students with ASD? The subquestions include: (a) How do students with ASD describe their experiences with the university’s disability support service offices? (b) How do university faculty describe their role in supporting students with ASD? (c) What factors …

Comparing Video Modeling To Discrete Trial Teaching For Teaching Daily Living Skills, Nicole Angelina Gubernick

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine the effectiveness of implementing video modeling to teach daily living skills to a fifteen year old boy who is diagnosed with autism. This was a single subject, repeated measures research design with the repeated measures being teeth brushing, making a sandwich, and doing the dishes. The daily living skills chosen were based upon a rating scale administered to the parents. Baseline data was collected for the three daily living skill tasks using task analysis probing. Once baseline data was collected, discrete trial teaching with implanted. Data was collected and the level of …

Savant Syndrome: A Review Of Research Findings, Yoora Jeon

Culminating Projects in Special Education

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder featured by impaired social skills, communication abilities, restricted activities and repetitive behavior (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Among the individuals with autism, it is approximately estimated that 10% have autistic savant skills. The most common domains of savant skill are musical, numeracy, and artistic savant skill. After giving a basic overview of autism and savant syndrome, this starred paper reviewed studies of those three areas of savant skills. The purpose of this literature review is to investigate what research has been conducted to evaluate the performance of individuals with musical/numeracy/artistic savant skills. Theoretical Background of savant …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Peer Networks And Peer Video Modeling On Positive Social Interactions Performed By Young Children With Developmental Disabilities, Conrad Oh-Young

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A concern that parents of children with disabilities have is whether or not their offspring are able to interact and be accepted by children who do not have disabilities. Unfortunately children with developmental disabilities (DD) may experience difficulties when interacting with typically developing peers. One method of addressing this issue has been to ensure that children with DD receive instruction in the same school setting as their peers. However, simply attending the same school as children who are typically developing may not be enough. Hence the need for interventions such as peer network (PN) and peer video modeling (PVM), that …

An Analysis Of Variability Of Play Behavior With Preschool Children With Autism, Mary Katherine Endicott Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Children with autism often display repetitive, stereotypical movements with toys in lieu of appropriate play skills. Unlike typically developing children, they do not vary their play with toys. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether three preschoolers with autism would vary their play actions when exposed to a lag schedule of reinforcement and physical prompting procedure. All three participants demonstrated varied play actions with the lag schedule and prompting procedure in place. These behaviors maintained when a probe was conducted two weeks later in the absence of the lag schedule. Although responding was high in the 2-week …

Peer-Implemented Script Fading To Promote Play-Based Statements In Children With Autism, Jessie Rosdahl

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Teaching communication and social skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) requires systematic teaching and instruction. Teachers provide these interventions to multiple students and the efforts can be strenuous. In order to help relieve teachers, as well as provide a more efficient way to teach social skills, this study was conducted to assess the benefits of using peers as implementers and communication exchange partners for children with ASD. In this study, we used an intervention called script fading, a prompt procedure that provides children with ASD with an appropriate audio phrase, which they then repeat during play. This study …

An Exploration Of Perseverative Behaviors In Young Children With Autism, Madison M. Ralph

Honors Theses

This study explored the interplay of stereotypical behaviors and social skills interventions in a clinical environment when stereotypy was not the focus of the interventions. A case study design was implemented to observe two participants that exhibited stereotypical and repetitive behaviors (SRBs) as well as the interventions that influenced these SRBs. Findings demonstrated prompting, positive reinforcement, and response interruption/redirection had a positive impact on shaping some SRBs but, as SRBs were not the focus of the interventions, other SRBs developed.

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 …

High School General Education Teachers' Perception Of Iep Accommodations For Students With Asperger Syndrome, Mary Patricia Krones

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative design study was to better understand the experiences of high school general education English teachers who have students with Asperger Syndrome in their classes. More specifically, this researcher wanted to better understand the teacher's perception of the IEP-denoted accommodations the general education teachers are responsible for implementing. Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, journal entries and collection of artifacts. Findings of this study include: the IEP document and IEP process from the lens of the general education teacher do not provide adequate information when considering the unique needs of students with Asperger Syndrome; …

Services For Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Study Of Educational Practices In Vermont, Tristan James Mcnamara

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continues to receive increasing degrees of national attention in parallel with increasing rates of occurrence (Baio, 2012; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014; Rice, 2009). The disorder's growing prevalence has been accompanied by controversies regarding the source of the disorder (Baker & Stokes, 2007), how it is diagnosed (Mandell et al., 2009; Wing, Gould, & Gillberg, 2011), and what treatments are applicable and effective (National Autism Center, 2009).

This qualitative research study utilizes survey data provided by Special Education Directors to explore the question of what types of treatments are implemented and supported by school …

Inclusion Of Students With High Need Autism: General Education Teachers’ Attitudes And Beliefs Versus Practice, Joanna Davis

Graduate Theses & Dissertations

Given the simultaneous rise in rates of autism and the expectations for school-based inclusion of students with disabilities, research targeting inclusive practices continues to be a priority. Researchers have examined the attitudes and perspectives of general education teachers and best practice for including individuals with high functioning autism spectrum disorders. However, there is little research exploring the relationship between attitudes and practice with regard to the inclusion of individuals on the low functioning end of the spectrum. The purpose of this study was to explore the self-reported attitudes and perspectives of general education teachers in relation to what was observed …

Secondary General Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Challenges For Inclusion Students With Autism, Karen Clark Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many secondary students with autism (SWA) included in the general education (GE) classroom demonstrate academic and behavioral challenges. Most GE teachers who have inclusive SWA in their classes receive little or no training on evidence-based practices to address these challenges. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to explore secondary GE teachers' perceptions of and experiences with the academic and behavioral challenges of inclusive SWA. Theoretical frameworks of the weak central coherence theory for autism and executive dysfunction grounded the study. Data from 6 purposefully chosen secondary GE inclusion teachers, who educated SWA and students with autism spectrum …

Facilitating The Acquisition Of Social Skills Through Service Learning, Becky J. Hendrickson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Deficits in communication affect individuals with autism regarding the ability to access a free and appropriate education as well as quality of life. This research study explored the effects of a service-learning project on acquisition of social skills and reduction of problem behaviors for students who have autism. The conceptual framework for this study was based on Maslow's theory of motivation and Erickson's 8 stages of personality development. A mixed-methods design with sequential transformative strategy was used to collect quantitative data from 5 elementary students who have autism during involvement in service learning; the Social Skills Improvement System was used …

Parental Mind-Mindedness And Language Development In Early Infancy, Nada Alrajhi

Wayne State University Dissertations

Research suggests that mother-child interactions, including sensitivity, responsiveness, and stimulation, are linked to children’s early language. Mind-mindedness refers to mothers’ proclivity to consider and treat their infant as having an active and autonomous mental life of thoughts, intentions, desires, etc. Mind-mindedness is a foundation of parental sensitivity and responsivity. Little research has been conducted on mind-mindedness and infant language development. The purpose of this study was to assess: 1) to assess the relationships among maternal sociodemographic characteristics and mind-mindedness, parent-child interactions and infant language development; 2) to determine whether variations in infant language development were associated with maternal mind-mindedness and …

From Rainman To Rainmaker: A Presentation Of Jim’S Journey And Rapidly Advancing Technologies: Integrating Proven Behavioral Therapies With Emergent Measurement And Testing Advances Will Result In Transformational Progress In Autistic Individuals, Richard Zajac

CMC Senior Theses

The autism treatment status quo was reviewed and accompanied by a narrative contextualizing past and present progress with my younger brother Jim’s journey with the condition, sharing proposed next steps for bettering the current state of affairs in the space. The impetus for this piece was to share in the lessons of Jim’s life thus far and the revelations of those who have supported him, as well as to determine ways to create more impactful, lasting change in the limited window of early intervention therapy whilst empowering individuals on the spectrum to optimize for their skills and talents rather than …