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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Accurately Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder Among A Comorbid Population, Michelle Okolita
Accurately Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder Among A Comorbid Population, Michelle Okolita
Dissertations
Two of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are diagnosed in early childhood. The two disorders share similar impairments across domains, are highly comorbid, and have many overlapping symptoms. Studies have shown that among this comorbid population, children receive an ASD diagnosis a few years after their initial ADHD diagnosis, which leads to many negative consequences, including a delay in treatment. The focus in this study was on the early indicators of ASD that are present prior to the age of 3 years in order to educate others on these symptoms. In an …
Validation Of The Ask-Asd In A Sample Of Parents, Teachers, And Medical Students, Laura K. Hansen
Validation Of The Ask-Asd In A Sample Of Parents, Teachers, And Medical Students, Laura K. Hansen
Dissertations
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood and manifests in social communication impairment and restricted, repetitive behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Although accurate information about ASD is available through a variety of sources, this access to information may not translate into increased knowledge in parents, teachers, and medical professionals. A Survey of Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASK-ASD) was initially established as a reliable, valid measure of perceived and actual knowledge of ASD (Hansen, 2015). The current study evaluated the psychometric properties (i.e., factor structure, reliability, and validity) of the ASK-ASD in a sample of …
Assessing The Effectiveness Of A Picture Exchange Communication System On Increasing Manding And Vocal Speech In Identical Twin Adults With Autism, Laura C. Hilton
Assessing The Effectiveness Of A Picture Exchange Communication System On Increasing Manding And Vocal Speech In Identical Twin Adults With Autism, Laura C. Hilton
Dissertations
This study examined the effectiveness of a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) on increasing manding (i.e., making requests) and spontaneous vocalizations. Participants were a set of identical twin adult women, both with a diagnosis of autism. The main dependent variable was the number of mands emitted by the participants while utilizing PECS. During each phase of training, participants had to meet a specific criterion before receiving a preferred item. Once the participants met the criterion for each phase of PECS training, a new phase began. Spontaneous vocalizations were tracked during each phase of training to determine if, as previous studies …
An Attempt To Establish Approval As A Learned Reinforcer, Kelly T. Kohler
An Attempt To Establish Approval As A Learned Reinforcer, Kelly T. Kohler
Dissertations
Approval does not function as a powerful reinforcer for many children with autism, making it difficult to reinforce appropriate behavior in a functional and consistent manner. The current study first assessed the effects of establishing approval (“Nice,” accompanied by a smile and nod) and nonsense words as discriminative stimuli, with the intent that they might also become learned reinforcers. We conducted several experiments to assess the effectiveness of approval as a reinforcer, including tests on learning new responses (receptive, expressive, freeoperant, and simple simultaneous discriminations) and tests on the performance of previously mastered responses (receptive and expressive responses). Despite the …