Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Behavioral And Eye-Movement Correlates Of Item-Specific And Relational Memory In Autism, Greta Nicole Minor

Theses and Dissertations

Recent work has challenged past findings that documented relational memory impairments in autism. Previous studies have often relied solely on explicit behavioral responses to assess relational memory integrity, but successful performance on behavioral tasks may rely on other cognitive abilities (e.g., executive functioning) that are impaired in some autistic individuals. Eye-tracking tasks do not require explicit behavioral responses, and, further, eye movements provide an indirect measure of memory. The current study examined whether memory-specific viewing patterns toward scenes differ between autistic and non-autistic individuals. Using a long-term memory paradigm that equated for complexity between item and relational memory tasks, participants …

Exploring Levels Of Autism Symptom Support After Eligibility Determinations, Zachary Bella

Theses and Dissertations

The identification of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) occurs in educational and health settings. Many children with autism will only receive a classification of autism in the educational setting (Esler et al., 2022, Pettygrove et al., 2013, Wiggins et al., 2020). There is significant overlap between the early intervention offered to children with autism in health settings and what is provided through Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) (National Autism Center, 2009; Morset et al., 2010). However, there is an increasing trend of children with autism being classified with significant developmental delay (SDD) instead of autism initially in schools and the impact of …

Creating Inclusive Experiences In Children's Museums For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cassandra Coffey

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined daily programming and inclusion efforts for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at a singular study site, a children’s museum located in a suburban community of Illinois. The purpose of this study was to identify, through survey, observation, and peer interviews the current accessibility barriers at the study site and suggest ways to prevent them through inclusive design strategies. Interviews with children’s museums around the country focused on how children’s museums may be able to expand their inclusion efforts to overcome these barriers including designing programming to provide inclusive experiences for children with ASD. These interviews championed …

“Because He Is Different”: Shifts In Discourse And The Increasing Presence Of Autism In Fictional Television, Sierra Wolff

Theses and Dissertations

Characters with an autism spectrum disorder are not new to media, television in particular. What has recently changed is the willingness to put a label on a character who is on the spectrum. This thesis looks at 21 characters in television from 2007 to 2017 who are labeled or are generally perceived to be autistic. I categorize these character representations by genre and find that representations of autism vary according to the characteristics of each genre. I also focus in more depth two series, ABC’s The Good Doctor and Netflix’s Atypical, which both premiered in 2017 with lead characters who …

An Investigation Of Autism Support Groups On Facebook, Yuehua Zhao

Theses and Dissertations

Autism-affected users, such as autism patients, caregivers, parents, family members, and researchers, currently seek informational support and social support from communities on social media. To reveal the information needs of autism- affected users, this study centers on the research of users’ interactions and information sharing within autism communities on social media. It aims to understand how autism-affected users utilize support groups on Facebook.

A systematic method was proposed to aid in the data analysis including social network analysis, topic modeling, sentiment analysis, and inferential analysis. Social network analysis method was adopted to reveal the interaction patterns appearing in the groups, …

An Assessment Of Treatment Options For Pre-Existing Prompt Dependence In Children With Developmental Disabilities, Ella Gorgan

Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has focused on identifying effective strategies to prevent prompt dependence from occurring during the training of novel skills. This has been targeted in a variety of ways, including differential reinforcement, prompt fading, and allowing extended response intervals. Current literature has also indicated that the relative efficacy and efficiency of different prompting procedures may be idiosyncratic across learners, suggesting the potential benefit of an individualized assessment. The purpose of the current study was to extend the literature on prompt dependence by comparing interventions for skills for which four participants with developmental disabilities consistently engaged in correct responses following prompts …

The Effects Of Fastigial Nuclei Inactivation On Social Behavior In The Rat, Vienna Behnke

Theses and Dissertations

Research has implicated the cerebellar deep nuclei in autism. This study questioned whether fastigial nuclei damage accounts for abnormal social behaviors seen in autism. Bilateral cannulation surgery was performed on 13 rats. An ABABAB reversal design was implemented. All animals received a microinfusion of saline during the A phases (baseline). Social interactions were tested using a social interaction chamber and an open field. Seven animals received microinfusions of bupivacaine in the B phase (treatment), which temporarily inactivated the fastigial nuclei. Six control animals received saline again, and social interaction was retested. This sequence was executed three times over six days …

Using Video Modeling To Teach Parents To Use The Natural Language Paradigm, Brittany Ann Leblanc

Theses and Dissertations

There is paucity of research examining the use of video modeling to train parents to implement formats of early intervention such as Naturalistic Environmental Training (NET). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of video modeling to train parents to implement the Naturalistic Language Paradigm (NLP), a specific format of NET, with their children diagnosed with or suspected of having autism spectrum disorder. All three parents demonstrated accurate performance of the components of NLP with an adult confederate and met the mastery criterion in two or three video modeling sessions. We measured the parent’s accurate implementation …

Behavior Analytic Goal Setting And Tracking At A Therapeutic Summer Camp: An Approach For Children With Autism Spectrum And Other Disorders, Whitney Victoria Boeder

Theses and Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by abnormal or impaired development with deficits in social interaction, communication, and a restricted repertoire of interests and activities. There are a number of treatment options available, such as individual or group therapies. Therapeutic summer camps provide a unique service to individuals with ASDs, as well as an opportunity to create, set, and track behavior analytic goals over the summer. Research has demonstrated that summer camps are a promising therapy environment. Research on goal setting and tracking has shown promising results for progress toward behavioral goals. There is limited research on …