Metacognitive monitoring and control processes in children with autism spectrum disorder: Diminished judgement of confidence accuracy

Metacognition consists of monitoring processes (the ability to accurately represent one’s own mental states) and control processes (the ability to control one’s cognitive processes effectively). Both processes play vital roles in self-regulated learning. However, currently it is unclear whether these processes are impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). This study aimed to assess metacognition in thirty-two children with ASD, and 30 IQ-/age-matched neurotypical children, using a judgment of confidence task. It was found that children with ASD showed diminished accuracy in their judgments of confidence, indicating metacognitive monitoring impairments in ASD. Children with ASD also used monitoring to influence control processes significantly less than neurotypical children, despite little evidence of impairments in overall control ability

The Effects of Dynamic Programming on Child Outcome in Early Intervention

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of agencies implementing organized service delivery systems to treat children with autism. Organizational management features designed to manage staff and child progress are critical in producing the highest quality outcomes in the children served (National Research Council, 2001). The current study seeks to identify a system for management of clinical outcomes. Four children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the four teams of staff implementing their ABA treatment program participated in evaluating the effects of a system for management of clinical outcomes. During baseline, typical systems were in place to manage the children's learning. The clinical management system, known as Dynamic Programming was introduced via a multiple baseline design across children. Dynamic Programming is an intervention package that includes: (a) therapist self-monitoring while teaching new program exemplars, (b) therapist public posting of child mastery (c) probes of child behavior to "test" or confirm therapist self-monitoring and public posting (each therapist reports their results on the Dynamic Programming sheet and team members "check" one another). After treatment implementation, each child's rate of learning increased and maintained 5-10 weeks post treatment. Results suggest that the children's rate of learning was accelerated through the implementation of Dynamic Programming. The parents of the children were satisfied with the implementation and outcome for their children

Supporting metacognitive monitoring in mathematics learning for young people with autism spectrum disorder: A classroom-based study.

Previous research suggests impaired metacognitive monitoring and mathematics under-achievement in autism spectrum disorder. Within educational settings, metacognitive monitoring is supported through the provision of feedback (e.g. with goal reminders and by explicitly correcting errors). Given the strength of the relationship between metacognition, learning and educational attainment, this research tested new computer-based metacognitive support (the 'Maths Challenge') for mathematics learners with autism spectrum disorder within the context of their classroom. The Maths Challenge required learners to engage in metacognitive monitoring before and after answering each question (e.g. intentions and judgements of accuracy) and negotiate with the system the level of difficulty. Forty secondary school children with autism spectrum disorder and 95 typically developing learners completed the Maths Challenge in either a Feedback condition, with metacognitive monitoring support regarding the accuracy of their answers, goal reminders and strategy support, or with No Feedback. Contrary to previous findings, learners with autism showed an undiminished ability to detect errors. They did, however, demonstrate reduced cohesion between their pre- and post-test intentions. Crucially, support from the Feedback condition significantly improved task performance for both groups. Findings highlight important implications for educational interventions regarding the provision of metacognitive support for learners with autism to ameliorate under-performance in mathematics within the classroom

A Gamified Framework to Assist Therapists with the ABA Therapy for Autism

We present a framework to assist therapists and children with autism spectrum disorder in their Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy. The framework was designed in collaboration with Spazio Autismo, an autism center in Mantova, Italy. The framework is a first step toward transitioning from the current paper-based to fully digital-supported therapy. We evaluated the framework over four months with 18 children diagnosed with classic autism, ranging from 4 to 7 years old. The framework integrates a mobile app that children and therapists use during the sessions with a backend for managing therapy workflow and monitoring progress. Our preliminary results show that the framework can improve the efficacy of the therapy sessions, reducing non-therapeutic time, increasing patient focus, and quickening the completion of the assigned objectives. It can also support therapists in preparing learning materials, data acquisition, and reporting. Finally, the framework demonstrated improved privacy and security of patients' data while maintaining reliability

A proposed framework of an interactive semi-virtual environment for enhanced education of children with autism spectrum disorders

Education of people with special needs has recently been considered as a key element in the field of medical education. Recent development in the area of information and communication technologies may enable development of collaborative interactive environments which facilitate early stage education and provide specialists with robust tools indicating the person's autism spectrum disorder level. Towards the goal of establishing an enhanced learning environment for children with autism this paper attempts to provide a framework of a semi-controlled real-world environment used for the daily education of an autistic person according to the scenarios selected by the specialists. The proposed framework employs both real-world objects and virtual environments equipped with humanoids able to provide emotional feedback and to demonstrate empathy. Potential examples and usage scenarios for such environments are also described

Subjective experience of episodic memory and metacognition: a neurodevelopmental approach.

Episodic retrieval is characterized by the subjective experience of remembering. This experience enables the co-ordination of memory retrieval processes and can be acted on metacognitively. In successful retrieval, the feeling of remembering may be accompanied by recall of important contextual information. On the other hand, when people fail (or struggle) to retrieve information, other feelings, thoughts, and information may come to mind. In this review, we examine the subjective and metacognitive basis of episodic memory function from a neurodevelopmental perspective, looking at recollection paradigms (such as source memory, and the report of recollective experience) and metacognitive paradigms such as the feeling of knowing). We start by considering healthy development, and provide a brief review of the development of episodic memory, with a particular focus on the ability of children to report first-person experiences of remembering. We then consider neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) such as amnesia acquired in infancy, autism, Williams syndrome, Down syndrome, or 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. This review shows that different episodic processes develop at different rates, and that across a broad set of different NDDs there are various types of episodic memory impairment, each with possibly a different character. This literature is in agreement with the idea that episodic memory is a multifaceted process

Outcomes in language and social skills as seen in children with autism and developmental disabilities participating in equine assisted activities

Individuals with developmental disabilities commonly present characteristics that include deficits in social and communicative abilities. A number of intervention strategies have been implemented, but none have proven to be most effective. A somewhat novel approach known as equine assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) involves the utilization of horses during intervention and has shown to be effective in areas concerning quality of life, social functioning, self-regulation, adaptive behaviors, motor control, and motivation. The purpose of the current study is to examine the effects of EAA on social skills and expressive language in 2-4 children diagnosed with developmental disability. Participants engaged in 6 weeks of EAA at Equestrian Bridges, a local not-for-profit organization. Sessions were one hour and occurred once a week. Prior to the first session, participants’ guardians completed the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) questionnaires. A conversational language sample was elicited from each of the participants. Each session consisted of time spent learning a new vocabulary word, greeting and brushing miniature horses, leading the horses while engaging in activities, and reviewing the vocabulary word of the day. The final 3 sessions also included horseback riding. Following the last session, participants’ guardians completed the SSIS and BRIEF questionnaires again, and a second conversational language sample was elicited. Results suggested EAA may contribute to increased social skills, fewer problem behaviors, and improved executive function. Gains in expressive language were also noted, such as increased length and ease of conversation