A study of the impact of the Picture Exchange Communication System on verbal language and stereotypic behavior in preschool children with autism

The Picture Exchange Communication System was designed to give children with autism, developmental disorders, and social-communication disorders a way to communicate with the world around them. It is a picture based communication device that puts emphasis on the child initiating interactions. PECS utilizes many behavioral teaching techniques such as shaping, fading, backward chaining, and delayed prompting to teach children to make requests and communicate with others. Even with the emphasis on spontaneous interactions without the use of speech, verbal language is likely to develop as a secondary outcome for those children who have the ability to develop and use speech. Studies at the Delaware Autistic Program in Newark, Delaware have found that high percentages of preschool children who receive PECS intervention will develop verbal language, whether it be independent of PECS or in combination with it. Those children in the study that failed to develop speech fall within the severely to profoundly mentally retarded range of intellectual functioning. This study was conducted to measure the impact of PECS on verbal language and stereotypical behaviors in preschool children with autism and developmental disorders. Two preschool classrooms at Gloucester County Special Services School District\u27s Child Development Center were used for the study. A total of twelve children were observed to collect data on verbal language and stereotypic behavior. The study found no consistent evidence that children who use PECS will experience an increase in verbal language or a decrease in stereotypic behavior. Although there is some evidence of an increase in verbal language over time, there are inconsistencies both between the subjects and the period of time that they were observed. Similar evidence and inconsistencies were found with decreases in stereotypic behavior. This is in part due to the nature of autism and inconsistencies in speech and behavior on a day to day basis

A Toolkit for Including Students with Autism into the General Education Classroom

This project will benefit many teachers in the elementary setting, especially those working in a school classroom with students with autism. This toolkit is designed to inform teachers about autism, introduce resources about autism and effective teaching strategies and to provide tools to accommodate and support students with autism in the general education setting. Teachers need extra training and instruction in the area of inclusion. They often feel unprepared and under supported when dealing with students with autism in their classroom. In this toolkit, teachers will find resources, learning strategies and will acquire tools for successful integration in their classroom. All information in this toolkit is research based and proven successful for some inclusive classrooms that work with students with autism

Parent-Teacher Collaboration for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Role of Teacher Training

Over twenty years of research has demonstrated that collaborative relationships between parents and teachers are invaluable in enhancing the educational success of all students and are especially meaningful when students have ASD (e.g., Ruble & Dalrymple, 2002). However, collaborative relationships are often difficult to develop because many educators remain uninformed about ASD (Helps, Newsom-Davis, & Callias, 1999) and untrained in working with parents (Lazar & Slostad, 1999). The present study evaluated the ability of an intervention to (a) encourage more positive attitudes toward parent-teacher collaboration, (b) increase general knowledge about ASD, and (c) boost comfort, competence, and confidence levels with regard to working with parents of children with ASD. The study followed an experimental design, with 30 college students randomly assigned to either the experimental Collaboration Training intervention or the alternative treatment Autism Information intervention. Analyses of pre-and post-intervention measures revealed that participants reported significantly more positive attitudes toward parent-teacher collaboration, more knowledge about ASD, and more confidence in their abilities to work with parents of children with ASD after training than they did before training. Additionally, the experimental Collaboration Training condition yielded significantly higher increases in confidence across time than did the control Autism Information condition

Asperger's syndrome: learner characteristics and teaching strategies

Students with Asperger's syndrome present a particular challenge for their parents, teachers, and peers. Therefore it is important for teachers working in inclusive settings to become aware of the unique needs of these students. In this paper, challenges for students with Asperger's syndrome are discussed in terms of five aspects; communication, motor clumsiness, obsessional interests, attention and social skills. These characteristics are discussed in a wav that will facilitate teachers' understanding of the difficulties associated with student participation in the school environment. Challenges for teachers are discussed under the headings: inclusive schooling; need for a structured program; behaviour management; communication; and creativity in planning. Adaptive and compensatory strategies for teachers are described which will facilitate learning and participation of students with Asperger's syndrome in the regular classroom

Inclusion and Autism: General Education Teachers’ Perceptions

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate general education teachers’ perceptions of being prepared to work with students identified with autism, grade level assignments, time concerns, and the presence of an ancillary attendant in their classrooms. Participants in this study were located in one city school system in North East Tennessee. All data were collected through an online survey distributed to 230 teachers, of whom 79 responded. Four research questions were analyzed, 3 with single sample t tests and 1 with a one-way ANOVA. Results indicated no statistical significance regarding grade level assignments and general education teachers’ perceptions of inclusion of students identified with autism. General education teachers who participated in this research indicated significant negative perceptions of feeling prepared to manage social issues, communication issues, and aggressive behaviors associated with autism as well as having adequate time to work with students identified with autism. Significant positive perceptions were indicated for the presence of an ancillary attendant in their classroom to assist with students identified with autism

BendableSound: An Elastic Multisensory Surface Using Touch-based interactions to Assist Children with Severe Autism During Music Therapy

Neurological Music Therapy uses live music to improve the sensorimotor regulation of children with severe autism. However, they often lack musical training and their impairments limit their interactions with musical instruments. In this paper, we present our co-design work that led to the BendableSound prototype: an elastic multisensory surface encouraging users to practice coordination movements when touching a fabric to play sounds. We present the results of a formative study conducted with 18 teachers showing BendableSound was perceived as “usable” and “attractive”. Then, we present a deployment study with 24 children with severe autism showing BendableSound is “easy to use” and may potentially have therapeutic benefits regarding attention and motor development. We propose a set of design insights that could guide the design of natural user interfaces, particularly elastic multisensory surfaces. We close with a discussion and directions for future work

Understanding the use of tablet devices in the classroom when teaching a group of learners diagnosed with autism

The increasing number of individuals diagnosed with autism, the shift in educational paradigms, and technology advances that allow affordability and accessibility were the motivation behind this study. Learners with autism have the potential to develop social and emotional skills as well as increasing motivation for learning while using technology, in particular tablet devices (i.e., iPads) as instructional tools. The purpose of this case study was to better understand the use of technology (in particular, tablet devices) to teach mathematics to a group of learners diagnosed with autism. Two research questions guided this study: (1) How do the motivational principles of the ARCS model impact the learners\u27 motivation with classroom activities (i.e., with excitement? apathy? sense of accomplishment)?; and (2) How do learners interact with technology used in the classroom (i.e., as an instructional tool? as a rewarding mechanism? as an entertaining strategy)? Moreover, the hope is to potentially gain more awareness into the motivational impact tablet devices can have on learners on the autism spectrum concerning engagement and participation in learning activities. Participants in this study were five children diagnosed with autism between the ages of 8 and 11 who attended a middle school located at a large school district in a metropolitan area of a U.S. Midwestern state. The learners participated in a paper-based mathematics activity as well as interacted with an iPad to work on mathematics concepts. Observations and opportunistic interviews with learners and teacher were conducted. An in-depth semi-structured interview was also done with the classroom teacher. In attempt to explore the research questions, data were analyzed using the Interpretive Descriptive qualitative research analysis method. Based on that analysis four themes emerged: (1) the motivational use of the tablet device in the classroom, (2) the classroom activities\u27 impact on learners\u27 social interactions, (3) learners\u27 behavioral changes resulting from change in classroom routine, and (4) teacher\u27s motivational strategy. The overall study provided an understanding of the motivational impact tablet devices potentially have on learners on the autism spectrum concerning engagement and participation in learning activities. The impact of technology was contingent on its strategic instructional or reward mechanism implementation in the curriculum. The study revealed that technology in general and tablet devices in particular are used in the classroom as reward mechanisms and entertaining strategies to seize and retain the learners\u27 attention in order to achieve instructional goals. The findings also revealed how the learners\u27 conceptual levels affect their response to the reward and influence their social behavioral skills that could become uncontrollable. Additionally, the findings raised awareness concerning the learners\u27reactions to the change in their daily structured schedule and revealed some practices to manage learners\u27 behaviors

Improving social interaction between students with autism spectrum disorder and their peers in inclusive settings

As the inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in settings with typically developing peers has become a recommended practice in education, children with ASD are spending increasing proportions of their day in such environments. Despite inclusion in settings with typically developing peers, researchers have found limited interaction and social acceptance between children with ASD and their typically developing classmates. Given the difficulties children with ASD have with social interaction, interventions must be employed in order to increase peer interaction between students in inclusive classroom settings. Evidence suggests that incorporating the circumscribed or preferred interests of children with ASD into activities can produce large increases in social behavior without the need for utilizing an additional social skills intervention. However, these studies have not involved students with more severe symptoms of ASD and the social validity of this intervention strategy has not been rigorously assessed. Further, research involving young children has taken place outside the natural classroom context, and the generalization and maintenance of results have not been assessed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether incorporating the preferred interests of young children with ASD into play activities mutually engaging to typically developing peers would result in an increase in social interaction within the natural classroom environment. A multiple baseline design across four participant and peer dyads with an embedded reversal was used to demonstrate the effects of the intervention on social interaction during play sessions with typically developing classmates. Generalization with novel peers was assessed across all conditions, and maintenance was assessed six weeks post treatment. In addition, intervention effects across additional skill domains (i.e., functional play, stereotypy) were also assessed. Results indicated that social interaction and the duration of interactive play with peers increased for all participants, and generalization to novel peers was observed. In addition, functional play increased and stereotypy decreased for one participant. Treatment gains were maintained during six-week follow- up sessions. Recommendations for practitioners working with children with ASD in inclusive settings and potential areas of future research are discussed.Special Educatio