Acceptability of the transitional wearable companion “+me” in typical children: a pilot study

This work presents the results of the first experimentation of +me-the first prototype of Transitional Wearable Companion–run on 15 typically developed (TD) children with ages between 8 and 34 months. +me is an interactive device that looks like a teddy bear that can be worn around the neck, has touch sensors, can emit appealing lights and sounds, and has input-output contingencies that can be regulated with a tablet via Bluetooth. The participants were engaged in social play activities involving both the device and an adult experimenter. +me was designed with the objective of exploiting its intrinsic allure as an attractive toy to stimulate social interactions (e.g., eye contact, turn taking, imitation, social smiles), an aspect potentially helpful in the therapy of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The main purpose of this preliminary study is to evaluate the general acceptability of the toy by TD children, observing the elicited behaviors in preparation for future experiments involving children with ASD and other PDD. First observations, based on video recording and scoring, show that +me stimulates good social engagement in TD children, especially when their age is higher than 24 months

Utilizing the Therapeutic Relationship to Promote Prosocial Behavior in Youth Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Expressive Arts Therapy Framework

This critical review of the literature aims to evaluate the extant literature on the role the Expressive Arts Therapist plays in promoting prosocial behaviors in children and adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It further inspects the quality of the therapeutic relationship, its specific applicability to work with an Expressive Arts Therapist, as an agent of change in sociability in youth who struggle with socialization. Per the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013), ASD is characterized by core deficits in social interaction, communication, and maintaining interpersonal relationships. Existing treatment methods such as Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and social skills training emphasize behavioral change, however, do not address the relational skills necessary for successful social interaction. Expressive Arts Therapy (ExAT) and its efficacy in promoting prosocial behaviors in youth with ASD is reviewed. The therapeutic relationship between an Expressive Arts Therapist and youth with ASD is hypothesized as being more effective than non-expressive arts treatment methods in promoting prosocial behaviors. ExAT provides opportunities to foster connection between client and therapist via nonverbal communication, a means conducive to social limitations characterizing ASD. Future application of the combination of visual art, dance/movement, drama, and music will benefit the field of ExAT in addition to providing benefits for youth diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Use of the Pyramid Model for Supporting Preschool Refugees

Response to Intervention (RtI) is being applied to early childhood settings for the support of positive behavior and social development through the Pyramid Model (Fox, Carta, Strain, Dunlap & Hemmeter, 2010). This qualitative study assessed the use of the Pyramid Model for preschool aged refugee children living in a refugee resettlement community. Many young refugee children have experienced trauma (George, 2010) and some experience behavior and social challenges (Almqvist & Brandell-Forsberg, 1997). Twenty-five preschool service providers were interviewed about their use of the Pyramid Model for the support of preschool refugee students. Themes to be shared include how ECEs are implementing the practices outlined in the Pyramid Model along with strategies for adapting recommended practices to meet the needs of refugee families

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

Building a strength-based support program for college students with autism

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Educator\u27s Implementation of the Connecticut Guidelines for the Identification and Education of Children and Youth with Autism

The Problem As the number of children with autism needing educational support continues to increase, combined with the limited availability of resources, this study aims to examine how educators responsible for teaching children with autism have experienced implementation of the Connecticut Guidelines for the Identification and Education of Children and Youth with Autism (2005), (Guidelines). At this time there have been no studies done in the State of Connecticut to assess the implementation of the components for effective education of children with autism, as set forth in the Connecticut Guidelines. Method The Connecticut Autism Needs Survey, an on-line self-report survey designed for this study, was used to collect cross sectional data reflecting special education teachers practices and attitudes towards the Connecticut Guidelines for Identification and Education of Children and Youth with Autism. The first three research questions assess participants experience with implementation, level of difficulty implementing and level of importance of the Connecticut Guidelines for Identification and Education of Children and Youth with Autism. To further explore implementation, level of difficulty implementing and importance the data was examined specifically for teachers practice with 17 recommended evidence based practices for students with autism. The responses to the questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Three additional research questions address the association between the dependent variables reported on in the first three questions and the predictor variables of (a) years of experience, (b) assignment, (c) place, (d) region of the state, (e) number of students on caseload, (f) percentage of students with ASD on caseload, or (g) personal relationship. The dependent variable for each question and the 7 predictor variables were analyzed using logistic regression. Results The findings reveal 89.5% of respondents were either not familiar with the Connecticut Guidelines or found them difficult to implement. Additionally, the findings suggest an association between a special educator’s use of the Connecticut Guidelines and the specificity of their role and tenure. Teachers who are primarily responsible for students with autism were more likely to use the Guidelines than were teachers who were responsible for providing specialized instruction to students with a range of disabilities. The research found that special education teachers in private schools were nine times less likely to rate the Connecticut Guidelines as difficult to implement than teachers in public schools. The findings suggest teachers with more experience were slightly more likely to implement the Connecticut Guidelines. Interestingly, the findings identified teachers who have a personal relationship were twice as likely to use the Guidelines as those who did not. Three of the most critical evidence-based strategies for educating students with autism: pivotal response training, video modeling, and voice output communication aide had the lowest percentage of implementation and were perceived as not important by teachers. Conclusions The results show the Connecticut Guidelines are not used or viewed as important by the majority of special education teachers in Connecticut. The Guidelines were written 10 years ago and much has changed in the field of autism over that time period. It appears it is time to reexamine and make changes to the Connecticut Guidelines

ABA in Native American homes: a culturally responsive training for paraprofessionals

This project attempts to create a dialogue about respectful service delivery to Native American families with a child diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Improving interactions between professionals and Native American families can not only advance the ASD child\u27s cognitive and behavioral gains, but also respectfully honors the beliefs of the caregivers. A systematic search of pertinent peer-reviewed empirical sources in the areas of Autism, paraprofessional training, and multicultural psychology was conducted to develop a training resource for paraprofessionals providing home based ABA tutoring. The completed resource is comprised of three training modules, which are intended to be presented over the course of three days of instruction and lead by a licensed mental health professional. Licensed mental health clinicians acting, as ABA program coordinators would be responsible to utilize this training as an addendum to current, readily available ABA training manuals. An expert panel of licensed mental health professionals working with the Native American ASD population evaluated this training resource. Results: The three members of the expert panel found that despite the need to further develop group discussion topics and to include additional examples related to Native American caregiver perceptions of this style of treatment, the resource has potential for use in preparing paraprofessionals for ABA tutoring in Native American homes

Post Hoc Analysis on the Effect of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention Provided to Preschool Children on the Autism Spectrum

Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) provides a framework for educators to assist children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to increase independence and positive social skills in the classroom (Reichow, 2012). Preschoolers with ASD who do not have access to programs tend to display negative and socially inappropriate behavior, such as acts of aggression, withdrawal, and inability to attend to lessons. Studies on program effectiveness documented that preschool children who received EIBI scored higher on IQ, language comprehension, imitation, expressive language, nonverbal communication, play, stereotyped behaviors and adaptive functioning compared to preschool children who do not receive EIBI. The literature revealed that children with ASD who received EIBI maintained successful relationships with peers through joint attention, displayed increased use of appropriate language, and demonstrated an interest in participating in group classroom activities (Barber, Saffo, Gilpin, Craft, & Goldsetin, 2015). The purpose of the study was to evaluate student development on language, behavior, and peer relationships by analyzing pre- and post- assessments gathered over a three-year period. The study included data collected on a child in a general education non-profit preschool setting. The study was evaluative in nature and documented student progress toward behavior improvement as part of the agency’s evaluation policy results indicated that EIBI contributed to increasing the child’s socially appropriate behavior, language development, and peer interaction. Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) Effects of Early Intervention for Children With AS