Early Childhood ABA: Issues of Early ASD Detection and Access to Intervention

This paper provides an overview of ABA, summarizes findings from studies of early childhood ABA with a focus on intervention dosage, and addresses the influence of demographics and culture on early ASD detection and access to early childhood ABA intervention. Although, this paper is not inclusive of all the ABA studies conducted between 1987-2007 and beyond, it summarizes the findings of some of the historical studies in early childhood ABA. These historical studies were located through two systematic reviews including studies between the years 1987- 2007 and selected if they met the following criteria: (1) intervention was based on behavioral principals (2) participants were five years of age or younger at the onset of intervention (3) intervention was in-home or clinic-based (4) utilized a group research design. A total of seven studies met the inclusion criteria. All seven studies reported increasing intellectual, educational, and behavioral gains for children with ASD. However, three of the studies did not report significant differences across all outcome measures favoring the treatment group. The seven studies reported mixed findings regarding treatment dosage with weekly treatment dosage ranging from 40 to 19.45 hours. Additional findings indicated that demographics and culture should be considered as they influence the early detection of ASD and access to intervention. Based on these findings, future research should further investigate how these variables along with others moderate or mediate early childhood ABA outcomes associated with early ASD detection and access to intervention

A Survey of Occupational Therapy Services Provided for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background: We examined the services provided to adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by occupational therapists across the United States. Method: This cross-sectional study used an online survey, with a combination of structured and open-ended questions, to collect data from a nonprobability sample. Descriptive, inferential, and nonparametric statistics were used to analyze data. Results: In our sample (N= 57), the majority of the participants spent less than half of their workweek intervening with the adult ASD population. Caregivers were instrumental in both referral and discharge, and Medicaid was the most common payer source. The Adult Sensory Profile was used by more than half of the participants and sensory integration was the most influential model underlying practice (77%). The participants advised new occupational therapists to pursue high quality continuing education courses and formal mentorship from senior colleagues. Conclusion: This study suggests that working with adults with ASD remains a niche area of practice. Further research is needed to examine the pathways to receiving occupational therapy for the adult ASD population

Mapping Occupational Therapy Practice with Postsecondary Students: A Scoping Review

Background: Legislation supports a role for occupational therapy in postsecondary settings, but this area is not a common practice area and the practice area is not well understood. This scoping review maps current literature of occupational therapists working with students in postsecondary settings in order to inform future research and practice. Method: After identifying included articles, a narrative description of the quantitative studies along with a concept map were completed. A qualitative thematic analysis of the articles was also conducted. Results: Twenty-five articles met the inclusion criteria. Quantitative results describe occupational therapy services as both a direct and indirect service provided through offices of disability services, assistive technology, and supported education programs, among others. The primary population with whom occupational therapists engage with are students with mental illness. Three qualitative themes emerged from the scoping review, including the focus on occupation and skills needed for success, using the campus environment, and campus collaboration. Conclusion: The structure of occupational therapy services varies from location to location and occupational therapists work with various populations of students. Future research needs to support the distinct value of occupational therapy in this practice area, including the scope and outcomes of occupational therapy services with different populations of students

Student Perceptions of Teacher-Student Relationships in General and Special Education

Teacher-student relationships (TSRs) have largely been found to significantly impact student performance and achievement (Roorda, Koomen, Spilt, & Oort, 2011). The purpose of this investigation was to identify differences between the TSRs experienced by students in special education (SPED) and their typically developing peers, and analyze how these differences impacted academics (i.e., math achievement). Secondary analysis of data from the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project indicated no statistical or practical differences between the TSRs reported by SPED students and their peers in general education. Furthermore, teacher caring was found to predict math achievement for non-SPED students. However, student-perceived TSRs were not found to be related to math achievement for SPED students. Implications of these findings are discussed. Keywords: teacher-student relationships, math, special educatio

The Effect of Student-Directed Transition Planning With a Computer-Based Reading Support Program on the Self-Determination of Students With Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of student-directed transition planning instruction (Whose Future Is It Anyway? curriculum) with a computer-based reading support program (Rocket Reader) on the self-determination, self-efficacy and outcome expectancy, and transition planning knowledge of students with disabilities. This study employed a pre- and postmeasure design with 168 middle school students with disabilities who were assigned to an experimental group (n = 86) and control group (n = 82). The results of the study demonstrated that self-determination, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancy for education planning improved through the application of Rocket Reader . Avenues are discussed for promoting middle school students’ self-determination in their transition planning, as are implications for future research.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Attitudes towards people with disabilities: a systematic Rreview of intervention effectiveness

The improvement of attitudes towards people with disabilities has led to studies focusing on the impact of interventions.  This review systematically analyzes and synthesizes the use of interventions to influence attitudes toward people with disabilities. A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple databases to identify studies that used an intervention in English with a defined assessment instrument meant to measure attitudinal changes toward people with disabilities. Based on a literature research, 32 studies conducted in fourteen different countries were included. In the majority of the cases, the use of interventions was an effective tool to improve attitudes towards disabilities. Implications of findings for practitioners and researchers are discussed

Bringing Meaningful Grade Aligned English Language Arts to the Classroom: Bridging Research and Practice

Instruction in meaningful grade aligned English Language Arts (ELA) content for students with moderate to severe intellectual and developmental disabilities provides a full educational experience that can lead to increased quality of life. Many teachers, however, face barriers in how to teach meaningful, grade aligned ELA. This article bridges research to practice by describing effective strategies for teaching a wide range of strands that fall under ELA, such as comprehension, writing, and student-led research. In addition, a framework is offered as a model of how to put it all together when teaching grade aligned ELA

Effects of a Multimedia Shared Story on Comprehension of an Employee Handbook

Employment outcomes for individuals with intellectual disability (ID) continue to be among the lowest reported (Migliore, Butterworth, & Hart, 2009; Siperstein, Parker, & Drascher, 2013). Literacy skills are critical for obtaining employment and for supporting continued success in the workplace (Conceição, 2016), but individuals with ID typically have very low literacy levels (Katims, 2000). Limited research has been conducted on literacy skill development for young adults with ID, particularly on work-related texts such as employee handbooks. Research supports the use of shared stories on adapted age-appropriate texts for students with significant cognitive disabilities, including those with ID (Hudson & Test, 2011; Shurr & Taber-Doughty, 2012; Spooner, Kemp-Inman, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Wood, & Davis, 2015), but these studies primarily focused on elementary or middle school students. Very little research on shared stories has been conducted with older students with ID (ages 18 and up). These students may have access to functional academic instruction, such as accessing real-world texts, within high school, vocational programs, and postsecondary education programs found in colleges and universities. Participation in university-based postsecondary education programs for young adults with ID have demonstrated improved competitive employment outcomes for this population, with 82% of the students working jobs that paid at or above minimum wage (Grigal & Hart, 2013). Functional academic instruction, such as literacy skill development, within these programs has successfully included the incorporation of technology to access or supplement the intervention (Evmenova, Behrmann, Mastropieri, Baker, & Graff, 2011; McMahon, Cihak, Wright, & Bell, 2016). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a multimedia shared story using speech-to-text technology on the text comprehension skills of college students with ID. This intervention included the use of systematic instruction to provide error correction instruction for correctly answering comprehension questions about the text of an adapted employee handbook. This study used a multiple probe across participants design to measure the effectiveness of the intervention across three sections of the employee handbook as well as demonstration of three performance tasks related to the readings. This research seeks to extend the literature by investigating the effects of this literacy treatment package on the participants’ comprehension of the text and their ability to transfer that knowledge into a practical demonstration of related work tasks. Results indicated that three of the four participants improved in their overall correct responses to the multiple-choice questions and were able to maintain their levels of response during maintenance. One participant did not have a significant change in number of correct responses. Two of the participants were able to generalize the Safety Skills performance task. One participant generalized the intercom task. Most of the steps of the handwashing task were generalized by all three participants, but they never successfully completed one of the steps in this task. The participants, program director, and potential employer all found the intervention to be effective and relevant for the participants

Development of the AASPIRE web accessibility guidelines for autistic web users

Websites figure predominantly in everyday life. However, many websites remain inaccessible to autistic people, and existing efforts to improve accessibility are in early stages, do not directly include autistic users in their development, or have not been empirically evaluated. The Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) used a community-based participatory research approach to create a website to improve health care access for autistic adults. We used the creation of that website as a “living laboratory” to develop the AASPIRE Web Accessibility Guidelines for Autistic Web Users. Our guidelines are grounded in accessibility theory, had autistic end-user involvement at all stages, and were empirically evaluated through a usability study and evaluation surveys. We incorporated what we learned into the design of the website, and compiled the accessibility information into a set of guidelines. The guidelines offer recommendations for increasing the physical, intellectual, and social acceptability of websites for use by autistic adults. In the evaluation of the website by 170 autistic end users, nearly all indicated it was easy to use (97%), easy to understand (95%), important (97%), and useful (96%). Ninety-two percent would recommend it to a friend, and 95% would recommend it to a health care provider. There were no significant associations between usability or understandability and education level, receipt of help using the site, browser type (e.g., IE or Safari), or device type (e.g., PC or tablet). We recommend using the guidelines to improve website accessibility for autistic Internet users