Effectiveness of Youth Engagement Through Intervention (YETI): An Intensive Treatment

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) represents a range of developmental disorders involving difficulties with communication and nonverbal behaviors (American Psychological Association, 2013)., and impacts roughly 1 in 68 births (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016).Those diagnosed may exhibit poor eye contact, repetitive or compulsive behavior, and inability to understand others’ emotions (Barry et al., 2003). Children with ASD struggle with social interaction, often removing themselves from social situations or engaging in inappropriate behavior that can cause further isolation from their typically developing peers (Kalyva & Avramidis, 2005). The current study examines the effectiveness of Youth Engagement Through Intervention (YETI), a group-based social skills intervention that uses multiple evidence-based practices (i.e. video modeling, social narratives and visual schedules) creating individualized treatment for each child with ASD. The purpose of this study was to improve social interactions of children with ASD. We defined social interaction as 1) verbal and nonverbal greetings and goodbyes, 2) orientation of face and body towards a clinician or peer when they are being spoken to, 3) and engagement in back and forth, turn taking, communication with peers. We expected YETI would be successful in improving these skills. Three children with ASD participated in the current study: Two males (ages 7 and 11) and one female (age 7). Observational data using event recording was collected throughout the eight-week program (1.5-hour weekly sessions), on how often each child exhibits social interactions. YETI is provided in a limited timeframe, thus an AB single subjects design is appropriate to assess the treatment effects. However, AB designs cannot determine between-subjects effects, detect small effects, or be generalized. With rising rates of ASD it is important to develop and implement effective treatments to assist individuals with social skill deficits to better navigate our social world

Culture Connect: Diversity Resource Toolkit

Culture Connect: Diversity Resource Toolkit Globally, refugees are displaced at high rates and must integrate into a society where they are an ethnic minority. Since 2016, the International Rescue Committee has resettled over 300 refugees in Missoula; about 20% of which are school-aged children. Therefore, it is important that schools facilitate refugee inclusivity and intercultural competence within student peer groups. To aid in solving this global problem, we developed a project using the three steps of Human-Centered Design that aimed to enhance teacher competence, knowledge and increase the access to resources needed to address this global problem in the classroom setting. For the inspiration phase, we reviewed relevant literature and interviewed experts. During ideation, we integrated ideas and insights collected to develop and design our project, which includes a print and online diversity resource educational toolkit for use by pre-service and in-service teachers in elementary classrooms. The implementation intended to involve piloting the toolkit for six weeks in Missoula elementary classrooms with potential adaptation for school settings with similar characteristics beyond the Missoula community. Our five objectives that guide the development of the toolkit components are to 1) reduce prejudice in schools with daily exposure and practice; 2) enhance multicultural education and widen cultural representation in classrooms; 3) supplement existing language acquisition support for refugee students/parents and teachers; 4) enhance classroom introductory period for refugee students by including diverse representation in the classroom and inspiring students to be welcoming of refugee children; 5) streamline access to educational resources for teachers. As part of the implementation, we conducted pre/post-surveys to assess attitude change among students and teachers. In addition, we obtained feedback from teachers globally on toolkit improvements for its sustainable implementation. The expected learning outcomes are to decrease prejudice and enhance intercultural competence necessary for welcoming communities for refugees in a diverse society

Culture Connect: Diversity Resource Toolkit

Globally, refugees are displaced at high rates and must integrate into a society where they are an ethnic minority. Since 2016, the International Rescue Committee has resettled over 300 refugees in Missoula; about 20% of which are school-aged children. Therefore, it is important that schools facilitate refugee inclusivity and intercultural competence within student peer groups. To aid in solving this global problem, we developed a project using the three steps of Human-Centered Design that aimed to enhance teacher competence, knowledge and increase the access to resources needed to address this global problem in the classroom setting. For the inspiration phase, we reviewed relevant literature and interviewed experts. During ideation, we integrated ideas and insights collected to develop and design our project, which includes a print and online diversity resource educational toolkit for use by pre-service and in-service teachers in elementary classrooms. The implementation intended to involve piloting the toolkit for six weeks in Missoula elementary classrooms with potential adaptation for school settings with similar characteristics beyond the Missoula community. Our five objectives that guide the development of the toolkit components are to 1) reduce prejudice in schools with daily exposure and practice; 2) enhance multicultural education and widen cultural representation in classrooms; 3) supplement existing language acquisition support for refugee students/parents and teachers; 4) enhance classroom introductory period for refugee students by including diverse representation in the classroom and inspiring students to be welcoming of refugee children; 5) streamline access to educational resources for teachers. As part of the implementation, we conducted pre/post-surveys to assess attitude change among students and teachers. In addition, we obtained feedback from teachers globally on toolkit improvements for its sustainable implementation. The expected learning outcomes are to decrease prejudice and enhance intercultural competence necessary for welcoming communities for refugees in a diverse society