An Analysis of Robot-Assisted Social-Communication Instruction for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Social and communication deficits are a core feature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and impact an individual\u27s ability to be a full participant in their school environment and community. The increase in number of students with ASD in schools combined with the use of ineffective interventions have created a critical need for quality social-communication instruction in schools for this population. Technology-based interventions, like robots, have the potential to greatly impact students with disabilities, including students with ASD who tend to show increased interest and engagement in technology-based tasks and materials. While research on the use of robots with these learners is limited, these technologies have been successfully used to teach basic social-communication skills. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a social-communication intervention for young children with ASD that is rooted in evidence-based practices and utilizes a surrogate interactive robot as the primary interventionist. This study utilized a multiple baseline design across behaviors to determine the impact of the robot-assisted intervention on the manding, tacting, and intraverbal skills of four, 3-year old students with ASD. The researchers found that this intervention was effective in increasing the rate of all three the target behaviors

Building Future Capacity of School Psychologists to Address the Demand for Inclusive Evidence-Based Consultation: Moving Beyond K-12 to Include School Readiness Frameworks

There is high demand for future school psychologists to address the need for continuous evidence-based consultation that moves beyond K-12 settings, and includes evidence-based consultation to promote school readiness for infants and toddlers with and at risk for developmental disabilities. While there exists a demand for school psychologists in infant and toddler settings, the primary focus of training programs is preparing graduates to work in school-based settings. Currently, a gap exists in graduate training opportunities in evidence-based consultation practices that support school readiness for infants and toddlers with and at risk for disabilities served through Part C services. While school psychologists typically are trained on evidence-based consultation mechanisms that have largely been utilized in K-12 contexts, they rarely receive consultation training with families of infants and toddlers. Therefore, expansion of training is necessary to support infants and toddlers through evidence-based consultation models. To underscore the importance of continuity in application of evidence-based consultation models, the current manuscript compares an evidence-based consultation model validated in K-12 settings and a consultation model for promoting infant and toddler developmental competencies. An illustration of the application of evidence-based consultation frameworks within multi-tiered systems of support and recommendations for graduate training, to better prepare school psychologists for work in birth-to-three settings, is provided

Functional Analysis in Simulated Environments

The need for highly effective and qualified special educators continues to be a national concern. One of the primary reasons why teachers leave the profession is a lack of effective behavior management skills. Learning how to assess challenging behavior and its causes through functional analysis is one method to enhance teacher skillset in this critical area. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of a simulation environment to train pre-service and in-service general and special education teachers to conduct functional analysis procedures with fidelity and compare those results to traditional didactic instruction. The results of the study show that simulated rehearsal experiences can be as effective as traditional role play experiences in training teachers to implement functional analysis procedures and may have added benefits such as increased safety and access to immediate feedback and coaching

Computer Programming With Early Elementary Students With Down Syndrome

Students of all ages and abilities must be given the opportunity to learn academic skills that can shape future opportunities and careers. Researchers in the mid-1970s and 1980s began teaching young students the processes of computer programming using basic coding skills and limited technology. As technology became more personalized and easily accessible in the early 2000s, there was renewed interest in preparing students with the computer programming skills necessary for their education and possible career choices. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the feasibility of teaching early elementary students with Down syndrome basic computer programming skills using evidence-based practices (i.e., explicit instruction), physical manipulatives, and a robot. All participants (n = 3) successfully completed the intervention. Results, limitations, and future research directions are discussed

Providing Evidence-Based Interventions in Early Childhood Settings: Examination of Consultation Frameworks and Implementation of a Remote Intervention for Infant Siblings of Children with Autism

The Professional Standards of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP, 2020) indicate school psychologists should provide services to children and their families in early childhood settings. However, these services have historically been limited to assessment for eligibility of special education services (Albritton et al., 2019). School psychologists are uniquely positioned to expand their role within early childhood settings to services such as consultation and interventions within the context of a multi-tiered system of support. Chapter One of this dissertation outlines how school psychologists may implement inclusive evidence-based consultation frameworks to promote school readiness for infants and toddlers with and at-risk for developmental disabilities. To illustrate how school psychologists can engage in indirect service delivery in early childhood settings, conceptual overlaps between an evidence-based K-12 consultation framework and a consultation model for infants and toddlers will be detailed within the contexts of multi-tiered systems of support. Chapter Two also focuses on the provision of services to children in their earliest years of development through the implementation of the Mom and Baby Net (MBN) Program. This study utilized a single-case multiple-baseline design to examine the effects of the MBN Program on parent practices and child expressive language and engagement behaviors for infants who have a sibling diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Infant siblings of children with autism are at increased risk for social communication challenges (Goldberg et al., 2006; Mitchell et al., 2006), and parents who have children with autism often are at heightened risk for experiencing a range of negative symptoms (Ludlow et al., 2014; Nik Adib, 2019). Therefore, the implemented intervention addressed both child and parent challenges. Three infant-parent dyads were recruited for this study. Visual and statistical analysis of data collected with Indicator of Parent Child Interaction (IPCI; Baggett et al., 2010) and the Early Communication Indicator (ECI; Greenwood et al., 2005) was conducted. Results indicate that all three mothers showed substantial growth in their positive parenting practices and infants showed increases in their social engagement behaviors. Findings from this study provide support for the MBN program\u27s efficacy in addressing challenges experienced by both infant siblings and mothers