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Millions of students with disabilities in the United States have access to educational programming to assist and provide special education support services. In existence for mere decades, special education as it currently stands was founded on groundbreaking legislation and refining law in the form of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The most recent revision of this law in 2004 significantly extended parents' rights to be decision-makers in the educational planning process for children with disabilities. A litany of research into parent experiences of the IEP and special education process reveals that parents consistently report feelings of being marginalized in the decision-making process. A systematic literature review conducted by the author revealed that parents and family members of children with ASD report broadly similar themes of dissatisfaction with the special education process and communicating with staff. The current research proposal seeks to investigate the interaction experiences with Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) personnel of parents and family members of elementary-aged children with ASD. LSSPs, recognized as possessing expertise on autism spectrum disorder amongst special education evaluation personnel, often conduct evaluations for students with ASD.

In conducting this study, the ultimate goal was to determine whether parents and other caregivers of individuals with disabilities are experiencing higher levels of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms as compared to the general population. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), intellectual disabilities and other disabilities are more likely to engage in aggressive behaviors such as hitting, kicking, biting, screaming, and self-injurious behavior. Research has also shown that parents of children with special needs have higher levels of stress, and special education teachers are leaving the field due to burnout. In addition to comparing PTSD levels of these caregivers with the general population, results of parents in this sample size were compared with the results of other caregivers. Using the PTSD Checklist – Civilian version (PCL-C), a self-report questionnaire, PTSD total scores, the three subscale scores which included re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyperarousal were analyzed. In total PCL-C scores and the subscale scores, the respondents’ results were statistically significant, with a mean score of 46.7 as compared to 29 with the general population. In addition, results demonstrated that parents and other caregivers that worked with an individual with a disability who engaged in aggressive behavior had a higher mean score than those who didn’t among this population. When divided into two groups, parents had a higher mean than the other caregivers. Future research can be done on PTSD treatments for this specific population without having to remove them from their environments in order to help reduce burnout and attrition among caregivers of individuals with disabilities.

Recognising people’s emotions is a promising research area in human-computer interaction as emotional communication plays a crucial role in humans’ lives. One of the main reasons for ineffective emotional communication is a deficit in understanding emotional signals such as facial expressions and body posture. There is a bidirectional challenge between autistic and non-autistic individuals since they display their emotional signals differently. This thesis discovers differences in emotional signals, in particular facial expressions, body posture, and physiological signals. Based on the interviews and questionnaires conducted in this thesis, the need to design an aid tool to assist autistic and non-autistic participants during their emotional communication is identified. Therefore, Emognition, a smartwatch, and its mobile application is designed to blur these differences and enhance the emotional communication between them. Furthermore, Emognition’s user evaluation indicates that the smartwatch could successfully detect nonautistic participants’ sadness and happiness. Also, they found the mobile application useful and aesthetically motivating to interact with. Even though we could not evaluate how well the Emognition recognises autistic participants’ sadness and happiness, it is promising to measure their emotions successfully by accurate sensors and, more importantly, by finding their autonomic response patterns to different emotions and enhance emotional communication between autistic and nonautistic people by Emognition.

The aim of this study was to examine associations between the automated Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) system adult word count (AWC) variable and characteristics of classrooms (e.g., teacher burnout) and preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (e.g., autism severity). The AWC samples from 67 preschoolers with ASD were collected during typical morning classroom routines (e.g., center time). Results indicated that AWC was positively associated with children's cognitive ability and negatively associated teacher burnout and adult to student with ASD ratio. Lower adult to children with ASD ratio (i.e., fewer adults relative to students with ASD) resulted in preschoolers receiving less adult language. Additional factors thought to be related to child and classroom characteristics affecting the adult language directed at children with ASD are discussed.

The aim of this study was to examine associations between the automated Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) system adult word count (AWC) variable and characteristics of classrooms (e.g., teacher burnout) and preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (e.g., autism severity). The AWC samples from 67 preschoolers with ASD were collected during typical morning classroom routines (e.g., center time). Results indicated that AWC was positively associated with children's cognitive ability and negatively associated teacher burnout and adult to student with ASD ratio. Lower adult to children with ASD ratio (i.e., fewer adults relative to students with ASD) resulted in preschoolers receiving less adult language. Additional factors thought to be related to child and classroom characteristics affecting the adult language directed at children with ASD are discussed.

Caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience unique challenges while fulfilling their long-term responsibilities and often experience and report higher levels of stress and a decrement in well-being compared to other caregivers. By using four databases (EBSCO, ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Science), a systematic literature review was conducted on interven- tions to improve these aspects among caregivers. The selection process was limited to articles writ- ten in either English or Spanish, peer-reviewed studies, published between 2011 and 2022, and em- pirical data studies. Seven articles that conducted different interventions met the inclusion criteria and were used to analyze the conducted interventions, together with the reported outcomes. Results show a variety of interventions, differences in length, and used approaches. Regarding the outcomes, support programs were found to be effective when reducing stress and improving the well-being of the studied population; however, there is not enough evidence to conclude their long-lasting effects. Future suggestions include studying larger and more representative samples assessing the interven- tion ́s long-term effects.

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Children with ASD are characterized by impairments in socialization and communication, as well as by the presence of repetitive behaviours and limited interests. Their impairment often influences their participation in everyday ac-tivities and by extension their social engagement in playful activities with their peers is affected. Researches set play as the leading activity for a child’s development, because it is identified as the means that can deliver various mental tools and teaching strategies to preschoolers. Purpose of this systematic literature review is to identify play interven-tions that describe the procedures aiming in promoting the social engagement of preschoolers with autism. This review will also examine the people that implemented these interventions, in order to provide information and guid-ance for all professionals and educators that may need them. Search in the three databases, ERIC, CINAHL and PsychINFO was performed. Seven articles were found to meet all criteria and were divided based on the similarities on the design and the procedures that were followed. The results of the study led to three play interventions that used the ASAP and JASPER intervention programs in order to examine the social communication of children with autism leading to their social engagement. The remaining findings resulted in four different kind of interventions that use play as the context for either increasing social engagement or promoting engagement of students with ASD with their peers. These interventions include auditory, dance and video modelling interventions. The Zone of Proximal Development was used as the theoretical framework to support the ideas mentioned, since it points out the role of play in the child’s development. However, this study highlights the need for further investigation regarding the pro-motion of social engagement of preschoolers with ASD. The level of the social engagement of children with ASD are rarely investigated in the natural context of schools during their everyday peer-to-peer play interactions.

Receptive and expressive language difficulties are some of the core challenges facing children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Emerging research suggests that for children with ASD receptive language is more impaired than expressive language. Specifically, abstract concepts like prepositions, are challenging for them. Aided augmented input has been shown to be an effective means of facilitating understanding in some children with ASD, however the amount of aided augmented input required to ensure effective understanding has not been determined. The aim of this study was to measure and compare the participants’ ability to follow instructions containing prepositions, under two conditions of aided augmented input. A with-in subject research design, involving 17 participants with ASD, was used to measure the accuracy of responses to instructions containing prepositions. Each participant was presented with 12 instructions. Half of the instructions were provided with 25% aided augmented input (prepositions only) referred to as Condition A, and the other half were presented with 75% aided augmented input (subject, preposition and location) referred to as Condition B. Their responses to the instructions were recorded and analyzed. Results suggest that there was no statistical difference between the two conditions of aided augmented input. Eight participants responded better under Condition A and five participants responded better under Condition B. Four participants responded equally under both conditions. The findings suggest that some participants may benefit from more aided augmented input and some from less aided augmented input. There is need for additional studies to determine the conditions of aided augmented input needed for the effective understanding of instructions containing prepositions and factors affecting the outcome. / Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / MA / Unrestricted