It is becoming more apparent in recent years that many females with autism spectrum disorder (autism) have not been identified, sometimes until adulthood. Most of what is known about early signs of autism is based on predominantly male symptomatic presentations or data gathered from females with autism who are severely affected by autism and co-morbid conditions such as intellectual developmental disorder. One of the issues contributing to the under diagnosis of females is that the presentation of symptoms or traits and developmental histories of females with autism may not be the same as those of males. There is a gap in the research literature regarding the early presentations of autism in females, particularly for females with age-appropriate language and cognitive abilities. We interviewed parents of adolescent and adult females with significant autism symptoms or traits (but without intellectual developmental disorder). Interviews asked about developmental histories and parent recollections of differences they may have noticed in their daughters' early years. We also interviewed a group of parents whose daughters were not showing significant signs of autism but had similar social isolation and anxiety. Interpretative phenomenological analysis methods were used to analyze conversations with parents as a way to determine what seemed most salient to them about their daughters' early years without being influenced by symptom checklists. We found communication differences, restricted or repetitive interest and social communication differences to be recurring themes in the reports from parents interviewed. Learning about what early development in females with autism might look like can help us to reformulate our identification and assessment procedures for young children, particularly females who show developmental differences that have not previously been associated with autism.

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Compared to non-immigrant families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), immigrant families tend to experience more challenges securing an evaluation, obtaining a diagnosis, and accessing services for their child/children diagnosed with ASD. Several studies investigated the experiences of various groups of immigrant families. They found that the delays can be attributed to cultural differences in the way families interpret the meaning of ASD and their perceptions of the causes and treatment for ASD. Additionally, a lack of knowledge about ASD and fear of the stigma associated with ASD impacted immigrant parents' willingness to seek a diagnosis. However, few studies examined how Caribbean immigrants living in the United States experience a diagnosis of ASD for their child/children. This qualitative study explored Caribbean immigrant families' perceptions and experiences with ASD. A semi-structured, in-depth interview was used to collect data on families' experiences about symptoms, causes, and treatments of ASD, as well as their sources of support. The data were coded and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA. Four themes were identified and discussed: A new world, emotional and physical burden caring for a child with ASD, attitudes about ASD in native cultures, and adapting to the new situation.

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has continued to rise each year. This fact has significance in the area of education. The rise in prevalence of autism means an increase of students with autism in schools. Educators have the need to be prepared to provide an appropriate education for these students but may not have training or resources to be effective. Rural communities may have even more concerns about education for students with ASD due to geographic isolation and the lack of available educators in their area trained to support the specific needs of these students. To determine the best use of available resources and identify critical needs, a study of stakeholder perceptions of the needs of students with ASD was conducted in a rural Utah community of approximately 15,000 people. Key stakeholders were provided an opportunity to respond to an online needs assessment questionnaire regarding the educational interventions and services available in the rural school district, as well as rate the effectiveness of the above-mentioned services. Key stakeholders included: parents and caregivers of children with ASD, the rural school district’s educators, community care providers, and individuals 12 years and older who have been classified as having an ASD in the rural school district. Further, upon completion of the online needs assessment, the participants were invited, if they wished to elaborate further, to meet by phone or in person in an interview format with the researcher to discuss their perceptions in more detail than was possible in the online needs assessment questionnaire. Mixed methods were used to analyze the data. Quantitative data were first analyzed using descriptive statistics to characterize patterns in responses between groups. The qualitative data from open-ended questions in the survey and the in-person interviews were analyzed using consensual qualitative research methods. Results showed that all stakeholders believe that better communication from the school district and more training are needed for educators and related professionals. These results have implications for the school district as they plan their use of available resources to better meet the needs of students with ASD. Pursuit of targeted training options for educators may be one of the most effective use of available resources to meet these needs.

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / Having good educational policies that are in-line with international inclusive standards is a positive step in addressing previous educational inequalities in South Africa. The Department of Education’s White Paper 6 policy document of 2001 states that by 2021 most mainstream (primary) schools, would operate as Full-Service schools, that will be equipped and supported to meet the diverse needs of all learners. In addition, great emphasis is placed on the pivotal role the mainstream classroom teacher will play in the inclusion process.The purpose of this study was to explore school strategies that will enable teachers to support learners with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) as prior to the completion of this thesis it was unclear which strategies were used in order to support these learners.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第23606号 / 医博第4793号 / 新制||医||1055(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 林 康紀, 教授 古川 壽亮, 教授 髙橋 良輔 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

The current study investigated the effect of observational learning during equivalence based instruction (EBI). Two boys (Tim and Nate) ages 11 and 12 with Autism Spectrum Disorder participated in the study. Participants received small-group EBI training with an embedded observational learning component twice weekly for six weeks. Both participants were given a trained and observation set containing three classes (Class A, Class B and Class C) consisting of four class members. Participants served as both learners and observers during each training session. Each participant was trained on match-to-sample tasks with relations A-B and B-C and tested for class formation across the trained and observation set. Results showed that Tim was able to derive the untrained A-C and C-A relation at 100% correct on both the trained and observation set of stimuli. After the initial training, Nate averaged at 40% and 55% on the trained and observation set of stimuli, indicating that he was unable to derive the untrained relations. Two remedial training sessions were conducted, where Nate was re-exposed to the A-B and B-C training. After the remedial training, Nate averaged at 85% and 67.5%, indicating strong class formation on the trained set of stimuli, and moderate class formation on the observation set. The current study demonstrated the utility of observational learning during EBI. Limitations and implications for clinical practices are discussed.

Autism spectrum disorder rates are climbing in the United States. Because this population is growing, research is needed to understand how to assist these individuals in pursuit of postsecondary educational and employment opportunities. The purpose of this qualitative study, as reflected in the central research question, was to investigate how a career and technical education program impacted the preparedness of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder for educational and employment opportunities beyond high school. The conceptual framework was based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological perspective of human development, Zhao and Frank's ecological perspective of technology, and Song's research about distributed cognition. This study used a single case study design, and the case was a career and technical education program at a high school located in Southwestern state. Participants included one program administrator, three career and technical education teachers, and two special education teachers. Data were collected from multiple sources, including individual interviews with participants and program documents. Data analysis included line-by-line coding and category construction to determine themes and discrepancies. Key findings indicated that the CTE program prepared ASD students for postsecondary educational and employment opportunities, differentiated instruction to meet the individual needs of ASD students, technologies such as computers helped ASD students prepare for postsecondary educational and employment opportunities, helped ASD students learn technical skills, life skills, and job skills. As a society we need to recognize ASD students are impacting the paradigm associated with special needs students as they attend universities, work study programs, technical schools, and other opportunities which have evaded this population.

The demand for effective social skills interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders is a pertinent issue for school-based professionals. One approach to increase appropriate social skills is to involve peer support by training a few socially competent children to positively interact with a student with an ASD. Potentially, training larger groups of children could result in increasing the number of different peers who would actively support positive interactions with their classmates with ASD. Thus, the present study investigated the effect of a class-wide peer-training strategy on the percentage of positive social interaction and number of peer contacts for three elementary students with autism spectrum disorders. All peers in the three different classrooms received a brief lesson on respecting differences in others and how to support all classmates during classroom and recess activities. Next, each class was taught how to support other students in the class by modeling, role playing, and didactic instruction. This training specifically targeted preferred recess activities and social skills goals of the student with an ASD. After training, peers received a verbal prompt to use skills before a recess period, implemented the procedures in the absence of direct supervision during recess, and participated for a chance to earn points towards a class-wide reward for participating in positive interactions with the student with an ASD. A multiple baseline across the three classrooms showed replicated positive effects of the intervention relative to a prior baseline condition. Results showed that the class-wide respect and social support skills training paired with a contingent reward contingency increased the level of positive social interactions as well as the number of peer contacts for all three students with autism spectrum disorders.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間健康科学) / 甲第18203号 / 人健博第20号 / 新制||人健||2(附属図書館) / 31061 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科人間健康科学系専攻 / (主査)教授 三谷 章, 教授 精山 明敏, 教授 髙橋 良輔 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human Health Sciences / Kyoto University / DFAM