Social Stories™ are one of the most commonly-used interventions for children with autism (Green et al., 2006; Hess, Morrier, Heflin, & Ivey, 2008; Stahmer, Collings, & Palinkas, 2005). While there is a rapidly-growing literature base of Social Stories research, much of the work has focused on student behavior in special education resource settings; the current study examines the use of Social Stories with students in inclusive general education settings. Six students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders participated and behaviors that occurred in the general education classroom were selected as targets. Pre-service teachers, autism resource teachers, and a paraprofessional were trained to implement the intervention. Social Stories were presented on a personal computer for 5 of 6 participants; the 6th participant’s Social Story was presented in a bound book. Participants were observed in their general education classrooms during 30 min data collection sessions. A multiple baseline across participants design was used. For 3 participants, an alternating treatments design was also used, which examined 2 viii conditions: an Immediate condition in which classroom probes were conducted immediately following Social Stories intervention sessions, and a Delay condition in which a time delay of at least 3.5 hrs was presented between intervention and observation sessions. Results of the Immediate vs. Delay conditions show no conclusive effects of one condition over the other. Overall, results indicate improvements in target behaviors for 5 of 6 participants. Peer comparison data indicate that participants who showed improvement in their behavior performed the target skills at levels comparable to classmates without disabilities. Treatment fidelity data indicate that pre-service teachers were able to accurately implement the intervention over the course of the study. Social validity questionnaires were distributed to in-service and pre-service teachers, who rated the intervention as acceptable and feasible within the classroom setting. Implications for practice and future research directions are discussed. / text

Rationale: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder with onset prior to the age of three years characterized by qualitative impairments in social interaction and communication skill, along with a restricted repetitive and stereotyped pattern of behavior, interests, and activities. In addition to these core diagnostic features, aberrant sensory responding has also been widely reported in the literature describing children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Aberrant sensory processing has, however, been infrequently studied compared to communication and cognition in autism and existing studies have had multiple methodological deficiencies, especially with sampling procedures. Purpose. The purpose of this study is to describe patterns of sensory processing found in children with an ASD to test the relationship(s) of these patterns to diagnostic and developmental variables. Method. Retrospective data collection was used to collect developmental and sensory processing variables of 400 children with an ASD. Sensory processing abilities were measured by the SSP. Results. The majority of the sample (80.5%) had a diagnosis of autism. The average age of the sample was 49.58 months. The adaptive, social, language, and motor developmental variables were consistent with diagnostic patterns in that the children with Asperger Disorder demonstrated higher developmental levels than the children with autism and PDD-NOS. Eighty-nine percent of the sample demonstrated some degree of sensory processing dysfunction on the SSP Total Score with the greatest difficulties reported on the Underresponsive/Seeks Sensation, Auditory Filtering, and Tactile Sensitivity sections. Exploratory factor analysis identified 6 parsimonious factors: Low Energy/Weak, Tactile and Movement Sensitivity, Taste/Smell Sensitivity, Auditory and Visual Sensitivity, Sensory Seeking/Distractibility, and Hypo-responsivity. These factor variables contributed to explaining the differences in five of six developmental variables of the sample that are associated with the diagnosis of autism. Receptive language, adaptive and expressive language performance were significantly correlated with sensory processing factor scores. Conclusions. Together, the sensory processing findings noted in this study describe a pattern of dysfunctional sensory modulation. These findings have significant implications for intervention programs involving individuals with an ASD, given the potential impact of these findings on a childs ability to maintain active engagement.

This study investigated the effects of anaphoric cuing on the reading comprehension of 17 adolescent students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 19 typically developing (TD) students matched on age, intellectual ability and word decoding ability. In a within-subject design, participants read four Chinese passages of two types (narrative fictional vs. narrative nonfictional) under two conditions (control [reading only] vs. anaphoric cuing). The ASD group showed significantly poorer reading comprehension than the TD group in the control condition. Contrary to prediction, anaphoric cuing produced a hindrance effect rather than facilitation effect on the reading comprehension performance of both groups. Correlation analysis showed different patterns between ASD and TD groups in the relationship between the ability to resolve anaphora and comprehension of the two types of passages. / published_or_final_version / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Previous research has been interested in studying parental emotion socialization practices in parents of typically developing (TD) children. The current study aimed to explore such practices among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Seventy-eight families participated in this study. Self-reported rating scales were adopted to measure the child's social competence, parenting stress and maternal emotional styles. As hypothesized, results showed significantly different patterns in maternal emotional styles between mothers of children with ASD and those with TD children. However, inconsistent to our hypothesis, the maternal emotional styles were found to be neither related to child's social competence nor parenting stress within the ASD group. Implications of findings on future research and practice are discussed. / published_or_final_version / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Assessment of executive functioning in neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism) is a crucial aspect of neuropsychological evaluations. The executive functions are accomplished by the supervisory attentional system (SAS) and include such processes as inhibition, switching, and planning. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tends to present similarly to other neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., ADHD). For example, ASD and ADHD may share similar etiological underpinnings in the frontostriatal system of the frontal lobe. Research on executive functioning in ASD has been mixed, thus the precise nature of executive functioning deficits in ASD remains equivocal. In recent years, simulation technologies have emerged as an avenue to assess neurocognitive functioning in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders impacting frontostriatal function. Simulation technology enables neuropsychologists to assess neurocognitive functioning within a testing environment that replicates environments in which the subject is likely to be in everyday life, as well as present controlled, real-world distractions, which may be better able to tap “hot” executive functions. A Virtual Classroom Continuous Performance Test (CPT) has been used successfully to assess attention in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders impacting frontostriatal function. The current study aimed to investigate executive functioning in individuals with high functioning ASD using a new construct driven Stroop assessment embedded into the Virtual Classroom. Group differences were found in the Virtual Classroom with distractions condition, indicating individuals with ASD may be more vulnerable to external interference control than neurotypical individuals.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine school psychologists' use of evidence- based practices (EBP), in general, and more specifically in the area of social skills training (SST) for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Study participants, consisting of 498 school psychologists from across the nation, participated in an online survey that gathered information about their training, attitudes, and practices. The frequency with which specific EBP practices for social skills training for students with ASD was examined, as was prediction of use of these practices. Multiple-regression analyses revealed multiple independent variables that were predictors for overall use of EBP. Results indicated that over half of the participants provide SST for students with ASD. Although the majority of participants indicated that their graduate program included at least one course with information about ASD and EBP practices, in general, nearly half indicated that their coursework did not include any courses that directly addressed social skills training for students with ASD. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to determine the extent to which the data fit the factor model. Participants' perception of the importance placed on EBP by their school district, scores on the openness subscale of the Evidence Based Practices Assessment Scale, perception of how well their graduate program prepared them in the EBP process, perception of whether they were adequately trained in the area of SST for students with ASD, and having a caseload evenly divided among settings were significant predictors of overall use of EBP.

Stimulus preference assessments have determined high and low preferred items that increase the rate of frequency of responding for various skills. Within applied settings, high preferred items may not attain the same reinforcing value across tasks which might decrease responding. The preference of the task might have an effect on reinforcer efficacy that is being presented. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate changes in reinforcer efficacy as a function of preference for the task. Three children diagnosed with ASD participated in the study. HP/LP items and HP/LP tasks were identified through paired-choice assessments, and each item was presented as a consequence for each task in a counterbalanced multi-element format. Results indicated that preference for the task had little effect of the rate of responding across items.

ABSTRACT PREPARING TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES AND TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY By Jane E. Strong A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014 Major Director: Evelyn Reed, Ph.D., Associate Professor Department of Special Education and Disability Policy School of Education There is a need for intensified, rapid, and special emphasis on training of teachers for students on the autism spectrum (NRC, 2001). The current movement in the field emphasizing the use of evidence-based practices in designing instructional methods should be emphasized during teacher preparation and professional development activities to increase teacher effectiveness. Further, it has been established that a teacher’s sense of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1979; Hoy & Tschannen-Moran, 1998) impacts his/her performance and that of his/her students. The purpose of this study was to discern and describe teachers’ perceptions of their self-efficacy following professional development that includes training in the use of evidence-based practices. This was accomplished through analysis of survey data, field based observations and interviews from teachers completing their Post-baccalaureate Graduate Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders at a large, urban university in a mid-Atlantic state. To add to the literature base about the influence of ASD-focused professional development, this study examined teacher perceptions of the professional training and the relationships between teachers’ knowledge and skill acquisition and self-efficacy.

Orientador: Vera Lucia Messias Fialho Capellini / Banca: Rosângela Gavioli Prieto / Banca: Neusa Maria Dal Ri / Resumo: O presente estudo refere-se à formação do aluno com deficiência visando à sua participação no grêmio estudantil, o que representa um desafio à escola, quando se pensa uma educação na perspectiva Inclusiva e de Gestão Democrática. Nesse sentido os objetivos deste estudo foram: analisar o efeito de um programa de formação com atividades didático-pedagógicas no desenvolvimento da autonomia e da participação no grêmio estudantil e, de forma específica, mapear a participação de alunos com deficiência nos grêmios estudantis das escolas de uma Secretaria Municipal de Educação, em uma cidade do interior de São Paulo; identificar esses alunos em turmas de quarto ano do ensino fundamental I; analisar a participação deles nas atividades didático-pedagógicas sobre grêmios; descrever sua participação no grêmio estudantil, verificar os indicativos de participação nas atividades, na concepção dos alunos com deficiência; e elaborar uma cartilha digital com atividades didático-pedagógicas para estimular a participação desses alunos no grêmio estudantil. O percurso metodológico foi realizado por meio de uma pesquisa de cunho qualitativo e delineamento a partir da pesquisa-intervenção, que contou com seis fases para sua construção. A primeira fase caracterizou-se pelo mapeamento nas escolas, por meio de análise de materiais e com questionários sobre a existência de alunos público-alvo da educação especial (PAEE) no grêmio estudantil, entre 2013 e 2017. A segunda pautou-se em identificar em quai... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The present study refers to deals with the education of students with disabilities, aiming at their participation in the student council, which represents a challenge to the school, when one thinks an education in a perspective of Inclusive Education and Democratic management. In this sense the objectives of this study were: analyze the effect of a training program with didactic-pedagogical activities in the development of autonomy and participation in the student council and in a specific; to map the participation of students with disabilities in the school student council of a Municipal Education System in a country town of São Paulo; to identify these students in fourth year classes of elementary school I; to analyze their participation in didactic-pedagogical activities; to describe their participation in the student council; to verify the indicatives of participation in the activities, in the conception of students with disabilities and to elaborate a digital booklet with didactic-pedagogical activities to stimulate the participation of these students in the student council.The methodological course was carried out through a qualitative research and design from the intervention research, which had 6 phases for its construction. The first phase was characterized by mapping in schools, through material analysis and questionnaires on the existence of target public students of special education (PAEE) in the student council, between 2013 and 2017. The second phase was to ide... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

La césarienne est un mode d’accouchement alternatif recommandé lorsque la vie de la mère ou du fœtus pourrait être mise en danger par l’accouchement naturel. Ces dernières années, de nombreuses études ont rapporté que la césarienne augmentait le risque de développer des troubles tels que l’autisme. Pourtant, ces études sont controversées à cause des nombreux facteurs impliqués dans la naissance par césarienne à prendre en compte. Pour résoudre ce problème, nous avons utilisé des souris nées par césarienne et évalué des paramètres liés à l’autisme. En évaluant leur sociabilité, communication verbale et comportements répétitifs, nous avons trouvé que la césarienne n’induit qu’une modification précoce et transitoire de la communication. La césarienne n’affecte pas non plus l’activité cérébrale même si de petites altérations morphologiques éphémères sont observées à la naissance. Par conséquent, la césarienne conduit à des modifications à court terme non suffisantes pour induire l’autisme. / Cesarean section (C-section) is an alternative mode of delivery which is recommended when the mother or the fetus’ life might be endangered by natural childbirth. In recent years, epidemiological studies have reported that C-section delivery might increase the probability to develop disorders such as autism. However, these reports remain controversial due to the numerous factors involved in birth by C-section. To tackle this issue, we used mice delivered by C-section and looked at parameters associated with autism. We evaluated sociability, communication and repetitive behaviors in our mice and found that C-section only induces transient and early modifications in their communication. Also, we did not find changes in brain activity, even if small temporal morphological alterations were present after C-section. Therefore, C-section delivery leads to short-term modifications that are not sufficient to induce autism.