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<p>  </p> <p>Sleep is a critical component of early development, with over 8,000 hours spent asleep between a child's first and third birthday alone. Beginning in infancy, sleep is linked to several aspects of development, such as language, attention, and social communication. Thus, given its frequency and importance for infants and toddlers, sleep is among the most common topics raised by parents of typically and atypically developing children at well-child visits and beyond. The current dissertation includes three distinct, but integrated studies on sleep in early development. Specifically, study 1 addresses sleep in typically developing toddlers using videosomnography (an objective measure of sleep), study 2 addresses relations between sleep and attention in toddlers at low and high familial risk for ASD, and study 3 addresses prospective patterns of early sleep and development in children who later develop ASD. Overall, results from this dissertation highlight that sleep problems (e.g., night waking) can be expected even within well documented typical development. Findings from this dissertation have implications for sleep measurement in early childhood and suggest that using objective measures of sleep and developmental competence are critical for understanding normative sleep in typical and atypical development. </p>

<p>Many behavioural theories describe Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as having roots as a social disorder. However, our research adds to previous studies showing that those with ASD with normal intelligence have perceptual problems that affect their social functioning. We report that those with ASD perform worse than controls in all of our speech tasks that measure the ability to filter speech in noise, specialization for native speech sound categories, and audio-visual integration of speech sounds. Those with ASD also performed worse on tasks measuring specialization for native musical meters, but not on tasks measuring absolute pitch or knowledge of tonal harmony. This research provides some explanation for why perceptual areas that develop early instead of late are most impaired in ASD, which can have implications for remediation. Besides perceptual problems, we found in other research that those with ASD have abnormal prosody, which varies according to language ability. We report that those with Autism Moderate Language Functioning (A-moderateL) use a restricted pitch range relative to those with Autism High Language Functioning (A-highL) and controls, whereas those with A-highL use a larger pitch range relative to those with A-moderateL and controls. We also found that A-moderateL speakers and controls, but not A-highL speakers vary acoustic features to mark words representing focus relative to topic. This research is important because identifying different ASD language subgroups might lead to more appropriate speech and language therapy.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The effects of long school breaks, such as summer vacation, on students' achievement has been an area of interest among educators and researchers for many years (e.g. Austin, Rogers & Walbesser, 1972; Ballinger, 1987, 1988; Borman, Benson & Overman, 2005; White, 1906). Research specific to children and youth with disabilities and the level of regression over summer months, however, is sparse. On the whole, both researchers and special educators have agreed that students with more severe disabilities tend to regress more than students with mild disabilities (Cornelius & Semmel, 1982; Edgar, Spence & Kenowitz, 1977; Shaw, 1982). These challenges can make extended breaks from school particularly detrimental for these children. A group of students that may be especially affected by a long break in schooling are children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These children often have slower rates of skill acquisition and more difficulties with maintenance/generalization of skills across time (Arnold- Saritepe, 2009). The current study explored the extent to which students with ASD maintained cognitive, behavioral and social skills over the summer vacation months with differing levels of summer programming. Additionally, this study examined whether students of varying functioning levels differed in their maintenance of skills during the summer. A pre-post quasi-experimental design was utilized in which the May assessments were treated as baseline data and September assessments for the following academic year were treated as outcome data. Participants included 139 students aged 5-9 years with an ASD diagnosis given by their school district. Three different groups of Extended School Year support were compared, including students who received no ESY support, students who received standard ESY support from their school district, and students who received ESY support along with individualized programming. Overall, students maintained skills from pre- to post-test in most key areas. When group comparisons were made between children who attended ESY (ESY group and ESY with individualized support group) and those who did not receive ESY programming few differences were found. While students who received the most intensive level of ESY support were found to decrease significantly in the presentation of hyperactivity and noncompliance, ESY was generally effective in maintaining skills over the summer break. / School Psychology

This study evaluated the effects of the type of language used by the therapist during a functional analysis on rates of challenging behavior with individuals who came from families where Spanish was the primary language. Three individuals with autism spectrum disorder who live in a residential treatment facility participated in a multi-element (i.e., demand, attention, play- verbal, and play-nonverbal) functional analysis (FA). The FA was conducted in an ABAB experimental design with the A conditions conducted in Spanish and the B conditions conducted in English. Language did not have an effect on rates of challenging behavior during the FA. One participant displayed no responding across conditions and the other two participants responded similarly during the demand conditions regardless of the language in which the conditions were conducted. Functional communication training (FCT) was conducted for one of these two participants in both languages. The results for this individual that there was no difference according to language in rates of challenging behavior as well as acquisition and maintenance of a functionally communicative response. Keywords: functional analysis, language, functional communication training, Autism Spectrum Disorder, problem behavior / Applied Behavioral Analysis

There are several effective treatment methods and evidence based practices (EBP) for teaching children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The use of EBPs is federally mandated, but it is often overwhelming for teachers to identify and implement available best practices with fidelity in the absence of ongoing training and support (Alexander, Ayres & Smith, 2015). Teachers often display low implementation fidelity, and, specifically, special education teachers often struggle with progress monitoring and data collection, which are essential elements of EBPs. Although most teachers are familiar with direct and frequent measurement for data collection, less than half reported using this type of progress monitoring in their classroom, stating several barriers including lack of time and knowledge (Wesson, King & Deno, 1984). One way to affect teacher implementation and behavior change is through different consultation styles, including performance feedback or a commitment emphasis approach. Performance feedback is a widely used and effective method to improve teacher implementation and treatment fidelity (Burns, Peters & Noell, 2008; Sanetti, & Kratochwill, 2009; Solomon, Klein & Politylo, 2012). A commitment emphasis model is a social influence strategy, which also shows continuing support for teacher behavior change (Noell et al. 2005). This study evaluated a strategy for increasing teachers’ completion of the Student Learning Profile (SLP), a curriculum-based student assessment that is administered as part of the Strategies for Teaching based on Autism Research (STAR; Arick, Krug, Loos & Falco, 2004), using a randomized control group design to compare a performance feedback model with a commitment emphasis plus prompt model of consultation. Overall, the study found a significant effect for teacher SLP completion at time-point one for teachers’ in the experimental group using a commitment emphasis model, but less so over time. Implications for researchers, clinicians and educators are also explored. / Special Education

The aim of this qualitative study was to conduct a naturalistic examination of the process of a music therapy group with preverbal individuals on the autistic spectrum. The study involved a music therapy treatment process, based on music-centered music therapy and music psychotherapy, that occurred in 16 sessions over a period of approximately four months. The study investigated the nature of the clinical process, the elements that characterized the intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics of the group, and the way participants engaged with and utilized the music in their intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions. The research design was one originally developed by Smeijsters and Storm (1996) in which the researcher functions in an ongoing consultative role to the therapists as the therapy process proceeds. The study investigated and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of Smeijsters and Storm’s (1996) model. The analyses of the 16 sessions revealed that all the studied clients were able to operate, in terms of intra-relationship, according to Greenspan and Wieder’s (2006) first developmental stage: they demonstrated interest, curiosity, and initiative. In terms of inter-relationship, they were able to operate according to Greenspan and Wieder’s (2006) developmental second stage: they engaged and established relationship with others. It was concluded that music had a relevant role in the process of assessing, treating, and evaluating the individuals in the group. / Music Therapy

Perturbations to the upper limb in aiming tasks act to force individuals to modify their movements using online control processes. Individuals are able to successfully counteract these mechanical and perceptual perturbations to accurately acquire a specific target goal. What is less well understood is how individuals self-initiate a change to their trajectory during obstacle avoidance. A series of two studies were conducted to better understand the effects of a visual perturbation when performing two-dimensional sliding aiming movements during a manual obstacle avoidance task when a second set of obstacles appeared unexpectedly along the preferred, optimal trajectory. On each trial, a planned obstacle appeared at 25%, 50% or 75% of the movement amplitude. On some trials, a second set of obstacles appeared early or late in the movement to force participants to make online corrections or adapt their preferred trajectory to successfully reach the specified target. Results revealed that the mere possibility of the unexpected second obstacles influenced the overall trajectory and movement kinematics (i.e., whether that second obstacles appeared or not). Despite performing the movement in the same amount of time, participants executed a more lateral avoidance trajectory and reached higher accelerations later and further into the movement. We suggest that this pattern of behaviour is indicative of an optimal movement strategy such that the potential for an online correction resulted in individuals planning for the worst-case scenario. The presentation of a case-study for an individual with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) provides insight into potential differences in obstacle avoidance tasks when compared to a matched control. Despite relative differences in execution behaviour, the individual with an ASD successfully completed the task. This provides potential support for the sparing of motor execution processes within this population. Taken together, we suggest that optimal movement strategies may be better defined on a more individual basis. That is, what is optimal for one population might not be optimal for another. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / It is well known that individuals are able to successfully aim to targets in environments that are both predictable and unpredictable. Additionally, these trajectories are successfully modified in the presence of an expected obstacle resulting in a change to the optimal movement to incorporate the location of the obstacle. What is less understood, however, is how individuals respond to the sudden onset of an obstacle along the optimal trajectory. This thesis characterizes these behaviours using a manual obstacle avoidance task wherein obstacles unexpectedly appear to obstruct the preferred movement pathway. The behavioural response to this perturbation is indicative of the performance of more cautious movements, adapted for the worst-case scenario. On average, individuals compromise between the biomechanical and computational demands of the task to execute wide trajectories that do not need to be updated during movement execution, a response that is potentially identified in an autism spectrum population.

Social impairments characteristic of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are evident in early childhood and often worsen as an individual matures (Rao, Beidel, and Murray, 2008). Despite the emphasis on early intervention and caregiver training, few evidence-based interventions explicitly address the development of social skills in preschool-aged children with ASD (DeRosier, Swick, Davis, McMillen, and Matthews, 2011; Reichow and Volkmar, 2010) and none appear to actively integrate caregivers into treatment (Reichow, Steiner, and Volkmar, 2012). Research indicates that generalization beyond a social skills group setting might occur by including caregivers (DeRosier et al., 2011). The PEERS® program is an evidence-based caregiver-assisted social skills program for adolescents and young adults (Laugeson and Frankel, 2010) that has recently been extended for preschoolers with ASD. An initial randomized controlled trial (RCT) indicated benefits from the PEERS® for Preschoolers (P4P) program, but did not examine caregiver or family outcomes. Researchers also suggest a bidirectional effect in which the family system is impacted by the child with ASD and in turn, the child with ASD is also affected by the family (Karst and Van Hecke, 2012). This study examined the P4P curriculum with 15 children with ASD and their caregivers and examined feasibility of the intervention as well as child social skills, caregiver competency, confidence, and parenting skills in working with their child, and family functioning in the context of the P4P intervention. Results suggest the feasibility of proof concept of applying the P4P curriculum to young children with ASD and their caregivers. Specifically, this 16-session intervention appears to improve social skills scores in children with ASD, which is maintained 4-6 weeks after treatment, increased scores were noted in caregiver confidence interacting with their children, as well as improved scores in their affect/animation and achievement orientation in interaction styles with their child, and noted improvements in their parenting styles overall score. Therefore, this intervention may have an impact both the child and caregiver in positive ways and these positive results are largely maintained at a follow-up after intervention completion. Future research will need to focus more on the entire family unit, as no changes were noted in the present study, and should examine the specific mechanisms that lead to these positive results regarding child social skills and caregiver interaction styles and confidence. Additionally, more work that adds to making P4P an evidence-based treatment must be at the forefront of future work. / Doctor of Philosophy / Social difficulties (e.g., initiating and/or maintaining social interactions, using and/or interpreting verbal and nonverbal social communication, such as eye contact or gestures, understanding others' thoughts and emotions) characteristic of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are evident in early childhood and often worsen as an individual matures (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright, 2004; Frith, 2004; Rao, Beidel, and Murray, 2008). Despite the emphasis on early intervention or treatment for individuals with ASD and caregiver (e.g., parent, grandparent, etc.) training, few evidence-based interventions exist that purposefully address the development of social skills in preschool-aged children (DeRosier, Swick, Davis, McMillen, and Matthews, 2011; Reichow and Volkmar, 2010) and none appear to actively involve caregivers in treatment (Reichow, Steiner, and Volkmar, 2012). Research indicates that generalization beyond a social skills group setting might occur by including caregivers (DeRosier et al., 2011). The PEERS® program is an evidence-based caregiver-assisted social skills program for adolescents and young adults (Laugeson and Frankel, 2010) that has recently been extended for preschoolers with ASD. An initial randomized controlled trial (RCT) indicated benefits from the PEERS® for Preschoolers (P4P) program, but did not examine caregiver or family outcomes. Researchers also suggest that there is often an effect on the entire family unit of a child with ASD, which in turn has an impact on the child with ASD (Karst and Van Hecke, 2012). This study examined the P4P curriculum with 15 children with ASD and their caregivers, and examined feasibility of the intervention as well as child social skills, caregiver competency, confidence, and parenting skills in interacting with their child, and family functioning in the context of the P4P intervention. Results suggest that this 16-session intervention appears to improve social skills scores in children with ASD, and these improved scores are largely maintained 4-6 weeks after treatment. Increased scores were also noted in caregiver confidence in interacting with their children as well as in their affect/animation and achievement orientation in interaction styles, and may also improve their parenting style scores overall. Therefore, this intervention may have an impact on both the child and caregiver in positive ways. Future research should address the entire family unit, as no changes were noted in the present study, and should also examine the specific factors that lead to these positive results, as further research adds to P4P becoming an evidence-based treatment.