This case study is a performance improvement project focusing on the organizational system and management practices in a center for children with autism. Staff interviews and a process improvement map were used to assess the organization and assist in identifying potential solutions. The analysis led to treatment integrity as the key outcome measure. The center's administrative team decided to implement treatment delivery process changes to impact treatment integrity measures. This study measured data sheet changes and treatment implementation to determine the impact of process changes on treatment integrity. High levels of variability in treatment integrity across all teams were observed, and results suggest that a process change was not enough to increase treatment integrity. Further study is necessary to investigate measurement and impact of treatment integrity on desired outcomes for children with autism.

The purpose of this study is to identify the main stessors that parents experience when raising an autistic child and parents' perceptions of what can help them cope better. It is important that parenting stressors and coping strategies are identified as they relate to the age of the child with autism.

This research project offered an overview of Autistic spectrum disorder and discussed the need for research regarding the family's role in treatment. The treatment framework examined in this research project was Applied Behavioral Analysis. The study took place at the University Center for Developmental disabilities (UCDD), located at California State University San Bernardino.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Ph.D. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Chui Yuk Lan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-84). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT(ENGLISH AND CHINESE VERSION) --- p.ii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.iv / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.v / LIST OF TABLES --- p.viii / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.xi / LIST OF APPENDICES --- p.xiii / Chapter CHAPTER I - --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Weak Central Coherence Theory --- p.1 / Superior Spatial Hypothesis --- p.4 / Superior Segmentation Hypothesis --- p.4 / Global Precedence Hypothesis --- p.5 / Perceptual Span Hypothesis --- p.5 / Main Study-Global and Local Processing Study --- p.6 / Eye Movement Study --- p.10 / Purposes of the Present Study --- p.11 / Chapter CHAPTER II - --- GLOBAL-LOCAL PROCESSING STUDY: METHOD --- p.12 / Participants --- p.12 / Apparatus and Setting --- p.12 / Stimuli --- p.13 / Design and Procedure --- p.14 / Chapter CHAPTER III - --- GLOBAL-LOCAL PROCESSING STUDY: RESULTS --- p.19 / Age and IQ --- p.19 / Speed-Accuracy Trade Off --- p.19 / Performance Indices --- p.19 / Analyses Testing Global Precedence Hypothesis --- p.21 / Analyses Testing Group Difference on Global/Local Precedence --- p.21 / Analyses Testing Group Difference on Global-To-Local Interference --- p.24 / Analyses Testing Group Difference on Local-To-Global Interference --- p.25 / Analyses Testing the Perceptual Span Hypothesis --- p.39 / Chapter CHAPTER IV - --- GLOBAL-LOCAL PROCESSING STUDY: DISCUSSION --- p.45 / Implications of Incompatible Findings with Pervious Studies --- p.45 / Implications of Partial Support of Global Precedence Hypothesis --- p.47 / Interpretation of Perceptual Span Hypothesis --- p.50 / Chapter CHAPTER V - --- EYE-MOVEMENT STUDY: METHOD --- p.51 / Participants --- p.51 / Materials --- p.51 / Apparatus --- p.56 / Design and Procedure --- p.56 / Chapter CHAPTER VI - --- EYE-MOVEMENT STUDY: RESULTS --- p.62 / Age and IQ --- p.62 / Number of Objects Found in Object Search Tasks --- p.62 / Total Number of Fixations --- p.62 / Fixation Duration --- p.62 / Distance of Fixations --- p.66 / Fixations Located Outside the Screen --- p.66 / Fixations Located Within the Screen but Outside the Designated Areas --- p.66 / Number of Fixations Located Inside the Designated Areas --- p.67 / Chapter CHAPTER VII - --- EYE-MOVEMENT STUDY: DISCUSSION --- p.73 / Implications of Eye-Movement Patterns --- p.73 / Possible Explanations for Eye-Movement Patterns --- p.74 / Speculation of Faster Information Processing --- p.74 / Chapter CHAPTER VIII - --- GENERAL DISCUSSION --- p.76 / Possible Explanations of Global-Local Processing Findings --- p.76 / Relations to the Weak Central Coherence Theory --- p.77 / Limitations and Suggestions --- p.79 / REFERENCES --- p.81 / APPENDICES --- p.85

It was identified that there was little published research into the lived experience of parenting a child with autism that utilised a qualitative approach. There was a paucity of material in the literature, beyond single parent accounts, for a nurse to turn to develop a beginning understanding of the experience. There was also little for a parent to compare their own experience with. This study of the lived experience of parenting a child with autism provides an exploration of the experience within the framework of a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Initially nine parents were interviewed and the resulting transcripts analysed. This analysis was taken to four focus groups to allow the parent's voice to remain active in the refinement of the analysis. The parents reported a strong resonance with the analysis and the discussion fell silent. The experience identified was not that of a series of activities but profound changes to the self of the parent. This is considered in the discussion in the light of the existential challenge to the parent's being posed by the demands of parenting a child with autism. Chaos theory and its mathematical applications are considered as a potentially fruitful way to pick up the conversational relation with the question of, "what is the lived experience of parenting a child with autism"?

This study investigated the question, if children diagnosed with ASD who learned safety skills through traditional teaching methods transferred them to real world situations more effectively and efficiently than children who learned safety skills through VR strategies. Eight children diagnosed with ASD were selected for this study. Participants were randomly assigned to form two groups of four children each. Two training phases were used for each condition ("Teaching As Usual" and VR). Training sessions were conducted twice a week for a maximum time limit of 30 minutes per session. Training phases lasted for five weeks and included instruction on fire safety (Phase I) and tornado safety (Phase II). A generalization and maintenance phase followed the training phases to assess learned skills. Results indicated that training via VR was a more efficient means; however, when effectiveness was measured both groups appeared to yield similar results. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Health Professions, Dept. of Communication Sciences and Disorders. / "July 2006." / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 83-88)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on January 31, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, May, 2009. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.