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No description available.

No description available.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty with developing and generalizing the social skills necessary for long term success. Social skills deficits can often lead to shortcomings in other areas, and can hinder a child’s potential for future independence. Currently, many studies addressing this issue use a train and hope approach to implementation, which does not always produce generalized outcomes. The study sought to determine how video modeling (VM) in conjunction with generalization-promotion strategies can be used to increase social skills acquisition for children with ASD. In this study, the use of generalization-promotion strategies and video modeling to increase social skills acquisition of children with ASD was evaluated by using a multiple baseline across behaviors design. Four students with ASD attending a public school and 11 neurotypical peers, all 8-10 years-old, participated in the study. Three behaviors were targeted based on results from the Autism Social Skills Profile (Bellini, 2006) completed by participants’ parents/guardians. The three behaviors targeted were joining an activity, obtaining attention and taking turns. The following elements of the study were evaluated: the success of the video modeling intervention alone and the success of the video modeling intervention with the addition of generalization-promotion strategies, along with the procedural fidelity of the intervention and the social validity of the outcomes. The results of the study suggested video modeling alone produced increases in the training setting, but this result did not generalize to the new setting. Explicit intervention was required to produce generalization. Therefore, video modeling and generalization-promotion supported children with ASD in generalizing their use of learned social skills. Throughout each phase of the study, there was a high level of procedural fidelity, and parents/guardians’ and data collectors’ social validity survey responses suggested the interventions and outcomes were socially significant to the participants. Maintenance data suggested that participants were able to maintain the learned skills following the completion of the intervention. There were limitations to this research design, resulting in recommendations for future research. / Special Education

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Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University. Missing page 234. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Purpose of the Study This project was designed to investigate certain selected relationships between language achievement and mental test performance of mentally retarded children in public school special classes. First, language achievement and mental ability were measured and studied separately; second, language achievement and mental ability were compared and interrelationships studied; third, language achievement and mental ability were investigated and studied, using a non-verbal or performance test criterion [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

Fathers of children with autism experience many challenges in adapting to and coping with their roles (Carpenter & Towers, 2008; Fletcher, Vimpani, Russell, & Keatings, 2008; Naseef, 2002). Research on the various aspects of parental support needs, to date, has traditionally focused almost exclusively on the mothers (Flippin & Crais, 2011; Mallers, Charles, Neupert, & Almeida, 2010; Oelofsen & Richardson, 2006; Paynter, Davies, & Beamish, 2018; Potter, 2017a). This study sought to determine what fathers themselves cite as their support needs, and to describe those met and unmet. This mixed-methods study focused on fathers of children with autism who had verbal speech challenges, as determined by the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ; Rutter, Bailey, Berument, Lord, & Pickles, 2003). Participants were recruited via postings on nationwide autism organization web sites. Survey data were collected using an online questionnaire that included questions from existing validated instruments (the SCQ; The Fathers of Children with Developmental Challenges questionnaire, Ly & Goldberg, 2014; the Modified Convoy Model, Smith, Greenberg & Seltzer, 2012) and several generated by the researcher. Survey responses from 52 fathers were analyzed using descriptive and correlational methods. In addition, interviews were conducted with ten fathers. These data were analyzed by methods informed by grounded theory to identify themes. The results of this study largely supported existing research, although they gave a fuller picture of what fathers of children with autism believe that they need for support. Major themes found were that adjustment and raising children is difficult, adjustment is possible, and specific supports would have been helpful. The major supports suggested were (a) a specific early plan given by the time that they leave the initial diagnostic examination, (b) help with developing a useful support network of others who understand their situation, including peers, mentors and fathers-only support groups, and (c) receiving adequate respite to achieve breaks from childcare and time to be a couple with their spouses. Implications for practice are provided, based on the data collected.

Although numerous factors have been identifed in the literature as contributing to the low rates of placement of Students with Severe Disabilities (SWSD) in the general education classroom, this study directly addressed a gap in the literature. Little research has been reported on the experiences and perspectives of General Education Teachers (GETs) who demonstrate inclusive practices for SWSD in their general education classrooms regarding their preparation that may have contributed to their being nominated by their administrators as successfully implementing inclusive practices for SWSD in the general education classroom. It is my hope that the findings from this dissertation will help to ignite future research in this area, enabling more GETs to support SWSD in their general education classrooms and increasing the number of SWSD participating in inclusive education and making progress in the general education curriculum.

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience skill deficits when interacting with typical peers, which can inhibit their ability to form friendships and participate in inclusive educational settings. In the current study, the researcher evaluated the effects of delivering textual prompts using an Apple Watch® to increase appropriate social initiations of students with high-functioning ASD in a clinical setting in the presence of typical peers. A single-case, multiple baseline design was used to evaluate students’ frequency of appropriate social initiations with and without the intervention. In addition, the researcher incorporated script fading and a discriminative stimulus (emoji) to evaluate whether these interventions led to the creation of novel statements and produced generality of responding by the participants. The results showed that the intervention was effective at increasing appropriate and independent social initiations and led to the creation of novel phrases by the participants. This research extends the previous research on the use of the Apple Watch® as an effective social skills intervention. Limitations and areas of future research are discussed. / Educational Psychology