The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics pertaining to emotional intelligence (EI) that parents and Foundation Phase teachers may use when supporting learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in an inclusive classroom setting. Teachers are facing various degrees of challenges due to the demands of a range of diverse needs attributable to the influx of learners with disabilities in the school system. Given the increase in the number of children diagnosed with ASD, research indicates that it is likely that teachers will encounter learners with ASD in their classes. Teachers are generally not trained to identify and cope with such a disability, as many requirements of these learners are beyond the services of a general school system. A multiple case study was conducted where the perspectives of a teacher and two parents were gained, in order to understand experiences with children with ASD from the participants' point of view. The primary aim of this study was therefore to provide both parents and teachers with listed characteristics of EI that they could utilise while supporting learners with ASD in households or the educational sphere. Findings illuminated the collective characteristics of learners with ASD, which include intense obsessions with a narrow range of subjects, repetitive routines, central coherence difficulties and problems with social-emotional functioning, communication and executive functioning. These indicators require specific responses from parents and teachers to effectively provide support to these learners. Qualities identified that relate to EI are patience, empathy, problem solving skills, working collaboratively with parents and being proactive. The main recommendation relates to specific training in EI skills, to prepare student teachers in supporting the growing number of learners with ASD in their classes. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Early Childhood Education / MEd / Unrestricted

De par la richesse et la nature des informations qu’il véhicule, le visage joue un rôle essentiel dans les interactions sociales. Les difficultés que manifestent dès le plus jeune âge les personnes présentant un Trouble du Spectre de l’Autisme (TSA) sur le plan de l’interaction sociale ont conduit à s’intéresser aux modalités de traitement du visage dans cette population. Les travaux de cette thèse ont pour but d’explorer le traitement du visage chez les jeunes enfants avec un TSA, âgés de 24 à 60 mois, au moyen de la technique de suivi du regard. Dans la première étude, nous montrons que les jeunes enfants avec un TSA, comme les enfants typiques, sont sensibles à la visagéité d’un objet, ce qui suggère un traitement de la configuration de premier ordre. Ce résultat suggère que la nature des représentations faciales dans les TSA n’est pas qualitativement différente de celle des personnes typiques. Dans la seconde étude, nous testons la présence d’un biais du regard vers l’hémichamp visuel gauche en réponse à un visage présenté en vision centrale. Les résultats de cette étude indiquent que les jeunes enfants avec un TSA ne présentent pas ce biais du regard, ce qui pourrait refléter une altération de la dominance hémisphérique droite pour le traitement du visage dans les TSA. Enfin, dans la troisième étude, l’analyse du parcours visuel des jeunes enfants avec un TSA sur les visages révèle une exploration atypique concentrée au niveau de la région des yeux. Dans l’ensemble, ces études suggèrent que même si les enfants avec un TSA traitent les visages à partir de leur configuration, la manière d’y parvenir pourrait être différente. Des études futures devront spécifier les mécanismes du traitement configural du visage dans les TSA. / Faces are important for social interactions as they convey important information about social environment. Impairment in social interactions is one of the core symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and has been related to atypical face processing. Here, we investigated face processing in preschool children with ASD using eye-tracking methodology. In the first study, we showed that young children with ASD, just like typically developing children are sensitive to face-like objects suggesting that processing first order configuration is intact in ASD. According to these results, the nature of facial representation might be qualitatively similar between groups. In the second study, we tested the presence of a left gaze bias in response to faces presented at central vision. A lack of left gaze bias was found in young children with ASD, reflecting atypical right hemispheric lateralization for face processing. Finally, the third study analyzed the visual scanning of static faces and showed an abnormal exploration pattern limited to the eyes. Overall, these studies argue for the presence of configural face processing in preschoolers with ASD despite differences in strategy from typically developing children. Futures studies will have to specify the mechanisms underlying atypical configural face processing in ASD.

Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) is a wide ranging developmental condition commonly recognised by impairments in social interaction, communication, repetitive behaviour and restricted interests. Deficits in imitation, sensory processing and motor control are also extensive, but conflicting findings mean a clear picture regarding the true nature of these is yet to be established. The aim of this thesis was to further investigate imitation with a specific focus on the effect of goals. It has been suggested that imitation occurs along two routes; a direct route for the imitation of meaningless actions i.e. goal-less, and a semantic route for meaningful or goal-directed actions. There is evidence to suggest that while individuals with ASD may have an impairment in goal-less imitation, goal-directed imitation is unaffected (Hamilton, Brindley & Frith, 2007). The experiments in the present work were based on the hypothesis that impaired goal-less imitation in ASD may be due to a problem with sensory motor integration in the direct visuomotor pathway for imitation (Tessari and Rumiati, 2004).The first experiment was conducted to ascertain whether movement kinematics differed between imitation during goal-directed and goal-less hand movements in a neurotypical control group. Participants observed and imitated hand movements of different speeds, while their movement was recorded with a motion sensor. Movement was modulated between the different speeds in the goal-less, but not goal-directed trials. These findings support the dual route model where visuomotor mapping occurs via the direct pathway during goal-less imitation but during goal-directed imitation there is greater reliance on representations of actions from long term memory.In experiment two, the same paradigm was employed, including additional movement types, and a group of adult individuals diagnosed with an ASD was compared to a control group. It was predicted that, unlike the control group, the ASD group would fail to modulate their movement in the goal-less condition, due to a disruption in the direct pathway. Eye movements were also recorded in this experiment, to ascertain if differences in gaze position or eye movements might influence the ability of the ASD group to imitate goal-less actions. The ASD group did not modulate their movement for goal-less imitation. In addition, the ASD group exhibited more goal-directed gaze, and less gaze toward the hand, than the control group. The ASD group also failed to maintain pursuit of the hand, which may have influenced the amount of information collected regarding the movement.The third study extended the investigation by introducing a training phase halfway through the experiment. Based on eye movement findings, it was hypothesised that drawing attention to the hand might increase the importance of the hand in goal-less trials, subsequently leading to increased tracking, and improved imitation. Perspective was also investigated to determine whether observing the action from an egocentric perspective would improve imitation. Movement modulation was not improved for either the post training or the egocentric condition. However, both training and egocentric viewing resulted in faster performance of movements while training also reduced the amount of movement variability; suggesting that these conditions made imitation easier. Findings strongly support the hypothesis that people with ASD are impaired in goal-less but not goal-directed imitation. These results are discussed in terms of bottom-up and top-down influences on imitation. The observed eye movement differences between the ASD and control group suggest eye movement abnormalities, and the finding that egocentric observation facilitates imitation indicates problems with visuospatial transformation during allocentric imitation. Finally, failure to pursue may be due to lack of attention to the hand movement, evidenced by no increase in pursuit after training. This thesis concludes with the suggestion that impaired goal-less imitation in ASD may result primarily from bottom-up low level visual processing and oculomotor control problems, combined with a high level attentional mechanism. Future studies need to address whether these are the primary causes of imitation difficulties, or whether there is a fundamental sensory motor integration deficit in ASD.

Children with neurodevelopmental disorders like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often suffer from variable impairments in language and pragmatic abilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate language and pragmatics in children with ADHD and/or ASD (D-group) compared with a control group with no diagnose (ND-group). 22 children with diagnose, 4 girls and 18 boys aged 9:4–13:6, and 26 children with typical development, 10 girls and 16 boys, aged 10:5–13:4 were tested with a battery of tests concerning language and pragmatics. Their parents filled in a questionnaire regarding pragmatic abilities. The D-group performed poorer than the ND-group in all tests. Correlations were found between several pragmatic and language tests results in the D-group, and a few correlations were found in the ND-group. Some tests were particularly difficult for the D-group. An attempt was made to find subgroups in the D-groups test results via cluster analysis, but without success. The results emphasize the need of routine speech-language pathologist assessment during diagnostic evaluation of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. / Barn med neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar som Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) och/eller autismspektrumtillstånd (ASD) uppvisar ofta mer eller mindre subtila svårigheter med språk och pragmatik. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka språkliga och pragmatiska förmågor hos barn med ADHD och/eller ASD (D-grupp) jämfört med en kontrollgrupp utan diagnos (ND-grupp). 22 barn med diagnos varav 4 flickor och 18 pojkar i åldrarna 9:4–13:6, och 26 barn i åldrarna 10:5–13:4 rekryterades och testades med ett batteri av språkliga och pragmatiska tester. Deras föräldrar fyllde även i ett formulär om barnens pragmatiska förmågor. D-gruppen hade sämre resultat än kontroll-gruppen i alla tester. Korrelationer hittades mellan flera pragmatiska och språkliga testresultat i D-gruppen, och några korrelationer hittades även i ND-gruppen. Vissa test var speciellt svåra för D-gruppen. Ett försök att finna undergrupper i D-gruppens testresultat via klusteranalys gjordes även, men utan framgång. Resultaten understryker vikten av logopedisk bedömning som del i multiprofessionell neuropsykiatrisk utredning.

Systematic review is a type of review that identifies, assesses, and combines all the published empirical evidence on a specific topic by using explicit, systematic methods. This type of reviews often includes a meta-analysis, a statistical tool used to combine the collected data into a quantitative summary estimate. Guidance documents such as the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) were developed to improve the reporting of systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials. Systematic reviews are commonly used in the field of healthcare research and are increasingly being employed in the field of environmental epidemiology. Environmental epidemiology studies examine exposures in populations and their associations with health outcomes. This field contains several unique considerations that require a careful and critical assessment to ensure the validity of results and to make the data or information more useful for the readers. However, to our knowledge, there is currently no guidance document for conducting systematic reviews that comprehensively addresses the specific issues in this field. Therefore, the objectives of this proposal are twofold: (1) to conduct a systematic review of the currently published epidemiology systematic reviews on a specific topic (mercury exposure and children autism spectrum disorder) to identify analytical issues encountered, and (2) use the experience and other potential solution identified in the literature to develop a guidance or recommendation document for conducting systematic reviews of environmental epidemiology studies. Akin to reporting guidelines for randomized controlled trials, a reporting guideline for environmental epidemiology is anticipated to increase the clarity and transparency of publications and enhance the usefulness of systematic reviews for knowledge synthesis.

Theory of Mind (ToM), a social cognitive skill defined as one's ability to attribute mental states to self and others, is considered key for a successful navigation of one's social world. Extensive research has elucidated the early developmental trajectory, predictors, correlates, and outcomes of ToM in the first five years of a child's life. By contrast, although ToM continues to develop beyond age five, and children increasingly begin to function in more complex and interconnected social ecologies, very little is known about ToM in middle childhood. The present study examines ToM development in middle childhood, using a new measure that is age appropriate, innovative, and embedded in the flow of a naturalistic social interaction. Drawing from rich behavioral and report data collected from children, parents, and teachers in a longitudinal study from toddlerhood to middle childhood, interpersonal factors (the child's relationships with the mother, father, and peers), and intrapersonal factors (temperament characteristic of effortful control) are systematically examined to predict individual differences in children's performance in the new ToM measure at age 10. Associations between children's ToM and their broadly ranging, concurrently assessed clinical symptoms are also examined. As a preliminary venture, using a small sample of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their caregivers, the present study also seeks to establish preliminary criterion validity for the new measure of ToM.

In this session, the presenters will describe the results of three studies involving the use of technology and response prompting to teach children with MSD/ASD to write their opinions about text. Further, they will describe the technology used and how it may be applied to other skills. Learner Outcomes: (1) Participants will identify two software applications that can be used for teaching writing; (2) Participants will describe the intervention steps for teaching opinion writing to students with MSD/ASD; (3) Participants will cite limitations to using the presented procedures and describe potential improvements.

Many students on the autism spectrum display a strong ability to process and comprehend information at elevated levels when presented with it visually. Despite this, students who have autism are increasingly being educated in general education content classrooms that utilize lessons directed to whole groups of students and limit the use of visually presented material. For some students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), this presentation introduces difficulties related to attention as well as comprehension and retention of material. Research indicates promising results associated with using a graphic organizer to increase comprehension accuracy in students who answer wh-questions following the reading of a short passage. The purpose of this study was to document the relationship between using a graphic organizer and increasing reading comprehension. The study employed a single-subject multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate if the use of a graphic organizer impacted the correctness of answering wh-questions for grade-level social studies content. Participants included four eighth grade students in an urban public school who had been diagnosed with ASD. Results supported research by showing an increase in comprehension skills with the use of a graphic organizer.

Background: Some children with ASD have comprehension difficulties that affect their ability to follow directives that contain prepositions. Aided input has been known to facilitate improved comprehension skills when spoken language is used with graphic symbols. Aims: This study examined the effects that aided input presented at two levels (20% of aided input and 60% of aided input) has on children with ASD’s following of directives that contain prepositions. Methods: An experimental, within-subjects crossover design was utilised where all participants were exposed to each treatment condition at a different time period. Altogether 21 participants between 5.0 and 11.11 years of age were asked to follow 12 directives using aided input at two conditions. Participants first completed a pre-test task to confirm their noun knowledge, preposition knowledge and matching skills. Participants were described based on the CARS classification and their PPVT-4 scores. The effects of the aided input were measured and compared based on the accuracy of responses. Results: Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data, and multivariate analysis was used to analyse the data. Some children with ASD (n=9) who received a higher level of aided input (60%) were able to respond more accurately than those who received a lower level of aided input (20%). However, some children with ASD (n=4) responded more accurately to the lower level of aided input (20%) than the higher level of aided input (60%). Some children with ASD (n=5) responded in the same manner for both levels of aided input and some children with ASD (n=3) did not respond at all despite the level of aided input. The results showed no statistically significant difference between the higher (60%) and lower (20%) levels of aided input. Conclusion: It was concluded that the 60% aided input level yielded a higher accuracy of responses than the 20% aided input level in some children with ASD. In addition, the results suggest that augmenting spoken language was advantageous in some children with ASD. However, further research is needed to better describe the effects of aided input, using graphic symbols. Future research directions are suggested. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / MA / Unrestricted

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