Thesis (M.Psych.Clin.) - University of Queensland, 2004. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tennessee Technological University, 2006. / Bibliography: leaves 89-94.

Learners with Asperger's Syndrome are educated in inclusive education settings. As a result of the recent trend of `inclusion' all teachers may be required to educate all learners in their regular classrooms. This research attempted to explore the nature of Asperger's Syndrome as well as inclusive education in order to develop practical guidelines for teachers of learners with Asperger's Syndrome in regular schools. The interview responses of eight parents of learners with Asperger's Syndrome as well as the observation of these learners are reported. The results of the interviews and observations, were corroborated with the literature study in order to outline guidelines which would ensure that teachers will cater for the needs of these learners and support their inclusion in the inclusive settings successfully. Results of this study indicated that knowledge of Asperger's Syndrome and guidelines for accommodating the impairments of these learners is the first step towards successful inclusion. / Educational Studies / Thesis (M. Ed.)

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a modified form of Meichenbaum's (1985) Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) on the anxiety-induced challenging behavior and coping skills of middle school students with Asperger's Syndrome. Many individuals with Asperger's Syndrome (AS), most often described as a disorder on the autism spectrum, contend with significant anxiety in addition to the other social, sensory, linguistic, and behavioral components of the disorder. This anxiety can frequently lead to high rates of inappropriate and/or aggressive behavior. A single-subject multiple-baseline research design, replicated across three participants was used in this study. This was an AB design with a time-lagged control as the intervention was introduced across the participants. Three middle school students with Asperger's Syndrome participated in this study and all demonstrated a decrease in challenging behavior and an increase in adaptive coping skills during the course of the intervention. Two of the three students maintained these positive changes throughout the follow-up phase of the intervention. These two students continued to show behavioral improvement after the conclusion of the study.

Thesis advisor: David P. Wacker, Stewart W. Ehly. Includes bibliographic references (p. 164-183).

M.Ed. / Asperger's Syndrome derives its name from Austrian Pediatrician Hans Asperger who described this syndrome in 1944. Asperger's Syndrome is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder on the Autism Spectrum and therefore shares many commonalities with autism, including restricted social abilities as well as repetitive behaviours. However, children diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome have well developed language ability and their cognitive ability is not impaired. Due to their unique difficulties, learners with AS present very specific needs in terms of support in order for them to thrive within a mainstream learning environment. The aim of the stUdy is to investigate and describe the experiences of two learners diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in a mainstream secondary school In order to gain possible answers to the research questions posed, the researcher has attempted to gain an in-depth understanding of the cases who have volunteered for this study. This was done via a phenomenological casestUdy design using a variety of data sources in order to gain a holistic view of each case. The results of the study suggest that there is no single means of support that would be the answer to assisting these learners but that a combination of various methods should be used in order to fulfil the various needs they have, particLilarly within the South African context where this study has been conducted. A recommendation has therefore been made with the backdrop of the bioecological model and the South African context in mind. This recommendation involves a multi-model approach which seems most suitable in terms of meeting the myriad needs of these learners.

The effects of timed readings on recall and comprehension in a child with Asperger's syndrome were examined by employing a multiple-baseline design across two books with reversals. Recall timings consisted of the student's free-say compilation of what she just read. Comprehension tests consisted of the participant's answers to predetermined questions after her recall period. No consequences or feedback was given during any of the conditions. Results indicate that, initially, as the time required to read decreased, the number of unrelated words during the recall period for the two books also decreased. Related words were not as affected. Scores on comprehension tests were high. There was, however, little correspondence between the participant's recall words and the main ideas answered correctly in the comprehension test.

Thesis (DEd)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / Recent research into pedagogical practices regarding Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) learners has been developing and transforming at a significant rate. However, there has been a dearth of empirical research into how teachers identify and respond appropriately to the basic personality traits of Autistic Spectrum/High Functioning Autistic (AS/HFA) learners. This thesis addresses this specific gap in the research field by undertaking an intensely empirical examination of three AS/HFA learners in transition from Grade 3 to Grade 4 who experience behavioural adaptation challenges. The investigation was conducted in the Western Cape, South Africa, at three schools: one government mainstream and two private schools. Three Grade 3 teachers and three Grade 4 teachers were involved in the project. One facilitator, a class assistant, a teacher for Learners with Special Eductional Needs (LSEN) and an educational psychologist took part. Three learners, aged 9 years transitioning from Grade 3 to Grade 4, were observed: all three were clinically diagnosed as AS/HFA. Of the learners, two were boys and one was a girl. The duration of the project was from August/September 2013 to August/September 2014. A critical interpretive qualitiative case study methodology and purposive sampling were deployed. Non-participant observations, semi-structured interviews and probing techniques suited the nature of this specific investigation. It was necessary to employ these methods to identify the social cognitive and social functioning challenges of these three learners. Analysis of effective pedagogical procedures was used to show by what means the researcher was able to extrapolate Bandura’s principles of environment, personal and behaviour which were developed for typical learners, and apply these principles to atypical learners such as the three AS/HFA subjects under observation in this thesis. Effective pedagogical procedures were analysed in terms of a paradigm of reflective cognition. Such analysis of the detail of classroom procedures allowed the researcher to proceed in an inductive manner; from the specific to the general. Balancing this empirical investigation of specific details, was a generally deductive structure which was based on national and international research in the research area. The latest DSM-V document provided a blue-print which set out the boundaries for this area of study. Before reaching the issue of knowledge that is needed to support teachers confronted by, and too often perplexed by, the inappropriate behaviour of AS/HFA learners in the classroom, it is vital to situate the whole endeavour within the context of Inclusive Education; as reflected in South African policy documents.

The No Child Left Behind Act requires all students; regardless of poverty level, learning disability, limited English proficiency, or racial/ethnic origins; to be in general education classrooms meeting high standards of proficiency in reading/language arts and mathematics by 2013-14. Meeting high standards of proficiency in a general education classroom is particularly challenging for students diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorders, such as Asperger's syndrome. Limited interests, inflexible language, and social skills deficits without a history of cognitive or language delays before the age of three characterize the disorder. Other symptoms, such as clumsiness, unusual sensory reactions, and talk in unusual ways or with an odd tone of voice are present early in life, Asperger's syndrome is typically not diagnosed until school age and on average the age is 11 years old. Various teaching strategies and assistive technologies encourage positive learning environments allowing for students with Asperger's to be productive in a general education classroom. A quantitative survey research design was the guiding methodology. Utilizing SurveyMonkey, two cross-sectional surveys were created and sent to Tennessee's 150 special education district supervisors with a request to forward to both special education and general education teachers. The surveys had three distinct components based on students with Asperger's syndrome; teaching strategies implemented, current assistive technologies being used, and how eReaders, tablets, and mobile applications are being utilized as assistive technologies. The results were tallied and evaluated. A comprehensive set of teaching strategies and assistive technologies used in the general education classroom to improve reading/language arts for secondary students diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome was compiled.

This thesis is concerned with the key areas of social interaction and emotional understanding in children with autism with regard to their development. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a ten sessions long intervention programme with the objective of facilitating the children’s social-emotional understanding, as well as promoting their social skills and interaction with both peers and adults. Two methods of studies were used with 6 children - aged 7 to 11 - who had previously been diagnosed with high-functioning autism. The quasi-experimental study divided the sample into an experimental and control group in order to evaluate the intervention. The second method was a case study involving two children in the experimental group. Both approaches provided evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention programme in enhancing the social and emotional components. The results from the first study showed that the intervention programme was associated with improvements for the children in the experimental group in their overall social-emotional understanding, as well as their social skills and interaction with their peers. Moreover, there was strong agreement between the three sources (parents, teachers and children) about this improvement, which supports the reliability of the outcomes. On the other hand, children from the control group did not improve in the tested areas. The results from the second study revealed the typical description of emotional and social deficits in the two children with high-functioning autism. In each case there were specific aspects to their level of difficulties and the way in which they interacted with their friends and family. The data collected after the intervention supports the hypothesis that children with autism can learn emotional understanding (including empathy), and this was associated with an improvement in their social functioning. The case studies also showed agreement between the parents in their dissatisfaction about the level of support that their children received at school. None of the children had received any type of social training programme particularly aimed at teaching them these specific skills. The two methods of evaluation complemented each other. Although caution should be taken when interpreting the findings, owing to the small sample size, the study suggests that children with high-functioning autism respond well to interventions designed to support their social and emotional understanding.