Petersson, Linda (2015). “It seems a bit like a lottery” A study about the school situation for pupils with Autism spectrum Condition (ASC). Master degree in Special Education, Faculty of Education and Society, Malmo UniversityReports from the Swedish government have since 2009, stated that the education for children with ASC is somewhat troublesome, for example: pupils with ASC seem often have quite low grades. Similar signals, often regarding the curriculum and it´s inflexibility has also been risen from teachers as well as headmasters.The aim of this study was to contribute to the understanding of the school situation for pupils with ASC with a placement in self –contained settings; a school for pupils with ASC and in small groups placed at general schools. The focus in the study has been academic achievement, organization and placement plus positive- and challenging factors for the school in their mission to educate this group of pupils.The study was conducted by using Mixed Methods, the data was collected both from interviews and a questionnaire. Two teachers, two headmasters, two special needs advisors from the National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools, SPSM and three students with ASC was interviewed. The questionnaire was directed to teachers for students with ASC.The results of the study is presented in a parallel mixed design/ convergent design. The data from the questionnaire and interviews is both presented and then integrated. In the work of analyze and understanding the results has general system theory and the ecology of human development, as well as earlier research been used.Implication of the results confirms the reports from the Swedish government, there seem to be a risk that pupils with ASC gets lower grades. The implication is that this could due to that the curriculum isn’t adjusted to this pupils, the lack of “autism-friendly” teaching and lack of collaboration within the school system. Some positive factors was found that could facilitate schools, amongst this: Collaboration, knowledge and understanding ASC and the consequences for the individual.

This study employed a multiple baseline across participants design to investigate the effect of a self-monitoring treatment intervention package (independent variable) consisting of a wristwatch that delivers timed vibrating and digital text prompts, a self-recording form, and a performance graphing worksheet, on the ability of three high school students with Autism Spectrum Disorder to self-monitor the academic productivity component behaviors (dependent variable) of homework assignment completion and submission rates, classroom-based work completion and submission rates, and accuracy and rate of documentation of academic tasks in their student planners. Students earned academic productivity composite scores reflecting the percentage of academic productivity behavior they demonstrated in their target classroom each day. All participants achieved marked improvements in their academic productivity composite scores from baseline to intervention to the maintenance phase. A detailed analysis of the study results, implications for clinical practice, limitations of the current investigation and recommendations for future research completes this investigation.

As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continues to rise, large numbers of individuals with ASD are estimated to be entering young adulthood each year. While exploring factors that support success in adulthood, some studies have found that higher expectations of a parent, a teacher, and a student with ASD may predict more positive young adulthood outcomes for students. Additionally, summer transition programs have recently emerged as a means of providing services to transition-aged youth with ASD, to support their entering adulthood. Yet, little research has been done to understand how future expectations for a student with ASD are formed, specifically as they relate to participation in a summer transition program. A qualitative case study was conducted to better understand how a student with ASD, a parent, and a teacher described the student’s abilities and expectations for his future, before and after participating in a summer transition program. Although the student’s perspective did not change over time, both his parent and teacher shifted their understandings of his abilities and expectations for his future, becoming more nuanced in their descriptions and optimistic about the student’s future. Further research is needed to better understand the impacts and maintenance of these shifted understandings, as well as to identify specific transition program features that contributed to these shifts. / 2018-03-13T00:00:00Z

INTRODUCTION: The OTPN at Massachusetts General Hospital works to reduce barriers to care and implement tailored accommodations to improve patients with ASD/IDD access to and participation in healthcare. A quality improvement project was conducted to understand the OTPN interventions perceived as valuable by the recipients of care. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE AND EVIDENCE: Patients with ASD/IDD experience unmet healthcare needs and low patient satisfaction when accessing healthcare. Wagner’s Chronic Care Model was used as a framework to understand the factors that contribute to this problem. Current literature provides evidence-based strategies to improve the quality of care for patients with ASD when accessing healthcare services, but lacks descriptive evidence from the patient and caregiver perspective. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three clients of the OTPN (one former patient with ASD and two parents of former patients). Using the phenomenological method, data was collected and analyzed to develop themes identified among participants. A follow-up interview with the OTPN obtained the OT perspective that informed the interventions valued by project participants. RESULTS: Participants identified barriers to care prior to collaborating with the OTPN, as well as valued OTPN interventions that involved patient-centered anticipatory planning, advocacy, and coordination of care. The OTPN used her OT perspective to understand the intersection of the person, environment and occupation to inform interventions that improved the patient experience. CONCLUSION: Customized interventions provided by the OTPN were highly valued by previous clients and were perceived to improve their healthcare experience by addressing unique patient needs and preferences.

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Understanding the biological basis of behavior is crucial for gaining insights into human nature, treating behavioral disorders and improving overall well-being. Efforts to understand the biological basis of behavior have largely emphasized the role of neurons. However, examples across life show that behavior can occur in lieu of or in cell types outside of neurons. This thesis presents work exploring the mechanisms underlying multiple behaviors using the model system Drosophila melanogaster. Chapter 2 provides evidence for the influence of glia on courtship, aggression, and sleep. Chapter 3 characterizes a Drosophila model of autism spectrum disorder, finding that genetic neuronal manipulation of a single gene can cause pathologies beyond the nervous system. Chapter 4 investigates the connection between sleep behavior and oxidative stress response, demonstrating metabolism as a probable mediator of this relationship. Altogether, this work supports a wider definition for the biological basis of behavior.

A survey was sent to classroom teachers in Central Florida educating students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to investigate: 1) intervention practices currently used in the classroom for students with ASD; 2) if the interventions being used are evidence-based, and; 3) if there a difference in use of evidence-based interventions between teachers with the Florida Autism Endorsement and teachers without the Endorsement. A nonprobability purposive study was conducted via an email-based survey. The survey was designed using the tailored design method and was created in Qualtrics.com, an online survey software program. The survey was divided into three major sections: an intervention section which included a variety of evidence and non-evidenced-based practices drawn from the current research literature; a section focused on how teachers select the interventions they use in their classrooms; and, a demographic section. The survey was sent via email to classroom teachers registered with University of Central Florida Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. Participant inclusion criteria included: 1) currently a classroom teacher in a Central Florida, and 2) at least one student with ASD in the classroom. Forty surveys were completed for a ten percent response rate. Results indicated that a variety of evidence- based and non-evidence-based interventions were being used in classrooms. The top three reported interventions were Visual Supports (95 %), Computer Program Applications (93%), and Social Stories (73 %). Based on current empirical evidence, these top three interventions have insufficient evidence regarding their efficacy for use with students with ASD. In addition, two of the interventions reported to be used have a negative evidence base suggesting they may be harmful for some students with ASD. There were no significant differences between teachers with the Florida ASD Endorsement and teachers without

Presently, the DSM is undergoing revision in anticipation of the publication of the DSM-5 in 2013 (APA, 2010a). The Neurodevelopmental Disorders DSM-5 workgroup has suggested that Asperger’s Disorder (AS) and Autistic Disorder (AD) be subsumed into a new, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis (APA, 2010b). This project reviews researcher methodologies for the description, study inclusion/exclusion, and assessment of individuals with AS and AD in 100 highly cited articles from high-impact journals. Results demonstrate that researchers’ methodologies are highly variable. Additionally, all researchers do not use the “gold standard” combination of the ADOS and the ADI-R for assessing AS and AD. The use of inconsistent and potentially inappropriate methodologies in the literature suggests it may be preemptive to base the proposed DSM-5 revision on the incomparable results in the research.

Research has indicated that individuals with ASD have deficits in the ability to correctly identify and interpret the emotions and feelings of others. The ability to recognize the emotions of others has shown to be extremely beneficial in a number of ways. On the other hand, the inability to recognize the emotions of others has been linked to a number of negative outcomes, including inappropriate behaviors, as well as mental health, personal, social, and academic difficulties. The purpose of the current study was to extend the previous literature on effective strategies for teaching individuals with ASD to correctly label the situation-based emotions of others. Overall, the current study’s results suggest that an intervention package combining animated videos with prompt delay, error correction, and reinforcement procedures was effective in teaching participants the ability to label situation-specific emotions. Additionally, the current study’s results also supported the idea that individuals with ASD have stronger deficits in recognizing negative emotions, such as sad, mad, and afraid, as compared to positive emotions, such as happy. Future research should continue to focus on exploring the generalization and maintenance of these results.

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