Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) refers to a heterogeneous neurological condition characterized by repetitive and restrictive behaviors and social communication deficits. ASD diagnoses are at a record high, at approximately 1 in 59 children according to the US Center for Disease Control. Currently, there are no available interventions that effectively treat the core symptoms of ASD. All pharmaceutical options address comorbid side effects of ASD but not core deficits and are particularly associated with negative side effects. Additionally, there are economic and geographic barriers that can prevent families of individuals with ASD from seeking or receiving effective interventions. Many of the available interventions are extremely costly, time-consuming, and age dependent. These factors, as well as others, have led to an increase in families independently utilizing complementary and alternative interventions. Due to the large amount of misinformation available on the Internet, families have become more susceptible to trying alternative forms of interventions that have not been scientifically proven as effective, and in some cases, are significantly detrimental. Thus, the need for accessible and inexpensive evidence-based nonpharmaceutical interventions is critical and must be addressed. Fortunately, recent groundbreaking research has discovered two strains of probiotics, Bacteroides fragilis and Lactobacillus reuteri, that have been shown to ameliorate behavioral and social deficits respectively, in validated ASD mouse models in a non-age-dependent manner. Probiotic intervention with a combination of these specific strains would effectively target both repetitive behaviors and social deficits, core ASD symptoms, and provide families with an accessible and inexpensive form of intervention. The mechanisms underlying the efficacy of these probiotics are thought to be associated with the gastrointestinal (GI) system and the oxytocin pathway. This study seeks to examine the necessity of accessible nonpharmaceutical interventions and to provide an effective intervention that is neither expensive or age dependent. This study also aims to provide greater insight into the pathways and systems in which these probiotics operate.

Research demonstrates that video modeling and visual activity schedules have been effective in teaching students with disabilities a variety of skills. However, the instructional procedures used to teach students to acquire the necessary skills to perform the tasks can take time for the students and the instructors. A behavior skills training package was investigated within a multiple probe design across students to determine if four elementary aged students with intellectual disability, with and without autism spectrum disorder, could acquire self-instructional skills. The dependent variables in the study were the effects of behavior skills training on the acquisition of self-instructional skills and the effects of video activity schedules on the acquisition of novel skills. The independent variable was behavior skills training. Three students were able to acquire the self-instruction skills in an effective and efficient manner using behavior skills training. After learning how to navigate the video activity schedules, three students were able to generalize and maintain the self-instruction skills to learn novel tasks. The results suggest that behavior skills training may be an effective instructional strategy for teaching self-instructional skills to students with intellectual disability.

The purpose of this study was to teach middle school students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) academic, grade level science term definitions. Three students with ASD who were served in a self-contained classroom for students with moderate and severe disabilities participated in the study. A multiple probe (days) across behaviors research design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a model-lead-test procedure delivered using a computer software program to teach three sets of five science term definitions from the general education academic standards. Generalization probes were conducted in the general education setting by giving each student terms that they learned during intervention in the context of the classroom lesson and asking them to respond by giving the definition to the term. The results indicate that students were able to learn and maintain science term definitions when using teacher created e-books with an embedded model-lead-test procedure.

Peer mediated interventions have been effective in teaching academic and social skills to students with disabilities. The present study assesses the effectiveness of students with autism spectrum disorder serving as the tutor and tutee. Four peer mediators and four students with autism spectrum disorder used technology and the simultaneous prompting procedure to teach acquisition of social studies vocabulary. Results indicate that both students with and without autism spectrum disorder effectively delivered instruction using technology and all students learned a portion of the vocabulary taught by a same-aged peer.

Visual supports, which provide information presented in a visual format to enhance achievement toward specific goals, can be very helpful for individuals who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Music therapists often use visual supports in their practice; however, research exploring how they do so is limited. In the present study, the researcher used a mixed-methods research design to explore music therapists’ use of visual supports for individuals who have ASD. The researcher e-mailed a survey to board-certified music therapists who opted to receive e-mails from the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT), 525 of whom completed the entire survey. Approximately 70% of participants reported using visual supports “always” or “very often.” Participants most frequently reported using pictures with written words and visual schedules. Visual supports are most often used by music therapists in children’s facilities/schools and to address communication skills when working with individuals who have ASD. Participants most frequently reported using visual supports to generally enhance the session/interventions, using them to provide routine, predictability, and clear expectations for individuals who have ASD. Resources and recommendations provided by participants are also summarized. Open-ended responses were coded into themes, and most participants recommended specific software or applications and encouraged others to use certain visual supports, such as visual schedules and “real” pictures. Future researchers should examine the effectiveness of visual supports when used in music therapy sessions for individuals who have ASD.

Music therapists frequently work with clients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). The purpose of this study was to gather information on music therapists’ current experiences with AAC training as well as music therapists’ perceptions of their own communication abilities when communicating with clients who have ASD using their preferred AAC system. The researcher invited 7,279 board-certified music therapists to participate in this study via email, of which 366 completed the survey. Participants reported most often providing services to children and adolescents with ASD, and frequently using electronic AAC and electronic apps with their clients with ASD. The majority (71.2%) of participants stated that they would like additional training in the use of AAC. Of the music therapists who had participated in previous AAC training, many had received training at work or by an SLP or other certified professional. Results of this study provide information about the current practices and perceptions of board-certified music therapists working with clients with ASD.

Purpose: This was a pilot study assessing the impact of a sensory adapted dental environment (SADE) on children with developmental disabilities (DD) receiving routine dental care. Methods: A crossover study of 22 children with DD, aged 6 through 21, was conducted at Virginia Commonwealth University Pediatric Dental clinic. Each participant was randomized to a sequence of two dental cleanings, one regular dental environment (RDE) and one SADE with a 3-4-month recall. Outcomes included physiological measures (heart rate and oxygen saturation) and cooperation (Frankl scores). Results: Study subjects completed a total of 36 visits. None of the physiological measures differed at either time point between the two treatment settings. The Frankl scores were significantly higher with SADE setting than RDE (p =0.0368). Forty-six percent of parents strongly agreed that they would prefer the SADE for their child’s next visit. Conclusion: SADE may be associated with improved behavior in children with DD.

This study was a nonexperimental correlational study that took a strengths-based approach and utilized family systems theories to examine parenting stress, as measured by the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, and posttraumatic growth (PTG), as measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the relationship between the two constructs. The study was conducted with a national sample of 136 maternal caregivers of transition-age youth on the autism spectrum (ASD), ages 14 to 22 years, recruited through social media, flyers, and referrals. Participants were primarily biological mothers (83.9%), White (87.5%), and resided in the South (68.4%); the mean age of the adolescent with ASD was 17.16 years. Descriptive statistical findings showed that caregivers had normal levels of parenting stress and high levels of PTG. Results from one-sample t tests showed that the sample parenting stress mean score (M = 51) was similar to the population mean score of 50 while the sample PTG mean score (M = 56) was significantly higher than the population PTG mean score of 52.5. The third research question examined if parenting stress was significantly associated with PTG, controlling for pertinent covariates. Hierarchical multiple linear regression findings indicated that, after controlling for the place of residence, parenting stress was significantly associated with PTG: as parenting stress increased, PTG decreased. Parenting stress explained 7% of the variance in PTG, a small effect size. Findings from this study denote the positive aspects of parenting an adolescent with ASD. Results can inform the development of parent interventions aimed at reducing parenting stress and enhancing PTG.

The present study examined the relationships between anxiety, cognitive functioning, weak central coherence, and social skills in a group of 102 children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; Autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, and PDD-NOS). The results indicated that children diagnosed with Asperger's disorder had significantly higher cognitive functioning and Block Design scores (i.e., weaker central coherence) compared to those diagnosed with autism or PDD-NOS. Regression analyses results showed that anxiety and cognitive functioning moderated the association between weak central coherence and social skills. For children with low cognitive functioning and high anxiety, weak central coherence was associated with poorer social skills than those with low cognitive functioning, high anxiety, and strong central coherence. For children with high cognitive functioning and high anxiety, weak central coherence was associated with better social skills than those with high cognitive functioning and strong central coherence. Implications of these findings are discussed. / acase@tulane.edu

It is of utmost importance that students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the public school setting across the United States are receiving the best, most researched services and treatments. This study aimed to find out what services and treatments are most commonly being used for students with ASD in the public schools, to see whether or not those practices are supported by research, and to discover how involved parents and families are in the services being provided to their students. This study found that of the top 25 most commonly used practices, 17 of those were supported by and recommended by research, 3 are considered to have some research support, 1 was considered to not have research support, and 4 were undetermined to have research support. This study also found that overall, parents are aware of the services being provided to their students with ASD, but they do not feel like they are actively involved with majority of the services being provided.