This study compared the relative reinforcing efficacy of high-preferred and low-preferred stimuli, as determined by two types of preference assessments, on acquisition rates in three children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study also evaluated the indirect effects of preference on students’ stereotypy and problem behavior during instructional periods. Participants were presented with a task and provided high or low-preferred stimuli contingent upon correct responding. Results showed that acquisition occurred more rapidly in the highly preferred condition for some participants. Higher rates of problem behavior occurred in the low preferred condition for all participants. These results highlight the importance of utilizing preference assessment procedures to identify and deliver high-preferred items in skill acquisition procedures for individuals with ASD.

The low physical activity levels of children today are a cause for serious concern. When examining certain populations of children, such as children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), there is a possibility of even lower overall physical activity levels. However, when exploring the current literature examining the physical activity levels of children with ASD compared to children without ASD there were conflicting results. Some studies indicate that the physical activity levels between children with ASD and children without ASD are similar. Others indicate that children with ASD were less active than their counterparts. Although many of the previous studies employed sound protocol designs including using objective measures for physical activity, these studies did not appropriately match the groups. A child's environment is one of the determining factors of their overall physical activity levels. Current literature indicates that parents have a significant influence on the physical activity levels of their children. In order to accurately compare the levels of physical activity between children with ASD and without ASD, using appropriate matching groups is crucial. The purpose of this study was to examine the current physical activity levels of children with ASD by matching groups based on similar environments and parental influences. A total of 16 children (8 pairs of siblings) participated in this study. Physical activity levels were examined by the activity counts using accelerometers, evaluating time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and determining if children with ASD met the physical activity recommendations more or less than their siblings. Results indicate no difference in daily physical activity levels and time spent in MVPA were found between siblings. A total of 5 of the 16 children met the recommended amount of physical activity. Only 3 out of the 8 children with ASD met the recommended amount of physical activity. This stresses their time spent in MVPA should be an area of concern for all children and interventions should attempt to increase their MVPA early on. In conclusion, children with ASD were no less active than children without disabilities; however the children are not meeting the current physical activity recommendations. This study also suggests that for children with ASD, it may not be the condition that limits their physical activity, but instead the environmental factors may influence their activity levels. / Graduation date: 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine how participation in an academic and behavioral remediation summer camp impacts broad adaptive behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders. Adaptive behavior was measured by administering the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Second Edition (ABAS-II; Harrison & Oakland, 2002) to the parents of a sample of 23 children whose ages ranged from 5 years, 10 months to 11 years, 4 months. Adaptive behavior was assessed prior the beginning of camp and again during the last week of camp. Repeated measures ANOVA and repeated measures MANOVA were conducted to assess whether significant changes in adaptive behavior were observed. Results from these analyses indicated statistically significant changes in adaptive behavior were not observed, but the MANOVA indicated there was a significant interaction between time and gender. Although significant improvement in adaptive behavior was not observed, there also were no significant decreases in adaptive behavior. Additionally, clinical significance was assessed using reliable change indexes (RCI). These analyses suggested most children did not exhibit clinically significant changes in adaptive behavior. Results also were mixed with three children reportedly exhibiting clinically significant increases and two children reportedly exhibiting clinically significant decreases in adaptive behavior. Suggestions for future research include using a control or comparison group, obtaining larger sample size, using multiple measures of adaptive behavior, and obtaining observations of adaptive behavior from multiple sources. / Department of Special Education

This study explored school nurses knowledge of the diagnostic criteria and secondary conditions related to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), their involvement in the identification and treatment of ASD, their knowledge of medication used to treat ASD, and their overall medication management of children with ASD. Participants included 100 school nurses, representing 18 states, who completed a survey on ASD. The response rate was 16.45%. The majority of school nurses were aware Autism and Asperger’s Disorder should fall under the classification of ASD within the school setting. They were less sure on whether PDD-NOS should be included as an ASD. A high percentage indicated they received training in the area of ASD from self-study rather than from formal coursework or supervised clinical experiences. Results found limited involvement of school nurses during the assessment and evaluation process. However, there was more involvement after children had been classified with an ASD, which was primarily limited to the administration of medication and medical treatments. School nurses reported being qualified to administer medication to children with ASD. They also reported being knowledgeable regarding the potential side effects of the medication they administered. The most common medication administered to children with ASD was stimulants. One anti-psychotic medication, Risperdal, appears to be administered fairly frequently by school nurses to children with ASD. Eighty percent surveyed did not report making any medication errors. The majority of school nurses were responsible for supervision of un-licensed personnel in the administration of medication. Besides nurses, secretaries/administrative assistants were the most common school employees administering medication within schools. / Department of Special Education

This study explored the effectiveness of an eight-week summer day camp that used applied behavior analysis (ABA) to decrease maladaptive behaviors and increase prosocial behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorders. Little is known about how children with autism spectrum disorders respond to ABA treatment in the camp setting. Using a multiple case study approach, behaviors were measured using direct observation techniques in a sample of 5 children ranging from 7 years, 5 months to 9 years, 1 month. Results were assessed using visual inspection of graphs and assessing trendlines of the data. Results of the study indicated that all five participants demonstrated at least two behaviors that changed in the intended direction (i.e., target behaviors decreased, replacement behaviors increased). Overall, for all five participants, 68% of behaviors changed in the intended direction. Among the behaviors that changed in the intended direction, 65% demonstrated a moderate rate of change within the eight weeks of camp. A number of possible explanations for these results, as well as for unfavorable findings, are discussed. Because this study was considered a preliminary investigation, these positive results support the need for future studies to further examine this relatively unexplored setting through replication. / Department of Educational Psychology

This session will provide PE teachers with specific strategies for modifying both formal and informal assessments for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). With an increased emphasis on assessment, and a rise in the prevalence of ASD, it is critical that teachers can adapt assessments to meet the needs of students with ASD. Session participants will learn practical strategies for modifying assessment specific to motor skill performance, FitnessGram, rubrics, checking for understanding, and peer assessments.

Before the acquisition of speaker-as-own-listener (SOL) where individuals demonstrate verbal governance of their own overt and covert behavior (Skinner, 1957), individuals have to have the correspondence between listening to one’s own voice and doing, which I name self-listening. Self-listening is defined as the correspondence between listening to one’s own voice and doing in two forms: listening to one’s own voice and doing in isolation, and joining of print with listening to one’s own voice after reading aloud and doing. I conducted two experiments to investigate the establishment of self-listening in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I evaluated two different topographies of the target behavior: listen-to-own-voice-do (LOVD), which is defined as the correspondence between listening to one’s own voice and doing in isolation, and read-aloud-do (RAD), which is defined as the correspondence between reading aloud and doing. As Skinner (1957) explained, reading is an extension of listening. When individuals are reading, they see print, say print, and then hear themselves. For that reason, listening to one’s own voice was targeted as one dependent variable and reading aloud as a second to compare the participants’ performance on both topographies accurately, as RAD includes both a listening and a reading component, while LOVD includes a listening component only. Using a multiple probe design across participants, I analyzed the participants’ performance in the two different topographies, LOVD and RAD, across two different tasks: a drawing task and a building task. The participants had to follow written directions in RAD and spoken directions in LOVD to produce a drawing in the drawing task and a construction in the building task. The dependent variables were identical across Experiments I and II, but varied in terms of the measurement system for the building task. In Experiment I, the intervention was listener instruction and in Experiment II the intervention was listener and reader instruction, in which I utilized the learn unit (Albers & Greer, 1991) in presenting the instruction and consequating the participants’ correct and incorrect responses. The intervention in both experiments was presented in the form of a treasure hunt where the participants had to complete a 20-step treasure hunt accurately to earn a desired reinforcer. The results of both experiments showed that the dependent variables, LOVD and RAD, were established across all participants. There were limitations in Experiment I, which were addressed in Experiment II. Keywords: self-listener, self-listening, listening, following instructions, spoken instructions, written instructions, joining of print, say-do correspondence, speaker-as-own- listener, listen-do correspondence, read-do correspondence, reading comprehension, listening comprehension.

A functional analysis (FA) is the most commonly used assessment methodology for identifying maintaining variables influencing problem behavior. However, if an FA does not produce clear differentiation, researchers and practitioners often then modify procedures to include additional individualized variables. The interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA) provides a marked departure from FA methodology and aims to include individualized factors at the initiation of the assessment in order to more rapidly produce differentiation and clear results. We sought to further evaluate and compare the outcomes of two different functional analysis methods: the single-contingency functional analysis (FA) and the interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA) to determine the function of problem behavior and evaluate the subsequent function-based treatment determined from the functional analysis results with two children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Both participants engaged in problem behavior maintained by single-contingencies of reinforcement identified within the single-contingency FA and emphasized by the effectiveness of each single-contingency function-based treatment.

Background. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by persistent difficulties with social communication (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Due to the high prevalence of ASD there’s a significant demand for services to support these individuals and the involvement of caregivers is considered a crucial element of effective early intervention for young children with developmental disabilities (Siller & Morgan, 2018). The Incredible Years ® is an evidence-based behavioral parent training program with a large body of research demonstrating its efficacy with enhancing positive parenting practices during parent-child interactions for children with behavior problems (Menting et al., 2013). The program is built on the foundational concept of child-led free play. Recently, the program has been adapted for families with young children with developmental disabilities, Incredible Years Program for Autism Spectrum Disorder and Language Delays Ages 2-5® (IY-ASLD). IY-ASLD aims to help parents learn developmentally-attuned language and play strategies to effectively engage with toddlers with ASD or social communication delays. There are few published evaluations of IY-ASLD currently. However, the findings from pilot studies are promising in terms of the feasibility of implementation, with high levels parent satisfaction and attendance. The present study uses data from a pilot study of the IY-ASLD program (N=17), which was adapted to telehealth during COVID-19 pandemic with the assistance of program developer. This dissertation contributes to an emerging body of research by evaluating the IY-ASLD program in a community setting. By examining IY’s group treatment model in a telehealth format, we also gain valuable insight about virtual parenting interventions, which have the potential to significantly expand treatment to more families. Methods. Families were recruited from a specialized early intervention and preschool program that utilizes an Applied Behavior Analysis approach to education. Seventeen (N=17) parent-child dyads from the school enrolled in the program. All or virtually all children referred to this school by their school district are at-risk for or have been diagnosed with ASD. All of the children had an IEP or IFSP with mandated speech services, 71% of the children met criteria for ASD (N = 12) on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale-2-SF, and 2/3 of the sample had adaptive behavior composites below a standard score of 70 on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales- Third Edition Comprehensive Teacher Form (Sparrow et al., 2016) at baseline. The parent participants, all mothers, began and completed a 12-week IY-ASLD telehealth intervention delivered over HIPAA protected Zoom. Mothers were from diverse backgrounds (41% non US born), well-educated (94% college graduate) and had a high median household income. Data from participants was gathered through questionnaires administered to parents, child-functioning measures completed prior to treatment by school personnel, and parent-child interactions videos recorded in the home at pre-, mid-, and post-treatment across a 12-week IY-ASLD intervention. Primary outcome variables were parent verbal behaviors during 5-minute parent-child free play sessions recorded at each time point. Each vocal utterance during free play sessions was coded for function, consistent with the parenting skills that were targeted in the IY-ASLD program (e.g., reducing commands, questions, and corrections, increasing descriptive narration and praise, following the child’s lead). The independent variables were time and dosage (minutes spent in treatment) and the moderators were child’s functioning levels (special education teacher/clinician ratings on the Vineland Adaptive Behavioral Scales- Third Edition (Vineland-3, Sparrow et al., 2016) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Second Edition- Standard Form (CARS2= ST, Schloper et al., 2010). Results. Mothers in the IY-ASLD program significantly decreased the ratio of parent-directed language and increased the ratio of child-directed language they used during the free play sessions with large effect sizes and most of the change occurring in the mid-to-post interval. Descriptive statements (tacts) also increased significantly for all participants with large effect sizes; the number of directive or question statements (mands) decreased with medium effect sizes, though the results were not significant. Dosage was not a significant predictor of outcomes at post-treatment when pre-treatment parenting behaviors were taken into consideration, possibly due to low variability in attendance. When child level was analyzed as a moderator, there were large effect sizes for the observed changes in tacts, mands, and overall ratio of child-directed language when children were divided into ASD vs No ASD groups, but small effect sizes when looking at low vs high adaptative behavior groups. There was a significant interaction effect between change in parent language over time and ASD severity of the child; parents of children with ASD did not significantly reduce the number of mands over time, while parents of children without ASD significantly reduced their number of mands over time. This research provides support for a full-RCT of IY-ASLD in this setting, suggesting that the intervention promotes maternal use of child-directed language, particularly for children with language delays as opposed to those with more severe symptoms of ASD. Interventions such as IY-ASLD may help empower parents of preschoolers with disabilities with strategies to facilitate more rewarding free play interactions at home.

A child’s early language environment, and their parents’ active engagement during parent-child interactions play a vital role in facilitating the development of complex social reinforcers and the growth of their verbal behavior. Using a verbal behavioral approach, this study aimed to measure the statistical significance of changes in the quality and quantity of parent-child interactions after parents participated in a virtual parent-training program. The intervention used was the Incredible Years-ASLD® (Webster-Stratton, 2015) program, which consisted of 12 group parent-training sessions delivered virtually in small groups. Th e study also aimed to assess the association between parental stress and the quality and quantity of parent-child interactions. Participants were seventeen biological mother-child dyads. The participant children attended a full-day, intensive Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) preschool, with a mean age of 4 years and 3 months and either had an Individual Education Program for a preschooler with a disability or an Individualized Family Service Plan. The number of verbal operants exchanged between the mother and the child during the parent-child interactions were measured at baseline, during, and after the intervention. Parent-child interactions were designed to mirror their naturalistic interactions and consisted of a five-min structured-play task, and a five-min free-play task, which were recorded for future analysis. Self-reported parental-stress levels were measured at baseline and after the intervention using the Parenting-Stress Index-Fourth Edition, Short Form (Abidin, 2012). This pilot study was conducted to statistically evaluate the changes across all three conditions following the IY-ASLD® intervention on a) the quantity of mother-child interactions, as measured by the number of vocal-verbal operants initiated by the mothers (i.e., mands and tacts), and the number of approvals vs. disapprovals; and b) on the quality of mother-child interactions as measured by mothers’ verbal responsiveness to their children’s initiations, mothers’ effectiveness in eliciting a response from their children, and the number of missed opportunities for mothers and children. The results for the first research question demonstrated that there was a statistically significant increase in the number of tacts emitted by the mothers in the free-play task, as well as a statistically significant decrease in the number of approvals following the intervention. There were no statistically significant changes in the number of mothers’ mands or disapprovals. The results for the second research question demonstrated that, following the intervention, there was a statistically significant decrease in the number of missed opportunities for the children during the structured-play task, and in the number of missed opportunities for the mothers in both tasks. There was also a statistically significant decrease in children’s responses to mothers’ initiations in the free-play task. This study also aimed to assess the relation between parental stress and the quality and quantity of parent-child interactions. The findings suggested a statistically significant negative association during the pre-intervention condition between parental-stress and the quality of parent-child interactions, specifically, mothers’ responsiveness to their children’s initiations. Furthermore, mothers’ stress levels were significantly negatively associated with the number of mands emitted by the mothers, but not associated with the quantity of the other vocal-verbal operants.