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Comparing Three Forms of External Structure for the Ability to Increase Executive Functioning in Preschoolers on the Autism Spectrum

<p> Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a noted deficit in executive function which concurrently employs multiple systems in the brain to complete complex tasks. Executive function skills begin developing around the age of four years and continue developing throughout life, potentially impacting the entire life span of an individual. Service providers need cost effective and efficient strategies to address executive functioning disorders in preschoolers with ASD in typical educational settings by school personnel. Using a multiple baseline design across behaviors, this research compares the use of Power Cards, video modeling, and Social Stories&trade; to: 1) teach early executive function behaviors; 2) generalize behaviors to a Pre-Kindergarten setting; and 3) maintain the behaviors after one and two months following the withdrawal of intervention materials. Results indicate all three strategies were effective in increasing executive function behaviors, although the strength of the strategies varied among the five preschoolers who participated. Three of five students were able to generalize the behaviors when instructed utilizing Power Cards and video modeling, while two of five were able to generalize to the new setting after instruction using Social Stories&trade;. Maintenance results proved to stratify the efficacy of the strategies showing four of five students maintained above intervention levels after instruction using Social Stories&trade;, three of five maintained utilizing video modeling and zero of five students maintained following the Power Card strategy.</p>

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10196536
Date28 December 2016
CreatorsDarley, Sharon Delores
PublisherPiedmont College
Source SetsProQuest.com
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typethesis

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