Autism Research Papers

A well-known ASD adult, Temple Grandin suggests caregivers of ASD children that if the environments are organized to the “think in pictures” nature of ASD children, learning will be a lot easier for such children. She explains this nature to the Language-based thinkers as she translates every word that she hears or reads into the pictures and even movies. (Grandin, 1996) According to literature reviews conducted by Dettmer (2000) and Meadan(2011), the researches up to date the papers were published, agreed on the success of using visual supports to aid ASD children to social interactions, sequence and organize their life, transitions between activities, maintain attention, auditory processing, and behavioral challenges (Dettmer et al.,

Autism is a disease that is being diagnosed today more than ever before. In fact, as of 2014 the statistics for diagnosis of autism are one in sixty-eight children, with diagnosis being much more common in boys (Autism Speaks, 2016a). While there are many theories about what causes autism, there is currently not any proven predictor of what will cause this disease to develop (Landrigan, 2010). Since prevention is not possible at this time, it is extremely beneficial and important to research understanding and treatment of those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There are many avenues of treatment for ASD, but one method that has received significant attention is applied behavior analysis (ABA). The goal of this research article is to explore the definition of applied behavior analysis, its development over time, and its application to real life. Some questions that will be explored are when and where did ABA originate, how has it developed over time, and what researchers contributed new findings to this intervention. Additionally, the methods that have been developed over time to implement ABA will be discussed, specifically with their application to autism and individuals diagnosed with ASD. Finally, there will be a discussion of how skills that individuals with ASD gain from applied behavioral analysis can be applied to a classroom setting.

His repertoire has increased by 2-3 word phrases, and he has started to show interest in others. He is now capable of recognizing familiar faces and maintaining eye contact during social interactions. By following the structure of Leo’s program and with the guidance of the Behavior Analyst, I have helped Leo accomplish his targeted goals. Therefore, similar to the Behavior Analyst on Leo’s case, I aim to provide children with ASD with the necessary skills to prosper and grow as individuals. I want to help these children close the gap of limitations by understanding the importance of using functional communication, engaging in appropriate behavior, and comprehending social norms. Hence, my experience working with the Behavior Analyst has helped solidify my passion for pursuing this profession.

According to a meta-analytic review of behavioural interventions in a school environment for students with ASD, the contextual fit is a critical component of an effective intervention (Machalicek, O’Reilly, Beretvas, Sigafoos, & Lancioni, 2007). This means that an intervention that suits the teacher’s classroom program and viewed to be socially acceptable will have greater success in implementation. The current intervention was designed to suit the classroom context (eg. the use of visual activity schedule) and to be socially accepted by the teachers and Parker’s mother, and Parker (eg. the use of iPad as a token).

One of the most important concerns individuals suffering from ASD can have is the ability to understand and learn basic skills needed to survive and function when sent out on their own. These skills are usually learned with few problems in a neurologically sound individual; however, individuals with ASD find it difficult to grasp the basic concepts to effectively perform these tasks. Due to the way children with ASD process information, Dr. Kenneth Roberson, an Asperger’s Psychologist, suggests that new skills must be broken down into small steps (1). Even though these basic tasks can be learned, the rate at which they are learned is delayed and produce increased stressful situations than those with a normal functioning brain. It is important to remember when teaching these skills that individuals with ASD do not handle failure well and may shut down; because of this, these small steps need to be “designed for the individual to succeed” (1). One way in which to help ASD children

MacDonald, R., Clark, M., Garrigan, E., & Vangala, M. (2005). Using video modeling to teach pretend play to children with autism. Behavioral Interventions, 20(4), 225-238.

H., Carpenter, M., Le, L., LeBlanc, L. A., & Kellet, K. (2002). Using the picture exchange communication system (PECS) with children with autism: Assessment of PECS acquisition, speech, social‐communicative behavior, and problem behavior. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 35(3), 213-231.

As the number of students with ASD increases in the general education population, teachers often seek information for the most effective interventions in working with this population. Bonds et al. (2016) compiled a review of the literature regarding articles for considering education utility for interventions for students with ASD. The three interventions identified for having the most evidence for school-aged children included social skills interventions, behavioral interventions, and peer-mediated interventions. Peer-mediated interventions were the largest category and all studies involved 5- to 14- years-old students attending mainstream school systems. Interventions included lunchtime clubs with students with ASD and their peers sharing common interests, or direct teaching groups meeting for one to two sessions

One intervention which has been found to be to beneficial for the improvement of communication skills for individuals with ASDs is video modeling. Prelock and McCauley (2012), defined video modeling as an instructional method used to teach a behavior or a skill from viewing images of a demonstration of the targeted behavior. This intervention can be accomplished through self-modeling or the modeling by others (Prelock & McCauley, 2012).

Symbolic instruction is given using a video recorded of 2 adults role playing as parent and child with autism teaching discrimination and echoic to tact skill.

The article one emphasized social narratives or video modeling must develop and implement to assist students with ASD with symptoms range from mild cognitive, social and behavioral to severe symptoms who may be in intellectual disabilities and non-verbal (Cihak, Kildare, Smith, McMahon, & Quinn-Brown, 2012).

Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of many developmental disabilities that affect students learning. In fact, in the United States, Autism is the fastest-growing severe developmental disorder (“What is Autism,” n.d.). Also, the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder is 1 in 68 children and the prevalence in boys is 1 in 42 children (“What is Autism,” n.d.). Furthermore, Autism Spectrum Disorders also affects the way a child learns and over the years, several teaching strategies have been developed to help teachers to effectively educate students with Autism. Research has also been conducted to develop and test new teaching strategies for Autism and continues in playing an important role in the education of students with Autism.

Throughout your teaching career, there comes a point when two teachers must work together to teach a lesson. Ms. Benassuer and I had the opportunity to create a co-teaching lesson plan using the station teaching model. Ms. Benassuer and myself chose signs and symptoms of verbal and nonverbal communication in autism as our focus for the lesson. My current profession and my future goal of becoming a teacher for students with special needs is what inspired me to create a lesson on autism.

In the United States 1 in 68 individuals are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. That is 3.5 million Americans on the spectrum. (Facts and Statistics Autism Society, 2016) With so many individuals diagnosed with ASD that means that there needs to be different interventions and methods to teaching those with ASD. There is a wide range of different interventions and practices used in classrooms. But before a method or intervention is implemented in any educational setting it must go through extensive research and backed up with a lot of data. This is referred to as evidence based practices. Two interventions that are used throughout classrooms are Verbal Behavior and Naturalistic Teaching. Both of these are evidence based practices that

The population aim for these studies are children with ages ranging from 2 to 10 years old. Throughout 6 research journals, video prompting techniques are used to teach a variety of skills. To teach play skills, the video prompting method is used in different settings. In aquatic therapy, the video clip showed to the participants, requested them to pretend three aquatic play skills movements, such as a kangaroo, cycling and a snake to improve their motor performance (Yanardag, Akmanoglu, Yilmaz 2013). Efficiency and effectiveness of pretend play included video modeling method, to study the response of children with autism, when a typical develop peer preformed the skills in a video clip (Sani-Bozkurt, Ozen 2015). Imitation is essential to develop social and play skills. In this study, each caregiver independently showed pre-recorded clips of themselves performing a one-step action such as; “Let’s play” or “Let’s clean up” to their child. Each child was given 10 seconds to respond to the prompt, if the child did respond, the next action clip will be presented (Cardon, 2012). Response chains through video model imitation, was developed for children who did not benefit from the video modeling method alone. The children watched the clip continuously two times, afterward they moved to a table with the completed toy structure in a picture and the task was to complete the toy by matching the picture (Tereshko, Macdonald, Ahearn