Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities

This paper analyzed 10 commercially available functional curriculum models designed for secondary students with mild-to-moderate mental impairment. The models were examined with respect to the inclusion of functional curriculum components, the domains and subdomains of adulthood, the materials identified by the model to be used to deliver the curriculum, and the incorporation of best practices for teaching. Results indicate that none of the models reviewed adequately addressed the needs of this population for learning in terms of providing a functional curriculum. Overall, the analysis suggests that more appropriate curriculum models need to be developed, such as one that is designed to be balanced, comprehensive, and coherent for secondary students with mild mental impairment. In addition, more research is needed on functional curricula, including the components of this approach.

Significant attention has been paid in the literature to sibling relationships and the effects of birth order, family size, and gender on such relationships. Although these are important areas to study, there is relatively little research on the effects of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) on sibling relationships. The existent research identifies both positive and negative factors in such sibling relationships. This paper analyzes the studies that are available on ASD and sibling relationships, discusses findings, identifies implications, and makes recommendations for improving sibling relationships when one sibling has ASD.

The purpose of this paper is to review intervention research to determine the types of family support that are reported and evaluated in early childhood. This review includes 26 articles evaluating (a) parent training programs; (b) general family-centered practice models which offer comprehensive supports; (c) peer support; (d) two-generation programs; and (e) respite care. In the article, we focus our discussion on: (a) the definitions or description of family support, (b) the family variables or impacts evaluated and their findings, and (c) the link between support and impacts to both the ECO outcomes and the family quality of life domains. This review indicates a need for specific and consistent terminology in defining family support in the early intervention field. Further, a family support framework to guide future research to investigate both long-term and short-term outcomes for families is warranted.

Assessment systems are needed that are sensitive to employees’ work performance as well as their need for support, while incorporating the input from both employees and their supervisors. This study examined the correspondence of one such evaluation system, the Job Observation and Behavior Scale (JOBS) and the JOBS: Opportunity for Self-Determination (JOBS: OSD), to establish whether performance and support evaluations administered by work supervisors would match self-determined perceptions of the same variables by sheltered and supported employees with disabilities. Results showed that JOBS ratings established by supervisors did not correspond closely to employees’ self-determined ratings for any of the JOBS’ subscales (Work-Required Daily Living Activities, Work-Required Behavior, and Work-Required Job Duties). Results also showed that employees consistently overestimated their work performance and underestimated their support needs relative to supervisors’ ratings. These results suggest that major discrepancies exist between supervisors’ and employees’ perceptions of their work performance and support needs. These discrepancies may be important as job coaches, teachers, rehabilitation professionals, and employees and students with disabilities participate in employment preparation and transition planning.

Play is widely acknowledged to be an integral part of human development and children with autism often experience substantial delays in the development of play behaviors. This review updates older reviews by covering the last 10 years of research targeting functional and symbolic play in children with autism. The review differs from other reviews concerning play by including all conceptual models and intervention environments, while also limiting inclusion to studies demonstrating experimental control. Additionally, this is the first review of play studies to report results in quantifiable terms (e.g. PND). Studies are grouped into two categories (i.e. studies of functional versus symbolic play). Three components (i.e. modeling, prompting with contingent reinforcement, and child directed or “naturalistic” instruction) appear related to successful play interventions. The results of this review suggest that these components underlie the effectiveness of successful play intervention for children with autism.

Three elementary aged students with autism participated in an evaluation of computer based video instruction that targeted functional life skills. The effects of the software were analyzed in the context of a multiple probe design across and replicated across participants. This study represents a departure from more traditional video based instruction for individuals with autism because it combines video modeling as well as computer based simulation training in absence of any in-vivo instruction. All instruction took place on the computer and student's performance in vivo was the primary dependent measure. The participants each mastered all the skills they were taught via the computer and generalized this to the natural environment. They maintained the skills after a two-week follow up.

This study compared the effectiveness of self-, other-, and subjective-video models on teaching daily living skills to three individuals with developmental disabilities. Results indicated that all conditions were effective in promoting independent correct responding in both instructional and generalization settings and that the effects maintained over time. Two of the three participants engaged in more independent correct responding when they were taught skills with the other model condition, while the other participant engaged in more independent responding on the target skill when the subjective model condition was the instructional procedure. However, there were significant differences between the model types when time needed to create the stimulus materials was considered. Creation of self-modeling materials required almost twice as much time as the otherand subjective-modeling materials, which made self-models less cost effective in terms of teacher time and outcomes.

According to previous researchers, parents of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) consistently report more stress than parents of typically developing children or children with other developmental disorders (e.g., Down syndrome). This has peaked interest in the field in a related area, that being, identifying the coping strategies parents use to deal with the stressors of rearing a child on the autism spectrum. The available literature on coping strategies primarily has focused on interviewing parents to find out what strategies they currently use and if these are effective, which has resulted in mixed findings. A selected synthesis of the stress literature pertaining to coping strategies is provided to highlight the high levels of reported stress already experienced by families of children with ASD and what strategies the parents report aid them in coping with the stress. This literature review is presented for two purposes: (a) highlight relevant findings and methodological issues with current research, and (b) discuss implications for researchers and practitioners working with children with ASD and their families who exhibit increased levels of stress.

A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a file box system plus self-monitoring on the organizational skills of four fourth and fifth grade students with high functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Instruction took place in general education classrooms and consisted of teaching students to arrange academic materials (worksheets, note pages, study guides etc.) in a portable file box with hanging folders. Students were also taught to self-monitor their accuracy. The percentage of correctly filed items and the number of seconds it took students’ to retrieve requested items were the dependent variables assessed across conditions. Results showed that the percentage of correctly filed items increased and the number of seconds required to locate specific items decreased with the use of the file system box. These findings demonstrate how a simple noninvasive and affordable classroom modification can improve performance of children with HFA and AS in general education classrooms.

High functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger syndrome (AS) are foremost social disorders (Church, Alisanski, & Amanullah, 2000; Myles & Simpson, 2001) yet many students with HFA/AS experience difficulties with academic functioning. Educators report difficulties in teaching and identifying appropriate educational interventions for children with HFA/AS. Research in the area of academic achievement of children with HFA/AS is in the stage of infancy and more research is needed (Prior, 2003). To address the need for development of appropriate academic interventions, several research studies have been conducted to determine the academic achievement profile of children with AS/ HFA (Barnhill, Hagiwara, Smith Myles, & Simpson, 2000; Mayes & Calhoun, 2003a, 2003b, 2008; Goldstein, Minshew, & Siegel, 1994; Griswold, Barnhill, Smith Myles, Hagiwara, & Simpson, 2002; Minshew, Goldstein, Taylor, & Siegel, 1994). This article provides a synthesis of the literature on the academic achievement of students with HFA/AS from 1981 to the present to help determine if an academic profile for students with HFA/AS emerges.

Persons with intellectual disability may encounter difficulties in making choices and expressing preferences because of restricted communication skills or a tendency to acquiesce. In addition, many studies provide evidence that these persons have less opportunity to make choices and express their preferences. The aim of this study was to conduct a field test of an innovative method to assess vocational preferences using choice and task completion observations. Sixteen educators were trained to use this method. They were recruited through local developmental disability agencies specializing in services for persons with intellectual disability in the Province of Quebec (Canada). Nineteen persons with intellectual disability were assessed. Occurrences of four types of behaviors (choice, refusal, positive emotional and off-task behaviors), as well as length of time spent working on the task, were computed to determine levels of preferences. Interviews were conducted with the educators to collect their perceptions regarding the effectiveness and usefulness of the method as a measure of its value in use. Results suggest that this method is useful to assess vocational preferences with persons with intellectual disability. Interviews conducted with educators reveal a high satisfaction with the method. Vocational preferences assessment should rely on frequency of choices, as other behaviors previously considered as expressing preferences are not reliable. This study also provides further evidence that proxy opinions may differ from one's actual preferences.

Special education outcomes were evaluated for 3,608 children (2,513 males) with a preschool history of developmental disability. Sixty-six percent of the children had an identified disability in fourth grade. The percentage of children with a disability at outcome varied across preschool disability categories from 54% to 96%. The consistency of classification at preschool and outcome was relatively high for children with trainable mental handicap/profound mental handicap (TMH/PMH), emotional handicap/severe emotional disturbance (EH/SED), specific learning disability (SLD), and autism (AT) and lower for children with educable mental handicap (EMH), speech and/or language impairment (SI/LI), and developmental delay (DD). Understanding the nature and course of developmental disabilities can inform early intervention services, service planning, and resource management.