Corinna F. Grindle

Outcomes of a behavioral education model for children with autism in a mainstream school setting

The authors report 1-year outcomes for 11 children (3-7 years) with autism who attended an “Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) classroom” educational intervention in a mainstream school setting. The children learned new skills by the end of 1 year and learned additional skills during a 2nd year. Group analysis of standardized test outcomes (IQ and adaptive behavior) showed moderate to large effect size changes over 1 year, with further changes during a 2nd year. Standardized test outcomes for nine children after 2 years were also analyzed against a comparison group (n = 18) of children with autism receiving “education as usual.” These controlled comparisons were associated with statistically significant large effects in favor of the ABA group for adaptive skills. Exploratory analysis also showed that increases in language and learning skills in the ABA class group were generally associated with positive changes in standardized test scores. A comprehensive behavioral intervention model can be successfully implemented in a mainstream school setting.

An Individualised Curriculum to Teach Numeracy Skills to Children with Autism: Programme Description and Pilot Data.

Teaching mathematics to children with autism is an area with limited research evidence. In this study we developed a teaching manual based on Maths Recovery, a numeracy programme designed for typically developing children. Six children with autism participated in the study and received daily numeracy teaching over a 20-week period. Our aims were to explore whether Maths Recovery can be used as a numeracy curriculum for children with autism and to evaluate the progress the children make after a period of intensive teaching. Using a pre-test post-test design we found that the adapted Maths Recovery numeracy curriculum was successfully incorporated within each childs individualised teaching programme, and that all six children improved their mathematical ability over the course of the intervention. Our data show promising results and support the rationale for larger evaluation studies.

Teaching early reading skills to adult offenders with intellectual disability using computer-delivered instruction

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the feasibility, and effectiveness, of using Headsprout Early Reading (HER), an online computer program, to teach basic reading skills to adult offenders with mild intellectual disabilities (IDs) in a secure hospital. Design/methodology/approach A single subject pre-post-test design replicated across two participants was used. Two standardized literacy tests were completed at baseline, half way through the intervention, and at the end of the intervention period. A measure of reading self-concept was also completed. An additional component to this research design was the inclusion of two “treatment as usual” (TAU) control participants who did not complete the program. Findings Results are positive in terms of the feasibility of running the program, improved reading skills, and self-concept scores for both “intervention” participants compared to the “TAU” participants. Originality/value HER was originally developed for typically developing children, and has been found to be effective for children with IDs and developmental disabilities. This is the first study to evaluate this program with an adult population.