Julia B. Stoner

Welcome to Our World Parent Perceptions of Interactions BetWeen Parents of Young Children With ASD and Education Professionals

The interaction betWeen parents of children With ASD and education professionals is a critical issue, due to increasing prevalence rates, increasing litigation, and legal mandates of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, Which require parental involvement in the education of children With disabilities. The purpose of this study Was to investigate the perceptions of parents of young children With autism spectrum disorder regarding their experiences, roles, and relationships With education professionals. Purposive sampling Was used to identify participants. Data Were collected through multiple intervieWs, observations, and documentation. A cross-case analysis method Was used to analyze the data. Findings Were confirmed using methods of triangulation, respondent validation, and member checking. The findings indicated that the interaction betWeen parents and education professionals is a dynamic and complex process. Three major themes emerged: (a) the important influences on parent perceptions, (b) common experiences that either reduced or enhanced parental trust, and (c) parental roles that Were exhibited during parent interaction With education professionals. This article specifically focuses on the first tWo themes because they are of prime importance to the development of parent-friendly strategies.

The Effectiveness of the Picture Exchange Communication System with Nonspeaking Adults

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) training was implemented with 5 nonspeaking adults with mental retardation who were not currently using any type of functional communication system. A modified ABAB, single-subject design was used to assess the effectiveness of PECS in enhancing the functional communication skills of these individuals. Three individuals progressed through 4 PECS training phases relatively quickly and developed functional skills that they were able to display in home and community settings. Two other individuals demonstrated limited progress, and the PECS training did not meaningfully alter their level of communicative competence. Implications for teaching functional communication skills to nonspeaking adults are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.

Experiences of siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and identify their self-reported support needs. We conducted in-person semi-structured interviews with 12 siblings aged 7 to 15 of children aged 6 to 15 with ASDs. Employing a qualitative collective case study research method, we conducted cross-case analyses to address our research questions. Three major themes emerged: (a) descriptions of the sibling subsystem (b) cohesion between and among the siblings, and (c) adaptability of the participant siblings to having family members with ASDs. Discussion of these findings and recommendations for future research contributes to the existing literature on siblings of children with disabilities.

An Investigation of Aided Language Stimulation: Does it Increase AAC Use with Adults with Developmental Disabilities and Complex Communication Needs?

A single subject ABAB design was used to determine the efficacy of aided language stimulation to teach the use of AAC techniques to adults with developmental disabilities. Sixteen participants were divided into two equal groups. In each group, half of the participants were able to communicate functionally using spoken language and half had complex communication needs and did not have functional, symbolic communication systems. Each group met twice weekly for 30 min per session. Researchers modeled the use of AAC and followed scripts during music-based interventions. Sessions focused on social greetings, choosing songs to play, learning words and movements for the songs, and discussing the songs. Participants were encouraged to interact with each other and to facilitate each others communications. Results suggest that responsiveness and use of AAC increased for all participants with complex communication needs.

School Principals' Influence on Trust: Perspectives of Mothers of Children with Disabilities.

ABSTRACT The authors employed a qualitative research design to explore issues of trust in family–professional relationships. They specifically focused on the nature of trust between mothers of children with disabilities and school principals. Analysis of the mothers’ responses to face-to-face interview questions yielded two primary categories related to their perspectives regarding principals: (a) personal and professional principal attributes and (b) principal actions within the education system, with students, and with students’ families. Subcategories were developed that further delineated the relationships participants had with the principals of their childrens educational programs. The authors address implications for school leadership and the establishment of trustworthy family-professional relationships, especially as they impact the lives of students and families in need of special education support.

Parent-Implemented Social-Pragmatic Communication Intervention: A Pilot Study.

This pilot study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of a home-based parent training and coaching program on the use of naturalistic and visual teaching strategies by parents of children (aged 2–5 years) with Down syndrome to promote and enhance these children’s social-pragmatic communication skills. Five parent interventionist–child dyads participated. A single-case multiple-baseline design demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the parent training and coaching program on parents’ correct use of naturalistic and visual teaching strategies. Findings suggest that parents and children benefited from the intervention. Parents learned the new teaching strategies, implemented them with high fidelity, and were satisfied with intervention procedures and outcomes. In addition, parents reported improvement in their children’s social-pragmatic communication skills. Implications for practice and future research are described.

The Use of Instructional Technology in Direct Vocabulary Instruction

A bivalent counterbalanced within-subjects research design was used to determine the effectiveness of vocabulary instruction across two instructional conditions with 30 3 to 4-year-old at-risk preschool children. Instruction presented vocabulary words via static pictures with one subgroup and via projection and animation with the other. Conditions then were reversed. Dependent variables were childrens serial free recall ability in specified categories and ability to name aloud selected pictures. There was a pretest, instructional, and posttest phase for each condition. Maintenance data were collected 12 weeks after the last posttest session. Results indicated no difference between conditions. Posttest and maintenance data indicated an increase in serial free recall and picture naming of targeted vocabulary that was maintained above the pretest level for all dependent variables.

Fathers of children with autism: perceived roles, responsibilities, and support needs

Emphasis on families’ involvement in the education of children with disabilities is evident in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and in published best practices. However, most of the research related to families of children with disabilities has focused on mothers’ experiences, involvement, and needs. There is limited information about the experiences and roles of fathers of children with disabilities. In this study, seven fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder were interviewed about their perceived roles, responsibilities, and support needs. The findings and the implications are discussed.

A meta-synthesis of team members’ voices: what we need and what we do to support students who use AAC

Abstract The ultimate goal of AAC provision is to promote students’ active participation across settings through interactions involving a variety of partners and functions. To achieve such outcomes, educational teams must collaborate and consider the characteristics of students, their families, and relevant environments during AAC assessment and intervention. To date, AAC team collaboration has rarely been evaluated collectively outside intervention or case study research. In this investigation, a meta-synthesis was conducted to review qualitative studies of perspectives of team members on supporting students who used AAC, ranging in age from kindergarten to post-secondary, in public schools in the United States. Analyses yielded three primary themes necessary for effective AAC services; inputs, activities, and outcomes. Implications and recommendations for service providers and future researchers are described.

Teaching Conceptually Referenced Core Vocabulary for Initial Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Abstract Individuals with significant intellectual disabilities who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) often fail to acquire large vocabularies. To maximize the functionality of a small vocabulary, AAC users’ initial vocabulary typically consists of words that can be used frequently across contexts and functions (i.e., core vocabulary). For many AAC users, core vocabulary often references concepts rather than concrete items. For individuals with severe intellectual disabilities, however, initial AAC vocabulary often consists of concretely referenced words instead. There is little evidence that these individuals can learn to use conceptually referenced words in initial AAC. A variation of a single subject multiple baseline design across four stimuli was used to demonstrate that an individual with severe intellectual disabilities could learn to use conceptually referenced words as an initial AAC vocabulary. As a result of the intervention (a modified PECS procedure), a 9-year-old boy with multiple disabilities, including intellectual disability and deaf-blindness, learned to make appropriate use of three conceptually referenced tactile symbols for the concepts of more, done, and new as an initial communication vocabulary.