Naomi Schneider

Using Social Stories and Visual Schedules to Improve Socially Appropriate Behaviors in Children With Autism

The current study investigated the effects of Social Stories written according to Gray’s specifications on on-task behavior in inclusive classroom settings in three children with autism. Using a multiple-baseline design across participants, modest improvements in on-task behavior were associated with implementation of an auditory-visual Social Story intervention. In follow-up analysis, the Social Story was replaced with a visual schedule component to augment the effects of Social Stories when there was room for improvement for one participant. Further improvement in on-task behavior indicates that strategies such as visual schedules may be an effective way to augment the effects of Social Stories. An effect size estimate calculated using Parker et al.’s percentage of all nonoverlapping data points procedure revealed a large effect (d = 1.33) associated with Social Stories alone, which increased (d = 1.7) when the visual schedule intervention applied to one participant was added to the analysis. Although Social Stories produced improvements in on-task behavior in children with autism, additional components, such as visual schedules, may be useful for optimizing performance.

Social skills interventions for children with autism: A meta-analytic application of percentage of all non-overlapping data (PAND)

This paper is an early attempt to apply a meta-analytic technique to a body of single-subject experimental design (SSED) research. The percentage of all non-overlapping data points (PAND) technique, a new approach to calculating effect sizes in SSEDs, was applied to 19 studies evaluating peer-mediated social-skills treatments for children with autism. On the basis of PAND analysis, more common measures of effect size were derived (Phi, Phi 2, and d) and summaries were presented for individual studies. Forest plots, often used in meta-analyses, were presented to illustrate comparisons of effects as a function of outcome measures and treatment types. On the basis of PAND analyses of the literature on peer-mediated interventions to improve the social skills of children with autism, effect sizes for this body of literature would be considered large. Although the comparability of effect-size estimates to those of group-design experiments remains in question, PAND analysis of SSEDs seems to hold promise as we add to the strategies for identifying empirically supported treatments.

Effects of an Automated Vocabulary and Comprehension Intervention: An Early Efficacy Study.

It is well established that oral language skills in preschool, including vocabulary and comprehension, predict later reading proficiency and that substantial differences in oral language skills exist when children enter school. Although explicit instruction embedded in storybooks is a promising intervention approach, high-fidelity implementation in preschool classrooms remains a challenge. An automated, explicit vocabulary and comprehension intervention embedded in books was investigated in this early efficacy study. Nine children in public prekindergarten classrooms serving low-income families participated in small group “listening centers” in which they listened to recorded stories and embedded vocabulary and comprehension lessons under headphones. A repeated acquisition single-case experimental design across instructional targets was used. Results indicate modest improvements in vocabulary and comprehension with multiple replications demonstrated within as well as across children. Automated embedded vocabulary and comprehension intervention appears to be feasible for implementation and produces promising results.

A New Framework for Systematic Reviews: Application to Social Skills Interventions for Preschoolers With Autism

This review presents a novel framework for evaluating evidence based on a set of parallel criteria that can be applied to both group and single-subject experimental design (SSED) studies. The authors illustrate use of this evaluation system in a systematic review of 67 articles investigating social skills interventions for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. Results characterize the types of treatments and research designs, the quality of studies, and effect sizes. In contrast to prior reports, this review revealed strong evidence of treatment efficacy, with group designs receiving lower ratings than SSED studies. Because this framework provides a comprehensive and transparent approach to judging the quality of studies individually and collectively, it holds promise for improving methods for identifying and implementing evidence-based practices.

Social Stories™ Improve the On-Task Behavior of Children With Language Impairment:

On-task behaviors are examined for three elementary-aged children who had impaired language and challenging behaviors that compromised their classroom participation and inclusion. A multiple-baseline design across participants was used. Each participant showed improvements in on-task behavior following Social Story™ intervention. Participants generalized and maintained their behaviors following the end of intervention. Results indicate a large effect size and that Social Stories™ might be an effective strategy for increasing on-task behavior for children with impaired language.

Efficacy of a Supplemental Phonemic Awareness Curriculum to Instruct Preschoolers With Delays in Early Literacy Development

Purpose Children who do not develop early literacy skills, especially phonological awareness (PA) and alphabet knowledge, prior to kindergarten are at risk for reading difficulties. We investigated a supplemental curriculum with children demonstrating delays in these skills. Method A cluster randomized design with 104 preschool-age children in 39 classrooms was used to determine the efficacy of a supplemental PA curriculum, PAth to Literacy. The curriculum consists of 36 daily scripted 10-min lessons with interactive games designed to teach PA and alphabet skills. A vocabulary intervention (Story Friends), which also uses a small-group format, served as the comparison condition. Results Multilevel modeling indicated that children in the experimental condition demonstrated significantly greater gains on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) First Sound Fluency (Dynamic Measurement Group, 2006) and Word Parts Fluency (Kaminski & Powell-Smith, 2011) measures. Educational relevance was evident: 82% of the children in the experimental condition met the kindergarten benchmark for First Sound Fluency compared with 34% of the children in the comparison condition. Teachers reported overall satisfaction with the lessons. Conclusions Results indicated that the vast majority of children demonstrating early literacy delays in preschool may benefit from a supplemental PA curriculum that has the potential to prevent reading difficulties as children transition to kindergarten.

Embedded Instruction Improves Vocabulary Learning During Automated Storybook Reading Among High-Risk Preschoolers.

PURPOSE We investigated a small-group intervention designed to teach vocabulary and comprehension skills to preschoolers who were at risk for language and reading disabilities. These language skills are important and reliable predictors of later academic achievement. METHOD Preschoolers heard prerecorded stories 3 times per week over the course of a school year. A cluster randomized design was used to evaluate the effects of hearing storybooks with and without embedded vocabulary and comprehension lessons. A total of 32 classrooms were randomly assigned to experimental and comparison conditions. Approximately 6 children per classroom demonstrating low vocabulary knowledge, totaling 195 children, were enrolled. RESULTS Preschoolers in the comparison condition did not learn novel, challenging vocabulary words to which they were exposed in story contexts, whereas preschoolers receiving embedded lessons demonstrated significant learning gains, although vocabulary learning diminished over the course of the school year. Modest gains in comprehension skills did not differ between the two groups. CONCLUSION The Story Friends curriculum appears to be highly feasible for delivery in early childhood educational settings and effective at teaching challenging vocabulary to high-risk preschoolers.

Academic Vocabulary Learning in First Through Third Grade in Low-Income Schools: Effects of Automated Supplemental Instruction

Purpose This study investigated cumulative effects of language learning, specifically whether prior vocabulary knowledge or special education status moderated the effects of academic vocabulary instruction in high-poverty schools. Method Effects of a supplemental intervention targeting academic vocabulary in first through third grades were evaluated with 241 students (6-9 years old) from low-income families, 48% of whom were retained for the 3-year study duration. Students were randomly assigned to vocabulary instruction or comparison groups. Results Curriculum-based measures of word recognition, receptive identification, expressive labeling, and decontextualized definitions showed large effects for multiple levels of word learning. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that students with higher initial Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition scores (Dunn & Dunn, 2007) demonstrated greater word learning, whereas students with special needs demonstrated less growth in vocabulary. Conclusion This model of vocabulary instruction can be applied efficiently in high-poverty schools through an automated, easily implemented adjunct to reading instruction in the early grades and holds promise for reducing gaps in vocabulary development.

Children with autism can be taught to ask and answer where questions

Abstracted from: Koegel, L. K., Koegel, R. L., Green-Hopkins, I., & Carter Barnes, C. (2010). Question-asking and collateral language acquisition in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 509–515. Source of funding and disclosure of interest: This research was supported by NIMH grant #MH28210, NIH grant 010924 from NIDCD, the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Foundation, and the Kelly Family Foundation. The authors do not comment on whether there were any conflicts of interest.