Theses and Dissertations - Department of Communicative Disorders

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Browsing Theses and Dissertations - Department of Communicative Disorders by Subject "Behavioral sciences"

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    Peer mediated intervention to improve social communication in young children with ASD
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Craft, Lydia Dyer; Barber, Angela B.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    To date, no study has measured the effects of peer-mediated intervention (PMI) on autism symptoms in children under than four years of age. The current study examines the efficacy of the Stay, Play, Talk PMI (English, K., Shafer, K., Goldstein, H., & Kaczmerek, L., 1997) on the social communication skills of young children diagnosed with autism. The investigator paired three typically developing children (ages 3-5 years) each with a young child with autism (ages 3-4 years). These dyads played together during two to three, 20-minute weekly sessions for 6-8 weeks. A multiple baseline design across participants was implemented to measure the effectiveness of PMI on young children with autism's social initiations and responses characterized by non-coordinated gestures, gestures, and words. The investigator coded the frequency of each child's social initiations and responses to topics/conversations for each 20-minute play sessions. All three children with autism demonstrated increased social responses, though initiations remained variable. Typical peer buddies demonstrated increases in social initiations and responses. Results of this study support the usefulness of this intervention to improve social communication of young children with autism and contribute to limited knowledge of effective early social communication interventions for young children with autism.
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    The relationship of developmental functioning to symptom presentation in young children with ASD
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Pouncey, Melissa VanKirk; Barber, Angela B.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    The present study examined the differences between young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and typical development (TD) on developmental skills and core symptoms of ASD. Further, the relationship between core symptoms of ASD and developmental functioning level were assessed. Specific symptoms, joint attention, symbolic play, gestures, and RSB, as well as general symptom categories were assessed in children with ASD (n=10) and children with typical developmental (n=10) who were matched on mental age and gender. Method: Measures of social communication, speech, symbolic play, gestures, and joint attention were obtained through the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS: Wetherby and Prizant, 2002). Developmental level was measured using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL: Mullen, 1992). Results: Children with ASD demonstrated decreased abilities in symbolic play and understanding, social communication, joint attention, and gestures compared to children with TD. Children with ASD also demonstrated more RSB with body and objects. Strong correlations among social, symbolic, speech, and gestural were observed. Speech and symbolic skills, as well as social and gestural skills were the only relationships to remain highly correlated even when developmental level was controlled. Conclusions: These findings highlight the diagnostic significance of developmental level to core symptoms of ASD. Research aims and the impact of these findings on the development of specific therapy goals are also discussed.