"Social impairment and difficulty with social reciprocity--or understanding the back-and-forth nature of social interactions--is one of the defining characteristics of autism spectrum disorders. Peer-mediated interventions can address these concerns by teaching children with autism new social skills and increasing social opportunities within natural environments. Peer-mediated interventions are designed to teach typically developing peers ways of successfully engaging children with autism in positive social interactions. Socially competent peers can model and reinforce appropriate social behavior. The purpose of this literature review was to discover the effects of peer-mediated interventions on the social interaction of children with autism. Several studies have been reviewed which demonstrate that peer-mediated interventions can lead to substantial improvements in the social interactions of children with autism."--leaf 3.
An important component of Division TEACCH's mandate from the Department of Psychiatry of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the North Carolina State Legislature is to conduct research aimed toward improving the understanding of developmental disabilities such as autism and to train the professionals who will be needed to work with this challenging population. An important mechanism to help meet these goals is our annual conference on topics of special importance for the understanding and treatment of autism and related disorders. As with the preceding books in this series entitled Current Issues in Autism, this most recent volume is based on one of these conferences. The books are not, however, simply published proceedings of conference papers. Instead, cer tain conference participants were asked to develop chapters around their pres entations, and other national and intemational experts whose work is beyond the scope of the conference but related to the conference theme were asked to contribute manuscripts as weil. These volumes are intended to provide the most current knowledge and professional practice available to us at this time.
This first-of-its-kind volume describes the cognitive and educational characteristics of people with autism. Leading experts in the field contribute papers to this book, explaining intervention techniques and strategies. Parents, researchers, professionals, and clinicians interested in educating people with autism will appreciate this volume.
Although there is a push to include students with autism spectrum disorders in the general academic context, students with autism are often not fully included in the social environment of schools. Even when students with autism are in the same settings as their typically developing peers, they often have few social interactions with their peers (e.g., Carter, Hughes, Guth, & Copeland, 2005). One reason for the dearth of social interactions that students with autism have during the school day may be related to deficits in social skills which can interfere with interactions with peers. Peer networks, a type of peer-mediated intervention, have been shown to be effective in increasing the social contacts and relationships of students with disabilities. In peer networks, gains in social interactions are accomplished by providing training to general education peers who compromise a social network for the student with a disability (SWD) outside of the classroom setting. However, the literature on peer networks varies as to if specific social skills training for the SWD is included and often does not fully examine specific or even general social skills deficits of the SWD. This study examined the effectiveness of a peer network plus intervention which incorporated an explicit social skills training component within a peer network framework. Four participants with an educational diagnosis of autism participated in a 10 week peer network intervention. A social skills training component was added to the peer network systematically. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the peer network plus intervention for (a) enhancing targeted social skills of the students with autism, (b) enhancing broader social skills as measured by multiple social skill and adaptive questionnaires, and (c) increasing the number of social contacts, friendships, and interactions students with autism have in high schools. In addition, the social validity of this intervention was measured in order to determine the feasibility and acceptability for use in schools and by school personnel. Finally, the study examined the sensitivity of the Autism Social Skills Profile (ASSP, Bellini & Hopf, 2007) for use as a progress monitoring tool with these interventions. Using a multiple baseline across participants design, this study demonstrated that the social skills component of the peer network plus intervention was effective at improving the targeted social skills of all four participants. Two independent coders found Strong Overall Evidence for improvements in social skills when the social skills component was added for each participant. There was Moderate Overall Evidence for the impact of the social skills training component on the number of interactions students with autism had with their peers during the network meetings. Students with autism, peers without disabilities, and school staff interventionists all rated the intervention favorably. The ASSP was not consistently sensitive enough to detect improvements in social skills for all participants. Implications of the study, as well as limitations and directions for future research, are discussed.
"Peer supports really work: They help all students learn, make the most of teacher and paraprofessional time, and foster important social connections among students. This is the concise, practical guide every middle and high school needs to implement peer support strategies - including cooperative learning and peer tutoring - to benefit students with moderate to severe disabilities and their peers." "Filled with photocopiable planning, implementation, and evaluation tools, this must-have guide will help educators and paraprofessionals create schools where all students - with and without disabilities - achieve academic and social success."--BOOK JACKET.
This volume brings together some thought provoking discussions on inclusive education within the current education climate. Is inclusive education worth pursuing or is the fervour for its implementation subsiding as the realities of its challenges are understood?
The PEERS® Curriculum for School-Based Professionals brings UCLA's highly acclaimed and widely popular PEERS program into the school setting. This sixteen-week program, clinically proven to significantly improve social skills and social interactions among teens with autism spectrum disorder, is now customized for the needs of psychologists, counselors, speech pathologists, administrators, and teachers. The manual is broken down into clearly divided lesson plans, each of which have concrete rules and steps, corresponding homework assignments, plans for review, and unique, fun activities to ensure that teens are comfortable incorporating what they've learned. The curriculum also includes parent handouts, tips for preparing for each lesson, strategies for overcoming potential pitfalls, and the research underlying this transformative program.
This handbook discusses early childhood special education (ECSE), with particular focus on evidence-based practices. Coverage spans core intervention areas in ECSE, such as literacy, motor skills, and social development as well as diverse contexts for services, including speech-language pathology, physical therapy, and pediatrics. Contributors offer strategies for planning, implementing, modifying, and adapting interventions to help young learners extend their benefits into the higher grades. Concluding chapters emphasize the importance of research in driving evidence-based practices (EBP). Topics featured in the Handbook include: Family-centered practices in early childhood intervention. The application of Response to Intervention (RtI) in young children with identified disabilities. Motor skills acquisition for young children with disabilities. Implementing evidence-based practices in ECSE classrooms. · Cultural, ethnic, and linguistic implications for ECSE. The Handbook of Early Childhood Special Education is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, clinicians, and practitioners across such disciplines as child and school psychology, early childhood education, clinical social work, speech and physical therapy, developmental psychology, behavior therapy, and public health.
