Autism Annotated Bibliography

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurological disorder that impacts a person’s ability to communicate and form relationships. It is one of the fastest growing developmental disorders in the US. The diagnosis for autism is rising 10-17% each year with an estimated 2 million people diagnosed with the disorder. People who fall under the spectrum have pervasive deficits in social communications and social interactions across multiple contexts. They have repetitive and restrictive patterns of behaviors, activities or interest. The DSM-5 diagnoses this disorder under two different criteria’s: Social communications and social interaction deficits and repetitive behaviors. To meet the criteria an individual must demonstrate all of these

My personal experience working with individuals with autism have shown me a deterioration in their social interaction and in verbal and non-verbal communication behaviors. Dole & Iland (2005) cited the US Individual Disability Education Act that “classifies a child with autism when the child has significant disability in verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction that affects the child’s performance educationally”. Mostly, people who are diagnosed with autism have proof of echolalia, which is a speech pattern that affects their social interaction with others. By definition, echolalia is a repetition or echoing of verbal words made by individual. According to Prizant (1983), more than 70% of individuals with autism show

Ganz and Simpson (2004) were attempting to discredit this argument. They did this by trying to determine if the language abilities of three children with ASD would increase after the inclusion of a PECS program into their treatment plans. The researchers in this article found that two of the children who took part in this study made large gains in their ability to use the PECS system (they were both able to make it the phase 4). However, the third participant was unable to master any levels of the PECS protocol and, instead, had to use a modified PECS system. They also found that none of the three participants readily verbalized their wants at any point of the PECS phases, showing that the use of PECS is not always going to lead to an increase in expressive communication skills. This result adds strength to the argument that PECS interventions, don't increase the verbal communication abilities of children with ASD. However, the PECS program was still able to increase requesting capabilities. The researchers brought up other areas that require further research. These areas included; the need to understand comorbid diagnoses, other factors that might lead to an individual not being positively affected by a PECS program, and the modification of

This paper presents the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), which is a behaviorally image based message that was developed in 1985 by Andrew S. Bondy Ph. D and Lori Frost, M.S., CCC/SLP in order to help children under the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to communicate with their environment. In this work I would like to present to the reader the theory behind this social intervention for children with autism which is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), then I want to explain the six phases of PECS, and the application within the classroom settings. At the end, these definitions would help us to better understand concepts and try to apply this technique in our diverse teaching-learning settings in order to help children under the Autism

The hallmarks of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involve marked deficits in social interaction as well as engagement in repetitive behaviors and language difficulties (Leblanc, Richardson, & Warnie, 2005). Although autism can have a profound impact on the capabilities and functioning of the individual, emerging research indicates that applied behavioral analysis (ABA) can be an effective tool for addressing many of the deficits that children with ASD face (Boutot & Myles, 2016). In fact, emerging research indicates that when ABA is utilized for the treatment of young children with ASD many of the challenges faced by this group can be ameliorated (Boutot & Myles, 2016). With these issues in mind the current investigation considers the seven elements of ABA identified by Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) in their seminal article on applied behavioral analysis and their application to individuals with ASD. Through a critical review of the seven elements of ABA in relation to ASD it will be possible to illustrate how this approach can be effective for improving outcomes for individuals diagnosed with autism.

In the article, “Family Connections: Visual Supports for Promoting Social Skills in Young Children: A Family Perspective,” (2012), it speaks about how children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have a difficult time with social, emotional, and other behavior challenges at home. This can be a very difficult thing when trying to communicate and trying to build relationships with people. The article states that, “many children with ASD require specialized supports to experience success in developing social interaction and communication skills” (Moody, 2012, p. 191). Therefore, the article suggests that using visual supports are very effective. Furthermore, it discusses how important social skills are, how visual supports can

For example, autistic children often use “picture boards” to communicate with others or learn a daily routine. The efficacy of visual instruction may generalize to higher-level skills such as social interaction. Ganz, Kaylor, Bourgeois, and Hadden (2008) used visual cues while instructing three children with ASD to follow social scripts. This study expanded on previous findings that autistic children who are taught to perform social scripts demonstrate improved conversational skills. For each child, the researchers created three scripts for different activities such as playing in a sandbox or coloring. A script consisted of short sentences the child could say while conversing with a peer about the activity. Each child was first taught his or her scripts to mastery. Research established baseline performance by instructing the child to perform a script with a peer for the first time. During the conversation, the participant received no other cues. Each child subsequently underwent intervention sessions, during which they were shown cue cards with appropriate lines of their script accompanied by a picture as they conversed with their peer. Lastly, the child was again required to perform the script without cues in a return-to-baseline condition. During baseline, intervention, and return sessions, researchers noted the verbal statements that the participant made, categorizing statements as scripted, unscripted, and preservative. Unscripted speech consisted of any statements not in the script, and unscripted statements were also categorized as preservative if they were repetitions of a previously spoken statement or out-of-context sentences. Researchers responded to perseverative statements discouragingly by showing a “shhh” card containing a drawing of a face with an index finger over the

autism. The present investigation focused on the use of PECS and other picture and or visual

Purpose of the study This case study examines the effects that the use of picture exchange has in the reduction of the extreme aggressive behavior of a preschooler with autism. Method This study was carried out in a general education preschool classroom during the typical daily play routines.

A widely used communication tool for with children of autism is a system known as The Picture Exchange System (PECS). This system provides opportunities for communication for children with limited or no functional speech the ability to communicate non-verbally. PECS provides children with autism to communicate non-verbally, enhances children the ability to develop a verbal communication, which limit on appropriate behaviors and enables increase socialization. PECS is composed of six phases- Phase 1), learn how to communicate, 2) Distance and Persistence, 3) Picture Discrimination, 4) Sentence Structure, 5) Answering Questions, and 6) Commenting. (Green, & Sandt, 2013) Utilizing the PAC System children are taught to approach a person, present a picture of a desired item exchange for that item. All communication that can be symbolized on a picture will facilitate communication from both the child and the person the child is communicating.

The study observed three boys with Autism aged 3-8 years who all had limited communication

Children with autism demonstrate impairments in social interactions, social reciprocity, relationships, verbal and nonverbal communication, imitation, and play skills (American Psychiatric Association, 2001). However, children diagnosed with autism have been demonstrated to experience deficiencies to initiate or maintain conversations with their peers, in particular those activities that are interesting for them. In recent studies, interventionists have been shown to implement methods to teach social imitations and interactions to this group of children.Using video modeling intervention to teach social skills to children with autism has demonstrated throughout several years to be a useful intervention to teach communication skills to children

The scientific study, “Behavior Predictors of Language Development over Two Years in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders,” conducted by Karen D. Bopp, Pat Mirenda, and Bruno Zumbo was published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. This study was conducted in British Columbia, Canada from data retrieved from a database of another study. The goal of this study was to determine if certain types of behaviors often displayed by autistic children before intervention could be predictors of the language abilities they would develop.

This article is about utilizing the Ipad and PECS to help students with autism to communicate. It indicates that utilizing PECSTM with teacher modeling is more likely to lead to independent communication attempts. It discusses how the PECSTM protocol teaches children by having them point to a picture in order to repeat a sentence.

Most stages of autism compromise one’s ability to comprehend sounds, words, and expressions. Many people with autism’s ability to communicate verbally is hindered due to a concept known as sensory overload. People with autism get overwhelmed by the various aspects that conversations are composed of; such as auditory information, bodily gestures, and facial expressions – it causes them to avoid engaging in