Collection | Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Presenters: Natalie Andzik, Rob Pennington, Jay Ganz, Susan Johnston, and Christopher Russell

Time: 57 minutes

In this exciting session, four expert panelists will discuss communication instructional practices and supports for students with complex communication needs (CCN). They will offer research informed guidance to practitioners, teacher educators, and family members for ensuring all students have the communication skills to maximize quality of life outcomes.

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe strategies for teaching a range of communication skills to students with CCN.
2. Describe approaches for improving teacher preparation and training in the area of communication instruction.
3. Describe several potential barriers to improving communication outcomes for students with CCN and provide suggestions for overcoming them.

Presenter: Thea Brain

Time: 28 minutes

Peer-mediated instruction (PMI) is an evidence-based practice that involves teaching typically developing peers to interact with and help learners with developmental disabilities acquire new social skills within natural environments. This presentation will provide a brief overview of PMI research, followed by a description of a research study that employed a low-intensity instructional package with classmates of three middle school students with ASD. The study found increased social engagement and communication for all three participants with ASD. The focus of the presentation will be the discussion of the instructional package and implementation considerations for school teams.

Participants will be able to:

1. Have knowledge of the research supporting the use of PMIs in school settings to support increased social engagement for students with ASD or other developmental disabilities.
2. Identify the steps involved in behavioural skills training (BST) and will be able to describe how BST can be used to train peer coaches to implement a low-intensity PMI.
3. Learn the specific skills taught in a low-intensity PMI for students in middle-school: DO, HELP, TALK.

Presenters: Jessica Steinbrenner, Kara Hume, and Samuel L. Odom

Time: 42  minutes

This session will provide an overview of a recently completed update to a large-scale systematic review to identify evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism. We will present information about updated practices, as well as share resources to support practitioners in learning and implementing evidence-based practices.

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe the process for identified EBPs for students with autism.
2. Identify practices that are confirmed by research literature as evidence-based.
3. Locate resources to support the selection and use of evidence-based practices.

Presenters: Jenny Root, Ph.D., Sarah Cox, Addie McConomy, Deidre Gilley, and Taryn Wade

Time: 51 minutes

This hands-on session will demonstrate a research-based strategy for teaching students with autism and intellectual disability to solve math word problems. Participants will practice writing problems and planning instruction for their students. The goal is to increase student independence and generalize math skills to real-world activities.

Participants will be able to:

1. Articulate the importance of teaching math problem solving.
2. Write accessible word problems across domains.
3. Plan for MSBI by considering barriers their students may face to access, conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and generalization.
4. Create a streamlined data collection process that can be used to make instructional changes.

Presenters: Michele Havens and Elisa Chrem

Time: 57 minutes

Many children diagnosed with ASD have limited communication skills. Technologies, such as the iPad, have great applicability with this population as a method of age-appropriate and community-accepted communication skills.  Children with ASD may have a strong interest in technology, but it is not used due to repetitive and self-directed behavior. Many therapists and educators avoid the use of the iPad due to the repetitive and self-directed nature of this technology.  This presentation will address using the iPad with current apps, with developmental principles, productively with this population.

Participants will be able to: 

1. Discuss the 16 developmental strategies to engage, connect, mobilize and develop play skills.
2. Identify and describe at least 3 techniques to teach play skills to a child with developmental challenges.
3. Describe at least 3 developmental strategies for using the iPad for communication, play and leisure skills with students with developmental challenges, using at least 5 iPad apps.

Presenter: Jenee Vickers Johnson

Time: 52  minutes

This session summarizes intensive toilet training (ITT) methods and implementation in public schools. Guidelines for preparing and initiating ITT will be described. Attendees will learn to select procedures according to learner characteristics and instructional settings. Additional guidance regarding progress monitoring to resolve toileting problems are included with strategies for promoting independence.

Participants will be able to:

1. List and describe the primary procedures in intensive toilet training.
2. Evaluate learner characteristics and available resources to develop efficient and feasible toileting program.
3. Use progress-monitoring data to modify ITT when students are progressing appropriately or making insufficient progress.

Presenter: Padmaja Sarathy

Time: 160 minutes

Changes in routines, activities, materials, or environments can trigger transition-related tantrums in children with ASD. Experiencing anxiety and stress, they may engage in aggressive or oppositional behaviors. This workshop, drawing from evidence-based best-practices, will demonstrate how to pursue child-focused approaches - seven support strategies - to prevent transition-related meltdowns and make smooth transitions. You will get to assess your current practices in the context of multiple transitions that occur during a typical day augmented with child and context-specific applications.

Learners will:

1. Understand the underlying factors that contribute to the transition-related problem behaviors to pursue flexible approaches in responding to the needs of children with ASD.
2. Provide child and context--specific environmental, instructional, and social supports to decrease tantrum triggers.
3. Cultivate children's self-regulation and cognitive flexibility skills for longer-term outcomes.
4. Create a safe steps action plan working collaboratively as a team inclusive of family to follow during severe meltdowns.

Presenters: Jordan Stierle, Alex Carlson, and Joseph Ryan

Time: 23 minutes

This presentation will provide an overview of two free iOS device apps which help support independence for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Participants will learn about a Task Analysis app and a Meal Planner app that can be downloaded and used with the individuals they serve. Additionally, the results of successful studies with both apps will be shared.

Participants will be able to:

1. Discover the ClemsonLIFE Task Analysis app that allows parents or teachers to create step-by-step tasks with videos, pictures, and word cues to support independent living and employment skills.
2. Discover the ClemsonLIFE Meal Planner app which is used to personalize meal planning, grocery shopping, and inventory for the individuals they serve.
3. Have the opportunity to download both apps, try them in real time, and create a task and/or meal in the apps.

Presenter: Stephanie Morano

Time: 5 minutes

Presenters will report discourse analysis results from a mixed-methods intervention study focused on improving math problem solving performance for high school students with ASD. Results describe the types of questions participants used to advance the problem solving process, and the teacher behaviors that best supported effective questioning.

Participants will be able to:

1. Learn about the importance of questioning to meaningful communication about mathematical problem solving.
2. Learn about effective teacher behaviors and strategies for supporting student questioning.
3. Discuss the importance of improving mathematical communication skills for students with ASD.