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Children with Autism and Communication skills
Research Proposal
Abstract
This paper consists of a research proposal that deals with the question of if it would make a difference for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to read age appropriate books to improve their communication skills? Why this is relevant to the field of social work and important to readers is also included. The paper also includes a literature review that provides background information about ASD and services that these children need in order to succeed at better communicating and advocating for themselves. Also discussed, is the fact that little research has been done on the best learning tools and environment for students with ASD, information that is important for social workers, teachers, parents, and students so students with ASD can be given the right learning tools to help them communicate.
The next section of this research proposal is the methodology. This section discusses how to collect the data, protecting the privacy and rights of the children involved in the study, and any ethical issues that may arise. Then in the following section it will discuss how it will disseminate the results of the study to the public and how I will ensure that the studies participants remain unidentifiable. The final section, the appendices, includes an example of a possible consent form and the survey questions I intend to use.
Statement of the Problem
The topic of children with Autism and communication skills seems to be an issue that has been going on for quite a while now. The ability of children with ASD to communicate and use of language depends on their intellectual and social development. Some children with ASD may not be able to communicate using speech or language, and some may have very limited speaking skills. Others may have rich vocabularies and be able to talk about specific subjects in great detail. Many have problems with the meaning and rhythm of words and sentences. They also may be unable to understand body language and the meanings of different vocal tones. Taken together, these difficulties affect the ability of children with ASD to interact with others, especially people their own age. Teaching children with ASD is essential for helping them reach their full potential so that they can become more efficient in their communication, reading and writing skills.
The study is relevant to social work practice because children with Autism and communication skills are at a risk so social workers must pay extra attention to this population to ensure that they are receiving the right services to help them communicate. Children with Autism often have a negative educational experience which leads to negativity about school in general. With such negative school experiences children with Autism feel uncomfortable in their learning environments.
Literature Review
An article from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders talked about some of the patterns of language use and behaviors that are often found in children with ASD. One was repetitive or rigid language. Often children with ASD who can speak will say things that have no meaning or that do not relate to the conversation that they are having with others. There is also times where a child may respond to a question by asking the same question which is a condition called Echolalia and occurs mainly when the child responds to a question by asking the same question. Children with ASD also tend to have uneven language development. They often do not respond to the speech of others and may not even respond to their own names. As a result these children are sometimes mistakenly thought to have a hearing problem. A major one is poor nonverbal conversation skills. Children with ASD are often unable to use gestures- such as pointing to an object- to give meaning to their speech. They often ten to avoid eye contact which can make them seem rude, uninterested and even inattentive. Without meaningful gestures or other nonverbal skills to enhance their oral language skills, many children with ASD become frustrated in their attempts to make their feelings, thoughts and needs known. They may act out their frustration through vocal outbursts or other inappropriate behaviors.
A study from an Article Using Evidence- Based practices to Teach Writing to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders talked about many practices that can be implemented into a traditional writing program to help improve the writing of children with ASD. For example a major component that was stated in the article was how self–management might be implemented in writing classrooms for children who have ASD. Goal setting is an important component that can be taught to children who have ASD to improve their writing skills. Before beginning any piece of writing, teachers should take the time to talk to the students about their goals. They may provide a planning guide, for example that asks students to set a goal in the earliest stage of writing. This goal could then be modified as the child progresses through the writing process. Goal setting can also be combined with self- monitoring whether the goal is actually being met and the best way to accomplish this is with tools such as graphic organizers so that way students can determine whether or not they need to make revisions to include more elements in their piece.
The article also discussed how visual supports could be helpful in being implemented in a writing classroom. Mnemonic devices are one type of visual support that can be used specifically to help students remember the required parts of a genre. For example students could use the TREE mnemonic or students can also learn how to color code different components of their essay. Students can use graphic organizers, pictorial timelines or semantic maps they complete after reading a text as a planning tool for an essay. These are especially useful when working with expository texts or factual information to make the concepts more concrete for students with ASD.
A study from the Evaluation of classroom active engagement in Elementary students with Autism spectrum disorder states that active engagement in students with ASD have primarily conceptualized and measured active engagement through on-task classroom behavior, using a single subject research design, Nicholson measured on task behavior in four third grade students with ASD participating in special education classrooms using the behavioral observation of students in schools, an observation tool that allows for the categorization of active and passive on task behavior. The authors found that students with ASD spent limited time on task immediately following intervention (Nicholson et, al. 2011). This shows that children with ASD are not being taught the right skills to be able to communicate well with others.
Methodology
The way that I would go about evaluating the question of whether it would make a difference for children with Autism (ASD) to read age appropriate books help to improve their communication skills would be to collect quantitative data. Choosing a quantitative approach because it would be beneficial to see the outcome of the results over a period of time and a child’s school experience can be very complicated and while that is very important this study is specifically focused on school setting and communication skills which is information that can be gathered more concisely with a quantitative approach.
By using a simple random sample to choose the research participants; this would ensure a randomized sample without bias because each possible participant has an equal chance of being included in the study. For this research study the population of interest is children with ASD and their communication skills. For the sampling frame I decided that I would get a sample of the students from the Newton, Massachusetts school district. Choosing this district is convenient because I am familiar with the school environment. The school environment that is naturally present in the city of Newton allows there to be a diversity of children without having to involve another school district.
To get the random sample of the population of children it would work with the school district to collect all of the names of elementary school students with ASD in their communication and reading skills in traditional classrooms and alternative classrooms. I would then put all of the children’s names with ASD into a hat and draw out the number of names needed for the study. For this specific study I would draw thirty names. After the research participants have been selected, I would begin to collect the data about the communication skills in reading age appropriate books in children with ASD. I plan to get the necessary data by giving the research participants a survey. I feel as though a survey is convenient on part of the researcher because it can easily be distributed to the students.
Before collecting any data, it is important to ensure that children participating in the study are protected and that the students have given their informed consent. Since the students are under age informed consent must be obtained from both the students and their parents or guardians. In order to protect the children’s privacy, the surveys will remain anonymous and will remain in a cabinet until they are no longer needed. The same procedure will be followed with the returned surveys. This information along with the purpose of this study will be explained to students and their parents so that they can give their informed consent.
Once the students have returned the surveys, the data will need to be analyzed. Because each child was given the same questions and same answer choices, I will put each question into a bar graph and chart the responses. Based on the information choices on the surveys I will be able to analyze the children and their communication skills. It is important that children with Autism are in the best learning environment to be able to better their communication skills.
Dissemination of Results
After analyzing the results I would need to distribute the information I have gathered to the public and professionals whom this topic area may concern. It is important that the participant’s identities remain unknown. The surveys were completely anonymous so as the researcher I will not know whose is who. However, I will need to de- identify the school district that the study was conducted in; instead of saying Newton I could say a large diverse city in Massachusetts. To get the information out I can publish the research so that everyone has access to it. To further this I can distribute the study to others. By sharing the result professionals will be better able to serve children with ASD and provide a better environment to practice communication skills.
Appendices
To conclude, my hypothesis is that children on the Autism Spectrum in the Newton Public School system have better communication skills when reading age appropriate books in alternative classroom setting because they get a one on one exposure in alternative classrooms whereas in traditional classrooms they don’t get that one on one attention that is needed. The included literature review suggests that students with ASD require additional services that are not provided in a traditional classroom setting, thus supporting my hypothesis.
Before any data can be collected from the possible study of participants, informed consent must be given by the participants. Below is the form that I would give the children and their parents.
Informed Consent
I first and last name of student.
Understand the methods and the purpose of this study. I understand that my identity will remain anonymous at all times and my name will never be tied to my survey responses. Both surveys names and participants will be kept in a cabinet to ensure the privacy of all participants. I also understand that at any time during the study I am free to leave the study.
Signature of parent
Signature of parent/ Guardian
The Instrument that I would use to collect the data for the study is a survey given to the children. Below are the questions that would be included in the survey given to the children that are relevant to finding out if students with ASD learn better with communication skills in reading age appropriate books in an alternative classroom or in a traditional classroom.
Survey Questions
1. Are you attending class in a traditional classroom or an alternative classroom?
2. Do you receive extra support in school?
3. Do you receive positive support from teachers and staff in the classroom?
4. Do you receive social skill services in school?
5. Do you receive communication skill services in school?
6. Are you comfortable in the school environment you are in?
7. Do you plan on continuing your education in Newton Public Schools?
References
Asaro-Saddler, K. (2015). Using Evidence-Based Practices to Teach Writing to Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 60(1), 79-85. doi:10.1080/1045988x.2014.981793015-2615-
Sparapani, N., Morgan, L., Reinhardt, V. P., Schatschneider, C., & Wetherby, A. M. (2015). Evaluation of Classroom Active Engagement in Elementary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(3), 782-796. doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2615-2
Autism Spectrum Disorder: Communication Problems in Children. (2017, September 06). Retrieved December 02, 2017, from https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/autism-spectrum-disorder-communication-problems-children
