Designing an Outcome Study to Monitor the Progress of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

The Autism Spectrum Disorders Outcome Study is tracking the educational progress of 67 students, between the ages of 2 and 6 years, whose primary diagnosis for services is an autism spectrum disorder. This article describes the study, how student outcomes have been measured, and how student progress has been reported to service providers and parents. Outcome data has been collected from performance observations, parent and teacher surveys, and standardized assessments. The strength of this data-collection approach is that it uses a variety of sources and multiple methods to monitor student progress. Initial results, based on the first 16 months of the study, have shown that the majority of the children have made significant progress in the areas of social interaction, expressive speech, and use of language concepts. In addition, they have displayed significant decreases in behaviors associated with autism spectrum disorders. This study began in 1998 and will continue at least through August of 2003.

Classroom Interventions for Youth with Pervasive Developmental Disorders/Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…Arick et al ( 2003 ) described how teachers throughout the state of Oregon implemented the STAR curriculum and monitored the progress of 67 young students with autism. The study showed that signifi cant progress in social interaction, expressive speech, and use of language concepts was observed in the majority of students receiving instruction based on the STAR program.…”

“…The Strategies for Teaching Based on Autism Research (STAR) program is a behavioral program that includes a play-based instructional method (Arick et al, 2003 ). The three methods of instruction are DTT, pivotal response training (PRT), and teaching through functional routines (FR).…”

Intervention précoce et instruments d'évaluation des jeunes enfants ayant un trouble du spectre autistique

“…De plus, cela permet d'identifier la leçon correspondante. Le programme, dans son ensemble, a fait l'objet d'une étude portant sur ses effets, qui sont prometteurs (Arick et al, 2003;voir aussi Odom, Boyd, Hall et Hume, 2010 pour une discussion de la qualité des dimensions des programmes offerts aux enfants ayant un TSA). Cependant, à notre connaissance, il n'existe pas d'études portant spécifiquement sur le SLP.…”

Team Collaboration: The Use of Behavior Principles for Serving Students With ASD

“…Functional routines are taught in a step-by-step, systematic manner to children with ASD to increase independence for common school and self-care routines (Arick et al, 2003). An example of a functional routine within a classroom might be washing hands in preparation for lunchtime.…”

“…STAR (Arick et al, 2003) is another school-based program for children with ASD in preschool through early elementary school. The STAR program utilizes a number of ABA-based methods, including DTT, PRT, and functional routine (FR) instruction.…”