Graduation Year

2005

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Granting Department

Psychological and Social Foundations

Major Professor

Kelly A. Powell-Smith, Ph.D.

Co-Major Professor

Michael J. Curtis, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Donald Kincaid, Ed.D.

Committee Member

John Ferron, Ph.D.

Keywords

Autism spectrum disorders, Social skills training, Communication, Peer interaction, Visual supports

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of individualized video-modeled Social Story interventions on the social communication skills of three children with High Functioning Autism/Aspergers Syndrome (HFA/AS). Using a multiple-baseline across participants design, video-modeled Social Stories were implemented and direct observations of the participants identified target behaviors were collected two times per week during unstructured school activities (e.g., recess). Overall, data demonstrated that video modeled Social Stories were effective for improving the rates of social communication for the participants, though modifications to allow access to social reinforcement was needed in two cases. In addition, all three participants demonstrated maintenance of skills at a two-week follow-up. However, generalization of skills was only observed for one participant.The present research provides no definitive claims of the effectiveness of a combined intervention for children with HFA/AS, Rather, it adds preliminary evidence that a combined intervention that teaches social communication skills and provides for a model of appropriate behavior may be a beneficial method of remediating social skill difficulties for many children and youth with HFA/AS.

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