Yvonne Moreno, Ph.D.

  According to the CDC, 1out of every 68 children is diagnosed with an ASD  The number of children with ASD’s receiving special education services has also increased  Shortage of special education teachers who are well prepared to meet the needs of children with ASD’s  Practitioners in the field not prepared to work with children with ASD’s  There is a need to prepare practitioners in the field of special education to work effectively with children with ASD’s  Student course evaluations reveal needed improvements to better prepare practitioners working with students with disabilities. SoTL Challenge

 SPED 506 High Incidence Disabilities Student Course Evaluations

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 SPED 506 High Incidence Disabilities Student Course Evaluations (SoTL Challenge)

 Field Experience  Research  Prepares practitioners to:  meet educational challenges  develops skills to apply theory to practice  address educational situations with appropriate interventions  learn to reflect, think critically, and evaluate their teaching practices  students who participate in service learning are:  more engaged  gain deep content knowledge  make connections between theory and practice  develop work-based competencies  gain professional experience  learn to collaborate with key stake-holders  gain self-confidence in their career related competencies. Experiential Learning Intervention

 Course Description This course will cover the first of the triad of impairments. Students will gain an understanding of the behaviors of children with autism. Students will examine several behavior management philosophies and research based interventions and how they can be applied in the educational setting. Attention will also be given to play skills. The family perspective and participation in the proactive behavior management process will be incorporated throughout the course. Taught with SPED 586 and SPED 686 with differentiated assignments. SPED 586 Behavior and Autism

  Required Educator Manual:  The National Autism Center. (2011). Evidence-Based Practice and Autism in the Schools: A Guide to Providing Appropriate Interventions to Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Randolph, MA  The Educator manual may be accessed online a Ed%20Manual_FINAL.pdf Ed%20Manual_FINAL.pdf  Journal Articles  Online Videos Course Materials

  Field Experience Portfolio  Discussions: Case Studies  Quizzes  Graduate Research Paper Course Requirements

  1 Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders  Historical Perspective  Defining and Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorders  Autism Today: Current Facts  Autism Across the Lifespan  Differential Diagnoses and Co-morbid Conditions  2 Research Findings of the National Standards Project  Established Treatments  Antecedent Package  Behavioral Package  Comprehensive Behavioral Treatment for Young Children  Naturalistic Teaching Strategies  Peer Training Package  Self-management  Story-based Intervention Package Modules

  3 Professional Judgment and Data-based Decision Making  Data Collection  Setting Goals and Defining Target Behaviors  Procedures for Collecting Data  Graphing Data  Is the Intervention Effective?  4 Incorporating Family Preferences and Values Into the Educational Process  Supporting Family Involvement in Evidence-based Practice  Ongoing Communication  Parent Education and Training  Tackle Barriers to Family Participation  Establish Appropriate Family Supports  Support Parents in Generalizing Skills Modules

  Child description summary  Informal assessments: Observations and Interviews  Identify a target skill  Create 3 goals for the student  Refer to pages in the NAC Educator Manual on setting goals  Select one of the three goals to implement the intervention  Define the target behavior  Refer to page 82 in the NAC Educator Manual on defining target behaviors  Incorporate family preferences and values into the evidence based practice  Have parents complete the research-supported treatments form on p  With parental permission and if appropriate, have students complete the student questionnaire on p  Identify type of Intervention (Antecedent/Behavioral/Comprehensive)  Refer to pages in the NAC Educator Manual Field Experience Portfolio

  Develop visual supports based on type of intervention and child’s target behavior and skills.  Identify your data collection method  Refer to pages in the NAC Educator Manual on data collection procedures.  Establish a Baseline  Refer to page 90 in the NAC Educator Manual on establishing baselines  Collect data during intervention phase  Refer to page 91 in the NAC Educator Manual  Graph data  Refer to pages in the NAC Educator Manual on graphing data  Create a visual display of your data  Refer to page 94 in the NAC Educator Manual on visual display of data  Calculate percentage of overlapping data points  Refer to pages in the NAC Educator Manual on calculating overlapping data points  Is the intervention effective (ABAB Design)  Refer to pages in the NAC Educator Manual on single subject research design  Remove the intervention and collect baseline data  Implement the intervention and collect intervention data  Reflection summary Field Experience Portfolio

 SPED 586 Behavior and Autism Student Course Evaluations (Outcomes)

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  “This intervention plan I believe was effective due to the fact that I was able to see results from this intervention plan and that data that was presented. It’s been a very effective and eye opening process for me to evaluate my procedures and review what was indeed need for Derek to be able to be successful in his educational process. Being able to have the full support of his family as well as my staff that I work with and achieve these results.”  I believe that Sam’s success may largely depend on his mother’s willingness to accept that his deficits will follow him to college. His mother believes that Sam’s exceptionalities will ‘disappear’ in college whereas, I believe the academic and social demands of college and the workplace may exacerbate his social skills and academic deficits.  Overall I think the intervention was a success because even the rest of the family could see an improvement in Estevan’s skills of calming down when it came to losing. I think some of the things that helped with this is the tools that he and I chose to help him calm down. He absolutely loves Legos so when I found a pain chart with Legos I modified it to work for us.  “I really liked doing this assignment.” Field Experience Reflections

  Field experience supervision  Support  Identify strengths  Areas for improvement  Setting goals  Opportunities for ongoing reflection  Ongoing productive and critical feedback (reflection and growth)  Distance Supervision  Online discussions  Students post questions or concerns about field experiences  Receive feedback from peers on how to address issues  Surveys  University Student  Child/Family Next Steps

 Austin, M. J., & Rust, D. Z. (2015). Developing an Experiential Learning Program: Milestones and Challenges. International Journal Of Teaching & Learning In Higher Education, 27(1), Edeiken-Cooperman, N. (2013). The Role of Field Experience in Teacher Preparation Programs. National Teacher Education Journal, 6 (3), Kalchman, M. (2015). Focusing on Relective Practice: Reconsidering Field Experiences for Urban Teacher Preparation. Penn GSE Perspectives On Urban Education, 12 (2), Schmidt, M., MacSuga Gage, A., Gage, N., Cox, P., & McLeskey, J. (2015). Bringing the Field to the Supervisor: Innovation in Distance Supervision for Field-Based Experiences Using Mobile Technologies Welsh, K. A., & Schaffer, C. (2015). The demonstration of Effective Pedagogy to Secondary Education candidates in an Early field Experience. National Teacher Education Journal, 8 (3), Wozencroft, A. J., Pate, J. R., & Griffiths, H. K. (2015). Experiential Learning and Its Impact on Students’ Attitudes Toward Youth With Disabilities. Journal Of Experiential Education, 38 (2), References