Message: Peter, Dessert, and the Elephant!

By Mike Maloney, OAR Executive Director

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Mike Maloney

As announced elsewhere in this newsletter, Peter Gerhardt is leaving OAR. I never envisioned the day I would say that. Then again, when we recruited Peter to be chairman of the Scientific Council in early 2002, we never anticipated having him actually work with us on the OAR staff, which happened in September 2005, much to OAR’s good fortune. Looking back as he readies to move to a new job, it has been both a pleasure and honor to work alongside him, learn from him, and enjoy the ultimate compliment of his friendship. While he is definitely leaving to take a new day job, it’s important to note that Peter will remain a key leader within OAR in his continuing role as chairman of the Scientific Council. In other words, OAR’s core mission and purpose remain close to his heart. I see it this way:  He may be leaving, but he isn’t gone!

When it comes to describing Peter, I am reminded of an e-mail message I received three years ago from a woman and mother of an adult son with autism who had attended one of his presentations. I wish I had saved it and could draw from it verbatim rather than rely on my memory to paraphrase. First, the woman complimented the quality of the presentation itself. She wrote that it was the first conference or lecture by anyone in which a speaker spoke so directly to her son’s and her family’s challenges and needs and offered information and advice that, as she put it, she could begin using that night. She finished her note describing the experience of meeting Peter and hearing his presentation as a luscious dessert filled with facts, wisdom, and humor topped with a generous dollop of human compassion.

I enjoyed reading that note when it arrived, shared it with Peter the next day, and have used it a few times when introducing Peter at our dinners. This woman put her finger on what sets Peter apart. There are many professionals who have great experience in autism, are knowledgeable and current, and are in demand as speakers much like Peter. Thankfully, their ranks continue to expand. But the “it” factor, that dollop of freshly made whipped cream that makes the dessert perfect, is Peter’s genuine interest in helping people, be they persons with autism, their parents, and family members, his professional colleagues, or the people with whom he works. Peter is never too busy to care, and that conveys immediately, allowing him to instantly form a bond with those who hear him speak. When he does speak, whether to five people or 500, Peter possesses the rarest ability to be able to make each person in a room believe he is talking to him or her and no one else.

If the dessert metaphor does not translate, let me borrow from one of Peter’s favorite articles in The OARacle. In “Transitions and The Elephant” (August 2007), Peter wrote about the transitions associated with the beginning of a new school year; offered some words of wisdom to the professionals, teachers, and administrators involved in the IEP process; and reminded them that the process at times was much like the story of the six blind men and the elephant.

In that story, the six men touch an elephant in an effort to understand what an elephant looks like, but each only touches one part such as the trunk or the tusk, leaving each man with a different and incomplete vision of an elephant. Then, when they compare notes, they are in complete disagreement about how to describe an elephant.

Peter’s point to his colleagues was that this could happen in the IEP process, cautioning that “when we, as professionals, fail to listen to a parent’s concerns, fail to consider parental input in a respectful manner, or disagree more from a point of professional ‘turfism’ than that of clinical efficacy, we become little more than one of the six blind men describing an elephant.”

He concluded with a final thought for professionals and parents alike:  “…as we all strive to fulfill our roles in facilitating transitions for learners with autism and making IEPs work well, we must see the full picture in order for our special roles or expertise to offer maximum benefit to all concerned parties.” Peter for one understands what an elephant looks like. He sees the whole picture. He believes in ability over disability and dedicates his efforts each day to enhancing life’s prospects for all children and adults with autism.

So it seems that the woman in New Jersey had it exactly right. For the OAR Board of Directors and especially my staff and me, working closely with Peter has been a treat, very much like that special dessert that the autism mom described, which we have had the pleasure of enjoying every day for almost five years. We will miss the immediate access to him, his patience in answering our questions, the spirit with which he approaches each day, his teamwork and wonderful sense of humor, and his hearty laugh.

That said, we are happy, first that Peter has found an opportunity that will challenge him, inspire great passion, and place him where he does his best work--in a position to directly influence the lives and futures of persons with autism. And we are even happier that he will continue to play a substantive role with OAR as chairman of the Scientific Council and a member of the Board of Directors. As I said at the start, he may be leaving, but he won’t be gone!

Thanks, Peter. Best of luck and continued success, good friend.

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OAR News

Take a Sneak Peek at Day One of OAR’s 2010 Conference

It’s definitely not “same old” at OAR’s 2010 Applied Autism Research and Intervention Conference, as attendees will notice immediately when they walk into the conference’s new venue at the Sheraton Crystal City, conveniently located in Arlington, VA, where past conferences have taken place. The hotel offers easier access to public transportation in a chic, fun locale. When you combine this with OAR’s exciting lineup of speakers, 2010 is shaping up to be the best yet!

Need-to-Know Information about Day One
After arriving at the hotel on Friday, October 29, attendees can head straight for the atrium, located on the second level of the hotel, to sign in and pick up the Conference Proceedings Manual. Then they can browse 25 exhibitor booths and enjoy a free continental breakfast until the opening keynote address, which begins at 8:30 a.m.

A lunch break is scheduled for 11:30 a.m., offering attendees a chance to either dine at the Sheraton’s 18 Eads Bistro or visit one of the Crystal City shops’ 40+ restaurants and cafes just down the street.

Day One, Here We Come
To kick off the 2010 event, Dennis Reid, Ph.D., BCBA, director of the Carolina Behavior Analysis & Support Center, will speak on “Staff Training and Retention.” In a field where burnout is frequent and job skills are in demand, Dr. Reid’s presentation will explain what current evidence-based research has shown to be effective in enhancing work enjoyment and promoting job retention. He will provide an example of staff training based in large part on a summary of his 2008 OAR-funded research project on assessing and improving teaching proficiency among staff working in a one-to-one capacity with individuals with autism.

After the opening keynote, attendees can choose presentations from two tracks, OAR-Sponsored Research and Research to Practice. The OAR-Sponsored Research track features past OAR Applied Research Grant winners reporting on their research projects. Presentations in the Research to Practice track will describe how families and professionals can use current evidence-based research to directly help those whose lives are affected by autism. Attendees can pick and choose presentations from either track throughout the conference.

OAR-Sponsored Research
Mary Jane Weiss, Ph.D., BCBA and Ivy Feldman, Ph.D., BCBA will make the first presentation on the OAR-Sponsored Research track, “Teaching Outside the Box: Breaking through Barriers to Help Develop Essential Skills.” Dr. Weiss is the clinical director at the Douglas Developmental Disabilities Center and serves on OAR’s Scientific Council. Dr. Feldman is the education director at the McCarton School in New York City. Their presentation will offer attendees an understanding of how this variable disorder creates the need for individualized assessment and treatment. The presentation includes a discussion of their findings on how to move outside the “boxes” that limit teaching contexts and prevent generalizing skills. Drs. Weiss and Feldman will pay special attention to the selection of target skills and primary and alternative teaching strategies and the evaluation of mastery.

After lunch, the OAR-Sponsored Research track continues with “Teaching Individuals with Autism Using Video Modeling” by William Ahearn, Ph.D., BCBA and Rebecca MacDonald, Ph.D., BCBA. Both Dr. Ahearn and Dr. MacDonald are from the New England Center for Children and serve as the director of research and program director, respectively. In this presentation, they will discuss the results of their research on the prerequisites for video modeling, which suggest that successive discrimination skills or remembering may be critically important for learning through this medium.

William Sharp, Ph.D. and David Jaquess, Ph.D. will present the last session on this track, “Assessment and Treatment of Feeding Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.” Both work at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta. Ga., where Dr. Sharp is a behavioral pediatric psychologist and Dr. Jaquess is the director of the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program. Feeding problems occur at high rates among those on the spectrum, making this topic a welcome addition. This research team will provide an overview of the topography, assessment, and behavioral treatment of feeding problems frequently associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Drs. Sharp and Jacquess will discuss a tiered approach to intervention in relation to home and clinic-based treatment planning, including parent education/consultation, outpatient therapy, and day-treatment/inpatient services.

Research to Practice
Emily Callahan, Ph.D. and Rachel Cavalari, M.S. from the Institute of Child Development at SUNY Binghamton, will open the Research to Practice track speaking on “Preparing Staff to Provide Services to Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Community-Based Residences.” Dr. Callahan is the coordinator of development, research, and training and Cavalari is the psychology assistant/project coordinator. In this session, attendees will develop an understanding of the growing need for intervention across the lifespan for individuals with ASD, while the presenters review the development and implementation of a curriculum designed to educate direct-care and supervisory staff that are providing services for adolescents and adults in community-based residences.

In the next presentation on this track, “Supporting the Emerging Self-Advocate with ASD: The Integrated Self-Advocacy (ISA®) Curriculum,” Valerie Paradiz, Ph.D. the founder of Valerie Paradiz Consulting, will discuss the issue of self-advocacy in both children and young adults and demonstrate strategies for requesting needed modifications verbally or by alternative forms of communication, as well as knowing how and when to disclose their condition. This curriculum provides school personnel with lessons and protocols for person-centered planning and self-advocacy skills teaching.

Last on this track is “Applying Research to Improve the Daily Practice, Individually and Organizationally,” presented by Patricia Wright, Ph.D., MPH, BCBA. Dr. Wright is the national director of autism services at Easter Seals, Inc., and the newest member of OAR’s Scientific Council. The results of research studies rarely reach those providing direct support to individuals with autism. In this presentation, Dr. Wright will explain how that can be changed. By attending this presentation, participants will better understand the barriers in translating published research into daily practice. Dr. Wright will provide specific examples of strategies to promote evidence-based practices into daily work both individually and at an organizational level.

Karen Pierce, Ph.D. director of clinical research at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Autism Center of Excellence and an assistant professor in the Department of Neurosciences at UCSD, will close Day One with a keynote address for all of the attendees entitled, “Advances in the Early Identification of Autism.” Dr. Pierce will review ongoing studies at the University of California’s Autism Center of Excellence aimed at discovering an early bio-behavioral signature of autism using a new method called the “1-Year Well-Baby Check-Up Approach.” The address will conclude with a discussion on what this encouraging information will mean for the future of early identification.

Look for an overview of Saturday’s conference events in next month’s issue of The OARacle. Please visit the conference section of OAR’s Web site at www.researchautism.org/news/conference to register or view a detailed schedule, complete list of speakers, and full presentation summaries. To get more information, contact Alyssa Kruszyna at 703-243-9717 or akruszyna@researchautism.org.

A special summer discount is going on now! Save 20% if you register with a friend until July 18. This brings the already-low Early Bird price down to $80 for one day and only $140 for both days. For more information, visit www.researchautism.org/news/conference.

OAR President Takes On New Work

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Dr. Peter Gerhardt

It is with mixed emotions that OAR announces that Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D. who has been chairman of the Scientific Council since January 2002 and assumed a full-time role as president on September 1, 2005, will be giving up his responsibilities as president and transitioning to a different role outside OAR in mid-July. Dr. Gerhardt has accepted a position as Director of Education, Upper School at the McCarton School in New York, N.Y. He will continue to serve as the chairman of OAR’s Scientific Council and in that capacity as a member of OAR’s Board of Directors.

“As chairman of the council, I will continue to provide strategic direction to OAR’s research and information programs and oversee the applied research competition and the graduate research competition with the goal of identifying and funding important applied research,” Dr. Gerhardt says.

Dr. Gerhardt considers his role in establishing and chairing the council as one of the most rewarding aspects of his work with OAR over the years. “The Scientific Council is truly an assembly of world-class autism researchers and service providers,” he says. “To be able to work with that group over the course of six months of the year to identify grant proposals that have great potential to change the lives of individuals with autism for the better is,” he noted proudly, “the very definition of satisfying.”

Dr. Gerhardt says he also plans to continue to help provide strategic direction and offer his clinical expertise as they pertain to OAR’s ongoing research and information programs to OAR’s Board and staff. This will include but not be limited to responding to questions from supporters, contributing to The OARacle, and establishing the annual conference speakers’ lineup and agenda.

In the position created for him at the McCarton School, Dr. Gerhardt will have an opportunity to “develop a behaviorally based protocol, the goal of which is to transition young adults with autism to active and engaged adult lives of competence, dignity, and quality with minimal paid adult supports,” he reports. “It is a pretty lofty goal but one that that is especially timely and worthwhile given the current fiscal challenges facing our adult service systems. In practice, much of what we now offer in terms of the transition to adulthood for adolescents with autism is poorly planned, poorly implemented, and minimally individualized. This position will give me an opportunity to work with some top-flight professionals within a nationally recognized program to address this significant and costly deficiency in our educational system.”

For Dr. Gerhardt, the work he does at OAR and the work he will do at the McCarton School are two parts of his career-long, professional goal: to make a contribution to applied research that brings improvements to the lives of people with autism. “I think McCarton will benefit immensely from the breadth of research experience and related experience I have acquired through OAR,” he says. “At the same time, OAR will benefit from a renewed commitment to not just raise money and fund research, but to then actually go out there to change lives. To me, that seems like a win/win situation.”

Scholarship Program Sees Record Response

On April 30, OAR’s mailbox overflowed as application after application for the 2010 Schwallie Family Scholarships piled in. In total, OAR received 371 applications, the most in the four-year history of the program.

“We’ve seen the response from the autism community increase significantly each year,” says Alyssa Kruszyna, assistant director of research and programs. “This year is no exception, which again proves both the great need as students with autism spectrum disorders succeed academically and pursue higher education and the growing awareness of the Schwallie Family Scholarship program.”

Begun in 2007, this program awards one-year $3,000 scholarships to deserving individuals diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Eligible students must be enrolled or accepted to institutions of higher learning, which are separated into three categories: four-year undergraduate colleges or universities; two-year undergraduate colleges; and trade, technical or vocational schools.

As the number of applications has increased, OAR has managed to award additional scholarships. After beginning with only three awards in the inaugural competition, OAR will award 12 this year. This expansion has become possible due to the leadership of Scholarship Committee Chairperson Lori Lapin Jones and the great generosity of the Schwallie family, Board member Lisa Hussman, and the Somerville Council of the New Jersey Knights of Columbus, as well as the many individuals who have sent in donations earmarked for the scholarship program.

After conducting an in-office inspection for application completeness and eligibility, OAR has mailed out the applications of all worthy applicants to the review committee, made up of two members of OAR’s Board of Directors and a member of the Schwallie family. OAR will announce the scholarship awards on July 23, 2010, and award the first scholarship funds during August. For more information on this program, visit www.researchautism.org/news/otherevents/scholarship.asp.

Summer Interns Play Major Roles at OAR

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Interns Lauren Montgomery (left) and Kelley Ward (right)

OAR welcomed two summer interns to its Arlington, Va., offices in June. Lauren Montgomery graduated from Longwood University in Farmville, Va., in May with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies with a concentration in special education. In June, she began graduate studies at Longwood for a master’s degree in special education, which she will complete in May 2011.

Kelley Ward will be a senior at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., in the fall. She is majoring in psychology.

Montgomery and Ward will complete their internships at the end of July and have ambitious goals for their time at OAR. Montgomery’s to-do list includes “creating a literature review on articles pertaining to fotonovela, stories told with photos and dialogue that generally appeal to the Latino population, and assisting with the organization of research studies from the past and present.”

Ward’s list includes “creating a new fundraising guide for runners in the RUN FOR AUTISM program, and reviewing the past research OAR has funded to create abstracts in laymen's terms so anyone can see the direct impact OAR has on the autism community.”

She chose OAR because of its “emphasis on applied research to better the lives of those affected by autism. I've had experience in the autism research field and in the therapy and education realm, so I wanted a chance to see how the business side of a research-related organization works. I've been passionate about autism for several years now, and OAR seemed like the perfect fit for my interests.”

For Montgomery, OAR is a perfect fit because she wanted to see the flip side of direct work with people with autism. Working as an intern with OAR gives her a chance to learn more about research in a field about which she too is passionate. “The world of autism is vastly growing and it is important to keep up with it in all aspects.”

“The Summer Intern Program has been very successful for OAR,” says Executive Director Mike Maloney. “We make a point to give each intern substantive tasks that contribute directly to OAR’s mission. That’s not different for Lauren and Kelley, who have already proven to be great additions to our staff team.”

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Spotlight On Conference Keynote Addresses

Conference Keynoters Zosia Zaks and Stephen Shore Will Present “Dating on the Spectrum” at the Closing Session

For its eighth Annual Applied Autism Research and Intervention Conference, OAR is pleased to announce that it has confirmed four keynote speakers. Zosia Zaks and Stephen Shore will present their keynote address, “Dating on the Autism Spectrum,” on Saturday, October 30.

Zaks is a certified rehabilitation counselor and teaches at Towson University in Towson, Md. and consults with agencies, individuals, and families to solve problems based on strengths and speaks and writes about issues of importance to the autism community. Zaks was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome as an adult.

Stephen Shore, Ed.D. is an assistant professor of special education at Adelphi University in Long Island, N.Y. He is also working with colleagues to develop a series of courses on autism that will become part of a certificate extension in severe and multiple special needs in the state of New York. As a child, he was diagnosed with "Atypical Development with strong autistic tendencies."

“Autistic adults are increasingly integrated into society and that’s a good thing. We want people participating in their communities,” Zosia Zaks observes in discussing the upcoming address. “But then sexuality and social education must be provided so autistic adults can navigate the world successfully.”

Dr. Shore notes that people with autism are just as diverse as any other group in terms of relationships. “The challenges people on the autism spectrum face is that they may need more direct instruction while non-autistic people tend to pick up knowledge about relationships from their peers.”

Zaks agrees, noting that having a social challenge does not mean you don’t socialize at all. “I hope that the people in the audience will be more open to the idea that autistic partners and parents can be great girlfriends, boyfriends, spouses, moms, and dads. We have so much to contribute.”

Learning to how to socialize is critical, say Zaks and Dr. Shore. “With more and more people with autism being a part of society, it is important that they have the tools needed for navigating successfully within the realm of relationships (and everywhere else),” Dr. Shore observes.

“I hope professionals and parents will be able to more adroitly prepare the autistic adults they love and work with to make healthy social choices and achieve their social goals, whatever those goals may be,” Zaks says. That includes the possibility of not having a primary relationship but that takes some planning as well. “What alternatives are available to cope with loneliness?”

Zaks, parent to two children, who have also been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, believes that “autistic parents and partners have many gifts to bring to family systems. Too often the strengths and talents of autistic partners and parents are overlooked and undervalued.”

Ultimately, what Zaks and Shore want people who are not on the spectrum to understand about those who are is that “the barriers that people with autism face can be overcome with proper and direct instruction,” says Shore.

Zaks mentions the need for building “neurological curbcuts” OAR President Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D. talks about frequently. “To the degree that a society can tolerate diversity, that society maximizes contribution to human endeavor.”

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News from the RUN FOR AUTISM

Energy, Dedication, and Enthusiasm Mark the First Half of RUN Year

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Click here to view the 2010 RUN FOR AUTISM Spring Wrap-Up Video! This short photo montage shows some highlights from this season's efforts. Thanks again to all OAR runners and supporters who participated in the 2010 spring races!

When OAR’s RUN FOR AUTISM staff team did its initial planning for 2010, the goals were clear: grow the program, spread awareness, and break records at every race. Six races into the year, the RUN FOR AUTISM is doing exactly that. As summer begins and the calendar shifts toward the fall races, OAR would like to thank each and every runner to date for putting forth the energy, dedication, and enthusiasm to make the RUN FOR AUTISM effective in its mission to raise funds for autism research. OAR’s runners this year have already raised a collective $170,000, putting the 2010RUN FOR AUTISM well on track to break 2009’s total fundraising of $550,000.

The year’s record-breaking streak started in Texas at the Chevron Houston Marathon in January, when 46 RUN FOR AUTISMparticipants raised $36,000. Motivated by his 6-year-old son Zach, Scott Lowrey was both the top fundraiser and the first half-marathon finisher for the OAR team. Three-time OAR runner Reverend Jimmy Grace also dedicated his impressive fundraising efforts to his 4-year-old son, James. In March, theRUN FOR AUTISM–New York City team escalated progress with 54 runners and an impressive fundraising effort of $86,000. First-timers Ragui and Ayiesha Selwanes ran the race together and brought in over $7,250. Meanwhile, OAR’s team of four at the National Marathon in Washington, DC brought in a solid $3,000, each one reporting a great race in our nation’s capital.

May brought three more successful events, back to back. Forty-four energetic runners in Pittsburgh met and surpassed OAR’s lofty goal of $15,000 in theRUN FOR AUTISM’s debut as a charity partner at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, Half Marathon and Relay. Despite the rain, the race was a huge success. Two weekends later, a team of 15 in Fredericksburg, Va. ran the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon and Semper Fred 5K and raised $2,500 in support of autism research. That same weekend, 91 runners and walkers hit the pavement in Cleveland, Ohio, forming the largest RUN FOR AUTISM team of the spring season and pulling in $27,500. Educator Jessica Hirz rallied OAR by the Shore, a team comprised of local educators and autism parents, for a second successful year. First-time runners Christian and Kelly Heller, inspired by their son, Callan, represented OAR in the 5K and led in individual fundraising with $1,250.

Thank you again to every single 2010 RUN FOR AUTISM participant! Your efforts have been indispensable to enhancing OAR’s capacity to fund new research and provide evidence-based information and resources that offer to help families on a daily basis. OAR is grateful for all you have done and continue to do for these families.

With such a remarkable first half of the year, OAR’s RUN FOR AUTISM staff is thrilled about the potential for the 2010 fall races. Join us at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon, Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon, Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon, 35th Anniversary Marine Corps Marathon and 10K, or Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio! For race details, please email run@researchautism.org or call us toll-free at 866-366-9710.

The RUN FOR AUTISM Is Headed for Philadelphia

On September 19, thousands of runners will hit the streets for the ING Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon and the RUN FOR AUTISM will be there! Formerly known as the Philadelphia Distance Run, this popular race is known to be fast and fun, taking runners through the historic and scenic highlights of this World Series-winning town. Participants can expect the staff and volunteers at Rock ‘n’ Roll to kick it up a notch this year, recruiting bands, local-area cheerleading squads, and constant course support to line the 13.1 miles.

RUN FOR AUTISM Director Lily Matusiak, who ran the race in 2008, notes, “The Philadelphia Half is a fantastic race. It was so much fun running past the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Independence Hall, and the gorgeous Fairmont Park along the Schuylkill, where all the university boathouses are. I’ve spent a lot of time in Philadelphia, but the two hours I spent running the half marathon are by far my favorite.”

Philadelphia is a great destination, with a lot to offer beyond the 13.1 mile race. Combine the Half Marathon with a game at Citizen’s Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies who will be playing at home that weekend. Or get a tour of Independence Hall, visit the Liberty Bell, or take a picture with the Rocky statue outside the Museum of Art. Or make the time to do it all. Whatever you do, make sure you stop along the way for a famous Philly Cheesesteak.

OAR’s participation in the Philadelphia Half Marathon will include a booth at the two-day race expo, which will be held Friday, September 17, and Saturday, September 18, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. In addition, OAR will also have a team tent at the race start/finish area on Sunday, where the RUN FOR AUTISM team can take advantage of team gear check, pre- and post-race refreshments and friendly OAR staff and volunteer assistance.

For more information on the ING Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon or other RUN FOR AUTISM opportunities, please go to OAR’s Web site at: www.runforautism.org or e-mail run@researchautism.org with any questions.

RUN Team Makes a Big Impression on Cleveland

On a surprisingly temperate day in May (Sunday, the 16th, to be exact) in Cleveland, 16,500 runners in this year’s 33rd annual Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K took off through city streets. In the crowd, 91 participants proudly sported RUN FOR AUTISM gear, forming the largest RUN FOR AUTISM – Cleveland team to date and the largest charity team present at the race.

At the Charity Village tent after the race, Executive Director Mike Maloney and RUN Coordinator Sarah Schuyler congratulated almost every member for both a race well-run and the team’s total fundraising amount of nearly $28,000. This is the second year in a row that Cleveland runners raised more than $25,000.

OAR’s success in Cleveland was once again headlined by Team “OAR by the Shore” and its amazing captain, Jessica Hirz, who brought the team back for its second year. This energetic group, comprised mainly of Lear North Elementary School teachers, school district personnel, and parents, was 57 runners strong on race day and raised over $18,000 this year, bringing its two-year total to more than $31,000.

When informed about OAR by the Shore’s fundraising results at the team’s pasta dinner the night before the race, Maloney made a surprise announcement. Noting that it costs $30,000 to fund an OAR research study, Maloney informed the team that OAR will fund a 2010 research study of the group’s choice in its name. The sponsored study will serve as recognition for the hard work put forth by Team OAR by the Shore and a lasting gesture of OAR’s gratitude. Needless to say, the members of the team were thrilled and still talking about it after the race the next day.

In addition to Team OAR by the Shore, this year’s team included some incredible individual fundraisers as well. RUN FOR AUTISM first-timers Christian and Kelly Heller represented OAR at the Saturday morning 5K and led the weekend’s fundraising with a total of $1,250. Veteran marathoner John Becerril, autism mom Daisy Gard, and OAR by the Shore member Shannon Polacek each brought in over $1,000 for the Sunday race.

Three local institutions greatly enriched the weekend for OAR: the Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism, Milestones Organization, and Peak Potential Therapy. Becky Embacher, research coordinator at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism, joined forces with OAR at the Health and Fitness Expo to promote the Cleveland Clinic’s research and programs. Milestones’ Operations Director Mia Gelles ran the 10K for OAR with her daughter, Shani, and son, Noam. Holly and Tibor Reimann of Peak Potential Therapy made themselves indispensable as volunteers throughout the weekend, including securing all the food and drinks for OAR’s post-race festivities in the Charity Village.

“The collaborative spirit of this year’s RUN FOR AUTISM – Cleveland team and the greater community blew us away,” Maloney happily notes. He and all of the RUN staff are looking forward to next year’s Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K, which is already set for Sunday, May 15, 2011.

Schuyler, who made her debut as coordinator of RUN FOR AUTISM - Cleveland, is already looking to 2011. “With a growing team and our great success at this year’s event,” says Schuyler, “we are confident that more records will fall in Cleveland next year.”

For more information on how to be part of the 2010 RUN FOR AUTISM team or anything else concerning the RUN FOR AUTISM, contact OAR by e-mail at run@researchautism.org or by phone at 1-866-366-9710. Find us on the web at www.runforautism.org.

Historic Half Showcases OAR Team

Fifteen RUN FOR AUTISM runners took their places among the 12,000 participants in the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon and Semper Fred 5K in Fredericksburg, Va. on May 16. OAR is pleased to report that the team raised more than $2,500, an amount it is already hoping to exceed in 2011.

Participating in a Marine Corps race meant a lot to OAR runner Amanda Bates. Bates’ brother is a Marine currently serving in Afghanistan. She was proud to accomplish her goal of running the half marathon and honoring him in the process. After the race, she decided to continue running for OAR in this year’s Marine Corps Marathon, hoping, she says, that her brother, who will be home by then, will run with her.

Melissa Sowers, parent of a child with autism, was also part of the RUN FOR AUTISM in Fredericksburg. Participating with OAR gave her the opportunity to run for a cause she fights for every day. With $480 raised, Sowers was the team’s top individual fundraiser. RUN FOR AUTISM veterans Beth and Russ Stockton, who live in Salem, Va., were the overall top fundraisers, bringing in $780 for OAR.

Runners taking on the 5K enjoyed a course laid out in Fredericksburg’s commercial district, while the half-marathon runners paced a course in and around the city, passing by the University of Mary Washington campus, near the Kenmore Plantation, and through the peach blossoms along the old Rappahannock Canal.

One group of OAR runners, former women’s basketball players at the University of Mary Washington, particularly enjoyed the race. It was the first half marathon for each of the three women, and a return to their beloved alma mater. They had pushed through tough training for basketball in the past, but rose to a new level when they crossed the finish line together in two hours and 20 minutes.

Thanks to all of the RUN FOR AUTISM participants! If you are interested in joining OAR at next year’s Historic Half or Semper Fred 5k, contact run@researchautism.org.

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RUN Profile

From One Fun Run to a Marathon
Sarah Hull Shares Her Story

Sarah Hull with her four-year-old son, Owen

Sarah Hull is not a runner. She wants you to know that right off the bat. “I ran a 10k last fall with a friend for ‘fun’ without any sort of training and I developed an entirely new appreciation for runners. I decided that there was no way I could be a runner.”

Then she received a diagnosis of autism for her son, Owen, who is four. “Owen is one of the most affectionate, sensitive, and generous children I've ever known. He loves being outdoors and all things tractors. He has numerous idiosyncrasies that make him unique and so very special! He certainly has challenges, as does any child, but he doesn't let those challenges stand in his way.” The Hull family, which includes Owen and his siblings, Morgan, 9, and Greta, 2, live in Fairfax, Vt., where Hull is a stay-at-home mom during the week and a maternity floor nurse on the weekends.

“My son's diagnosis wasn't a complete surprise to me but I'm not sure it's something you are ever really prepared for. After receiving the diagnosis, I struggled for a few weeks. A friend was losing his father to cancer at the time and one morning I woke up and realized what a blessing I had before me. I had a healthy, beautiful son. He didn't have cancer, which could end his life. He had autism, which he can live with.”

It was a diagnosis that Hull knew would change their lives forever though. “Now, our lives would be filled with appointments with various therapists but in strange way I felt relieved. I had struggled for years to get help for my son but without a diagnosis, there is little help available. That same day, I decided that I was going to find a way to help my son live a normal and happy life. Every day since, I have been reading and researching ways I could be helping my son.”

Time to Do
In March, she says, she decided it was time to do more than read. “It was time to start doing. Donating money seemed like the obvious choice, but it wasn't enough for me. I felt like I needed to choose something outside of my comfort zone. Needless to say, signing up to run a marathon was way outside of my comfort zone. I googled "run for autism" with the hope of finding a nice little 5 or 10k to participate in. For a woman who had never done any running, that seemed like challenge enough to start with.”

But then Hull began thinking about what Owen faced and dealt with on a daily basis. If he could cope with the challenges of autism every day, she could face a challenge herself. “I signed up for the MCM, joined a gym, and the rest is history. I had eight months to learn to run, get into shape, and prepare for the marathon. I knew the training would mean blisters, pain, tears, and doubt but it had to be easier than living even a day with autism.”

She reports that training has indeed meant a few blisters, pains, and sprains but also a lot of pride and accomplishment. “I've gone from the couch to 12 miles in three months and I've only just begun. I have a friend who has been training with me locally.” She has already recruited her training buddy, who is not signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon, to run a marathon in Vermont in May 2011 for OAR.

“We try to run three to five miles every other day and do cross training/strength training on the off days. We also do a long run on the weekends, which is up to 12 miles. I am following Jeff Galloway's method of running with the goal of just finishing the marathon.” A coach leading a couch-to-5K running class Hull signed up for has volunteered to provide personal training free of charge in support of her efforts to raise money for “such a wonderful charity.”

Hull plans to run a few shorter races, between 5K and 10K, in the next four months. But she’s actually excited by the idea of running the Marine Corps Marathon as her first big race.

Making Connections
Hull admits that fundraising hasn’t been quite as exciting as training. Nonetheless, she has already raised more than double her goal. “Every time I reach out to a new source for donations, I remember that facing autism as a family is far more difficult than the running I’m doing. Before my fundraising efforts, many people didn't know my son had autism. I began opening up about my son and his diagnosis. Of those people who have donated to OAR so far, only a handful of them have met Owen. Many of them have a neighbor or a friend who has a child with autism. The others have heard me tell stories of the challenges and triumphs over the past four years. I think donating makes people feel good, particularly when they can personally connect to the cause.”

For each person that donates, Hull adds one mile to her next run, a bonus for her training and for OAR.

She looks forward to the marathon every day. “I am most excited about meeting and running among other people who know and love someone with autism. This has already been an incredible experience for me and it's only just begun. I get goosebumps just thinking about the feeling of crossing that finish line.”

While Owen can’t be there to meet her at the finish line, she will carry him with her every step of the way. “Owen has progressed so much farther than we expected even in the last year. It is love and determination that is getting me through life and it's that same love and determination that will get me over that finish line in October. For me, quitting is not an option.”

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News From the Autism Community

Autism Speaks Launches Dental Tool Kit

Autism Speaks recently released a new Dental Tool Kit to help parents promote good, life-long oral health care habits for their kids with autism. The free kit, which includes both a video and a downloadable printed guide, features tips for improving oral hygiene at home, as well as information about how parents and dental professionals can make a visit to the dentist's office less stressful and more productive.

The Dental Tool Kit is the result of unrestricted educational grants to Autism Speaks from Colgate and Philips Sonicare, and the collaborative efforts of all three organizations. The Dental Tool Kit offers tips on brushing and flossing at home and for preparing for a dental visit. Because children with autism often benefit from visual guides and schedules, the kit includes a visual depiction of a dental visit that parents can review with their child in advance. It also features a questionnaire that families can provide to their dentist before the visit that explains some of the specific challenges that may affect their child with autism. For dental professionals, there is information about autism and suggestions for making their interactions with patients with autism more successful.

“As the parent of a child with autism, I know that home oral health care and visits to the dentist's office can be challenging for some children with autism,” says Lisa Goring, Autism Speaks national director of family services. “We hope that our Dental Tool Kit will give parents some useful strategies for promoting good oral health care habits and provide dental professionals with information that will make treating kids with autism a more positive experience for all.”

The complementary video features insights from two dentists, Michele Savel, DDS, and Richard Holstein, DMD, FADH, both of whom regularly treat young patients with autism.

“I'm confident that this will be a great tool for families of with children with special needs,” says Dr. Savel. “Many parents think it's not an option to get their kids to brush their teeth, let alone take their kids to the dentist. This video can educate parents and open a door that most parents assume is closed.”

“The video makes it quite obvious that people with autism spectrum disorders can effectively be treated by dentists who are caring, attentive, and patient,” adds Dr. Holstein.

Find out more about the Dental Tool Kit on Autism Speaks’ Web site at www.autismspeaks.org/community/family_services/dental.php.

CDC Boosts Funding for Tracking Autism Prevalence

Research programs in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin recently received funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue research on the prevalence of autism.

The sites are part of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM) that provides comparable, population-based estimates of the number of children who have autism and related disorders in different sites over time. 


Funded by CDC, the sites are helping to determine the number of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in the United States. The ADDM sites all collect data using the same surveillance methods, which are modeled after CDC’s Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program (MADDSP).

ADDM’s goals are to:
• Provide data about ASD prevalence (how common ASDs are in a specific place and time period).
• Describe the population of children with ASDs.
• Compare ASD prevalence in different groups of children and different areas of the country.
• Identify changes in ASD prevalence over time.
• Understand the impact of autism and related conditions in U.S. communities.

Read more about the ADDM Network at www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/addm.html.

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More About... Executive Functions

By Elizabeth Roberts, PsyD

Elizabeth Roberts, PsyD is a clinical neuropsychologist at the NYU Child Study Center in Manhattan and Hackensack, NJ. She also participates in research concerning autism. You can find out more about her at www.aboutourkids.org and www.neuropsychnj.com.

Having Asperger Syndrome (AS), a form of autism, can be so frustrating. With AS, a person knows he’s got intelligence and a phenomenal store of factual information at his fingertips. With such an abundance of talents, why is it often so hard for someone with AS to get anything done?   A hallmark feature of AS is difficulty with executive functions, a set of skills we need to use in order to translate ability into accomplishment.

What are Executive Functions?

Everything we “do” is a behavior. Thinking is a behavior. Executive functions are behaviors. Executive functions have some key features: they are goal directed, future oriented, and rule governed. That is, the decisions that we make (I will buy this iPod, I will approach that girl at a party, I will wear my blue sweater today) have goals as end-points. The goals are attained at some point in the future. The decisions are rule governed. Some examples of internal rules would be: “Music gives me pleasure therefore directing resources towards listening to music is a priority.” Or: “That girl looks friendly and my encounters with friendly people usually go better. I will approach her.” Or: “People tell me I look handsome whenever I wear my blue sweater. I will wear it today.”

Planning, organizing, shifting (often referred to as cognitive flexibility), self-regulation, working memory (holding information “online” and manipulating it in some way), and conducting an organized search of the environment for feedback concerning goal attainment (the “How am I doing?” part of problem-solving) are some executive functions. Sustained mental effort, attention and concentration, prioritizing, time estimation, and time management are some related executive skills.

Which Part of the Brain is Responsible for Executive Functions?

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Figure 1

The frontal lobes play a central role in executive functions [See figure 1]. The frontal lobes represent fully one-third of the human brain, proportionally more of the brain than in any other animal. So we know how important they are to being human.

The frontal lobes have many different parts, each with different jobs. Portions on the lateral or outer surface are important for many cognitive skills. Portions at the underbelly and in the inner, or mesial region, are important for social judgments, self-regulation of emotion, and Theory of Mind (“ToM”). ToM is the ability to conceive of and act on information about other people’s minds and your own. The left and right frontal lobes are specialized to process different types of information. Like the executive of a large company, the frontal lobes are richly connected directly or indirectly to the rest of the brain, each part of which sends in information—factual, sensory, or emotional—that is relevant to whatever decision is at hand.

In humans, the frontal lobes develop and organize into the twenties. They are the last cognitive ability to fully mature. In working with someone with AS, it is important to take development into consideration.

What Types of Executive Function Difficulties Do We See in AS?  

• Emotional: Difficulty with emotional self-regulation—that is, matching the expression of a particular emotion to what is going on (not having a tantrum in a public place, not laughing at a funeral), poor impulse control, and shifting away from an emotion (recovering from disappointment or “moving on”) are two executive function challenges. Being “rigid” is a big problem. This can get expressed in extreme argumentativeness, always having to be right, being overly moralistic, having difficulty learning ways to modify an emotional reaction to a situation or seeing that people often experience more than one emotion about something at the same time.
• Cognitive: Difficulty with starting an activity, terminating one activity and shifting to a new activity, planning, organizing, and thinking abstractly or categorically. We see difficulty with prospective remembering or “remembering to remember;” perseveration or “getting stuck” on one idea or one object; and distractibility.
• Social: Difficulty making good decisions—sizing up the emotional tone of a situation; choosing an appropriate topic or statement; shifting topics when someone’s facial expression, voice, or body language registers distress. People with AS have been found to do well on laboratory testing of ToM and seem to accomplish this by using their good language skills. However, they have difficulty with ToM in the real world, resulting in social naivete, being taken advantage of, or being accused of insensitivity

Do People with AS Have Any Executive Function Strengths?

People with AS do much better if the problem can be mastered by learning a language-based rule, when the problem is on a computer, and when the rule has inherent sense and is on its face non-arbitrary (A problem is that sometimes teachers’ rules seem arbitrary). What matters is to identify executive strengths and teach the person with AS to capitalize on those strengths in coping with life’s many challenges.

What Kinds of Real-World Problems Do People with AS Have with Executive Functions?

People who live with people with AS describe it as if there were no “pilot” or “navigator” at the helm. Because of executive dysfunction, it is often hard for highly intelligent youngsters with AS to achieve in school at a level commensurate with ability. Starting, sticking with, and shifting through homework assignments, particularly when the assignment is long-term or in other ways less structured, are challenges. Writing is often excruciatingly difficult, because it taps executive functions of planning and organizing, is often on a topic that is not motivating to the person with AS, and often requires synthesis rather than rote retrieval of factual information. At home, individuals with AS can get stuck in counterproductive routines or perseverate, have difficulty learning from experience, and find it hard to develop a set of steps to complete a more open-ended task, such as finding a job or developing a leisure interest. The combination of executive dysfunction and social skills weaknesses often results in difficulty with grooming, scheduling, and everyday adaptive skills.

What Can People with AS Do to Minimize the Impact of Executive Dysfunction on Their Daily Lives and Success in School and at Work?

The foundation for change has two components—self-awareness, or acknowledgement of the problem, and motivation. Without these, there are no strategies, books, software, or organizational tools (date book, laptop, Blackberry, etc.) that will do any good. To guide someone toward being motivated, it is valuable to frame suggestions or treatment in terms of a goal that matters to the person with AS—getting a date, being accepted into college, finding a job--rather than a goal that might matter to someone else. Self-awareness is a process we hope to nurture in ourselves over the course of a lifetime. Helping someone increase self-awareness involves asking the right question at the right time and in the right tone of voice to encourage someone to observe himself or herself in a non-defensive manner.

Once the person with AS is “on board” with the reason to put out some new effort, helping him or her get into daily habits is a good first step. It is important to start slow, for example, implementing just one habit at a time. An example of a good weekly habit is always reviewing the coming week’s schedule right after Sunday dinner. A second step is to help the person with AS locate the best organizational tools for his or her lifestyle and then helping the person learn to use them regularly. A third is getting the person into the habit of prioritizing what she or he wants to accomplish in a given day or week. A fourth is helping the person with AS recognize her or his successes, giving himself or herself positive feedback and getting it from the person’s family and friends as well. This raises self-esteem, which then motivates the person further to maintain the strategies that support good executive functioning.

Goldberg, E (2001) The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind NY: Oxford University Press.

Kiln, A, Volkmar, FR, Sparrow, SS (2000) Asperger Syndrome NY: Guilford Press.

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FOCUS ON OAR RESEARCH

The Effects of a Reciprocal Questioning Intervention on the Reading Comprehension and Social Communication of Students with ASD

Language proficiency is essential to reading acquisition, according to research. For example, research has established a clear relationship between the inability of children with dyslexia to decode words and phonological processing skills necessary for understanding sound letter correspondence. Additionally, evidence consistently shows that children who demonstrate low levels of reading comprehension have intact phonological processing abilities but difficulty processing language to interpret meaning.

As parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and clinicians already know, this intricate relationship between language and reading development is likely to present challenges to learners with ASD as they have difficulty developing the expressive and/or receptive language skills that support reading development. Yet reading is a critical skill for student success in school and access to post-school opportunities.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and IDEA 2004 require that all children, including learners with ASD, receive evidence-based reading instruction consistent with the findings from the National Reading Panel (NRP), which includes phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Emerging evidence indicates that children with ASD can benefit from reading instruction consistent with NRP recommendations.

After a research review, the NRP concluded that children should be taught multiple comprehension strategies to include two or more of the following: question generation, summarization, clarification, and prediction. Moreover, children reading and comprehending on grade level in the primary grades will not necessarily comprehend on grade level in the future, and later comprehension difficulties may partially result from a lack of comprehension instruction earlier. Because children with ASD are likely to experience problems with reading comprehension, explicitly addressing comprehension in the early grades should be an instructional priority.

Based on these findings and recommendations, OAR-funded researcher Kelly Whalon, Ph.D, assistant professor in the School of Education at The College of William and Mary, is investigating the impact of an adapted reciprocal questioning intervention. Specifically, she hopes to answer this question: What is the impact of reciprocal questioning comprehension instruction on the reading comprehension and social communication of children with ASD?

The proposed studies will extend the initial work Dr. Whalon did in 2008 with Mary Frances Hanline, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Childhood Education, Reading and Disability Services at Florida State University. In that study, first- and second-grade students with ASD and their general education peers learned to generate and respond to “wh-” questions as they took turns reading a book aloud. Following the intervention, the participants increased their ability to ask and respond to questions during reading, and generated questions became less generic and more specific over time.

How the Project Will Work
The project will further this preliminary research by using a reciprocal questioning intervention with both fiction and nonfiction texts, including additional informal comprehension measures, and administering distant generalization measures. Specifically, students with ASD and participating general education peers will be taught to: generate and respond to questions during reading; summarize; and monitor question generation, responding, and summarization using a self-monitoring checklist as they read fiction or nonfiction books aloud. In addition, during the last 10 minutes of each session, students will receive time for free play.

The project will include prediction, question generation/responding, and summarization on the reading comprehension skills of young children with ASD. Peer reciprocal questioning strategies are also consistent with best practices for beginning readers.

In addition, the study will provide direct explanations of the purpose/function of the strategy, a breakdown of strategy steps, modeling, guided practice, and ongoing feedback. Modeling will involve thinking aloud, and feedback will be comprised of scaffolding strategies consistent with the reciprocal teaching literature.

Because research indicates that prompts such as self-monitoring checklists, visual cues, and generic questions into explicit instruction facilitates the learning of a new strategy, and results in greater gains than studies lacking such supports, the project will incorporate a self-monitoring checklist, visual cues, and generic questions.

The current investigation will include eight to 10 students with ASD who have difficulty with reading comprehension and 24 to 30 general education peers in grades 1 to 3. Three of the general education students will be paired with each child with ASD. General education teachers will be asked to identify typically developing peers who (1) attend at least one class with the focus student with ASD, (2) demonstrate grade-level decoding skills, and (3) exhibit positive prosocial behaviors.

Students with ASD will be randomly assigned to participate in either Study 1 (spring, fiction) or Study 2 (fall, nonfiction). To determine whether interactions generalize to play settings, the last 10 minutes of each phase will be spent in a free-play activity (e.g., board games, art projects, etc.).

Outcomes and Practical Relevance
Dr. Whalon hopes that the results will illustrate to general education teachers that they can meet the needs of their general student population while also addressing the varied needs of learners with ASD. The proposed intervention targets reading comprehension as well as social communication, both skills that are generally difficult for children with ASD to acquire. As general and special education teachers see evidence suggesting that children with ASD can learn a new strategy along with their general education peers with additional social communication benefits, they may be encouraged to provide greater opportunities for children with ASD to access the general education curriculum as well as increase the amount of time they spend with typically developing peers.

In addition, it is possible that establishing evidence-based practices addressing the reading comprehension skills of students with ASD early will reduce the magnitude of comprehension difficulties children with ASD will likely experience in successive grades.

Dr. Whalon plans to disseminate the findings in journal articles and present them at regional and national conferences. In addition, she and her team will demonstrate implementation of the intervention and provide materials to participating district-level special education personnel, general and special education teachers, and families.

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Focus on OAR Research Results

By Rebecca MacDonald and William Ahearn, The New England Center for Children

Examination of Prerequisite Skills for Learning Using Video Modeling

With more than 20 years of experience in the field of autism, OAR-funded researcher Rebecca MacDonald, PhD, BCBA, is the director of the Intensive Instruction Program - Preschool Services at The New England Center for Children in Southborough, MA. She received her doctorate in clinical and child psychology at the University of Kansas and is a licensed psychologist. She is currently conducting research on the effectiveness of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention for young children with autism.

Her colleague and co-researcher, William H. Ahearn, Ph.D., BCBA, has been with The New England Center for Children since 1996 and currently serves as the director of research. He is also a clinical assistant professor in Northeastern University's master's program in applied behavior analysis. Dr. Ahearn's research interests include assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, resistance to change, behavioral economics, and pediatric feeding difficulties. His work has been published in a number of journals, includingThe Lancetand theJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. He also recently published a book chapter inMaking a Difference: Behavioral Intervention for Autism. Dr. Ahearn is currently on the editorial boards for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavioral Interventions and has served as a guest reviewer for several other journals.

MacDonald and Ahearn will be jointly presenting their research at OAR’s 2010 Applied Autism Research and Intervention Conference on October 29.

Video modeling is an effective and efficient instructional technique for many children with autism. But other children with autism cannot learn through the use of video modeling. In a pilot study we did before the 2008 OAR-funded study, we developed a pre-assessment battery of tests to measure levels of performance on a variety of skills that could influence learning using video modeling and found that poor responding on delayed match-to-sample tasks was associated with failure to learn using video modeling (Tereshko, MacDonald, & Ahearn, 2010).

Delayed match-to-sample (DMTS) is a widely used procedure to measure short-term memory. It appears that memory may play an important role in learning using video modeling. In video modeling, the child observes the video and then imitates the model, which requires that the child remember the observed actions for the duration of the video and the period of time between the video and the task presentation.

The purpose of our OAR-sponsored research was twofold: to examine the prerequisites for video modeling and to determine whether establishing successive discrimination skills via delayed matching-to-sample training for children who do not learn through video modeling would foster learning with a video model. We developed a 15-item pre-assessment battery of tests to measure levels of performance on a variety of skills, including immediate and delayed imitation, immediate and delayed match-to-sample, and attending to a video. The assessment also included an assessment of learning with a video model. We conducted the assessment with 29 children with an autism spectrum disorder.

We found a significant correlation between delayed match-to-sample accuracy and video modeling performance. Participants who performed better on delayed matching also tended to perform better on the video modeling performance subtests. There was also a significant correlation between delayed imitation accuracy and video modeling performance. Our findings suggest that the most significant predictor of learning using video modeling was, in fact, performance on the delayed imitation tasks followed by performance on delayed matching-to-sample tasks. Interestingly, attending to a video was the worst predictor of performance on the video-modeling task. This suggests that attending to a video may be a necessary skill but it is not sufficient for producing learning via video modeling.

In summary, these data suggest that successive discrimination skills or remembering may be critically important for learning through video modeling. This confirmed our assumption that focusing on successive discrimination may be a useful teaching goal to establish learning through video modeling.

The second purpose of our study was to teach delayed matching-to-sample skills. We taught five participants delayed match-to-sample performance and found that this procedure was not universally effective for establishing learning using video modeling. Three of the students acquired delayed match-to-sample performance and two of the participants did not master this skill. For those who did learn delayed match-to-sample, this new performance did not result in video modeling mastery.

Our future research will focus on teaching delayed imitation as this is the most reliable predictor of learning using video modeling. Particularly, we’ll look at which component of delayed imitation is more foundational to learning using video modeling: the complexity of the modeled sequence of actions, or the duration of the delay itself. If, indeed, short-term recall is an important factor in learning though video modeling, the identification of strategies that may be used to improve this ability could be an important next step toward making available this teaching technology to individuals with autism who previously would not have been able to benefit from it.

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