This study, generated from considerations of embodied cognition, observational learning, and cognitive load theory, investigated the effect of mimicking gestures on learning to play piano tasks. Fifty university students from an Australian University, with two different levels of piano-playing experience, were randomly assigned to one of the two…

This research project explores the communication opportunities for individuals in a community-based transition program in the Bay Area. The study focuses on the opportunities that are made available by a program that is founded on neurodiversity and trauma-informed principles. The research questions examined how a neurodiverse framework allows for…

Adolescents' verbal and nonverbal communication skills were compared before and after training in a workforce readiness training program, Language for Scholars (LFS), and a study skills program, Ideal Student Workshop (ISW). A cross-over design was used, ensuring that 44 adolescents received both programs and acted as their own control. The LFS…

Acquiring nonverbal skills necessary to appropriately communicate and educate members of performing ensembles is essential for wind band conductors. Virtual reality learning environments (VRLEs) provide a unique setting for developing these proficiencies. For this feasibility study, we used an augmented immersive VRLE to enhance eye contact, torso…

This Conversation Analysis study investigated how a speech and language therapist (SLT) created opportunities for communication aid use in multiparty conversation. An SLT interacted with a child with multiple disabilities and her grandparents in a home setting, using a bliss board. The analyses demonstrated a practice where the SLT employed…

This study examined Pathways Early Autism Intervention, a community-based, parent-mediated, intensive behavioral and developmental intervention program for children with autism spectrum disorders that could be used as a model for state-funded early intervention programs. A single-subject, multiple-baseline, across-participants design was used.…

Data from two groups of children who were randomly allocated to those groups showed that the ability of children with ASD to identify and label basic and complex facial expressions following a 3-week home based DVD intervention significantly improved when viewing "The Transporters" DVD. Improvements in emotion recognition appear related to the…

Video-modeling (VM) is a widely used instructional technique that has been applied to the education of children with developmental disabilities. One form of VM that lacks in-depth analysis is point-of-view video modeling (POVM). The current study investigated the use of POVM to teach three children diagnosed with autism to initiate and maintain a…

The Philosophy for Children in Schools Project (P4CISP) is a research project to monitor and evaluate the impact of Philosophy for Children (P4C) on classroom practices. In this paper the impact of P4C on the thinking skills of four children aged 10 is examined. Standardised tests indicated the children had below-average reading ages. The pupils…

Children with autism often lack complex socially expressive skills that would allow them to engage others more successfully. In the present study, video modeling was used to promote appropriate verbal comments, intonation, gestures, and facial expressions during social interactions of three children with autism. In baseline, the children rarely…

The social underpinnings of learning make it important to understand how people experience themselves and form relationships in web-based educational environments. Social presence is a critical factor of a communication medium that plays an important role in building community and improving the effectiveness of instruction. The components of…

This study examined the effects of Dolphin-Assisted Therapy (DAT) as a reinforcer for verbal operant production in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Three children who attended a dolphin therapy program participated in this single subject research study. Baseline data was collected for each child via a video tape provided by parents and…

This article examines how eight advanced ESL learners attend to and utilize the nonverbal information found in a video text. Using verbal report methodology in which test-takers verbalized aloud their thought processes while taking a video listening test, the results suggested that the test-takers varied in how they attended to and utilized the…