In this study, we examined the demographic, disability, referral and service needs profile of children with autism spectrum disorder waiting for school placement in the Western Cape Province of South Africa and combined our findings with those of a previous study on children with autism spectrum disorder attending schools in the province over the…

Starting early in life, autistics are characterized as having atypical facial expressions, as well as decreased positive and increased negative affect. The literature on autistic facial expressions remains small, however, with disparate methods and results suggesting limited understanding of common autistic emotions. Furthermore, unlike…

There have been significant developments in the field of statistics education over the past decade that have improved outcomes for all students. However, there remains relatively little research on the best practices for teaching statistics to students with disabilities. This article describes a conceptual visual approach to teaching a college…

Deficits in social referencing have been associated with autism spectrum disorder. It may lead to deficits in language, symbolic abilities, and other social-cognitive behaviors. When deficits in social referencing are detected, teaching such behaviors should be a priority, but effective teaching procedures are lacking. We consider social…

Parent-mediated intervention can enhance parents' competence in supporting parent-child social interactions. Research and current policy have highlighted the importance of building family capacity in supporting parents to help children with autism develop social communication abilities. Parents who experienced parent-mediated interventions have…

Parent-mediated intervention can enhance parents' competence in supporting parent-child social interactions. Research and current policy have highlighted the importance of building family capacity in supporting parents to help children with autism develop social communication abilities. Parents who experienced parent-mediated interventions have…

Individuals with developmental disabilities demonstrate deficits in intellectual and adaptive functioning that can include difficulty describing past events; accurate recall may be improved by learning to engage in precurrent, or problem solving, behavior. Visual imagining is a problem-solving strategy that involves seeing in the absence of the…

Tact is the most important verbal operant (Skinner, 1957) due to the uniqueness of stimulus control and its role in facilitating acquisition of another verbal (e.g., mands, intraverbals) and nonverbal (i.e., listener) operants (Sundberg, 2015). Teaching tacts to children with ASD and the research on this area, however, are largely focused on…

According to multiple studies, a referral process bias exists in the early identification of autism for children of color, in particular Latino children. Sociocultural, economic, educational, and health care barriers have significantly impacted Latino children. For example, Latino children are less likely to receive access to early intervention…

Research on siblings of children with developmental and physical disabilities has emphasized negative influences on siblings' mental health. Yet, such siblings may be more prosocial compared with siblings of children without disabilities, due to care responsibilities and their experiences with their brother's or sister's disability. We compared…

Communication deficits are one of the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As such, individuals diagnosed with ASD are often taught to communicate using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. One of the most commonly used AAC systems is the Picture Exchange Communication System® (PECS®). Despite the prevalent use of…

This study presents the findings of a systematic review of empirical research on the use of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and extended reality (XR) to present social skill instruction to school-age students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Forty-one articles met the inclusion criteria. Studies targeted…

The complex handwriting skill, necessary for effective expression that has spatial, temporal, and kinaesthetic aspects ("three-aspects" henceforth), needs planning alongwith fine motor skill. Unlike neurotypicals, individuals with Autism possess cognitive and motor deficits adversely affecting handwriting, addressable through…

Recent surveillance efforts indicate that 1 in 54 American children meet the criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), making it the fastest growing neurodevelopmental disorder in the U.S. Despite evidence that ASD can be reliably diagnosed as early as 24 months, the median age at ASD diagnosis in 2016 in the U.S. was 51 months. The CLEAR…

This study evaluated whether a play-based, teacher-facilitated peer network intervention could improve basic social communication skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study was conducted in a regular classroom, using the principles of peer mediation and an integrated playgroup model. A single-subject multiple baseline design…