Principal Investigator(s):
Alice Shillingsburg, PhD BCBA-D and Sarah Frampton, PhD BCBA-D
Grant Type:
Applied Research
Funding:
38,129
Organization:
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Year Awarded:
2023
Status:
In Progress
Location:
Omaha, NE
Topics:
Social and Communication Skills; Education and School Aged Children
Abstract
During the 2021-2022 school year, nearly 876,000 students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2023). Given that nearly 30% of individuals with autism are minimally verbal (Rose et al., 2016), finding evidence-based curricula for this population is critical. Despite growth in autism research, studies often exclude those with profound autism and those who are minimally verbal (Stedman et al., 2019). Interventions that address cognitive and language skills are particularly important since these areas are associated with lower long-term symptom severity (Lord et al., 2022). Direct Instruction (DI) curricula is effective for people with autism who are vocal communicators. Only one study (N=3) piloting DI with autistic individuals using speech generating devices (SGDs) exists (Frampton et al., 2020). We propose a study to further evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of DI with participants who are minimally verbal and use SGDs. Randomly assigned participants (N=20) will receive 3 hours per week of the DI curriculum Language for Learning (DI-LL) or Treatment as Usual (TAU) for 10 weeks. The TAU group will be offered DI-LL following the trial. We will evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy using measures of participant performance, participant affect, clinician ratings, and independent evaluation by an expert in SGD use.
