Honors Theses

Date of Award

Spring 4-22-2022

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Communication Sciences and Disorders

First Advisor

Ying Hao

Second Advisor

Toshikazu Ikuta

Third Advisor

Teresa Carithers

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Background

The present study explored the use of parent intervention via tele-practice for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and how effective that intervention was in increasing the child’s language and communication skills and the parents’ strategy use in the rural state of Mississippi.

Methods

Two dyads of participants were used. Dyad 1 included a mother and her 4-year-old son with high-functioning ASD, and Dyad 2 included a mother and her 4-year-old daughter with severe ASD. Standardized tests were administered to gather data about the children’s diagnoses. The study included four phases across four months, including pre-test, intervention, post-test, and follow-up. Language samples were gathered each session and later analyzed for data on the children’s language levels and the frequency of the parents’ strategy usage using language and behavioral analyzing software.

Results

Dyad 1 child’s percent of utterances with errors decreased to zero while the scores on the other language measures remained consistent throughout the process. The Parent Fidelity of Intervention Implementation (FII) scores for the Dyad 1 parent increased during the intervention phase and then remained consistent. The parent’s strategy usage at the beginning of the study tended toward only a few strategies, but by the end, the mother used a wider range of strategies.

The Dyad 2 child’s language scores increased through the intervention phase and the post-test phase. The FII scores for the Dyad 2 parent fluctuated throughout the study while gradually increasing. The parent's strategy usage was unvaried at the beginning of the intervention but diversified by the end of the study.

Implications/Conclusions

The results indicate the effectiveness of the parent-led intervention via tele-practice among the two children with ASD. The results imply that the intervention may be better suited for the child with lower-language abilities. Future research may include a larger population to gather more data about the use of parent-led intervention for children with ASD.

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