Autism Education and Treatment with PowerPoint Software

描述（由申请人提供）：PowerPoint（R）多媒体软件在我们的学校中无处不在，但它对自闭症谱系和相关疾病儿童的教学能力几乎没有实现。这个STTR（第一阶段）项目将开始通过研究和开发经验性的多媒体教学工具来改变这种状况。在早期可行性工作的鼓励下，我们评估了一套培训教师使用PowerPoint（R）提供活动时间表以提高儿童独立游戏和社交技能的方案。我们提出的多媒体软件的使用做了典型的现成软件没有做的事情-它嵌入照片，声音和视频，在一个上下文中传达意义，最大限度地提高了在远离计算机的情况下听到，观看，说和做的事情中的学习。PowerPoint（R）课程与儿童的个性化教育计划相关联，重点是功能性语言技能。活动时间表培养的独立性使学习结果与其他教学方法显着不同，但相互补充。当一个孩子学会使用活动时间表时，就能获得更大的独立性，这些活动时间表提供了一系列多媒体提示，告诉他在玩耍时该说什么和做什么。第一阶段的具体目标如下：目标1验证每个教师使用Notebook和PowerPoint（R）活动计划的忠实性，以及儿童的独立游戏和社交能力的提高（多个基线设计）。目标2评估每位教师的技能获得和消费者反馈，这些反馈来自PowerPoint（R）活动时间表的操作培训（多个基线设计和消费者满意度调查）。目标3审查了一个新出现的PowerPoint（R）培训包的商业潜力（有独立的咨询和评论）。在第二阶段，改进和扩大的“特殊教育工作者PowerPoint（R）”将包括其他视觉学习组件（例如，图片交流、图片阅读和社会故事活动），并在学校、诊所和家庭中进行评估。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): PowerPoint(R) multimedia software is ubiquitous in our schools but its capacity for teaching children with autism spectrum and related disorders barely has been realized. This STTR (Phase I) project will begin to change this state of affairs by researching and developing empirically derived multimedia teaching tools. Encouraged by early-stage feasibility work, we evaluate a package to train teachers to use PowerPoint(R) to deliver activity schedules to improve children's independent play and social skills. Our proposed use of multimedia software does what typical off-the-shelf software does not - it embeds photos, sounds, and videos to convey meaning in a context that maximizes learning among things that are heard, watched, said, and done away from the computer. The PowerPoint(R) lessons are linked to a child's individualized educational plan focusing on functional verbal skills. The independence fostered by activity schedules makes the learning outcomes remarkably different from, but complementary to, those achieved by other teaching methods. Even greater independence is achieved when a child learns to use activity schedules presenting sequences of multimedia cues for what to say and do during play. The Specific Aims of Phase I are as follows: Aim 1 verifies fidelity of each teacher's use of Notebook and PowerPoint(R) activity schedules and that a child's independent play and social initiations improve (with multiple baseline designs). Aim 2 evaluates each teacher's skill acquisition and consumer feedback resulting from how-to training in PowerPoint(R) activity schedules (with multiple baseline designs and consumer satisfaction survey). Aim 3 examines the commercial potential of an emerging PowerPoint(R) training package (with independent consultation and critique). In Phase II, a refined and expanded "PowerPoint(R) for Special Educators" will include other visual learning components (e.g., picture communication, picture reading, and social story activities) and be evaluated in schools, clinics, and homes.