Educating Parents: Behavioral Intervention in Autism

描述（由申请人提供）：本项目的长期目标是开发一门六单元的计算机课程，以教育患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的幼儿的父母有关行为干预（BI）的性质、目的和程序。BI是一种公认的“最佳实践”科学方法，用于教授ASD中关键的发展技能和预防/治疗适应不良行为。BI应该由服务提供商尽早和集中地实现，以最大化早期开发的关键窗口。自闭症儿童的父母需要一种实用、有效的BI教育手段，以便在安排服务时尽早与医疗、心理和教育专业人员进行有效的互动。虽然现有的课程提供高级培训，但它们不能满足家长作为消费者的直接教育需求。文本、网络材料和研讨会不能提供计算机教学可能具有的重要教学特征。第一阶段STTR提案旨在确定开发BI六模块课程的科学/技术价值和可行性。具体目标是：1)首先开发原型模块；2)与一组自闭症儿童的父母一起对该模块进行形成性评估，以解决内容呈现，教学法和技术可用性特征；3)对修订后的模块进行总结性评估，与新一组家长一起评估学习情况；4)制定指导设计手册，指导二期后续模块的产品开发；5)制定第二阶段的研究和发展议程。八(8)位家长将参与形成性评估（目标#2），其中四位有商业智能经验，四位没有。参与者将完成一份课程活动样本，生成个人表现数据，然后参加焦点小组，就他们的主观体验提供反馈。20位有年幼ASD儿童但没有BI经验的家长将参加总结性评估（目标3）。学习成果将通过测试前和测试后表现的统计比较来评估。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term objective of this project is to develop a six-module computer-based course to educate parents of young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the nature, purpose and procedures of behavioral intervention (BI). BI is a consensus "best practice" scientific methodology for teaching critical developmental skills and preventing/treating maladaptive behavior in ASD. BI should be implemented early and intensively by service providers to maximize a critical window for early development. Parents of children with ASD need a practical, efficient means of education in BI in order to interact early and effectively with medical, psychological and educational professionals as services are arranged. While existing courses offer advanced training, they do not meet parents' immediate educational needs as consumers. Texts, web materials and workshops do not offer important pedagogical features possible with computer-based instruction. This Phase I STTR proposal seeks to determine the scientific/technical merit and feasibility of developing a six-module course in BI. Specific aims are to: 1) develop a prototype first module; 2) conduct a formative evaluation of this module with a group of parents of young children with ASD, to address content presentation, pedagogy and technical usability characteristics; 3) conduct a summative evaluation of the revised module to assess learning with a new group of parents; 4) develop an instructional design manual to guide product development of subsequent modules in Phase II; and 5) develop an agenda for research and development in Phase II. Eight (8) parents will participate in the formative evaluation (Aim #2), four with experience in BI and four without. Participants will complete a sample of course activities, generating individual performance data, and then participate in a focus group to provide feedback on their subjective experiences. Twenty (20) parents with young children with ASD, but no experience in BI, will participate in the summative evaluation (Aim # 3). Learning outcomes will be assessed via a statistical comparison of pre- and post-test performance.