Incidental Teaching of Conversational Skills for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This article describes a process for the incidental teaching of conversation skills to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in inclusive settings. The incidental teaching of conversation skills is an effective naturalistic intervention for assisting students with ASD to improve their social communication skills. Special educators and other stakeholders can implement this strategy by following the RACTF process: 1) recruit and prepare team members, 2) assess and identify target conversational skills, 3) identify natural cueing conditions and times to focus on target skills, 4) introduce and teach the target skills, and 5) fade prompts and practice the target skills in new settings. By improving the conversation skills of students with ASD, students have a higher likelihood of establishing peer relationships and becoming engaged, active participants in the classroom and other school environments.

Co-occurrence of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down Syndrome

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a heterogeneous condition characterized by deficits in social communication and the presence of restricted, repetitive, and stereotypic behaviors, interests, or activities. While some neurodevelopmental disorders have a well-established correlation with ASD, people continue to believe that because individuals with Down syndrome are characteristically perceived as affectionate and engaging, a diagnosis of ASD is contradictory. However, some people with Down syndrome indeed do meet diagnostic criteria for ASD and this chapter examines the research literature regarding Down syndrome and ASD, presenting information regarding the establishment of a diagnosis of ASD in individuals with Down syndrome and research techniques to understand the dual diagnosis of ASD and Down syndrome. Behavioral manifestations of ASD in Down syndrome are presented and research methodologies which address possible underlying mechanisms in Down syndrome and ASD are surveyed. Finally, the need for specification of behavioral profiles for individuals with a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and ASD, in order to design and implement appropriate therapeutic interventions, is highlighted. Once a person with Down syndrome is diagnosed with ASD, he or she should automatically receive a combined treatment approach incorporating direct instruction, natural environment teaching, and incidental teaching. The manifestation of ASD in individuals with Down syndrome can shed light on our understanding of how ASD and intellectual disability are associated and what impact these diagnoses have on individuals and their families. This knowledge can help shape public policy and our research agenda in the areas of ASD, intellectual impairment, and Down syndrome.

Using Peer-Shared Intervention Strategies for Promoting Math Explorations and Critical Thinking in Early Childhood Inclusive Classrooms

Inclusive early childhood settings invite children with and without disabilities to play, learn, and work together in one classroom. Teachers can take advantage of children’s curiosity for math when they organize creative learning environments and develop meaningful critical thinking experiences to increase children’s interactions with peers. Peer-shared activities, including math helpmates and math chats, can offer a hopeful approach for supporting higher order and critical thinking math experiences for young children in inclusive classroom settings. Inviting a math helpmate to explain to a peer how or why they arrived at an answer or to show a different way to find an answer during math activities can promote critical math thinking and communication skills. To maximize success when using peer-shared strategies, teachers should be actively involved in monitoring math progress, providing feedback to children, and supporting peer interactions. This article will explore a variety of strategies for creating math discoveries and critical thinking using peer-shared activities at school and home. Practical strategies to be discussed will include math helpmates, math chats, and incidental teaching for increasing for supporting children’s natural interest in math concepts.

Sexism in English Reference Books Used by College Freshmen: Implications for Gender Equality

Sexist words in the books showed an unfair treatment of the female gender. The generic term, man, refers not only to a male person but also to denote humanity. The personal pronoun is used to refer to a hypothetical person in general and accepted in Filipino society. This research is a qualitative study that used content analysis to interpret the data. Sexism was found evident in English references. It is recommended that the sentences containing sexist language be taken out of the 12 books dissected for political correctness to make them gender fair. The textbook Board should be aware of RA 7192 (DepEd, GAD program) and CHED Memo No. 1, s. 2015, they should be gender sensitive. Policymakers should be mindful of the dynamism of language, and its importance in education must be more responsive to the needs of the time through quality language and gender sensitive. Publishers are cautioned to exact gender-fair language from their clients so that both sexes get equal treatment in publication. Students should be alerted to sexist language, and teachers should teach gender sensitivity, even only as incidental teaching. English reference books used by the college freshmen should be reviewed, and those who found out to be sexist should be substituted with gender-fair ones.

Effects of Instructor Training on Language Outcomes of Students With ASD

This study evaluated the effects of a training package on the implementation of incidental teaching by instructors and on targeted initiations of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Four instructors were introduced to incidental teaching through a 1-hr individualized training session. Specific feedback was provided for each incidental teaching session post training. Following initial training, increases in correct implementation of incidental teaching were consistently observed across instructors. The impact of training and feedback effects were measured using a multiple baseline design across participants. Findings showed that the training package increased the correct implementation of incidental teaching as well as student initiations, and produced generalized results.