Date Approved

6-5-2017

Embargo Period

6-5-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA Special Education

Department

Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education

College

College of Education

Advisor

Accardo, Amy

Committee Member 1

Kuder, Sydney J.

Keywords

ASD, electronic visual schedule, independence, independent task completion, independent transitioning

Subject(s)

Youth with autism spectrum disorders; Life skills

Disciplines

Special Education and Teaching

Abstract

Adolescents with developmental disabilities are often unable to navigate single daily tasks without depending on verbal prompts. The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of electronic visual schedules on task completion and independent transitioning from one task to another. Four high school students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders participated. A single subject multiple baseline design was used for the study. During the baseline, students followed a paper based daily schedule. Independence in task completion and transitioning were measured. During the intervention, an application, First Then Visual Schedule High Definition, on an iPod was provided for each student. Individualized tasks were programmed into each device's app and adjusted for individual academic goals and unique needs at the beginning of the academic day. Participants' independence was monitored during academic lessons and during community based instructions for 20 consecutive days. Applying the principles of behavior analysis, an additional intervention condition was presented to one of the participants. The results showed that task completion and independent task transition of all participants increased when using FTVS HD app on an iPod.

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