Commitment to Philosophy, Teacher Efficacy, and Burnout Among Teachers of Children with Autism

Variables that may be related to burnout in teachers of students with autism, including commitment to an underlying philosophy of a treatment and professional self-efficacy, were explored. Teachers using one of two different treatment approaches to autism participated: those using Applied Behavior Analysis (n = 34), and those using TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Related Handicapped Children) (n = 30). Participants completed the Autism Treatment Philosophy Questionnaire, developed by the authors to differentiate between the philosophy of the approaches; Teacher Efficacy Scale, and Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results indicate a significant difference in philosophical commitment between the groups, but no differences in teaching efficacy or burnout. The relationship between a commitment to one's teaching approach and certain dimensions of teaching efficacy and burnout was found to be significant. Implications include the need for adequate training of teachers of students with autism.     

The Adolescent and Adult Psychoeducational Profile: Assessment of adolescents and adults with severe developmental handicaps

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of the Adolescent and Adult Psychoeducational Profile (AAPEP), an assessment instrument designed for adolescents and adults with severe developmental handicaps. Subjects were 60 adolescents and adults, 30 with autism and 30 with mental retardation but without autism. The groups were matched on age and IQ. Results suggested high interrater reliability on all function areas of the AAPEP (Vocational Skills, Independent Functioning, Leisure Skills, Vocational Behavior, Functional Communication, Interpersonal Behavior) and on all three scales (Direct Observation, Home, School/Work). Validity measures suggested that the recommendations generated from the AAPEP were viewed by blind experts as more helpful than those already generated for the individual clients and contained in their Individual Education Programs (IEPs) or Individual Habilitation Plans (IHPs). Informal measures indicated that parents and/or group home staff also found AAPEP recommendations helpful. Finally, reliability and validity measures were also encouraging for moderately and severely handicapped adolescents and adults without autism. The AAPEP appears to be an effective new instrument for those working with older handicapped clients.     

Humor in high-functioning autistic adults

This study examined the humor used by a group of autistic adults. Subjects were nine autistic adults who were participating in a Social Skills Group. The jokes they told during a designated joke time over 15 consecutive group sessions were analyzed according to their developmental levels. The participants told a total of 87 unique jokes, almost all of which were riddles. The most common types were preriddles and those having lexical and phonological ambiguity. Along with empirically examining the jokes used by this group of high level autistic adults, the study demonstrates that they enjoy a wide range of jokes and that humor seems to enrich their lives.     

Normalization and its relevance today

Historically, the normalization principle has been influential in promoting a comprehensive community-based service delivery system for people with developmental handicaps. However, its effects were more positive a decade ago when the issues were simply inhumane institutions or more individualized community-based alternatives. Issues in community-based programs for developmentally handicapped people have become more diverse and the choices more complex. In the current climate, the effects of the normalization principle have polarized issues for several reasons: The theory works better than current practice, the criteria are vague and the goals unattainable, normalization takes the focus away from individual client needs, the theory discourages diversity, normalization has become a rallying point for inappropriate practices, overzealousness of normalization advocates has polarized issues, normalization promotes an undesirable value system, and normalization ignores handicapped clients' deficits. What is needed to replace the normalization principle today are guiding concepts that are clearer, more responsive to client needs, and more reflective of value systems that are in the best interests of handicapped people.     

The Social Orienting Continuum and Response Scale (SOC-RS): A Dimensional Measure for Preschool-aged Children

Children with autism show deficits in social referencing, joint attention, orienting to their names, and social smiling as early as the first year of life. The present study describes the development of the Social Orienting Continuum and Response Scale (SOC-RS), a quantitative scale assessing each of these behaviors during the course of video-recorded Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) sessions. The SOC-RS was shown to be reliable and valid, and when applied to a longitudinal sample of children studied at 2 and 4 years of age, was shown to be sensitive to decreased levels of social referencing, joint attention, orienting to name, and social smiling in autism. The implications of these findings and potential applications of the SOC-RS are discussed.