Date of Award
Spring 2006
Document Type
Thesis - Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Communication
First Advisor
Moyle, Maura
Second Advisor
Erdman, Kathleen
Third Advisor
Long, Steven
Abstract
The communicative deficits exhibited by children with autism are of great concern to parents and educators (e.g., Wetherby, Prizant, & Schuler, 2000). The most commonly used intervention techniques for increasing communicative behavior in children with autism can be categorized as either adults as agents of intervention or peermediated intervention. Debate in the literature exists concerning which intervention approach is most beneficial. The purpose of this study is to compare an adult as intervention agent with peer-mediated intervention for a child with autism. It is hypothesized that a peer-mediated approach will be more effective in terms of increasing the frequency and proportion of appropriate communicative behaviors (i.e., spontaneous verbalizations), increasing the rate of engagement in communicative interactions (i.e., circles of communication), and decreasing the frequency of negative behaviors in general. Consistent with the original prediction, peer-mediated intervention resulted in an increased proportion of spontaneous verbalizations by the child with autism as compared to the adult as an agent of intervention. Also as predicted, peer-mediated intervention resulted in significantly fewer negative behaviors than during intervention utilizing an adult as an agent of intervention. Contrary to the original hypotheses, results indicated that the novice produced more spontaneous verbalizations during the phases including the adult as an agent of intervention rather than the peer-mediated phases. Similarly, significantly more circles of communication occurred during the adult as an agent of intervention, however; the number of circles of communication between the novice and expert significantly increased from the first peer-mediated phase to the second. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Lahti, Jessica M., "Differential Effects of Adult vs. Peer as Agent of Intervention on the Communicative Functioning in a Child with Autism" (2006). Master's Theses (1922-2009) Access restricted to Marquette Campus. 1617.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/theses/1617