Identifying effective components of ABA programs used in the education of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: the role of deferred imitation in children’s ability to imitate from a video model

Abstract

The research in this thesis focused on an investigation into prerequisite skills necessary for imitation, and more specifically, imitation from a video model, in young children with ASD. Chapter 1 of this thesis begins with an overview of current literature related to the importance of imitation skill development for learning. Also discussed, are effective methods of teaching imitation, as well as what is known already about pivotal prerequisite skills necessary for imitating from a video model.Study 1 (Chapter 2) aimed to examine differences in ability between a group of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (n = 15) and a non-ASD group (n = 9) on a selection of suggested prerequisite skills, and a variety of imitation skills. A second aim was to examine any correlations between prerequisites and ability to imitate. Two key skill areas emerged; identity match-to-sample, and the same skill incorporating a delay feature. In Study 2 (Chapter 3) we refined the skills assessment used in Study 1, focusing more on the two skill areas which emerged as important predictors of ability to imitate in Study 1. Again, the study sought to examine correlations between specific skills tested and the ability to imitate from a video model. The refined assessment was conducted with a group of children with ASD (n= 23). Results indicated again the importance of the role of skills that incorporate a delay. In particular, the ability to imitate a 1-step action with an object, following a delay emerged as a key prerequisite skill to being able to imitate from video. In Study 3 (Chapter 4), we investigated the effect of teaching deferred imitation on ability to imitate multi-step actions from video, in a group of children with ASD (n = 6).Results demonstrated that five out of six participants made significant improvements in their ability to imitate from video following intervention. These skills also maintained at the follow-up probe. Chapter 5 of the thesis presents a final discussion of the results for all three studies, relating the findings to current literature.Limitations and suggestions for improvement and future research are also discussed.

Date of Award	Jan 2017
Original language	English
Supervisor	Claire McDowell (Supervisor) & Julian Leslie (Supervisor)