Measuring Teacher Talk and Student Behavior
During Mathematics Activities within a Sample of Preschool
through Third Grade Children on the Autism Spectrum
Abstract.
We described and investigated varying models of teacher talk
directed toward autistic students within 96 special education
mathematics activities. We also examined child behavior within
mathematics contexts measured through observation and via teacher
report. This detailed evaluation of teacher talk provides a
promising means for gauging the quality of instructional talk as
well as insight into the learning opportunities presented to and
the experiences of elementary-aged autistic students within
special education mathematics contexts. Tailoring professional
development for educators that centers on talk as a targeted
intervention is an area for further study.
Authors: Sparapani, N., Vega Garcia, J.,
Birkeneder, S., Towers, L., Bullen, J., Tseng, N., & Nunnally,
A.D.
Social Network Support and Challenging Behaviors are Associated
with Teachers’ Perceptions of Transition Success for their
Students with Autism
This study examined teacher and student factors that contribute
to teachers’ perception of the upcoming school transition for
their student on the autism spectrum. A sample of 126 teachers
across four sites in the United States completed surveys
regarding their perception of the likelihood of success for their
students’ upcoming transition. They were also asked to report on
their students’ challenging classroom behaviors, their own
experiences of burnout, and a social network survey about the
people they relied on during their students’ transition. Results
indicated that teachers with positive perceptions of their
students’ upcoming transition experiences had larger support
networks and identified fewer challenging behaviors in their
student, suggesting that additional support may be needed for
teachers, particularly for teachers of students on the spectrum
who present more problem behaviors in the classroom.
Amanda D. Nunnally and colleagues, in preparation for publication
Preliminary Validation of an Observational Measure of Emotion
Regulation for 15- to 22-year-old Males with Fragile X Syndrome
Emotion regulation (ER) is defined as capacity to
manage physiological arousal and emotional states to match
everyday situations. Individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS)
report higher rates of anxiety, which have been attributed to
challenges in ER. This study examined the construct validity
of an observational measure of ER as outlined in the
Classroom Measure of Active Engagement (CMAE)
by examining associations with salivary alpha-amylase (SAA)
readings, a physiological measure of anxiety. Participants
included 28 males (Mage = 19.02) with FXS who
were recruited as part of a longitudinal study. Video
observations of the ADOS-2 and saliva samples were collected, and
participants completed a battery assessments on
cognitive, behavior, and anxiety symptoms. Trained raters
coded ER using the ADOS-2 observations with high inter-rater
agreement. Findings indicated a significant, positive
correlation between emotion dysregulation and salivary
alpha-amylase (sAA) readings (r = 0.634; p <
0.01), suggesting an association between ER and psychosocial
stress expressed by the sAA recordings. These findings offer
preliminary support for the validation of the ER construct
outlined in the CMAE and substantiate the role of physiological
arousal in ER.
Cameron Alexander, Nicole Sparapani, Amanda Dimachkie Nunnally,
Angela John Thurman, Leonard Abbeduto
Differences in Instructor Responsiveness and Student
Participation between Special Education Teachers and Classroom
Paraprofessionals Serving Preschool-3rd Grade Students with
Autism
This study utilized an
archival dataset of classroom video observations of
paraprofessionals and teachers working with
preschool-3rd grade students with autism. Videos had been
coded for student and teacher behaviors as part of The
Classroom Measure of Active Participation (Class-MAP;
Sparapani et al., unpublished manual). A subset of 30
observations were examined to investigate the responsive language
that teachers and paraprofessionals used during classroom
activities. We found that teachers used significantly more
responsive language than paraprofessionals.
Towers & Sparapani, in preparation for publication