238726 Autism Education: An Analysis of Methods Currently used in Vermont Schools

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Peymaun Vakhshoorzadeh , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Mena Bakhit , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Jessica Clem , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Mayo Fujii , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Taylor Lincoln , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Ariana Nesbit , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Amanda Schwartz , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Meghan Steir , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Deb W. Lyons , Kids on the Block Vermont, Burlington, VT
Stephen Contompasis, MD , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Thomas V. Delaney, PhD , Dept. of Pediatrics, UVM College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Jan K. Carney, MD MPH , Department of Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Introduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) affect a child's behavior, social, and communication skills. In 2009 in VT, approximately 1000 students received special education services for ASD. University of Vermont College of Medicine students collaborated with Puppets in Education (PiE), a non-profit organization that uses special puppets to teach children about health/social issues, to determine how to best educate the community about ASD. Objective: Use survey research to determine perceived effectiveness of current ASD education in schools and the practice of including children with ASD in the regular classroom. Methods: An electronic survey was sent to 7,091 individuals across Vermont: families with a child with ASD, families without a child with ASD, and educational professionals. Results: Of 201 surveys, educational professionals were more likely than parents to view current curriculum as effective (75% vs. 55%; X2= 6.927; df=1; p<0.01). On a Likert scale, educational professionals were more confident than parents in their school's ability to balance needs of children with ASD and peers (X2=11.944; df=4, p=0.018). Families with children with ASD were more confident in their ability to discuss ASD with other adults than were educational professionals (X2=43.121; df=4; p<0.01) or other parents (X2=25.26; df=4;p<0.01). Conclusions: Educators desire more training in the education and inclusion of children with ASD. Families are expert in the specific needs of their child. Based on survey data, PiE programs can assist with peer-to-peer education, resources for educators and larger community education issues such as community inclusion, disclosure, confidentiality and social skills enhancement.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1. Compare the views of educational professionals and parents in effectiveness of autism education 2. Design strategies using puppets to improve educational effectiveness

Keywords: Education, School-Based Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: because I participated in the design, implementation, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing and presentation of results for this study.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.