title: Examining a dyadic coaching based reminiscing intervention for parents of children with autism: Two exploratory case studies

authors: Joll, Melissa Anne

abstract: Parent-child interactions that involve discussion about past events are known as reminiscing. These conversations have been associated with child outcomes such as coherency in child narratives, advanced use of language, self-regulation abilities, and socioemotional skills (Waters et al., 2019). Differences in developmental outcomes such as verbal fluency and language, autobiographical memory and theory of mind and social/emotional understanding are often associated with autism (Faust, 2009; McDonnell et al., 2020; Gaelen, 2021). Interest in potential benefits of reminiscing interventions for children with autism has grown in recent years, given the associations between elaborative and emotion-rich reminiscing for typically developing children’s developmental outcomes (Brien & Hutchins, 2024). The aim of this study was to examine whether a three-session reminiscing intervention that includes live coaching would be associated with an increase in specific parent verbalisations, described in the intervention as ONCE skills: asking Open-ended questions, introducing Novel information, Confirming child utterances, and referencing internal/external Emotions/cognitions (Risi et al., 2024), as well as an increase in child elaborative and emotion/cognitive verbalisations.
Participants were two parent-child dyads, where the child had a prior diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The dyads were asked to complete a pre-reminiscing intervention parent-child conversation without any coaching present. They discussed two conversations from everyday life: (1) a time their child did something new or different, and (2) a time their child did something when their parent wasn’t there. The first intervention session was parent only, during which an intervention handout detailing ONCE skills was reviewed alongside strategies to increase these skills, types of utterances to decrease during reminiscing conversations, and examples and role playing to teach concepts. Session two involved both the parent and child, in which dyads discussed three parent-selected past events. Parents were encouraged to bring photos or other cues related to the event (Bhana et al., 2023). Live coaching via a headset occurred during this session, where the coach highlighted and encouraged use of the ONCE skills (Risi et al., 2024; Vess & Campbell, 2022). Session three was the second coaching session, in which dyads were again asked to discuss the three-parent selected past events, to bring photos or other cues, and live coaching again occurred. All sessions were conducted over Zoom.
The current study found that for both dyads, parental use of novel information increased from pre-reminiscing conversations to either one or both subsequent intervention session conversations. Novel information included statement elaborations, elaborative yes/no questions, and elaborative open-ended questions. Counter to our predictions, there was minimal change in parental use of open-ended questions, confirmations, or references to emotions and cognitions. The current study also intended to examine whether parent training of ONCE skills was associated with an increase in children’s use of memory elaborations and emotion/cognition verbalisations during reminiscing. For children in both dyads, average memory elaborations increased from pre-reminiscing to intervention sessions. Counter to predictions, for both dyads, children’s use of emotion and cognition verbalisations decreased slightly from the pre-reminiscing session to the intervention sessions. Overall, the intervention was associated with an increase in novel information verbalisations from parents during parent-child reminiscing conversations, and an increase in memory elaborations from children.
Further research is needed to understand how novel information, open-ended questions, and emotion discussion function for children with autism and their parents, to inform future reminiscing interventions.

text: Examining a dyadic coaching based reminiscing intervention for parents of children with autism: Two exploratory case studies Parent-child interactions that involve discussion about past events are known as reminiscing. These conversations have been associated with child outcomes such as coherency in child narratives, advanced use of language, self-regulation abilities, and socioemotional skills (Waters et al., 2019). Differences in developmental outcomes such as verbal fluency and language, autobiographical memory and theory of mind and social/emotional understanding are often associated with autism (Faust, 2009; McDonnell et al., 2020; Gaelen, 2021). Interest in potential benefits of reminiscing interventions for children with autism has grown in recent years, given the associations between elaborative and emotion-rich reminiscing for typically developing children’s developmental outcomes (Brien & Hutchins, 2024). The aim of this study was to examine whether a three-session reminiscing intervention that includes live coaching would be associated with an increase in specific parent verbalisations, described in the intervention as ONCE skills: asking Open-ended questions, introducing Novel information, Confirming child utterances, and referencing internal/external Emotions/cognitions (Risi et al., 2024), as well as an increase in child elaborative and emotion/cognitive verbalisations.
Participants were two parent-child dyads, where the child had a prior diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The dyads were asked to complete a pre-reminiscing intervention parent-child conversation without any coaching present. They discussed two conversations from everyday life: (1) a time their child did something new or different, and (2) a time their child did something when their parent wasn’t there. The first intervention session was parent only, during which an intervention handout detailing ONCE skills was reviewed alongside strategies to increase these skills, types of utterances to decrease during reminiscing conversations, and examples and role playing to teach concepts. Session two involved both the parent and child, in which dyads discussed three parent-selected past events. Parents were encouraged to bring photos or other cues related to the event (Bhana et al., 2023). Live coaching via a headset occurred during this session, where the coach highlighted and encouraged use of the ONCE skills (Risi et al., 2024; Vess & Campbell, 2022). Session three was the second coaching session, in which dyads were again asked to discuss the three-parent selected past events, to bring photos or other cues, and live coaching again occurred. All sessions were conducted over Zoom.
The current study found that for both dyads, parental use of novel information increased from pre-reminiscing conversations to either one or both subsequent intervention session conversations. Novel information included statement elaborations, elaborative yes/no questions, and elaborative open-ended questions. Counter to our predictions, there was minimal change in parental use of open-ended questions, confirmations, or references to emotions and cognitions. The current study also intended to examine whether parent training of ONCE skills was associated with an increase in children’s use of memory elaborations and emotion/cognition verbalisations during reminiscing. For children in both dyads, average memory elaborations increased from pre-reminiscing to intervention sessions. Counter to predictions, for both dyads, children’s use of emotion and cognition verbalisations decreased slightly from the pre-reminiscing session to the intervention sessions. Overall, the intervention was associated with an increase in novel information verbalisations from parents during parent-child reminiscing conversations, and an increase in memory elaborations from children.
Further research is needed to understand how novel information, open-ended questions, and emotion discussion function for children with autism and their parents, to inform future reminiscing interventions.

year: 2024

title: Early childhood assessment in Aotearoa New Zealand: Critical perspectives and fresh openings

authors: Arndt, Sonja Kathrina

abstract: This paper engages with assessment practices in Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Whāriki, the internationally recognized early childhood curriculum framework, lies at the root of contemporary narrative assessment practices, and the concept of learning stories. We outline historical and societal underpinnings of these practices, and elevate the essence of assessment through learning stories and their particu- lar ontological and epistemological aims and purposes. The paper emphasizes early childhood teaching and learning as a complex relational, inter-subjective, material, moral and political practice. It adopts a critical lens and begins from the premise that early childhood teachers are in the best position to make decisions about teach- ing and learning in their localized, contextualized settings, with and for the children with whom they share it. We examine the notion of effectiveness and ‘what works’ in assessment, with an emphasis on the importance of allowing for uncertainty, and for the invisible elements in children’s learning. Te Whāriki and learning stories are positioned as strong underpinnings of culturally and morally open, rich and complex assessment, to be constantly renegotiated within each local context, in Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond.

text: Early childhood assessment in Aotearoa New Zealand: Critical perspectives and fresh openings This paper engages with assessment practices in Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Whāriki, the internationally recognized early childhood curriculum framework, lies at the root of contemporary narrative assessment practices, and the concept of learning stories. We outline historical and societal underpinnings of these practices, and elevate the essence of assessment through learning stories and their particu- lar ontological and epistemological aims and purposes. The paper emphasizes early childhood teaching and learning as a complex relational, inter-subjective, material, moral and political practice. It adopts a critical lens and begins from the premise that early childhood teachers are in the best position to make decisions about teach- ing and learning in their localized, contextualized settings, with and for the children with whom they share it. We examine the notion of effectiveness and ‘what works’ in assessment, with an emphasis on the importance of allowing for uncertainty, and for the invisible elements in children’s learning. Te Whāriki and learning stories are positioned as strong underpinnings of culturally and morally open, rich and complex assessment, to be constantly renegotiated within each local context, in Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond.

year: 2015

title: Lifting barriers: Leadership, tactical, and strategic issues from, and for, indigenous community development

authors: Murthy, Vikram

subjects: indigenous communities

abstract: This paper uses learnings from a project with indigenous youth to engage with a recurring challenge in indigenous community organisation (ICO) development initiatives: The unwitting detraction from outcome efficacy by charismatic and influential indigenous leadership leading with an out-of-date repertoire. Using material from recent literature in the fields of non-profit management, new leadership, and social enterprise, the paper suggests guides to improved practice for meeting this challenge. It also sets out to effectiveness, will better underwrite sensitivity in entrepreneurial environments with complex cultural and social beliefs and practices. Such a repertoire will energise intraorganisational communal and consensual processes, which would resonate culturally with the ICO's normative behaviours and values, and would thus help the organisation marshall its collective will to frame futures that best capture their stakeholders' hopes and aspirations. Finally, it recommends that future research examine interfaces between these fields and the spiritual frameworks of indigenous world-views.

text: Lifting barriers: Leadership, tactical, and strategic issues from, and for, indigenous community development This paper uses learnings from a project with indigenous youth to engage with a recurring challenge in indigenous community organisation (ICO) development initiatives: The unwitting detraction from outcome efficacy by charismatic and influential indigenous leadership leading with an out-of-date repertoire. Using material from recent literature in the fields of non-profit management, new leadership, and social enterprise, the paper suggests guides to improved practice for meeting this challenge. It also sets out to effectiveness, will better underwrite sensitivity in entrepreneurial environments with complex cultural and social beliefs and practices. Such a repertoire will energise intraorganisational communal and consensual processes, which would resonate culturally with the ICO's normative behaviours and values, and would thus help the organisation marshall its collective will to frame futures that best capture their stakeholders' hopes and aspirations. Finally, it recommends that future research examine interfaces between these fields and the spiritual frameworks of indigenous world-views.

year: 2006