How preschool autism programs work
Subtitle: parent and staff perceptions.
Published: 2004
Language: eng
Number of pages: 312
Subjects: Autistic children -- Behavior modification.; Preschool children -- Services for.; Parents of autistic children -- Attitudes.; Teachers of handicapped children -- Attitudes.
Description: The interviews were then analysed in greater depth in order to produce a grounded theory. Three overarching categories emerged in this analysis: stakeholders' roles, attitude toward early intervention, and attitude toward autism. Examination of stakeholders' understanding of each other's roles revealed that many parents were unclear about the role of psychologists in TPAS. Moreover, there was a diversity of opinions regarding parental involvement in the program. Analysis of stakeholders' attitudes toward early intervention revealed that most stakeholders, parents and staff alike, did not subscribe to the basic principles of early intervention. Finally, analysis of stakeholders' attitudes toward autism revealed that a medical/deficit approach to autism prevailed. A different approach, viewing children with autism as having different motivations and needs, was markedly less dominant. The medical/deficit approach dominated stakeholders' understanding of autism, of early intervention, and of the way TPAS works.The objective of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of parent and staff perceptions of preschool autism programs. Forty-eight individuals who were involved with the Toronto Preschool Autism Service (TPAS), a preschool intervention program serving children ages two to six in the Greater Toronto Area were interviewed for this study. Guided by the "logic model" approach, the qualitative analysis produced two alternative models that described the way the program works. These models were presented to the stakeholders in three focus groups where stakeholders had the opportunity to generate a theoretical model based on their understanding of the findings brought before them. These models were synthesized into a final model that was again presented to stakeholders and finalized.The final logic model is an important product of this dissertation with implications for program evaluation, and further research in this field. The model suggests that the emphasis in the literature on intelligence as the foremost outcome indicator of program success is unwarranted. Instead, the model suggests more emphasis on mediating factors such as quality of implementation and child and family characteristics, as well as on evaluating several short- and long-term goals. Additional specific recommendations regarding future quantitative evaluations based on this model are outlined in the body of this work.
Notes: Adviser:  Esther Geva.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2004.

Electronic version licensed for access by U. of T. users.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-10, Section: A, page: 3689.