Coaching Parents of Autistic Children from Underserved Backgrounds to Promote Communication

Position Description

The project's purpose is to develop and evaluate a culturally sensitive model for coaching caregivers in strategies to improve the communication of their preschool and elementary-aged children with autism/intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who require the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in natural contexts. We will assess the effects of the caregiver coaching intervention in terms of the caregivers' accuracy in implementing the steps of the communication intervention for which they are coached, the autistic child's improvement in communication skills including the use of AAC, peer/sibling communication toward the autistic child (when they are included as participants), the feasibility and acceptability of the treatment to the caregivers, and the accuracy of implementation of the coaches.

Current circumstances highlight the need for service providers to partner closely with caregivers to provide adequate education to children with autism/IDD and extensive support needs, and the needs for adherence to anti-racist and culturally responsive practices and provision of services for underserved families. Participants will include diverse (e.g., ethnically, racially diverse, military connected, rural, and other minoritized groups) autistic/IDD children who are minimally verbal or nonspeaking and their caregivers and, when feasible, educators (teachers, related service providers, paraeducators).

Approximately 20% of individuals with autism also have a co-occurring intellectual disability (Khachadourian et al., 2023), and roughly 30% of these learners may also be minimally verbal or nonspeaking (MV/NS). Learners who are MV/NS greatly benefit from communication interventions using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) modalities, broadly defined as non-speaking ways to support expressive and receptive communication. AAC encompasses aided (e.g., communication boards, speech-generating devices, switches with recorded messages) and/or unaided modalities (e.g., gestures, signs, facial expressions) that supplement or replace speech (Beukelman & Light, 2020). Learners with autism and IDD who are MV/NS experience better outcomes when they receive specialized communication interventions that are planned and delivered by a team of professionals in partnership with caregivers and generalized across settings and conversational partners. Currently, there are few resources for caregivers from historically underserved backgrounds, to increase communication, including AAC, in their young children with autism/IDD.

Faculty Advisor Mentoring Philosophy

Mentored experiences: Mentoring students in research and scholarly activities is a primary goal at this stage of my career (23 years as a faculty member). Students who work in my lab can expect formal and informal mentoring. My mentoring includes: (1) weekly/biweekly one-on-one and/or group meetings to discuss research tasks, practice data collection, problem solve, set goals, receive feedback, and provide informal support as needed; (2) providing applied, hands-on opportunities to conduct research under my supervision; (3) supporting student researchers in applying to present their work and practicing presenting, submitting and publishing research, and providing professional training and recommendations; and (4) collaborating with students to support them in their research interests and communicating to lay and practitioner audiences. The research in which I engage has practical, impactful, meaningful outcomes for autistic and developmentally delayed individuals and their family members, particularly for those from underserved and minoritized groups, and service providers. I have supported undergraduate and graduate students who have gone on to work as practitioners working with disabled people, attend graduate school, and work as researchers and/or faculty members.

Work schedule: The research that I engage in involves using telepractice, so student researchers may work from settings outside of the university, while maintaining privacy for research participants. The research participants with whom we work are typically available in the evenings, so some of the work will occur on one or more evenings (Mon-Thurs). The bulk of the research and related activities can occur at a time that is convenient to the student, providing they complete work in a timely manner. Weekly/biweekly meetings will be scheduled at a time that works for all project members, primarily in the afternoons Mon-Thurs, preferably in my lab on East Campus, but possibly via webconferencing.