Comparative Analysis of Early Intervention Programs for Young Children with Autism. This project will contribute valuable information on how agencies and governments nationally and overseas can cater for a rapidly growing number of students identified with autism. Two early intervention programs - home-based and centre-based - for young children with autism and their families will be compared to each other and a control group. Through promoting strong family knowledge about autism, strategies fo ....Comparative Analysis of Early Intervention Programs for Young Children with Autism. This project will contribute valuable information on how agencies and governments nationally and overseas can cater for a rapidly growing number of students identified with autism. Two early intervention programs - home-based and centre-based - for young children with autism and their families will be compared to each other and a control group. Through promoting strong family knowledge about autism, strategies for managing a young child with autism (e.g., communication, social skills), plus fostering inter-family and community links, families will be empowered to promote healthy outcomes for their young child.Read moreRead less
Comparative effectiveness of three literacy teaching approaches for young children with reading difficulties. This project addresses concerns expressed by the Minister for Education, Science and Training, and the Australian Senate in regard to the relative poor performance of Australian children in national reading tests. Specifically, the project seeks to identify the most effective early literacy instructional method or methods to redress the growing concern that Australian children are droppi ....Comparative effectiveness of three literacy teaching approaches for young children with reading difficulties. This project addresses concerns expressed by the Minister for Education, Science and Training, and the Australian Senate in regard to the relative poor performance of Australian children in national reading tests. Specifically, the project seeks to identify the most effective early literacy instructional method or methods to redress the growing concern that Australian children are dropping behind in international competitiveness in reading and literacy achievement. The study concentrates on early reading development and to inform on teacher education and classroom teaching practices. Read moreRead less
Salience, Organisation and Management of Anxiety towards Time in Children with ADHD: A new model and intervention. ADHD is a major educational and public health problem in Australia. In the past decade, prescriptions of medication for individuals with ADHD rose 26% nationwide, representing enormous human and economic liabilities. Over 25% of individuals with ADHD also suffer comorbid anxiety disorders. In such cases, the efficacy of stimulant treatment is significantly reduced. Addressing the ro ....Salience, Organisation and Management of Anxiety towards Time in Children with ADHD: A new model and intervention. ADHD is a major educational and public health problem in Australia. In the past decade, prescriptions of medication for individuals with ADHD rose 26% nationwide, representing enormous human and economic liabilities. Over 25% of individuals with ADHD also suffer comorbid anxiety disorders. In such cases, the efficacy of stimulant treatment is significantly reduced. Addressing the role of time management and anxiety in the chaotic, impulsive, disorganised lives of young people with ADHD, this project offers significant benefits to the everyday functioning of children and adolescents in school and home, as well as substantial reductions in community expenditure on pharmacological interventions.Read moreRead less
Intervention in the Number Learning of Low-Attaining 3rd- and 4th-Graders. In recent years, school systems both in Australia and elsewhere in the world have placed increased emphasis on numeracy. Nevertheless, significant numbers of students finish primary school without successfully learning basic arithmetic. These students have little chance of catching up this learning during the secondary school years and of becoming numerate adults. Australia has pioneered the development of intervention pr ....Intervention in the Number Learning of Low-Attaining 3rd- and 4th-Graders. In recent years, school systems both in Australia and elsewhere in the world have placed increased emphasis on numeracy. Nevertheless, significant numbers of students finish primary school without successfully learning basic arithmetic. These students have little chance of catching up this learning during the secondary school years and of becoming numerate adults. Australia has pioneered the development of intervention programs in the early years of school but there are virtually no established intervention programs in the Years 3-6 range. The project involves the use of innovative methodologies and collaboration with teachers to research and develop successful intervention programs.Read moreRead less
Positive Pathways to Reading for Disadvantaged Children: Identifying Psychosocial Antecedents and Implementing Effective Intervention to Enhance Literacy, Self-concept, and Motivation. Early intervention to combat reading difficulties in primary schools is vital given the pervasive long-term academic and mental health consequences. Consistent with National Research Priorities (Promoting/maintaining good health/well-being),our research offers important educational/socio-economic benefits by: enri ....Positive Pathways to Reading for Disadvantaged Children: Identifying Psychosocial Antecedents and Implementing Effective Intervention to Enhance Literacy, Self-concept, and Motivation. Early intervention to combat reading difficulties in primary schools is vital given the pervasive long-term academic and mental health consequences. Consistent with National Research Priorities (Promoting/maintaining good health/well-being),our research offers important educational/socio-economic benefits by: enriching disadvantaged children's reading achievement, promoting psychosocial adjustment and life potential, and elucidating multiplier effects of the intervention on volunteers administering the intervention, home life, and school engagement. Synergies between substantive research, methodological rigour, and practice will ensure real solutions and a research framework that will make a substantial contribution to Australia's future.Read moreRead less
Increasing Behavioural Flexibility in Children with Autism. Autism is a developmental disorder associated with social and language deficits and an abnormal resistance to change. The number of children diagnosed with autism is increasing, as are the social and economic costs to Australia. While programs exist for teaching social and language skills, effective strategies for teaching the child how to cope with change are lacking. This project aims to discover educational procedures for increasing ....Increasing Behavioural Flexibility in Children with Autism. Autism is a developmental disorder associated with social and language deficits and an abnormal resistance to change. The number of children diagnosed with autism is increasing, as are the social and economic costs to Australia. While programs exist for teaching social and language skills, effective strategies for teaching the child how to cope with change are lacking. This project aims to discover educational procedures for increasing the child's tolerance for and ability to cope with change. By doing so, the project will benefit Australian families and teachers who need effective, research-based procedures for managing this core feature of autism. Read moreRead less
Intervention for written expression: Middle school students with developmental disabilities. This study will develop, implement and evaluate professional development workshops on the teaching of written expression and integration of technology for teachers in middle school classrooms (Years 6 to 9) with students with developmental disabilities. It will also evaluate teacher-developed interventions in written expression.
Partner training and communication outcomes for students with multiple and severe disabilities. This research has the potential to benefit one of the most disadvantaged groups in the community: students with multiple and severe disabilities. These students typically spend more than 70% of the school day with no communication with teachers, teacher aides or other students. The proposed research will investigate whether it is possible to improve levels of communication and engagement through train ....Partner training and communication outcomes for students with multiple and severe disabilities. This research has the potential to benefit one of the most disadvantaged groups in the community: students with multiple and severe disabilities. These students typically spend more than 70% of the school day with no communication with teachers, teacher aides or other students. The proposed research will investigate whether it is possible to improve levels of communication and engagement through training teachers and teacher aides as effective communication partners. Higher levels of communication at school will improve Quality of Life for these students. This research will inform the development of training programs for school staff working with students with multiple and severe disabilities.Read moreRead less
Emotionally Provoking Events in Classrooms and During Transitions: Developing Self-Regulatory Programs for Children Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Deficiencies in inhibitory control seen in those with ADHD cause problems in self-regulation of emotion. Consequently, children with ADHD are more impulsively emotional and less able to regulate their emotional responses to emotionally provoking events. Few studies, however, have systematically examined the emotional response ....Emotionally Provoking Events in Classrooms and During Transitions: Developing Self-Regulatory Programs for Children Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Deficiencies in inhibitory control seen in those with ADHD cause problems in self-regulation of emotion. Consequently, children with ADHD are more impulsively emotional and less able to regulate their emotional responses to emotionally provoking events. Few studies, however, have systematically examined the emotional responses of this population in the classroom and during transitions. Through a series of studies the proposed research will identify events which are emotionally provoking for primary and secondary school-aged ADHD children, and then develop and evaluate emotion self-regulation programs (in combination with/without medication) which assist ADHD children to manage emotionally provoking events.Read moreRead less
Enhancing basic academic skills of low-achieving students: the role of automaticity in numeracy, reading and comprehension. The project is designed to improve the basic reading and numeracy skills of low-achieving school students. The aim of the research is to investigate the effects of improved automaticity of basic skills on higher-order processes such as comprehension and problem solving. The underlying rationale for the program is that improving automaticity in component skills, such as dec ....Enhancing basic academic skills of low-achieving students: the role of automaticity in numeracy, reading and comprehension. The project is designed to improve the basic reading and numeracy skills of low-achieving school students. The aim of the research is to investigate the effects of improved automaticity of basic skills on higher-order processes such as comprehension and problem solving. The underlying rationale for the program is that improving automaticity in component skills, such as decoding or calculating, frees up working memory resources. This freeing up of resources allows students to focus on inherently attention demanding higher-order cognitive activities, of the sort increasingly required of students in the middle school years.Read moreRead less