Smooth Sailing: Charting Successful Transition in the Early School Years for Children with ASD

Background: The transition to kindergarten is a crucial milestone for all children. The proposed study builds on research findings that student-teacher relationships (STRs) during the early school years can be pivotal in children’s subsequent academic, behavioral, and social adjustment in school (e.g. Alexander & Entwistle, 1988; Hamre et al., 2008; Pianta & Stuhlman, 2004). We are studying the early school experience of children with ASD, toward the development of early interventions to ease this transition. Ultimately, we are interested in the relationship between STRs and child progress in literacy skills, behavior problems, social skills, and peer relationships.

Objectives: The overall objective is to understand the relationships among child characteristics, the student-teacher relationship, and child progress in academic, behavioral, and social realms. We present a model that proposes how these domains could be related, as well as possible moderators and mediators of the relationship among them. In this paper, we will focus on children’s literacy, which is one of our child outcomes.

Methods: This is a two-cohort (2011, 2012), cross-sectional (year of school), longitudinal (three assessments), and two-site (California, Massachusetts) design. Although the study has just begun, we will have completed eligibility assessments and full Time 1 visit protocols for at least 40 children with autism as a basis for this presentation.  The sample (n=13) completed to date was recruited through local and regional schools, agencies, and hospitals. 85% of the enrolled children were male.  All children were enrolled in public schools, with 54% in 1^st grade, 31% in kindergarten, and 15% in pre-K.  Overall 92% were receiving special education services. Among parents, 92% reported attaining a degree of B.A. or higher, while 8% had a high school diploma as their terminal degree. Seventy-five percent of parents reported their race as White, while 8% reported black and 17% reported other, including Hispanic/Latino and Asian; we expect greater ethnic/racial diversity as the sample increases.

            At an initial screening visit, children were administered a short form of the WPPSI and the ADOS. The estimated full scale IQ (FSIQ) mean was 93.4, SD = 17.2. According to the ADOS, 73% of children met the criteria for autism, and the other 27% met the criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder. At the Time 1 visit, children participate in a complete literacy battery designed to asses the “Big 5” aspects of early reading: phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension. There is also a videotaped, parent-child shared-literacy task.

Results: We will report data from the Time 1 visit on literacy functions and their relationship to child characteristics (e.g., age, autism symptomatology), family demographics (e.g., parent education), and parent perceptions of school involvement (e.g. child engagement in school). We will also track the relationship of behavior problems and social skills to literacy.

Conclusions: We anticipate that this intensive, multi-method study of children with ASD will yield unique information about adjustment to early schooling. These findings will serve as the evidence base for developing a school-based early intervention program for teachers and parents of children with ASD.