Date of Graduation

5-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science Education

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders

Advisor/Mentor

Hagstrom, Fran

Committee Member/Reader

Agan, Joseph P.

Committee Member/Second Reader

Baker, Kim

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to investigate the feasibility of using the Porch Index of Communicative Ability in Children (PICAC), a test designed for children between the ages of 3 and 12 years of age, to assess auditory comprehension in teens with autism. Archival data was used to compare the performance of an 18-year-old male with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to that of a six year old male with developmental apraxia and an eight year old male with developmental dyslexia. The qualitative 16 point scoring system of the PICAC and analysis of extraneous behavior were compared across individuals. While numerical scores were similar extraneous behaviors differed. These results suggest that the material and PICAC procedures capture the impact of various disorders on school-like tasks for individuals beyond the age range of the test but that additional coding is necessary to quantify behaviors, e.g., excess verbiage, sound effects, ritualistic behavior, and ticks, associated with autism spectrum disorder.

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