WWC review of this study

Cluster Randomized Trial of a School Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Lopata, Christopher; Thomeer, Marcus L.; Rodgers, Jonathan D.; Donnelly, James P.; McDonald, Christin A.; Volker, Martin A.; Smith, Tristram H.; Wang, Hongyue (2019). Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology v48 n6 p922-933 Dec 2019 . Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED607134

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    102
     Students
    , grades
    1-5

Reviewed: February 2023

At least one finding shows promising evidence of effectiveness
At least one statistically significant positive finding
Meets WWC standards without reservations
Alphabetics outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Spelling subtest

schoolMAX vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
102 students

104.46

104.58

No

--

Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Letter-Word Identification subtest

schoolMAX vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
102 students

106.83

106.18

No

--
General Literacy Achievement outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Writing Samples Subtest

schoolMAX vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
102 students

97.67

95.86

No

--
General Mathematics Achievement outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Calculation

schoolMAX vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
102 students

107.19

102.80

No

--
Reading Comprehension outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Passage Comprehension Subtest

schoolMAX vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
102 students

97.10

93.84

No

--
Student Behavior outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Researcher-developed Adapted Skillstreaming Checklist (ASC)

schoolMAX vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
102 students

112.20

108.71

Yes

 
 
30
 

Cambridge Mindreading Face-Voice Battery for Children (CAM-C)

schoolMAX vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
102 students

58.73

48.76

Yes

 
 
26
 

Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd Edition, School Age Form (SRS-2)

schoolMAX vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
102 students

64.84

69.72

Yes

 
 
23
 

Social Interaction Observation Scale (SIOS)

schoolMAX vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
102 students

37.58

35.04

No

--


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • Female: 9%
    Male: 91%

  • Suburban
  • Race
    Other or unknown
    4%
    White
    96%
  • Ethnicity
    Other or unknown    
    100%
  • Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch
    Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL)    
    31%
    Other or unknown    
    69%

Setting

This study was conducted in 35 public elementary schools across 17 suburban districts in the United States.

Study sample

The researchers randomly assigned 17 schools to the intervention group and 18 schools to the comparison group. A total of 102 students with autism spectrum disorder in grades 1 through 5 were included in the study. Ninety-six percent of students in the sample were White and 91% were male. Approximately 31% of all students in the schools were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

Intervention Group

The intervention, schoolMAX, is a comprehensive school-based intervention for children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders. The intervention consists of five components. First, students participated in social skills groups led by a school psychologist, speech pathologist, or social worker. Students worked on twenty-six social skills with increasing complexity over time. Groups of six students with social impairments met 2-3 times per week for a total of 60-90 minutes per week. Second, a classroom aide or teaching assistant provided emotion recognition instruction called Mind Reading. This in-person instruction included interactive software that taught recognition of 100 emotions in facial and vocal expressions. Students completed lessons independently with the supervision of the school staff member 2-3 times per week for a total of 60 minutes. Third, students participated in therapeutic activities led by a counselor or teacher to practice target social and emotion recognition skills. The activities were intended to encourage students to develop and explore new interests. The therapeutic sessions occurred 2 times per week for a total of 40-60 minutes in groups that also included students without disabilities and students with other disabilities. Fourth, a teacher provided students with feedback on their target skills in intervals throughout the school day. Students could earn points by accomplishing targeted skills during each interval and could earn a reward after completing 75 percent of points available in each day. The daily notes were also shared with parents. Fifth, parents of the participating students attended a training led by a social worker or school psychologist. The training goals were to (1) encourage communication between home and school and (2) support parents to understand the intervention and use the daily feedback to reinforce target skills at home. Parent training was conducted once a month during the school year for 60-90 minutes per session.

Comparison Group

Children with autism spectrum disorder in comparison group schools received their typical educational program, including their individualized education program services. Interviews with staff in these schools revealed that some students were participating in a social skills intervention for 30 minutes per week and some were following a behavior plan, but none of the social skills interventions were manualized or followed a particular curriculum.

Support for implementation

Staff from intervention group schools received the schoolMAX intervention manual and completed 10 hours of training in classroom didactic instruction and 20 hours of observations, practice, and planning. Staff members also received $1,200.

 

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