This study examined play and joint attention in 27 children with autism compared to 28 children with other developmental delays in public preschool special education classrooms. The results showed that children with autism spent more time unengaged and less time engaged in symbolic play and joint attention behaviors. Teachers also seldom focused directly on symbolic play and joint attention in their teaching. This suggests the importance of educating teachers to target these skills for children with autism.

1. Life Skills
Curriculum or
Functional
Curriculum
(Focusing on Positive Behavior
Training for Children with
Autism)
A Curriculum Investigation
on Journal Abstracts
(The Child. The Family.
The Community)

2. Play and Joint Attention of Children with Autism
in the Preschool Special Education Classroom
Connie Wong and Connie Kasari
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine play and joint
attention in children with autism (n=27) as compared to children with
other developmental delays (n=28) in public preschool special
education classrooms. The participants were observed in their
classroom environment for 2 h over 3 separate days. Results show
that children with autism spent more of their time unengaged and less
time engaged in symbolic play and joint attention behaviors as
compared to children with other developmental delays. Additionally,
teachers seldom focused directly on symbolic play and joint attention
in their teaching. These findings suggest the importance of educating
teachers to target play and joint attention skills in their preschool
special education classes, specifically for children with autism.

3. Improving a Family’s Overall Quality of
Life Through Parent Training in Pivotal
Response Treatment
Trevor W. Buckley, MA1, Angela P. Ente, MA2,3
and Michael B. Ruef, PhD4
Abstract
As the diagnoses of autism in young children continually
increase, the need for families to have access to research based
treatment models that are effective and efficient has become clear.
Current research demonstrates the demand for
parent-delivered behavioral interventions. The aim of this single-case
study, conducted as part of an integrated Masters in
Education/Special Education Credential Program, was to examine the
relationship between one parent trained in pivotal
response treatment (PRT), her implementation of PRT techniques, and
the correlated gains of behavioral compliance in her
6-year-old boy with high-functioning autism (HFA). Visual analysis of
collected data as well as calculation of nonoverlapping
data points suggest that a parent, when effectively trained, can utilize
PRT to increase the rate of behavioral compliance of
his or her own children.

4. Decreasing Supermarket Tantrums by Increasing
Shopping Tasks: Advantages of Pre-Teaching
Ashley E. Greenwald, MA, BCBA1, W. Larry Williams, PhD, BCBA-D1
and Holly A. Seniuk, MA, BCBA1
Abstract
A brief training package consisting of pre-teaching of
appropriate grocery item gathering skills and reinforcement
for appropriate behavior was used to teach a child
diagnosed with autism to remain in a store and participate
in shopping without exhibiting tantrums. The training
package began with teaching the necessary component
skills and expectations in the participant’s home, and these
skills were then established at a local supermarket.