autism special education research design

Introduction to the Problem
Designing effective support services for students with autism remains one of the most pressing needs in special education (Creswell, 2013). Autism is described as being a spectrum because of its diverse manifestations. Therefore, students with autism spectrum disorders comprise a heterogeneous group. Being a heterogeneous group makes it harder to design effective support services that meet the needs of all persons. Research consistently shows that although students with autism spectrum disorders do not necessarily have concurrent intellectual or learning disabilities, and many have the potential for high academic achievement, these students are “at risk of scholastic underachievement,” (Clarke, Hill & Charman, 2016; Creswell, 2013). According to White, Elias, Salinas, et al. (2016), many individuals with autism spectrum disorder have above-average intellectual ability and yet are less likely to enroll in postsecondary education such as college or university. In addition to being at risk for scholastic underachievement, students with autism spectrum disorder are also at risk for social isolation and mental health problems (Clarke, Hill & Charman, 2016). For example, Mackay, Shochet & Orr (2017) show how prevalence rates for depression are much higher for students with autism spectrum disorder than among their neurotypical peers. Underachievement can also lead to lifelong problems related to underachievement in career and therefore lower earnings and reduced self-efficacy and self-advocacy (White, Elias, Salinas, et al., 2016). While transition planning tends to be formally integrated into special education programming, particularly because it is built into the mandatory components of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP), transition planning is inconsistent.
Students with autism spectrum disorders report “negative experiences” of their transitions, including those from primary school to secondary school (Makin, Hill, Pellicano, 2017, p. 1). The transition to college can be even more challenging for students with autism spectrum disorders. Research shows that students with autism are being critically underserved, and have not been receiving evidence-based practices for transition planning from secondary school to college or university (Elias & White, 2017). As a result, students with autism spectrum disorders are either not enrolling in college or university, or are leaving their programs early because they lack necessary supports (Wei, Wagner, Hudson, et al., 2015). At the same time, students with autism are matriculating at colleges and universities at higher rates than ever before (Elias & White, 2017). As students with autism become more prevalent on college campuses, there is an explicit need for conscientious transition planning. Transition planning is also two-fold, involving the types of supports the students and their families need, as well as the institutional and structural supports or changes to organizational culture in high schools and colleges.
For example, Matthews, Ly & Goldberg (2014) conducted original research showing the importance of peer support in college. Results of the Matthews, Ly & Goldberg (2014) survey showed that prior knowledge of, experience with, or exposure to autism led to more positive attitudes towards peers with autism in college or university. This research suggests that secondary school teachers need to address autism more frankly and work harder to incorporate social opportunities into transition planning programs. Focusing exclusively on the academic needs of students is insufficient. Likewise, focusing only on students with autism and not on their neurotypical peers would also be an error. Effective transition planning involves multifaceted interventions that address goal setting, self-efficacy, and social skills confidence too.
Problem Statement
This research addresses a critical issue related to planning for students with autism. Students with autism are often highly functioning academically but less so socially, raising questions related to how transition planning can better serve this important cohort. Transition planning in special education has improved to the point where students with autism are enrolling more and more in college and university and yet they need more support during this “precarious life stage,” (Van Hees, Moyson & Roeyers, 2014, p. 1673). The existing transition planning programs focus almost exclusively on academics or on psychological supports offered through school counselors; important issues of course but ones that fail to take into account the need for peer and social support during the transition from high school to college (Brown & Coomes, 2015). Decreased graduation rates and worse outlooks for career and personal success are problems that can be addressed through effective transition planning (Van Hees, Moyson & Roeyers, 2014; White, Elias & Salinas, 2016). Transition planning needs to be more comprehensive for students with autism, incorporating issues like mental health support, goal setting, academic structural supports, and also social support.
Students with autism spectrum disorders experience higher levels of anxiety than their neurotypical counterparts (Clarke & Charman, 2016). It is possible that anxiety is related in part to social “isolation,” which in turn leads to “scholastic underachievement,” (Clarke & Charman, 2016, p. 3883). Mackay, Shochet & Orr (2017) also point out that students with autism spectrum disorders exhibit more depressive symptoms including suicidal behavior versus their neurotypical peers, in part due to “communication and social interaction difficulties,” (p. 3458). In addition to struggling to meet “social demands,” and being victims of bullying, students with autism spectrum disorders may also exhibit poor coping skills that can impede an otherwise clear path to academic and career success (Mackay, Shochet & Orr, 2017, p. 3458). Research consistently shows that the anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues experienced by students with autism spectrum disorders can be mitigated by “increased public awareness,” (Matthews, Ly & Goldberg, 2014, p. 97). Therefore, this research focuses on how to increase public awareness of autism so that students will develop stronger social self-efficacy and social support systems in high school, easing the transition to college. Likewise, this research focuses on how to create the most inclusive and supportive environments in college and university, to help vulnerable populations cope with what is already a stressful time for neurotypicals and which could be a critical point for those with autism spectrum disorders.
Purpose Statement
This research will contribute to a growing body of knowledge about transition planning for students with autism spectrum disorders. Research in special education has shown that students with autism report unsatisfactory transition planning services (Makin, Hill & Pellicano, 2017). While research has shown the importance of providing specialized services for students with autism spectrum disorders, there is still a gap in the literature related to what types of social supports students need to ease their transitions from high school to college. Most importantly, the literature does not yet show what colleges and universities can do better to create the type of supportive social environment for students with autism spectrum disorders. This research is designed in part to contribute to the research base, and to fill a gap in the literature on special education.
A more pressing purpose of this research is to inform best practices in special education. At every level of grade school and in higher education, students with autism spectrum disorder need access to individualized services and support. Students with autism spectrum disorder who are highly functioning academically may be technically able to complete a college degree, but may lack the social or psychological supports required to ensure that degree is completed or that the student does not drop out. Similarly, the students need to know that they are supported in their higher education and on track to pursue career goals. This research is designed to show what is lacking in current transition planning. The results of this research can be used to bolster special education transition planning for all populations, but especially for students with autism spectrum disorders. This research can be used to inform best practices at every level of education, but especially for high school and college.
High school administrators and guidance counselors can use information from this mixed methods research to improve their transition planning programs and help create a more supportive environment for students with autism spectrum disorder. Research already shows that public awareness and education about autism spectrum disorders improves peer perceptions and attitudes towards students with autism spectrum disorders (Matthews, Ly & Goldberg, 2014). Therefore, it is important to encourage high school administrators to actively advocate and educate on behalf of students with autism spectrum disorders.
College administrators, deans, and professors may also need more information regarding students with autism spectrum disorders. Many college or university leaders and educators may be unprepared to serve students with special needs including students with autism spectrum disorders. The provisions of the IEP and IDEA do not legally extend towards colleges and universities other than the laws that prevent and prohibit discrimination. Colleges and universities can easily do more to ease the transition from high school to college for students with autism spectrum disorders by taking specific steps. Those steps may include the creation of student support groups, but ultimately it should be up to the students to reveal what they want or need out of a formal social support service in college. The first phase of this research is designed to assess student perceptions, needs, and experiences to eliminate bias in the construction of effective transition planning services. The second phase of this research is designed to provide educators and administrators with the hard evidence and metrics needed to showcase program efficacy and cost effectiveness. If the proposed program does in fact lead to higher retention rates, with extraneous variables are controlled for, then the transition planning program can become more entrenched in special education.
Research Questions
The research questions include the following. First, what types of social support can or should be offered during high school and the first few years of college or university to improve transitions for students with autism? Second, when social support is embedded into transition planning for students with autism, does it result in improved retention rates and other explicit measures of student success in college or university?
The first research question can be answered with qualitative methods, including interviews with students with autism who have already formally declared intent to attend college or university in their transition planning. As transition planning is already part of the IEP, special education teachers, school counselors, administrators, and parents need to be more responsive to the specific needs of students not just for academic support but also for social and peer support. Interviews with students will help elucidate what students need, and how their needs can best be met through more effective and impactful transition planning.
The second research question can best be answered using quantitative methods, which is why a mixed methods design is used in this research. The quantitative part of this research will entail a longitudinal design that will trace the same population sample used in the qualitative component, showing whether the social support services offered in transition planning do indeed yield measurable results in terms of program completion or retention rates.
For the quantitative phase of this research, the hypothesis will be that students with autism spectrum disorders who participate in an enhanced transition planning program that includes social support will have higher degree completion rates and lower dropout rates versus students with autism spectrum disorders that did not participate in the program.
Research Method and Design
A sequential mixed-methods approach is ideal for responding to the dual nature of the research questions related to transition planning for students with autism. Sequential transformative designs can be used to initially gather information from the students, using that information to inform best practices in transition planning and program design. A two-phase mixed methods approach is preferable to a concurrent one for several reasons. One reason for using a sequential design is to minimize researcher bias. While it may be assumed that students with autism spectrum disorders will respond to certain types of supports, the only way to truly and honestly gauge student perceptions is through qualitative research that includes in-depth one-on-one interviews. After gathering the input from the students, then the researchers will be able to design more responsive transition planning programs. The researchers will also be able to conduct follow-up interviews to assess the efficacy of the transition planning intervention, while also using a longitudinal study using quantitative methods to gather data related to student retention rates in college.
During the first phase of the study, researchers will use interviews and focus groups to gather information from students and special education teachers regarding peer supports and the importance of social support in university. The information gleaned from the first phase of the research will then be used to design a specialized component of transition planning. Transition plans that include the social support services will be designed in conjunction with special education teachers and representatives from colleges and universities. The transition planning program will not supplant those already in place but will enhance them by the use of structured social support programs. Social support programs may include support groups involving other students with autism spectrum disorders, but most likely will involve the inclusion of neurotypicals, who can provide the support required in high school and college. Based on research showing that education and awareness yields more positive social supports, this research will help inform best practices in transition planning. After the first phase of the research involving interviews, students with autism can be randomly assigned to the control and experimental groups and quantitative data gathered. Over the next several years, researchers can gather data related to retention rates and also overall performance, with both qualitative and quantitative data.
The Stepped Transition in Education Program for Students with ASD (STEPS) has already proven successful for helping with issues like improved self-regulation and self-determination: key components for student success in college and university (White, Elias, Capriola-Hall, et al, 2017). This research will explore means of expanding on the STEPS model by incorporating social supports. The inclusion of social supports will reflect the heterogeneous population of students with autism spectrum disorder. Social supports will also begin with the consideration of school organizational culture, and the effort to use public awareness, education, and outreach services to help neurotypicals better understand what autism spectrum disorders are to eliminate bias and stigma, creating a more inclusive and supportive environment for all students with special needs. It is assumed that students with autism spectrum disorders who experience more supportive social environments in secondary school will have better psychological and social coping mechanisms to ease the transition to university, upon which they will also need to have in place a similar set of social support services. If those services are not available in the college or university, then it can be hypothesized that students with autism spectrum disorder are at increased risk for dropping out or failing to achieve long term academic and career goals. The support services can also include support groups for other students with autism spectrum disorders, and services that recognize the diverse needs of students with autism spectrum disorders.
Rationale
The rationale for choosing a mixed methods approach is clear: not enough is known about the best practices in transition planning for students with autism spectrum disorders who enroll in college and university. Not enough is known about how to effectively incorporate social support services for students with autism spectrum disorders. While several program interventions do address the special needs of students with autism spectrum disorders in terms of increasing teacher awareness, improving the availability of mental health services, special education program designers need to rely on qualitative research to guide program design. Rather than assuming what students with autism spectrum disorders need out of their transition planning, researchers can use methods like in-depth interviews to directly ask students what would help them to make the transition from high school to college smoother, to ensure degree completion.
Qualitative research offers the opportunity to explore the issues, and to find out more about student needs, experiences, and perceptions. However, qualitative research cannot tell researchers whether a particular method or intervention works. Researchers need quantitative data to know if a transition planning method is actually working to keep the students in college, or is effective at reducing dropout rates. Therefore, a quantitative component of this research will be used to assess the efficacy of the transition planning. Combining qualitative and quantitative stages of research into one study is known as mixed methodology. In this case, a sequential mixed methodology is used in which the qualitative phase precedes the development and application of the quantitative phase. Researchers can also conduct a follow-up interview for further qualitative data collection. The purpose of this research is to improve special education practices.
Sample Participants, Data Collection, and Data Analysis
Students who have been formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and who have also expressly committed to preparing for or attending college and university by their senior year in high school will be initially eligible for participation in this study. The formal diagnoses must be made by licensed professionals. The diagnoses will also be reviewed by the researchers, who will also review the IEPs of all the student participants. Sample participants will come from high schools all over the United States, solicited through special education programs for students with autism.
Ethical considerations include informed consent, which must include consent of student and parents. The students and parents will be informed about the nature of the research, and what participation entails. Participation will entail spending time in interviews, as well as follow-up interviews during the duration of the mixed-methods research. The participants will be told that they can extricate themselves from the study whenever they wish. Moreover, the researchers will submit the research proposal to the institutional review board for ethical considerations. All participating special education teachers, school administrators, and the stakeholders in colleges and universities will also be informed about the nature of the study.
As a multi-phase study, this mixed methods research will have multiple points of data collection. The first phase of the research will involve a convenience sample of students with autism, who will be randomly selected from the pool of initial applicants who agree to participate in the study. From this pool, the researchers will select twelve subjects for the in-depth interviews. The in-depth interviews will yield the data for the qualitative component of the research. The interviews will be transcribed and recorded, with the consent of all participants, and then analyzed using coding systems in accordance with the tools and methods suggested by Creswell (2013). Researchers will cull through the raw data for themes, propose thematic categories, and then review the themes in follow-up studies with the initial participants to ensure validity.
The second phase of the research will consist of the development of the transition planning program. Based on the results of the qualitative phase of the study, this phase reflects the sequential transformative research design used in this mixed methods study. The researchers will base the transition planning program on the advice given by the students, who will make suggestions related to how they would best respond to peer support services and what types of peer support services work best for them. Based on this information, the researchers will then design the intervention and use a system of random assignment. Students who have been diagnosed with autism and who have already enrolled in a college or university will be considered for inclusion in the study. The ideal sample size is large, with well over a thousand participants feasible. Participants will remain anonymous, with confidentiality ensured at every stage of the research. Furthermore, participants will be randomly assigned to the control and experimental group. The experimental group will engage with the special transition planning services that include peer supports. Additionally, a set of at least a dozen participants who agree to will be selected for follow-up interviews.
Data from phase two of the study will be collected longitudinally. The primary dependent variable for this stage of the research will be retention in college or university and program or degree completion. In addition to measurable variables like program completion and retention, the researchers will also collect qualitative data. This will help rule out extraneous variables that may have impacted student retention. For example, some students will have dropped out due to financial reasons or family reasons and not because they did not receive the transition planning support necessary for their success. Qualitative follow-up data will also be gathered to reveal the phenomenology of transition planning and social support services. Follow-up questions will be asked to determine how the students perceived the efficacy of the social support program and what they would do differently.
Ethical Issues and Design Limitations
While the ethical review boards will assist with ensuring that participants do receive proper informed consent, that confidentiality and anonymity is protected, and that participants are informed of their rights, there are additional ethical and study design limitations that need to be addressed. The first is that the researchers do not have sufficient control over which students participate in the follow-up interviews versus the initial interviews. With a lack of continuity between these two groups, there are some study reliability and validity issues. A large sample size for the quantitative phase of the research may make up for this potential design flaw. Another issues is that the transition planning services will necessarily be meted out, constructed, implemented, and perceived differently in each school and for each student. The lack of consistency poses some research validity and reliability issues. Still, this research addresses a major gap in the literature and will be effective as a springboard for future research.






References
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