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Development of the Dynamic Evaluation Model to Significantly Advance Autism Research Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2014 Development of the Dynamic Evaluation Model to Significantly Advance Autism Research Dana Cihelkova Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Cihelkova, Dana, "Development of the Dynamic Evaluation Model to Significantly Advance Autism Research" (2014). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 5368. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/5368 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Development of the Dynamic Evaluation Model to Significantly Advance Autism Research Dana Cihelkova Dissertation submitted to the College of Education and Human Services at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education/Learning, Instructional Design and Technology Dan Hursh, Ph.D., Chair Reagan Curtis, Ph.D., Chair Elizabeth Juckett, Ph.D., Committee Member Sam Stack, Ph.D., Committee Member Malayna Bernstein, Ph.D., Committee Member Department of Learning Sciences and Human Development Morgantown, West Virginia 2014 Keywords: Autism treatments, evaluation methodological tool, program evaluation Copyright 2014 Dana Cihelkova Abstract Development of the Dynamic Evaluation Model to Significantly Advance Autism Research Dana Cihelkova In my dissertation effort I suggested new directions in order to significantly advance Autism Research. I moved from identification of the problem (Stagnation of Autism Research) to offering one possible explanation for the problem (Conceptualization of Autism as a Complex Phenomenon) to one possible solution for the problem. I developed the Dynamic Evaluation Model which is a five dimensional evaluation system to (a) effectively evaluate Autism interventions, (b) uncover Autism symptoms dynamics, and (c) identify what child with what symptoms characteristics will benefit the most from what currently available treatments. And finally I tested the prototype of the Dynamic Evaluation Model on evaluation of the Competent Learner Model at The Vista School. Results suggest that the Competent Learner Model is effective in developing in School Community, Play and Leisure, Coping, Social Interaction, Autism Index, Expressive Communication, and Auditory Comprehension in children with Autism. The Competent Learner Model might be an optimal fit for children with Autism who (a) have need to decrease Stereotyped Behavior and (b) are manifesting severe intensity of Stereotyped behavior. Copyright © 2014 Dana Cihelkova All Rights Reserved 4 Acknowledgements I would like to express my deep gratitude, appreciation, respect, and thankfulness toward my mentor, advisor, and teacher, Dan Hursh, Ph.D. My research expedition started with him. I am a former writer and journalist, hence I initially had neither the understanding nor the desire to perform or appreciate research. Dan Hursh helped me to successfully navigate my years in graduate school, including a world of chaos, a hectic life, information overload, and assignments spins. Professor Hursh found and unlocked the hidden locker of my skills, creativity, vision and knowledge so I could explore, while not being overly afraid, new directions and unexplored possibilities in Autism research. Professor Hursh is a man of honor, nobility, goodness and an aristocrat among mentors. He everlastingly impacted me as a person, teacher, researcher and parent. His dexterous, sensitive and intuitive qualities create a remarkable tutor, professor, behaviorist and coach. All I have done in this dissertation and all I will do in my future work would and will be impossible without daily mentoring and preparation from Dan Hursh. He was willing without any reservation to sacrifice his free time, buoyancy and energy to help me better understand myself, the world around me, the complexities of Autism and the intricacy of a researcher’s mind, uncertainties, self-doubt and mission. Dr. Hursh never hesitated to provide me with valuable and detailed feedback, (at times) brave comments, encouragement, emotional support, intellectual engagement, and interest, no matter what I did or wanted to do. I am not sure if in my future I will be successful in creating the research methods and/or tools that will assist researchers in Autism and Cancer research to gain profound understanding into these perplexing phenomena. That is my life’s mission. If I succeed, this success will belong to Professor Hursh, a person who discovered and unraveled my abilities, personal dimensions and passion toward research. Along with Dan Hursh is Elizabeth Juckett, Ph.D., a person with whom I began my American educational journey. It started when I took her Novel class as an undergraduate student. Elizabeth Juckett is a rare professor who can inspire, motivate, influence, and encourage her students to achieve more than they thought they could. Professor Juckett supported my educational endeavors emotionally, intellectually, practically, enthusiastically and with unbreakable trust in my aptitude. Exactly this trust helped me to overcome some difficult times. Dr. Juckett always knew when I needed encouragement, reinforcement or compassion. Elizabeth Juckett has for a decade delivered to me the vitality, faith, confidence, commitment, and conviction that I could do what I thought I would like to do. Hence, I did, and the credit clearly belongs to her endurances, métiers and serenity. Besides her high ethical standards and moral influence on me, Professor Elizabeth Juckett had an important impact on my English language skills by facilitating my learning of textual interpretation techniques that I have translated to my Autism research. This came about because I absolutely loved her stimulating, thoughtful and provoking class discussions, in addition to many personal encounters. Our invigorating discussions went from analyzing the subtleties of Brontë novels to the multi-cultural spirals of Cather’s My Ántonia to anguish regarding oppressive poverty’s impact on the majority of the world population to the densities of Autism’s impact on families. Last but not least in my development as a researcher, scholar, and person firmly stands Reagan Curtis, Ph.D. His impact has mainly been on my teaching style, because he has modeled 5 for me a type of teaching that I consider humanist, active, enjoyable, and energizing while covering abstract subjects such as Statistics, Program Evaluation, Mixed Methods and etc. Professor Curtis is the magician who turned me from a person who disliked statistics and did not believe in statistical methods, processes and purposes into a person who respects statistical apparatuses as the ultimate organizers of the omnipresent data that surround our daily activities. Dr. Curtis is a brilliant teacher, leader, tutor, and academic and personal counselor. He was my academic advisor along with Dr. Hursh for the two years of my master’s program and three years of doctoral study. All of these years he encouraged, supported and challenged me to reach my potential while continuously cheering for my new ideas, activities and research projects. Professor Reagan Curtis is a researcher with both a sensitive heart and an exceptional mind. To learn from him and to cooperate with him on any type of research project was always a pleasure, and ultimately an abundant learning experience. In this way I would like to express to Dan Hursh, Elizabeth Juckett and Reagan Curtis my gratitude, humility, and appreciation for their foundational, formative, influential, and pivotal impact on my graduate studies, personal and professional life. Thank you all! In Morgantown, May 15, 2014, West Virginia University Dana from Prague 6 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to General Oldřich Tichý my Grandfather who was my first Teacher. I spend with him five most peaceful, inspiring, enriching, vibrant and heartening years despite of communist oppression we had to daily face. My Grandfather was passing through many adrenalin-laden experiences for a good part of his life. He started as seventeen years old Austro-Hungarian Empire solder in WWI and moved to a high-level intelligence officer during WW II. He was charged with critical missions, some of which put him in a direct line of cooperation with the likes of Generals Patton and Eisenhower. In the post war period after the overthrow of the Czechoslovakia democratic government by communists’ dictatorship, my grandfather had to endure a different kind of ordeal by being demoted from General to Private and thrown into a cruel communist jail. Yet, even when having to face not only professional dishonor but also overwhelming personal humiliation, he retained his dignity. I hold a profound respect to him for being able to achieve reconciliation and peace between his inner world and the outside world, regardless
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