TEACHING ACCURATE RECALL 1 How Was Your Day in Preschool? Teaching Accurate Recall to Young Children with Autism Using Mobile Technologies and Visuals Supports Ariane N. Gauvreau A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2015 Reading Committee: Ilene Schwartz, Chair Susan Sandall Charles Peck Program Authorized to Offer Degree: College of Education TEACHING ACCURATE RECALL 2 ©Copyright 2015 Ariane N. Gauvreau TEACHING ACCURATE RECALL 3 University of Washington Abstract How Was Your Day in Preschool? Teaching Accurate Recall to Young Children with Autism Using Mobile Technologies and Visual Supports Ariane N. Gauvreau Chair of Supervisory Committee: Professor Ilene Schwartz College of Education As the number of children diagnosed with autism increases, the need for sustainable interventions and easy to use technologies is important. Advances in technology have changed the way educators can deliver and support instruction, in general and special education classrooms. This mixed methods study investigated the use of mobile technology-created visual supports as a method for teaching accurate recall to three young children with autism. Results suggest that these technologies may provide a sustainable way of developing and implementing visuals, provide a method of teaching accurate recall to young children with autism, and enhance parent-child conversations about the child’s day at school. Implications for teachers, families, and children with autism are discussed, as well as individual child results. TEACHING ACCURATE RECALL 4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. 6 Dedication ................................................................................................................................................ 7 List of Figures ......................................................................................................................................... 8 List of Tables ....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................................................ 10 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 10 Visual Supports for Individuals with Autism................................................................................................... 10 The Use of Mobile Technologies in School and Homes ............................................................................... 13 Problem Statement ....................................................................................................................................... 16 Rationale and Significance ...................................................................................................................................... 16 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................................ 17 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................................... 17 The Developmental Sequence of Memory ........................................................................................................ 19 Parent Influence and Parent-Child Interactions in Fostering Remembering .................................... 24 Limitations of Methodologies of Current Literature on Childhood Memory Development ......... 26 Memory and Autism................................................................................................................................................... 28 Visual Supports and Mobiles Technologies: A Possible Combination for Teaching Recall . 31 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................ 34 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................................ 35 Method ............................................................................................................................................................... 35 Participants ................................................................................................................................................................... 37 Setting and Materials ................................................................................................................................................. 40 Materials ......................................................................................................................................................................... 42 Study Design.................................................................................................................................................................. 42 Procedure ....................................................................................................................................................................... 44 Data Collection ............................................................................................................................................................. 49 Chapter 4 ................................................................................................................................................ 53 Results ............................................................................................................................................................... 53 Accuracy .......................................................................................................................................................................... 53 Researcher Communication and Language ...................................................................................................... 63 Other Related Measures ........................................................................................................................................... 65 Changes in Parent-Child Interactions ................................................................................................................. 67 Social Validity Among Potential Consumers .................................................................................................... 74 Chapter 5 ................................................................................................................................................ 80 Discussion ......................................................................................................................................................... 80 Findings Related to the Literature ....................................................................................................................... 82 Unexpected Findings ................................................................................................................................................. 83 Limitations ..................................................................................................................................................................... 83 Implications for Further Research ....................................................................................................................... 85 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................................... 86 Appendix A: Consent Form .................................................................................................................. 88 TEACHING ACCURATE RECALL 5 Appendix B: Qualitative Interview Protocols .................................................................................. 91 Appendix C: Survey ............................................................................................................................... 93 Appendix D: Accurate Recall Study Data Collection Protocol ...................................................... 95 References ............................................................................................................................................. 97 TEACHING ACCURATE RECALL 6 Acknowledgements I would like to thank Ilene Schwartz for her support, guidance, and patience with this study. This dissertation would have not been possible without her expertise and leadership. I would also like to thank Ilene and Susan Sandall for the many opportunities provided to me throughout the course of my doctoral program. While this dissertation is certainly the culminating event, I am incredibly grateful to have been involved with their grants, teacher preparation, and other work along the way, and have learned an enormous amount from them over the past four years. TEACHING ACCURATE RECALL 7 Dedication To the two men who dissertated right along with me: my husband, Ted, and Baby M. TEACHING ACCURATE RECALL 8 List of Figures