Instructions:
Candidates will write a final paper about the importance of educational interventions on the outcomes of students with ASD. Candidates should base their paper on the book Let me Hear Your Voice by Catherine Maurice AND the content covered throughout this course (lecture material, articles, outside peer-reviewed resources, etc). Students should focus their discussion on:
- Identification & Diagnosis of ASD
- Legal mandates pertaining to ASD
- Assessment and Instructional Practices in ASD
- Collaboration across Stakeholders
- Current educational outcomes of students with ASD (graduation, employment, independence)
- Perspectives of individuals (and/or families of individuals) with ASD
Candidates should cite specific points made within Let me Hear Your Voice, as well as reflect on current research taken from @ least 7 other course readings/citations. Final reflection papers should be 5-6 pages (double-spaced, 12-point font), and should follow APA (7th ed.) formatting.
Tips for Completion:
DO’s
The foundation of this paper should come from the LMHYV text, with course materials, readings, etc. used to shape & inform your discussion/position regarding the 6 aforementioned areas. I highly recommend using these 6 areas as your level 1 headings (see APA for proper heading formatting).
This paper should be at least 5 pages in length & written in APA format (12pt. font, times new roman, double spaced, in-text citations, title page, & reference page-no abstract or table of contents needed) There is a sample APA paper under “additional resources” in our class drive and is an excellent resource. Remember, any citations that appear in-text citation must also appear on your “References” page & vice versa (7 in addition to the LMHYV text are required).
Use third person language (no first person language in academic/professional writing)
DON’T’s
Remember, this assignment is NOT just a book report (I have read the book). It is a critical analysis and systematic comparison of one parents experience to content learned throughout the course. It should be thoughtful, reflective, and not only demonstrate that you have read the text in its entirety, but also your ability to think critically based on supporting evidence (articles, etc.).
Here is an excerpt of a well structured & supported statement taken from a former student’s paper (concerning the topic of assessment & instructional practices):
Example: An overwhelming proportion of parents of students with ASD seek alternative treatments that do not have a substantiated evidence-base within the literature (Hopf et al., 2016). Catherine, too, fell victim to this plight, investing a significant amount of time and financial resources into holding therapy, an intervention with little to no demonstrated benefit (National Autism Center, 2015).
These explicit textual examples & critical analyses should be included throughout.
Do not use direct quotations from readings (pretty much ever). Almost all sentences/passages can be rewritten in your own words (and still require a citation). The ONLY time direct quotations should be used is if it is something a character has directly said or if it is a famous phrase that cannot be rewritten (such as Abraham Lincoln’s “Four score & seven years ago…”)
Example: If a line from an article written by Travers (2017) directly states “Despite advances in the evidence-based special education movement, unproven, disproven, and pseudoscientific interventions have continued to proliferate throughout the field.” You would need to rewrite this statement in your own words & could say: Unfortunately, many educators & support personnel within the field of special education continue to utilize outdated and unfounded interventions to treat individuals with disabilities (Travers, 2017).
