Improving the Attention Span of Children with Autism Using Origami

Mémoire de Maîtrise , 2008 , 183 Pages , Note: Early Childhood Education Level

Pédagogie - Pédagogie curative, Pédagogie spécialisée

If you have a child with autism or are working with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), this book may be for you.
When I was teaching children with autism, I was trying to find a way to get them to focus their attention to the task at hand. I realized that children with ASD prefer to deal with things and can be very creative in their own way. I figured out that maybe they can learn to fold and write, which are important tasks reinforced through occupational therapy. It was during my thesis writing when I came up with the idea of trying out origami or paper-folding as a form of intervention.

My goal was to see if origami could significantly improve the attending skills and impulse-control behaviors of children with ASD at the preschool where I worked. To make the terminology shorter, the improvement of attending skills also means the reduction of inattention and the lengthening of attention span. The improvement of impulse control also meant the reduction of impulsivity. I developed an origami instructional manual to make sure that the intervention given to each child is consistent. The manual involves very simple origami instructions and involves some drawing and uses paper in varying sizes, colors and textures to keep the child interested.

The results showed that the use of origami as an intervention significantly improved the attending skills of the participating children with ASD. As for the improvement of impulse control, impulsivity is affected by many variables and the results showed no significant change. Although my participants showed some improvement, it was not significant enough. I hope you can try to replicate this instructional manual to your child or students and see if this can help you.

I made it my goal to have this research published as an eBook with the hopes that it will be affordable for you. Once again, please try out this book and see if it can help you.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Chapter 1: Introduction
  • Statement of the Problem
  • Significance of the Study
  • Scope and Delimitation
  • Research Hypotheses
• Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework
  • Review of Related Literature and Studies
  • Autism
  • Inattention
  • Impulsivity
  • Origami
  • Behavior Management
  • Conceptual Framework
  • Definition of Terms
• Chapter 3: Research Methodology
  • Research Design
  • Research Locale and Respondents
  • Instrumentation
  • Research Procedure
  • Statistical Treatment
• Chapter 4: Presentation and Analysis of Results
• Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations
  • Summary of Findings
  • Conclusions
  • Recommendations

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an origami intervention program in improving the attention span and impulse control of children with autism (CWA). The study sought to determine if the program, when added to the typical special education program, would lead to significant improvements in these areas.

• Effectiveness of origami intervention for improving attention and impulse control in CWA
• Comparison of origami intervention with typical special education program
• Assessment of the validity of the origami instructional manual
• Analysis of pre- and post-test scores for both the experimental and control groups
• Exploration of the potential for origami as a behavior management strategy for CWA

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

Chapter 1 introduces the problem statement, highlighting the significance of addressing attention and impulse control issues in CWA. It outlines the study's objectives and research hypotheses. Chapter 2 delves into the theoretical framework, reviewing relevant literature on autism, inattention, impulsivity, origami, behavior management, and the conceptual framework of the study. Chapter 3 outlines the research methodology, including the research design, participants, instrumentation, procedures, and statistical analysis. Chapter 4 presents and analyzes the results of the study, including the pre- and post-test scores and statistical comparisons. Chapter 5 summarizes the key findings, draws conclusions about the effectiveness of the origami intervention, and provides recommendations for future research and practice.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The study focuses on the key themes of autism, attention, impulse control, origami intervention, special education, and behavior management. It explores the effectiveness of origami as a strategy to improve attention and impulse control in children with autism, analyzing pre- and post-test data and comparing the results of the experimental and control groups. The study's findings contribute to the understanding of effective interventions for CWA and the potential for using origami as a behavior management tool in educational settings.

• Cours: Master of Arts, Major in Special Education
• Note: Early Childhood Education Level
• Auteur: Luke Santamaria (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2008
• Pages: 183
• N° de catalogue: V303700
• ISBN (ebook): 9783668024465
• ISBN (Livre): 9783668024472
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: autism, children, attention span, improving, origami, special education