This book addresses the difficult challenges that children with autism present educators. By comprehensively examining the scientific knowledge underlying educational practices, programs and strategies in China and Finland, it provides valuable information for parents, administrators, researchers, and policy makers. This book examines the following fundamental issues related to the education of children with autism: •How children's specific diagnoses should affect educational assessment and planning •How we can support the families of children with autism •Features of effective instructional and comprehensive programs and strategies •How we can better prepare teachers, school staff, professionals and parents when it comes to educating children with autism •What policies at the national and local levels will best ensure appropriate education, examining strategies and resources needed to address the rights of children with autism to appropriate education

In an exploration of bringing concepts from other disciplines to Chinese as a foreign language, a comparison between individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and foreign language learners help us analyze and better understand how foreign language learners can successfully be socialized into a target language and culture. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders V (2013), a diagnosis of ASD includes persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts; furthermore, individuals with ASD are often described as visual leaners and are claimed to exhibit relative strength in visual processing. ASD is both a linguistic and social disorder. Ochs et al. (2004) declare that the struggles and successes of those individuals who are diagnosed with autism make apparent what is most essential to participation in human society. Exploring the struggles of individuals diagnosed with ASD can shed light on the parallels of learning to comprehend social signals in a foreign culture. Through this comparison, foreign language pedagogues can better understand what foreign language learners struggle with to communicate in Chinese culture. This in turn better informs all Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) curriculum.

In China there is a tremendous need for qualified individuals to provide direct services to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Along with a lack of appropriate training resources (e.g., trainers and teaching materials in Chinese), an effective and efficient instructional method is urgently needed. The present study evaluated the effect of two training components on the procedural implementation of the paired-stimulus (PS) preference assessment, the multiple-stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment, and discrete trials teaching (DTT) to 12 participants - viz., four tutors and eight mothers - in China. The two components were: (a) a Chinese version of computer-aided personalized system of instruction (CAPSI) combined with Chinese translations of self-instructional manuals (SIMs) and (b) demonstration videos. The sequence of training the three behavioural techniques (PS, MSWO, and DTT) was randomly selected. The participants started with one of the two components, which were evenly assigned on a random basis. If scored below 85% accuracy after completing the starting component, the participants were asked to proceed to training with the other component. A multiple baseline design across the three behavioural techniques was used, with replication across the 12 participants. Nine out of 12 participants scored 85% accuracy or higher on implementing all three behavioural techniques with a confederate after completing one or two components. There was no evidence that either the combination of CAPSI with SIMs or demonstration videos was more effective - i.e., both appeared to be equally effective - in training any of the behavioural techniques, nor was there any evidence of differential effects of the sequence of receiving the two training components. However, training the PS assessment facilitated the procedural implementation of the MSWO assessment, and vice versa. During generalization, all participants maintained their acquired skills with high accuracy with a child with ASD. The results suggest that the combination of CAPSI with Chinese translations of the SIMs and demonstration videos are both effective in training staff members and parents on all three behavioural techniques. Moreover, there is a summative effect in that additional training with either CAPSI in combination with SIMs or demonstration videos increases performance on all three behavioural techniques. Future research directions are discussed.

This dissertation, "An Exploratory Study on the Effects of Anaphoric Cuing on Chinese Reading Comprehension of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder" by Lai-wan, Mok, 莫麗雲, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: This study investigated the effects of anaphoric cuing on the reading comprehension of 17 adolescent students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 19 typically developing (TD) students matched on age, intellectual ability and word decoding ability. In a within-subject design, participants read four Chinese passages of two types (narrative fictional vs. narrative nonfictional) under two conditions (control [reading only] vs. anaphoric cuing). The ASD group showed significantly poorer reading comprehension than the TD group in the control condition. Contrary to prediction, anaphoric cuing produced a hindrance effect rather than facilitation effect on the reading comprehension performance of both groups. Correlation analysis showed different patterns between ASD and TD groups in the relationship between the ability to resolve anaphora and comprehension of the two types of passages. DOI: 10.5353/th_b5394314 Subjects: Reading comprehension - Study and teaching (Secondary) Children with autism spectrum disorders - Language

This dissertation, "The Relationship Between Teacher Self-efficacy, Beliefs and Teaching Practices for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders in Hong Kong Mainstream Kindergartens" by Ka-wei, Elsa, Ling, 林家慧, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: According to the Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) proposed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), early childhood education programme should be able to promote social competence of children through play, child-centered and interactive group activity. The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has increased tremendously over the last two decades. Both the Hong Kong Education Bureau and NAEYC advocate a play-based and child-centred teaching approach and believe that applying the approach in pre-primary education programmes can provide more socialization opportunities to young children including children with ASD enrolling in integrated programmes in mainstream kindergartens. To what extent does Hong Kong kindergarten teachers of integrated programmes with children with ASD apply the DAP beliefs in actual practices in inclusive classroom? To what extent does Hong Kong kindergarten teacher's self-efficacy for inclusive practices mediate the relationship between their DAP beliefs and teaching practices in inclusive classroom? How are teacher qualifications and work experiences related to teacher self-efficacy and their DAP teaching practices in kindergarten inclusive classroom? One hundred and forty four Hong Kong kindergarten teachers of inclusive classes with children with ASD participated in the study. Teacher Self-efficacy Scale (TSE), Teacher Belief and Practices Survey (TBS) and the Instructional Activities Scale (IAS), were used to measure teacher self-efficacy, DAP beliefs and teaching practices in inclusive classroom respectively. Items specific to catering for children with ASD were included in each scale. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to validate the three scales used. Results of path analysis using structural equation modelling showed that teacher self-efficacy had a significant mediating effect on the relationship of teacher DAP beliefs and teaching practices. Efficacious teachers were more likely to adhere to their DAP beliefs and conduct more child-centered activities for both groups of typically developed children and children with ASD. Correlation suggested that teacher self-efficacy is related to both work experiences and DAP teaching practices. Experienced teachers had higher level of teacher self-efficacy and more likely to confront challenges in inclusive classes than less experienced teachers. ANCOVA results showed that the main effect of teacher qualifications on both DAP beliefs and teaching practices were not significant. Yet, teachers who received training in programmes concentrated on pre-primary inclusive and special education were found to have higher teacher self-efficacy than those who had not undergone those training. While the enhancement of teachers' teaching skills and knowledge is an essential element in any teacher training programme, the empowerment of teacher self-efficacy is equally important. Overall, the findings in the present study underscore the importance of teacher self-efficacy in understanding teacher DAP beliefs and teaching practices in inclusive classroom in Hong Kong kindergartens. Subjects: Children with autism spectrum disorders - Education (Early childhood) - China - Hong Kong Kindergarten teachers - China - Hong Kong - Attitudes

This book reports on new theories and applications in the field of intelligent systems and computing. It covers cutting-edge computational and artificial intelligence methods, advances in computer vision, big data, cloud computing, and computation linguistics, as well as cyber-physical and intelligent information management systems. The respective chapters are based on selected papers presented at the workshop on intelligent systems and computing, held during the International Conference on Computer Science and Information Technologies, CSIT 2020, which was jointly organized on September 23-26, 2020, by the Lviv Polytechnic National University, Ukraine, the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics, Ukraine, and the Technical University of Lodz, Poland, under patronage of Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Given its breadth of coverage, the book provides academics and professionals with extensive information and a timely snapshot of the field of intelligent systems, and is sure to foster new discussions and collaborations among different groups.