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Evaluation of Classroom Active Engagement in Elementary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

This study evaluated the classroom measure of active engagement (CMAE), an observational tool designed to measure active engagement in students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants included 196 students with ASD and their educators (n = 126) who were video-recorded at the beginning of the school year. Findings documented limited active engagement overall, with students spending less than half of the observation well-regulated, productive, or independent and infrequently directing eye gaze and communicating. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the structure of the CMAE was represented by a 5-factor model. These findings underscore the need for improved active engagement in students with ASD and show promise for a tool to measure behaviors associated with positive educational outcomes in students with ASD.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by Grant R324A100174 (Co-PI, Wetherby, Morgan) from the US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Nicole Sparapani was supported in part by Grant H325D070086 (PI Wetherby) from the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services. Vanessa P. Reinhardt was supported in part by Grant UA3 MC 11055 AIR-B from the Maternal and Child Health Research Program, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Combating Autism Act Initiative), Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.

Author Contributions

All authors contributed sufficiently to the manuscript. Because this study was part of the larger CSI Project, LM, CS, and AW were responsible for the study design, participant recruitment, and overseeing of the project. NS, LM, and AW were responsible for the conceptualization and design of the CMAE. NS was involved in coding of the observational data, data analysis, interpretation of the findings, and writing of the manuscript. VR was involved in data analysis, interpretation of the findings, and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Nicole Sparapani

    Present address: The Institute of the Science of Teaching and Learning, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 872111, Tempe, AZ, 85287-2111, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florida State University Autism Institute, College of Medicine, Florida State University, 1940 North Monroe Street, Suite 72, Tallahassee, FL, 32303, USA

    Nicole Sparapani, Lindee Morgan, Vanessa P. Reinhardt & Amy M. Wetherby

  2. Department of Psychology, Florida State University, 1107 W. Call Street, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-4301, USA

    Vanessa P. Reinhardt & Christopher Schatschneider

  3. Department of Psychology, Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, 1107 W. Call Street, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-4301, USA

    Christopher Schatschneider

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  1. Nicole Sparapani
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  5. Amy M. Wetherby
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicole Sparapani.

Appendix

Appendix

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Table 7 The classroom measure of active engagement
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Sparapani, N., Morgan, L., Reinhardt, V.P. et al. Evaluation of Classroom Active Engagement in Elementary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 46, 782–796 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2615-2

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