Early Intervention Key to Help Find Autistic Children in the Arkansas Delta

On-going research by a UA associate professor is helping provide resources to families with autistic children in rural Arkansas.

By Kirsten Baird
The Razorback Reporter

To open avenues to greater resources for rural areas, training is given to individuals who provide support to the families of autistic children living in the Arkansas Delta, said an associate professor in the UA College of Education and Health Professions.

“My research area is in the area of autism spectrum disorders,” said UA associate professor Peggy Schaefer-Whitby, who was recently elected vice president of the Council of Exceptional Children Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities, a national organization. “I really look at educational strategies to help teach and ameliorate some of the problems that people with autism have to face.”

Because autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that conditions may vary, there are certain strengths and challenges that vary among individuals. There are different levels of learning, problem-solving, and thinking, based on where an individual is on the spectrum, said Schaefer-Whitby, who was honored by the Arkansas Alumni Association for her work in the Delta..

“Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication,” according to the Autism Speaks organization.

The Arkansas Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Program, managed through UAMS, received a four-year grant of $2.17 million, which enables researchers to conduct a statewide study.

The program looks “at all 8-year-olds in the state to see how many kids have autism, and they look at every county in the state,” Schaefer-Whitby said.

About one in 77 children in Arkansas are diagnosed as having autism, according to a report by the disabilities monitoring program.

With that data, Schaefer-Whitby and her team recognized that in southern Arkansas, far fewer children were diagnosed as having autism. Specifically, she said that fewer African-American children were diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorders.

“About 50-75% of kids on the autism spectrum, with good intervention, have really good outcomes,” Schaefer-Whitby said. “There is about another 25% of kids that we don’t really understand why. But, if we don’t diagnose these kids, and we don’t get these kids into interventions and these families the services they need, we are going to have long-term care for these kids, and the societal cost is greater.”

Deciding that it was time to figure out the reason behind the discrepancies in the data, Schaefer-Whitby followed the pathway of her research, rented an apartment in Helena, Arkansas, and lived there for one year. She needed to become part of the community before she could have an impact on that community, she said.

“I worked with UAMS East, Kids for the Future, Partners for Inclusive Communities, and Arkansas Autism Outreach Center,” Schafer-Whitby said. “We started going down to the Delta and set up an advisory board, and we would meet monthly with them to determine kind of what we need to focus on services down here.”

Another research project Schaefer-Whitby is conducting has to do with the factors other than the lack of resources that contribute to autism.

“I’ve been working on a qualitative study where I’m really looking at, and talking with families about their lived experiences of having a child with autism,” Schaefer-Whitby said.

Although research confirms that factors such as low socio-economic status impacts the ability to access service providers and resources, there are also other factors to consider that may have an impact on autism diagnosis, Schaefer-Whtiby said.

“I do believe there are some cultural variables that impact access to services and whether or not a family will step up to access those services,” Schaefer-Whitby said. Most of the families that have been validated through interventions are confirmed to be white, upper class, wealthy families.

“One of the strategies that I promote is that we need to look at family systems and family routines and adapt our behavioral interventions to meet their family context and the routines within their family system,” Schaefer-Whitby said.

Schaefer-Whitby is working toward finding each of the variables that attribute to families in rural areas hesitating to access services for their children.

“The other thing that I find when I meet with these families is that really we’re more alike than different, that we all want to do what’s best for our children, and we want the best outcome for our children” Schaefer-Whitby said.

Perspective is another big aspect that Schaefer-Whitby attributes to the differences in culture within the Delta.

“When we start looking at quality of life and stress related to these families, it’s perspective,” Schaefer-Whitby said. “Many of these families really look at the disability, or the impact of the disability on the family system, a little differently.”

Because of the different perspectives, Schaefer-Whitby has found that families are sometimes better able to cope with the impact that the disability has on their family structure.

In addition to cultural differences between urban and rural areas, there is also the matter of access to resources that is difficult for families to receive.

During her time in the Delta, Schafer-Whitby first identified three individuals who aspired to become behavior analysts. For each of those individuals to complete the 1,500 clinical hours required, she provided supervision for free.

Shannon Crozier and Jessica Love, founders of Behavior University, an online training platform specializing in therapy based on the science of learning and behavior, partnered with Schaefer-Whitby in her project.

“When we learned about the new project in the Delta, we were thrilled to see

what she was doing,” Crozier said. “As the project grew, we realized that there might be a way for us to help and so we contacted her to offer support.”

Behavior University offered to provide free Registered Behavior Technician training to 10 individuals who had been identified within the Delta. The training process includes a 40-hour online training and an observation from a behavior analyst. Schaefer-Whitby was the one to observe and certify that each of the trainees did indeed have the required skills.

“In the next several months, we’re hoping that we are going to have one behavior analyst down there and that we’ll have about 8-10 registered behavior technicians that can start working with the kids,” Schaefer-Whitby said.

“Families in rural areas lack access to many of the resources they need,” Crozier said. “Relying on people and resources in more urban centers is difficult and unreliable.”

Schaefer-Whitby hopes that through this project, there will be greater support and resources available for families living in the delta with a child in need of autism intervention, she said.

November 1, 2019November 7, 2019

Enrollment Rates Continue to Climb in COEHP

Despite recent slower enrollment rates, the numbers in COEHP have remained the highest out of all colleges. Certain changes within the college and upcoming changes through all departments play a role in enrollment.

By Kirsten Baird
The Razorback Reporter

The College of Education and Health Professions is located in the Graduate Education Building. Photo by Kirsten Baird.

Despite recent slower UA enrollment rates, the College of Education and Health Professions has the highest increase among all colleges for the 2019-2020 academic year, said a research assistant from the Office of Education Policy.

The college offers 50 degree programs through six academic departments, said Ketevan Mamiseishvili, associate dean for academic and student affairs. Across the six departments, 5,277 students were enrolled in fall 2018. The numbers have only gone up from there, research assistant Charlene Reid said.

“Our college is very diverse with respect to the range of degrees and certifications offered and those options have continually increased over time,” Reid said. “The interconnection between health and education is becoming more complex, making it more difficult to simply separate the two fields of study.”

Thus, any funding to one college must be dispersed throughout all departments.

The money that was given to the college includes a $10 million gift from the Walton Family Foundation, which helped in establishing the Arkansas Academy for Educational Equity, according to the annual report for the college.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded the college a five-year grant totaling $35.7 million to create the Arkansas PROMISE Model Demonstration project, according to the annual report. Many departments have a goal of getting programs accredited, “which will provide students with greater opportunities to enroll in programs that are more in line with their field of interest,” Reid said.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded the college a five-year grant totaling $35.7 million to create the Arkansas PROMISE Model Demonstration project, according to the annual report.

The education department within the College of Education received a favorable review from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, according to the annual report. In addition to the changes in the education department, there are also a lot of positive elements within the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, former clinical adjunct instructor Jessica Newcomb said.

One of the things Newcomb said attracted her most was that the nursing department hired “quality people.”

“The best thing you can bring to students is your experience,” Newcomb said, “and the instructors did that.”

The school of nursing also provides a bridge program, which enables students who are registered nurses, or RNs, to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in one year rather than four, Newcomb said.

“This was a big draw because it was affordable and accredited,” Newcomb said.

Within the Occupational Therapy department, completing the Occupational Therapy House and launching the graduate Occupational Therapy program in January 2020 also will increase enrollment, program director Sherry Muir said.

November 1, 2019November 1, 2019

SOTHERAPY16: UA Occupational Therapy Program to Launch in January 2020

UA Occupational Therapy Program to Launch in January 2020

COEHP is starting an occupational therapy program in partnership with UAMS. Along with new curriculum and staff, the department remodeled a house which will be used for lectures and training.

By Kirsten Baird
The Razorback Reporter

UA Occupational Therapy house provides real-life training for students. Photo by Kirsten Baird

The UA faculty of the Occupational Therapy clinical doctorate program will welcome students in January 2020, the program director said. The program will use the newly renovated O.T. house, as well as the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences campus on College Avenue.

This will be the first joint program between the UofA and UAMS, director Sherry Muir said. Fran Hagstrom, Ph.D., an associate professor of communication science and disorders got the program approved by the state Legislature and recruited Muir as program director, a university representative said.

The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education currently accredits over 570 O.T. programs within the United States, four of which are located in Arkansas, according to the American Occupational Therapy Association. The UofA currently stands at candidacy status, but in order for students to take the national exam, they must graduate from an accredited program, Muir said.

In the third year of the program, the ACOTE will visit the campus, interview students and faculty, and determine whether the program can receive accreditation status.

Meanwhile, renovations on the occupational therapy house were completed in June, and the 7,000 square feet of lab space at UAMS was completed October 1, Muir said.

The O.T. house has a variety of functions. It can be used for small seminar classes, lectures, and about 50 percent of hands-on active learning, Muir said.

“This house was designed to be a real home and not handicap accessible,” Muir said. “It’s on a hill, it has bad sidewalks that are broken, it has stairs.” Muir said that the faculty and staff believe that if students are to truly be problem solvers, it is important for them to understand that patients go home from an injury to a real home.

Thus, the faculty and staff within the department aim to build a program that instills both this view within their students and changes the way people view occupational therapy as a field.

When it comes to occupational therapy, people “have either never heard of it, or they have a very tiny limited view of it,” Muir said. Occupational therapy requires knowing the needs, wants, and daily requirements of an individual, which vary with age.

Occupational therapy “is very broad, and our training is very broad so that makes it hard for people to understand,” Muir said. “And I think we, as a profession, are significantly at fault because we haven’t been able to clearly articulate what we do.”

“We can build a very different kind of program, and I think we have,” Muir said. “I think it is highly unusual in that we did a backwards design for the entire curriculum.”

“We began at the end, but it is also fully integrated,” Muir said. “If our courses are integrated, the student’s knowledge will be more holistic and you won’t think of yourself as a pediatric therapist or an adult therapist. You will think of yourself as an occupational therapist.”

Muir hired faculty members who are innovative thinkers, do unusual types of practice, and are pioneers within their area. She hopes that the design of the O.T. program will develop students that expand the scope of their practice and be leaders in their own areas.

Establishing this program also aids in “making degree programs more robust, helping to highlight the fact that one area cannot thrive without some understanding of the other,” research assistant Charlene Reid said. “There needs to be greater collaboration among the various departments to better reflect the importance and need for each other in our respective fields.”

The new faculty and staff within the OT Program already are starting on a trajectory toward redefining how Occupational Therapy is viewed as a field, Muir said.

“I have a passion for this profession, and I believe that we are underutilized, and I believe that we are the missing link in many social crises like mental health issues, like the opioid addiction, like this exponentially increasing rise in young people’s anxiety and depression,” Muir said.

Muir’s biggest desire is for this integrated curriculum to prepare students to meet the diverse needs of society. She thinks that occupational therapy can have an impact on the world if they are fully utilized.

“I want our students to feel empowered to go out there and forge new paths and make a difference, not only in our country, but maybe in the world,” Muir said.

October 23, 2019November 18, 2019

Library, Global Campus Working to Reduce Textbook Costs

With college textbook costs on the rise, a UA program is promoting digital materials in place of physical textbooks in order to reduce costs for students.

The cost of a used finance textbook totals over $150 in the UA Bookstore — Textbooks in the UA Bookstore range in cost, but this book for Personal Finance Management would cost students anywhere from $150-$200, depending on the condition purchased. Photo by Hanna Ellington

The Library and Global Campus are working together to reduce textbook costs by giving students access to digital materials that are adopted, adapted or created by faculty.

The materials, known as Open Educational Resources, or OERs, are openly licensed educational materials, according to the library’s website. Students get access at a free or minimal cost to online materials, like books or articles.

“What’s great about open educational resources is that you can create a textbook and license it under a creative commons license and anyone can use it for free, or for a small fee,” said Kelsey Lovewell, public relations director. “So, we have a program that incentivizes faculty across campus to adopt, adapt, or create their own open educational resources, and the goal for that is that their students won’t have to pay for textbooks, or if they do, the cost will be nominal.”

A Massachusetts community college uses open-access books in three of the six required general education courses. Students spent as little as $31 for three courses, as opposed to the national average of $153 per course, according to CBS Moneywatch.

Students on average spend $1,200 annually on books and supplies, according to The College Board.

“I’ve always been frustrated with the texts that I use in my class, much less the texts that are available out there in the world, mostly because of their cost,” said Russell L. Sharman, an Assistant Professor of Communication, who is creating his own OER. “I have 200 students per section in that class, and I teach two sections a semester, so I have 400 students paying up to $100 each, which often means they don’t buy the book at all and hope they can just skate by. That completely disrupts my approach to the course.”

The opportunity to save money is a driving force behind OERs. In the 2018-2019 school year, OERs saved students an estimated $162,000, up from just $11,900 saved the year prior, according to the Mullins Library Open Educational Resources Savings Report.

Textbook costs rose 88 percent in 10 years, according to a study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Students must decide on whether to buy a textbook they might never use or save the money, said Jared Pinkerton, Associated Student Government President.

“[Students] hurt themselves because they can’t afford to buy a textbook that costs as much as a gold bar,” Pinkerton said. “Education needs to be equitable, and open education resources is a push for equity in textbooks, and that’s important.”

Multiple books on the shelves in the UA Bookstore — Some books in the UA Bookstore can be rented, giving some students the option to spend less on a textbook they may not use again. Photo by Hanna Ellington.

The concept of reduced-cost textbooks has benefited both students and the UofA, Pinkerton said. While students also pay less for their textbooks, a proposed $10 fee for using open educational resources would support grants and fund the department that is using the OERs.

“That way, every dollar of these OERs is literally being put to benefit the students,” Pinkerton said.

“There’s some stigma around free, right, that free is lesser for some reason, in [faculty] eyes. It comes to talking them into it and showing them how much of an impact it can have on students.”

Most OERs are digital textbooks that can be downloaded and printed, increasing accessibility to the material, said Elaine Thornton, the Open Education and Distance Learning Librarian. Material access will not end with the end of term, Thornton said, allowing students to continue to learn past their enrollment in the class.

“If a class adopts an OER, everyone gets it automatically online, for free, [and] always will be free. The faculty can use it, they can change it,” Thornton said.

In some cases, a physical textbook hinders students’ learning, Sharman said. Sharman is creating a digital textbook for introduction to film lecture courses to increase students’ accessibility and interaction with the material, Sharman said.

“It became pretty obvious to me, not only that this made sense for this course because it would be free, but the course content is rooted in motion pictures, which a two-dimensional text or book can’t really approximate,” Sharman said. “So being able to have integrated video, links to videos, you know, actual content that is connected to the course, is pretty exciting.”

The program has been in effect for two years. It compensates professors, dependent on whether they adopt an open educational resource, adapt materials from existing resources, or create and license a new open educational resource, Thornton said.

The compensation is used to supplement faculty for their efforts, Thornton said. University Libraries and Global Campus pay faculty from $3,000 to $7,500, in multiple phases for implementation.

“The library sees value in it in that we’re helping faculty create resources, which then go into our institutional repository, so it’s kind of a digital publishing arm of it, which is another aspect of OER,” Thornton said.

“We are providing compensation and assistance to faculty who reduce the costs of textbooks for their students by making these materials open for use by everyone,” Lovewell said.