An Abstract about my Project (25)

Theresa White

Julia Parker

Sharon Elementary School

With the help of the Honors Mentorship program and the research I conducted to support my essential question, I was able explore past the boundaries of my possible field of interest, speech language pathology. My essential question was “How can I adapt different SLP methods to various degrees of autism?” I worked with my mentor, Mrs. Julia Parker, at Sharon Elementary School to find specific evidence to support my research. I studied the autism classes for weeks, as well as observing the behaviors of each child and how they communicated with their environment. I soon learned that these children did not interact with words, but through actions such as simply grabbing my hand and pulling me when they wanted or needed something. I began to alter specific methods of speech by creating an interactive word board on which an autism student would press a button, and I then spoke the corresponding phrase like, “I want”. It enabled me to understand what the child wanted and allowed me to reward them for pressing the specific button that suited their need. My mentor and I also used items like bubbles or balloons to capture the child’s attention and help them form certain sounds. The critical sounds on which we worked were “M” and the “H”. Because autism students love to feel and touch things in their environment, it was my mentor’s idea to put the child’s hand on our lips as we created the “M” sound, which is a quick vibration, allowing them to feel the vibration of the sound. The “H” sound was created with a quick breath onto the child’s hand, and the warmth of our breath caught their attention. Seeing these children’s progression confirmed my want to be a Speech Pathologist.