Autism
Dr. Geralyn Timler’s research focuses on social communication and pragmatic skills in preschoolers and school-age children with complex clinical profiles including children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Specific Language Impairment, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Earlier Work
- Developed a hypothetical peer conflict task to examine children’s knowledge about goals and strategies for resolving conflicts with peers
- Examined the accuracy of parent report measures, norm-referenced language tests, and conversational language samples to identify language impairment and pragmatic deficits in children with ADHD
Current Work
Focusing on the development and validation of two conversation measures:
- A parent, teacher, and child rating scale to evaluate conversation participation in school-age children
- validation of a conversational language sampling protocol and rating scale for use by speech/language pathologists to reliably characterize pragmatic deficits in school-age children.
In past years, approaches to the treatment of ASD has ranged greatly from very systematic, structured approaches such as specific computer programs, to more natural, unstructured approaches such as Floor Time by Stanley Greenspan. Computer assisted instructed (CAI) can be highly motivating, yet structured, targeting specific areas programmed for the child. Current approaches utilizing traditional methods of therapy and computer-assisted instruction are under investigation to determine changes in behavior and language expression.
