Author and graduation date: Roxanne E. FULTON, April, 2002

Committee members: Peter M. Aufsesser (Chair), Thomas L. McKenzie, Eleanor W. Lynch

Thesis title: The Effects of Reverse Mainstreamers on Preschool Children with Autism in Adapted Physical Education

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the effects of reverse mainstreamers on the social skills of preschool children with autism in an adapted physical education class. The participants were four male children between 3 and 5 years old, and diagnosed with autism. They attended preschool in a special education class in suburban San Diego, California. A single-subject reversal design (ABAA) was used. Seventeen adapted physical education sessions were videotaped. Appropriate and inappropriate social interactions were coded, observed, and recorded as part of the data collection. The data were graphed to allow for visual inspection. Baseline A1 conditions had the children with autism participating in adapted physical education in a segregated setting. During this phase, appropriate and inappropriate interactions were demonstrated by each student and occurred at about equal rates for each. During experimental (B) conditions, three typically developing peers attended adapted physical education sessions as reverse mainstreamers. They were trained before each session for the purpose of peer tutoring in social skills. During this phase, observation of videotapes showed that compared to baseline Al the children with autism increased appropriate interactions and decreased inappropriate interactions. Following intervention, baseline A2 conditions showed appropriate interactions continued to occur, but inappropriate interactions were more frequently observed as well. Higher rates of appropriate interactions were observed for two students during this phase. Following a four-session hiatus from data collection, baseline A3 was determined. This phase showed interactions at similar rates to baseline Al.

The data revealed inappropriate interactions occurred at lower rates during intervention than baseline conditions. However, due to the short time over which this study took place, and other limitations, it is not possible to suggest evidence that the reverse mainstreamers were effective in changing social behaviors of the target children. Additional research is needed to determine the effects of reverse mainstreaming on preschool children with autism in adapted physical education.

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