Current Projects

Our research aims to improve the lives of all people with disabilities and from time to time requires the participation of many St.Amant clients and families as well as participants from across Canada.

Below, find profiles of our current projects as well as information on those currently accepting participants.

ABA (EIBI) Longitudinal Evaluation

Full title: Longitudinal Evaluation of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Graduating from the St.Amant Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) Early Intervention Program

Researchers: Dr. C.T. Yu, Dr. Toby Martin

Project Coordinator: Ms. Duong Nguyen, M.A.

Affiliations: St.Amant and Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba

Research Sponsor: Department of Family Services and Housing, Children's Program

We are studying children with autism who have received services from St.Amant’s ABA Preschool Program and comparing them to children who have not received this service. We are looking at how children’s outcomes are related to factors such as the learning environments at school and home, diagnosis, developmental characteristics, past learning in any treatment programs they may be in, and parent stress. Additionally, we want to know how the children who have completed the ABA program compare with children who have not.

This project will help us understand the long-term impact of ABA early intervention, improve early intervention programs in the future and identify early predictors of outcomes for school age children.

We are recruiting:

• Children who graduated from the St.Amant Preschool program within the last year or so
• Children aged two-and-a-half through five years who ARE NOT currently receiving or waiting to obtain services from St.Amant’s ABA Preschool Program.

We will collect information through a combination of standardized child assessments, parent questionnaires and, with parents’ permission, teacher questionnaires. Most measures will be taken annually and some quarterly over a period of 5 years.

To participate in this study or to receive more information, please contact:

Duong Nguyen
Project Coordinator
St.Amant Research Centre
204.256.4301 ext. 3494

Error Correction Procedures

Full Title: Comparison of error-correction procedures for teaching topography- and selection-based responses

Researchers: May Lee, M. A., Dr. C.T. Yu

Affiliations: St.Amant and Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba

Practicing the correct response several times after an error is a common strategy for teaching functional skills to individuals with developmental disabilities. However, this teaching strategy seems to help with learning some tasks and not others. The goal of this project is to understand better the type of tasks it helps or does not help.

The more we learn about how effective different teaching procedures are in teaching different types of tasks, the more we will be able to improve our teaching methods for individuals with developmental disabilities.

We are recruiting:

We are recruiting individuals with a diagnosis of developmental disabilities and with limited to no speech. Individuals may benefit most from this project if they:

• Do not have severe visual impairments
• Have adequate motor coordination to perform copying tasks
• Are able to follow simple instructions

The researcher will compare two procedures for teaching copying and matching skills to individuals with developmental disabilities. During the study, participants will be taught to copy various symbols (e.g., alphabets, numbers or shapes) and to match objects to printed words. In both teaching procedures, the teacher will provide praise and a small treat for each correct response.

Verbal feedback will be provided immediately following an error. In one procedure the participant will also be requested to practice the correct response five times; there will be no practice in the other procedure.

If you would like to participate or receive more information about the project, please contact:

May Lee, PhD. Candidate
Student Researcher
St.Amant Research Centre
204.256.4301 ext. 5445

Teaching Perspective-Taking

Full Title: Teaching Perspective-Taking to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Researchers: Kerri Walters, M. A., Dr. C.T. Yu
Affiliations: St.Amant and Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba
Research Sponsor: Department of Family Services and Housing, Children's Program

Children with ASDs often struggle with social interactions in their day-to-day lives. One reason for this is that they have difficulty learning perspective-taking, the skill of seeing the world from another person’s viewpoint and understanding that others see the world differently from the way that you do.

Most children acquire this skill by the age of four. However, it is estimated that about 80 per cent of children with ASDs are unable to perform tasks that are commonly used to assess perspective-taking. By developing a strategy to teach perspective-taking skills to children with ASDs, we can assist them in improving their day-to-day social interactions with peers.

We are recruiting:

We are currently recruiting children aged 4-10 years who have a diagnosis of an ASD.

We are assessing children with ASDs for perspective-taking skills by administering three commonly-used game-like tasks. For children who are unable to perform these tasks, we have designed a program to teach a series of component skills thought to make up the overall task of perspective-taking.

To receive more information, please contact:

Kerri Walters
St.Amant Research Centre
204.256.4301 ext. 5444