An Examination of Education Professionals' Beliefs about Causes of Autism and Their Perceptions of Practices

Autor/inn/en	Fleury, Veronica P.; Kemper, Talya
Titel	An Examination of Education Professionals' Beliefs about Causes of Autism and Their Perceptions of Practices
Quelle	In: Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 37 (2022) 3, S.189-198 (10 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Fleury, Veronica P.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1088-3576
DOI	10.1177/10883576211073685
Schlagwörter	Autism Spectrum Disorders; Knowledge Level; Beliefs; Etiology; Evidence Based Practice; Educational Practices; Credibility; Teacher Attitudes; Misconceptions; School Personnel; Speech Language Pathology; Allied Health Personnel + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Autism; Autismus; Wissensbasis; Belief; Glaube; Ätiologie; Bildungspraxis; Glaubwürdigkeit; Lehrerverhalten; Missverständnis; Schulpersonal
Abstract	The quantity and quality of research focused on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have grown over the past several decades. Ensuring that research findings are accessible and understood by education professionals is essential for improving outcomes for individuals with ASD. In this study, we evaluated education professionals' knowledge about ASD, specifically (a) beliefs about causes of ASD, (b) their familiarity with evidence-based practices (EBPs) and non-EBPs, (c) the likelihood of using or recommending EBPs compared with non-EBPs, and (d) the extent to which source credibility influenced the likelihood of using or recommending different types of practices. Education professionals (N = 62) completed a paper survey. Responses on a modified version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire--Revised (Moss-Morris et al., 2002) were used to evaluate participants' beliefs regarding causal attributes of ASD. Educators were also asked to read texts describing four EBPs and four non-EBPs. The text presentation was based on a 2 × 2 within-subjects factorial design with practice status (EBP or non-EBP) and source credibility (credible or not credible) as the independent variables. After reading each text, participants reported on whether they were (a) familiar with the practice and (b) the extent to which they would use or recommend the practice. Results indicate that school personnel were highly confident that neurobiological factors were a causal attribute of ASD. In addition, respondents were more familiar with, and more likely to recommend or use, EBPs as compared with non-EBPs. Source credibility did not significantly affect participants' likelihood of using or recommending practices. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01