Browsing by Author "Davies, Patricia L., advisor"
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Item Open Access Assessing the impact of a music therapy program on attention in children with autism using behavioral and neurophysiological measures(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Coates, Carolyn, author; Davies, Patricia L., advisor; Merz, Emily, committee member; Stephens, Jaclyn, committee member; LaGasse, Blythe, committee memberChildren with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are known to have difficulty with auditory sensory processing. Music therapy is a common intervention approach for children with autism to address numerous behavioral and sensory challenges using auditory stimuli. Auditory processing capabilities have also been linked with attention skills and with attentional challenges often observed in children with ASD. This study seeks to understand the differences between children with ASD and their typically developing peers in auditory processing and attention. An additional study goal is to evaluate impacts of a music therapy protocol on those constructs. Baseline measurements were collected for 10 children with ASD using the Test of Everyday Attention in Children (TEA-Ch) and EEG under a sensory registration paradigm. These data were compared to those of age- and sex-matched typically developing peers (n = 10). The children with ASD participated in biweekly music therapy over 5 weeks for a total of 10 sessions and then completed the same assessments during a post-test. The sensory registration paradigm measured passive responses to four auditory tones at two different intensities (50 and 70 dB) and two different frequencies (1 and 3 kHz). The resultant event related potentials (ERPs) were averaged into a waveform for each child at each tone and amplitudes and latencies were calculated for N1, P2, N2 and P3 components. The TEA-Ch resulted in an overall attention score and a score for each of three subdomains of attention: sustained, selective and switching. Results indicated that children with ASD performed more poorly on the TEA-Ch with significantly poorer scores in overall attention, selective attention, and sustained attention. A series of independent sample t-tests on ERP components revealed few significant differences but a trend of increased latency at N1, P2, and N2 in children with ASD for each of the four tones. Children with ASD had lower amplitude of N1 components and greater amplitude P2 components compared with the typically developing children. Following the music therapy intervention, children with ASD improved significantly in selective attention and showed a trend of improvement in switching and total attention compared to pre-testing scores. The music therapy did not result in statistically significant changes in EEG results, but a trend of increased latency was noted for N1, P2, and N2. Amplitude of the P3 component decreased following the music therapy intervention in response to the high and loud tone when age was used as a covariate. Some significant associations were found between the latency of N1, P2, and N2 and sustained and selective attention in response to the 1kHz 70dB tone across all participants at baseline (TD children and children with ASD before music therapy). In conclusion, this study shows that children with ASD have different neural processing of simple auditory tones and reduced performance in multiple domains of attention. The music therapy intervention is a promising approach to improving attention skills. The intervention did not appear to alter neural processing in the expected way of children with ASD performing more like their typically developing peers. Further research at this foundational level of neural processing may help clarify the differences in processing between children with ASD and their typically developing peers and may provide a way of monitoring interventions which seek to alter neural processing to target attentional skills and behaviors.Item Open Access Auditory sensory processing in children with sensory processing disorder and autism spectrum disorder(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Pott, Christine Elizabeth, author; Davies, Patricia L., advisor; Gavin, William J., committee member; LaGasse, Blythe, committee memberSensory processing has long been a topic of interest in the field of occupational therapy. This study sought to replicate the results of Davies and Gavin (2007) which examined differences in auditory sensory processing between children with sensory processing disorder (SPD) and typically developing (TD) children as well as expand the results to a sample of children with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Additionally, this study sought to relate the neurophysiological measures of sensory processing to a behavioral assessment measuring sensory processing. We hypothesized that the results of Davies and Gavin (2007) would be replicated and expanded to include children with ASD and measures from the Sensory Profile (SP) would relate to the participants' neurological measures of sensory processing. 62 TD children, and 21 children each with SPD and ASD were recruited as part of a convenience sample. Participants’ brainwaves were recorded through electroencephalography (EEG) while they watched a silent movie and listened to a sensory gating paradigm consisting of two paired clicks and a sensory registration paradigm consisting of 4 tones of varied intensity and frequency. From the sensory gating paradigm P50 amplitudes were obtained. From the sensory registration paradigm amplitudes and latencies for N100, P200, N200, and P300 were obtained. Analyses revealed that while the results of Davies and Gavin (2007) were partially replicated, in that sensory gating was able to be significantly predicted from sensory registration the same pattern of sensory hyper and hypo-responsivity was not observed. Results indicate that the Sensory Profile does in part relate to the neurophysiological measures of sensory processing. This study confirmed that auditory sensory processing does differ between children with SPD, children ASD, and TD children. It contributes to occupational therapy's understanding of sensory processing in children and also towards increased understanding of how the SP relates to underlying neurological mechanisms.Item Open Access Examining the efficacy of the empowerment course for young adults with disabilities: training for postsecondary education and employment(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Sjostrand, Rachel L., author; Davies, Patricia L., advisor; Graham, James, committee member; Hepburn, Susan, committee memberObjective. Current secondary transition programs have been less than satisfactory in student outcomes and have not adequately addressed skills necessary to transition into the adult world for students with intellectual disabilities (ID) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Individuals with ID and ASD have lower rates of attending postsecondary education, obtaining and maintaining a job, and living independently compared to their peers. The Empowerment Course is a one-year, postsecondary transition program designed to facilitate successful employment and/or educational outcomes for transition aged (18-26) young adults with disabilities. Two occupational therapists (OTs) were the instructors for the course, along with graduate OT students as mentors for participants enrolled in the Empowerment Course. Method. Students who completed the full academic year of the Empowerment Course over the past three years were included in analyses (n = 16). Students and instructors completed questionnaires at the beginning of the fall semester and at the end of the spring semester. A pretest-posttest design was used to assess student's perceived self-efficacy, competence in their job-seeking skills, quality of life, self-advocacy skills, and their ability to set and work towards goals. A series of t-tests were run to analyze the data. Student's attendance for lectures and labs of the Empowerment Course was also examined. Results. Students demonstrated significant improvements in goal attainment, job-seeking skills confidence, and in their self-advocacy skills. On average, student's attendance was greater than 95% for lectures and labs. Conclusions. Results suggest that participation in the Empowerment Course for students with ID and ASD may develop life skills beyond what is taught in high school transition programs. It was feasible to have OTs as instructors for this postsecondary transition program and to facilitate effective results.Item Open Access Examining the relationship between sensory processing and attention in individuals with autism spectrum disorders(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Crasta, Jewel E., author; Davies, Patricia L., advisor; Gavin, William J., advisor; Bundy, Anita, committee member; Rojas, Donald, committee memberAttention is a crucial element of our goal-directed, purposeful response to sensory information in our social and physical environments. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have significant deficits in sensory processing and attention. However, there is limited research examining the relationship between attention and sensory processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the relationship between attention and sensory processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and neurotypical individuals. Specifically, the objective was to examine if consciously directing attention to incoming information would result in more typical neural processing in individuals with ASD. To answer this question, study 1 was designed to understand how attention and distraction impacted sensory processing in neurotypical individuals. Studies 2 and 3 examined neural measures of sensory processing in individuals with ASD as compared to age-matched neurotypical controls during passive and active attentional states. In Study 1, electroencephalography (EEG) data were recorded while 60 adults (18-35 years) heard random presentations of 4 auditory stimuli at 2 frequencies (1 and 3 kHz) each at 2 intensities (50 and 70 dB). Participants were randomly divided into 2 viewing conditions; one group watched a silent movie and the other viewed a fixation point during the recording. All participants completed 2 attention conditions, the passive condition involved only listening to the stimuli, followed by the active condition, wherein participants were instructed to press a button to the 1 kHz 50 dB tone. Amplitude and latency measures were obtained for the N1, P2, N2, and P3 components for each of the auditory stimuli. The ANOVAs revealed a significant main effect of attention condition for the N1, P2, N2, and P3 amplitudes. There were also significant attention-by-viewing condition interaction effects at the P3 component. Results indicated that actively directing attention to the tones impacts auditory processing at all components. Additionally, manipulation of attention by changing the viewing environment significantly interacted with sensory processing, such that movie viewing resulted in larger P3 amplitudes compared with fixation viewing. Thus, viewing environment or distraction impacts sensory processing. In study 2, we examined the effect of attention on auditory filtering using the sensory gating paradigm in individuals with ASD. EEG data were recorded during 2 attention conditions from 24 adults with ASD and 24 neurotypical individuals during the sensory gating paradigm. During the passive condition, participants were presented with single and paired clicks. For the active condition, participants made a motor response following the single click but not the paired click. Attending to the clicks resulted in larger P50 and N1 amplitudes, and reduced gating for all participants. Although, the ASD group had P50 and N1 gating during both attention conditions, they had significantly longer N1 latencies to the Click 1 during both the attention conditions, suggesting a delayed orienting response. However, click 2 latencies were delayed only in the passive condition and not the active condition for the ASD group compared to the neurotypical group. This finding suggests of attention-based amelioration of processing speed in individuals with ASD. Individuals with ASD also had significantly more deficits on behavioral measures of social responsivity, attention, sensory and perceptual processing. Additionally, neural measures of gating were associated with several behavioral measures of sensory processing as measured by self-report questionnaires and a performance-based measure of attention, such that efficient neural processing was associated with more typical sensory processing and attention. In study 3, we examined the effect of attention on auditory discrimination in individuals with ASD. EEG data were recorded from 24 individuals with ASD and 24 neurotypical individuals, while they heard random presentations of 4 auditory stimuli at 2 different frequencies (1 and 3 kHz) each at 2 different intensities (50 and 70 dB). All participants completed two attention conditions; the passive condition involved only listening to the stimuli, followed by the active condition, wherein participants were instructed to press a button to the 1 kHz 50 dB tone. Attention impacted N2, and P3 amplitudes, and P2 and N2 latencies. The ASD group had significantly longer N1, N2, and P3 latencies, suggesting delayed processing. N2 and P3 latency delays in the ASD group were present during the passive but not active condition, implying an attention-based amelioration of processing delay. Behavioral measures of sensory processing and attention correlated with neural measures of auditory processing. Thus, through the series of studies, we found that actively directing attention to the tones impacts auditory processing, and may result in more typical processing in ASD. The study findings also suggest that sensory processing deficits observed in ASD may be associated with underlying deficits of attention. Study findings have significant implications related to understanding auditory discrimination in individuals with ASD and examining the impact of attention on sensory processing. Additionally, these results can help practitioners understand the neural basis of behavioral manifestations of ASD, especially those atypical behaviors that occur in response to sensory experiences in everyday activities.Item Open Access Sensory registration in children with high functioning autism(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Crasta, Jewel Elias, author; Davies, Patricia L., advisor; Gavin, William J., committee member; LaGasse, Blythe, committee memberAuditory processing is one of the most commonly reported sensory processing impairments in autism spectrum disorders. This study sought to determine whether children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFA) differ from typically developing children on neurophysiological measures of auditory information processing. We hypothesized that children with HFA would have significant different brain activity when listening to auditory stimuli compared to typically developing children. A cross-sectional quasi-experimental quantitative study design with convenience sampling procedures was employed to compare two groups. Nineteen children with HFA and 19 age- and gender-matched typically developing children, ages 5 to 12 years, participated in this study. Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings were made while participants watched a silent movie and heard random presentations of four auditory stimuli at two different frequencies (1 and 3 kHz) and at two different intensities (50 and 70 dB). The stimuli were presented in 4 blocks of 100 trials each, with 25 trials of each of the stimuli in random order with a 2-second inter-stimulus interval. Amplitude and latency measures were obtained for the P1, N1, P2, N2, and P3 components from the averaged event-related potentials (ERPs) for each of the four auditory stimuli. An analysis of variance for the ERP components, revealed that children with HFA had significantly smaller N2 amplitudes for the low frequency low intensity tone, and significantly smaller P3 amplitudes to the high intensity at both frequencies stimuli compared to typically developing children. This finding suggests that children with HFA have increased difficulty in automatic stimuli discrimination and reduced cognitive processing to these auditory stimuli. Children with HFA also had significantly longer P2 latencies for the high intensity high frequency tone compared to typically developing peers, suggesting delayed auditory processing. In conclusion, this study shows that children with HFA display different brain processing mechanisms to auditory sensory stimuli compared to typically developing children. These differences suggest that the auditory processing deficits observed in children with HFA may arise from atypical neurophysiological functioning related to stimuli discrimination and processing. These results can help practitioners understand the neurophysiological basis of behavioral manifestations of ASD, especially those atypical behaviors that occur in response to sensory experiences in everyday activities. Understanding the specific aspects of sensory processing that are a challenge for children with HFA may provide guidance to the types of treatment strategies that will be most effective.Item Open Access The relationship of self-regulation and academic achievement in college students with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a brain-behavior perspective(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Chang, Wen-Pin, author; Morgan, George A., advisor; Davies, Patricia L., advisorThe main purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationships among three constructs: (a) the underlying executive processes of self-regulation, (b) self-regulation behaviors, and (c) academic achievement in college students with and without ADHD.Item Open Access Three types of sensory gating: exploring interrelationships, individual differences, and implications(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Yadon, Carly Ann, author; Davies, Patricia L., advisor; Nerger, Janice L., advisor; Anderson, Charles W., committee member; Cleary, Anne M., committee memberThe primary purpose of this dissertation was to determine how information is selectively processed in the brain through sensory gating mechanisms. Filtering, habituation, and orienting are three types of sensory gating that have never been investigated together in the same study. Although it has been well established that sensory gating is abnormal in many clinical groups, there remains a fundamental lack of understanding regarding the mechanisms of gating. For example, the functional significance of sensory gating, as well as how different types of sensory gating are related to basic brain processes and to each other, is poorly understood. Using an event-related potential (ERP) paradigm, I measured P50, N100, and P200 filtering, habituation, and orienting and administered a sequence of neuropsychological measures of attention to forty-two healthy adults. I found that filtering, orienting, and habituation and the three ERP components had different patterns of results, suggesting that the three paradigms measured distinct types of sensory gating and that gating is a multistage process. For all three types of sensory gating, higher-level attention tasks tended to predict gating responses better than lower-level attention tasks. This dissertation demonstrated that sensory gating has functional importance and these three gating paradigms seem to reflect different types of gating that should be explored in their own right.