The Center for Opportunities and Outcomes for People with Disabilities is involved in a number of research, evaluation and program development activities that relate to our mission and priorities.
Dr. Linda Hickson & Dr. Ishita Khemka
Contact: lh76@tc.columbia.edu
Research and Curriculum Development on Decision Making
Ongoing research studies are underway to better understand how adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities and autism make decisions in a wide range of situations. Data were collected with 60 adults with intellectual disabilities and autism to evaluate the effectiveness of the most recent version of the ESCAPE-DD curriculum. In addition, data were collected with 23 adolescents with intellectual disabilities and autism to assess the effectiveness of a newly developed intervention designed to foster effective decision making in situations involving negative peer pressure and bullying. This project involved needs assessment with parents and school staff, pre-assessments with the adolescents, and feedback sessions with parents and staff.
Contact: hchiang@tc.columbia.edu
Receptive Communication of Children with Autism
This project aims to (a) examine receptive communication skills of children with autism using the Mandarin Token Test; (b) analyze the differences in test performance among children with autism, children with intellectual disability and children with typical development; and (c) determine if challenging behavior in children with autism is related to their receptive communication skills.
Predicting Participation in Postsecondary Education and Competitive Employment for Postsecondary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
This project aims to (a) build a prediction model to predict participation in postsecondary education for postsecondary students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and (b) build a prediction model to predict participation in competitive employment for ethnic minority postsecondary students with ASDs.
This project aims to (a) provide a description of the body of behavioral treatment studies on the communication of individuals with autistic disorder, (b) report the overall effect of behavioral treatments on the communication of individuals with autistic disorder, and (c) identify the most effective behavioral treatment approach.
Dr. Christine E. Pawelski
Contact: cep24@tc.columbia.edu
Child Abuse and Children with Disabilities Program Development and Advocacy
Since the 1980s, the New York State’s Department of Social Services and its Children’s Justice Task Force program efforts have consistently identified children with disabilities as a vulnerable population for child abuse in all of its forms. As a result, it provided support for the development of a CD-ROM on the issues. In 2007 this was launched as a website (http://childabuse.tc.columbia.edu/) with continuing work being done on enhancing and updating the resources and videos that are provided. The Project also is involved with the development of strategies related to disabilities for use with Child Advocacy Centers around the country. In 2010, the team helped to launch the global Disability and Child Abuse Action Network (DCAAN- http://dcaan.com whose mission is the ongoing policy development, training and research in this critical area. In 2012, the project team launched the Future Child Advocates of America undergraduate initiative (see FCAA).
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