help with dissertation topic assignment
Needing help with making corrections to my dissertation topic. completing the dissertation assignment template. The information must be pulled from the previous assignment that is uploaded with corrections made to assignment by the professor.
Running head: MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING 1
MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING 11
Dissertation Assignment
LaQuisha Neal
Advanced Scholarly Inquiry CES8130
Capella University
08-22-20
Topic: Mental Health Counseling: Counseling Education Supervision (CES) working with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: I am so glad that you have come back to a topic that you are passionate about and have personal and professional expertise. Since this is the beginning of the topic development for you, there’s much you’ll need to do to get it clear and focused for topic approval. Review all of my comments and we’ll go from there.
Background of the Study Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: You have a lot of great info in this section about ASD and the challenges families face. Since your study would focus on the counselor educator side of the topic, the Background needs to focus more there than on describing ASD.
Autism Spectrum disorder is basically a developmental disorder which generates a negative impact on the behavior and communication skills of individuals. It is characterized by a repetitive and limited pattern of communication and behavior (Hobson, 2019). Autism spectrum disorder can occur at any age, but majorly they appear in early years of life that is why it is characterized as a developmental disorder and is mostly found in young children (Connor et al., 2020).
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
has mentioned few symptoms associated with the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which includes repetitive behaviors and restricted interests, difficulty in interaction and communication in social gatherings and several symptoms which directly impact the ability of children to work correctly in their school and professional life later (Ballard et al., 2016). There are diverse types and intensity of the Autism Spectrum disorder and is considered a lifelong disease. But it can improve through treatment and supervision through mental health counseling. Due to the wide occurrence of illness, the American
Academy of Pediatrics
has put forward the recommendation of screening all children for Autism Spectrum disorders (Neo & Flaherty, 2018). Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: Revise for clarity and scholarly tone. Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: Are there only a few symptoms? Comment by Sara L. Wood: Watch sentence structure here. Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: Consider how this is relevant to the focus of your research.
Children suffering from Autism Spectrum disorder avoid eye contact and are unresponsive to different facial and verbal expressions. They find it difficult to maintain social interactions and put their major focus on the particular objects around them. They also lack the specific gestures and babbling appropriate to their age in the first few years of their life (Tustin, 2018). There is inconsistency in their own verbalization and gestures, including both body and face gestures. They avoid playing and instead prefer lining up or finding a pattern in their toys. With growing age, there is extreme inflexibility in their patterns and routines, which leads to the lack of concern and empathy along with the stereotypical language and phrase uses. Emotional deregulation and aggression are common symptoms among the school going kids suffering from Autism Spectrum disorder. All other senses are found to be hypersensitive among such children (Gliga et al., 2015). Comment by Sara L. Wood: So, is your topic about the children or those who work with them? For the background of the problem, it needs to be focused on in your specific topic. Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: I would suggest much of this needs to be condensed so you are focusing on the counselor educator side of ASD…..which would better support your topic.
The critical aspect is to understand thoroughly the emotions and feelings of children suffering from Autism Spectrum disorder because they find it hard to express themselves in real sense. The extreme emotions which they experience are the curiosity and fear of new experiences and social environment around them. The appropriate stimulus around them can help them in calming themselves and reduce the element of fear and replace it with curiosity. The exact causes of the Autism Spectrum disorder are yet to found, but it has been noted that counselors can help children suffering from this disease. Mental health counselors and supervisors can play their role in helping the children in conducting their daily activities (Kurz, 2018). Comment by Sara L. Wood: According to who? Remember to be able to cite just about everything. Comment by Sara L. Wood: Please note the shift in content here, which means it should be a new paragraph. Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: This would be worth elaborating with scholarly resources as it specifically supports the focus of your research (which is not clear yet….)
One of the most significant aspects is to debunk the misperceptions and myths that are associated with Autism Spectrum disorder. Myths and misconceptions in society leave a mark on the mind of individuals, including the ones who are aspiring counselors; therefore, the supervisors need to work on this aspect of the counseling profession. The second step is to identify and pinpoint the wants and needs of the children having Autism Spectrum disorder because it can vary from person to person. The third step is to identify and find the strengthening attributes of the children and help them excel in it. For example, some children with Autism Spectrum disorder are great artists and painters and find it difficult to concentrate on the words. A fourth important step is to understand the struggles that children encounter and the struggles of their families to offer them support and provide them with appropriate approaches to deal with their children (Tint et al., 2017). Comment by Sara L. Wood: According to who? Why? Is it significant to your research? If not, then remember this section is about creating the foundation for your study, not an agenda or even as an educational point. If your study is going to focus on CES and autism, then everything about the background should be pointing in that direction. Comment by Sara L. Wood: According to who? This might be an accurate observation, but it needs to be supported by the literature. Comment by Sara L. Wood: While this is great information, I am unclear as to how it relates to the topic. It might be clearer as I read further, but the goal would be for it to be clearly associated with your topic throughout. Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: Same as previous comment.
Mental health counseling improves the response of children in fulfilling their responsibilities and independence in completing their tasks. At the same time, it helps the parents of children with Autism Spectrum disorders (Catalano et al., 2018). They are given enough resources to deal with it financially, physically and emotionally (Vogan et al., 2017). Different approaches have been used by the Counseling Education Supervisors to understand the response and perception of children with Autism Spectrum disorder which include the social stories and video modeling and combination of two in it. It has found to be effective in improving the social skills of children and their educational outcomes. Video modeling is considered to be effective in providing better results clinically (Cigrand, 2011). Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: Who is given enough resources? Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: This is great info but the citation is from 2011 so is outdated.
Several methods and ways are employed by psychologists who help in the treatment of the Autism Spectrum disorders, which revolve around neuropsychobiology and the psychological treatments and care (Anderberg et al., 2017). The impact of promoting mental health among children, along with considering the mental health of children and its assessment has proven to be beneficial for them. Along with that, the pressing concern related to this topic is the mental and emotional wellbeing of caretakers and the training of the counselors and psychologists to work effectively with the people who are suffering from it. Therefore, more research is needed to make them completely qualified to deal with this issue.
The Need for Study Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: Focus on counselors since that is your program. Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: For whom? Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: This is quite vague and brings up different areas that each could be a focus of research. What will your focus be? Of course, based on literature review.
This is also an example of writing that needs revising for scholarly tone and writing style. Comment by Sara L. Wood: While this section has good basic content on autism and children, there is a distinct need to clarify your topic and center the background on that narrow topic itself. Think in terms of a paragraph or 2 about autism and children, and then all the rest on the counselors/supervisors working with them (if that is your topic). Comment by Sara L. Wood: After reading this section, there is great background content included on multiple areas and the obvious need fo counselors to work with this population, but I do not see a clear need for research presented. This will be the challenge; what does the literature say still needs to be researched with counselors/supervisors who work with autism and what is the need it will address?
In order to develop an intervention or treatment plan for the children suffering from Autism Spectrum disorders, it is essential to measure their adaptive behavior, academic achievement, developmental history, cognitive capacity, motor skills, behavioral patterns, emotional patterns, sensory patterns, speech and language abilities and majorly social behavior and capacity. There is quite a lot for the Counseling Education Supervision team to work on for preparation of people who can work effectively with the children who are suffering from Autism Spectrum disorders (Brown et al., 2016). Therefore, it is necessary to conduct further research on the approaches or the intersection of methods that can effectively lead to an improvement in their developmental and behavioral outcomes. Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: You mention several areas here that could all be a focus for research. The need you present has to be focused and concise. Where do CE’s need to focus research efforts for the ASD population? Comment by Sara L. Wood: I affirm Dr. Whiddon’s comment; it seems like there are multiple topics mentioned here.
The unique aspect of the children suffering from Autism Spectrum disorders is a fact that they respond differently to different situations which also calls for the evaluation of their functional behavior. The educational assessments at schools can generate a different kind of response to the ones who are older as compared to the ones who just joined the schools (Jackson et al., 2018). After getting all the assessment in different areas of life, it is necessary to build up complete puzzles from different pieces and then just the behavioral interventions and specific therapies. Research has shown different approaches, their intervention strategies and outcomes among different children and their families. These interventions also range from behavioral, occupational and medical to educational and supportive strategies. The implementation or combination of the strategies and approaches completely depends on the strengths, limitations and interests of the individuals who are getting targeted at the moment. For that purpose, more research is needed to develop cohesive approaches for different kind of individuals. It is essential for Counseling Education Supervision to work in a manner that equips counseling mentors to thoroughly understand the needs of different individuals (Gallo et al., 2016). Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: This focuses on the area related to a school counselors role, so another area of focus. Comment by Sara L. Wood: Please note that paragraphs should be approx. 3-5 sentences in length and focus around 1 common topic. When the content shifts from evaluation to intervention, then there should be a new paragraph. Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: This is a lot…..more than what can be done in a doctoral dissertation. Where does the literature say we need to specifically focus as a profession? Determining the effectiveness of an intervention requires and experiment and that would be too complex and time consuming as well.
Counselors do not only need to assist the child with Autism Spectrum disorders but also to work with their families to educate and familiarize them with different symptoms and approaches to tackle those symptoms. Siblings, along with parents, with a better understanding of symptoms, can generate a positive outcome for the children with Autism Spectrum disorders because it can help in increasing their involvement and inclusion in different activities (Kasari et al., 2015). In a similar manner, class fellows in the school can also show a more empathetic attitude with children having Autism Spectrum disorders. It is the duty of counselors to provide proper guidance for the classroom sessions, family intervention strategies and community meetings and also to provide education in society because research has proven a very positive response to such policy (Karst et al., 2015). It is also necessary to assign psychological experts in some cases to the patients as well. However, due to the lack of awareness about the real causes of the disease, sometimes strategies and approaches do not work well together, which pose a demand to develop, a more comprehensive and useful plan (Crane et al., 2019). Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: Yes, and I think this is pretty well documented in the literature. Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: These are three big areas to focus on….
Purpose of Study
Counseling Education Supervision provides expertise in several areas including Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling. According to the American Counseling Association, it helps the counselors to completely understand the needs and requirements of the treatment and intervention for different disorders, including Autism Spectrum disorder (Chen et al., 2015). Autism Spectrum disorders are a complex neurological disorder and that is why it is necessary to approach the problem with different approaches and directions. The implementation of a combination of different therapies and approaches has been found to be effective for that purpose. Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: Not sure I am following what you are saying here. Comment by Sara L. Wood: While interesting information, this does not seem to align with the purpose of the study.
In this dissertation, the impact, implementation and different approaches used by Mental Health Counselors for treatment and development of intervention strategies for Autism Spectrum disorders will be discussed and analyzed in detail through the special lens of the Counseling Education Supervision programs. They are proven to be necessary for generating positive outcomes for people with Autism Spectrum disorders. In this Study, different approaches to counselor’s including Psychodynamic Counseling (Duckham & Yann, 2016), Interpersonal Counseling (Locke & Mitchell, 2016), Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (Smith et al., 2015), Discrete Trial Training (Lerman et al., 2016), Verbal Behavior Intervention (DeSouza et al., 2017) and Pivotal Response Treatment (Lei & Ventola, 2017) will be analyzed and discussed through the lens of Counseling Education Supervision approaches. It is also necessary for counselors’ wellbeing to equip them with the necessary knowledge and tools. Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: This is a huge area to tackle for a doctoral dissertation. It will need to be focused and narrowed. What does the current literature say needs to be done and is logistically feasible? Comment by Sara L. Wood: I affirm Dr. Whiddon’s observations here. The. Topic needs to be clear, concise, supported by the literature, aligned with CES, and feasible. What is one thing about counselors/supervisors that still needs to be researched according to the literature that you could look at? Comment by Dr. Jana Whiddon: I’m not clear what you mean here that you will analyze and discuss these areas through the lens of CES. What specifically does that mean? Comment by Sara L. Wood: How does this fit? Is this a direction you would want to consider? What does the literature say about counselor swell-being when working with clients with autism? Does this fit with your topic?
References Comment by Sara L. Wood: Good start here, but remember that references should be organized alphabetically.
Jackson, S. L., Hart, L., Brown, J. T., & Volkmar, F. R. (2018). Brief report: Self-reported academic, social, and mental health experiences of post-secondary students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(3), 643-650.
Crane, L., Adams, F., Harper, G., Welch, J., & Pellicano, E. (2019). ‘Something needs to change’: mental health experiences of young autistic adults in England. Autism, 23(2), 477-493.
Vogan, V., Lake, J. K., Tint, A., Weiss, J. A., & Lunsky, Y. (2017). Tracking health care service use and the experiences of adults with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability: A longitudinal study of service rates, barriers and satisfaction. Disability and Health Journal, 10(2), 264-270.
Catalano, D., Holloway, L., & Mpofu, E. (2018). Mental health interventions for parent carers of children with autistic spectrum disorder: Practice guidelines from a critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) systematic review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(2), 341.
Tint, A., Weiss, J. A., & Lunsky, Y. (2017). Identifying the clinical needs and patterns of health service use of adolescent girls and women with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 10(9), 1558-1566.
Kurz, I. G. (2018). Families with children diagnosed with autism: Implications for counselors. The Family Journal, 26(4), 455-461.
Neo, W. X., & Flaherty, G. T. (2018). Autism spectrum disorder and international travel. International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health, 7(1), 1-3.
Anderberg, E., Cox, J. C., Neeley Tass, E. S., Erekson, D. M., Gabrielsen, T. P., Warren, J. S., … & South, M. (2017). Sticking with it: Psychotherapy outcomes for adults with autism spectrum disorder in a university counseling center setting. Autism Research, 10(12), 2048-2055.
Brown, J. T., Meeks, L., & Rigler, M. (2016). Mental health concerns of students on the autism spectrum. New Directions for Student Services, 2016(156), 31-40.
Ballard, J., Crane, D. R., Harper, J. M., Fawcett, D., & Sandberg, J. (2016). Mental health service utilization in autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 23, 84-93.
Chen, J. L., Leader, G., Sung, C., & Leahy, M. (2015). Trends in employment for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: A review of the research literature. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2(2), 115-127.
Kasari, C., Gulsrud, A., Paparella, T., Hellemann, G., & Berry, K. (2015). Randomized comparative efficacy study of parent-mediated interventions for toddlers with autism. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 83(3), 554.
Connor, A., Sung, C., Strain, A., Zeng, S., & Fabrizi, S. (2020). Building skills, confidence, and wellness: Psychosocial effects of soft skills training for young adults with autism. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 50(6), 2064-2076.
Duckham, B., & Yann, C. M. (2016). Psychodynamic theory and the treatment of autism: The case of Austin. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 86(2), 101-117.
Locke, K. D., & Mitchell, G. E. (2016). Self-perceptions, parent-perceptions, and meta-perceptions of the interpersonal efficacy of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 31, 19-29.
Smith, T., Klorman, R., & Mruzek, D. W. (2015). Predicting outcome of community-based early intensive behavioral intervention for children with autism. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43(7), 1271-1282.
Lerman, D. C., Valentino, A. L., & LeBlanc, L. A. (2016). Discrete trial training. In Early intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder (pp. 47-83). Springer, Cham.
DeSouza, A. A., Akers, J. S., & Fisher, W. W. (2017). Empirical application of Skinner’s Verbal behavior to interventions for children with autism: A review. The Analysis of verbal behavior, 33(2), 229-259.
Lei, J., & Ventola, P. (2017). Pivotal response treatment for autism spectrum disorder: current perspectives. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 13, 1613.
Karst, J. S., Van Hecke, A. V., Carson, A. M., Stevens, S., Schohl, K., & Dolan, B. (2015). Parent and family outcomes of PEERS: A social skills intervention for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 45(3), 752-765.
Hobson, R. P. (2019). Autism and the development of mind. Routledge.
Tustin, F. (2018). Autism and childhood psychosis. Routledge.
Gallo, L. L., Self, T., & Raush, M. A. (2016). School Counselors’ Experiences With Empowerment and Students on the Autism Spectrum: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling, 2(2), 159-174.
Gliga, T., Bedford, R., Charman, T., Johnson, M. H., Baron-Cohen, S., Bolton, P., … & Gammer, I. (2015). Enhanced visual search in infancy predicts emerging autism symptoms. Current Biology, 25(13), 1727-1730.
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CES Topic Approval Template
This information will be reviewed by the School for Topic Approval
Proposed Topic (
1
–
2
sentences):
This should include your population, a situation, and a psychological construct or phenomena.
[Type here]
Conceptual Description & Literature Synthesis of the Topic (2 paragraphs):
Describe the concepts pertaining to the topic, how the concepts are related to each other and a brief description of the population. Also, synthesize the most recent empirical findings on the topic on what has been found in the literature already and what remains unanswered/unsupported about the topic. All citations must be no more than 5 years old.
[Type here]
Alignment to CES profession and PoR (1 paragraph):
Describe the how the topic is directly related to CES and aligns to the Programs of Research (PoR) addressing one core area; supervision, counselor education, or clinical counseling techniques. Provide succinct rationale as to why it is important academically/professionally to conduct a study on the topic.
[Type here]
Feedback from school review:
[Type here]
CES Topic Approval Template
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Proposed Topic (1-2 sentences): [Type here] |
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