Education and Human Sciences, College of
College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
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First Advisor
Ciara Ousley
Committee Members
Kevin Pitt, Judith Harvey
Date of this Version
4-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Citation
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science
Major: Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
Under the supervision of Professor Ciara Ousley
Lincoln, Nebraska, April 2026
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a prominent neurological and developmental disability that often requires communication support, such as Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Visual Scene Displays (VSDs) are an AAC support that directly immerses in the user’s life, using images from real environments the user has or may experience. Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI) is an evidence-based approach to early intervention that targets social communication during naturalistic routines, including those who rely on AAC support to communicate. Despite recent research indicating that combining NDBI and AAC is a promising approach (Pope et al., 2024), no studies to date have examined child symbolic communication outcomes associated with the use of VSDs within an unstructured, play-based NDBI context. The current thesis used preexisting data from Dr. Ousley’s lab to conduct a secondary analysis on a single-case experimental design (multiple-baseline across children) to evaluate if there was a functional relation between an NDBI that incorporated VSDs during dynamic play activities on symbolic communicative turns of three young children with ASD. The modality used by each child was also analyzed (e.g., speech, VSD, gesture). All three children increased their symbolic communicative turns upon the introduction of NDBI strategies. When aided AAC modeling and just-in-time programming of VSDs were introduced, children’s symbolic communicative turns were mixed. Modalities varied across children and phases.
Advisor: Ciara Ousley
Included in
Communication Sciences and Disorders Commons, Disability Studies Commons, Medical Neurobiology Commons, Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons
Comments
Copyright 2026, Jenna M. Rogers. Used by permission