Date
12-7-2023
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education in Curriculum & Instruction (EdD)
Chair
Karla Nadean Lairsey Swafford
Keywords
Asperger’s syndrome, quality-of-life training, self-regulation, self-sufficiency, and transitional planning
Disciplines
Curriculum and Instruction
Recommended Citation
Maynard, Traci L., "A Transcendental Phenomenological Study of Quality-of-Life Training in Self-Regulation Skills of Young Adults with Asperger's Syndrome" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5051.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5051
Abstract
The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand lived experiences in young adults with Asperger’s syndrome (AS) as they transitioned out of high school after completion of quality-of-life training. The theories guiding this study were Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning and Adam Morton’s theory of mind in predictive behaviors. Pavlov’s theory relates to understanding whether individuals could be classically conditioned to reinforce a natural reflex or some involuntary behavior that would occur as a response to classical conditioning. Morton’s theory helped focus this phenomenological study by describing the training in predictive behaviors by conceptual structure. Participants were selected from local high schools, colleges, and universities using purposeful sampling data collected through a triangulation of three methods: surveys, interviews, and focus groups. The analysis used was Moustakas transcendental phenomenological approach. Data collection results generated themes of challenges in social communication, academics, employment, and self-sufficiency. The two major themes prevalent were challenges in both social communications and self-sufficiency since completing QoL training in high school. There are empirical, practical, and theoretical implications of data analysis and recommendations for future research. Empirical research was examined to determine a curriculum-based instruction vocational training program that would help equip young adults with AS to transition to self-regulation toward self-sufficiency. Young adults with AS would function in postsecondary education with the knowledge to identify beneficial accommodations and supports learned in quality-of-life training.
