The Modified- Classroom ObservationScheduletoMeasureIntenticnaCommunication( M-COSMIC): EvaluationofReliabilityandValidity



Modified COSMIC 7

Bailey, 1994), the lack of comprehensiveness in such tools is also apparent. Kliewer (1995)
employed qualitative methodology but provided only descriptive data on the use of the children’s
pragmatic communication in inclusive school settings. Roberts et al. (1994) assessed
communication in unstructured play settings but only considered communicative form in terms
of the number of different words used by children and their mean length of utterance. The need
for a comprehensive tool evaluating forms, functions, roles, and social partners across a range of
everyday settings remains.

3. Development of the COSMIC and rationale for modification

Recognising this need, Pasco, Gordon, Howlin and Charman (2008) recently
developed the Classroom Observation Schedule to Measure Intentional Communication
(COSMIC) to assess effectiveness of a PECS intervention (Howlin, Gordon, Pasco,
Wade, & Charman, 2007). COSMIC sampled the behaviour of (mainly) non-verbal, low-
IQ children with autism in special education classrooms, across 15-minute periods of
video-taped interactions. Codes included various forms and functions of communication,
and delineated social interaction partners and the children’s own roles within the
communication acts. Unlike existing tools, COSMIC coding delineated each of these
facets independently1, considering both teacher and peer interaction. Pasco et al. (2008)
assessed 91 children aged 4 to 11 during snack time and various other activities
(including one-to-one and group teaching, free play, etc.). COSMIC codes were
compared to ADOS-G item scores for the assessment of concurrent validity, with
moderate to high correlations evident between some but not all corresponding items.

COSMIC rates of Initiation acts and Use of PECS were found to be sensitive to change
following implementation of the PECS intervention (Howlin et al., 2007). Predictive



More intriguing information

1. How to do things without words: Infants, utterance-activity and distributed cognition.
2. Review of “From Political Economy to Economics: Method, the Social and Historical Evolution of Economic Theory”
3. The name is absent
4. Optimal Taxation of Capital Income in Models with Endogenous Fertility
5. Regional differentiation in the Russian federation: A cluster-based typification
6. Critical Race Theory and Education: Racism and antiracism in educational theory and praxis David Gillborn*
7. ¿Por qué se privatizan servicios en los municipios (pequeños)? Evidencia empírica sobre residuos sólidos y agua.
8. Who is missing from higher education?
9. Structural Breakpoints in Volatility in International Markets
10. Comparative study of hatching rates of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell 1822) eggs on different substrates
11. The Impact of Individual Investment Behavior for Retirement Welfare: Evidence from the United States and Germany
12. Imperfect competition and congestion in the City
13. Design and investigation of scalable multicast recursive protocols for wired and wireless ad hoc networks
14. Income Taxation when Markets are Incomplete
15. Auctions in an outcome-based payment scheme to reward ecological services in agriculture – Conception, implementation and results
16. Determinants of Household Health Expenditure: Case of Urban Orissa
17. Stillbirth in a Tertiary Care Referral Hospital in North Bengal - A Review of Causes, Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies
18. The storage and use of newborn babies’ blood spot cards: a public consultation
19. The name is absent
20. The name is absent