76: An Ethnographic Case Study of a 7-Year-Old Boy With Autism: Expanding the Power of Triangulation: 3^nth = Pyramidation

A 2-year, action-research-based case study describes the communication system of a 7-year-old boy with autism who was nonverbal. Ethnographic methodology was employed consisting of recursive interviews with six informants and videotaped observations. The constant comparative method of analysis was used. The trustworthiness of this study was shown through multiple forms of triangulation. The findings show that Bud, as he was affectionately dubbed, developed and used an alternative form of communication. The data showed how Bud’s communication system was effective in demonstrating his abilities. But the study generated an ongoing inquiry into triangulation. A more comprehensive conceptualization of the traditional method of triangulation for investigating a complex topic is essential for investigating the complexities of teaching and learning. Using the design of a pyramid, a multiple-layered, multiplemethods approach is set forth. Pyramidation, as it is named here, is illustrated with examples that emerged from the case study of Bud. Pyramidation nullifies the often-misperceived model of triangulation as a three-sided figure or a three-pronged method. Instead, this method of analysis offers, perhaps, the most complete method for studying complex topics. The method is neither discipline nor field specific. Pyramidation is then suggested as a more powerful model for researchers in search of a more comprehensive application of triangulation in multifaceted studies requiring more than simple analysis.