Understanding Autism & Education - Part 6
Therapy for Autism and Education
Now that you know how prevalant autism is, you probably want to know what can be done to combat it!
Let’s briefly review what we’ve covered so far:
- 1 in 150 children are being diagnosed with autism
- 4 times as many boys as girls are diagnosed
- Several reasons for autism are being investigated, including:
- genetics (#1)
- vaccines
- mercury-poisoning and other toxins
- several as yet unproven hypotheses
- Parents are usually the first to recognize developmental disorders
- A simple screening tool, M-CHAT, is widely-accepted
Therapy for Autism
While there are many therapies being tried, few have been in place long enough to have scientific evidence backing them. But parents of autistic children are very receptive and eager to try promising techniques.
The most documented, and currently most promising, therapies are behavioral therapy techniques, which have been proven to be effective intervention approaches. There are many programs based on behavioral techniques:
- ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis)
- Lovaas programs, based on the pioneering work of Ivar Lovaas, PhD at UCLA.
- Verbal Behavior Programs (tied to work of Sundberg, Partington and Carbone)
- Discrete Trial Programs (the teaching method of behavioral therapy), and
- Intensive In-Home Behavioral Therapy (time-intensive in-home training geared to younger children up to age 6)
The behavioral therapy system pairs positive reinforcement with learning small pieces of information, repetitively. Research shows that to make the most gains, children need to receive AT LEAST 25 hours or more of therapy per week. It is mandatory that the information be offered in a systematic approach, rather than haphazardly. Repetition of learning seems to make the most significant difference.
The best outcomes seem to occur when:
- Autism is diagnosed early
- BTM (Behavior Therapy Method) is initiated ASAP
- BTM is implemented in practitioner’s offices and in-home
- 25 or more hours of learning in a systematic approach occurs
- Repetition of learning occurs
- A modified program continues after child begins school
- Speech therapy, Occupational therapy and Physical therapy is included in the program
Tomorrow is the last day of April and Autism Awareness Month!
Please come back for the conclusion,
Brennan
Filed under: Education News
My daughter has a friend who has THREE autistic kids. I don’t know why, but it seems to run in that family. But they’ve had intensive therapy since they were babies, and all three seem to be doing well. My daughter says you can hardly tell there’s any kind of problem unless you know them.
My grandson is good friends with the oldest boy, and they get along well. My grandson is quite excitable at times, and his friend is pretty low-key, so they seem to have a leveling effect on each other, which is beneficial for both of them!
Thanks for an excellent series of articles.
Thank you for your comment , Darlene,
Yes, three children in one family would seem to confirm the genetic aspects of autism.
Friendship is a wonderful thing and the relationship between the boys shows that intervention can help autistic children to lead full lives.
I appreciate your positive information.
Sincerely, Brennan
I really enjoyed your series on Understanding Autism and Education. I felt the section regarding early signs was very important to include. I also appreciated that you provided information about scientifically validated interventions including intensive ABA. There are so many children in need of quality treatment and despite the growing resources of information on the internet, I find parents reporting to me that it is still often difficult and confusing to navigate through everything and determine how best to help their sons and daughters. I am encouraged when I meet professionals in the education and medical fields who are spreading news about behavioral intervention. We need to get this information out so that every family has access to effective treatment. I invite you to review our blog at the Lovaas Institute website: http://www.lovaas.com/blog - we post new topics frequently and encourage an ongoing dialogue from the community.
Thanks again for a great piece,
Simone Stevens
Lovaas Institute