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 Deficits and excesses may occur in the
following areas:
Communication - may have little or no expressive (spoken) or receptive
(understood) language, may be echolalic repeating words or phrases), or even
have a particular way to speak (get fixated on a particular topic area, or
their pitch or tone may sound odd).
Social Skills - may avoid social contact altogether, may be awkward and
unsure of how to act, eye contact may be poor. Social rules may seem
arbitrary, complex and perplexing.
Play Skills - sometimes prefer to play on their own, may not play with or
experience toys the same way a typically developing child would. They may
become obsessed with a particular toy or object and perseverate with it
(repeatedly do the same thing over and over).
Visual and auditory processing - the senses may be under-reactive (having
little or no response to visual or auditory cues) or may be overwhelming.
Self - Stimulation - may engage in self-stimulatory behaviors (stims) which
can be soothing and predictable for them. These may involve rocking, hand
flapping, spinning in circles, using toys in unusual or inappropriate ways,
having obsessions, such as needing people or objects to be in the same place
or needing events to follow the same routine/pattern.
There are different degrees of challenges. If you see these symptoms it is
recommended to get testing done by a medical physician with autism as an
area of specialty.
(The characteristics described above were summarized from HELP US TO LEARN
by Kathy Lear) An Excerpt of a
Report of the Surgeon General (1999)
Chapter 3
Thirty years of research demonstrated the efficiency of applied behavioral
methods in reducing the inappropriate social behavior. A well-designed study
of a psychosocial intervention was carried out by Lovaas and colleagues (Lovaas
1987:McEachin et al., 1993). Nineteen children with autism were treated
intensively with behavior therapy for 2 years and compared with two control
groups. Follow-up of the experimental group in first grade, in late
childhood and in early adolescence found that nearly half the experimental
group but almost none of the children in the matched control group were able
to participate in regular schooling. Up to this point, a number of other
research groups have provided at least a partial replication of the Lovaas
model (see Rogers, 1998).
ABA is a methodology whereby behavioral principles are applied to learning
and performance. The "Applied" indicates using the research in real life.
"Behavior" refers to a reaction to an event in the environment. "Analysis"
refers to reviewing the application and determining whether or not it was
effective in achieving the end result.
ABA takes scientific principles of behavior and uses them to build socially
useful repertoires and reduce problematic behaviors.
ABA for autism focuses on teaching small, measurable units of behavior
systematically. Each step is taught (often in a one-on-one environment) by
presenting a specific cue or instruction and adding a prompt if needed.
Appropriate responses are followed by consequences involving reinforcement.
A high-priority goal is to make learning fun for the child. Teaching the
skills requires repetition of teaching throughout the teaching session and
over days.
Criteria is determined to establish mastery of a skill (for example - 80%
accuracy for 3 consecutive days.) Once mastered, a skill goes on to a
maintenance schedule. |
