Two recent experiences got me thinking once again about the relationship between scientific terminology and parenting.

Experience 1: At the beginning of an initial consultation, I recommended that at least one of the parents conduct some of the 1:1 therapy for at least the first six months. The parents were hesitant and stated they didn’t want their child to see them as teachers who put lots of demands on him. They just wanted to “be the parent.”

Experience 2: I attended a follow up consultation with a child who has a brother and sister. When the child and team went to the therapy room to practice a few programs, the brother and sister came rushing in afterwards. The mom laughed and said that the brother and sister don’t think it’s fair that her other son receives so much attention and gets to have so much fun with the instructors. They want to participate too.

Continue reading "ABA Treatment for Children with Autism: Scientific Language vs. Parenting Behavior"

I just finished attending the 34th annual ABA convention, this year held in Chicago. 3394 participants from 23 countries presented research and discussed issues, all of which were open for critique by other behavior analysts. Just a few of the various topics for discussion included: marriage and divorce, economics, workplace environments, bullying at school, and interventions for children with autism. Perhaps the most enlightening talk I heard was from Dr. Per Holth of Norway who demonstrated how behavioral descriptions of joint attention are helping develop and refine effective strategies for teaching these critical skills to children with autism.

Continue reading "Continuing Progress for Children with Autism Through ABA Research"

In my last post, I referred to some amazing feats of children (such as learning to talk) as “another step in the ongoing chain of more complex behavior.” I’m well aware that some people are offended by such descriptions. This is unfortunate. Behavioral language is not meant to diminish the accomplishments of humanity any more than scientific language diminishes the incredible beauty of the universe. Every behavioral consultant I have ever known has had tears come to their eyes on at least one occasion after witnessing a child learn something new, do something others would have once thought impossible. When this has happened to me, I am also fully aware that it is precisely because of the objective language of behavior that procedures were developed which made the incredible accomplishment for which I am about to cry, quite possible.

I’m interested in any moments others would like to share that they have been able to celebrate because of the use of behavioral treatment.

By Vince LaMarca, BCABA, Editor
Lovaas Institute - Indianapolis

I have lost count of the number of times that I have worked with a child who showed inconsistent abilities with a skill who quickly became consistent once behavioral treatment was started. At the age of 5, one girl I taught had a very limited vocabulary. She had made minimum progress on all of her speech goals because she wouldn’t consistently repeat any words. At the age of 4, one girl I worked with had made no progress at school in her ability to string beads. And at the age of 3, one boy I worked with used only 3 vocal approximations to request and typically did not repeat any other words.

Continue reading "Why Applied Behavior Analysis Works With Young Children"

I seldom see a newspaper article about a child learning to read through the use of phonics. I guess that’s not surprising. Most people know that phonics is an effective method to teach someone to read. There’s nothing that makes it especially interesting enough to make the news. As Autism Awareness month ends, I noticed that I seldom saw newspaper articles about children with autism learning new skills through behavioral treatment. Most articles or TV coverage I saw focused on the latest medication, diet, or novel intervention that has made a big difference in one child’s life. Again, I guess that’s not surprising.

Continue reading "Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism in the News"

 

Jennifer LaMarca
Lovaas Institute - Indianapolis

Programs for children with autism utilizing the Lovaas Model of Applied Behavior Analysis typically require a minimum of 6-12 months of one-to-one in-home teaching in order to teach the child the prerequisite skills they need to partake in a group setting. As many of the children progress from basic to more advanced and complex learning programs they are gradually integrated into group settings in their local communication and the teaching procedures become less structured.

While the school setting is one of the most important group environments we want the children to learn and thrive in, there are other groups that may function either as stepping stones to ease a child's transition to the school environment or as extra curricular activities for a child already in school. Such group activities include, but are not limited to, gymnastics, soccer, Gymboree and Kindermusic, library, zoo, and museum classes. When a child is enrolled in any such group activity, we recommend that an instructor from the in-home program accompany the child to help facilitate the transition to group routines and instructions, promote generalization of skills acquired at home to the new environment, and to encourage interaction with other children.

Continue reading "Utilizing ABA in Extracurricular Activities"

By Vince LaMarca, BCABA, Editor
Lovaas Institute - Indianapolis

Teaching social skills to children with autism is an area of behavioral treatment that is continuously evolving, perhaps more than any other area. The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis alone frequently includes articles discussing the teaching of interactive play skills, the development of creativity and spontaneity, and the development of conversational skills. These articles are now free to the public on the website, http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/. (Begin with a "full-text search" or go directly to the "Table of Contents" section).

While the social skills programs at the Lovaas Institute are both numerous and complex it may prove helpful to become familiar with some general basic steps.

Continue reading "Teaching Social Skills to Children with Autism"

By Mariko Okano, M.A., BCABA
Lovaas Institute - Los Angeles

Research conducted as part of the UCLA Young Autism Project (Lovaas, 1987) focused on treatment for "younger" children under the age of 4 years. Treatment for children with autism often lasts longer than a few years, and oftentimes programming and intervention goals change as the children grow older. How can we teach and prepare older children to be successful in school, home, and community settings?

Continue reading "ABA Treatment for Older Children with Autism"

April is Autism Awareness month. When I look back on my experiences with children and families in the past 13 years, I am amazed by the changes that have taken place. Before, families used to tell me they had never heard of autism before their child was diagnosed. Now, many families have heard of autism but have difficulty finding a specialist who can make a diagnosis in a timely manner. Before, school districts used to question the validity of the use of applied behavior analysis for treating children with autism. Now, many school districts I work with accept the usefulness of applied behavior analysis but question the level of expertise needed in order to implement these techniques.

One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the incredible commitment of parents to finding the best support for their sons and daughters. I’m thankful to all the families who have told me the Lovaas Institute has been part of that support, and I am certain that we will also continue to change as we strive to find what support works best for each family and child with autism.

I would be interested to hear what changes or new challenges others have seen in their experiences with autism across the years.

By Vince LaMarca, BCABA, Editor
Lovaas Institute - Indianapolis

By Vince LaMarca, BCABA, Editor
Lovaas Institute - Indianapolis

As explained on our website, the Lovaas Model of Applied Behavior Analysis provides two general types of treatment: clinic-based services and consultation services. In either service, a thoroughly trained senior staff member is assigned to a family as their consultant/supervisor. While a consultant provides expertise in behavior therapy, parents also play a crucial role in the development of a behavioral treatment program.

Parents are the ones who know their child best. We need to access that knowledge and be familiar with a family's daily routines in order to provide the best behavioral treatment program. Programming is not meant to become a checklist of skills to complete. Such a mindset is why critics will protest that behavioral treatment isn't functional. These critics would be right, if it weren't for the many parents and consultants who, from the beginning, make treatment relevant to their particular family and child's life.

Continue reading "Parent Collaboration is Critical to Success in ABA Treatment for Autism"

By Vince LaMarca, BCABA, Editor
Lovaas Institute - Indianapolis

As many teachers know, keeping appropriate data on a skill is not as easy as it seems. On one hand, data needs to be collected in order to track a child's progress. On the other hand, data collection cannot be so overwhelming as to interfere with teaching a child. Below are some tips, based on data collections strategies used at the Lovaas Institute, as well as some examples of basic data collection forms.

Continue reading "Data Collection Tips for School and Home ABA Treatment Programs"

By Vince LaMarca, BCABA, Editor
Lovaas Institute - Indianapolis

Play scripts are often an important component in teaching creative and spontaneous pretend play. Some people mistakenly believe that scripted responses result in robotic play however, research data indicate that scripted responses often serve as stepping-stones to spontaneous statements. For example, in 2001 Sarokoff, Taylor, and Poulson taught children with autism to engage in conversational exchanges using scripts that were faded over time. The children continued to engage in scripted conversation after the scripts had been removed, but they also added a number of unscripted spontaneous statements.¹

Play scripts can be short or long, based on a child's current skills. Typically, the script starts out in a short form that the child can quickly learn. Once a child is successful with the interactions in the short script, additions are made to facilitate spontaneous and creative responses during the play.

Continue reading "Dynamic and Creative Ways to Teach Pretend Play Skills to Children with Autism"

By Vince LaMarca, BCABA, Editor
Lovaas Institute - Indianapolis

After reading examples in our newsletter about generalizing skills in the natural environment or the use of incidental teaching, some might start to wonder, "Isn't this a lot like other kinds of therapy: like Floor Time or speech therapy or just good teaching in general?" The simple answer is, "yes." Practically speaking, some of the suggestions we make will be the same kinds of suggestions other treatments make. However, the reasons we make the suggestions may differ from the reasons other treatments give. While this may seem like a minor difference, these reasons can also change the amount of time devoted to or emphasis placed on specific suggestions. The extent to which different treatments employ similar and different procedures in their practical application would make for an interesting research article. For now, all we know is that of all the treatments for children with autism, behavioral treatment has undergone the most rigorous research. Go to The Lovaas Difference for a comparison of different treatment strategies, based on information gathered from the main websites of particular treatments and the National Research Council's Educating Children with Autism.

By Vince LaMarca, BCABA, Editor
Lovaas Institute - Indianapolis

Springtime means IEP time in a lot of school districts. As a behavioral consultant, I've had my fair share of IEP meetings that have gone smoothly and those that have been contentious. Often there are controversies surrounding the services a child should receive. Both parents and school personnel feel strongly about their position and coming to a consensus can seem impossible. However, I've also found that there are a number of critical areas that make it more or less likely parents will be willing to listen to what the school district has to offer. Here are common requests I hear from parents about IEP meetings.

Continue reading "IEP Tips To Help Your Child with Autism"

There are many good reasons to find materials for therapy around the house or create them on your own. Such materials save money and are more likely to be relevant to your individual child. At the same time, finding and making materials can be time consuming and so it can also be helpful to draw upon materials that others have already created.

Following are a few of the sites that have been helpful to many families searching for therapy materials.

• www.difflearn.com
• www.autismshop.com
• www.aba-materials.com
• www.dotolearn.com
• www.superduperinc.com
• www.linguisystems.com