Identifying early intervention targets for children with autism in inclusive school settings

This study assessed play and social behavior of young children with autism in inclusive school settings to identify important targets for intervention. Data were collected for five children with autism and for typically developing peers. All children with autism received intervention in oneon-one settings but did not have individual education plan goals that provided systematic intervention for developing play and social skills in their school settings. Results indicated the children with autism and their typically developing peers played with a comparable number of stimulus items (e.g., toys), but the children with autism engaged in these activities for shorter durations. Both children with autism and their typically developing peers engaged in similar levels of social interaction with adults. However, the children with autism rarely or never engaged in social interactions with their peers, whereas the typically developing peers frequently engaged in social interactions with other children. The results suggest important targets for intervention. Identifying Early Intervention ROSY M. FREDEEN University of California, Santa Barbara A trend toward inclusion has resulted in an increased number of children with disabilities attending their neighborhood schools and being educated in the same classrooms with their typically developing peers. The values of inclusion involve providing a normalized setting for children with disabilities, where opportunities for building friendships and having role models for socialization are available (Kohler &amp

Brief Report: Using Individualized Orienting Cues to Facilitate First-Word Acquisition in Non-Responders with Autism

Though considerable progress has been made in developing techniques for improving the acquisition of expressive verbal communication in children with autism, research has documented that 10–25% still fail to develop speech. One possible technique that could be significant in facilitating responding for this nonverbal subgroup of children is the use of orienting cues. Using a multiple baseline design, this study examined whether individualized orienting cues could be identified, and whether their presentation would result in verbal expressive words. The results suggest that using individualized orienting cues can increase correct responding to verbal models as well as subsequent word use. Theoretical and applied implications of orienting cues as they relate to individualized programming for children with autism are discussed

Positive Behavior Support: Evolution of an Applied Science

Positive behavior support (PBS) is an applied science that uses educational and systems change methods (environmental redesign) to enhance quality of life and minimize problem behavior. PBS initially evolved within the field of developmental disabilities and emerged from three major sources: applied behavior analysis, the normalization/inclusion movement, and person-centered values. Although elements of PBS can be found in other approaches, its uniqueness lies in the fact that it integrates the following critical features into a cohesive whole: comprehensive lifestyle change, a lifespan perspective, ecological validity, stakeholder participation, social validity, systems change and multicomponent intervention, emphasis on prevention, flexibility in scientific practices, and multiple theoretical perspectives. These characteristics are likely to produce future evolution of PBS with respect to assessment practices, intervention strategies, training, and extension to new populations. The approach reflects a more general trend in the social sciences and education away from pathology-based models to a new positive model that stresses personal competence and environmental integrity

Brief Report: Question-Asking and Collateral Language Acquisition in Children with Autism

The literature suggests children with autism use communication primarily for requests and protests, and almost never for information-seeking. This study investigated whether teaching “Where” questions using intrinsic reinforcement procedures would produce the generalized use of the question, and whether concomitant improvements in related language structures, provided as answers to the children’s questions, would occur. In the context of a multiple baseline across participants design, data showed that the children could rapidly acquire and generalize the query, and that there were collateral improvements in the children’s use of language structures corresponding to the answers to the questions the children asked. The results are discussed in the context of teaching child initiations to improve linguistic competence in children with autism

Hacia una tecnología de apoyo conductual "no aversivo"

En este artículo se hace una introducción del tratamiento conductual no aversivo. Se sugieren importantes definiciones y se presentan tres elementos fundamentales: a) un emergente conjunto de procedimientos para apoyar a personas con trastornos conductuales graves; b) criterios de validación social que insisten en la dignidad de las personas; y c) una recomendación de que se prohíban o limiten ciertas estrategias. Estos elementos se definen con la esperanza de que provoquen ulteriores debates y análisis empíricos del apoyo conductual positivo

Hacia una tecnología de apoyo conductual "no aversivo"

En este artículo se hace una introducción del tratamiento conductual no aversivo. Se sugieren importantes definiciones y se presentan tres elementos fundamentales: a) un emergente conjunto de procedimientos para apoyar a personas con trastornos conductuales graves; b) criterios de validación social que insisten en la dignidad de las personas; y c) una recomendación de que se prohíban o limiten ciertas estrategias. Estos elementos se definen con la esperanza de que provoquen ulteriores debates y análisis empíricos del apoyo conductual positivo

A Descriptive, Multiyear Examination of Positive Behavior Support

A major goal of positive behavior support (PBS) is to produce broad-based, long-term improvements in adaptive behavior; however, the empirical base, at present, is mainly composed of relatively short-term studies carried out in circumscribed contexts. Therefore, a need exists for reliable data that can inform the field regarding the comprehensive lifestyle effects of PBS implementation in natural community contexts over extended periods of time. The current investigation was conducted to provide a descriptive analysis of PBS with diverse participants and broad measurement strategies over multiple years. Using extensive data portfolios for 21 participants, we employed rating scales to quantify changes in key variables from baseline through 2 years of intervention. The data revealed variable levels of intervention integrity, generalized reductions in problem behavior with occasional relapses, and encouraging enhancements across six domains of quality of life. This study represents an initial attempt to understand the processes and outcomes of behavioral support by documenting behavioral patterns across full days, entire years, and all environments. We discuss the need to consider new conceptual and methodological frameworks for further study of efficacious and sustainable behavior support