Components of Bernards Township ABA program for Children

Components of Bernards Township ABA program for Children with Autism: Descriptions and Rationales

Why does Autism Need Such a Specialized Treatment? • Autism is a type of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) – A child with autism is affected along multiple dimensions – (Unlike other single dimension problems) • learning disability, communication disorder, emotional and behavioral disorders

Characteristics of Children with Autism • learning deficits – Affects every aspect of child’s education • language disabilities – Articulation, expressive, receptive, spontaneous, conversation, non-contextual vocalizations • behavioral disorders – Stereotypic behavior: motor, visual, tactile, • compulsive behaviors – rigidity of routine, intolerant of change

Characteristics of Children with Autism • attentional deficits – Lack of eye contact, availability of learning, unaware of danger • emotional deficits – Non-contextual emotions, lack of self-concept • social deficits – Eye contact, gestures, facial expression, greetings, awareness of other children, friendships, • play skills deficits – Imaginative, pre-occupations with objects/activities, general content knowledge

Characteristics of Children with Autism • sleep disturbances – Go to sleep late, get up early, get up during night • toileting deficiencies – Lack of awareness of accidents • eating problems – Texture, appearance, gustatory

Scientifically Validated Intervention for Children with Autism § Applied behavior analysis (ABA) was specifically designed and researched for children with autism § empirically demonstrated to be most effective intervention for children with autism § research findings have been replicated many times over span of 30 years § (Lovass, 1960; Fenske, Zalenski, Krantz, & Mc. Clannahan, 1985; Smith, 1996; Anderson, Avery, Di. Pietro, Edwards, & Christian, 1987; Lovaas, 1987; Harris, Handleman, Gordon, Kristoff, & Fuentes, 1991; Birnbrauer & Leach, 1993; Mc. Eachin, Smith, & Lovaas, 1993; Perry, Cohen & De. Carlo, 1995; Sheinkopf & Siegel, 1998; Green, 1996, 1999; New York State Department of Health, 1999)

Scientifically Validated Treatment Intervention for Children with Autism § ABA treats the entire child § Every aspect/dimension of the disorder § Over 500 studies published in peer-reviewed research journals about teaching many specific skills to children with autism using principles of applied behavior analysis § General skill domains include: gross motor, fine motor, speech and language, reading, math, leisure, social, selfhelp and independence § Additional teaching procedures continue to be developed and refined

Applied Behavior Analysis Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is: • A science • Teaching procedures derived from learning principles • Teaching procedures systematically applied • Teaching procedures geared to improve socially significant behavior • Requires experimental demonstration that the teaching procedures employed were responsible for the improvement in behavior (requires accountability!!!)

Scientifically Validated Treatment Intervention for Children with Autism • The use of non-validated treatment approaches for children with autism may be ineffective and possibly harmful to your child and may take time away from treatments that have shown to be effective (Green, 1996; New York State Department of Health, 1999).

Components of Comprehensive ABA Program • INDIVIDUALIZED SKILL ASSESSMENT AND GOAL SELECTION (Bondy, 1996; Jacobson, 2001) – First several weeks of child entering program – Skills will be assessed in all domains: gross motor skill, fine-motor skills, academics, pre-requisite learning skills, self help, independence, receptive language, expressive language, non-productive behavior that interferes with learning, and leisure skills – Updated on a continual basis – Goals selected by parents, teacher, speech therapist, occupational therapist, and school psychologist

Components of Comprehensive ABA Program • INDIVIDUALIZED TEACHING PROGRAMS (Mc. Clannahan & Krantz, 2001; Smith, Donahoe & Davis, 2001) – Operational definition, Measurement procedure, Discriminative Stimuli, Teaching Procedures (e. g. , activity schedules, video modeling, peer tutoring, audio modeling, small group instruction, discrete trial instruction, incidental teaching) Generalization, Maintenance, IOA, specific teaching sets – 30 -40 individualized teaching programs will be written based on the above criteria for all skill domains for each child. – Approximately 90% of each child’s individualized programs are languagebased programs. – Programs that are child initiated, that promote generalization across multiple staff, or that need rapid skill acquisition are taught by all instructors – Programs that have complex fading procedures, involve initial acquisition of discrimination or involve shaping procedures are initially taught by one instructor and then generalized to all instructors.

Components of Comprehensive ABA Program • INDIVIDUALIZED CURRICULUM (Bondy, 1996; Taylor & Mc. Donough, 1996; Mc. Clannahan & Krantz, 2001; Smith, Donahoe & Davis, 2001) – Curriculum is based on general preschool curriculum broken down into multiple steps – All curriculum will be written by the teachers and the consultant specifically for the Bernard’s Township program – Skills are taught in a systematic fashion (mastering pre-requisite skills before being introduced to more complex skills) – Examples of general packaged curriculum that will be used and possibly modified are Edmark Reading, Distar Language, Mac. Millan Math, Sensible Pencil, Learn to Cut – Almost all curriculum materials are specifically made for a particular child

Components of Comprehensive ABA Program • INDIVIDUALIZED DATA COLLECTION ASSESSING PROGRESS OF EACH SKILL (Mc. Clannahan & Krantz, 2001; Jacobson, 2001) – Ongoing monitoring of skill acquisition – Data are collected on every program approximately once a week (some programs more frequently, some programs less frequently depending on a child’s skill acquisition) – Accountability!

Components of Comprehensive ABA Program • ON-GOING HANDS-ON STAFF TRAINING (Bondy, 1996; Jacobson, 2001; Smith, Donahoe & Davis, 2001; Mc. Clannahan & Krantz, 2001) – No one is ever fully trained in ABA, training will be ongoing and provided by a classroom teacher and/or consultant • WORKSHOP TRAINING (Jacobson, 2001, Bondy, 1996; Smith, Donahoe & Davis, 2001; Mc. Clannahan & Krantz, 2001) – Twice a month all staff members will participate in workshop trainings in the principles of ABA and other relevant topics related to teaching children with autism

Components of Comprehensive ABA Program • SCHOOL VISITS (Mc. Clannahan & Krantz, 2001; Jacobson, 2001; Bondy, 1996) – Weekly school visits in which parents will receive training in teaching their child various skills – During school visits parents will have access to child’s data notebook and can monitor progress – Workshop training several times per year

Components of Comprehensive ABA Program • HOME VISITS (Mc. Clannahan & Krantz, 2001; Smith, Donahoe & Davis, 2001; Bondy, 1996) – Home visits will be provided monthly by classroom teacher, instructional aide, and or consultant – Child’s progress will be reviewed – training will be provided in areas specific to home (e. g. , going to dentist, doctor, mall, grocery store; eating; sleeping; leisure skills; language skills) – Any instructional staff hired by the parents at home will have the opportunity to receive training several times per week by the school program. We recommend approximately 20 hours of training with your child at school before home staff teaches the child at home.

Components of Comprehensive ABA Program • RELATED SERVICES: – A variety of behavioral techniques has been shown to be effective for increasing and improving language and communication in children with autism (e. g. , activity schedules, audio modeling, video modeling, PECS) (Skinner, 1957; Lovaas, 1977, 1987; Mc. Gee, Krantz, & Mc. Clannahan, 1985; Sunberg & Partington, 1998; Mc. Clannahan & Krantz, 1999; New York State Department of Health, 1999; Bondy & Frost, 1994; Fenske, Krantz, & Mc. Clannahan, 2001; Rappaport, 2001; Reeve, Poulson, & Buffington-Townsend, manuscript in preparation). – When teaching children with autism, related services have been shown to be maximally effective when delivered using the principles of ABA (Jacobson, 2000; Smith, 1993; New York State Department of Health, 1999; Bondy, 1996; Romanczyk, Lockshin, & Matey, 2001; Meyer, Taylor, Levin, & Fisher, 2001).

Components of Comprehensive ABA Program • EVALUATION OF PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS (Mc. Clannahan & Krantz, 2004) – – – – Engagement with Activities with Other Persons Opportunities to Respond Behavior-Descriptive Praise Relationship Building Children’s Hygiene and Personal Appearance Social Competence Inappropriate Behavior Family Participation in Intervention

Direct Care Team Membership • Teacher – Develops individualized programs for each child – Manages all data collection systems to ensure program effectiveness for each child – Creates individualized curriculum to accompany each program for each child – Provides hands-on training to instructional aides and the implementation of individualized programs for each child – Provides hands-on training to parents and any person that frequently interacts with the child – Completes home visits for each child – Attends workshop trainings in applied behavior analysis – Teaches each child

Direct Care Team Membership • Related Service Providers – In collaboration with teacher, develops individualized programs for each child – Will receive hands-on training in applied behavior analysis with each child from the teacher and/or consultant – Attend all workshop trainings in applied behavior analysis – Teaches each child as specified in IEP

Direct Care Team Membership • Instructional Aides – Training in applied behavior analysis and autism – Continually receive hands-on training by teacher and consultant – Will teach all children in the classroom rotating approximately every half hour – Will serve as data analyst for one child – Prepares individualized curriculum for one specific child – Attend all workshop trainings in applied behavior analysis – May be selected by teacher to provide home visits and training on home staff

Direct Care Team Membership • Parents – Active participation in annual home and school selection of goals and objectives for their child – Will receive hands-on training in how to effectively keep their child engaged in productive activity at home and in the community, increase child’s direction following skills, and maximize their child’s use of language at home and/or whatever other area parent requests training in – Will receive workshop training in specific areas of applied behavior analysis

References • Bondy, A. (1996). What parents can expect from a public school program. In C. Maurice, G. Green, and S. Luce (Eds. ), Behavioral intervention for young children with autism (pp. 323 -330). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. • Fenske, E. C. , Krantz, P. J. , & Mc. Clannahan, L. E. (2001). Incidental teaching: a not-discrete-trial teaching procedure. In C. Maurice, G. Green, and R. Foxx (Eds. ), Making a difference: Behavioral intervention for autism (pp. 75 -82). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. • Fenske, E. C. , Zalenski, S. , Krantz, P. J. , & Mc. Clannahan, L. E. (1985). Age of intervention and treatment outcome for autistic children in a comprehensive intervention program. Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 5, 49 -58. • Green, G. (1996). Evaluating claims about treatment for autism. In C. Maurice, G. Green, and S. Luce (Eds. ), Behavioral intervention for young children with autism (pp. 15 -28). Austin, TX: Pro-ed.

References • Green. (1996). Early behvavioral intervention for autism: what does research tell us? In C. Maurice, G. Green, and S. Luce (Eds. ), Behavioral intervention for young children with autism (pp. 15 -28). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. • Jacobson, J. W. (2001). Early intensive behavioral intervention: Emergence of a consumer-driven service model. The Behavior Analyst, 23(2), 149 -171. • Harris, S. L. , handleman, J. S. , Arnold, M. S. , Gordon. (2001). The Douglass Develomental Disabilities Center: two models of service delivery. In J. Handleman and S. Harris (Eds. ), Preschool education programs for children with autism (pp 233 -261). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. • Mc. Clannahan, L. E. & Krantz, P. J. (2001). Behavior analysis and intervention for preschoolers at the Princeton Child Development Institute. In J. Handleman and S. Harris (Eds. ), Preschool education programs for children with autism (pp 191 -213). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. • Mc. Eachin, J. J, Smith, T. , & Lovaas, O. I. (1993). Long term outcome for children with autism who received early intensive behavioral treatment. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 97(4), 359 -372.

References • Meyer, L. S. , Taylor, B. A. , Levin, L. , & Fisher, J. R. (2001). Alpine Learning Group. In J. Handleman and S. Harris (Eds. ), Preschool education programs for children with autism (pp 135 -156). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. • Rappaport, M. (1996). Strategies for promoting language acquisition for chidlren with autism. In C. Maurice, G. Green, and S. Luce (Eds. ), Behavioral intervention for young children with autism (pp. 307 -319). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. • Romanczyk. R. G. , Lockshin, S. j. B. , Matey, L. (2001). The Children’s Unit for Treatment and Evaluation. In J. Handleman and S. Harris (Eds. ), Preschool education programs for children with autism (pp 249 -94). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. • Smith, T. (1993). Autism. In T. Giles (Ed. ), Handbook of effective psychotherapy (pp. 107 -133). NY: Plenum Press.

References • Smith, T. (1996). Are other treatments effective? In C. Maurice, G. Green, and S. Luce (Eds. ), Behavioral intervention for young children with autism (pp. 45 -59). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. • Smith, T. , Donahoe, P. A. , & Davis, B. J. (2001). The UCLA young autism project. In J. Handleman and S. Harris (Eds. ), Preschool education programs for children with autism (pp 29 -48). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. • Taylor, B. A. , & Mc. Donough, K. A. (1996). Selecting teaching programs. In C. Maurice, G. Green, and S. Luce (Eds. ), Behavioral intervention for young children with autism (pp. 63 -177). Austin, TX: Pro-ed.

ABA Resources • Books – Handleman, J. S. , & Harris, S. L. (2001). Preschool education programs for children with autism. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. – Harris, S. L. , & Weiss, M. J. , (1998). Right from the start: Behavioral intervention for young children with autism. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House. – Mc. Clannahan, L. E. , & Krantz, P. J. (1999). Activity schedules for children with autism: Teaching independent behavior. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.

ABA Resources • Books – Leaf, R. , & Mc. Eachin, J. (Eds. ). (1999). A work in progress: Behavior management strategies and a curriculum for intensive behavioral treatment of autism. New York: DRL Books. – Lovaas, O. I. (2002). Teaching individuals with developmental delays: Basic intervention techniques. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. – Maurice, C. , Green, G. , & Fox, R. M. (Eds. ). (2001). Making a difference: Behavioral intervention for autism. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. – Maurice, C. , Green, G. , & Luce, S. C. (Eds. ). (1996). Behavioral intervention for young children with autism. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.

ABA Resources Websites – NY State Guidelines • http: //www. health. state. ny. us/nysdoh/eip/autism/auti sm. htm - Behavior Analysis Certification Board • http: //www. bacb. com - General Information about Autism • http: //www. asatonline. org/autism_info. html • http: //www. behavior. org/autism/