The
diagnosis of autism especially before age 3 is very important. Because the
sooner the child with autism starts to have special education, the faster to
have progress. It is supposed to be given special education that is prepared
for children with autism, necessarily minimum 20 hours in a week, preferably
34-40 hours.
Besides
special education, language-speech therapy and occupational therapy are the
support of the special education. In many developed countries such as USA and
Canada, language-speech therapists and occupational therapists are assigned at
the schools to provide support service for the handicapped children mainly for
autistic children. These therapies are financed by government or the state.
Language-speech and occupational therapists also prpovide consultancy service
for the teachers and for the parents.
Language-speech
therapists apply different therapies to the authistic children in order to
develop their language and communication skills. The main goal of these
therapies are to gain the authistic children the communication skills that will
provide them to communicate in social surroundings. For this purpose, the
children are being provided to understand better the speeches directed to them,
to express themselves apparently, to start and continue the conversation
skills.Some of the methods (such as incidental teaching) that the
language-speech therapists use for children with autism are mentioned in the
following sections.
Occupational
therapists work for improving daily living skills, social skills and adaptive
behaviours of children with autism and work for decreasing their behavioral
disorders. “Sensory integration therapy” is the most common method that the
occupational therapists practice. You can kindly find the detailed information
about this method in the “Therapy Methods” section..
Besides
special education for children with autism, as well as therapy and psychiatric
methods may be practiced. However, practicing other therapy and psychiatric
therapy do not reduce the need for special education.Therefore, every child
with autism has to have special education, no matter the therapy or treatment
he gets. Other methods support the special education but cannot replace the
special education.
EDUCATION
METHODS
1- Applied Behaviour Analysis
• Discrete Trial Teaching
• Early Intensive Behavioural
Intervention
• Teaching Schedule of Events
• Scripts and script fading
• Video modeling
• Incidental Teaching
• Functional Assessment and analysis
• PECS (Picture Exchange
Communication System)
• Verbal Behaviour
2- TEACCH Treatment and Education of
Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped
Children Strategies
3- Relationship based methods
4- Social Stories
5- Facilitated Communication
Applied
behavior analysis (ABA: Applied behavioranalysis), also known as behavioral
methods. In this method, the environmental attributes associated with
individual behavior, and this behavior is based on analyzing objectively. Many
a way that is thought to be rewarded or punished by the behavior of that
environment. Therefore, (using a variety of reward mechanisms and some much
needed deterrent mechanism, for example, the child loses points) to increase
appropriate behaviors, are trying to reduce the inappropriate behavior.
Examples of increasing autism imitation skills in individuals targeted
behavior, play skills, social skills, communication skills and self-care
skills; Examples of targeted reducing the tantrums and self-stimulatory
behavior (stereotypic) behavior can be given.
Applied
behavior analysis to individuals to gain required or desired behavior is
determined to be reduced in individuals with a systematic observation and
records kept. Then, these behaviors have surgical treatment, as the
effectiveness of the intervention by the methods of monitoring and record
keeping are evaluated. A behavior they have learned can be applied to children
with normal development in more than one environment (generalizing), the
ability to generalize these skills to children with autism; In other words, the
ability to use in different environments is also taught.
In
applied behavior analysis, autism-related reduction of behavioral problems seen
in children with special programs prepared. In this method, not the cause of
the behavior of the person, seen in their interaction with the environment.
Therefore, prior behavior as a priority when attempting to reduce problem
behavior, it must be observed that the condition or behavior and post-event.
Then, while eliminating situations that prepare the ground behavior is ignored
when it occurs desired behavior to reduce or discourage (for example, lost
child points) and the desired behavior to be increased as an alternative to the
problem behavior is rewarded effectively.
Autism
study in applied behavior analysis for children:
• Whenever the child is awake,
• Target all areas of the child's
behavior,
• In all circles through which the
child's life,
• By all the important people in the
life of the child,
• Week training started at an early
age are expected as early as applied 20-40 hours.
The
ultimate goal of applied behavior analysis for children with autism, these
children are coming to be able to continue mainstreaming program level with
their peers.
Compared
with other methods used in applied behavior analysis autism, is notable as the
only way to success as a scientific experimental research. For example,
experimental studies carried out by Lovaas and his colleagues, based on their
children's education, applied behavior analysis for two years, close to 90%
were observed gain crucial intelligence and social development. Furthermore, in
terms of intelligence and adaptability of these children were determined to
stay close to half a significant difference from children with normal development.
In addition, it was found that the stated development in adolescence and well
maintained. The same features with the children in the experimental group
carries none of these developments in the control group consisting of children
without the chance of getting such an education could not be observed.
Bibliographic data of this research are as follows:
Lovaas,
OR (1987). Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual
functioning in young autistic children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 55, 3-9.
MMCEACH's,
JJ, SMITH, T. & Lovaas, Ola (1993) Long-term outcome for children with
autism who received early intensive behavioral treatment.
American
Journal on Mental Retardation, 97 (4), 359-372
CHOOSING
THE METHOD AND ASSESSMENT
Education,
therapy and treatment methods vary in autism and day by day new methods are
being added. The most known and commonly used methods are specified in SEN
Assistance website.
The
benefits of education, therapy or treatment methods should be proved with the
consequences of scientific researchs.
However, each scientific research relevant a method does not show
whether that method works or not.The research has to have two features in order
to show the effects of the method on the results of scientific research:
1. Research must be experimental.
2. The research must be published as
article in the refereed scientific journal.
The
education, therapy and treatment methods specified in the Sen Assistance web
site are considered as based on the features mentioned above:
Good: There are many experimental
researches showing the positive effects of this method on the children with
autism.
Medium: There are limited researches showing
the positive effects of this method on the children with autism.
Weak: There is no experimental research
showing the positive effects of this method yet or the experimetal researches
conducted has the result that this method has no positive effect on the
children with autism.
*
Experimental research is the investigation by carried out by providing
experimental control and enables to establish cause-and-effect relationship.
** Refereed scientific journals are the
scientific journals subjecting the experts’ arbitration for the publication of
each scientific article.