Other Methods

The ABA and TEACCH method are two of the most popular and observed methods, but there are others.

The Denver and Greenspan methods are two similar methods. They emphasize play, social interactions, and the shring of emotions. They allow the children to control what is going on and what will discuss. They emphasize going into the childs world in order to make them more comfortable. They also promote a positive relationship between the children, and seem to be the most helpful with emotions and social situations. I believe I will base most of my program after these methods. I will allow the children to develop their own script and how they want to participate in the program. I want them to be in charge, and focus alot on the emotions behind what they do. I want them to especially focus on interactions during social situations.

Other people enroll their children skills groups and focus on social interactions. Experts suggest writing "scripts" of what to do during social interactions, videotaping others and the children having conversations, and discussing things they enjoy. I can most definitely use all of these ideas in my program. Obviously I will have a script for the final performance. I will let the children develop it themselves, (utilizing the Denver and Greenspan method) but request it be about different social situations. I can videotape how others and they themselves perform, and show them the differences. I believe this will help them both in their performing and their everyday social situations.

Great Resources

Here is a great website for resources of visual tokens and flashcards.

TEACCH Schedule

This is an example of a TEACCH Schedule.
http://www.janpalmer.ca/classroom.html

Link to example of TEACCH's visual ideas in action

TEACCH doesen't necesarily have to only be applied to schedule. When completing work, parents have found that if a child can place completed work in a "completed" area, they can visualy see what they have done and what they haven't. This keeps them more motivated and focused.
http://www.shoeboxtasks.com/autism-articles/nc-teacch-home-structured-work-sessions

TEACCH Method

Many children have trouble recognizing abstract ideas and audio instructions, but thrive with visuals. They work best in patterns and routines, especially when they can visualize them.

The TEACCH or Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication- handicapped Children program takes advantage of this capability. It provides a visual schedule of a set routine of what will be done with pictures and words. It has been found if the children know what is coming next, they will be more comfortable and able to move on to the next task. Children are also less affected by change in the routine if they can see that it has been changed.

This is very helpful for me seeing as it can be used in addition to other methods. I will most likely develop a set schedule that I will display in a very obvious place. I will have to follow the routine, and review it before every session to make sure the children know what's coming next. It also gives me ideas for methods outside of the schedule. For example, I can take advantage of the visual learning by observing the visual indicators of emotion and motivation in theater.

ABA Therapy at Work

This is a great video to observe ABA therapy in action. You can see the importance of using every moment to teach as well as being firm, but not yelling. I also saw the importance of "tokens" or rewards to motivate kids.

ABA- Applied Behavior Analysis

There is no medical cure for Autism. This means treatment is mostly targeted to helping the behavior. This week I researched one of the most popular methods- Applied Behavior Analysis.

Developed by Dr. Ivar Lovaas in the 1960s, it focuses on developing speech, play, self-sufficiency, social, academic, and attention skills.

It is an expensive and intensive program that is usually done within the home for 30-40 hours a week. Obvioulsy I cannot do this with every child, but I can use the basic prinicpals and incorporate them into my program.

ABA focuses on reaching clear objectives that can be observed. It usually starts with simple academic goals such as ABCs, numbers, etc. Then asking questions about the child and the world around them. Then the program focuses on play and developing skills that can be used in different social situations.

I definitely cannot spend this much time on each individual and be so focued, but I can set observable goals and focus on observing the world and "playing" different social situations.

DSM-IV Symptoms of Autism

Penn State Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG0vko7GHDQ
This is a great video put out by Penn State Public Broadcasting about the basics of children with Autism.