EDUCATION
Autism Awareness, Treatment
types, BB4autism Approach
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
Autism Spectrum disorder is a complex neurobiological disorder affecting 1 in 150 individuals, as reported by the center for disease control. Autism affects individuals in ways that may impair functional communication,
social interactions, cause sensitivities to light and sound, sensory integration deficits, severe allergies, and behavioral issues. Incidents of autism can range from severely affected to mildly as it is a spectrum disorder
   Sample
Examples of therapy types:
Teaching the child to play
Using verbal behavior methods, among the first things we want to teach is for the child to ask for things that they want. Many parents will often say that their child does not want anything, or that there isn't a motivating toy or reinforcer; however, all kids want something. Through intervention and environmental changes and manipulations, we can increase the variety and number of things that they want. By teaching children to enjoy many things we can increase the opportunity for teaching while increasing the amount of time spent in fun and reinforcing activities. It is very important to teach children how to play. Teaching children in natural settings versus contrived settings will teach them to use their skills in a functional manner for application in the "real world." During natural environment teaching, we pair real world items with established reinforcers to help create more conditioned reinforcers, or things that the child enjoys.
Errorless Teaching/Learning
Using verbal behavior, we also employ a system of errorless learning. This is a procedure in which the correct response is prompted so as not to allow the child to practice the "wrong" response or inadvertently chain incorrect and correct responses.
Example:
Looking at a toy cat:
Therapist: "What is this?"
Child: "Meow"
Therapist: "What is this?" "Cat" (prompted response)
Child: Cat
Therapist: "What is this?"
Child: Cat
Therapist: Praise and reinforce the un-prompted correct response
Building Social Skills
It is very important to many parents that their children not isolate themselves from other peers; however, children with autism do not always find their peers to be reinforcing, and tend to shy away from non-reinforcing peers and activities. When looking at social relationships, adults and children have the opportunity to "choose" their friends based upon the reinforcing value of their friends, and generally do not choose to be around aversive people. When building social skills, it is important to begin with one child and then gradually expand to other friends. It is also important to pair peers with established reinforcing items non-contingently, that is not expecting anything in return. Often, young children are skilled in producing non-contingent reinforcement, and typically show to be loud, active, demanding, and egocentric. All of which are natural child like behaviors that
would be aversive to children with autism. It is the therapist's role to help facilitate these interactions to pair peers with non-contingent reinforcement while slowly modifying the environment to aid in the increasing the child with autism's ability to tolerate the environment and learn to enjoy being around other children.
ABA and AVB Explained in a "hands-on manner"
Applied Verbal Behavior falls under the blanket of ABA techniques; however, utilizes a softer approach to intervention. A verbal behavior approach consists of utilizing both a natural environment teaching approach while also incorporating intensive teaching as well. The purpose for natural environment teaching is to use what the child is motivated by as a teaching tool, and to promote generalization by teaching in natural settings versus contrived settings. For example, let's say the child is playing with a car, and you want to "work" with him, the car has more value than sitting at the table. What we do is "play" with the child, and we can teach using the car.
For children functioning at a higher level, we can teach features: the car is red, it has wheels, it has a door, windows, etc… we can teach function: you ride in a car, it takes you places etc… we can teach class: it's a vehicle; name some other vehicles, etc. By teaching naturally as things are presenting to the child in his environment, generalization of the skill is more likely to occur the next time he encounters a similar scenario; for example, when he is in the car with mom. If we have a child who is at the lower functioning end of the spectrum and we want to increase functional communication we can have the student "mand" for or request these preferred items in the natural environment by vocal utterances, pictures, sign language, or the actual words "I want the car".
At this point in development we are teaching the kids that communication is powerful and gets them what they want so they are more likely to generalize the skill to other preferred items such as food, example: "I want a cookie" or "drink."
Verbal behavior is a softer approach within ABA that occurs in the natural environment utilizing the child's motivation as a teaching tool, which promotes a higher rate of generalization of acquired skills.
In verbal behavior we begin by "pairing" with the kids. This means that the first few sessions, or even week or so with a new student is spent with the therapists pairing themselves with reinforcing items and the
student. We want the child to associate the therapist as being reinforcing, or someone fun. This way, when they are slowly presented with demands, they are likely to comply with the task as we have a reinforcing history with the child. The child knows that by complying they will receive something fun or reinforcing as we have built that history. Much of verbal behavior is play based.
Incorporating Intensive Teaching:
We use intensive teaching to help students acquire new skills then transfer them (the skills) to the natural environment. This can be done at the table, on the floor in playtime, at snack time, anywhere it is applicable. Some kids find ITT aversive as they have been forced to sit at a table and have been drilled on new acquisition skills. To get kids to the table, we begin pairing the table with reinforcing activities. For example, maybe we play on the floor 15 feet away from the table, and slowly decrease the distance from the table. Then we bring fun toys to the table that are highly valuable and preferred to the kids. These can include cars, puzzles, even DVDs; we want the table to be associated with a place that also brings rewards and fun things. Eventually we can shape the environment of the table to teaching with intermittent reinforcement by bringing in the fun toys as a method of reinforcing compliance with the task or demand.
Verbal behavior uses a data collection method known as probe data. You have a list of targets/acquisition skills that you are currently working on, and the very first time you present the demand/task/question you collect data. Example "What color is this?" You document at that occurrence whether it's correct or incorrect. If it is correct you reinforce and move on, if it is incorrect, you shape the correct response and move on.
We don't "drill" kids over and over again. Rather, we continue to present the target through out the day across all environments instead of asking questions or presenting the same demand ten times each. This is a softer approach in comparison to other ABA methods.
Because autism is a spectrum disorder, there are a spectrum of interventions and techniques that can be used and are effective for different individuals.
Behavior Classification of language according to
BF Skinner
Using Skinner's behavioral classification of language, conversations are typically a combination of
mands, tacts, and intraverbals with occasional receptive responses.
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Mand: Requesting; asking for something. A pure mand occurs purely as a result of an establishing operation or
desire to have the item rather than having to be asked, "What do you want?"
Example: "Can I have a cookie"
Receptive: Following directions or complying with the request of others.
Example: "Find bob the builder"
"Throw away your napkin"
"What says Moo?"
Tact: Labeling or naming an item, action, or property of an item that is present or with which the individual
Comes into contact with.
Example: "What is this?"
"Which one says Moo?"
Intraverbal: A response to something that a person says which relates to an item, action or property that is not
Present. (Answering questions, or carrying on conversation)
Example: "Old Macdonald had a farm __________. (Child says E I EI O)
"What says moo?"
"What did you eat for breakfast?"
Echoic: Repeating exactly the same thing another person said.
Example: Instructor says "Cookie". (Child says "Cookie")
FFC: Feature, Function, Class. Once a child has the ability to request, identify, and label environmental
Items, FFCs are taught to teach the child associations and Intraverbal connections between the words.
Features: Description of or parts of items (an airplane has wings)
Functions: Actions associated with the items (an airplane takes people places)
Class: Group with which the item belongs (an airplane is a vehicle)
Sample Conversation:
Nikki: "Hi, how are you?" (mand)
Katie: "I'm good, but tired." (tact, Intraverbal) "I am excited for our vacation! (tact) "How about you? (mand)
Nikki: "I can't wait either!" (Intraverbal) "I am ready for some fun in the sun!" (tact)
Katie: "When do we leave?" (mand)
Nikki: "We leave June 22nd" (Intraverbal) "Did you get the time off from work yet?" (mand)
Katie: "Could you please hand me that sunscreen?" (mand - Katie; Receptive - Nikki) "I burn so easily in the sun." (tact)
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