There is strong evidence for the effectiveness of peer mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders, as well as other positive not directly targeted effects of peer mediated interventions. Some parents and professionals in kindergartens and schools has raised their concern for the typical peers involved in such interventions. But now Locke, Fuller and Kasari has published a study exploring this.
Based on their study 60 children they conclude that typical peers can be socially connected to children with ASD, through intervention and outside or after intervention, as well as other classmates, and maintain a strong and positive role within the classroom.
The use of eLearning is raising in all fields, and the possibilities it gives should be desirable for applied behavior analysis, and especially for providing services and knowledge to people not abel to attend classes. And for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders this may support the access to quality training in applied behavior analysis. Jang, Dixon, Tarbox, Granspeesheh, Kornack and de Nocker have researched the effect of an eLearning program for parents of children with ASD.
Their eLearning program vas self-paced, interactive and Web-based. The program required about 30 – 40 hours to complete, and covered the central aspects of ABA for children with ASD. Based on their randomized, wait list-controlled study they found significant improvement after completing this eLearning program. This is an exiting possibility for service providers outside rural areas.
The evidence of Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) has been established through several studies. However is is necessary to investigate the effect of EIBI in mainstream setting. Mainstream settings as preschools and kindergarten may vary greatly among con tries and probably between districts in each country. This supports the need for several studies investigating different setting and characteristics of these settings.
Now Eikeseth, Klintwall, Jahr and Karlsson have published a study on the outcome for children with autism receiving early and intensive behavioral intervention in mainstream preschool and kindergarten setting in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. In this study they indlucet 35 children in the treatment group and 24 children in a comparison group. This study shows that the children in the EIBI group scored significantly higher on standard scores of adaptive behavior after one year of treatment.
Video modeling has been showed to be an effective intervention in teaching individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Video modeling may be implemented by using different strategies, one of them being video self-modeling. This involves the individual themselves being the model on the video. Now Gelbar, Anderson, McCarthy and Buggey have provided å review that summarizes the empirical evidence supporting the use of video self-modeling with individuals with autism spectrum disorders. This article is published in Psycology in the Schools, Vol 49 (2012).
Based on their review of the available empirical evidence video self-modeling should be considered as part of a continuum of strategies for individuals with ASD. The heterogeneity in the ASD group implies that there are great variation in results, but video self-modeling has been used to increase language and communication, increase social skills, modify behavior, and teach functional skills.
The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a commonly used augmentative communication systems for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other communication deficits. In this issue of Research in Developmental Disabilities Gantz and colleagues have published a meta-analysis of PECs with individuals with ASD.
Their meta-analysis confirm that PECS is a promising intervention for individuals with ASD. Their analysis indicated that functional communication outcomes were most impacted, and that the younger children and those with autism generally vowed the best outcome. They also found indications that those individuals who completed the most phases of the PECS protocol showed the best results.
Understanding the functional relations of problem behavior is necessary to understand the nature of the problem, and to design and implement effective interventions. Experimental functional assessment can be problematic to use in applied settings, and several methods for conducting functional assessment are published and in use. According to a review by Matson, Tureck and Riske (2012) one of the most used in the Questions About Behavioral function (QABF).
Based on their review that conclude that the QABF is, who has the best psychometrics at the current point, are reliable and valid, and with research been replicated by independents research teams, a good starting point for conducting a functional assessment.
Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) is an effective interventions for most children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but there is great variability in the outcome of EIBI for children with ASD. And research has focused on child characteristic, parent involvement and treatment factors. There are good reasons to assume that parent inclusion affects the treatment outcome for s large group go children. Now Strauss, Vicar, Valeri, DÉlia, Armina and Fava has published a study examining the interrelating factor that impact children´s progress, highlighting the influence of parent inclusion in treatment provision captured by parental stress, how faithfully the parents followed the treatment protocols and the intensity of treatment provided at home. This study is published in Research in Developmental disabilities. Read more…
In many countries and regions the use of paraprofessionals in autism interventions is extensive. Using paraprofessionals require effective and qualitative good training in order to ensure treatment fidelity and effective interventions for persons with ASD. Rispoli, Neely, Lang and Ganz have published a systematic review of the literature on training paraprofessionals to implement interventions for people with autism spectrum disorders in Developmental Neurorehabilitation.
Their review identified a variety of training procedures, such as explanations, modeling, video, role play and feedback. And that paraprofessionals had successfully implemented a variety of intervention including Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), Discrete Trial Training (DTT), Pivotal Response Training (PRT), and more. These results are promising, but the research is limited and more research involving more subjects and more randomized design should be conducted to ensure the effect of using paraprofessionals.
