Peer-mediated intervention (PMI) may be very helpful for children with autism, and a strong research base supports use of PMI.
This review article was designed to describe all research in which therapy for children with autism was performed by the child’s peers. The review covered 42 studies that used PMI in the treatment of people with autism. Many of the studies did not measure whether or not the studied treatment plan was followed by the peers. Some studies did ask the questions: Did the treatment occur for at least 10 minutes? Are there at least 1 or 2 peers in the treatment? Was an adult there to watch the session? The authors note that future studies should focus on what level of PMI can be performed by children at each age.
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Please comment on this autism topic.
Responding to movement therapy
Feb 15, 2012 by Whole MedicineHave readers of this forum heard of Interactive Metronome?
I have worked with numerous LD's. Because ASD has as a major component deficits in Executive Functioning, focus, attention and inhibition, I have had tremendous sucess with students on the Spectrum.
TJ, a 12 y/o male with ASD was still bed wetting and presented aggressive/assaultive behavior towards younger siblings and classmates/instructors.
JR was a 17 y/o male dx'd with Aspergers comorbid with ADD and ODD behavior. Due to gross/fine motor deficits and very low muscle tone he was anxious about any physical activities and exhibited poor self-concept
Please feel free to contact me if you want to learn more.
In Good Health!
Edward Jonathans BSc-IMC
Sensory-Motor Therapist
Responding to aquatic
Sep 4, 2011 by AnonymousI have been a private swim instructor, specializing in teaching children with disabilities for over 10 years in Los Angeles. Most of my swimmers are children, ages 2- 12, who are on the Autism spectrum. When these children are in the water, they all have shown a sense of comfort, mind and body relaxation. With certain cues, such as the word "focus," I am able to receive quick eye contact and immediate response to my action requested by them. Positive reinforcement and encouraging words, whether the task was perform correctly or not, increases their consistency of performance in the water. Their sense of body movement in the water becomes hightened because they have control over the water and therefore they feel the need and comfort to be in the water and be active.
Responding to relationship development intervention (RDI)
Jul 12, 2011 by AnonymousRDI is not a fad therapy. It is based on years of clinical research into how typical parent/child relationships and childrens' brains develop from infancy. It then seeks to recapture what was not possible because of autism. It helps remediate the core deficits and rebuild new neural pathways. If the brain is re-wired then all the other behavioral issues can be remediated as well without scripted, rote learning.
Just because it is fairly new and the focus has been on developing the program and helping children/families (rather than funding and documenting for research purposes, which IS needed), that does not mean that it's a fad.
Also, as a parent of a child on the spectrum there has been NOTHING else I have found that has focused on the family and actually helps us goal-set and apply techniques in our everyday, busy life. This is a God-send and, I believe, will become the standard course of treatment for autistic individuals in the years to come. It's not a fad.
Sincerely,
Leigh Reeves, mother of precious 4 year old Angeleah who is getting much-needed help with RDI
Responding to applied behavior analysis (ABA)
Jun 29, 2011 by AnonymousABA is good for teaching discrete skills to kids with autism. Actually, there are conflicting analyses of the ABA effectiveness literature....and generalization is still a major challenge. ANd, with ABA, a teacher can focus entirely on nonfunctional skills in isolation with ABA.
THere is now growing evidence of the usefulness of developmental interventions for kids on the spectrum, such as DIR. I think a combination of therapies, as DIR and ABA can help a child learn to read, for example, and also to relate and connect with other people.