Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) may be an effective intervention for some children with autism.
EIBI is based on applied behavior analysis. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the research on early intensive behavioral interventions (EIBI) for children with autism. This review describes only a small number of effects from the small number of studies on EIBI. The findings from the EIBI research were mixed. It seems that the best results on IQ change might be seen when staff were trained using the UCLA model, intervention happened for a long time per session, and the total hours of therapy were high.
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Down to the wire
May 1, 2008 by AnonymousAnother week closer to summer vacation and I’m not dreading it. Unfortunately, I am still pressing the green rubber nodule for an apostrophe, but it’s become a part of my life now and I’d miss it if it changed. Or not. Anyway, Thomas was off on Monday because I thought he had a cold. I still think he had a cold, but it didn’t knock him on his cute little bottom the way it knocks adults on our large, cellulite-ridden bottoms. As soon as the time came for the bus to have picked Thomas up on Monday, I realized that he would have been fine and I was in for a very long day.
Thomas still has a runny nose, but it doesn’t bother him nearly as much as it bothers me. I’ve never been very good at dealing with a runny nose. If I see another kid with a runny nose, I have to resist the impulse to whip a Kleenex out of my bag and wipe that nose. He’s been picking a lot, too. Charming. There’s no school tomorrow for a School Improvement Day. I wonder what they do, exactly, on those days.
On Monday night, Thomas’ teacher called to let us know that the kids would be walking to a fire station on Wednesday to see the trucks and talk to the firefighters. We got to talking about Thomas, as his IEP meeting is less than a week away at this point. Really, everyone at Thomas’ school says such nice things about him! The school social worker, whom I met with today, prefaced our meeting by saying that he’s so friendly and just a happy little guy that everyone enjoys having around. She wanted me to come in and complete a standardized questionnaire-type thing about Thomas’ habits at home; what he can do, what he can’t do, disruptive behaviors and the like. I have to say that I think he scored fairly well for a regular five year-old. The social worker helped answer some of the questions that I had to think about by saying, “I’ve never seen him do that at school.” She seemed really excited about Thomas’ progress over the past two years and what we can expect of him next year.
Jonathan and I had a big argument on Monday night about Thomas. Jonathan was listening while I was on the phone with Thomas’ teacher and he was getting pretty upset about what he was hearing just on my half of the conversation. I mentioned to the teacher that I was sure that the psychologist gave Thomas an IQ test but because of that test, Thomas would most likely not qualify for the MLP classroom. Today, the social worker told me that a child has to have an IQ of less than seventy to qualify. Everyone we’ve talked to believes that Thomas’ IQ is more than seventy (including us). Jonathan feels, however, that Thomas would do much better in an MLP classroom, which is all-day kindergarten. He is worried about how Thomas will do in a regular kindergarten class with thirty kids; he’s afraid Thomas will get left behind, that the teacher won’t have the special education background or support system she will need to educate Thomas and still give the other kids the time they need. Valid concerns, all – but I think that Thomas can do it. I’m really interested to hear what Thomas’ service team has to say on Tuesday, but I think they’re going to recommend that he be in a mainstream class and I’m all for it.
I’ve been talking to Thomas a lot about kindergarten next year. I think he understands that he’ll be going to a new school and he says he’d like to make new friends. I’ve asked him how he thinks he would do in a class with a lot more kids and he says, “You know, Mommy, I think that would be good.” The more I think about it, the more I think he can do it and I don’t think I have to explain to anyone reading this that it would mean so much for us and our family if Thomas could be in a mainstream classroom for kindergarten. He would still get “resource minutes,” which are minutes set aside during Thomas’ school day when he would go get occupational therapy or speech therapy – whatever he needs. I’m very excited about the IEP meeting because I have a feeling that they are going to say a lot of great things about Thomas, and who ever tires of hearing educators extol their child’s virtues?
I just really hope that Jonathan and I can go into this meeting with a united front. My position right now is “wait and see.” Jonathan seems to think that the teachers and therapists are pushing us to accept a mainstream classroom for Thomas because of money issues within the district. I personally think that this theory is cuckoo-bananas. The argument Monday got pretty heated at times, but I had my trademark smart-mouth comments locked and loaded and those drive Jonathan just crazy. My bottom line is that I don’t think the service team would recommend anything they didn’t think Thomas could handle. And no matter what we decide next week, nothing is written in stone and we can always change our minds before next year, or two weeks into the school year or any time at all. If Thomas will be in a mainstream classroom, that would mean he’d attend our home school – and I guess I should go and register him there after all. I was kind of short with the principal, too…maybe I’d better go and volunteer for something. My mom was the PTO president of our grade school for a few years…maybe I could do something like that. Nothing to it, right?
So we’re looking forward to next Tuesday. Jonathan will be out of town all weekend on a fishing trip with his brothers and boy-cousins…they put a treehouse-esque sign on the door that says “NO GIRLS ALLOWED” all weekend. The only possible exception is any female who will cook or clean for them. I think they even rib anyone whose wife calls while they’re on this sojourn, so I’m planning on Jonathan being basically unreachable all weekend. It’s supposed to rain here all weekend too, so I don’t know what we’re going to do. Thomas loves to play tennis on the Wii…he’s really good at it, too! We’ll find some way to fill the time until Monday. They sent the gluten-free kid’s leftover snack and Tupperware home with Thomas today, so he’s got to return that on Monday anyway.
Jobs
Nov 26, 2007 by dankohnAvatars Help Asperger Syndrome Patients Learn to Play the Game of Life At the UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth, Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism Practice Their Social Skills in Virtual Worlds Richardson, Texas (Nov. 16, 2007) — A technology associated with fantasy worlds is helping young adults with autism in the hard reality of life. Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas Center for BrainHealth are working with patients diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome using virtual reality training. People with the disorder have normal intelligence, but they suffer from a variety of social cognitive defects, including an inability to read nonverbal clues and adapt well to change. These young adults -- considered to have a form of autism -- face many obstacles in life. Interviewing for a job or asking somebody for a date can be monumentally difficult. To help them succeed, researchers from the center have created a virtual world for them to practice their social skills. Each person creates an avatar/character in his or her likeness, who then navigates through a virtual world, interacting with real people represented by their own avatars. The virtual world includes settings commonly encountered in everyday life such as restaurants, shops, offices, apartment living and parks, where they can meet “new” people in a safe, controlled environment. For example, if the goal is applying for a job, their avatars substitute for them as they practice their interviewing skills with real people on-line until the fear and anxiety of a real encounter with a potential supervisor diminishes. This method is distinct from role-playing, which is a widely used method, in that they feel the same emotions as they would in direct encounters. Virtual reality provides a therapy tool to rewire the brain through practical experiences that can be manipulated in ways the real world cannot, says Dr. Sandra Chapman, director of the Center for BrainHealth. “The clinicians can change the virtual world to increase the complexity of the exercise, control for sensory overload, provide motivation, and record feedback,” said Chapman. “Unlike other models of intervention, virtual world experiences provide a powerful way to learn new and more appropriate ways to respond to people in scenarios similar to those faced everyday,” she said. “Our research in brain discoveries tells us that the brain can rewire its pathways with intensive practice grounded in experience – not by learning rules of how to interact – which has been the most common therapy practice heretofore,” said Chapman. “These young adults have the advantage of an intensive, interactive therapy to deal with problems they encounter everyday but in a safe setting to practice their social skills.” Before entering the program, the participants undergo a series of brain imaging measures and neurocognitive tests. At first, they practice with their avatars with a clinician by their sides. Quickly, new persons/avatars are introduced to the client and they begin to interact with family members and trusted friends. In addition to the virtual-world therapy, the young adults receive plenty of one-on-one coaching as they are trained to develop the insight to assess their own responses. At first, they watch recordings of their interactions, and gradually they are expected to modify their behaviors to fit the context in real time. The idea is to train their brains in new ways of thinking in contexts that closely mimic real life. That goal is to stop unhelpful responses before they can start. “There are almost no treatment programs for older children or young adults with autism-related disorders,” said Chapman. “And yet this is a very good time to intervene because it is during adolescence that rapid brain development takes place – particularly in the areas supporting social-skill development.” Although still in the early stages, the BrainHealth researchers say they can detect dramatic improvements with many of the participants in terms of simple awareness of their social problems, which they say is the first step to improvement. Virtual-reality therapy has become a new tool in brain rehabilitation. Therapists are using the gaming technology for people who suffer from autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder, addictions, strokes and brain injuries. About UT Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 14,500 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The University offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UT Dallas, please visit the University’s Web site at www.utdallas.edu.
Asperger Syndrome
May 9, 2007 by AnonymousAsperger Syndrome (AS) is a neurobiological disorder on the higher-functioning end of the autism spectrum. Asperger's is characterized by deficiencies in social and communication skills. Individuals with Asperger syndrome often have average or above average intelligence and typical language development. Asperger syndrome can be difficult to diagnose.
Hello from a new member
Feb 3, 2007 by AnonymousHello, my name is Portia Iversen and I have just recently joined the Healing Thresholds Community. I am very impressed with the organization and design of the site! My husband Jon Shestack and I started the Cure Autism Now foundation about 12 years ago and recently I finished writing my first book (my kids and husband hope it will be my last because it took me three miserable years). The book is titled ‘Strange Son’ (please visit: www.strangeson.com). It came out January 2nd and I have been in the midst of promoting it, mostly through radio interviews.
My attention has been focused on autism and especially autism research ever since my son Dov was diagnosed at the age of 21 months. Dov is now 14 years old, he is non-verbal and quite severely affected by autism, but I discovered that he had normal cognitive ability when he was 9 years old and he learned to point at letters on an alphabet board and in this way he began to communicate with us. Until then, we hardly knew him because he was almost completely unable to communicate.
I learned this communication method from Soma Mukhopadhyay, and her son Tito. They were both living in India (their homeland) when I first heard about them in the year 2000. At the time, Tito was about 12 years old and the amazing thing about him was that although he was severely autistic and exhibited all the behaviors of the disorder, he had a high IQ, could read and write and communicate. I realized at once that Tito could be an incredible window into autism because he could tell us about his perception and his experience of the world. I’ll write more later…
Best wishes to all, -Portia