ASD Learning Approaches

This section highlights learning approaches and effective interventions for children with ASD.

Applied Behavior Analysis and Other Skills-Based Programs

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

ABA consists of teaching skills by breaking them down into small steps and teaching one step at a time, rewarding correct responses. The Lovaas method, an intensive ABA program developed by Dr. O.I. Lovaas at the University of California, Los Angeles, is particularly well known. Methods of ABA strategies include fading, shaping, prompting, and discrete trial teaching (DTT). DTT uses an instruction-prompt-response-reward pattern to help people learn complex tasks. DTT and ABA are not synonymous. While DTT is based upon principles of learning theory and has been demonstrated to be an effective intervention methodology, it represents only one of dozens of teaching strategies within the field of ABA.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.abainternational.org/aba.asp

Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH)

The TEACCH program developed by Eric Schopler in the 1970s includes a focus on the person with autism as a starting point for developing a program of intervention and training around the person's skills, interests, and needs. It emphasizes teaching functional skills and modifying the teaching environment to support the needs of the individual. The broadly based intervention strategy of this structured teaching builds on existing skills and interests. Visual support and vocational preparation are important parts of the program.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.teacch.com

Developmental-Individual Differences-Relationship/Floortime (DIR)

Dr. Stanley Greenspan and his colleague, Serena Weider, created the Developmental-Individual Differences-Relationship (D.I.R.)-based model as intervention for children with autism and other developmental delays. The D.I.R. model uses a comprehensive evaluation including, developmental history, biomedical assessment, current functioning, child/caregiver interactions, auditory processing, sensory processing, sensory modulation, motor and perceptual motor functioning and family patterns to develop a comprehensive intervention plan for the child and family. The primary goal of the D.I.R.-based intervention is to enable children to form a sense of themselves as intentional, interactive individuals and develop cognitive language and social capabilities from this basic sense of intentionally. Part of the D.I.R. method uses “floor time,” which is an intensive, one-to-one experience during which a caregiver gets down on the floor and interacts with the child. The focus is on relationships, since Greenspan and Wieder believe that the more intellectual functions of the brain do not develop without a constant source of relating.

For more information, please visit:

Floortime/DIR Model: http://www.play-to-learn.com/dir_floortime.htm

SCERTS Model™

SCERTS stands for: Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Transactional Support. The SCERTS Model™ is a comprehensive model that is based on a developmental perspective and was designed to support individuals with ASD. The SCERTS Model is interdisciplinary in its approach in that the model addresses social communication and emotional regulation throughout the child’s daily activities and routines, and it guides and supports parents and caregivers through a multidisciplinary team. The model uses the knowledge base and experience of general and special educators, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, child psychology, psychiatry, and social work. The model is based on the belief that children learn best when they are emotionally regulated and can communicate within a social context. The SCERTS Model™ was systematically developed to be implemented based on those beliefs. It is does not exclude other educational models, but rather accepts them within its framework of intervention as appropriate.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.scerts.com