Autism

Autism
School-based Cognitive-Behavioral
Intervention
Chapter-16
Introduction
• Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) exhibit social

impairments which occur with deficits in expressive and
receptive verbal and nonverbal language.
• For ASD, each symptom requires comprehensive evaluations of
the problem behaviors and careful treatment plan.
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been used to help in
improving social skills, increasing self-monitoring behavior,
reducing internalizing disorders, especially anxiety.
What is Autism?
In simple terms, autism occurs when a
child has trouble communicating and
understanding what people think and feel.
This makes it very difficult for autistic
children to respond to gestures, facial
expressions, touch and even language.
Literature Review
• Current and established research has examined the role of executive

functioning with ASD, as well as the idea of theory of mind and
central coherence theory.
• Along with these theories, research has examined some neurological
and genetic factors that help us better understand ASD.
Executive Functions
• Executive dysfunction may be underlying contributor to
communications and social impairment in children.
• Executive dysfunction occurs when
the brain has difficulty with important
functions related to memory, attention,
and thinking.
• Executive capacities of planning,
cognitive flexibility and emotional
regulation are area of weakness in
children with autism.
• They also contribute to stereotyped
behaviors and as well as
communication difficulties.
ToM describes how we differentiate our
own thoughts and feelings from those of
others.
It also describe to infer others’ thoughts and

Theory of Mind feelings and predict others’ behaviors based
on observation.
In children with ASD, this is found to be

deficit.
Central Coherence Theory
• It is the ability one has to

focus on details as well as
wholes of a given situation
• It is also the ability one has to
focus on what takes priority
and what is important.
• For children with ASD, weak
central coherence prevents them
from being able to generalize
ideas and activities as a whole.
Etiology and Neurobiology
• Current research on the etiology of ADSs is focused on genetic

factors, neuroanatomical structures.
• Genetics research has examined specific genes mutation as well as
chromosome abnormalities.
• Though the exact cause is unknown to date, current prevalence rates
offered by the Centers for Disease Control estimates that one in 110
children will be identified with a ASD, with males afflicted threes to
four times more than females.
Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorders
Applied Behavior Analysis
In AHA approach, the child is given a predictable

stimulus such as command or visual prompt.
• Rewarded for each appropriate behavior with
reinforcement.
Attempts to modify incorrect responses occur

through prompts, chaining, modelling, and shaping.
Lovaas Method
Use as early intervention for children
with ADS in preschool and early
education
One-on-one instruction for
approximately 40 hours a week
As the child progresses, the instruction

moves into group settings
The goal is to to help children gain skills in:

•communication
•education
•activities of daily living.
Verbal behavior
• Verbal behavior was first introduced by B.F. Skinner in 1975.

• VB strives to increase communication by looking at language
skills, shapes and reinforces the behavior.
• VB uses specific terms for these types of communication:
“mand” –a request for a want and a need. E.g. if the child wants to eat
“cookies”, teach him to request cookies
“tact”- naming or labeling something through the senses. E.g. asking
the question “What is this” by showing the picture of the car.
“echoic”- giving verbal stimulus to imitate the sound. E.g. saying “
Table” and the child will imitate the sound and say “ta-boo”
“Receptive”- understanding the simple verbal command and give
responses.
E.g. asking the child to “stand up, sit down” etc..
“Intraverbal”- responding to a word with no visual clues and teach
the children by using fill in the blank question for e.g. Birds are
flying in the ----.
https://youtu.be/RXKeuOPt2jw
https://youtu.be/IAB42vug59w?t=28
https://youtu.be/bPqJPVxLdy4?t=2
https://youtu.be/MLhJLD6o6c8
https://youtu.be/TtJudS-HdC0?t=75
Specific Assessment Tools/Technique
For treatment purposes, the use of interviews, behavioral rating scales
and direct observations can be helpful in determining target goals.
Interview
• involve parents, teachers, and the child
• can gain different perspectives on how the child functions across
environment.
Rating Scale
 The Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS) is used to help identify

symptoms, behaviors, and associated features of Autism Spectrum
Disorder in children and adolescents.
 It specifically designed to be used in treatment planning and
monitoring.
Direct Behavior Observation
 Focus on well-defined behaviors and observe the presence or
absence of those behavior.
 Feasible to conduct in school or clinical settings.
Goal Attainment Scaling
 Use to evaluate whether participants make meaningful progress to

attain goal during the intervention or after the intervention
 For example,
Baseline performance- It takes 20 or 30 minutes a day for tooth

brushing assistance from mother .Tooth brushing is unpleasant for the
autism child, John and often there he is whining and crying.
Attainment level Scores Therapy Goals
Much less than expected level -2 Will brush teeth within 17-20 mins
Less than expected level -1 Will brush teeth within 13-16 mins
Expected level 0 Will brush teeth within 9-12 mins
Better than expected level 1 Will brush teeth within 5-8 mins
Much better than expected level 2 Will brush teeth within 1-4 mins
Treatment Planning and Intervention Strategies
Case Conceptualization
 In developing intervention plans for students with ASD, careful
consideration must be utilized in conceptualization individual
needs.
 During case conceptualization, student’s age, cognitive and
language abilities, special interests, and developmental level should
be considered.
 When conceptualizing a student with ASD, further delineation and
understanding of the contributing factors for “why” a student is
having difficulties should be explored.
Treatment Planning and Goal Setting
 The treatment plan will need to address how the goals with be
meet, based on individual strengths, needs, and personal
characteristics.
 The next step is to select interventions from a variety of sources
and tools.
 One challenge that arises in utilizing approach is that requires
the therapists to have good case-conceptualization skills and
must be familiar with and able to understand literature on a
variety of techniques and available manualized programs.

Autism

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Autism

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Autism

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Autism

• Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) exhibit social

• Current and established research has examined the role of executive

It also describe to infer others’ thoughts and

In children with ASD, this is found to be

• It is the ability one has to

• Current research on the etiology of ADSs is focused on genetic

In AHA approach, the child is given a predictable

Attempts to modify incorrect responses occur

As the child progresses, the instruction

The goal is to to help children gain skills in:

• Verbal behavior was first introduced by B.F. Skinner in 1975.

 The Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS) is used to help identify

 Use to evaluate whether participants make meaningful progress to

Baseline performance- It takes 20 or 30 minutes a day for tooth

Expected level 0 Will brush teeth within 9-12 mins

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.