Customer Reviews

Behavioral Intervention for Young Children With Autism: A Manual for Parents and Professionals

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the book to get if you are considering running an intensive one on one program for your developmentally delayed child. From the science of ABA to the application of ABA, this book gives a solid outline. From the selection of tutors and consultants to obtaining funding, this book offers "how to" information. Part 2 Chapters include: Evaluating Claims about Treatments for Autism, Early Behavioral Intervention for Autism: What Does research Tell Us?, Are Other Treatments Effective?. Part 3 is What to Teach. Part 4 is How to Teach. Part 5 is Who Should Teach. Part 6 is Organizing and Funding. Part 7 is Working with an SLP. Part 8 Working with the Schools. Part 9 From the Front Lines:Parent's Questions, Parent's Voices. This section includes 4 childrens' stories. Is ABA successful in teaching 90% of children with Autism? You bet! In fact 40%+ will reach a point where they no longer fit the criteria for PDD or Autism. IQ scores increase. Autistic behavior is reduced. Attention is increased. Learning takes place. Is running a home ABA program time consuming and expensive? Yes it is time consuming and if you have to pay for it yourself it can be costly. Is it worth it? Yes. My 3 year old son now speaks in full sentences, has increased his IQ 20+ points, has reduced his autistic behaviors, is potty trained, dresses himself, reads books by himself, etc. This was all accomplished through positive reinforcement. No aversives were used. If you still have questions about ABA go to <http://pages.prodigy.net/damianporcari/recovery.htm>

I had tremendous success with ABA therapy for my son, and this book is an excellent tool for implementing an ABA program. I also have great respect for the author of this book. However, I would like to caution readers that Ms. Maurice believes that autism is a nothing more than a behavioral disorder, and dismisses every other treatment that is not ABA. As we all know, every child with autism is different. Nobody knows why her kids recovered from ABA alone when so many do not.

Although hundreds of doctors and thousands of parents believe that autistic children (especially those with gastrointestinal problems) are physically ill, and metabolically, immunologically and nutritionally unstable, Ms. Maurice dismisses this as pseudoscience without entertaining the possibility that science may someday bear this out. I had great success with ABA, true, but I know many more kids who recovered from ABA plus biological intervention (GF/CF diet, anti-fungal treatment, immunotherapy) than from ABA alone.

I researched my child's autism for years, and the most important thing I learned along the way is that autism is a complex disorder, with many subtypes. As a result of dietary intervention, my son lost his diagnosis and is now mainstreamed. During his treatment, missing a day of ABA didn't make a difference. Missing a day of dietary intervention set him back a month.

For some of the kids, the autistic behaviors DO actually seem to result from the improper breakdown of certain proteins, and removing them actually takes away the disorder. When the scientific studies are completed and this is borne out, I pity the parents who listened to the chapter in this book in which such therapies are scorned and dismissed. Until we really understand autism, a closed mind can be disastrous for our children.

Not every family is blessed with great programming in their backyard - some families are from rural places within the US and even outside the country where services are extremely difficult to come by. Some families due to limitations of time and money and other distractions can't handle the fight with school districts with myopic views on the real possibility that a child with autism can normalize if treated intensively and early on. Instead they play games with families and short change everyone, the child - the family and society in general... I happened to have a therapist work on my program who worked with Catherine Maurices second child. I had advantages of time,location and money many won't have and yet with this book and others like it (for example Ron Leafs book from the Autism Partnership out of LA, Ca.)One can develop a top notch ABA program anywhere. If there is a lack of funds get churches/temples to find local committed people to volunteer, etc. even high school students can be trained. ABA breaks down the autistic childs great confusion with processing the world into very small steps and little by little opens the child to the social dynamics of his environment. It enables the child to stop hyper focasing on irrelevant details like spinning objects, lining things up, etc.. which the child does to keep order and relieve anxiety from this confusion and the diagnostic symptoms of the disorder fade as the child makes sense of the world through one on one intervention. ABA isn't the only approach some swear by Son Rise - however, those which are effective are intensive and one on one. When a child starts to really make gains mainstraming is nessessary for peer modeling and friendship building and then a book like "Teaching Children with Autism Strategies for initating positive interactions" is a great help which teaches self management so the child has control over themself in his or her environment. As far as diet goes some do well by the gluten/casein free diet and some can't manage it -however there are new products that can help the child to break down these exogeneous proteins like enzymes and probiotics (which are basically good bacteria which produce the enzymes for proper digestion) and the right balance of Omega oils and codliver oil... Kirkman Labs has a great site with a 179 page document that explains the excess opiod theory their products in my experience have been immensely helpful. And lastly, don't despair the worst is really in the beginning as you hit the ground running and feel so unprepared... as your child makes extraordinary strides and normalizes you will feel the great rewards of parenthood - and more - a great accomplishment.

This is a manual for setting up a behavioral program for an autistic child, a passionate yet practical approach to dealing with an extremely serious problem, a place to begin *doing* something. Parents of autistic children have to get involved in their children's treatment, even in those rare cases where the professionals they consult are really well-informed and do their best to map out the situation for the parents. Read the last chapters first, though, especially if you haven't read "Let Me Hear Your Voice." I started this book at the beginning, and it took me a long time to understand what it was about (this was the first book I read on autism, and I lacked a great deal of context and background, but the organization of the book did not help). It needs a better introduction, though perhaps I'm being too tough on the editors and authors. They've set themselves a very difficult task, and succeeded very well. I'd recommend that it be the second book read by parents looking at a diagnosis of autism or PDD for their child. The first should be Catherine Maurice's "Let Me Hear Your Voice." Perhaps that book is this book's best introduction.

The authors present an excellent overview of behavior analysis applied to the treatment of autistic children. There is a chapter on what methods have proven effective and what methods have not. There is a terrific curriculum guide that shows Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced skills to work on. There are two chapters on language development & speech therapy that are very helpful. If you have a child with autism, buy this book. If you are a teacher or practioner also buy the more comprehensive guide "A Work In Progress.." written by Ron Leaf PhD, published in 1999.

Immediately after my son's diagnosis (PDD-NOS) - I read everything I could get my hands on about Autism. From my research, it seemed the therapy that had the most scientifically proven successes on motivating a child to 1)Attend 2) Respond and 3) Learn..... was ABA. Therefore, I wanted to get my son started with this therapy immediately. This book proved to be exactly what we needed as a family to get started. In it you will find invaluable techniques and most importantly HOPE that these children can and do learn. You will find specific instructions on how to proceed with language drills as well as how to track your childs progress.

HOWEVER - I DEFINITELY disagree with the stance of the author that dietary interventions have no proven merit, and should not be investigated. chapter 4. Tear it out and forget it. GFCF works! Other than this - the book is a true gem! We still use techniques to this day!

I think the review from the reader from Manhattan, "Great for Treating Symptoms" is definitely right on the mark. I first found and read this book about four years ago. Autism was brand new to me, to our family, to our now 9 yr.-old "high-functioning" autistic son. He has come a long way, due to the fact that I never stop looking for new information, new materials to work with, etc. It's true that all children with autism are different and I hope that medical research will soon tell the world that there's a lot more going on there than simply a behavioral disorder (ie. gastrointestinal problems, autoimmune problems...) Our son also benefitted greatly from ABA and I believe it is probably the best starting place for most, if not all children with autism and related disorders, but it shouldn't be the only tool tried.

When my son was diagnosed with a severe communication disorder at age three by a neurologist, and PDD by a pediatrician, and "educationally autistic" by an OT in the public school system, it began a long journey into night, or so it seemed. Many disciplines involved in autism do not agree with ABA. I think it depends on the "teachers" involved, their personalities and ability to work with your child. As in any teaching, patience goes a LONG way. I found this book very helpful, I would spend about an hour or more a day working with my son,going through the list, finding out where he was, and where he needed to go. I think besides the biological manifestations,autism is basically a communication disorder and a lot of frustration for our children builds on that simple idea...that a lot of the behavioral problems come from the inability to communicate. My son is now in the regular classroom without an aide, surviving, but coming across this book makes me think I should get ahold of it again, and just keep plugging away, because it was unbelievably geared to the communication difficulties that our kids have.

God bless each of you, parents and children, and may the road rise up to meet you.

This book saved my son's life. About one year ago (at 3.3 years old) he was diagnosed as having PDD. The professionals that evaluted him (from the school district) assured me that there was no cure for PDD/Autism and that I should not believe in any promise of cure. Fortunately, I did not believe in what they told me. I did my own research on the internet and found this book and "Let me hear your voice" (which should be read before you read "Behavioral Intervention...") also by C. Maurice. I did ABA myself with my son, and now he is totally recovered from PDD. For parents looking for more information on ABA I strongly recomend the site http://rsaffran.tripod.com

I just received the book and haven't implemented any of these therapies, but I read "Let Me Hear Your Voice" and felt that this was a must-have. I like the practical "how-to's" and instructional chapters, but I don't like the way other therapies seem to be so harshly dismissed. I don't pretend to be an expert on this subject, but I think there are other therapies which might help in conjunction with a behavioral program. For instance, Auditory Integration Therapy was helpful to us in the sense that it greatly reduced my son's sound sensitivity almost immediately. It did not appear from what I read in the Maurice family story that her children experienced this difficulty. AIT wasn't a miraculous cure, but certainly helpful. I also feel Occupational Therapy was helpful to us, but the authors don't feel there is enough "supporting data". Dietary interventions are dismissed as well. Many parents swear by these treatments, especially if their children have bowel problems. I don't recall that the Maurice children had intestinal difficulties mentioned, but I think if your child does, diet is certainly an area of concern. The authors seem to believe that an intense behavioral program is the only way, and other therapies will detract from the time spent with the behavioral program. While I want to use the strategies in this book, I think other therapies may be helpful as well, particularly when your child has some additional problems which may make learning difficult. There are no problems like this mentioned in the book; it is as if all children on the autistic spectrum are regarded as the same.