Pairing is a key component at the beginning of any program. Whether it be a home program or within the school system pairing can help establish the relationship between teacher and pupil.
One of the basic ideas behind an individual’s program is: The individual will be much more motivated if (s)he is having fun. Therefore, as a therapist, you must become fun for the individual. We use pairing to help the child get used to the therapist/teacher and look forward to therapy/teaching sessions.
For the first 2-3 weeks (8-10 hours) the therapist will basically play with the individuals, getting to know him. Allow him to lead play and learn how much interaction he tolerates. Try to stay at least within his play space if he won’t let you actually interact. Be as energetic and engaging as possible! However, in addition to playing, the following should be done as well:
1) Establishing Trust: The child must learn to give up reinforcers, but in order for him to feel safe giving things up, he must believe he will get it back.
Throughout pairing, ask the child for a preferred item that he has:
• If he readily gives up the item : Make a comment or two about the item and give it back. Thank him for giving up the item. Slowly increase the amount of time he allows you to keep the item.
• If he does not readily give up the item: See how close he will let you go. Just touch the item and make a comment and thank him. Do this until he tolerates it, then try to hold on to the item with him. As tolerance for this forms, then quickly take the item and immediately give it back. Again praise him for letting you see the item. Slowly increase the amount of time he allows you to keep the item.
2) Association for Reinforcement: In order to solidify the child’s view of the therapist as fun and reinforcing, (s)he must become a bridge between him and him reinforcers. Many of his reinforcers should be slightly out of reach. This way he must go through the therapist to get them. In the beginning, try to anticipate his wants and provide them for him. Once the therapist starts discovering what items are particularly reinforcing, start to make him request (mand) for it.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Parents Magazine Story
Parents Magazine's November Issue had a beautiful story about a friendship formed between two preschoolers. One boy was on the autism spectrum; the other was not. The friendship developed at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD at an inclusion based preschool program.
A quick search for Autism at Parents.com brings up a short article on what parents of typically developing children can do to help faciliate friendship with peer with an autism spectrum disorder.
Here is what they suggest:
1) Bond through simple child's play: I have seen that often the best games are the simplest. Pairing down the verbal components of games, and making the games more physical based (i.e. Tag) can help faciliate play.
2) Don't be afraid to ask questions: I agree with this one, but at the same time form a friendship with the parents before bombarding them. Ask what special skills their child might have, what their child likes, how can you help when they begin to fall apart.
3) Invite autistic peers to birthday parties: I have seen too many families reach the end of the school year and come to the realization that their child was never invited to a party. This is devestating. Invite them! Parents are pretty good at knowing when thier child has reached their limit and sometimes will bring a therapists along to help as well.
4&5) Don't give up & Don't Judge: They individuals are wonderful! Many want friends they just don't have all the tools to initate or maintain a friendship. :-)
A quick search for Autism at Parents.com brings up a short article on what parents of typically developing children can do to help faciliate friendship with peer with an autism spectrum disorder.
Here is what they suggest:
1) Bond through simple child's play: I have seen that often the best games are the simplest. Pairing down the verbal components of games, and making the games more physical based (i.e. Tag) can help faciliate play.
2) Don't be afraid to ask questions: I agree with this one, but at the same time form a friendship with the parents before bombarding them. Ask what special skills their child might have, what their child likes, how can you help when they begin to fall apart.
3) Invite autistic peers to birthday parties: I have seen too many families reach the end of the school year and come to the realization that their child was never invited to a party. This is devestating. Invite them! Parents are pretty good at knowing when thier child has reached their limit and sometimes will bring a therapists along to help as well.
4&5) Don't give up & Don't Judge: They individuals are wonderful! Many want friends they just don't have all the tools to initate or maintain a friendship. :-)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wonderful Story
Here is a great story out of Houston about a elementary boy who saved his teacher from choaking. He had learned what to do in Cub Scout and acting when he was needed. One of my favorite parts of this story is the father saying he carried through and reinforced what the boy had learned at Cub Scouts. The consistency and practiced obviously paid off for this one woman.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Autism Connected to a Viral Infection?
On October 12, 2009 an article appeared in the Huffington Post looking at a possible connection between a semi-known virus and some individuals with autism.
This retrovirus, XMRV, has been linked to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Antibodies have been found in 95% of patients with chronic fatigue. When a small (its unknown how small, but it is assumed not to be sufficient for truly reliable data) sample of individuals with autism were tested for evidence of XMRV, 40% tested positive.
What the articles seems to move towards is using this information as a possible explanation for individuals that regress with vaccines. Like many neurobiological disorders, it looks like this retrovirus may function as a trigger. Triggers can turn on and off, so having the retrovirus does not mean you will have autism, but there could be a connection.
Although the information is fascinating, more research must be done before any conclusions can be drawn. Even if a correlation is made, we must remember that correlation does not equal causation! Yet one more little piece of information in the giant puzzle of autism.
This retrovirus, XMRV, has been linked to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Antibodies have been found in 95% of patients with chronic fatigue. When a small (its unknown how small, but it is assumed not to be sufficient for truly reliable data) sample of individuals with autism were tested for evidence of XMRV, 40% tested positive.
What the articles seems to move towards is using this information as a possible explanation for individuals that regress with vaccines. Like many neurobiological disorders, it looks like this retrovirus may function as a trigger. Triggers can turn on and off, so having the retrovirus does not mean you will have autism, but there could be a connection.
Although the information is fascinating, more research must be done before any conclusions can be drawn. Even if a correlation is made, we must remember that correlation does not equal causation! Yet one more little piece of information in the giant puzzle of autism.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
NIH Awarded More than 50 Grants for Autism Research
From an news brief on October 2nd, the National Institute of Health has awared more than $65 million dollars in grants to over 50 recipients.
From the NIH site, here is a list of some of the recipients:
"Catherine Lord, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan, and Somer Bishop, Ph.D., of the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, will lead a two-site study to adapt the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised-the current gold standard for diagnosing autism-into a brief parent interview that can be done over the telephone. This new tool will help reduce research screening costs and help researchers to quickly identify potential participants for ASD studies.
David Amaral, Ph.D., Sally Rogers, Ph.D., and Judy Van de Water, Ph.D., all of the University of California Davis, aim to expand on a previous pilot program to identify different subtypes of autism based on behavioral, biochemical, and brain imaging markers. This research may help improve future efforts to study, diagnose, and treat children based on their subtype of autism.
Joseph Buxbaum, Ph.D., of Mount Sinai School of Medicine; Richard Gibbs, Ph.D., of Baylor College of Medicine; Gerard Schellenberg, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania; James Sutcliffe, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt University; and Mark Daly, Ph.D., of the Broad Institute at MIT; will lead a collaborative network of research labs and centers using cutting-edge technologies to discover specific genes underlying autism. Their research will provide insight into the biology of autism and expose genes and pathways that constitute high priority targets for the development of novel treatments.
Sally Rogers, Ph.D., and Laurie Vismara, Ph.D., both of the University of California Davis, aim to develop and test a parent-delivered preventive intervention for infants 6-11 months old who are at high risk of developing ASD because they have an older sibling with the disorder. The intervention will focus on reducing atypical behaviors and developmental delays to help lessen or prevent the disabling symptoms associated with ASD.
Olga Solomon, Ph.D., of the University of Southern California, will lead a study on how race, gender, socio-economic status, family culture, and communication during clinical encounters affect the health care experiences of African American children with ASD in an urban setting. Such research may help reduce the existing disparities in ASD diagnosis and service delivery for this and possibly other underserved populations.
Ruth Carper, Ph.D., of the University of California San Diego, seeks to fill a gap in scientific understanding of the effects of ASD in later life. By exploring age-related changes in cognition and possible protective factors, as well as the changing service needs and quality of life concerns among adults and older people with ASD, this project may reveal targets for intervention and inform public policy.
Rob McConnell, M.D., of the University of Southern California, and colleagues will explore possible links between traffic-related air pollution and ASD risk. They will also examine genes that help process pollutants in the body among children with and without autism to determine how these genes may affect ASD risk.
Steven Camarata, Ph.D., and Mark Thomas Wallace, Ph.D., both of Vanderbilt University, will evaluate the effects of "sensory integration treatment" on communication and social skills in children with ASD. Based on desensitization techniques, this widely used but little studied treatment is believed to help reduce children's resistance to outside stimuli and improve the integration of sensory information."
I, personally, find the research at University of California at Davis and Baylor School of Medicine the most interesting, for the biomedical research is so scattered.
The research on preventative intervention should also be fascinating. If there was some simple techniques that could be done to help increase communication early on, let's figure that out! I think they may discover that the preventative intervention is merely a style of parenting that many people engage in already.
Also, in working in a school system and seeing the older student, the future planning research will be useful in terms of helping figure out what to teach while they are still in school.
From the NIH site, here is a list of some of the recipients:
"Catherine Lord, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan, and Somer Bishop, Ph.D., of the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, will lead a two-site study to adapt the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised-the current gold standard for diagnosing autism-into a brief parent interview that can be done over the telephone. This new tool will help reduce research screening costs and help researchers to quickly identify potential participants for ASD studies.
David Amaral, Ph.D., Sally Rogers, Ph.D., and Judy Van de Water, Ph.D., all of the University of California Davis, aim to expand on a previous pilot program to identify different subtypes of autism based on behavioral, biochemical, and brain imaging markers. This research may help improve future efforts to study, diagnose, and treat children based on their subtype of autism.
Joseph Buxbaum, Ph.D., of Mount Sinai School of Medicine; Richard Gibbs, Ph.D., of Baylor College of Medicine; Gerard Schellenberg, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania; James Sutcliffe, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt University; and Mark Daly, Ph.D., of the Broad Institute at MIT; will lead a collaborative network of research labs and centers using cutting-edge technologies to discover specific genes underlying autism. Their research will provide insight into the biology of autism and expose genes and pathways that constitute high priority targets for the development of novel treatments.
Sally Rogers, Ph.D., and Laurie Vismara, Ph.D., both of the University of California Davis, aim to develop and test a parent-delivered preventive intervention for infants 6-11 months old who are at high risk of developing ASD because they have an older sibling with the disorder. The intervention will focus on reducing atypical behaviors and developmental delays to help lessen or prevent the disabling symptoms associated with ASD.
Olga Solomon, Ph.D., of the University of Southern California, will lead a study on how race, gender, socio-economic status, family culture, and communication during clinical encounters affect the health care experiences of African American children with ASD in an urban setting. Such research may help reduce the existing disparities in ASD diagnosis and service delivery for this and possibly other underserved populations.
Ruth Carper, Ph.D., of the University of California San Diego, seeks to fill a gap in scientific understanding of the effects of ASD in later life. By exploring age-related changes in cognition and possible protective factors, as well as the changing service needs and quality of life concerns among adults and older people with ASD, this project may reveal targets for intervention and inform public policy.
Rob McConnell, M.D., of the University of Southern California, and colleagues will explore possible links between traffic-related air pollution and ASD risk. They will also examine genes that help process pollutants in the body among children with and without autism to determine how these genes may affect ASD risk.
Steven Camarata, Ph.D., and Mark Thomas Wallace, Ph.D., both of Vanderbilt University, will evaluate the effects of "sensory integration treatment" on communication and social skills in children with ASD. Based on desensitization techniques, this widely used but little studied treatment is believed to help reduce children's resistance to outside stimuli and improve the integration of sensory information."
I, personally, find the research at University of California at Davis and Baylor School of Medicine the most interesting, for the biomedical research is so scattered.
The research on preventative intervention should also be fascinating. If there was some simple techniques that could be done to help increase communication early on, let's figure that out! I think they may discover that the preventative intervention is merely a style of parenting that many people engage in already.
Also, in working in a school system and seeing the older student, the future planning research will be useful in terms of helping figure out what to teach while they are still in school.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
October: National Disability Employment Awareness Month
President Obama has declared October National Disability Employment Awareness Month!
As student reach graduation from high school, the possibilities of what is next are vast. Some will go to four year universities, others to community college, and still others straight into the work force.
Students who as eligible for special education can be served through age 21. In these in between years is an important time where the functionality of skills becomes paramount. While it may be great that a student can name the colors of things, but what can they do that is a job skill related to naming colors.
So what can you do now?
1) Examine the functionality of your students goals
2) Look for those skills that will enable a greater choices of workplaces, such as toileting, self grooming, getting oneself a snack
3) Give your child chores at him; teeach personal responsibility
4) Make sure your name is on the waiting list for public agencies even if you aren't sure your child will need them in the future. You can always turn down services if they are no longer relevant. Many of these agencies have waiting lists as long as 10 years.
As student reach graduation from high school, the possibilities of what is next are vast. Some will go to four year universities, others to community college, and still others straight into the work force.
Students who as eligible for special education can be served through age 21. In these in between years is an important time where the functionality of skills becomes paramount. While it may be great that a student can name the colors of things, but what can they do that is a job skill related to naming colors.
So what can you do now?
1) Examine the functionality of your students goals
2) Look for those skills that will enable a greater choices of workplaces, such as toileting, self grooming, getting oneself a snack
3) Give your child chores at him; teeach personal responsibility
4) Make sure your name is on the waiting list for public agencies even if you aren't sure your child will need them in the future. You can always turn down services if they are no longer relevant. Many of these agencies have waiting lists as long as 10 years.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Kickball in Austin TX
This is from the National Autism Association Central Texas Email Digest
Time to play ball!
South Austin Baseball Association
Announces the start of the 2009 Kick-ball season
If you want your child to have fun this is the place for you! Come out and
join us for some fun on the kick-ball field. We have a co-ed, reverse
inclusion program with players with and without disabilities age 6-18.
Siblings and friends are encouraged to play! We’ll also have University of
Texas student coaches to support the program. Enrollment limited to the
first 24 players to register.
Each player will receive a t-shirt and will receive a huge trophy at the end
of the season awards banquet to celebrate their accomplishments on the
field. For a keepsake, team and individual pictures will be available for
purchase.
*When*: Games are on Mondays at 6:00-7:00. Practice games on Sept. 28 and
Oct. 5, season starts Monday Oct. 12 -Nov. 30. Player awards banquet Dec 7.
*Where:* 1704 Toomey Road, Reeder Field.
*Cost:* $30 - However, the fun, cheering, laughter, pride and joy of
watching your child enjoy themselves is priceless!
*About the program:*
¨ *The program is a co-ed, reverse inclusion model of play. About 8 out
of 24 players will be typically developing children so that the program can
create an opportunity for age appropriate modeling in a recreational
setting. We encourage you to invite your child’s classmates, friends, and
siblings of players with and without disabilities to join the team. This is
a terrific opportunity to strengthen old friendships and develop new
friendships in a structured, organized sports program outside of school.*
¨ *Traditional values of organized sports are incorporated into the
program such as teamwork and good sportsmanship. *
¨ *Games are played on Monday evenings.*
¨ *Games last about an hour with players on each team getting to kick
the ball multiple times and opportunities to make plays and get outs while
outfield. Two practice games start the season and then 8 games thereafter.*
¨ *2 teams, 12 players per team, consisting of boys and girls with a
variety of ability levels and ages.** ***
¨ *All players get to play each game and each child will get whatever
level of support they need to be successful on the field. If a player needs
extra support we will assign a teammate to help them as needed. *
¨ *The program is designed to be proactive in supporting the needs of
the players. Our goal is to help each player to play as independently as
possible.*
¨ *High expectations of each player are balanced with patience and a
strong interest to nurture and develop sports skills and social skills.***
¨ *There are no outs** for runners and no score is kept.*
¨ *There’s an end of season player awards banquet to recognize the
players efforts on the field with large trophies given to everyone.*
¨ *Each player will have the opportunity to kick the ball and run the
bases twice per inning before rotating to outfield. *
¨ *Outfielders will get outs by throwing ball to teammate who can touch
the base or the player can run with the ball to base to touch it themselves.
Players are instructed to not throw balls at runners for outs. Runners
continue to run bases regardless of outs. Last kicker in each inning kicks a
homerun and all players on base run the bases to home plate and then rotate
to outfield. *
¨ *Games only canceled on or after rainy days and/or if the field is
unplayable after a rainy day. Games will play on during or after a light
rain if the field is playable and safe. If the game is canceled everyone
will receive an email notice the day of the game.*
¨ *Each team will have at one adult coach, plus two University of Texas
student coaches. The first and third base coaches will also be student
coaches and we will be two or three student coaches on the field for support
and encouragement. *
¨ *Parents of players are encouraged to communicate any special
instructions for supporting their child to the head coach. *
*For more information** and/or registration form please contact: Gerard
Jimenez at 496.6100 or gerard@austin.rr.com .*
Time to play ball!
South Austin Baseball Association
Announces the start of the 2009 Kick-ball season
If you want your child to have fun this is the place for you! Come out and
join us for some fun on the kick-ball field. We have a co-ed, reverse
inclusion program with players with and without disabilities age 6-18.
Siblings and friends are encouraged to play! We’ll also have University of
Texas student coaches to support the program. Enrollment limited to the
first 24 players to register.
Each player will receive a t-shirt and will receive a huge trophy at the end
of the season awards banquet to celebrate their accomplishments on the
field. For a keepsake, team and individual pictures will be available for
purchase.
*When*: Games are on Mondays at 6:00-7:00. Practice games on Sept. 28 and
Oct. 5, season starts Monday Oct. 12 -Nov. 30. Player awards banquet Dec 7.
*Where:* 1704 Toomey Road, Reeder Field.
*Cost:* $30 - However, the fun, cheering, laughter, pride and joy of
watching your child enjoy themselves is priceless!
*About the program:*
¨ *The program is a co-ed, reverse inclusion model of play. About 8 out
of 24 players will be typically developing children so that the program can
create an opportunity for age appropriate modeling in a recreational
setting. We encourage you to invite your child’s classmates, friends, and
siblings of players with and without disabilities to join the team. This is
a terrific opportunity to strengthen old friendships and develop new
friendships in a structured, organized sports program outside of school.*
¨ *Traditional values of organized sports are incorporated into the
program such as teamwork and good sportsmanship. *
¨ *Games are played on Monday evenings.*
¨ *Games last about an hour with players on each team getting to kick
the ball multiple times and opportunities to make plays and get outs while
outfield. Two practice games start the season and then 8 games thereafter.*
¨ *2 teams, 12 players per team, consisting of boys and girls with a
variety of ability levels and ages.** ***
¨ *All players get to play each game and each child will get whatever
level of support they need to be successful on the field. If a player needs
extra support we will assign a teammate to help them as needed. *
¨ *The program is designed to be proactive in supporting the needs of
the players. Our goal is to help each player to play as independently as
possible.*
¨ *High expectations of each player are balanced with patience and a
strong interest to nurture and develop sports skills and social skills.***
¨ *There are no outs** for runners and no score is kept.*
¨ *There’s an end of season player awards banquet to recognize the
players efforts on the field with large trophies given to everyone.*
¨ *Each player will have the opportunity to kick the ball and run the
bases twice per inning before rotating to outfield. *
¨ *Outfielders will get outs by throwing ball to teammate who can touch
the base or the player can run with the ball to base to touch it themselves.
Players are instructed to not throw balls at runners for outs. Runners
continue to run bases regardless of outs. Last kicker in each inning kicks a
homerun and all players on base run the bases to home plate and then rotate
to outfield. *
¨ *Games only canceled on or after rainy days and/or if the field is
unplayable after a rainy day. Games will play on during or after a light
rain if the field is playable and safe. If the game is canceled everyone
will receive an email notice the day of the game.*
¨ *Each team will have at one adult coach, plus two University of Texas
student coaches. The first and third base coaches will also be student
coaches and we will be two or three student coaches on the field for support
and encouragement. *
¨ *Parents of players are encouraged to communicate any special
instructions for supporting their child to the head coach. *
*For more information*
Jimenez at 496.6100 or gerard@austin.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Autism Quick Tips
This is a one page handout I presented to teaching assistants the other day.
* What is Autism? A neurobiological disorder that shows impairments in communication, social skills, and stereotyped, repetitive behaviors
*The key with Autism Spectrum Disorder is skills are abnormal for typical development, not just delayed
*Reinforcement is key! Find items and activities that motivate the student. Ideally, interaction with adults and peers will be the motivation.
*Student should have to use adult/peer to access reinforcers, which not only increasing requesting opportunities but make the adult/peer reinforcing as well
*Get to know their interest and use them within teaching time to encourage the student.
*The goal for our students it to be as independent as possible: Use prompts but fade them as quickly and effectively as possible
*Full Physical/Verbal Prompt --> Partial Physical/Verbal Prompt --> Gesture prompts
*When possible, use a visual cue instead of a verbal prompt
*Use errorless teaching: prompt before the student makes a mistake. We don’t want them to practice the wrong thing.
*Try to avoid “No” or “Don’t.” Often students with Autism have difficult with negation. They may miss the “no” or “don’t” and instead engage in the unwanted activity
*Try to always tell the student what you do want them to do. Instead of “Don’t run,” tell them to
“Walk.”
*In the classroom, ideally the teacher will give instructions and the TA will help the student follow through without having to repeat the instruction. We want the students to learn to respond to teacher and group instructions. By repeating the instruction to them, they are only learning to respond to the TA.
*If they can’t imitate they can’t learn from their environment. Teach imitation!
* What is Autism? A neurobiological disorder that shows impairments in communication, social skills, and stereotyped, repetitive behaviors
*The key with Autism Spectrum Disorder is skills are abnormal for typical development, not just delayed
*Reinforcement is key! Find items and activities that motivate the student. Ideally, interaction with adults and peers will be the motivation.
*Student should have to use adult/peer to access reinforcers, which not only increasing requesting opportunities but make the adult/peer reinforcing as well
*Get to know their interest and use them within teaching time to encourage the student.
*The goal for our students it to be as independent as possible: Use prompts but fade them as quickly and effectively as possible
*Full Physical/Verbal Prompt --> Partial Physical/Verbal Prompt --> Gesture prompts
*When possible, use a visual cue instead of a verbal prompt
*Use errorless teaching: prompt before the student makes a mistake. We don’t want them to practice the wrong thing.
*Try to avoid “No” or “Don’t.” Often students with Autism have difficult with negation. They may miss the “no” or “don’t” and instead engage in the unwanted activity
*Try to always tell the student what you do want them to do. Instead of “Don’t run,” tell them to
“Walk.”
*In the classroom, ideally the teacher will give instructions and the TA will help the student follow through without having to repeat the instruction. We want the students to learn to respond to teacher and group instructions. By repeating the instruction to them, they are only learning to respond to the TA.
*If they can’t imitate they can’t learn from their environment. Teach imitation!
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