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Technology: The Silver Bullet in Education for Individuals with Autism
The advent of the iPad and iPhone and a host of other hand-held devices have transformed the way the world gathers, manages and organizes information. One device now encompasses just about everything we need to efficiently execute our lives on professional and personal levels. The same advantages...
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Traditional Education May Be the Biggest Barrier to a Meaningful Education
Unlike many disorders that are treatable with a pill or procedure, the most important form of treatment for an autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is education. However, the traditional special education model, notwithstanding the great advances made in public education, individualized programing and...
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Public Funding of Private Pre-School is a Mandated Early Intervention Service Required Under IDEA
Birth to age five, the time of early intervention services, is a critical time full of exploration, socialization and skill acquisition. For most children of this age in today’s society, the bulk of their experiences take place in day care or pre-school settings. For children identified with...
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The Support of Adolescents and Adults with Autism in the Community – How to Establish Community and Life Skills That Will Endure
The United States is on the verge of a crisis as more than 800,000 children identified with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) enter adulthood. Consequently, there are vastly larger numbers of adolescents and adults who need interventions and services than ever before. Unfortunately, the need...
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How Science and Evidence Won Out Against Auditory Integration Therapies
There are many ways of learning about our world. One way is through science and the scientific process. There is a growing belief that the methods of science and scientific inquiry are the standards that should be employed when designing and evaluating autism treatments. Ideally, by adhering to...
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The Importance of Skepticism in Evaluating Claims, Selecting Treatments, and Enhancing Science-Based Treatment for Autism
The ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) was last known to exist in 1944. Unexpectedly, in 2004, it was purportedly seen near Brinkley, Arkansas. This claim resulted in a scientific expedition that produced an inconclusive video that was used to confirm the bird’s reemergence from...
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Distinguishing Stereotypy from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior: Differential Diagnosis in Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Individuals with autism exhibit a wide variety of repetitive and ritualistic behaviors. Such patterns of behavior are a defining characteristic of autism spectrum disorders, and are generally expected as part of the behavioral profile of individuals with autism. While often conceptualized as...
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The Use of Pre-Post Test Designs to Evaluate Effectiveness of Autism Treatments
This current issue of Autism Spectrum News focuses on understanding and accessing clinical treatment services. A prerequisite to accessing clinical treatment is to understand what treatments might be effective and have a chance of delivering positive results. And a prerequisite to determining what...
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Relationship Development Intervention: A Review of Its Effectiveness
The theme of this issue of Autism Spectrum News is “Advances in Autism Science.” One facet of autism science is the adherence to “evidenced-based practice” (EBP); a requirement that those who work with persons with autism – teachers, psychologists, speech therapists, etc. – use...
