Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
If your child has been recently diagnosed and you are new to the Special Education system, or even if your child has already been in the Special Education system but your still unsure of how the IEP process should work, these are some important things your should know as a family member to ensure that your child is being served adequately as is their right in accordance with the law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - IDEA).
The first thing to know is that the school cannot start, change or terminate special education services without the consent of the student’s legal guardian(s). This is important to know because as the family you need to be a part of the process in determining the services your child receives. Special Education services should only be the result of a collaborative effort between the school, the family and an other outside providers who are involved with the student. Read more
Great Resource from Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks has created a guide to the first 100 days following an autism diagnosis. Follow this link to view the resource. Autism Speaks can also be contacted directly to provide you and your family with a version of the guide which is customized to the area in which you live.
Verbal Behavior Intervention
Verbal Behavior Intervention is often seen as an adjunct to Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). Though both are based on theories developed by Skinner there are differences in concept. In the late 1950s and early 60’s when Dr. Ivar Lovaas was developing his ABA principles, Skinner published Verbal Behavior which detailed a functional analysis of language. He explained that language could be grouped into a set of units, with each operant serving a different function. The primary verbal operants are what Skinner termed echoics, mands, tacts, and intraverbals.
The function of a mand is to request or obtain what is wanted. For example, the child learns to say the word “cookie” when he is interested in obtaining a cookie. When given the cookie, the word is reinforced and will be used again in the same context. There is an emphasis on “function” of language(VB) as opposed to form (Lovaas-based). In a VB program the child is taught to ask for the cookie anyway he can( vocally, sign language, etc.) If the child can echo the word he will be motivated to do so to obtain the desired object. In a Lovaas-based ABA program the child might say the word cookie when seeing a picture and is thus labeling the item. This form of language is called a “tact.” Critics of Lovaas say children are taught to label many words but often cannot use them in functional or spontaneous ways. Another operant, “intraverbals” describes verbal behavior that is under the control of other verbal behavior and is strengthened by social reinforcement. Intraverbals are the way people engage in conversational language. They are responses to the language of another person, usually answers to “wh-” questions.. If you say to the child “I’m baking…” and the child finishes the sentence with “Cookies,” that’s an intraverbal fill-in. Also, if you say, “What’s something you bake?” (with no cookie present) and the child says, “Cookies,” that’s an intraverbal (wh- question). Intraverbals allow children to discuss stimuli that aren’t present, which describes most conversation and is a goal of Verbal Behavior Intervention.
Both ABA and VB use similar formats to work with children. It is said that VB attempts to capture a child’s motivation to develop a connection between the value of a word and the word itself. Many therapists are now using techniques of VB to bridge some of the gaps seen in ABA.
from AutismSpeaks.org
TEACCH
TEACCH (Training and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children) is a special education program that is tailored to the autistic child’s individual needs based on general guidelines. It dates back to the 1960’s when doctors Eric Schopler, R.J. Reichler and Ms Margaret Lansing were working with children with autism and constructed a means to gain control of the teaching setup so that independence could be fostered in the children. What makes the TEACCH approach unique is that the focus is on the design of the physical, social and communicating environment. The environment is structured to accommodate the difficulties a child with autism has while training them to perform in acceptable and appropriate ways.
Building on the fact that autistic children are often visual learners, TEACCH brings visual clarity to the learning process in order to build receptiveness, understanding, organization and independence. The children work in a highly structured environment which may include physical organization of furniture, clearly delineated activity areas, picture-based schedules and work systems, and instructional clarity. The child is guided through a clear sequence of activities and thus aided to become more organized
It is believed that structure for autistic children provides a strong base and framework for learning. Though TEACCH does not specifically focus on social and communication skills as fully as other therapies it can be used along with such therapies to make them more effective.
from AutismSpeaks.org