The Autism Retort Blog

 

Jennifer LaMarca
Lovaas Institute - Indianapolis

Programs for children with autism utilizing the Lovaas Model of Applied Behavior Analysis typically require a minimum of 6-12 months of one-to-one in-home teaching in order to teach the child the prerequisite skills they need to partake in a group setting. As many of the children progress from basic to more advanced and complex learning programs they are gradually integrated into group settings in their local communication and the teaching procedures become less structured.

While the school setting is one of the most important group environments we want the children to learn and thrive in, there are other groups that may function either as stepping stones to ease a child's transition to the school environment or as extra curricular activities for a child already in school. Such group activities include, but are not limited to, gymnastics, soccer, Gymboree and Kindermusic, library, zoo, and museum classes. When a child is enrolled in any such group activity, we recommend that an instructor from the in-home program accompany the child to help facilitate the transition to group routines and instructions, promote generalization of skills acquired at home to the new environment, and to encourage interaction with other children.

Continue reading "Utilizing ABA in Extracurricular Activities"

Children with autistic spectrum disorders who underwent sensory integration therapy exhibited fewer autistic mannerisms compared to children who received standard treatments. Such mannerisms, including repetitive hand movements or actions, making noises, jumping or having highly restricted interests, often interfere with paying attention and learning.

What began as an informal presentation by a clinical linguist to a group of philosophers, has led to some surprising discoveries about the communicative language abilities of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. While they may not make appropriate use of context or common sayings, psychologists discovered speakers with ASD have a rich array of pragmatic abilities.

How do mercury emissions affect pregnant mothers, the unborn and toddlers? Do the level of emissions impact autism rates? Does it matter whether a mercury-emitting source is 10 miles away from families versus 20 miles? Is the risk of autism greater for children who live closer to the pollution source? A newly published study of Texas school district data and industrial mercury-release data indeed shows a statistically significant link between pounds of industrial release of mercury and increased autism rates.

Playing a video game called 'Space Race' that requires nothing more than brainpower to make rockets on a computer screen move forward is more than just fun and games. A researcher is using video games to see if the brainwaves of children with autism can be 'retrained' to improve focus and concentration.