Pick two articles from peer-reviewed journals that deal with the education of individuals with autism. Articles should be published in peer-reviewed journals. Prepare a summary of both articles.
The review considers the research available regarding the effectiveness of professionals using intensive behavior therapy for those with autism or those with autistic spectrum disorder in an inclusive schooling environment. The thesis of the article is that whilst research agrees that applied behavioral behavior therapy is commonly believed to be the most effective treatment in this environment the basis of this research is unreliable. The review asserts that research undertaken in this area indicate the intensive behavioral
The review notes that Autism is considered a neurodevelopment disorder rather than a behavioral disorder and most treatments for autism consider the behavioral impacts of autism or autistic spectrum disorder rather than focusing on neurological aspects of the disorder. The review asserts that significant research indicates Intensive Behavior Therapy as the most effective method of teaching those with autistic spectrum disorder. Furthermore, the review notes that such studies are often undertaken within the context of a comparison with the eclectic model of treatment.
A literature search was performed in apposite journals online find studies which considered a comparison of the effectiveness of intensive behavioral with eclectic treatments. The paper also used a previous literature search in this topic, specifically, What Works Clearinghouse (Peters-Scheffer, Didden, Korzilius, & Sturmey, 2010; Reichow & Wolery, 2009; What Works Clearinghouse, 2010) to consider the thesis as well as others. In order to be included in the review, literature was required to have appeared in a peer reviewed journal, be in written English, to involve participants with autism or with autistic spectrum disorder and to use eclectic method in comparison with intensive behavior therapy in an efficacy study.
The review found that the results of studies undertaken in this area outlined in the review literature were as a whole unreliable. The literature review asserts that test group samples in previous studies did not cover a range of ages to provide sufficient information regarding the efficacy of Intensive Behavioral Therapy. Furthermore, there is insufficient research completed in the inclusive schooling environment to be able to draw reliable conclusions on the efficacy of Behavioral Intensive Therapy compared to that of eclectic.
The review notes that Intensive Behavior Therapy has been shown to be more effective than eclectic methods however this must be viewed within the context of the issues. The paper, however, asserts that further review is necessary due to a number of issues raised in the studies. Firstly, the review states that the elements of Intensive Behavior Therapy are included in eclectic programs in seven of the research papers. Furthermore the study asserts that the literature provides evidence that the term eclectic covers too broad a range of methods and is in fact arbitrary.
The studies were also lacking in detail about what types of intervention eclectic treatment covers and the time spent on these intervention. As the control groups were not clearly defined, it was not possible to extract reliable data about efficacy of each method. The review concludes that there is not enough evidence to support the efficacy of Intensive Behavior Therapy as a sole method of teaching those with autism and in order to find the most efficient method it is important to study the components which make up a broad range of eclectic methods. It proposes that further study is undertaken and that an individualized approach to teaching those with autism based on the findings of this study is the most appropriate method of teaching.
The review took a generalized approach with criteria for searching for relevant literature and therefore much of the data was irrelevant to the thesis. The review comes to the conclusion that because eclectic treatment is not arbitrary this makes a lot of the study invalid; however the review still asserts that individualized programs may provide the best approach for those with ASD in an inclusive school environment despite there being little evidence to support this argument.
Pilot Study of a School-Based Parent Training Program for Preschoolers With ASD
The study considers research based on the effectiveness of a parental training program those with an autistic spectrum disorder. The study asserts that parental intervention is a common therapy with an expanding evidence base supporting its efficacy in improving social interaction and language skills of those with an autistic spectrum disorder. Many studies have indicated the parent training is better value for money than therapy based interventions and are maintained for longer by the individual suffering from Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Access to interventions in autism is limited in some areas of the United States and the paper asks whether parental training for those in pre-school and early education could ensure that treatment is available for all families where it is needed.
The study considers the feasibility and anticipated effectiveness of implementing a parental training program for preschool to provide an early intervention approach to autism treatment, using the following four parameters “1) Parent participation and treatment acceptability for parents and teachers; 2) parents’ ability to use the intervention techniques;
3) changes in child social communication; and 4) changes in parent stress.”
The study used a sample of 27 children who had a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder and assessed their improvement according to the four noted parameters using a variety of methods, including observation and testing. Quantitative data was collected and analysed to support the paper’s conclusion.
The study strongly suggests that parental training programs are an effective early intervention which improve learning, development and behaviour. However, the model of care available for those with autism at the pre-school is not compatible with the model used with parenting training. Further difficulties arise in its implementation due to the lack of resources in this area and the lack of training received by professionals in this discipline.
The paper raises issues with models of care and accessibility to treatment, however does not then propose any answers to these issues. The paper tends to go round in circles and whilst it states that the model is effective it does not seem to go far enough into an analysis of the constraints on implementing parental training programs.
References
Samuel Odom, Kara Hume, Brian Boyd, Aaron Stabel. Moving Beyond the Intensive Behavior Treatment Versus Eclectic Dichotomy: Evidence-Based and Individualized Programs for Learners with ASD. Behav Modif 2012 36: 270. Retrieved from http://bmo.sagepub.com/content/36/3/270
Brooke R. Ingersoll and Allison L. Wainer. 15 November 2011. Pilot Study of a School-Based Parent Training Program for Preschoolers With ASD. Autism. 2012. Retrieved from http://aut.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/11/03/1362361311427155
