Autism & ABA, For Conor It All Adds Up

I have commented previously about how ABA, Applied Behavior Analysis, has been such a positive and effective means of communicating with Conor, teaching him to communicate, teaching him to read, and controlling and reducing problem behavior, notwithstanding the challenges that remain. By problem behavior I mean self aggression and self injurious behavior as well as property damage and aggression to others. Another area of skill development for Conor has been math. Conor loves his numbers and he is learning and loves to demonstrate his math skills as shown in these pictures. The pictures on this comment show skills, including patience and task accomplishment, in addition to adding things up correctly, that would have been unimaginable prior to ABA. If parents with newly diagnosed children do not wish to believe the hundreds of studies documenting the effectiveness of ABA as an intervention for autistic children then take a look at these pictures. This is not a “robotic” child being forced to perform by an abusive methodology. This is my son relaxing on the holiday and enjoying a past time. If you think he has been been deprived of his personality because of exposure to ABA look at the pictures of my laughing joyous son on this blog site. He has an infectious personality and he has been loved by many therapists who have worked with him and other people who meet him in our daily lives.

Do not listen to the ideologues who oppose ABA and minimize the wealth of professional literature supporting its effectiveness. And do not listen to them when they say ABA deprives children of their personalities. There is no professional literature to support these allegations and the experiences of too many autistic children and their families say otherwise. Michelle Dawson, Laurent Mottron, Jim Sinclair and other anti-ABA ideologues do not speak for my son. He speaks for himself. And when it comes to ABA Conor can add it all up for himself as he does in these pictures. In his actions, in his exercise of skills he has learned, in his joyful demeanor, Conor speaks for himself and he puts the boot to these tired anti-ABA careerists.

Autism Research Ethics – Is It Ethical to Deny ABA to Autistic Infants for Research Purposes?

The AP is reporting several new autism research projects aimed at studying early clues of autism and other disorders. One such study mentioned is by Dr. Stanley Greenspan which, according to the AP report, will involve two groups of infants – One group will receive intensive behavior training, the other will not; both will be compared through age 5. But is it ethical to deny ABA intervention to infants who are diagnosed or suspected to have an Autism Spectrum Disorder for research purposes?

An opinion peace in the Medical Journal of Australia Children with autism deserve evidence-based intervention The evidence for behavioural therapy MJA Vol 178 5 May 2003 424, Jennifer J Couper Head, Endocrinology and Diabetes Centre, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide, and University of Adelaide, SA and Amanda J Sampson Ultrasonologist Royal Women’s Hospital, Carlton, VIC reviewed the impressive body of research that existed in 2003 in support of the effectiveness of ABA as an autism treatment. The authors noted “that while ineffective therapies may be harmless, they waste parents’ money and the child’s valuable therapy time. Furthermore, the delay in implementing effective treatment may compromise the child’s outcome.“.

Since the MJA editorial piece there have been more studies confirming the efficacy of ABA as an autism intervention or treatment. How can a study which denies ABA treatment to autistic infants during the critical 2-5 year age period meet ethical standards in light of ABA’s demonstrated evidence based effectiveness in treating autism? As Couper and Sampson noted ineffective therapies waste parents’ money and valuable therapy time. Hopefully, at the very least the parents of infants in the control group, the infants not receiving ABA, have been informed that there are literally hundreds of studies demonstrating the effectiveness of ABA as an autism intervention. Hopefully they will have been told before agreeing to deny ABA treatment to their children that state, academic and professional bodies around the world have consistently concluded that ABA stands alone as the most solidly supported, evidence based treatment for autism to this day.


RESEARCH ON AUTISM IN INFANTS
Associated Press
Article Launched: 05/21/2007 01:31:53 AM PDT

AUTISM AND INFANTS

Research on identifying early clues of autism and other disorders and testing treatments is booming. Here are some of the doctors and researchers involved:

Dr. Fred Volkmar at Yale University is studying potential ways to diagnose autism in the first months of life, including whether looking at objects rather than people is a sign. “I think we’re on the verge of being able to do a much better job” of diagnosing autism in infancy, Volkmar said.

Researcher Stephen Porges at the University of Illinois at Chicago is starting a five-year study of whether excessive crying past 6 months of age might be an early sign of autism, attention deficit or other behavioral problems.

Dr. Stanley Greenspan, a psychiatry professor at George Washington University, is launching a multimillion-dollar study involving parents and babies at risk for autism or attention deficit disorder. One group will receive intensive behavior training, the other will not; both will be compared through age 5.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5946767