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Tero Toivanen

Why parents swear by ineffective treatments for autism. - By Sydney Spiesel - Slate Mag... - 0 views

www.slate.com/2215076

autism ineffective treatments treatment

shared by Tero Toivanen on 02 Apr 09 - Cached
  • Since most of the ways we diagnose autism are based on behavior, we can't rely on biological, structural, or chemical findings to determine if a treatment is working. We primarily measure success based on a patient's change, or lack thereof, in behavior.
  • The behavioral changes produced by the few effective treatments make life in social settings (including the home) possible, but we have no idea whether they have any effect on the underlying cause (or causes) of autism or whether they even make severely affected patients feel better.
  • One method intended to help, "facilitated communication," is based on the idea that a sensitive facilitator will hold the hand of a patient over a kind of Ouija board. She will then help the patient respond to questions by sensing his intention and helping guide his hand to spell out answers. Rigorous studies have shown that the spelled-out answers come from the unconscious (or, worse, the conscious) mind of the facilitator. Nonetheless, the practice is still in use, and I know parents who are utterly convinced that it is valid and useful. Frankly, something important did happen when facilitated communication was introduced to my patients: They improved, they brightened, they became more social and more interactive, and they seemed, somehow, happier, even though facilitated communication didn't actually translate their thoughts into words. I'll come back to "why" in a minute.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • The techniques of sensory integrative treatment include rubbing or brushing skin (using graded and tactile stimulation), balance exercises, exposure to soft music, and the use of weighted clothes, among other things. Does it work? Most of the research has been of very poor quality, but, in virtually all of the recent studies, sensory integration doesn't seem to be any more beneficial than any other treatment.
  • It looks as if environmental alteration, especially if coupled with increased attention and perhaps expectation, often leads to change in human behavior. It's called the "Hawthorne effect."
  • People respond—mostly favorably—to positive attention and interaction. The question we need to ask about all the treatments available for autism is whether they actively shape and change brain development and thus treat the underlying condition, as many proponents believe, or whether the benefits (if they are present at all) are simply another example of the Hawthorne effect.
  • Perhaps my patients who became more alive and more interactive after facilitated communication was introduced changed because their families and caretakers were taking them more seriously as people who might have an inner life—people worthy of attention and interaction.
  • Tero Toivanen on 02 Apr 09
     
    People respond-mostly favorably-to positive attention and interaction. The question we need to ask about all the treatments available for autism is whether they actively shape and change brain development and thus treat the underlying condition, as many proponents believe, or whether the benefits (if they are present at all) are simply another example of the Hawthorne effect.
Tero Toivanen

Interview with Robert Koegel | Pivotal Response Treatments for Autism Author on ABC's S... - 1 views

www.pbrookes.com/...interview.htm

pivotal Pivotal Response Treatments PRT ABA

shared by Tero Toivanen on 31 Mar 09 - Cached
  • The NLP became synonymous with motivation and motivation is pivotal in teaching children with autism to respond to multiple questions.
  • 1988 was the first time the word pivotal was used to describe this method. It was referred to previously as the NLP. It is considered a behavior intervention with similarities to the Lovaas method/ABA. 
  • Why would you say PRT is more effective than other therapies
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • First and foremost, children think of it as fun and learn skills by doing what they enjoy.
  • PRT is effective in all of the child’s environments and versatile enough to use at home, in clinical settings, in an inclusive classroom, and in the community, and parents can easily start folding PRT strategies into the child's established routine right away.
  • How does PRT decrease stress for parents?
  • Children often hate having to perform drill practices involved with other autism treatments, they feel like they are being forced to do something they don't enjoy and they react to this by causing a scene to get out of treatment.
  • What exactly are "pivotal responses?"
  • "areas that are central to wide areas of functioning such that improvements occur across a large number of behaviors." 
    • Tero Toivanen
      Tero Toivanen on 31 Mar 09
       
      Pivotal responses määrittely!!!
  • Once they understand the connection between using their own words and getting something they want, they will start to use words spontaneously to communicate their needs. Mastering this one pivotal behavior, motivating the child to understand the connection between their own efforts to communicate with the outcomes of their efforts, will have an enormous ripple effect on other skills.
    • Tero Toivanen
      Tero Toivanen on 31 Mar 09
       
      In practice.
  • It works because there is a motivator that makes the child want to work to accomplish the task at hand, the reward for accomplishing the task has a direct connection to it.
  • PRT was named by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences in 2001 as one of the top 10 state-of-the-art treatments for autism in the United States.
  • A child who is highly motivated to communicate and is having fun doing it will learn much more rapidly than a child who is not motivated and not enjoying what they are learning.
Tero Toivanen

Facilitated_Communication_Prisoners_of_Silence.mov - 3 views

video.google.com/videoplay

autism special education special needs Facilitated Communication FC facilitated communication

shared by Tero Toivanen on 02 Aug 12 - No Cached
  • Tero Toivanen on 02 Aug 12
     
    Really interesting video about Facilitated Communication. I think all teachers who are working with Autistic Spectrum Disorders should watch it.
Tero Toivanen

An Apple for the Students | By Marcia Kaye | University of Toronto Magazine - 3 views

www.magazine.utoronto.ca/...ildren-autism-ipad-marcia-kaye

autism students special needs ipad ipads

shared by Tero Toivanen on 30 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • The two-year study, which ended last December, found that within six weeks the devices boosted kids’ attention spans, raised their ability to identify pictured objects by 45 to 60 per cent, and improved communication skills in these mostly nonverbal children by 20 per cent.
  • A surprising bonus: students who had never been sociable were suddenly requesting an iPad to initiate an activity with another student.
  • McEwen suggests that the devices’ appeal may lie in their multisensory nature, with images and sound – and vibration (thanks to the addition of a downloadable app). She adds that the device’s voice app, which is always calm and unemotional, appeals to those who thrive on consistency, including many children with ASD.
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  • One boy in kindergarten who had always ignored green “yes” and red “no” boxes on paper responded instantly to the identical boxes on the screen.
  • The iPad’s larger screen is better suited to children with vision or fine-motor challenges, such as the blind six-year-old in a wheelchair who delights in moving his arm across the tablet to create his own music.
  • Tero Toivanen on 30 Apr 12
     
    Autistic children develop better communications skills when using iPads, researcher finds
Tero Toivanen

Autism Therapy: pivotal response training | Healing Thresholds - 0 views

autism.healingthresholds.com/...pivotal-response-training

autism therapy Pivotal Response Training PRT ABA Applied Behavioral Analysis

shared by Tero Toivanen on 29 Dec 09 - Cached
  • Future research may allow therapists to know in advance which type of applied behavior analysis (ABA therapy) is most likely to work for any given child with autism.
  • This study of six children was designed to see if it is possible to predict which type of ABA therapy will work for which child with autism.
  • The authors were able to predict which children would respond to pivotal response training, but not which ones would respond to discrete trial training. The authors note that all children were first exposed to pivotal response training and then to discrete trial training and this may have influenced the results. Children who liked toys were more likely to respond to pivotal response training than children who did not like toys.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • This study looked at whether or not a type of applied behavior analysis (pivotal response training) could be used to teach play skills to children with autism.
  • . Both children in the study improved their social skills during recess time.
  • Tero Toivanen on 29 Dec 09
     
    Type of training in which certain behaviors are assumed to be crucial for other behaviors. These pivotal behaviors are then targeted so that the behaviors that depend upon them can change as well.
Tero Toivanen

Intendix, The Brain Computer Interface Goes Commercial (video) | Singularity Hub - 0 views

singularityhub.com/...nterface-goes-commercial-video

brain computer Brain Computer Interface FC Facilitated Communication

shared by Tero Toivanen on 07 Mar 10 - Cached
  • Tero Toivanen on 07 Mar 10
     
    With this, what is going to happen to facilitated communication?
Tero Toivanen

Non-Verbal Autistics: Why No Words? - 1 views

autism.about.com/...bal-autistics-why-no-words.htm

autism non-verbal autistics Lisa Jo Rudy speak words apraxia echolalia

shared by Tero Toivanen on 10 May 10 - Cached
  • To be honest, I had assumed that those people who do not speak - but DO communicate - have physical issues with forming words.  After all, I reasoned, if a person wants to communicate but doesn't speak, it must be because speech is just too difficult. But it turns out that I may be wrong.  In fact, according to a top researcher in autism and communication (Dr. Helen Tager-Flusberg, PhD of Boston University), "...the short answer is that we really don't know why some children with ASD don't learn to speak at all."
    • Tero Toivanen
      Tero Toivanen on 10 May 10
       
      This is the big question!
J B

PixTalk Online Community - 0 views

www.communicationautism.com

AAC autism ASD:technology SmartPhone Microsoft handhelds

shared by J B on 08 Apr 09 - Cached
  • J B on 08 Apr 09
     
    using Smart Phones to enable interaction and communication with autistic children
Tero Toivanen

Applied Behavioral Analysis - Understanding ABA Therapy - 1 views

www.brighttots.com/aba_therapy

autism ABA Applied Behavioral Analysis PRT Pivotal Response Therapy PECS Picture Exchange Communication System Lovaas Discrete Trial Training

shared by Tero Toivanen on 07 Jun 09 - Cached
  • Tero Toivanen on 07 Jun 09
     
    Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) techniques have been proven in many studies as the leading proven treatment and method of choice on treating individuals with autism spectrum disorder at any level. ABA approaches such as discrete trial training (DTT), Pivotal Response Training (PRT), Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
Tero Toivanen

Technology use in the classroom helps autistic children communicate - 21 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...121129093329.htm

technology classroom autism special education special needs

shared by Tero Toivanen on 02 Dec 12 - No Cached
  • Tero Toivanen on 02 Dec 12
     
    "Teachers at the school have found that the ECHOES program has greatly helped the children improve their social and communication skills. In fact teachers were surprised at the extent to which the children engaged with the technology."
J B

Autism Community - 0 views

autism-community.com

autism

shared by J B on 23 Jan 09 - Cached
Tero Toivanen

Childhood disintegrative disorder - MayoClinic.com - 0 views

www.mayoclinic.com/...DS00801

disintegrative mayoclinic

shared by Tero Toivanen on 27 Feb 09 - Cached
  • Tero Toivanen on 27 Feb 09
     
    Definition Childhood disintegrative disorder is a condition in which children develop normally until age 3 or 4, but then demonstrate a severe loss of social, communication and other skills.
Tero Toivanen

New Year, New Decade Resolutions for the Autism Community - 0 views

autism.about.com/...s-for-the-autism-community.htm

autism research diagnosis subgroups treatment therapy

shared by Tero Toivanen on 01 Jan 10 - Cached
  • parents leaving their offices with an autism spectrum diagnosis for their child will have a clear plan of action for getting their child the help they need, where and when they need it.
  • Researchers will develop a better understanding of autistic subgroups, so that it will become possible to recommend appropriate treatments and therapies based on individuals' symptoms, challenges and strengths.
  • Less time, money, energy and angst will go into confrontation, and more time, money, energy and love will go into autism-related volunteerism, mentoring, program development, and other positive activities.
  • Tero Toivanen on 01 Jan 10
     
    Less time, money, energy and angst will go into confrontation, and more time, money, energy and love will go into autism-related volunteerism, mentoring, program development, and other positive activities.
Tero Toivanen

Researchers find mirror neuron system functions normally in individuals with autism - 0 views

www.physorg.com/news192882829.html

mirror neuron autism neuroscience dysfunction study research

shared by Tero Toivanen on 12 May 10 - Cached
  • Tero Toivanen on 12 May 10
     
    A team of neuroscientists has found that the mirror neuron system, which is thought to play a central role in social communications, responds normally in individuals with autism. Their findings, reported in the journal Neuron, counter theories suggesting that a mirror system dysfunction causes the social difficulties exhibited by individuals with autism.
Tero Toivanen

Autism Information - Autism Information You Need To Know - 1 views

autism.about.com/...formation-You-Need-To-Know.htm

autism information you spectrum disorders research facts disorder causes diagnosis diagnoses treatment special education special needs SPED

shared by Tero Toivanen on 16 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • There are plenty of myths about autism spectrum disorders out there.
  • But even those of use who are well-grounded in autism basics may be surprised by some of these facts, which are emerging from recent research.
  • We do know what causes autism -- but only in about 20% of cases.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Quite a few children who are diagnosed with autism at a very young age are no longer diagnosable with autism by the time they’re school-aged.
  • Whatever the reasons, many children who are diagnosed with autism as toddlers will not be diagnosable by the time they're in fifth grade.
  • Early intervention (diagnosis and treatment prior to age three) is very helpful indeed, but there is no “window of opportunity” that slams shut at a certain age. Thus, even children who are diagnosed later or receive less early intervention may do quite well in the long run.
  • Early intervention does, however, provide a now-or-never opportunity to allow non-verbal children to develop some kind of useful tool for communication (picture cards, signs, or even spelling boards).
  • There is no official “cure” for autism. In fact, researchers like Dr. Susan Levy at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia argue that even when a young child is no longer diagnosable on the autism spectrum, he is probably still autistic.
  • Late talking is not an indication of a poor prognosis.
  • Children with autism may or may not be visual thinkers. Thus, school programs designed with visual thinking in mind may or may not be appropriate for any individual child with autism.
  • After many years of research, we still don’t know which treatments are most effective for which children -- or whether one treatment is more effective than another. Behavioral interventions are the best-researched treatments for autism, but even top scientists acknowledge that developmental interventions may or may not be equally useful for any given child. Meanwhile, only two drugs -- Risperdal and Abilify -- have been approved for use with children on the autism spectrum, and neither addresses “core” issues of autism (social/communication deficits).
  • Tero Toivanen on 16 Mar 11
     
    Important facts and information about autism.
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