Autism Teachers

In the meantime, we draw some practical conclusions for the care of other persons with special needs who have some savant skill. We recommend that family and other caregivers “train the talent,” rather than dismissing such skills as frivolous, as a means for the savant to connect with other people and mitigate the effects of the disability. It is not an easy path, because disability and limitations still require a great deal of dedication, patience and hard work—as Kim’s father, by his example, so convincingly demonstrates.

We are a special inclusive school for children on the autism spectrum and typical siblings.

Theory guides us in one respect. Kim’s brain shows abnormalities in the left hemisphere, a pattern found in many savants. What is more, left hemisphere damage has been invoked as an explanation of why males are much more likely than females to display not only savantism but also dyslexia, stuttering, delayed speech, and autism.

The proposed mechanism has two parts: male fetuses have a higher level of circulating testosterone, which can be toxic to developing brain tissue; and the left hemisphere develops more slowly than the right and therefore remains vulnerable for a longer period. Also supporting the role of left hemisphere damage are the many reported cases of “acquired savant syndrome,” in which older children and adults suddenly develop savant skills after damage to the left hemisphere.

although autism is more commonly linked with savantism than is any other single disorder, only about half of all savants are autistic.

The view of the behavior analyst should be that the subject is always right. If the child isn't learning, you need to know why. It's not that the child is defective, it's that the approach isn't working. The therapist needs to ask, "what do I need to do to teach this child?" ...Being autistic shouldn't stop children from learning. It has nothing to do with their ability to learn. They just don't learn typically. That's the problem we have. You can't use "autism" as way to explain behaviors: it is the behaviors. Why do the behaviors occur? We don't always know. But that doesn't mean we can't teach children with autism language and social interaction. They don't need us to have fun -- they can create their own reinforcers. The therapist has to find a reinforcer that's better than what the child can do on his own. That "better thing" should always have a social component.

The study, published online today in the journal Pediatrics, examined an intervention called the Early Start Denver Model, which combines applied behavioral analysis (ABA) teaching methods with developmental 'relationship-based' approaches.

The five-year study took place at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle and was led by Dawson, then a professor of psychology and director of the university's Autism Center, in partnership with Rogers. It involved therapy for 48 diverse, 18- to 30-month-old children with autism and no other health problems.

At the conclusion of the study, the IQs of the children in the intervention group had improved by an average of approximately 18 points, compared to a little more than four points in the comparison group. The intervention group also had a nearly 18-point improvement in receptive language (listening and understanding) compared to approximately 10 points in the comparison group. Seven of the children in the intervention group had enough improvement in overall skills to warrant a change in diagnosis from autism to the milder condition known as 'pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified,' or PDD-NOS. Only one child in the community-based intervention group had an improved diagnosis.

Estudios recientes constatan el efecto positivo de las dietas sin gluten y sin caseína en los niños autistas. Se han detectado péptidos anormales en la orina atribuidos a la incapacidad del organismo de descomponer esas proteínas en los aminoácidos. Las sustancias más problemáticas son el gluten y la caseína de la dieta.

Estos componentes mal metabolizados producirían los neuropéptidos caseomorfina (derivada de todos los productos lácteos) y gliadinmorfina (procedente de cereales como el trigo, la avena, el centeno, la cebada y el triticale), que pasarían al torrente sanguíneo y de ahí al cerebro, donde actúan como los opioides endógenos y provocan toxicidad. Esto explicaría parte de los síntomas autistas.

Pese a los positivos resultados encontrados, se necesitan más ensayos controlados aleatorios de gran escala y de buena calidad antes de generalizar el uso de este tipo de dietas en personas con autismo.

Pivotal Response Teaching  is an Advanced Behavioral Treatment intervention based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and derived from the work of Drs. Koegel, Schreibman, Dunlap, Horner, Burke and other researchers.

PRT builds upon the older ABA paradigms and has a focus on targeting “Pivotal” skills or behaviors in order to produce more broad changes in a child’s development.

Pivotal Response Training (PRT) provides a guideline for teaching skills and has been most successful for language, play and social interaction skills in children with autism and related disorders.