Verbal Behavior Approach (Mary Barbera)

The Big Three Skills for Individuals with Autism

I’ve been consulting with children and a few adults with autism for seven years now and I had a revelation about two years ago soon after I published my book. I now believe that there are three main skills every child and adult with autism needs to be successful. These skills, I believe, are the most important skills regardless of the person’s age or level of functioning.

The Big Three are:
1) Problem behaviors at or near 0
2) The ability to request wants and needs
3) Independent toileting

{more ... }

Related:

Mary Barbera's (author of the Verbal Behavior Approach blog) monthly radio show on the 2nd Friday of every month at 12 noon on Autism One Radio.

Archived Shows as of this posting ...

Episode	Title	Date	Length
01	The Verbal Behavior Approach	09/2007	32:50
02	Adding ABA to your current biomedical treatment	10/2007	29:54
03	Reducing Problem Behaviors in Children with Autism	11/2007	31:29
04	Reinforcement and the Pairing Process	12/2007	32:43
05	Manding: Teaching your Child Requesting Skills	01/2008	29:19
06	Increasing Speech in Non-Vocal Children	02/2008	32:37
07	Errorless Teaching	03/2008	28:56
08	Non-Verbal Behavior	04/2008	39:00
09	Teaching the Verbal Operant	06/2008	31:48
10	Verbal Behavior: Putting it All Together	09/2008	31:56
11	Toilet Training	10/2008	32:44
12	Lessons Learned on My Autism Journey	01/2009	31:46
13	Getting Started on VB with Early Learners	02/2009	26:47
14	VB Programming for Intermediate Learners	04/2009	33:39

New Diagnosis? How to Help a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

How To Help a Child With Autism on Howcast

Step 1

Take your child for a complete medical exam. Some behavioral problems associated with autism, like temper tantrums, can sometimes be reduced if physical problems common in children with autism, such as gastrointestinal issues and allergies, are alleviated.

Step 2

Put your child on a gluten-free, casein-free diet, which means no barley, rye, oats, wheat, or dairy. Many families of children with autism have had good results – but only if the diet is followed to the letter, no exceptions.

Step 3

Get your child started on speech therapy as soon as possible. If your child is nonverbal, try PECS, which stands for Picture Exchange Communication System. This technique, which uses picture cards, may encourage them to speak.

Step 4

Get your child sensory-integration therapy, which has been proven effective in helping children with autism become less sensitive to light, sound, and touch.

Step 5

Hire an occupational therapist to help them with skills they’ll need for an independent life. Depending on the child, this can be anything from physical coordination to anger management.

Step 6

Use applied behavioral analysis, or ABA, the only intervention approved by the Surgeon General’s Office. ABA is a one-on-one approach to teaching children how to react appropriately to everyday social situations with the help of rewards. Parents can either hire an ABA-trained therapist or learn the technique themselves.

Step 7

Try other therapies. Most children with autism benefit from a combination of treatments.

Step 8

Consider verbal behavior intervention, which is designed to develop language skills through motivation and reinforcement.

Step 9

Test the TEACCH approach, which customizes an education program to the child’s strengths and weaknesses. Because children with autism tend to be visual learners, the program is structured around visual clues.

Step 10

Consider becoming trained in Relationship Development Intervention, or RDI, which suggests everyday things parents can do at home to help their child adapt to changes and be more open to interacting with others.

Step 11

Enroll your child in school when they turn three. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that states provide special education services to children with disabilities, beginning at this age.

Step 12

Stay up-to-date on autism research; new therapies are being tested and developed all the time.

3 Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Models: Discrete Trial Training (DTT), Verbal Behavior Model (VB), and the Competent Learner Model (CLM)

Here's a great article, A Comparison of 3 ABA Different Models, that talks about the differences between 3 flavors of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

1) Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
2) Verbal Behavior Model (VB)
3) Competent Learner Model (CLM)




Related:

• Treatments4Autism : Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)