Early Treatment

In Learning to Speak (L. Erlbaum Associates, 2005/1984), Zelazo, Kearsley and Ungerer describe a parent-implemented treatment that translates a theoretical framework into concrete therapeutic exercises. This therapy, guided by a developmentally-oriented clinical child psychologist, facilitates functional and symbolic object use, expressive language development and emotion regulation that will ultimately yield a reduction in delays on conventional tests of mental ability and produce appropriate social interactions.

Therapists and parents initially work for brief, but intensive, formal periods on gaining compliance with actions and words until normal expressive language is achieved. Generalisation of newly acquired abilities is implemented systematically across people and settings.

Compliance to task demands is a cornerstone of this program but, unlike strict ABA approaches, is viewed from the perspective of the development of stress tolerance and emotion regulation. The natural course for development of stress tolerance, expressive language, cognition, and object use serve as the cornerstone for treatment at each level of a child’s development.

Skinnerian procedures for shaping behaviours using contingent positive reinforcement following specific schedules of reinforcement, including the frequencies and durations of reinforcements, are used to produce developmental changes. Generally, the duration of treatment is from 18 to 24 months depending on the severity of the non-compliant behaviour, the magnitude of the developmental delays, and the compliance of the parent-therapist with the therapeutic regimen.

This treatment program is parent-implemented under the direction of a clinical-developmental psychologist, rendering it highly cost-effective. A centre-based component may be offered in some instances, during which trained staff bolster the daily parental effort to provide opportunities for socialisation with peers and unfamiliar adults. A parallel group for parents allows the meaning of phrases such as “increasing task demands” (a central theme in the treatment program) to be defined more precisely, gives parents experience working with children other than their own and provides them the support of other parents coping with the stresses of autism.

Additional Services

Various adjunct services may be set up and tailored to meet the needs of the children enrolled in our program. For example, one- to three-week long intensive In-House Summer Programs provide the opportunity to treat more children enrolled in this parent-implemented programme. These programs focus more specifically on issues such as sibling relationships, classroom behaviours, academic curricula, and social skills.