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Autistic children (or adults), have been
romanticized and poeticized since Bruno Bettelheim's
book "The Empty Fortress", and
Dustin Hoffman's portrayal in "Rainman".
But in fact, autism is a form of born learning
disability that ranges from mild to severe
in degrees of affliction. The disability
can be conceptualized as a difficulty of
the autistic child to process multiple stimuli.
The most obvious manifested symptoms are
deficient language, low academic achievement,
lack of affect and social interaction, a
preponderance of asocial and/or self-stimulatory
activities. Behavior problems such as temper
tantrums, rigidity of routines, self-abuse,
are often a by-product of this disability.
Many therapies have been invented, ranging
from Vitamins, enzymes, no-food-color-additives,
biofeedback, special exercises, to drugs. But so far, the treatment that has been
demonstrated to be effective under careful
research is the behavioral approach using
functional analysis and discrete trials,
coupled with drugs in extreme cases.
Prognosis varies, depending on the
severity
of the affliction, the onset of treatment
(the earlier the better), the expertise
of
the professional in his/her analysis
of needs
and creation of functional treatment
programs,
an appropriate and effective IEP, and
the
involvement and consistency of the
treatment
personnel and family members.
The most effective treatment is still behavioral
therapy based on functional analysis and
the use of discrete trials, as opposed to drugs. Many studies now prove
that autistic children undergoing consistent
and well designed behavioral intervention
at a young age can often make tremendous
strides. In fact, the American Academy of
Pediatrics calls for early intervention and
recommends a minimum of 25 hours a week,
12 months a year, of individual behavioral
therapy.
However, in addition to intensive one-to-one
therapy (the quantity), the quality of treatment,
usually NOT prescribed in his IEP, is just
as essential. Actual progress can still be
elusive if the following ingredients are
lacking:
1. a thorough and logical analysis
of the
autistic child's needs and functioning
level
(Ah, don't we know the individual differences!);
2. skillful application of the principle
of applied behavior analysis in de-signing
the treatment,
3. staff training to ensure nuances
in treatment
are carried out,
4. careful monitoring of progress (and
non-progress),
and
5. timely modification of treatment
procedures.
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