|
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.
Publications of Dr. Hung:
Hung, David: A Behavior Modification on Approach
to Teach, Record, and Analyze Vocal Imitative
Responses in Mute Retarded Children, M.A.
theses, Queen's University, 1971.
Hung, David: Functional Teaching: Generalization
of taught skills from the classroom to other
settings. In Proceedings of the Annual Conference
of the Ontario Association of Teachers for
the Mentally Retarded, 1975.
Hung, David: Teaching Mute Retarded Children
Vocal Imitation, Journal Behavior Therapy
and Experimental Psychiatry, Volume 7, pages
85-88, 1976.
Hung, David: New Directions in the Teaching
of Autistic Children; Evaluation Towards
The Establishment of a functional Teaching
Manual, Research Report (ONO667), The Ontario
Ministry of Education, 1977.
Hung, David: New Directions in the Teaching
of Autistic Children; Evaluation Towards
The Establishment of a Functional Teaching
Manual - Phase II. Research Report (ONO668),
The Ontario Ministry of Education, 1978.
Hung, David: A summer camp treatment program
for autistic children with Mary J. Thelander.
Exceptional Children, April, 1978.
Hung, David: Using Self - stimulation as
Reinforcement for Autistic Children, Journal
of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 1978,
8, 355-366.
Hung, David: A Brief Restraint Procedure
to Reduce Severe Self - Abusive Behavior,
Paper presented at the American Psychological
Association Conference, Toronto, 1978.
Hung, David: Evaluation of Educational Model
for Treatment of Autistic Children, with
Z. Rotman, E. Henderson, A. Cosentino, M.
Millar, C. Chadwick, and M. Rolling. Paper
presented at the American Psychological Association,
Toronto, 1978.
Hung, David: Teaching Autistic Children to
Follow Instructions in a Group: The Use of
Firm Prompts After the Use of Gesture and
Guidance. Journal of Behavior Therapy and
Experimental Psychiatry, Vol. 10, #4, 1979,
with A. Consentino and E. Henderson.
Hung, David: Training and Generalization
of Yes and No as Mands in Two Autistic Children,
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders,
Volume 10, #2, 1980, 139-152.
Hung, David: Cost and Effectiveness of an
Educational Program for Autistic Children
using a Systems approach, Education and Treatment
of Children, Vol. G, #1, 1983, 47-68. With
Z. Rotwan, A. Cosautino, and M. MacMillan.
Hung, David: Five-day-week Community-based
Residential Treatment Program for Autistic/Developmentally
Disabled and Pre-delinquent Children: the
CIRT Model, with P. Drash. In W. P. Christian,
G. Banna and T.J. Glahn (Eds.): Programming
Effective Human Services: Strategies for
Institutional Change and Client Transition.
Plenum Press: New York, 1983.
|
 Homepage
Dr. Hung's Biography
Autism Diagnoses Soars
Discrete Trials a Must for Autism
IEP - ins & outs
Myth and Facts about ADD/ADHD
Dr Hung's Focusing Therapy
Articles from It's Academic published by
Academic Guidance Services
Programs offered by Academic Guidance Services
Contact us at: DavidHung8@cs.com
Menu
|